Japan is known for its population longevity, however, people should be aware that longevity with health is better than a longer life in bad health. This study made analysis of socio-economic backgrounds, sleep, depression, chronic disease, long-term care and lifestyle factors related to self-rated health (SRH) in community-dwelling elderly people in Japan.Cross-sectional research of community-dwelling elderly people was carried out in Mibu-town in Eastern Japan in 2015. 665 residents aged over 60 years old, participated in the study and completed a questionnaire. The results from SRH using a four-step scale were later categorized into two groups “Good and Poor” Health. Binary logistic regression was used to identify the factors associated with “Good” SRH.The average age of the participants was 71.3 years old (SD 6.5, range 60–98). 50.2% of those were female and 84.5% of them answered that they were healthy. The characteristics of “Good” in SRH were non long-term care, a feeling of satisfaction with life, nondepression, without cardiovascular or orthopedic disorders, without medication, having a regular exercise regime and keeping an active lifestyle.People subjectively felt that “Good” for their SRH was closely related to doing regular exercise themselves and by being active. Further, we found no associations between socio-economic backgrounds, living alone and quality of sleep. It was indicated, by the end of this study, that it is important to keep the elderly active as this enables them to gain a feeling of satisfaction in regards to their own personal health.
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