Abstract
This study investigated the relationships among lifestyle, functional capacity and social attributes that influenced independence over a period of 2 years. The subjects were 223 elderly people (average age:76.4 years) living on Amami Island who were independent in Instrumental Activities of daily Living (IADL) at the baseline survey conducted in 2005. The survey was conducted by interviews. There were 22 items for lifestyle, 13 items for functional capacity and 5 items for social attributes in the survey. The percentage of subjects who were independent in IADL at the time of the follow-up survey was 75.4%. Logistic regression analysis was carried out to determine the degrees to which factors influenced independence. The results suggest that efforts to maintain social lifestyle and functional capacity may be useful for maintaining active independence in the elderly.
