The purpose of this study was to investigate the ADL ability characteristics of the elderly by comparing the characteristics to achieve basic activities between the independent and institutionalized dependent elderly from the viewpoints of gender and age differences. The subjects were 697 Japanese dependent elderly living at welfare institutions for the aged, and 482 independent elderly living at home. Seventy-four activities were selected from nine ADL domains. The survey for the independent elderly was conducted in health or culture education classes, and for the elderly without these classes, a general delivery survey was conducted. The independent elderly provided their own data. The survey for the dependent elderly was conducted in welfare institutions and the staff working at the subjects' institutions responded. In two-way ANOVA of rates of items, significant gender differences were found in some changing and holding posture activities in the independent elderly group, and in activities using upper extremities in the dependent elderly group. ADL ability in the independent elderly group significantly decreases with aging, but this trend is unclear in the dependent elderly group. In the independent elderly group, indications of a decrease appear in activities with lower limbs from the 70s, and appear in the most of basic activities from the 80s. Furthermore, differences in achievement levels of each activity with aging were found in both elderly groups. These findings may suggest that there are remarkable individual differences in ADL ability of the elderly with aging.

This study aimed to examine the trial-to-trial reliability and sex differences in a foot pressure load balance test and its relationship to physical characteristics in 396 preschool children (201 boys and 195 girls). The subjects were asked to maintain an upright standing posture for 10 seconds three times on the Footview Clinic, an instrument designed to calculate the right-left and anterior-posterior ratios of foot pressure load. The ratios of the left and anterior foot pressure loads in right and left feet were selected as variables. Intra-class correlation coefficients between the second and third trials in all variables were high (intra-class correlation coefficients = 0.70 - 0.90). The above variables showed insignificant sex differences and little relationships with physique. When measuring foot pressure load balance, it is desirable to use a mean of the second and third trials as a representative

BackgroundThis study compared the effects of barefoot policy, a policy instructing preschool children to go without shoes, on untouched-toes, which do not touch the ground while standing normally, of preschool children attending kindergartens that follow this rule, to preschooler in kindergartens where they must wear shoes, i.e., no-barefoot policy.MethodsThe study used longitudinal data from measurements taken 2 years apart of the amount of times. The subjects were 59 children (34 boys and 25 girls) who went to a kindergarten that followed barefoot policy and 179 children (103 boys and 76 girls) who went to a kindergarten that did not follow barefoot policy. Images were taken of the contact surface area of the soles of the children’s feet by having them stand on the measurement device with their bare feet.ResultsThe number of untouched-toes in children participating in the study was determined from the pictures. In boys who attended kindergartens following barefoot policy, the ratio of the children without untouched-toes significantly increased for 2 years of childhood (35.3–64.7 %). The number of untouched-toes were significantly fewer in boys from kindergartens following barefoot policy than in boys from kindergartens not following the policy, and the magnitude of the difference grew for the two study years (ES: 0.41–0.63). In girls, there were no significant differences between the two groups in the ratio of girls without untouched-toes and the number of untouched-toes.ConclusionsIn conclusion, the ground contact of the toes becomes better for boys in kindergarten with a barefoot policy. The results were inconclusive with regard to girls, and other factors may need to be examined. In the future, it will be necessary to increase the number of the subjects and perform detailed examinations.

Many elderly people experience difficulty with independent living after injuries associated with falls. This study aimed to examine the influence of fall characteristics and physical function level on the severity of fall related injuries. The surveys were conducted in 1,955 community dwelling elderly. The questions regarded the following: fall experience within the past year, fall direction, fall cause, injured parts and degree of injury, and an activity of daily living (ADL) questionnaire from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Japan. Data of 1,850 subjects with available and complete responses were used for analysis. Three hundred eighty-six (20.9%) elderly people experienced a fall within the past year and 257 (66.7%) were injured. ADL score was significantly higher in the elderly without fall experience than the elderly with fall experience. No significant difference was found in frequency of fall cause and fall direction between the elderly with and without injuries caused by falling. Significant correlations were found between fall direction and fall cause and injured parts (φ = 0.49 and 0.32). ADL score of the elderly who fell by leg backlash was significantly lower than that of the elderly who fell by tripping, slipping and staggering. A decrease of ADL affects the rate of falls in the elderly, but not the degree of injury. Fall characteristics may not be related to the extent of fall injury.

Age and gender differences in ADL ability were investigated using 568 Japanese partially dependent older people (PD, Mean age=82.2± ± ± ±7.76 years) living in welfare institutions. The subjects were asked about 17 ADL items representing 7 ADL domains by the professional staff working at subjects' institutions. Each item was assessed by a dichotomous scale of "possible" or "impossible". Item proportions of "possible" response were calculated for gender and age groups (60s, 70s, 80s and 90s). Two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) using the arcsine transformation method indicated no gender differences. Significant decreases in ADL ability with aging were found in 13 of the 17 items. The dependency of ADL in the PD significantly increases with aging, and there is no significant difference in this trend between men and women. The dependency of more difficult activities using lower limb increase from the 70s, and independency of lowdifficult activities such as manual activities, feeding and changing posture while lying is maintained until the 80s and over.