Suzuki M, Shimamoto Y, Kawamura I, Takahasi H
School of Nursing, Hamamatsu University, Japan.
J Gerontol Nurs. 1997 Jan;23(1):41-8. doi: 10.3928/0098-9134-19970101-12.
The number of elderly people in the world is increasing at a remarkable rate and the rate of aging in Japan is the world's highest. According to a statistical survey done in 1994, people over 65 years of age constitute 14.1% of the Japanese population. In addition, the Japanese average life expectancy in 1991 was the highest in the world, reaching 76.1 years for men and 82.1 years for women. A prominent health problem among elderly people is immobility which can result in elderly patients becoming bedridden (Eto, 1992). Recently, the problem of falls among the frail elderly has received increased interest. Although fall mortality in the Japanese elderly was not as high as those of France or the United States (Rockett & Smith, 1989), falls lead to deterioration in the health and physical status of the elderly. If falls could be reduced among the elderly, many of the health problems attributed to immobility among the Japanese elderly would be reduced. Some falls have a single and obvious cause, but most appear to result from several factors. With better knowledge of the causes and risk factors for falls among the elderly, effective preventive measures can be instituted (Tinetti, Speechley, & Ginter, 1988; Ryynanen, 1994; Teno, Kiel, & Mor 1990). There are few studies concerning falls among the institutionalized elderly (Haga, Shibata, Shichida, Matsuzaki, & Hatano, 1986) and community-dwelling elderly in Japan (Yasumura et al., 1994; Niino et al., 1995; Suzuki et al., 1991, 1992; Suzuki, Yamada, Takahashi, & Tsuchiya, 1991; Suzuki, Yamada, & Tsuchiya, 1993). The purpose of this study was to investigate falls among the elderly, selected at random, who live in Koga, a city in eastern Japan.
世界上老年人的数量正以惊人的速度增长，而日本的老龄化速度是世界上最高的。根据1994年进行的一项统计调查，65岁以上的人口占日本人口的14.1%。此外，1991年日本的平均预期寿命是世界上最高的，男性达到76.1岁，女性达到82.1岁。老年人中一个突出的健康问题是行动不便，这可能导致老年患者卧床不起（Eto，1992）。最近，体弱老年人跌倒的问题受到了越来越多的关注。尽管日本老年人的跌倒死亡率不像法国或美国那么高（Rockett & Smith，1989），但跌倒会导致老年人的健康和身体状况恶化。如果能减少老年人的跌倒，许多归因于日本老年人行动不便的健康问题将会减少。一些跌倒有单一且明显的原因，但大多数似乎是由多种因素导致的。随着对老年人跌倒原因和风险因素的深入了解，可以制定有效的预防措施（Tinetti、Speechley和Ginter，1988；Ryynanen，1994；Teno、Kiel和Mor，1990）。关于日本机构养老老年人（Haga、Shibata、Shichida、Matsuzaki和Hatano，1986）以及社区居住老年人跌倒的研究很少（Yasumura等人，1994；Niino等人，1995；Suzuki等人，1991、1992；Suzuki、Yamada、Takahashi和Tsuchiya，1991；Suzuki、Yamada和Tsuchiya，1993）。本研究的目的是调查居住在日本东部城市古河的随机抽取的老年人的跌倒情况。
