[Gender difference characteristics in the sociodemographic background of care recipients]

We compared gender differences in the sociodemographic characteristics of community-dwelling dependent elderly who use various community-based services under long-term care insurance programs, as well as in mortality, hospitalization, and institutionalization during a 3-year follow-up period.

We conducted a cross-sectional study using the baseline data of 1,875 care recipients from the Nagoya Longitudinal Study for Frail Elderly (NLS-FE), and a prospective study using their 3-year follow-up data. The data, which were collected at the patients' homes or from care-managing center records, included the clients' and caregivers' demographic characteristics, living arrangements, community-based services used, depression as assessed by the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15), a rating for basic activities of daily living (ADL), and comorbidities. The data included, at 3-year follow-up, all-cause mortality, hospitalization, and institutionalization.

Among 1,875 care recipients 66.3% were women. They had a higher rate of living alone (26.2% vs 14.6% in men), and a lower rate of receiving care by a spouse (22.1% vs. 73.6% of men). Although there were no differences in ADL levels or GDS-15 scores between genders, a higher Charlson comorbidity index, higher prevalence of cerebrovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and cancer were observed in the male care recipients. Kaplan-Meier analysis demonstrated that during the 3-year follow-up, higher mortality, hospitalization, and lower institutionalization rates were observed in men.

We observed that two thirds of care recipients were women. Compared with male recipients, female recipients were more likely to live alone, and to be cared for by non-spouse caregivers. Lower mortality and hospitalization, but higher institutionalization, were observed in female recipients.