Social participation reduces isolation among Japanese older people in urban area: A 3-year longitudinal study

Manami Ejiri; Hisashi Kawai; Yoshinori Fujiwara; Kazushige Ihara; Yutaka Watanabe; Hirohiko Hirano; Hun Kyung Kim; Kaori Ishii; Koichiro Oka; Shuichi Obuchi

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0222887

Social participation reduces isolation among Japanese older people in urban area: A 3-year longitudinal study

PLoS One. 2019 Sep 20;14(9):e0222887. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0222887. eCollection 2019.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Tokyo, Japan.
² Graduate School of Sport Sciences, Waseda University, Saitama, Japan.
³ Faculty of Medicine, Hirosaki University, Aomori, Japan.
⁴ Faculty of Sport Sciences, Waseda University, Saitama, Japan.

Abstract

Objectives: Social isolation is a particular problem among older people and social participation may reduce future isolation. However, it is unclear which types of activities and which level of participation are effective. This study examines the relationship between social participation and isolation among Japanese older people by employing a 3-year longitudinal study.

Methods: A mail survey was sent to 3,518 community-dwelling older people in an urban area in 2014 (baseline: BL). We then conducted follow-up mail survey on respondents who were non-isolated at BL in 2017 (follow-up: FL), with isolation being defined as being in contact with others less than once a week. An analysis was carried out on 1,070 subjects (398 men and 672 women). Social participation is defined by participation in group activities (community, senior club, hobbies, sports, volunteering, politics, industry, and religion). A logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine the association between the types of social participation and the number of organization types at BL, and isolation at FL.

Results: At FL, 75 men (18.8%) and 59 women (8.8%) were considered to be isolated. Among the men, participation in a hobby group and sports group both significantly reduced the degree of isolation. Moreover, participation in two organizations and three or more organizations significantly lowered the risk of isolation when compared to non-participants. Among women, there were no significant associations among particular types of social activities and isolation. On the other hand, participation in one organization and three or more organizations significantly reduced their isolation when compared to non-participants. There was a significant linear trend between the number of types of organizations and isolation, regardless of gender.

Conclusions: Participation in social activities reduces future isolation in older people. Encouraging participation in social activities could help reduce negative health outcomes associated with social isolation later in life.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Asian People / psychology
Asian People / statistics & numerical data
Female
Health Status
Humans
Independent Living / psychology*
Japan
Longitudinal Studies
Male
Social Adjustment
Social Behavior*
Social Isolation / psychology*
Social Participation / psychology*
Surveys and Questionnaires*

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the 2017 Health and Labour Sciences Research Grants (grant number 39–64) from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan, as well as the 2017 Research Funding for Longevity Sciences (grant number 28–30, 29–42) from the National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology (NCGG), Japan. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.