Examination of the relationship between participation in salons aimed at care prevention through the promotion of social participation and the subsequent cost of care: A 3-year prospective follow-up study in JAGES.

Many previous studies have found that social participation improves the health and functional maintenance of older people. However, to determine whether promoting social participation can prevent functional decline in the elderly, it is necessary not only to compare the prognosis of those who participate in social activities to those who do not but also to demonstrate that the intervention was effective in promoting social participation. Although the effect of social participation in preventing caregiving has been demonstrated, the key question is whether preventing functional decline through social participation can reduce care costs.

[Seven-week trial introduction of green slow-mobility services in a new town].

Objectives　The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism is promoting the introduction of green slow mobility (GSM) vehicles (can drive up to 20 km/h on public roads) for mobility assistance and potential long-term care prevention. We identified four key factors to pinpoint the challenges and enhance opportunities for introducing GSM; GSM's operational achievements, a comparison of the characteristics of GSM users and non-users, purpose for using GSM, and observation of GSM's contribution to long-term care prevention among older adults.Methods　A pilot GSM study was conducted in Ikeda City, Osaka Prefecture, from October to December 2022.

Differences in Cumulative Long-Term Care Costs by Dental Visit Pattern Among Japanese Older Adults: The JAGES Cohort Study.

Background: Long-term care (LTC) costs create burdens on aging societies. Maintaining oral health through dental visits may result in shorter LTC periods, thereby decreasing LTC costs; however, this remains unverified. We examined whether dental visits in the past 6 months were associated with cumulative LTC insurance (LTCI) costs.

Sociodemographic Heterogeneity in the Associations of Social Isolation With Mortality.

Importance: There are limited data on whether the vulnerabilities and impacts of social isolation vary across populations.

Objective: To explore the association between social isolation and mortality due to all causes, cardiovascular diseases (CVD), and malignant neoplasms focusing on heterogeneity by sociodemographic factors.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This cohort study used a moderator-wide approach to examine the heterogeneity in the association of social isolation with all-cause, CVD, and malignant neoplasm mortality using baseline data from the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study in 2010 and 2011.

Living in public rental housing is healthier than private rental housing a 9-year cohort study from Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study.

Housing tenure is an important aspect to determine health. However, even though renters tend to have more socioeconomic disadvantages than homeowners, mortality risk between private and public renters compared with homeowners remains unclear. Japanese public rented housing, such as the Urban Renaissance Agency, has been developed for supplying an adequate living environment since 1950s.

Social participation and functional disability trajectories in the last three years of life: The Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study.

Background: Functional disability has various patterns from onset until death. Although social participation is a known protective factor against functional disability among older individuals, it is unclear whether social participation is associated with the trajectory patterns of functional disability prior to death. This study assessed the association between social participation, specifically in horizontal and vertical groups, and the trajectories of functional disability prior to death.

Measuring functional ability in Healthy Ageing: testing its validity using Japanese nationwide longitudinal data.

Background: The United Nations Decade of Healthy Ageing 2021-2030 suggests nations should monitor functional ability as an indicator of healthy ageing progress. Functional ability is the attribute of people to do something they value and consists of five domains. We examined its validity in terms of a construct, cross-validation across multiple waves' data, and predictivity for subsequent well-being.

Reduced number of teeth with and without dental prostheses and low frequency of laughter in older adults: Mediation by poor oral function.

Purpose: Laughter is expected to have health-protective effects, but the potential link between tooth loss and laughter remains unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the association between tooth loss and a low frequency of laughter among older adults in Japan, to elucidate whether this association could be mitigated by dental prostheses, and to evaluate the magnitude of the association mediated by poor oral function.

Methods: We used cross-sectional data from 157,708 functionally independent participants aged ≥65 years (46.

Association of Social Isolation and Loneliness With Chronic Low Back Pain Among Older Adults: A Cross-sectional Study From Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study (JAGES).

Background: Per the biopsychosocial model, pain, especially chronic low back pain, which often presents with nonspecific pain, requires a comprehensive approach involving social factors. However, the association of social factors, including social isolation and loneliness, with this condition remains unclear. This study examined the cross-sectional association of social isolation and loneliness with chronic low back pain among older adults.

Social isolation and subsequent health and well-being in older adults: A longitudinal outcome-wide analysis.

Background: Social isolation has become a serious public health issue. However, most previous studies examine the relationship between social isolation and a single outcome. We aimed to conduct holistic assessments to understand the multidimensional impacts of social isolation on health and well-being.

Oral function and cumulative long-term care costs among older Japanese adults: a prospective 6-year follow-up study of long care receipt data.

Objectives: This study evaluated the relationship between status of oral function and related long-term care service costs.

Design: This was a prospective 6-year follow-up study of previous survey data.

Setting: The data were obtained from the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study conducted between 2010 and 2011.

Functional disability trajectories at the end of life among Japanese older adults: findings from the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study (JAGES).

Background: this study aimed to identify distinct subgroups of trajectories of disability over time before 3 years of death and examine the factors associated with trajectory group membership probabilities among community-dwelling Japanese older adults aged 65 years and above.

Methods: participants included 4,875 decedents from among community-dwelling Japanese older adults, aged ≥ 65 years at baseline (men: 3,020; women: 1,855). The certified long-term care levels of the national long-term care insurance (LTCI) system were used as an index of functional disability.

Types of Sports and Exercise Group Participation and Sociopsychological Health in Older Adults: A 3-Yr Longitudinal Study.

Purpose: This study aimed to identify the association between a specific sports type and exercise group participation and longitudinal changes in sociopsychological health among community-dwelling older adults.

Methods: Three years of data from the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study were used, comprising a total of 33,746 men and 36,799 women age ≥65 yr. To determine the relationship between 20 types of sports and exercise group participation in 2016 (baseline) and changes in depressive symptoms (Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15)), self-rated health (4-point scale), subjective well-being (11-point scale), and frequency of laughter (days per month) from 2016 to 2019, we performed linear regression analyses with conducting a multivariate adjustment for potential confounders using an inverse probability weighting method.

Does laughing with others lower the risk of functional disability among older Japanese adults? The JAGES prospective cohort study.

While laughter is evoked mainly in social contexts, the potential link between laughter in daily life and health benefits is unclear. This study aimed to examine the association between laughter in daily life and the onset of functional disability among older adults in Japan. Data were obtained from a 6-year follow-up cohort of 12,571 participants (46.

[Accumulated long-term care benefits by risk assessment scales for incident functional disability: A six-year follow-up study of long-term care receipt data].

Objectives　This study aims to evaluate the differences in the cumulative benefit costs of public long-term care [LTC] insurance services, using a risk assessment scale score, which predicts incident functional disability among older people.Methods　A baseline survey was conducted in 2010 involving individuals aged 65 and above from 12 municipalities in Japan who were not eligible for public LTC insurance benefits (response rate: 64.7%).

Association between community-level social capital and frailty onset among older adults: a multilevel longitudinal study from the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study (JAGES).

Background: Little is known about the prospective association between community-level social capital and individual-level frailty onset. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the impact of community-level social capital on frailty onset among older adults using 3-year longitudinal data.

Methods: This prospective cohort study recruited non-institutionalised older adults from the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study, established in 2013 and robust older adults were followed up for 3 years.