The psychological health effects of pet ownership have been widely studied, but only a few studies investigated its impact among socially isolated older adults. The present study aims to investigate the psychological health of older adults with or without the experience of pet (i.e., dog or cat) ownership who are socially isolated or not socially isolated. This study used cross-sectional data from 9856 community-dwelling older adults in a metropolitan area of Japan. Social and non-social isolation and type of pet ownership (i.e., dog or cat) were stratified to examine the psychological health. Logistic regression models indicated that, after adjusting for demographic and potential confounders, socially isolated older adults who never owned a dog were 1.22 times more likely to report lower psychological health in comparison to socially isolated current or past dog owners. No such difference was observed among cat owners. The results suggest that the experience of dog ownership may be effective to improve the psychological health among socially isolated older adult.

This study examined differences in older adults’ travel behaviours by frailty status in metropolitan, suburban, and rural areas of Japan. Data were collected from 9104 older adults (73.5 ± 5.7 years; 51% women; 19% frail) living in metropolitan (n = 5032), suburban (n = 2853), and rural areas (n = 1219) of Japan. Participants reported if they walked, cycled, drove a car, rode a car as a passenger, and used public transportation (PT) once per week or more. A standardised questionnaire was used to assess frailty status. We conducted logistic regression analysis to calculate the odds ratios of using each travel mode by frailty status stratified by locality. Relative to non-frail participants, frail participants were less likely to walk and drive a car in all three areas. Frail participants had significantly higher odds of being a car passenger in the suburban (OR = 1.73 (95% CI: 1.32, 2.25)) and rural areas (OR = 1.61 (1.10, 2.35)) but not in the metropolitan area (OR = 1.08 (0.87, 1.33)). This study found that frail older adults living in suburban and rural areas tended to rely more on cars driven by someone else, suggesting that transport disadvantage is more pronounced in suburban and rural areas than in metropolitan areas.

Informal neighbor relationships (NRs) are considered a structural aspect of social relationships. Although NRs might affect physical activity (PA), no previous study has simultaneously examined compositional and contextual associations of NRs with PA. In this study, we examined whether individual- and community-level NRs were independently associated with PA. We analyzed cross-sectional data from 8592 (4340 men and 4252 women) non-disabled residents aged 65–84 years from all 18 districts of Ota City, Tokyo. PA was assessed by using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form. In addition, we calculated moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA), its components (vigorous PA [VPA], moderate PA [MPA], and walking time [WT]), and sitting time (ST). Individual-level NRs were categorized as “visiting each other,” “standing and chatting,” “exchange of greetings,” or “none.” Community-level NRs were defined as the proportions of residents with active NRs (i.e., those in the categories visiting each other and standing and chatting) in the 18 districts. Using multilevel regression analyses, we examined independent associations of individual- and community-level NRs with PA variables and adjusted for important confounders. Individual-level NRs were consistently positively associated with MVPA and its components (VPA, MPA [in men], and WT) in both sexes, and the dose–response relationships were significant (all P < 0.041 for trend). In men, community-level NRs (by 1% estimation) were positively associated with individual MVPA (2.1 metabolic equivalent-hours/week, 95% confidence interval: 0.7–3.4), VPA (8.6 min/week, 2.7–14.4), and WT (11.6 min/week, 2.2–20.9), regardless of the degree of individual-level NRs. Significant cross-level interactions of NRs with MVPA and VPA were observed among men, and the dose–response relationships were significant (both P < 0.037 for trend). Neither individual- nor community-level NRs were associated with ST in either sex. Men and women with inaccessible neighbors engaged in less MVPA, while men living in communities with active NRs engaged in more MVPA, regardless of individual-level NRs. NRs at the individual and community level might help prevent physical inactivity among men.

Subjective age (i.e., how old one feels) has been found to be a biopsychosocial marker of aging. This study examined the associations between subjective age and the frequency of information and communication technology (ICT) usage by older adults. Data were collected via an online survey conducted in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study analyzed responses from participants aged 65 to 89 (M = 71.9, SD = 3.9) who resided in Japan (N = 1631, 52.8% female). Subjective age was indexed by asking participants to specify in years how old they felt. Proportional discrepancy scores (PDS) were calculated to indicate younger or older subjective age and were used as an independent variable. Participants were asked about the frequency of computer, smartphone, flip phone, tablet, and social networking service (SNS) use. Two-thirds of the participants (63.6%) reported feeling younger than their actual age. Nearly 90% reported using computers for more than 2–3 days a week, while 64.3% reported smartphone use, 22.9% reported flip phone use, and 36.6% reported SNS use. Logistic regression analyses revealed that a lower PDS (i.e., feeling younger) was associated with a significantly higher frequency of smartphone use (OR: 0.77; 95% CI: 0.60, 0.98) after adjusting for potential confounders. No such association was found for computer, flip phone, tablet, or SNS use. Our study found that feeling younger was associated with a higher frequency of smartphone use. The daily use of smartphones may have helped older adults stay in touch with family and friends and obtain the information that they needed, which may have contributed to better psychological well-being outcomes, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This study aimed to examine area differences in the prevalence of and factors associated with frailty. This cross-sectional study included metropolitan (eastern and western areas), suburban (districts A and B), and rural areas of Japan (n = 9182, woman 50.9%). Frailty was defined by using a standardized questionnaire comprising three subcategories (fall, nutritional status, and social activities). The prevalence of frailty in the five areas was 14.2% to 30.6% for men and 11.5% to 21.4% for women. The areas with a high frailty prevalence had a significantly lower nutritional status or social activity, or both. Compared to the western metropolitan area, among men, the multivariable-adjusted prevalence ratio (APR) of frailty was significantly higher in the eastern metropolitan area and lower in suburban district A, and among women, the eastern metropolitan and rural areas had significantly higher APRs. Area-stratified multiple Poisson regression analysis showed that age, bone and joint disease, and a subjective economic status were associated with frailty in most areas and that some factors were area-specific, i.e., living alone (for men living in metropolitan areas) and underweight (for women living in suburban areas). The frailty prevalence differed by area, even after multivariable adjustment. Area-specific characteristics and factors associated with frailty may result in area differences.

Aim: To examine the relationship between the number of present and functional teeth at baseline and future incidence of loss of independence.Methods: Participants were community‐dwelling older individuals who participated in a comprehensive geriatric health examination conducted in Kusatsu town, Japan, between 2009 and 2015. The primary endpoint was the incidence of loss of independence among participants, defined as the first certification of long‐term care insurance in Japan. The numbers of present and functional teeth at baseline were determined via an oral examination. Demographics, clinical variables (e.g., history of chronic diseases and psychosocial factors), blood nutritional markers, physical functions, and perceived masticatory function were assessed.Results: This study included 1121 individuals, and 205 individuals suffered from loss of independence during the follow‐up period. Kaplan–Meier estimates of loss of independence for participants with smaller numbers of present and functional teeth were significantly greater than for those with larger numbers of teeth. Cox proportional hazard analyses indicated that a smaller number of present teeth was not a significant risk factor after adjusting for demographic characteristics. However, the number of functional teeth was a significant risk factor after the adjustment (hazard ratio: 1.975 [1.168–3.340]). Additionally, higher hazard ratios were observed in other adjusted models, but they were not statistically significant.Conclusions: The number of functional teeth may be more closely related to the future incidence of loss of independence than the number of present teeth. This novel finding suggests that prosthodontic rehabilitation for tooth loss possibly prevents the future incidence of this life‐event. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2022; 22: 1032–1039.