近藤 克則

INTRODUCTION: Healthy life expectancy (HLE) remains the principal target of various health plans. We aimed to identify the areas of priority and determinants of mortality to extend HLE across local governments in Japan. METHODS: HLE according to secondary medical areas was calculated using the Sullivan method. People requiring long-term care of level 2 or higher were considered unhealthy. Standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) for major causes of death were calculated using vital statistics data. The association between HLE and SMR was analyzed using simple and multiple regression analyses. RESULTS: The average (standard deviation) HLE values were 79.24 (0.85) and 83.76 (0.62) years for men and women, respectively. A comparison of HLE revealed regional health gaps of 4.46 (76.90-81.36) and 3.46 (81.99-85.45) years for men and women, respectively. The coefficients of determination for the SMR of malignant neoplasms with HLE were the highest and were 0.402 and 0.219 among men and women, respectively, followed by those of cerebrovascular diseases, suicide, and heart diseases among men and those of heart disease, pneumonia, and liver disease among women. When all major preventable causes of death were analyzed simultaneously in a regression model, the coefficients of determination were 0.738 and 0.425 among men and women, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that local governments should prioritize preventing cancer deaths via cancer screening and smoking cessation measures in health plans, with a special focus on men.

OBJECTIVES: Japan's universal health insurance covers a wide range of dental treatments, and the co-payment rates differ by age. We investigated whether the inequality in gingival bleeding and dental visits was smaller amongst those with lower co-payment rates. METHODS: This cross-sectional study used data from the 2019 Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study. The participants were functionally independent adults aged 65 years or older. The dependent variables were current gingival bleeding as a symptom of periodontal diseases and dental nonattendance for treatment in the past year. The independent variables were ridit scores of equivalent income and educational status. For covariates, we used age, sex, and the number of remaining teeth. To evaluate the inequalities, we used the slope index of inequality (SII) and the relative index of inequality (RII). We also conducted stratified analyses by co-payment rates (30%, 20%, and 10%) to clarify the difference in inequalities by co-payment rate. RESULTS: A total of 15,389 participants were included in the analysis; their mean age was 71.8 (SD = 4.1) and 51.8% were women. There were significant absolute and relative inequalities in gingival bleeding and dental visits by equivalent income and education. With regards to educational status, inequalities were lower with a decrease in the co-payment rate. In particular, relative inequality by education in gingival bleeding was the largest amongst the 30% co-payment group (RII, 1.918; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.386 to 2.656). For gingival bleeding, the absolute and relative inequality by equivalent income were not significant amongst the 10% co-payment group (SII, -0.003; 95% CI, -0.003 to 0.028; RII, 1.006; 95% CI = 0.676 to 1.498). CONCLUSIONS: A low co-payment rate was associated with smaller inequalities in gingival bleeding and dental visits by equivalent income and educational status.

BACKGROUND: We investigated the relationship between characteristic geriatric symptoms and healthy life expectancy in older adults in Japan. Additionally, we determined relationship predictors that would help formulate effective approaches toward promoting healthy life expectancy. METHODS: The Kihon Checklist was used to identify older people at high risk of requiring nursing care in the near future. We evaluated the association of geriatric symptoms with healthy life expectancy while considering risk factors (frailty, poor motor function, poor nutrition, poor oral function, confinement, poor cognitive function, and depression). Data from the 2013 and 2019 Japan Gerontological Evaluation Studies were used. Healthy life expectancy was assessed using the multistate life table method. RESULTS: Overall, 8,956 individuals were included. For both men and women, healthy life expectancy was shorter in the symptomatic group than in the asymptomatic group for several domains of the Kihon Checklist. For men, the difference between individuals with risk factors and those with no risk factors was the maximum for confinement (3.83 years) and the minimum for cognitive function (1.51 years). For women, the difference between individuals with risk factors and those with no risk factors was the maximum for frailty (4.21 years) and the minimum for cognitive function (1.67 years). Healthy life expectancy tended to be shorter when the number of risk factors was higher. Specifically, the difference between individuals with ≥3 risk factors and those with no risk factors was 4.46 years for men and 5.68 years for women. CONCLUSIONS: Healthy life expectancy was negatively associated with characteristic geriatric symptoms, with strong associations with frailty, physical functional decline, and depression. Therefore, comprehensive assessment and prevention of geriatric symptoms may increase healthy life expectancy.

Abstract Background 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. Methods 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). Results 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. Conclusions 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.

<title>Abstract</title>This study aimed to identify factors associated with engaging in sports and exercise volunteering among older adults. We used cross-sectional data from the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study (JAGES), a nationwide mail survey of 20,877 older adults from 60 municipalities. Multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the correlation between engaging in sports and exercise volunteering and 39 variables classified into five factors: (1) demographic and biological, (2) behavioral, (3) psychological, cognitive, and emotional, (4) social and cultural, and (5) environmental factors. Among the analyzed samples, 1580 (7.6%) participants volunteered a few times/year or more often. Factors that showed positive association with the volunteering were older age, a current drinking habit, excellent self-rated health, high proportion of sports group participants in a living area, low municipal population density, and rich social and cultural features (i.e., social cohesion, support, network, and participation). Meanwhile, those that had a negative association were women, low level of education, deteriorated instrumental activities of daily living, having a past or current smoking habit, poor self-rated health, and depressive symptoms. We clarified the characteristics of the population that is more likely to participate in sports and exercise volunteering as well as those of the population that is less likely to participate and requires support.

PURPOSE: Despite the potential burden of social isolation on mental health, it is unclear which component of social isolation (living alone, lack of social support, and lack of social participation) is mostly associated with depression among older adults and whether it varies by gender. Moreover, previous observational studies have suffered from several systematic biases such as confounding, misclassification, and selection bias. We thus aimed to investigate the risk of social isolation on subsequent depressive symptoms among older men and women, fully taking account of such systematic biases simultaneously. METHODS: This study included 15,311 adults from a nationwide longitudinal cohort study of older adults aged ≥65 years in Japan. We employed modified Poisson regression models to estimate the adjusted risk ratio (aRR) of elevated depressive symptoms (the Geriatric Depression Scale: ≥5 vs. <5) in 2016 according to the social isolation index (SII) score (0-5 points) in 2013. Non-probabilistic multiple bias analyses with weighting approach and bounding factor were conducted to adjust for possible confounding, exposure misclassification, and selection biases. RESULTS: The mean age (SD) of participants was 72.1 (4.9) years. Adults with the SII score ≥2 showed an increased risk of elevated depressive symptoms than those with the SII score <2 (aRR [95% CI] = 1.57 [1.41-1.76]). All components of SII were associated with elevated depressive symptoms except living alone for women. Our multiple bias analysis showed that an unmeasured confounder needed to have at least moderate relationship (RR=2.0-3.0) with both exposure and outcome to explain away the observed association particularly when social isolation status was independently and non-differentially misclassified. CONCLUSION: Among older adults in Japan, social isolation was associated with an increased risk of elevated depressive symptoms, even after taking account of systematic biases simultaneously. Increasing social connection may mitigate the risk of depression, which should be the subject of future research.

BACKGROUND: Recently, several studies reported that pneumonia might increase the risk of cognitive decline and dementia due to increased frailty. OBJECTIVES: This study aims to examine the association between a history of pneumonia and subsequent dementia risk. METHODS: Participants were 9952 aged 65 years or older Japanese men and women from the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study prospective cohort study, followed up from 2013 to 2019. Dementia was identified by public long-term care insurance registration. A history of pneumonia contracted 1 year before the baseline questionnaire in 2013. A cox regression model was used to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for dementia risk, adjusted for potential confounding variables. We conducted competing risk analyses using a cause-specific hazard model. RESULTS: During the follow-up period of 6 years, 939 persons developed dementia. There was no association between having a prior history of pneumonia with dementia risk (HR 1.20, 95% CI:0.81-1.78). However, we observed an increased risk of dementia in persons with pre-frailty and frailty; the multivariable HR (95% CI) was 1.75 (1.48-2.07) and 2.42 (2.00-2.93) for pre-frailty and frailty, respectively. When pneumonia and frailty were combined, the risk of dementia was the highest for the persons with a history of pneumonia and frailty; the multivariable HR (95% CI) was 2.30 (1.47-3.62). The multivariable HR (95% CI) for those without pneumonia with frailty was 1.95 (1.66-2.28). Meanwhile, the multivariable HR (95% CI) for those with pneumonia without frailty was 1.64 (0.68-3.99). CONCLUSION: Our findings imply that a prior history of pre-frailty and frailty with or without pneumonia, but not a history of pneumonia per se, was associated with an increased risk of dementia among population-based-cohort of older Japanese people.

Abstract This study examined heterogeneity in the association between disaster-related home loss and functional limitations of older adults and identified characteristics of vulnerable sub-populations. Data were from a prospective cohort study of Japanese older survivors of the 2011 Japan Earthquake. Complete home loss was objectively assessed. Outcomes in 2013 (n=3,350) and 2016 (n=2,664) included certified physical disability levels, self-reported Activities of Daily Living, and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living. We estimated population average associations between home loss and functional limitations via targeted maximum likelihood estimation with SuperLearning and its heterogeneity via the generalized random forest algorithm. We adjusted for survivors’ 55 characteristics from the baseline survey conducted seven months before the disaster. While home loss was consistently associated with increased functional limitations on average, there was evidence of effect heterogeneity for all outcomes. Comparing the most and least vulnerable groups, the most vulnerable group tended to be older, not married, living alone, and not working, with pre-existing health problems before the disaster. Individuals who were less educated but had higher income also appeared vulnerable for some outcomes. Our inductive approach for effect heterogeneity using machine learning algorithm uncovered large and complex heterogeneity in post-disaster functional limitations among Japanese older survivors.

BACKGROUND: We examined the associations and interactions of hearing impairment (HI) and vision impairment (VI) with frailty. METHODS: We performed a 3-year longitudinal analysis of the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study (JAGES), a nationwide prospective cohort study of functionally independent Japanese older people (age ≥ 65 years). Frailty status at baseline and follow-up was defined according to the Kihon Checklist. HI and VI at baseline were self-reported. Logistic regression models were used to examine the main and interaction effects of HI and VI on incident frailty during a 3-year follow-up period. RESULTS: Of the 7,852 participants (mean age 73.2 years, standard deviation 5.6; 50.7% women), 9.7%, 5.3%, and 1.9% reported HI, VI, and concurrent HI and VI, respectively. After adjusting for possible confounders and the other sensory impairment, VI (odds ratio [OR] 2.50, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.62-3.85, p < 0.001), but not HI (OR 1.29, 95% CI 0.97-1.72, p = 0.081), was significantly associated with incident combined pre-frailty and frailty from a robust baseline. No interaction was observed between HI and VI (OR 0.83, 95% CI 0.38-1.81, p = 0.636). We observed no significant associations between sensory impairments and incident frailty from a pre-frail baseline (HI: OR 1.26, 95% CI 0.88-1.80, p = 0.205; VI: OR 1.44, 95% CI 0.90-2.31, p = 0.127; interaction between HI and VI: OR 1.16, 95% CI 0.53-2.53, p = 0.718). CONCLUSIONS: VI, rather than HI, may be an independent risk factor for frailty, without any interaction between the two.

Abstract It is unknown whether higher functions in sublevels of competence other than instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) are associated with vaccinations. This study examined whether higher functions, including intellectual activity (IA) and social role (SR), were associated with vaccinations among 26,177 older adults. Older adults with incapable activities in IA and SR had increased risks for non-receipt of influenza vaccinations (IA: for one incapable task/activity: incident rate ratio (IRR) = 1.05, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.02–1.09; SR: for two incapable tasks: IRR = 1.12, 95% CI = 1.08–1.16). Those with incapable activities in IADL and IA had increased risks for non-receipt of pneumococcal vaccination (IADL: for two incapable tasks: IRR = 1.13, 95% CI = 1.05–1.23; IA: for two incapable tasks: IRR = 1.10, 95% CI = 1.08–1.12). Those with incapable activities in IADL, IA, and SR had increased risks for non-receipt of both of the two vaccinations (IADL: for two incapable tasks: IRR = 1.17, 95% CI = 1.03–1.33; IA: for two incapable tasks: IRR = 1.18, 95% CI = 1.11–1.25; SR: for two incapable tasks: IRR = 1.13, 95% CI = 1.07–1.20). Having a family physician mitigated associations for non-receipt, regardless of competency. Our results suggest—maintaining the higher functions are important for older adults to undergo recommended vaccinations as scheduled; also, having a family physician to promote vaccinations is beneficial even for older adults with limited functions.

Hypertension is a leading cause of cardiovascular disease and despite established strategies to lower blood pressure, the control of hypertension remains poor. This is true even in high-income countries with well-established welfare and medical systems. Among the social factors associated with hypertension (i.e., social determinants of hypertension, SDHT), individual socioeconomic status (SES), including education, income, and occupation, can be crucial for hypertension management (prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control). This article reviews the findings of recently published studies that examined the association between SES and hypertension management in high-income countries. It also discusses social prescribing, which targets social isolation and loneliness as modifiable SDHT to improve hypertension management.

健康の社会的決定要因(SDH)とは,個人や集団の健康状態に違いをもたらす社会経済的要因を指す.その影響はリハビリテーション(以下リハ)栄養に重要な栄養状態や食行動などにまで及ぶ.たとえば,低所得の人で1日当たりの野菜摂取量が少ない,経済的に不利な状況にある者は,孤食など健康に望ましくない行動をとる傾向があり,食料品店が少ない環境にさらされやすい.さらに,孤食が多く食料品店が少ない環境では,うつ発症率や死亡率が高いことも明らかとなっている.リハ栄養においても,サルコペニア・フレイル・栄養障害に対して介入するときに,SDHに目を向けることが重要である.一緒に食事をする人(パートナーや友人・知人など)など社会的サポート・ネットワークや,食料品へのアクセスなどの近隣環境など,個人の栄養状態・食行動の背景にあるSDHのアセスメントや支援策への応用が期待される.(著者抄録)

Abstract Background it remains unclear how family relationships could affect stability of end-of-life care preferences. Objective to describe change patterns of preferred place of death (POD) among older people and to examine associations between family social support and stability of preferences regarding POD. Methods this longitudinal study of 1,200 noninstitutionalized independent Japanese older people aged over 65 years used panel data between 2016 and 2019 from the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study (JAGES). Preference stability was defined as the congruence of preferred POD based on questionnaires between baseline and follow-up. We performed multiple logistic regression analysis and gender-stratified analysis to examine associations between social support (spouse, children living together and children living apart) and preference stability. Results only 40.9% of participants had stable preferences. For a spouse, both receiving and providing social support was associated with less stable preferences (OR: 0.63, 95% CI: 0.43–0.93; OR: 0.55, 95% CI: 0.38–0.80, respectively), and providing social support to children living apart was associated with more stable preferences (OR: 1.35, 95% CI: 1.03–1.76). In gender-stratified analysis, significant associations between preference stability and providing social support to a spouse among women (OR: 0.53, 95% CI: 0.34–0.82) and providing social support to children living apart among men (OR: 1.72, 95% CI: 1.16–2.55) were observed. Conclusions family social support was associated with the stability of preferences, and the associations differed by support resources and gender. Incorporating family members in the process of end-of-life care discussion may be necessary for establishing stable preferences.

Objectives: Elder abuse is a public health issue that is thought to have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic due to lockdowns and behavioral restrictions. This study examines the association between elder abuse and refrainment from daily activities during the pandemic. Methods: We used data from a self-administered mail survey conducted by the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study (JAGES) from November 2020 to February 2021 in 11 municipalities. Our participants included 18,263 older adults (age ≥65 years) who were independent in their daily lives. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to evaluate the association between elder abuse and refrainment from 10 daily activities, and the total number of refrained behaviors. Results: Experiences of abuse were reported by 288 participants (1.6%). The risk of elder abuse was 1.37 times (95% confidence interval, 1.04-1.81) higher among those who refrained from shopping for food and daily necessities and 1.60 times (1.20-2.13) higher among those who refrained from interaction with neighbors, than those who did not. Also, a dose-response relationship was observed where the risk of abuse increased with the number of restrictions. Conclusion: The risk of elder abuse increased as the number of refrained behaviors increased which suggests that refrainment from multiple behaviors may significantly increase the risk of elder abuse, compared with refrainment from a single behavior. To avoid increasing the risk of abuse in likely future pandemics, it is necessary to maintain social connections without face-to-face contact, or with adequate infection control measures.

Suicide prevention is a crucial policy issue in Japan to be addressed nationally. Nevertheless, if there are regional differences in suicide, even in adjacent sub-regions, measures may need to be taken at the sub-regional level. Previous studies have not compared regional differences in suicide based on the size of policy units, such as prefectures, secondary medical areas, and municipalities. This study used the number of suicides from open data for 10 years from 2009 to 2018 to obtain shrinkage estimates of the standardized mortality ratio (SMR) using the Bayesian hierarchical model. We visualized and compared the regional disparities in suicide for each policy unit. For each gender and policy unit, adjacent regions had similar clusters of SMRs and positive spatial autocorrelation of global Moran’s I (p &lt; 0.001 for each). Comparisons between each policy unit showed that even if the SMR was low for the prefectural units, there were regions with high SMRs in municipalities and secondary medical areas, and vice versa. It was found that assessing suicide solely on a prefecture-by-prefecture basis may overlook regional disparities in suicide. This research emphasizes the need to establish suicide indicators at the secondary medical or municipal level and execute individual suicide prevention interventions in neighboring communities. Prefectures can also play a role in developing collaborative cooperation between neighboring regions by acting as actors.

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.

Abstract Background Urbanization and population aging may affect prevalence of chronic pain from various causes. This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the prevalence of chronic musculoskeletal pain, including some subtypes, in independent Japanese older people, and whether population density and population aging rate explained prevalence and differences in pain levels between municipalities. Methods We analyzed data from 12,883 independent older people living in 58 municipalities who completed mailed questionnaires and did not need support for daily living. We identified three types of pain: “chronic musculoskeletal pain” lasting ≥ 3 months (overall and in each part of the body), “chronic widespread-type pain” in the spinal and peripheral area, and “chronic multisite pain” in at least three sites. The latter two were measured using new definitions. These types of pain are correlated with depressive symptoms and we therefore examined the construct validity of the definitions by comparing the Geriatric Depression Scale score. We also used analysis of covariance to compare the prevalence of these three types of pain between municipalities. Odds ratios, median odds ratios, and the municipal variance in prevalence of chronic musculoskeletal pain were estimated by Bayesian multilevel logistic regression analysis using the Markov Chain Monte Carlo method. Results The construct validity of the definitions of chronic widespread-type pain and chronic multisite pain was confirmed. The prevalence of the three types of pain (chronic musculoskeletal, widespread, and multisite pain) was 39.0%, 13.9%, and 10.3%, respectively. Chronic musculoskeletal pain showed a higher prevalence among older people and women. Individuals in underpopulated, suburban, or metropolitan areas tended to have more pain than those in urban areas, but this was not statistically significant (odds ratio [95% credible interval] 1.15 [0.86–1.51], 1.17 [0.93–1.43], 1.17 [0.94–1.46]). Population density and population aging rate did not explain the differences between municipalities. Conclusions The prevalence of chronic musculoskeletal pain was consistent with previous global reports. Areas with overpopulation and depopulation tended to have higher pain prevalence, but population density and population aging rate did not explain municipal variance. Further research is needed to identify other factors that contribute to regional variance.

【目的】近年、時代に即した医療課題の解決のため、適切な社会医学の人材育成がなされているかを、明らかにすることを目的とした。【方法】量的調査と質的調査を行った。量的調査では、近年20年間の社会医学分野の講座名称及び教員数の変化について名簿調査を行った。質的調査では、社会医学分野の研究者・教員9名及び高等教育行政、厚生行政、医学会関係者各1名ずつの計12名に対してインタビュー調査を行った。インタビュー調査は半構造化面接の方法で行い、質的に分析した。【結果】名簿調査では、20年間のうちに、医学教育において社会医学分野の教員数に変化はないが、基礎医学・臨床医学分野を合わせた教員の全体数が増加しているため、社会医学分野の教員の割合は3.0%(521人/17,224人)から2.1%(508人/24,121人)に減少していた。インタビューでは、公衆衛生大学院の創設や社会医学専門医制度などの開始、地方自治体や国際保健において社会医学人材の活躍が期待される一方で、魅力ある教育プログラムやキャリアパスのイメージが示されていないこと、実践現場と研究・教育の乖離などの課題が明らかとなった。【結論】量的・質的分析を合わせた結果、1)新たな課題に取り組む人材育成のため教育・専門医制度などの質の保証の充実、2)社会医学の可能性を伝え参入する若手を増やすための方策強化、3)現場と研究、教育の乖離が見られるためビッグデータやグローバルヘルスを使った現場と教育と研究の統合、の3つの課題を抽出することができた。(著者抄録)

BACKGROUND: Optimism has been linked to better physical health across various outcomes, including greater longevity. However, most evidence is from Western populations, leaving it unclear whether these relationships may generalize to other cultural backgrounds. Using secondary data analysis, we evaluated the associations of optimism among older Japanese adults. METHODS: Data were from a nationwide cohort study of Japanese older adults aged ≥65 years (Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study; n = 10,472). In 2010, optimism and relevant covariates (i.e., sociodemographic factors, physical health conditions, depressive symptoms, and health behaviors) were self-reported. Optimism was measured using the Japanese version of the Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R). Lifespan was determined using mortality information from the public long-term care insurance database through 2017 (7-year follow-up). Accelerated failure time models examined optimism (quintiles or standardized continuous scores) in relation to percent differences in lifespan. Potential effect modification by gender, income, and education was also investigated. RESULTS: Overall, 733 individuals (7%) died during the follow-up period. Neither continuous nor categorical levels of optimism were associated with lifespan after progressive adjustment for covariates (e.g., in fully-adjusted models: percent differences in lifespan per 1-SD increase in continuous optimism scores= -1.2%, 95%CI: -3.4, 1.1 higher versus lower optimism quintiles= -4.1%, 95%CI: -11.2, 3.6). The association between optimism and lifespan was null across all sociodemographic strata as well. CONCLUSION: Contrary to the existing evidence from Western populations, optimism was unrelated to longevity among Japanese older adults. The association between optimism, as evaluated by the LOT-R, and longevity may differ across cultural contexts.

目的 介護予防の重点分野の1つ「閉じこもり」は，外出頻度が週に1回未満の者とされることが多い。しかし質問文に外出の定義がない場合，外出しても外出と認識せず，頻度を少なく回答し閉じこもりと判定される可能性がある。本研究では，高齢者対象の質問紙調査において，外出の定義の有無による閉じこもり割合，要介護リスクの違いを明らかにする。また，目的別の外出頻度を用いて，週1回以上外出しているにもかかわらず閉じこもりとなる「外出頻度回答の矛盾」に外出の定義の有無が関連しているかどうかを検討した。 方法 愛知県の4介護保険者A～D在住の自立高齢者に対し2006～2007年に行った自記式調査の回答者10,802人を対象とした。全般的な外出頻度を尋ねる際，保険者Dのみ「屋外に出れば外出とします」という定義を示した。また全4保険者で，買い物等5種類の目的別外出頻度を尋ねた。全般的な外出頻度で週1回未満の者を「全般的閉じこもり」，目的別外出頻度いずれかで週1回以上の者を「目的別非閉じこもり」とした。「全般的閉じこもり」について，約10年間の要介護認定ハザード比（Hazard Ratio, HR）の違いを検討した。「目的別非閉じこもり」かつ「全般的閉じこもり」の者を「外出頻度回答に矛盾がある者」とし，発生割合，発生に関連する要因のPrevalence Ratio（PR）を算出した。 結果 全般的閉じこもりの粗割合は保険者ABCでは11.7％であったのに対し，定義を示した保険者Dでは2.8％であった。保険者ABCに対し，保険者Dの全般的閉じこもりは要介護認定を受けるHRが有意に高かった（HR=1.56）。目的別非閉じこもりであるにもかかわらず全般的閉じこもりという矛盾回答は保険者ABCで10.2％，保険者Dで2.2％みられた。矛盾回答の発生に正の関連を示したのは女性，高い年齢，配偶者・子世代との同居，教育年数が短いこと，主観的健康感がよくないこと，うつ，島嶼部の居住者であることであった。外出の定義を示した保険者Dでは有意に矛盾が発生しにくかった（PR=0.29）。 結論 外出の定義の有無により閉じこもり割合，要介護リスクに違いがみられた。外出の定義がないことは外出頻度回答の矛盾発生に有意に関連していた。閉じこもりを把握するために外出頻度を尋ねる際には外出の定義を示すことが望ましい。

BACKGROUND: Little research has examined associations between disaster-related home loss and multiple domains of health and well-being, with extended long-term follow-up and comprehensive adjustment for pre-disaster characteristics of survivors. OBJECTIVES: We examined the longitudinal associations between disaster-induced home loss and 34 indicators of health and well-being, assessed ∼9y post-disaster. METHODS: We used data from a preexisting cohort study of Japanese older adults in an area directly impacted by the 2011 Japan Earthquake (n=3,350 and n=2,028, depending on the outcomes). The study was initiated in 2010, and disaster-related home loss status was measured in 2013 retrospectively. The 34 outcomes were assessed in 2020 and covered dimensions of physical health, mental health, health behaviors/sleep, social well-being, cognitive social capital, subjective well-being, and prosocial/altruistic behaviors. We estimated the associations between disaster-related home loss and the outcomes, using targeted maximum likelihood estimation and SuperLearner. We adjusted for pre-disaster characteristics from the wave conducted 7 months before the disaster (i.e., 2010), including prior outcome values that were available. RESULTS: After Bonferroni correction for multiple testing, we found that home loss (vs. no home loss) was associated with increased posttraumatic stress symptoms (standardized difference=0.50; 95% CI: 0.35, 0.65), increased daily sleepiness (0.38; 95% CI: 0.21, 0.54), lower trust in the community (-0.36; 95% CI: -0.53, -0.18), lower community attachment (-0.60; 95% CI: -0.75, -0.45), and lower prosociality (-0.39; 95% CI: -0.55, -0.24). We found modest evidence for the associations with increased depressive symptoms, increased hopelessness, more chronic conditions, higher body mass index, lower perceived mutual help in the community, and decreased happiness. There was little evidence for associations with the remaining 23 outcomes. DISCUSSION: Home loss due to a disaster may have long-lasting adverse impacts on the cognitive social capital, mental health, and prosociality of older adult survivors. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP10903.

Objectives Some older adults less interested in exercise may still meet the walking time of 30 minutes or more per day that is required to maintain and improve their health. This study aimed to clarify the characteristics of those who walk for 30 minutes or more per day stratified by the exercise stage of change.Methods This cross-sectional study used a self-administered mail survey conducted by the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study (JAGES) in 2019. There were 45,939 participants, aged 65 years or above, who were not certified as requiring long-term care and who resided in 62 municipalities in 24 prefectures. The measures included daily walking time, stage of change for exercise (20 minutes or more once a week), and factors related to physical activities (eight demographic and biological; three psychological, cognitive, and emotional; eight behavioral; 40 social and cultural; and three environmental factors). The analysis was stratified into three groups according to the transformation stages: 1) pre-contemplation, 2) contemplation/preparation, and 3) action/maintenance. Poisson regression analysis was conducted with the dependent variable as walking time, the independent variables as physical activity factors, and the covariates as all eight demographic and biological factors.Results Of the 24,146 survey respondents (52.6% response rate), 18,464 were included in the analysis. Surveys with missing items that were important for the analysis and patients who needed care and assistance were excluded. The factors that were significantly associated with walking 30 minutes or more per day only in the pre-contemplation stage, or only in the precontemplation and the contemplation/preparation stages, were three demographic and biological (married; age 80 years or above and non-independence of instrumental activities of daily living were negatively associated), two behavioral (going out at least once a week and watching sports on TV or the Internet), and six social and cultural factors (provision of instrumental support, frequency of meeting with friends more than once a week, participation in the neighborhood association, high reciprocity, reading habits; playing Go was negatively associated).Conclusions Among the demographic and biological factors, and the behavioral, social, and cultural factors, 11 items were found to be associated with walking 30 minutes or more per day only in the pre-contemplation stage, or only in the precontemplation and contemplation/preparation stages. To promote walking even in the lower stages of change, it may be useful to promote exchanges with others, rather than focusing predominantly on physical activities.

BACKGROUND: Engagement in leisure activities among older people is associated with a lower risk of mortality. However, no studies have been conducted focusing on the difference of associations with mortality risk among multiple types of leisure activities. METHODS: We examined prospectively the association of engagement in leisure activities with all-cause mortality in a cohort of older Japanese adults. The Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study included 48,216 participants aged 65 years or older. During a mean follow-up period of 5.6 years, we observed 5,575 deaths (11.6%). We investigated the total number of leisure activities, as well as combinations of 25 different leisure activities with Cox proportional hazards models, adjusting for potential confounding factors. RESULTS: We found a linear relationship between the total number of leisure activities and mortality hazard (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.93; 95% CI, 0.92-0.95). Furthermore, engagement in leisure activities involving physical activity, as well as group-based interactions, showed the strongest associations with lowered mortality. By contrast, engagement in cultural leisure activities and solitary leisure activities were not associated with all-cause mortality. CONCLUSION: Although we cannot rule out residual confounding, our findings suggest that encouraging engagement in physically-active group-based leisure activities may promote longevity in older adults.

目的 地域診断により要介護リスクを抱えた高齢者が多く居住する地域を特定し,モデル地区として重点的に通いの場の立ち上げや運営を支援することで,地域レベルの指標が改善し地域間の健康格差が縮小するかを検証することを目的とした。方法 神戸市と日本老年学的評価研究は,要介護認定を受けていない高齢者を対象に全市で実施したサンプリング郵送調査データを用い,市内78圏域(1圏域≒中学校区)の地域診断を行った。複数の要介護リスク指標で不良な値を示し,重点的な支援が必要と判断された16圏域を2014～19年度にかけてモデル地区として指定し,市・区・地域包括支援センター・研究者らが連携して通いの場の立ち上げや運営を支援した。さらに,4回(2011,13,16,19年度)の同調査データ(各8,872人,10,572人,10,063人,5,759人)を用い,モデル地区(16圏域)と非モデル地区(62圏域)との間で,中間アウトカム9指標(社会参加3指標,社会的ネットワーク2指標,社会的サポート4指標)と健康アウトカム5指標(運動器の機能低下,低栄養,口腔機能低下,認知機能低下,うつ傾向)の経年推移を,線形混合効果モデルにより比較した。結果 2011,13年度調査では,全14指標中13指標でモデル地区は非モデル地区より不良な値を示していた。その差が2016,19年度調査にかけて縮小・解消し,年度×群の有意な交互作用が確認された指標は,中間アウトカム4指標(スポーツ・趣味関係のグループ参加,友人10人以上,情緒的サポート提供),健康アウトカム3指標(口腔機能低下,認知機能低下,うつ傾向)であった。たとえば,2011年度の趣味関係のグループ参加はモデル地区29.7%/非モデル地区35.0%であったが,2019年度には35.2%/36.1%と地域差が縮小した(P=0.008)。同様に,情緒的サポート提供は83.9%/87.0%が93.3%/93.3%(P=0.007),うつ傾向は31.4%/27.2%が18.6%/20.3%(P<0.001)となり,差が解消した。結論 地域診断により要介護リスクを抱えた高齢者が多く住む地域を特定し,住民主体の通いの場づくりを重点的に6年間推進することで,社会参加やネットワーク,サポートが醸成され,ひいては地域間の健康格差の是正に寄与したことが示唆された。(著者抄録)

AIM: Currently, there is little evidence on the relationship between laughter and the risk of dementia, and since laughter is mainly a social behavior, we aimed to examine the association between various occasions for laughter and the risk of dementia in Japanese older adults. METHODS: We draw upon 6-year follow-up data from the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study, including 12 165 independent older adults aged 65 years or over. Occasions for laughter were assessed using a questionnaire, while dementia was diagnosed using the standardized dementia scale of the long-term care insurance system in Japan. Cox proportional hazards models were estimated, yielding hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). RESULTS: The multivariable hazard ratio of dementia incidence for all participants in the groups for high versus low variety of occasions for laughter was 0.84 (95% CI: 0.72-0.98, P for trend <0.001). A greater variety of occasions for laughter was associated with a lower risk of dementia 0.78 (95% CI: 0.63-0.96, P for trend <0.001) among women, but was less pronounced for men, with significant associations only for the medium group. Laughing during conversations with friends, communicating with children or grandchildren, and listening to the radio were primarily associated with decreased risk. CONCLUSION: A greater variety of laughter occasions in individual and social settings was associated with a reduced risk of dementia. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2022; 22: 392-398.

There is a growing, but inconclusive, evidence on the beneficial influence of the Internet on the health/wellbeing 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/wellbeing 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.

AIM: This study examined the effects of a "community-based center" intervention to prevent the onset of functional disability among residents in disaster-affected areas. METHODS: We used data from a prospective cohort study conducted from 2010 to 2016 in Iwanuma City, Japan. Participants were community-dwelling independent adults aged ≥65 years. The exposure variable was the experience of using a community-based center. The outcome variable was functional disability onset. The average treatment effect on the treated (ATET) was estimated by adjusting for possible confounders. Additional analysis stratified by sex was conducted considering the sex differences in social participation rates. RESULTS: Among 3794 participants (mean ± SD age = 72.9 ±5.3 years, 46.0% men), 196 (5.2%) used the community-based center, and 849 (22.4%) exhibited disability onset. Of those with functional disabilities, 40 (20.4%) used the community-based center, while 809 (22.5%) did not. The ATET for functional disability onset with community-based center activities across all participants were not significant (ATET: 0.51 years [95% confidence interval [CI] = -0.23; 1.27]). However, the direction of the effect of community-based center activities differed by sex (ATET: -0.14, 95% CI = -2.59; 2.31 for men [n = 18], and 0.66, 95% CI = 0.18; 1.16 for women [n = 178]). Women exhibited a 15.63% (95% CI = 3.58; 27.68) increase in the time until functional disability onset. CONCLUSIONS: The use of community-based centers was associated with a longer period without functional disability in women. Geriatr Gerontol Int ••; ••: ••-•• Geriatr Gerontol Int 2022; ••: ••-••.