Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-qsmjn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-18T03:49:45.794Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Social cohesion and health in old age: a study in southern Taiwan

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 March 2015

Wenling Chen ,
Kiyohito Okumiya ,
Taizo Wada ,
Ryota Sakamoto ,
Hissei Imai ,
Yasuko Ishimoto ,
Yumi Kimura ,
Eriko Fukutomi ,
Michiko Fujisawa  and
Hsin-I Shih
...Show all authors
Wenling Chen*
Affiliation:
Department of Field Medicine, School of Public Health, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
Kiyohito Okumiya
Affiliation:
Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
Taizo Wada
Affiliation:
Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
Ryota Sakamoto
Affiliation:
Hakubi Center, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
Hissei Imai
Affiliation:
Department of Field Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
Yasuko Ishimoto
Affiliation:
Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
Yumi Kimura
Affiliation:
Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
Eriko Fukutomi
Affiliation:
Department of Field Medicine, School of Public Health, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
Michiko Fujisawa
Affiliation:
Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
Hsin-I Shih
Affiliation:
College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
Chia-Ming Chang
Affiliation:
College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
Kozo Matsubayashi
Affiliation:
Department of Field Medicine, School of Public Health, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Wenling Chen, Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, 46 Shimoadachi-cho, Yoshida, Sakyo-ku, 606–8501 Kyoto, Japan. Phone: +81-75-753-7368; Fax: +81-75-753-7168. Email: chenwingling@gmail.com.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Background:

Previous studies have found that social cohesion and trust (SCT) were associated with psychological well-being and physical health. In this study, we investigated the associations between SCT and mental and physical health among community-dwelling elderly in a town in southern Taiwan.

Methods:

The study population consisted of 149 community-dwelling elderly aged 65 years and older (68 men, 81 women; mean age, 75.4 ± 6.1 years) residing in the town of Dashe in southern Taiwan. Activities of daily living (ADL), SCT, depression, subjective quality of life (QOL), current medical status, past medical history, and health behaviors were assessed in face-to-face interviews. Objective neurobehavioral functions were assessed using the timed up & go (TUG) test, functional reach test, and handgrip test.

Results:

Scores for ADL and Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) were significantly correlated with SCT, and SCT was significantly correlated with all subjective QOL items. In addition, a strong correlation was observed between SCT and relationship with friends. Values for SCT (median ≥ 20) were significantly associated with both subjective sense of health (median ≥ 68) and subjective happiness (median ≥ 73) after adjusting for age, sex, and ADL.

Conclusion:

SCT is an important variable that influences self-rated health and happiness, independently of ADL, age, and sex. When assessing geriatric psychological function, SCT should be examined more carefully, given its association with subjective sense of health and happiness, depression, and physical function.

Keywords

social cohesion and trustADLGDSQOLelderlyhealthhappinessTaiwan
Type
Research Article
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 27 , Issue 11 , November 2015 , pp. 1903 - 1911
Copyright
Copyright © International Psychogeriatric Association 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aoyama, M., Suzuki, Y., Onishi, J. and Kuzuya, M. (2011). Physical and functional factors in activities of daily living that predict falls in community-dwelling older women. Geriatrics & Gerontology International, 11, 348–357. doi: 10.1111/j.1447-0594.2010.00685.x.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chan, J., To, H. P. and Chan, E. (2006). Reconsidering social cohesion: developing a definition and analytical framework for empirical research. Social Indicators Research, 75, 273–302.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chen, W. et al. (2013). Comprehensive geriatric functional analysis of elderly populations in four categories of the long-term care insurance system in a rural, depopulated and aging town in Japan. Geriatrics & Gerontology International, 13, 63–69. doi: 10.1111/j.1447-0594.2012.00859.x.Google Scholar
Cramm, J. M., van Dijk, H. M. and Nieboer, A. P. (2013). The importance of neighborhood social cohesion and social capital for the well being of older adults in the community. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 44, 50–58. doi: 10.1007/s12439-013-0010-z.Google ScholarPubMed
Elliott, J., Gale, C. R., Parsons, S., Kuh, D. and HALCyon Study Team. (2014). Neighbourhood cohesion and mental wellbeing among older adults: a mixed methods approach. Social Science & Medicine, 107, 44–51. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.02.027.Google Scholar
Hirosaki, M. et al. (2011). Self-rated happiness is associated with functional ability, mood, quality of life and income, but not with medical condition in community-dwelling elderly in Japan. Geriatrics & Gerontology International, 11, 531–533. doi: 10.1111/j.1447-0594.2011.00697.x.Google Scholar
Ho, H. K. et al. (2002). Factors associated with ADL dependence: a comparative study of residential care home and community-dwelling elderly in Japan. Geriatrics & Gerontology International, 2, 80–86. doi: 10.1046/j.1444-1586.2002.00026.x.Google Scholar
Huang, H. L., Chao, C. C., Tu, C. C. and Yang, P. C. (2003). Behavioral parent training for Taiwanese parents of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 57, 275–281. doi: 10.1046/j.1440-1819.2003.01117.x.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ichida, Y., Kondo, K., Hirai, H., Hanibuchi, T., Yoshikawa, G. and Murata, C. (2009). Social capital, income inequality and self-rated health in Chita peninsula, Japan: a multilevel analysis of 25 communities. Social Science & Medicine, 69, 489–499. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2009.05.006.Google Scholar
Inoue, S., Yorifuji, T., Takao, S., Doi, H. and Kawachi, I. (2013). Social cohesion and mortality: a survival analysis of older adults in Japan. American Journal of Public Health, 103, 60–66. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2013.301311.Google Scholar
Kandula, N. R., Wen, M., Jacobs, E. A. and Lauderdale, D. S. (2009). Association between neighborhood context and smoking prevalence among Asian Americas. American Journal of Public Health, 99, 885–892. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2007.131854.Google Scholar
Kawachi, I. (1999). Social capital and community effects on population and individual health. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 896, 120–130.Google Scholar
Ku, L. J., Liu, L. F. and Wen, M. J. (2012). Trends and determinants of informal and formal caregiving in the community for disabled elderly people in Taiwan. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 56, 370–376. doi: 10.1016/j.archger.2012.11.005.Google Scholar
Matsubayashi, K. and Okumiya, K. (2012). Field medicine: a new paradigm of geriatric medicine. Geriatrics & Gerontology International, 12, 5–15. doi: 10.1111/j.1447-0594.2011.00738.x.Google Scholar
Matsubayashi, K., Okumiya, K., Osaki, Y., Fujisawa, M. and Doi, Y. (1997). Quality of life of old people living in the community. Lancet, 350, 1521–1522.Google Scholar
Matsubayashi, K., Okumiya, K., Osaki, Y., Fujisawa, M. and Doi, Y. (1999). Frailty in elderly Japanese. Lancet, 353, 1445.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Morrison, D. P. (1983). The crichton visual analogue scale for the assessment of behavior in the elderly. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 68, 408–413.Google Scholar
Mui, A. C. (1996). Geriatric depression scale as a community screening instrument for elderly chinese immigrants. International Psychogeriatrics, 8, 445–458.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
National Statistics (2013). Resident Population by 5-year, 10-year Age Group. Taiwan: Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics. Available at: http://www-958.ibm.com/software/data/cognos/manyeyes/datasets/resident-population-by-5-year10-year/versions/1; last accessed 19 July 2014.Google Scholar
Okumiya, K., Matsubayashi, K., Wada, T., Kimura, S., Doi, Y. and Ozawa, T. (1996). Effects of exercise on neurobehavioral function in community-dwelling older people more than 75 years of age. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 44, 569–572.Google Scholar
Phongsavan, P., Chey, T., Bauman, A., Brooks, R. and Silove, D. (2006). Social capital, socio-economic status and psychological distress among Australian adults. Social Science & Medicine, 63, 2546–2561. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2006.06.021.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Podsiadlo, D. and Richardson, S. (1991). The timed Up & Go: a test of basic functional mobility for frail elderly persons. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 39, 142–148.Google Scholar
Rowe, J. W. and Kahn, R. L. (1997). Successful aging. Gerontologist, 37, 433–440.Google Scholar
Russell, C., Hill, B. and Basser, M. (1998). Older people's lives in the inner city: hazardous or rewarding? Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 22, 98–106.Google Scholar
Sakamoto, R. et al. (2011). Subjective quality of life in older community-dwelling adults in the kingdom of Bhutan and Japan. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 59, 2157–2159. doi: 10.1111/j.1532-5415.2011.03638.x.Google Scholar
Sampson, R. J., Raudenbush, S. W. and Earls, F. (1997). Neighborhoods and violent crime: a multilevel study of collective efficacy. Science, 277, 918–924.Google Scholar
Sheikh, J. I. and Yesavage, J. A. (1986). Geriatric depression scale (GDS): recent evidence and development of a shorter version. In: Brink, T. L. (ed.), Clinical Gerontology: A Guide to Assessment and Intervention (pp. 165–173). New York: Haworth Press.Google Scholar
Weiner, D. K., Duncan, P. W., Chandler, J. and Studenski, S. A. (1992). Functional reach: a marker of physical frailty. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 40, 203–207.Google Scholar
Yesavage, J. A. (1988). Geriatric depression scale. Psychopharmacology Bulletin, 24, 709–711.Google Scholar
Young, A. F., Russell, A. and Powers, J. F. (2004). The sense of belonging to a neighborhood: can it be measured and is it related to health and well being in older women? Social Science & Medicine, 59, 2627–2637. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2004.05.001.Google Scholar
Ziersch, A. M., Baum, F. E., MacDougall, C. and Putland, C. (2005). Neighborhood life and social capital: the implications for health. Social Science & Medicine, 60, 71–86. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2004.04.027.Google Scholar