AIM:

This study aimed to examine the relationship of participating in community activities (CA) with cognitive impairment and depressive mood independent of mobility disorder (MD) among older Japanese people.

METHODS:

Elderly residents in institutions or those requiring long-term care insurance services were excluded; questionnaires were mailed to 5401 older adults in 2013. The response rate was 94.3% (n=5094). We used multiple imputation to manage missing data. The questionnaire addressed physical fitness, memory, mood, and CA. Participants were divided into two groups (good and bad) based on the median scores for physical fitness, memory, and mood. We identified items related to periodically performed CA, cognitive impairment, and depressive mood, and examined correlations between scores on these sets of items.

RESULTS:

The mean age was 75.9 years; 58.4% of participants were women. The following CA significantly predicted reduced cognitive impairment and depressive mood independent of MD: volunteer activity, community activity, visiting friends at home, pursuing hobbies, paid work, farm work, and daily shopping. These results were corrected for age, sex, and response method (mail or home-visit). Higher CA scores were associated with lower cognitive impairment and lower depressive mood independent of MD.

CONCLUSIONS:

CA is negatively associated with cognitive impairment and depressive mood among community-dwelling elderlyindependent of MD; promoting CA may protect against cognitive impairment and depressive mood in this population. However, MD, cognitive impairment, and depressive mood may lead to reduced CA.