Abstract
Lifestyle-related diseases among the elderly have been brought to light by many investigaters. However, it remains unclear whether age-related frailty in the basic activities of daily living (ADLs) affects mortality independently of lifestyle. To clarify the relationship of lifestyle and frailty to elderly mortality, we conducted a three-year prospective study on 66 elderly people with reduced vital functions newly certified as requiring nursing care (frail elderly) and 72 elderly people living on their own (independent elderly) in Unnan City, Shimane Prefecture. The mortality rate for the frail elderly tended to be higher than for the independent elderly. However, this difference was not statistically significant. Gender was the only factor related to mortality in the frail elderly, who had advanced frailty. Furthermore, mortality rates were significantly higher for men than women. No relationship was observed between lifestyle and frailty. In the independent elderly, smoking and unstable gait, respectively, were significantly related to mortality. The present findings indicate that lifestyle and frailty are independently related to elderly mortality.
