Research article

Comparison of performance-based measures among native Japanese, Japanese-Americans in Hawaii and Caucasian women in the United States, ages 65 years and over: a cross-sectional study

Kiyoshi Aoyagi¹ , Philip D Ross² , Michael C Nevitt³ , James W Davis⁴ , Richard D Wasnich⁴ , Takuo Hayashi⁵ and Tai-ichiro Takemoto¹

¹  Department of Public Health, Nagasaki University School of Medicine, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki 852-8523, Japan

²  Merck & Co., Inc., 126 East Lincoln Ave., RY32-521, Rahway, NJ07065, USA

³  Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, 74 New Montgomery St. Suite 600, San Francisco, CA 94105, USA

⁴  Hawaii Osteoporosis Center, 401 Kamakee St. Honolulu, HI 96814, USA

⁵  Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Mitsugi Public General Hospital, 124 Ichi, Mitsugi-cho, Hiroshima 722-393, Japan

author email corresponding author email

BMC Geriatrics 2001, 1:3doi:10.1186/1471-2318-1-3

Published:	22 October 2001

Abstract

Background

Japanese (both in Japan and Hawaii) have a lower incidence of falls and of hip fracture than North American and European Caucasians, but the reasons for these differences are not clear.

Subjects and Methods

A cross-sectional study. We compared neuromuscular risk factors for falls using performance-based measures (chair stand time, usual and rapid walking speed, and grip strength) among 163 Japanese women in Japan, 681 Japanese-American women in Hawaii and 9403 Caucasian women in the United States aged 65 years and over.

Results

After adjusting for age, the Caucasian women required about 40% more time to complete 5 chair stands than either group of Japanese. Walking speed was about 10% slower among Caucasians than native Japanese, whereas Japanese-American women in Hawaii walked about 11% faster than native Japanese. Grip strength was greatest in Japan, which may reflect the rural farming district that this sample was drawn from. Additional adjustment for height, weight or body mass index increased the adjusted means of chair stand time and grip strength among Japanese, but the differences remained significant.

Conclusions

Both native Japanese and Japanese-American women in Hawaii performed better than Caucasians on chair stand time and walking speed tests, and native Japanese had greater grip strength than Japanese in Hawaii and Caucasians. The biological implications of these differences in performance are uncertain, but may be useful in planning future comparisons between populations.