Table 1.
Comparison of covariates, hand and cognitive variables among age categories (N = 326)
| Variables | Age categories | p-value | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60–64 (n = 54) | 65–69 (n = 104) | 70–74 (n = 101) | ≥ 75 (n = 67) | ||
| Years of education | 14.4 ± 2.5 | 13.4 ± 2.2 | 13.3 ± 2.5⁎ | 12.8 ± 2.7⁎ | 0.004 |
| TMIG-IC | 12.2 ± 0.8 | 12.3 ± 0.9 | 12.4 ± 0.9 | 12.2 ± 1.3 | 0.645 |
| GDS | 2.3 ± 2.1 | 3.1 ± 2.5 | 2.5 ± 2.3 | 3.0 ± 2.3 | 0.09 |
| Heart disease, n (%) | 2 (3.7) | 1 (1.0) | 11 (10.9) | 7 (10.4) | 0.012a |
| Diabetes, n (%) | 2 (3.7) | 9 (8.7) | 6 (5.9) | 5 (7.5) | 0.670a |
| Hypertension, n (%) | 11 (20.4) | 23 (22.1) | 27 (26.7) | 28 (41.8) | 0.020a |
| Stroke, n (%) | 3 (5.6) | 6 (5.8) | 5 (5.0) | 3 (4.5) | 0.983a |
| Hand motor variables, mean ± SD | |||||
| Handgrip strength (Kg) | 23.4 ± 4.7 | 22.6 ± 5.3 | 22.9 ± 7.0 | 20.9 ± 6.3 | 0.104 |
| PPT (Number of pegs) | 14.5 ± 1.5 | 13.7 ± 2.1 | 13.1 ± 1.9⁎ | 11.9 ± 1.9⁎,†,‡ | < 0.001 |
| Cognitive variables, mean ± SD | |||||
| MMSE | 29.2 ± 0.9 | 28.8 ± 1.3 | 28.9 ± 1.0 | 28.6 ± 1.3⁎ | 0.023 |
| TMT-A | 30.2 ± 7.7 | 35.3 ± 13.2 | 37.9 ± 11.1⁎ | 43.2 ± 12.4⁎,†,‡ | < 0.001 |
| TMT-B | 74.5 ± 18.6 | 91.9 ± 37.6⁎ | 107.4 ± 39.9⁎,† | 121.6 ± 40.8⁎,† | < 0.001 |
| Digit symbolb | 67.7 ± 9.3 | 60.2 ± 13.8 | 55.3 ± 10.9⁎ | 45.6 ± 8.4⁎,†,‡ | < 0.001 |
Values are expressed as mean ± SD
TMIG-IC Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology - Index of Competence, GDS Geriatric Depression Scale, MMSE Mini-Mental State Examination, TMT Trail Making Test
Bonferroni correction for post-hoc tests: *p < 0.008 vs. 60–64; †p < 0.008 vs. 65–69; ‡p < 0.008 vs. 70–74
aThe Chi-square test was performed
bThe total number of subjects analyzed was 207