2002 Volume 56 Issue 4 Pages 682-692
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine gender and age-related differences in life style such as exercise and dietary habits etc., health conditions and unidentified complaints in healthy older-aged people.
Method: A questionnaire consisting of 40 items on life style and 16 items on unidentified complaints was administered to 890 people aged 60 to 89 in the community (304 males and 586 females). The proportions of gender and age-range for each item were computed, and a two-way analysis of variance based on the Lancaster method was applied.
Results: Most of the aged spend their time living regularly and have leisure activities. The smoking and drinking rates for males are higher than those for females in all age-ranges. The aged exercise more than one or two days a week for both sexes. Many aged males have exercised more than three days a week and/or for more than seven years. Most of the aged have regular dietary habits and there are many males who are careful to eat appropriate portion sizes. Females have more interest in food in the higher age-ranges, but tend to control meal-portions voluntarily. The rate of seeing a doctor regularly and having fractures increases in the higher age-ranges. The rates of arthritis and neuralgia are higher for females than for males. More females complain of ‘eyes have grown blurred’ and ‘pain and swelling in a joint’ and males complain more of ‘cough and phlegm’ and ‘feel very thirsty’.
Conclusion: Gender and age-related differences exist in most life style items for healthy old-aged people, and there is little in the way of age-related differences in the content of unidentified complaints.
