Evidence of video call on preventing late-life depression during the COVID-19 pandemic is limited. We examined the associations of social contact (in-person, voice call, and video call) with ...incidence of depressive symptoms and evaluated whether specific factors (particularly, age and change in the frequency of in-person contact) affect these associations. We used longitudinal data from the 2019 and 2020 waves of the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study, including 10,523 participants aged ≥65 years in 10 municipalities. Depressive symptoms were measured by the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15) score ≥5 in main analysis, and GDS-15 score ≥4, 10, or continuous variable in sensitivity analyses. Social contact represented frequency changes before and during the pandemic: non-contact (reference), decreased-contact, maintained-contact, and increased-contact. We employed modified Poisson regression analysis. Compared to non-contact of video call, the association of increased-contact of video call with depressive symptoms was insignificant in main analysis (GDS-15 ≥ 5: risk ratio (RR) = 0.89, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.79–1.01), whereas significant in sensitivity analyses (GDS-15 ≥ 4: RR = 0.89, 95% CI: 0.82–0.98; GDS-15 ≥ 10: RR = 0.71, 95% CI: 0.53–0.97; GDS-15 = continuous variable: Β = −0.17, 95% CI: −0.33 to −0.002). In-person contact was significantly associated with lower incidence of depressive symptoms (non-contact: reference; maintained-contact: RR = 0.92, 95% CI: 0.85–0.99; increased-contact: RR = 0.84, 95% CI: 0.77–0.91), whereas voice call was not. Age and change in the frequency of in-person contact did not show significant effect modifications on the associations of video call with incidence of depressive symptoms after Bonferroni correction for multiple testing. In conclusion, this study suggests that the evidence supporting video call as a way to protect against depressive symptoms among older adults during the pandemic appears weak compared to the evidence for in-person contact.
•We examined association of social contact with late-life depression amid a pandemic.•In-person contact showed a robust association with lower depressive symptoms.•Video call did not show such a robust association as in-person contact.•Voice call was not associated with depressive symptoms.•Evidence of video call to prevent depression appears weaker than in-person contact.
There is a growing, but inconclusive, evidence on the beneficial influence of the Internet on the health/well-being of older people. This study aims to examine outcomes-wide associations between ...frequency of internet use and subsequent health/well-being among older individuals. We used the three-wave data (2013, 2016, and 2019) from the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study. Our exposure was frequency of internet use (not at all/use a few times a month/use a few times a week/use almost every day) in 2016. We assessed 34 health/well-being outcomes in 2019 across six dimensions. Pre-exposure characteristics and prior outcome levels in 2013 were adjusted. We included 5879 respondents for 4 outcomes (death, dementia, and functional disability) and 4232 respondents for 30 other outcomes. Using the Internet almost every day (vs. not using at all) in 2016 was associated with some outcomes in 2019 in three dimensions: physical/cognitive health (better instrumental activities of daily living), social well-being (more frequent participation in sports groups, meeting friends more frequently, and seeing more friends within a month), and health behaviors (receiving health screening) (p < 0.05 for these associations after Bonferroni correction). It was not associated with any outcomes of three other dimensions: psychological distress, subjective well-being, or pro-social/altruistic behaviors.
•We examine outcomes-wide associations between frequency of internet use and subsequent health/well-being among older people.•This is one of the first studies to investigate these relationships by leveraging the three-wave structure of the data.•Internet use was associated with some outcomes of physical/cognitive health, social well-being, and health behaviors.•It was associated with no outcome of psychological distress, subjective well-being, or pro-social/altruistic behaviors.
Abstract
Background
Participating in groups with diverse members is associated with improved health among older adults. The study examined the relationship between diversity of group members and ...needed support or long-term care.
Methods
We conducted a longitudinal study for the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study with 61,281 participants aged ≥ 65 years who were surveyed in 2013 and followed-up for six years. We assessed three dimensions of the diversity of the participating members (sex, age, and region of residence). We then graded the diversity level into four categories: level 0 (not in any group), level 1 (in a group without diversity or in a group with diversity in one of the three factors), level 2 (in a group with diversity in two of the three factors), or level 3 (in a group with diversity across all factors). We adjusted for 12 covariates using Cox hazard survival analysis models with hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) estimated for the association between group members’ diversity levels and needed support or long-term care. The same study was conducted when stratified by employment status at baseline.
Results
Participants in social participation groups with more diverse group members had a lower incidence of needed support or long-term care as compared to their counterparts. Compared to those with no participation group, HR decreased by 14% to 24% with increasing levels of diversity. The HR for the level of care needed for participants in the social participation group with high residential diversity was 0.89 (95% CI: 0.84–0.94). For participants who were currently unemployed, HR reductions ranged from 16%–28% with increasing levels of diversity compared to the non-participating group. No association was found for employed participants.
Conclusions
The reason the HRs of Japanese elderly people certified as needing support or care are lower when the diversity of participating groups is higher could be owing to the presence of a variety of people and the diversification of social networks, which facilitates the building of bridging social relational capital. Public health policies that encourage participation in diverse organizations will be important in the future.
This study compared the relationship between social participation, including work, and incidence of functional decline in rural and urban older people in Japan, by focusing on the number and types of ...organizations older people participated in. The longitudinal data of the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study (JAGES) that followed 55,243 individuals aged 65 years or older for six years were used. The Cox proportional hazards model was employed to calculate the hazard ratio (HR) of the incidence of functional decline over six years and the stratification of rural and urban settings. In this model, we adjusted 13 variables as behavioral, psychosocial, and functional confounders. The more rural and urban older people participated in various organizations, the more they were protected from functional decline. Participation in sports (HR: rural = 0.79; urban = 0.83), hobby groups (HR: rural = 0.76; urban = 0.90), and work (HR: rural = 0.83; urban = 0.80) significantly protected against the incidence of decline in both rural and urban areas. For both rural and urban older people, promoting social participation, such as sports and hobby groups and employment support, seemed to be an important aspect of public health policies that would prevent functional decline.
Happiness may help to prevent negative physiological outcomes in response to life events; however, factors contributing to happiness during the COVID-19 pandemic have not been longitudinally ...investigated. This study explored the predictors of happiness in mothers of young children in Japan using comparable data that were obtained before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
We conducted the baseline survey in February 2020, and 4 months later, we also conducted the follow-up survey. Throughout all 47 prefectures in Japan, 4,700 (100 respondents/prefecture) mothers of infants and/or preschoolers (0-6 years) participated in the baseline online survey; 2,489 of these also participated in the follow-up survey.
We performed hierarchical multiple regression analysis and our final model indicated that maternal happiness during COVID-19 pandemic was positively related to employment status (homemaker, β = 0.052, p = 0.014), levels of available social support (average, β = 0.052, p = 0.012, high, β = 0.055, p = 0.010) and happiness score before the pandemic (β = 0.467, p < 0.001), and satisfaction toward the measures against the COVID-19 at partners' workplace (average, β = 0.129, p < 0.001; high, β = 0.279, p < 0.001), preventive behavior against COVID-19 (average, β = 0.055, p = 0.002; high, β = 0.045, p = 0.015) and positive attitudes/thinking (β = 0.087, p < 0.001) during the pandemic. In contrast, poor mental health (K6 ≥5, β = -0.042, p = 0.011) before the pandemic and negative changes during the pandemic (≥3, β = -0.085, p < 0.001) were negatively related to maternal happiness during the pandemic. Our final model explained 44.9% of the variance in mothers' happiness during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Satisfaction toward the measures against the COVID-19 at partners' workplace, preventive behavior, and positive attitudes/thinking were especially important for maternal happiness during the COVID-19 pandemic. Future study is needed to consider measures against infectious diseases in the workplace that are desirable for the well-being of parents with young children, taking into account the gender perspective.
Abstract
Mental health is important in older age; neighborhood environment is considered a protective factor of depression. Research has established that a critical indicator of neighborhood ...environment, street connectivity, is related to older people's health. However, little is known about the relationship between street connectivity and depression. We examined the relationship between street connectivity and depression among older people. Using Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study 2013–2016, the target population comprised 24,141 independent older people without depression (Geriatric Depression Scale scores below 5) in 2013. The outcome variable was depression in 2016; the explanatory variable was street connectivity calculated by intersection density and space syntax within 800 m around the subject’s neighborhood in 2013. We used logistic regression analysis to calculate the odds ratio and 95% confidence interval for the new occurrence of depression among participants in 2016. This analysis demonstrated incidence of new depression after 3 years that is 17% and 14% lower among participations living in high-intersection density and high-street-connectivity areas, respectively, than those living in low-intersection density and low-street-connectivity areas. The association held after adjusting for physical activities and social interaction. Given the established connection between street connectivity and mental health, the findings can contribute to healthy urban planning.
Ascertaining progress in building age-friendly cities (AFCs) requires community diagnostic indicators. This study examines the relationship between social participation and happiness at the municipal ...level. The data from the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study (JAGES) from 2013, 2016, and 2019, comprising 442,079 older people from 289 municipalities, are used. We also employ linear mixed-effects models to evaluate the association between social participation and happiness. In these models, we adjust for seven variables as potential confounders. This study reveals that the higher the social participation, except for neighborhood association, the higher the state of happiness (
= 0.14-0.30). Our study suggests that social participation is useful, as a community diagnostic indicator, for monitoring the progress of building AFCs, developing strategies, and creating evidence.
Among all physical activities, walking is one of the easiest and most economical activities for older adults' mental and physical health. Although promoting social participation may extend the ...walking time of older adults, the longitudinal relationship is not well understood. Thus, this study elucidates the relationship between nine types of social participation and change in walking time during a 3-year follow-up of older adults.
We conducted a 3-year community-based longitudinal study of independent older adults in Japan. From the 2016 and 2019 surveys, we extracted 57,042 individuals. We performed multiple regression analyses, estimating associations between change in walking time after three years and nine types of social participation in 2016: volunteer, sports, hobby, senior, neighborhood, learning, health, skills, and paid work. We conducted subgroup analysis stratified by walking time in 2016 (i.e., < 60 or ≥ 60 min/day).
The mean (standard deviation) change in walking time for 3 years was - 4.04 (29.4) min/day. After adjusting potential confounders, the significant predictors of increasing or maintaining walking time (min/day) were participation in paid work (+ 3.02) in the < 60 min/day subgroup; and volunteer (+ 2.15), sports (+ 2.89), hobby (+ 1.71), senior (+ 1.27), neighborhood (+ 1.70), learning (+ 1.65), health (+ 1.74), and skills (+ 1.95) in the ≥ 60 min/day subgroup compared with non-participants.
Paid work and community activities may be effective for maintaining or increasing walking time among older adults with less (< 60 min/day) and sufficient (≥ 60 min/day) walking time, respectively.
Aim
The original Kihon Checklist, validated to predict the incidence of functional disability, has been modified to capture both functional ability (can/cannot) and performing state (do/do not). ...However, the predictive validity of the modified Kihon Checklist remains unverified. Therefore, this study intends to verify the predictive validity of the modified Kihon Checklist and to clarify whether predictive discrimination differs between the classification method of functional ability and performing state.
Methods
The participants comprised 67 398 older people who responded to the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study (2016). They were followed for 3.1 years on average. Cox's proportional hazards model with incidence of functional disability as the endpoint was used to calculate the hazard ratio, adjusted for sex and age. The independent variables were judged by two classification methods, functional ability and performing state, using nine indicators based on the modified Kihon Checklist. Additionally, we examined whether the two classification methods produced different C‐index estimates.
Results
Incidence of functional disability occurred in 6232 participants (9.2%). The adjusted hazard ratio of those to whom the nine indicators applied was significantly higher than that of those to whom they did not. The range of the hazard ratio was 1.50–3.82 for both classification methods. The C‐index was slightly higher when the classification was based on performing state than when it was based on on functional ability.
Conclusions
Although predictive discrimination was slightly higher for the performing state than for functional ability, the predictive validity of the modified Kihon Checklist was confirmed for both. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2022; 22: 667–674.
The original Kihon Checklist, validated to predict the incidence of functional disability, has been modified to capture both functional ability (can/cannot) and performing state (do/do not). However, the predictive validity of the modified Kihon Checklist remains unverified.
This study intends to verify the predictive validity of the modified Kihon Checklist.
The predictive validity of the modified Kihon Checklist was confirmed for functional ability and performing state.
BACKGROUNDPeople's preventive behavior is crucial for reducing the infection and transmission of a novel coronavirus, especially in aging societies. Moreover, since behavioral restrictions may lead ...to high risks of secondary health impacts among older people, health-promoting behaviors, including proper nutrition intake and regular exercise, should also be encouraged. Although various studies have reported the positive association between social participation and health among older people, whether their social participation relates to preventive and health-promoting behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic was uncertain. This study examined the relationships between social participation before the COVID-19 pandemic and preventive and health-promoting behaviors during the pandemic among older people in Japan. METHODSWe obtained longitudinal data from the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study (JAGES), which conducted baseline and follow-up surveys from November 2019 to January 2020 (pre-pandemic) and from November 2020 to February 2021 (during the pandemic) in ten municipalities. In total, 10,523 responses were analyzed. Preventive and health-promoting behaviors were measured by nine actions (e.g., wash/disinfect hands, wear masks, do exercise), and the total of these actions was divided into two (highly implemented ≥7 or not highly implemented <7). Social participation was assessed by nine activities (e.g., participating in volunteering, sports clubs, had paid work). Adjusted for covariates, we examined the relationships between each social participation and preventive and health-promoting behavior by the logistic regression analysis or the Poisson regression analysis. RESULTSOlder people who participated in social activities pre-pandemic showed a tendency to implement preventive and health-promoting behaviors during the pandemic. Especially, participations in "sports" and "Kayoi-no-ba" were positively related to "do exercise." Only "had paid work" was negatively related to highly implemented preventive and health-promoting behaviors. CONCLUSIONSThere were the positive relationships between social participation and preventive and health-promoting behavior. This study also indicated that older people who did not participate in social activities or had paid work before the COVID-19 pandemic may have higher risks of infection and secondary health impacts. Taking into account such old people's lifestyles as well as their workplace conditions, promoting appropriate behaviors need to be considered.
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