[Factors associated with participation in medical checkups of the elderly at home comparison of 3 regions with different social backgrounds].
OBJECTIVE
Annual medical checkups are presumed to be important with the well-being of aged individuals. The purpose of this study was to investigate factors related to participation in medical checkups of elderly persons at home.


METHODS
A survey was performed targeting so-called young elderly persons living at home in 3 regions in Hokkaido Prefecture, a large city (Sapporo), an ex-coalmining town (Yubari) and a small farming town (Takasu). The study populations were asked about medical checkups, economic status, self-rated health status, activities of daily living (ADL) and basic characteristics such as age, sex and occupation. We used the Mantel-Haenszel method for statistical analysis.


RESULTS
1) Elderly males who received medical checkups within the last 1 year (participants) had a shorter period of education, were less likely to have or to have had the smoking habit, undertook more physical activity, had better eating habit, more often rated their own health as good or normal, and had a better physical ADL & instrumental ADL, than those who had never received medical checkups (non-participants). Regionally, the items that showed significant differences included: "live with the spouse", "do not smoke" and "do not have physical pain or disabilities" in Sapporo; "enjoy physical activity", "have good eating habit" and "have good instrumental ADL" in Yubari; and "engaged in agriculture/fishery work" and "had outpatient visits in the last three months" in Takasu. 2) Elderly female participants who had outpatient visits in the last three months had anxiety about their own health, significantly different from non-participants. Regionally, the items that showed significant differences included: "often drink alcohol" in Sapporo; "still working right now", "was engaged in agriculture/fishery work in the past" and "had outpatient visits in the last three months" in Yubari; and "have own house", "do not smoke" and "pay attention to eating habit" in Takasu. 3) The item which showed a significantly high rate both for male and female participants was "still working right now".


CONCLUSIONS
This study indicates that medical checkups should be recommended to the elderly, taking into account not only their basic characteristics such as sex and occupation, but also lifestyle, self-rated health status and ADL, which are associated with medical checkup participation.
Mitsuhashi
Yuu
Y
Sapporo City Public Health Office, Department of Public Health, Sapporo Medical University.
Kishi
Reiko
R
Eguchi
Teruko
T
Miyake
Hirotsugu
H
Maeda
Nobuo
N
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged / Q000523:psychology; D003153:Community Health Services; D004467:Economics; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006299:Health Services for the Aged; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D010808:Physical Examination