Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2015, 12(10), 13365-13371; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph121013365
Geographic Elevation and Cognitive Function among Elderly Residents in Rural Mountainous Areas: Shimane CoHRE Study
1
Center for Community-Based Health Research and Education (CoHRE), Organization for the Promotion of Project Research, Shimane University, 223-8 Enya-cho, Izumo, Shimane 693-8501, Japan
2
Department of Neurology, Shimane University School of Medicine, 89-1 Enya-cho, Izumo, Shimane 693-8501, Japan
3
Center for Primary Health Care Research, Lund University, Clinical Research Centre (CRC), Building 28, floor 11, Jan Waldenströms gata 35, Skåne University Hospital, SE-205 02 Malmö, Sweden
4
Stanford Prevention Research Center, Stanford University, Medical School Office Building (MSOB), 251 Campus Drive MC 5411, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
5
Department of Functional Pathology, Shimane University School of Medicine, 89-1 Enya-cho, Izumo, Shimane 693-8501, Japan
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editor: Paul B. Tchounwou
Received: 16 September 2015 / Revised: 19 October 2015 / Accepted: 21 October 2015 / Published: 23 October 2015
Abstract
The aim of this study was to test whether there is an association between elevation and cognitive function among elderly residents in rural mountainous areas. Data were collected in 2012 from a cross-sectional study conducted in Ohnan Town, which is located in a rural mountainous area in the southern part of Shimane Prefecture, Japan. Cognitive function was evaluated using CADi (Cognitive Assessment for Dementia, iPad version) and elevation was estimated by using Geographic Information Systems according to the participant’s address. After excluding subjects with missing data, 866 participants were analyzed. After adjustment for potential confounding factors, higher elevation was significantly associated with decreased cognitive function. This finding suggests that it is important to consider the physical environment, i.e., elevation, that would affect accessibility to health-promoting goods, services, and resources when seeking to maintain cognitive function in elderly people living in rural mountainous areas. View Full-TextKeywords:
cognitive function; elevation; rural mountainous area; elderly people
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. (CC BY 4.0).
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Hamano, T.; Onoda, K.; Takeda, M.; Sundquist, K.; Yamaguchi, S.; Nabika, T. Geographic Elevation and Cognitive Function among Elderly Residents in Rural Mountainous Areas: Shimane CoHRE Study. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2015, 12, 13365-13371.
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