A Longitudinal Study of Social Participation and the Onset of Disability Among Community‐Dwelling Older Adults With Different Incomes

Abstract

ABSTRACT Introduction This study aimed to longitudinally examine the association between social participation and disability onset among older adults with varying incomes. Methods We conducted an observational prospective population‐based cohort study involving 4494 older adults (55.9% female, mean age 73.8 ± 5.4 years) enrolled in the National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology—Study of Geriatric Syndromes (NCGG‐SGS). Income was assessed using household income, and social participation was evaluated through seven items. Results During a 2‐year follow‐up, 235 participants (5.2%) were newly certified with a disability. In analyses that considered both income level and the number of social participation items, the low‐income and high‐social participation group had a lower risk than the low‐income and low‐social participation group (HR = 0.68, 95% CI = 0.49–0.94). Importantly, the types of activities associated with reduced risk differed by income group: in the high‐income group, ‘Visit friends’ (HR = 0.54, 95% CI = 0.33–0.89) and ‘Shopping’ (HR = 0.27, 95% CI = 0.11–0.68) and in the low‐income group, ‘Visit friends’ (HR = 0.59, 95% CI = 0.40–0.88), ‘Exercise circle’ (HR = 0.49, 95% CI = 0.33–0.72) and ‘Advice’ (HR = 0.40, 95% CI = 0.26–0.64) were relevant. Conclusion These findings indicate that maintaining social participation, particularly through familiar and accessible activities, may contribute to a lower risk of disability among older adults, even among those with limited income.

Affiliated Institutions

• Pola Chemical Industries (Japan) JP
• Kobe Gakuin University JP
• National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology JP

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