Transitions in living arrangements among elders in Japan: does health make a difference?
OBJECTIVE
This research evaluates the hypothesis that poor health triggers a change in living arrangements among elderly adults in Japan.


METHODS
Data came from a national probability sample of 2,200 Japanese people aged 60 or older. Four surveys of this sample were conducted over a period of 9 years, from 1987 to 1996. Multinomial logit regression analyses were used to analyze the effects of demographic characteristics, socioeconomic status, and health on changes in living arrangements.


RESULTS
Living arrangements among the Japanese elderly people remained quite stable over the 9-year period. Physical and mental health conditions were found to exert both direct and indirect effects on transitions in living arrangements.


CONCLUSIONS
Poor health does trigger changes in living arrangement. Both physical (i.e., chronic conditions and functional status) and mental (i.e., depressed affect) health conditions play a role in such transitions. Because health conditions are correlated with competing risks of mortality, attrition, and proxy interview, health effects on changes in living arrangement are likely underestimated.
Brown
Joseph Winchester
JW
School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor 48109-2029, USA. winbrown@umich.edu
Liang
Jersey
J
Krause
Neal
N
Akiyama
Hiroko
H
Sugisawa
Hidehiro
H
Fukaya
Taro
T
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D011157:Population Dynamics; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors