Factors Related to the Occurrence of Homeboundness Among Community-dwelling Frail Elderly Individuals / 日本プライマリ・ケア連合学会誌

ABSTRACT

Purpose: In this study, we performed a longitudinal examination of the occurrence of homeboundness among community-dwelling elderly individuals and changes in associated factors, including the sense of coherence (SOC).Methods: A questionnaire survey was conducted targeting community-dwelling elderly individuals to evaluate homebound status, a basic checklist (CL), and SOC. Among these individuals, frail elderly people who maintained a non-homebound state were extracted and a follow-up survey was carried out one year later. Those who maintained the non-homebound state one year later were classified into the maintenance group and those who became socially withdrawn were classified into the transition group. Factors predicting the homebound state one year later were examined using multiple logistic regression analysis. Furthermore, the changes in CL and SOC between the transition and maintenance groups were compared.Results: In the transition group, motor function, cognitive function, and sense of manageability on the initial survey were significantly lower than those in the maintenance group. Significant correlations were noted in the homebound transition group with lack of money management (OR 3.04, 95% CI 1.19-7.82) and a declined sense of manageability (OR 0.82, 95% CI 0.69-0.99). Depression and the sense of manageability had also significantly deteriorated one year later compared with those in the maintenance group.Conclusion: This study suggests that individuals who transition to a state of homeboundness have a slightly lower SOC than those who maintain their non-homebound status.