[Relative weight and mortality during a five-year follow-up study in an aged population--a study of aged inhabitants of a rural area in Japan].
The present study, a follow-up study for 669 aged examinees of a health check performed in July 1983 in a rural area in Fukushima Prefecture, was conducted to clarify the relationship between relative weight and mortality among aged individuals living in a Japanese rural area. Using the standard body weights calculated from Japanese mean body weights by sex, age class (60-69 and 70 or more) and height cited from the data of the Ministry of Health and Welfare from 1966, mortalities during the five year follow-up were compared among four groups different in relative weight at baseline. The results are as follows. 1) The mortalities in the group of 'Relative weight less than or equal to -10% the leanest group among the four groups, were highest in both sexes, 52.8 per 1000 person-years for males and 33.2 per 1000 person-years for females. On the other hand, those in the group of '+10% less than or equal to Relative weight less than +20%' were lowest in both sexes, 23. 1 per 1000 person-years for males and 7.0 per 1000 person-years for females. In females, the difference in the mortality between these two groups was statistically significant at the 0.05 level, provided age structures in both groups were taken into consideration. 2) In both sexes, the mortalities of cancer and cerebrovascular disease in the group of 'Relative weight less than or equal to -10%' were highest among the four groups, whereas such mortalities in the group of '+10% less than or equal to Relative weight less than +20%' were lowest.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Takashima
Y
Y
Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, School of Medicine, Kitasato University, Kanagawa.
Sakamoto
Y
Y
Suzuki
K
K
Takahashi
H
H
Hitosugi
M
M
Takata
T
T
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001835:Body Weight; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D009026:Mortality; D011159:Population Surveillance; D012424:Rural Population