TY - JOUR
T1 - Association between single limb standing test results and healthcare costs among community-dwelling older adults
AU - Tominaga, Ryoji
AU - Yamazaki, Shin
AU - Fukuma, Shingo
AU - Goto, Rei
AU - Sekiguchi, Miho
AU - Otani, Koji
AU - Iwabuchi, Masumi
AU - Shirado, Osamu
AU - Fukuhara, Shunichi
AU - Konno, Shin ichi
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors thank the participants of the LOHAS. This project was supported by grants from the Institute for Health Outcomes and Process Evaluation Research (iHope International), the Fukushima Society for the Promotion of Medicine, and Fukushima Prefectural Hospitals. The authors also thank Dr. Joseph Green for reviewing this manuscript and providing us with thoughtful suggestions. We also would like to thank Editage ( www.editage.com ) for English language editing.
Funding Information:
This study was supported by grants from the Institute for Health Outcomes and Process Evaluation Research (iHope International) , the Fukushima Society for the Promotion of Medicine , and Fukushima Prefectural Hospitals . The funding sources had no role in the investigation.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 The Author(s)
PY - 2021/1/1
Y1 - 2021/1/1
N2 - Background and objective: Identifying risks for older adults who will require healthcare resources is critical for the government, healthcare providers, and consumers. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between the results of the single limb standing (SLS) test and healthcare costs among community-dwelling older adults. Methods: We used data obtained from a population-based prospective cohort study of the residents of Tadami town in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. The participants were above 60 years of age and had undergone annual health check-ups, and data on their healthcare costs over the two-year study period were available. A censored regression model adjusted for potential confounders was used to estimate the mean difference in total healthcare costs between participants who could remain standing on a single limb for at least 30 s and those who could not. Results: Healthcare costs of participants who passed the SLS test were significantly lower than those who did not. The mean difference between the two groups’ healthcare costs was 4064 USD (95 % confidence interval: 2661–5467 USD, p < 0.05). After adjusting for potential confounders, the mean difference between the two groups was smaller (1686 USD) but remained statistically significant (95 % confidence interval: 125–3246 USD, p < 0.05). Conclusions: Among community-dwelling older adults, limited static balance (SLS time <30 s) was found to be associated with high healthcare costs in the two years after the SLS test. The SLS test may help identify individuals at high risk of becoming frequent users of healthcare services in the future.
AB - Background and objective: Identifying risks for older adults who will require healthcare resources is critical for the government, healthcare providers, and consumers. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between the results of the single limb standing (SLS) test and healthcare costs among community-dwelling older adults. Methods: We used data obtained from a population-based prospective cohort study of the residents of Tadami town in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. The participants were above 60 years of age and had undergone annual health check-ups, and data on their healthcare costs over the two-year study period were available. A censored regression model adjusted for potential confounders was used to estimate the mean difference in total healthcare costs between participants who could remain standing on a single limb for at least 30 s and those who could not. Results: Healthcare costs of participants who passed the SLS test were significantly lower than those who did not. The mean difference between the two groups’ healthcare costs was 4064 USD (95 % confidence interval: 2661–5467 USD, p < 0.05). After adjusting for potential confounders, the mean difference between the two groups was smaller (1686 USD) but remained statistically significant (95 % confidence interval: 125–3246 USD, p < 0.05). Conclusions: Among community-dwelling older adults, limited static balance (SLS time <30 s) was found to be associated with high healthcare costs in the two years after the SLS test. The SLS test may help identify individuals at high risk of becoming frequent users of healthcare services in the future.
KW - Healthcare costs
KW - Older adults
KW - Single limb standing test
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U2 - 10.1016/j.archger.2020.104256
DO - 10.1016/j.archger.2020.104256
M3 - Article
C2 - 32979551
AN - SCOPUS:85091207035
SN - 0167-4943
VL - 92
JO - Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics
JF - Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics
M1 - 104256
ER -