[Prevalence of disabilities of the upper and lower extremities among community-dwelling middle-aged and elderly women].
OBJECTIVE
In order to obtain baseline data for designing programs aimed at promoting physical function among elderly people in Japan, we determined the prevalence of disabilities affecting upper and lower extremities and their impact on function in community-dwelling middle-aged and elderly Japanese women.


METHODS
Subjects were 580 women aged 40 years and over, living in Oshima town, Nagasaki, Japan. Information on disabilities affecting all four extremities was collected by questionnaire. Subjects were asked about the extent of disability in each extremity (no disability, some, moderate, cannot or very difficult to use extremity) and the reason for the disability. The functional level was defined using a disability score, calculated by summing the disabilities for upper or lower extremities (no disability, 0; some, 1; moderate, 2; cannot or very difficult to use, 3). Women who scored 0 were classified as 'good', women who scored 1-2 'fair', and who scored 3-6 as 'poor'.


RESULTS
Prevalence of disability affecting the upper extremities increased significantly with age (11.9% with some or greater, and 4.3% with moderate or worse). Disabilities of the lower extremities also increased significantly with age (27.2% with some or greater, and 12.9% with moderate or worse), affecting a larger proportion of individuals. With regard to the upper extremities, the women classified a 'fair' and 'poor' increased significantly with age (9.5% with 'fair', and 2.4% with 'poor'), and function decreased (p = 0.003). The same was the case for the lower extremities (19.0% with 'fair', and 8.3% with 'poor') (P < 0.001). The most frequently cited cause of disability was arthritis, both in the upper (20%) and lower (40%) extremities, followed by stroke (10%), fracture (10%) and trauma not associated with fracture (10%).


CONCLUSIONS
In middle aged and elderly women, disabilities of the upper and lower extremities become more prevalent and are associated with further functional impairment with aging. Such disabilities are more common in the lower extremities, and arthritis seems to be the most frequent cause.
Morita
M
M
Department of Public Health, Nagasaki University, School of Medicine, Nagasaki.
Aoyagi
K
K
Yahata
Y
Y
Yoshimi
I
I
Kusano
Y
Y
Moji
K
K
Takemoto
T
T
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology; D001168:Arthritis / Q000453:epidemiology; D003153:Community Health Services; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005121:Extremities; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009069:Movement Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence