Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Jan 18;17(2):617.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph17020617.

Social Participation and Functional Decline: A Comparative Study of Rural and Urban Older People, Using Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study Longitudinal Data

Kazushige Ide  1   2 , Taishi Tsuji  3 , Satoru Kanamori  4   5 , Seungwon Jeong  6 , Yuiko Nagamine  3   7 , Katsunori Kondo  2   3   8
Affiliations

Social Participation and Functional Decline: A Comparative Study of Rural and Urban Older People, Using Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study Longitudinal Data

Kazushige Ide et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

This study compared the relationship between social participation, including work, and incidence of functional decline in rural and urban older people in Japan, by focusing on the number and types of organizations older people participated in. The longitudinal data of the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study (JAGES) that followed 55,243 individuals aged 65 years or older for six years were used. The Cox proportional hazards model was employed to calculate the hazard ratio (HR) of the incidence of functional decline over six years and the stratification of rural and urban settings. In this model, we adjusted 13 variables as behavioral, psychosocial, and functional confounders. The more rural and urban older people participated in various organizations, the more they were protected from functional decline. Participation in sports (HR: rural = 0.79; urban = 0.83), hobby groups (HR: rural = 0.76; urban = 0.90), and work (HR: rural = 0.83; urban = 0.80) significantly protected against the incidence of decline in both rural and urban areas. For both rural and urban older people, promoting social participation, such as sports and hobby groups and employment support, seemed to be an important aspect of public health policies that would prevent functional decline.

Keywords: functional decline; rural; social participation; urban; work.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

    1. Kalache A., Kickbusch I. A global strategy for healthy ageing. World Health. 1997;50:2.
    1. Walker A. A strategy for active ageing. Int. Soc. Secur. Rev. 2002;55:121–139. doi: 10.1111/1468-246X.00118. - DOI
    1. Active Age Consortium Vercoming the barriers and seizing the opportunities for active ageing policies in Europe. Int. Soc. Sci. J. 2016;58:617–631.
    1. UNECE 2018 Active Ageing Index: Analytical Report. [(accessed on 28 December 2019)]; Available online: https://www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/pau/age/Active_Ageing_Index/Stakehol....
    1. Zaidi A., Gasior K., Hofmarcher M.M., Lelkes O., Marin B., Rodrigues R., Schmidt A., Vanhuysse P., Zolyomi E. Active Ageing Index 2012: Concept, Methodology and Final Results’, Methodology Report Submitted to European Commission’s DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, and to Population Unit, UNECE, for the Project: ‘Active Ageing Index (AAI)’, UNECE Grant No: ECE/GC/2012/003, Geneva. European Centre Vienna; Wien, Austria: 2013.

Publication types