The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate relationships between individuals’ ratings of satisfaction and performance of activities that they found meaningful and depressive symptoms. Data was obtained from 806 older adults (mean age 74.9 ± 6.3 years, women = 63.0%) who participated in a community-based health check survey (Tarumizu Study 2018). Participants selected meaningful activities from 95 activities using the Aid for Decision-Making in Occupation Choice and evaluated their satisfaction and performance. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15) and defined by a GDS-15 score of ≥5. Non-linear logistic regression analyses were used separately by gender to examine the association between satisfaction and performance of meaningful activities and depressive symptoms. The prevalence of depressive symptoms was 15.8%. We found no significant difference between meaningful activity choice between older adults with depressive symptoms and those without, in both men and women. After adjusting for potential covariates, satisfaction was associated with depressive symptoms in both men (OR 0.52, 95% CI 0.35–0.77) and women (OR 0.67, 95% CI 0.49–0.91), but performance was limited in women (OR 0.87, 95% CI 0.77–0.99). Our findings suggest that depressive symptoms are associated with satisfaction in meaningful activities regardless of activity categories.

Outpatient rehabilitation (OR) and outpatient day long-term care (ODLC) services are frequently used by older adult patients in Japan. However, there is a need to clarify that OR service, which has more rehabilitation professionals than ODLC, has the role of providing rehabilitation. This retrospective study examined the impact of OR services by comparing the two services based on City A data from the care-needs certification survey conducted between 2015 to 2017. We performed a propensity score matched analysis to compare the changes in the care level and function of OR and ODLC users after two years. The results showed that OR users showed a lower deterioration in care levels and less decline in the activities of daily living (ADL) in dementia and adaptation to social life. In the analysis of older adults requiring support, OR users had a lower deterioration in care levels and less decline in the ADL in dementia and behavioral and psychological symptoms than ODLC users did. There was no difference between the two services with respect to older adults requiring long-term care. The OR service has had an increasingly preventive effect on the deterioration of care levels compared to the ODLC service, which was particularly evident in older adults requiring support.

The study is cross-sectional in nature and aims to investigate the relationship of the frequency of socialization (FOS) to the daily life, social life, and physical function of community-dwelling adults aged 60 and over after the COVID-19 outbreak. A self-reported questionnaire survey was conducted on 3000 members of CO-OP Kagoshima, out of which 342 responses were received. Bivariate statistics was conducted followed by multiple logistic regression analysis. Questions with significant differences were set as independent variables, whereas the FOS was set as the dependent variable. Results indicate significant group differences between the decreased and increased/unchanged groups. After adjusting for potential covariates, multiple logistic regression analysis revealed decreases in the frequencies of cooking (OR: 0.07; 95% CI: 0.01–0.69; p = 0.02), shopping (OR: 18.76; 95% CI: 7.12–49.41; p < 0.01), and eating out (OR: 3.47; 95% CI: 1.21–9.97; p = 0.02), which were significantly associated with decreased FOS. The finding may inform policy making in identifying priorities for support in daily life for community-dwelling adults over the age of 60 undergoing social distancing.

With the rapid development of information and communication technology, smartphone ownership has increased among older adults. While previous research has examined the impact of smartphone use on the health of older adults, this study focuses on the less-explored relationship between smartphone use, proficiency, and health-related outcomes including higher-level competence. The study was a cross-sectional survey of 208 community-dwelling older adults who used smartphones daily. Smartphone use, including years of use and applications, was assessed and categorized by age group. Health-related outcomes were measured, including cognitive and psychological function, higher-level competence, basic daily abilities, and physical function. The results indicated that smartphone proficiency decreased with age, with older adults primarily using basic smartphone applications. Notably, higher smartphone proficiency was positively associated with higher-level competence and physical functions. The study underscores the importance of considering smartphone proficiency when assessing older adults’ life skills and physical performance in our digital society.

This study aimed to clarify the variability in the independence profiles of specific activities of daily living (ADL) among older men and women. The research subjects were 5872 older adults (1143 men and 4729 women) certified as requiring nursing care or support (based on data obtained from the nursing care insurance certification survey database) who could be surveyed in both 2009 and 2018. Using item response theory, this study compared longitudinal data of difficulties faced by older adults during ADL. The results indicated that among the long-term care insurance-certified persons, in 2009, men had higher ADL difficulty than women in all ADL items, and in 2018, there was no significant difference in items other than dressing and excretion. Furthermore, the difference in the rate of ADL difficulty level over 9 years was significantly higher in women than in men. It was shown that the progression of ADL disability due to aging is faster in men on a yearly basis, but it increases in women with aging. Therefore, it was suggested that the rate of ADL difficulty varies depending on age and sex.