This cross-sectional study investigated the association between eating alone at each meal and health status, including functional capacity among community-dwelling Japanese elderly living with others. A self-administered questionnaire was mailed to all 8004 residents aged 65 or older, residing in the same Japanese town in March 2016. Eating alone was assessed by first asking whether participants ate three separate meals each day (i.e., breakfast, lunch, and dinner), and those who answered affirmatively were then asked how many people were usually present at each meal. Health status was assessed in terms of subjective health, medical history, care needs, body mass index, depression, and functional capacity. Data from 2809 respondents were analyzed. Those who reported not being in good subjective health and a history of hypertension were significantly more likely to eat alone at breakfast (odds ratio 1.27; 95% confidence interval 1.01–1.61, and 1.26; 1.06–1.49). Depressive symptoms and many subscales of functional capacity were also significantly associated with eating alone at breakfast, lunch, and dinner (p < 0.05). Many health status indicators were related to eating alone at each meal, especially breakfast.

Sarcopenia, defined as "decreased lean mass (LM) plus low muscle strength and/or low physical performance," is associated with a high risk of falls and fractures. Although an association between muscle strength and falls has been reported, the association between LM and falls remains unclear, with previous studies reporting conflicting findings. We investigated the association of LM measured precisely by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry with later falls in community-dwelling Japanese men aged 65 years or more at the time of the baseline survey. The present analyses included 507 older men who provided complete information on LM and falls in the Fujiwara-kyo Osteoporosis Risk in Men cohort study. Whole-body LM and regional LM were measured from 2017 to 2019. LM in each body region, including the legs and trunk, was recorded. The leg-to-trunk LM ratio, calculated as leg LM divided by trunk LM, was also analyzed. Information on falls that occurred in the 12 months prior to the 2022-2023 follow-up survey was obtained. Mean trunk LM was significantly larger, and mean leg-to-trunk LM ratio significantly smaller, in fallers than in non-fallers (P < 0.05). Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that leg-to-trunk LM ratio was significantly inversely associated with falls after adjusting for potential confounders (P < 0.05), whereas no significant associations were observed between whole-body and regional LM and falls. Leg-to-trunk LM ratio was associated with later falls in community-dwelling older Japanese men. Older men with a larger distribution of leg LM relative to trunk LM tended to have a lower risk of later falls.

Background: This study investigated the association between eating alone at each meal and health status including functional capacity according to cohabitation situation among Japanese community-dwelling elderly.Methods: This was a cross-sectional analysis of baseline data from the Keeping Active across Generations Uniting the Youth and the Aged (KAGUYA) study in Japan. A self-administered questionnaire was mailed to all 8004 residents aged 65 or older residing in the same Japanese town the participants in March 2016. Eating alone was assessed by first asking whether participants ate three separate meals each day (i.e., breakfast, lunch, and dinner), and those who answered affirmatively were then asked how many people were usually present at each meal. Health status was assessed in terms of subjective health, medical history, care needs, body mass index, depression, and functional capacity.Results: Data from 3057 respondents were analyzed. Among those living with others, those who reported not being in good subjective health and a history of hypertension were significantly more likely to eat alone at breakfast (odds ratio 1.27; 95% confidence interval 1.01–1.61, and 1.26; 1.06–1.49). Depressive symptoms and many subscales of functional capacity were also significantly associated with eating alone at breakfast, lunch, and dinner (P < 0.05). Among those living alone, those eating alone at breakfast had lower scores for indicators of functional capacity including information practice (P = 0.010) and total scores (P = 0.049).Conclusions: For both cohabitation situations, many health status indicators were related to eating alone at each meal, especially breakfast.