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
Review
. 2023 Jan:171:112029.
doi: 10.1016/j.exger.2022.112029. Epub 2022 Nov 17.

The trajectory of psychological well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic and its association with health-promoting coping behavior among Japanese community-dwelling older adults: The Otassha Study

Manami Ejiri  1 , Hisashi Kawai  2 , Keigo Imamura  2 , Takeshi Kera  3 , Kazushige Ihara  4 , Yoshinori Fujiwara  2 , Hirohiko Hirano  2 , Hunkyung Kim  2 , Shuichi Obuchi  2
Affiliations
Review

The trajectory of psychological well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic and its association with health-promoting coping behavior among Japanese community-dwelling older adults: The Otassha Study

Manami Ejiri et al. Exp Gerontol. 2023 Jan.

Abstract

This study aims to identify the trajectory of psychological well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic among community-dwelling older adults and to clarify the association between coping behavior in the early stage of the pandemic and the trajectory of psychological well-being. The study was based on a cohort study, known as "the Otassha Study." We administered three follow-up surveys to 720 older adults who participated in the survey in October 2019 (T0): T1: June 2020, T2: October 2020, and T3: October 2021. Furthermore, we assessed coping behavior in T1 via a self-developed questionnaire comprising 10 items. Psychological well-being was assessed by the WHO-5 Well-Being Index (score range: 0 to 25) in all surveys. The trajectories of psychological well-being were identified by group-based trajectory modeling. The association between coping behaviors and trajectory patterns was assessed using multinomial logistic regression analysis. Furthermore, among the 508 participants who participated in the follow-up survey two times or more, three patterns of the trajectory of psychological well-being were identified: heavily decreased group (n = 39), decreased group (n = 352), and increased group (n = 39). "Walking" as a coping behavior had a significantly higher odds ratio (OR) to be in the increased group (OR = 2.32, 95 % confidence interval (CI) 1.06-5.05, p = 0.035) compared to the heavily decreased group. "Conversations with family living together" had a slightly higher OR to become an increased group (OR = 1.96, 95 % CI: 0.87-4.41, p = 0.106), and "actively gathering information on COVID-19" had a slightly lower OR to become the decreased group (OR = 0.53, 95 % CI: 0.26-1.06, p = 0.072) compared to the heavily decreased group. The results of this study suggest how maintaining health in the early stage of the pandemic had a great influence on the long-term health status.

Keywords: COVID-19; Coping behavior; Older adults; Psychological well-being; Trajectory.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest None.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Timing of survey and state of emergencies in Tokyo.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
The trajectory of WHO-5.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Awata S., Bech P., Koizumi Y., Seki T., Kuriyama S., Hozawa A., Ohmori K., Nakaya N., Matsuoka H., Tsuji I. Validity and utility of the Japanese version of the WHO-Five Well-being Index in the context of detecting suicidal ideation in elderly community residents. Int. Psychogeriatr. 2007;19:77–88. doi: 10.1017/S1041610206004212. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Budimir S., Probst T., Pieh C. Coping strategies and mental health during COVID-19 lockdown. J. Ment. Health. 2021;30:156–163. doi: 10.1080/09638237.2021.1875412. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Callow D.D., Arnold-Nedimala N.A., Jordan L.S., Pena G.S., Won J., Woodard J.L., Smith J.C. The mental health benefits of physical activity in older adults survive the COVID-19 pandemic. Am. J. Geriatr. Psychiatry. 2020;28:1046–1057. doi: 10.1016/j.jagp.2020.06.024. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Coping with stress. 2021. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/managing-str...
    1. De Sousa R.A.L., Improta-Caria A.C., Aras-Júnior R., de Oliveira E.M., Soci Ú.P.R., Cassilhas R.C. Physical exercise effects on the brain during COVID-19 pandemic: links between mental and cardiovascular health. Neurol. Sci. 2021;42:1325–1334. doi: 10.1007/s10072-021-05082-9. - DOI - PMC - PubMed