ABSTRACT
A study was conducted to determine the characteristics of the elderly who do not participate in health examinations, and to obtain basic health data on the elderly for developing a community health care plan. Elderly persons aged 60 or over who had not participated in mass health examinations in 1991 were interviewed regarding their conditions of activities of daily living (ADLs), and medical treatment, and their blood pressure was measured. Participation rate for health examinations in the elderly was 66%. Of the total 245 elderly who did not participate in health examinations, data from 215 (88%; 92 men and 123 women) were obtained. 1) The average age of the elderly who did not participate in health examinations was 3 years higher in men and 5 years higher in women than that of those who did participate (p < 0.01), and there were a larger number of persons aged 80 years or over. 2) The percentage of persons with a history of adult diseases such as cardiovascular disease was 63% which was 10% higher than those who participated in examinations (p < 0.01). 3) The percentage of persons requiring help in walking and/or mobility (13%) and bathing (10%) was higher than those who participated in examinations (p < 0.01). For seeing and hearing there were no differences between groups in the percentage of disabled persons. 4) There were more hypertensive people (> 160/95 mmHg) in those who did not participate in examinations (p < 0.01), but the percentage of the people who needed treatment (> 180/100 mmHg) was not different.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
