Abstract
This study aims to clarify the factors associated with the gradual withdrawal from society in older adults. We defined the stages of follow-up difficulty based on four follow-up surveys on non-respondents of longitudinal mail surveys in community-dwelling older adults to examine the main factors associated with the stages of follow-up difficulty. We conducted a follow-up mail survey (FL1) with respondents of a baseline survey, and three more follow-up surveys with the non-respondents of each previous survey: simplified mail (FL2), postcard (FL3), and home visit surveys (FL4). The respondents of each follow-up survey were defined as a stage of follow-up difficulty; their characteristics concerning social participation and interaction at baseline in each stage were analyzed. The number of respondents in the FL1, FL2, FL3, and FL4 stages and non-respondents (NR) were as follows: 2,361; 462; 234; 84; and 101, respectively. Participation in hobby groups in FL2 and FL3, sports groups in FL4, and neighborhood association and social isolation in NR were significantly associated with the stage of follow-up difficulty. Based on these results, we conclude that the following factors are associated with each stage of follow-up difficulty: 1) a decline in instrumental activities of daily living in the FL2 and FL3 stages, 2) dislike for participating in physical activity such as sports in the FL4 stage, and 3) social isolation, not even belonging to a neighborhood association due to low social interaction in the NR group.
Highlights
Many studies have been conducted on the characteristics of those who drop out of a longitudinal study to assess the representativeness of participants in follow-up surveys [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]
These studies have reported that individuals who drop out of a longitudinal study often have characteristics such as poor health status, low socio-economic status—for example, poor education and economic status—and low social participation
Many previous studies have suggested that respondents’ tendency to drop out from a longitudinal study may be affected by poor health and socio-economic status at the baseline survey [1, 3,4,5, 19, 20]
Summary
Many studies have been conducted on the characteristics of those who drop out of a longitudinal study to assess the representativeness of participants in follow-up surveys [1,2,3,4,5,6,7] These studies have reported that individuals who drop out of a longitudinal study often have characteristics such as poor health status, low socio-economic status—for example, poor education and economic status—and low social participation. For data sets involving personally identifiable information or other sensitive data, data sharing is contingent on the data being handled appropriately by the data requester and in accordance with all applicable local requirements
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