Life expectancy at the age of 65 years and environmental factors: An ecological study in Japan

The purpose of this study was to examine the factors associated with life expectancy at the age of 65 years used as the index of longevity, using published data in Japan. Life expectancy at the age of 65 years was obtained from the 19th life table in 2000 published by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan. The associations between life expectancy at the age of 65 years and environmental factors were assessed by Spearman correlation coefficients. Life expectancy at the age of 65 years was higher in females (22.54 years) than in males (17.42 years). In this study, the number of public health nurses and leisure time per day were found significantly associated with life expectancy at the age of 65 years in both men and women. For men, life expectancy at the age of 65 years was significantly associated with leisure time for sports and exercises and higher proportion of participation in volunteer activities in the community; for women, it was associated with a higher number of hospitals and proportion of participation in educational classes for the aged. Our ecological study might provide some clues to more practical planning for longevity in consideration of gender differences.