Department of Public Health, General Graduate School of Dankook University, Cheonan 31116, Republic of Korea.
Institute for Health & Medical Policy, Dankook University, Cheonan 31116, Republic of Korea.
Medicina (Kaunas). 2024 Jan 2;60(1):87. doi: 10.3390/medicina60010087.
: The older members of a population might experience unmet medical needs, despite desiring medical care due to activity limitations driven by their perception of aging. This study conducted a cross-sectional analysis of the association between perceived activity restriction (PAR) due to people's own perception of aging and unmet medical needs (UMN) in late middle-aged and older Koreans based on the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). : The 2016-2020 KNHANES was used to analyze a total of 2008 participants among groups aged 45 years or older by applying individual weights imposed from the raw data. The independent variable of PAR was assessed using self-reported questionnaires based on the global activity limitation indicator. Also, the dependent variable of UMN, referring to the state in which a patient's medical care or service was insufficient, inadequate, or lacking, was assessed using a single question. After excluding missing values, the data on 2008 individuals were analyzed using a chi-square test, weighted logistic regression, and a stratified analysis of gender, age, and the presence of chronic illnesses. : The group that experienced PAR had an OR 2.13 higher (odds ratio [OR]: 2.13; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.27-3.56) to present UMN than the group that did not experience PAR. Furthermore, the results of the stratified analysis indicated that, in the group of female participants with chronic illness and in the group of elderly people, experiencing PAR was associated with a higher experience of UMN. : There was a close association between PAR and UMN. In particular, when PAR occurred in the group of female participants with chronic illness and in the group of elderly people, the incidence rate of UMN was also found to be high. This finding highlights the need for policies and institutional measures to reduce UMN within vulnerable groups with an increased risk of medical inaccessibility due to activity restriction.
人口中的老年人可能存在未满足的医疗需求，尽管他们由于对衰老的感知而出现活动受限，渴望获得医疗保健。本研究基于韩国国民健康营养调查（KNHANES），对因自身衰老感知而导致的活动受限（PAR）与韩国中老年人群未满足的医疗需求（UMN）之间的关联进行了横断面分析。
使用 2016-2020 年 KNHANES 数据，通过对原始数据施加个体权重，对年龄在 45 岁及以上的 2008 名参与者进行了分析。PAR 的自变量通过基于全球活动受限指标的自我报告问卷进行评估。同时，UMN 的因变量（指患者医疗保健或服务不足、不充分或缺乏的状态）通过一个问题进行评估。排除缺失值后，对 2008 名个体的数据进行了卡方检验、加权逻辑回归和按性别、年龄和慢性病存在情况进行的分层分析。
经历 PAR 的组与未经历 PAR 的组相比，存在 UMN 的可能性高 2.13 倍（比值比 [OR]：2.13；95%置信区间 [CI]：1.27-3.56）。此外，分层分析的结果表明，在患有慢性病的女性参与者组和老年人群体中，经历 PAR 与 UMN 的发生密切相关。
PAR 与 UMN 之间存在密切关联。特别是在患有慢性病的女性参与者组和老年人群体中，PAR 的发生也与 UMN 的发生率较高有关。这一发现强调了需要制定政策和机构措施，以减少由于活动受限而导致医疗服务不可及的脆弱群体中的 UMN。
