Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Jan;23(1):3-10.
doi: 10.1111/psyg.12893. Epub 2022 Oct 9.

Implications of refrigerator management on subjective memory complaints among Japanese community-dwelling older adults

Yuriko Ikeda  1 , Michio Maruta  2   3 , Gwanghee Han  2   4 , Hironori Miyata  5   6 , Atsushi Nakamura  7 , Suguru Shimokihara  5 , Takayuki Tabira  1
Affiliations

Implications of refrigerator management on subjective memory complaints among Japanese community-dwelling older adults

Yuriko Ikeda et al. Psychogeriatrics. 2023 Jan.

Abstract

Aim: Older adults with subjective memory complaints (SMC) may experience very minor difficulties in daily activities. Although caregivers and occupational therapists who support community-dwelling older adults are aware of the existence of characteristic behaviours related to refrigerator management, no specific studies have been conducted. This study aimed to examine the implications of refrigerator management for older adults with SMC.

Methods: A self-administered questionnaire was sent to 3000 randomly selected members of Consumer's Co-operative Kagoshima. Of the returned responses, a total of 282 older adults were analyzed. Analyzed subjects were divided into two groups: SMC (+) group (n = 74) and SMC (-) group (n = 192). A questionnaire was created by four occupational therapists and used to assess the characteristics of analyzed subjects and their abilities to manage the refrigerator. The observation list for early signs of dementia was also utilised. A multiple logistic analysis was performed to examine the association between SMC and refrigerator management.

Results: The SMC (+) group had a significantly higher number of refrigerator management errors than the SMC (-) group (P = 0.008). The SMC (+) group had more errors than the SMC (-) group in the following four items regarding refrigerator management; the refrigerator has a lot of the same foods / expired food, the person does not know what's in the refrigerator, the person cannot find what he/she needs in the refrigerator. Moreover, SMC was associated with the item 'the person does not know what is in the refrigerator' (odds ratio 7.44, 95% CI 1.51-43.8, P = 0.02).

Conclusions: Our results showed that older adults with SMC had several problems regarding refrigerator management. Evaluating refrigerator management among older adults with SMC may help consider multifaceted support.

Keywords: early support; instrumental activities of daily living; older adults; subjective memory complaints.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

REFERENCES

    1. Blazer DG, Hays JC, Fillenbaum GG, Gold DT. Memory complaints as a predictor of cognitive decline: a comparison of African American and white elders. J Aging Health 1997; 9: 171-184.
    1. Abdulrab K, Heun R. Subjective memory impairment. A review of its definitions indicates the need for a comprehensive set of standardized and validated criteria. Eur Psychiatry 2008; 23: 321-330.
    1. Mitchell AJ, Beaumont H, Ferguson D, Yadegarfar M, Stubbs B. Risk of dementia and mild cognitive impairment in older people with subjective memory complaints: meta-analysis. Acta Psychiatr Scand 2014; 130: 439-451.
    1. Tsutsumimoto K, Makizako H, Doi T et al. Subjective memory complaints are associated with incident dementia in cognitively intact older people, but not in those with cognitive impairment: a 24-month prospective cohort study. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry 2017; 25: 607-616.
    1. Jonker C, Geerlings M, Schmand B. Are memory complaints predictive for dementia? A review of clinical and population-based studies. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry 2000; 15: 983-991.

LinkOut - more resources