Are Japanese Older Adults Rejuvenating? Changes in Health-Related Measures Among Older Community Dwellers in the Last Decade
Takao Suzuki, Yukiko Nishita, Seungwon Jeong, Hiroyuki Shimada, Rei Otsuka, Katsunori Kondo, Hunkyung Kim, Yoshinori Fujiwara, Shuichi Awata, Akihiko Kitamura, Shuichi Obuchi, Katsuya Iijima, Noriko Yoshimura, Shuichiro Watanabe, Minoru Yamada, Kenji Toba, Hyuma Makizako
Abstract
During the last three decades, Japan has become one of the world's top countries for longevity, and the increase in average life expectancy is accompanied by a sharp rise in older population 65 years of age and above to ∼28%. This study aimed to examine the changes in major health-related measures, including a physical constitution, physical function, and functional capacity of community-dwelling Japanese older people in the last decade. From the data of 13 longitudinal cohort studies on aging conducted in Japan with a total of 13,441 older subjects, this study analyzed the changes in six indices that are related to health and functioning of the older people; height, weight, body mass index, walking speed, grip strength, and instrumental activity of daily living, between 2007 (±2 years) and 2017 (±2 years). Comparison of data for the two periods between subjects matched for age group and gender evidently showed better health status and a slower decline in most of the health-related measures in 2017 compared to a decade ago. The results of this study indicate that the phenomenon of "rejuvenation" is occurring among the new generation of Japanese older adults, and the importance of this older population as a social resource in the super-aged society should be reacknowledged.