Do Walking-Friendly Built Environments Influence Frailty and Long-Term Care Insurance Service Needs?

Seigo Mitsutake, Tatsuro Ishizaki, Yuri Yokoyama, Mariko Nishi, Mohammad Javad Koohsari, Koichiro Oka, Shohei Yano, Takumi Abe and Akihiko Kitamura
Additional contact information
Seigo Mitsutake: Human Care Research Team, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Tokyo 173-0015, Japan
Tatsuro Ishizaki: Human Care Research Team, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Tokyo 173-0015, Japan
Yuri Yokoyama: Research Team for Social Participation and Community Health, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Tokyo 173-0015, Japan
Mariko Nishi: Research Team for Social Participation and Community Health, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Tokyo 173-0015, Japan
Mohammad Javad Koohsari: Faculty of Sport Sciences, Waseda University, Saitama 359-1192, Japan
Koichiro Oka: Faculty of Sport Sciences, Waseda University, Saitama 359-1192, Japan
Shohei Yano: Human Care Research Team, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Tokyo 173-0015, Japan
Takumi Abe: Integrated Research Initiative for Living Well with Dementia, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Tokyo 173-0015, Japan
Akihiko Kitamura: Research Team for Social Participation and Community Health, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Tokyo 173-0015, Japan

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 10, 1-11

Abstract: Our study examined the associations between neighborhood walkability, frailty, and the incidence of long-term care insurance (LTCI) service needs using a prospective cohort survey in a suburban town in Japan. The final sample for analyses comprised 2867 community-dwelling older adults (mean age: 73.0 years). Neighborhood walkability was measured using the Walk Score ® . A total of 387 participants (13.5%) exhibited frailty. The odds of frailty, adjusted for the covariates (sex, age, educational status, marital status, residential status, employment status, subjective economic status) among participants who lived in somewhat walkable/very walkable areas, was 0.750 (95% Confidence Interval, CI: 0.597–0.943) versus those who lived in car-dependent areas. During the 23-month follow-up, 102 participants needed LTCI services (19.0 per 1000 person-years), 41 of whom (21.0 per 1000 person-years) lived in car-dependent areas, and 61 of whom (17.9 per 1000 person-years) lived in somewhat walkable/very walkable areas. As compared with participants who lived in car-dependent areas, the incidence of LTCI service needs was not significantly lower than that of those who lived in somewhat walkable/very walkable areas. Walk Score ® can provide the critical information for the strategies to improve walkability and prevent older adults’ frailty in less walkable areas, contributing to achieving the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Keywords: health services for the aged; built environment; dependency; urban design (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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