高齡者日常活動與認知功能之關係

Daily Activities and Cognitive Functions in the Elderly

目的：本研究從持續性觀點來探討老人日常作息活動與認知功能的相關性。方法：以南 台灣地區65 歲以上的社區老人，經隨機抽樣選取符合資格的受訪樣本進行面訪，採回溯性 橫斷研究法，以SPMSQ 量表所測之認知功能得分並經年齡與性別配對選取個案組與對照組 分別為87 人與261 人，總樣本數為348 人。以流行病學風險估計值及邏吉斯迴歸分析認知 功能障礙問題可歸因於不從事戶外活動或日常作息的機率。結果：老人從事日常獨立活動或 戶外社交活動均有助於認知功能的維護，其中藝術相關活動可緩解30% 的認知功能損害機 率，而健身與社區交誼活動約可降低17% 的危險性。結論：本研究在控制樣本基本特性並 經多變量分析結果顯示，老人從事多樣性活動有利於認知功能的維持，從健康續航性來看， 老人能維持平常既有的日常活動就是最佳的養生之道，本研究結果亦可為政府推動老人社區 相關政策的參考。

Objectives: This study was to examine the relationship between activities in the daily lives of elderly people and the maintenance of cognitive function. Methods: The subjects in this study were community-dwelling senior citizens aged over 65 years living in southern Taiwan. Using a retrospective cross-sectional study approach, the subjects were screened according to cognitive function to assemble a case study group comprising individuals who revealed poorly cognitive function on the Portable Mental Status Questionnaire. A control group was formed using age-and gender-pairing, resulting in having 87 subjects in the case study and 261 subjects in the control group. Face-to-face interviews were conducted to investigate engagement in solitary activities, formal activities, and informal activities. Results: Engagement in either solitary or social activities was found to have buffering effects of cognitive function. Novel arts-related activities showed to reduce the risk of cognitive function declined by about 30% (EF = 0.30); exercising or engaging in community recreational activities decreased the risk by about 17% (EF = 0.17). After controlling for the factors of basic characteristics of the subjects, multivariate analysis showed that participation in diverse daily activities was significantly beneficial in reducing damage to the cognitive function of elder individuals. Conclusion: Solitary activities were found to be relatively effective in protecting cognitive function. Continual engagement in regular daily activities is one of the best ways for senior citizens’ health outcome. Successful aging also requires the support of diverse daily activities. These findings could provide a reference for the development of policy-related to the aging population of Taiwan.