2012 Volume 16 Issue 1 Pages 44-50
In this study, we compared the physical, cognitive, and psychological functions of 146 elderly people with musculoskeletal ambulation disability symptom complex (MADS) (comprised of 14 males and 132 females, with an average age of 78.0±5.6) and 376 elderly people without it (comprised of 90 males and 286 females, with an average age of 71.2±7.0). The study was basic research for providing effective home care to prolong healthy life expectancy. We tested physical functions, such as walking ability (walking speed and the time it takes to walk along a 10-m obstacle course) and muscle strength (grip and quadriceps strength), cognitive functions with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Trail Making Test (TMT), and psychological functions, such as subjective health perception, life satisfaction, and quality of life. The results showed that elderly people with MADS were significantly older and comprised more females. On comparison by using analysis of covariance with adjustment for age and gender, significant differences were detected in walking ability (walking speed and the time it takes to walk along a 10-m obstacle course) and subjective health perception, but not in other categories. From these findings, we clarified that elderly people suffering from musculoskeletal ambulation disability symptom complex (MADS) have characteristic features of a reduced walking ability and a feeling of uncertainty about their health.
