Li C Y, Wu S C
Department of Public Health, College of Medicine, Fu Jen Catholic University, Taipei Hsien, Taiwan.
Neuroepidemiology. 1999;18(6):322-6. doi: 10.1159/000026227.
This study investigates the effects of cognitive impairment and loss of physical capacity on the survival rates of the elderly in Taiwan. Data used for this research were obtained from a longitudinal study in northern Taiwan, where 1,434 elderly respondents were randomly selected and were interviewed in 1993 and 1996. Respondents were categorized into four groups: those with physical disability, those with cognitive impairment, those with neither condition and those with both conditions. The survival rates of these four groups were analyzed and compared. The effects of cognitive impairment and physical disability were assessed separately and jointly. Within the study period, we found that elderly persons with both conditions had the lowest survival rate (0.54, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.35-0. 73), while those with neither condition had the most favorable survival rate (0.92, 95% CI 0.90-0.93). Results from the Cox proportional hazard model showed that physical disability had a significantly adverse effect on the risk of mortality (relative risk 2.5, 95% CI 1.5-4.2), while cognitive impairment did not. Our results are consistent with previous findings which have shown that the decline in physical function affects mortality more than the decline in cognitive function.
本研究调查了认知障碍和身体机能丧失对台湾老年人存活率的影响。本研究使用的数据来自台湾北部的一项纵向研究，该研究于1993年和1996年随机选取了1434名老年受访者并对其进行访谈。受访者被分为四组：身体残疾者、认知障碍者、无上述两种情况者以及兼具两种情况者。分析并比较了这四组的存活率。分别评估了认知障碍和身体残疾的影响，也评估了二者共同的影响。在研究期间，我们发现兼具两种情况的老年人存活率最低（0.54，95%置信区间（CI）0.35 - 0.73），而无上述两种情况者的存活率最为乐观（0.92，95%CI 0.90 - 0.93）。Cox比例风险模型的结果显示，身体残疾对死亡风险有显著的不利影响（相对风险2.5，95%CI 1.5 - 4.2），而认知障碍则不然。我们的结果与先前的研究结果一致，即身体机能下降比认知功能下降对死亡率的影响更大。
