Starting leisure activities reduces risk of death and need for nursing care ― Institute of Science Tokyo analyzes data on older adults

A research group has announced its finding that older adults who initiated leisure activities had significantly lower mortality. They were also at lower risk of needing care than older adults who did not engage in them. These effects were observed over six years from commencement of leisure activities. The research group included Graduate Student Sayo Masuko and Professor Jun Aida at the Institute of Science Tokyo's Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences. The group's findings were made by analyzing data from the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study (JAGES). JAGES surveys independent older adults aged 65 years and over. The group's research suggests that promoting leisure activities can increase the healthy life expectancy of older adults. It can also help prevent need for nursing care and reduce social isolation. The findings were published in the November 22 issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, an international journal.

Leisure activities enrich life. Previous studies have reported that participation in leisure activities among older adults is associated with lower risk of death and need for nursing care. On the contrary, no research directly examined the effects of changes in whether or not people engage in leisure activities.

In this study, the research group sought to determine how changes over time in the presence or absence of leisure activities relate to the risk of death and need for nursing care among Japanese older adults. JAGES data on independent older adults aged 65 years and older were used. The analysis focused on data from 38,125 people (17,881 men and 20,244 women, mean age 72.8 ± 5.5 years). These were respondents to the 2010 baseline survey and the follow-up survey in 2013.

The study compared people who were not engaged in leisure activities in either 2010 or 2013 with people who had begun leisure activities in 2013. The mortality rates by 2020 were 28.6% and 21.1%, respectively, and the incidence of needing nursing care Level 2 or over was 24.6% and 18.1%, respectively. Adjusted for covariates, people who initiated leisure activities in 2013 had a reduced hazard ratio of 0.82 for death and a reduced risk of needing nursing care of 0.89 over the next 6 years compared to those who did not initiate activities. Even after adjusting for relevant variables, the study found a lower risk of death and need for nursing care in subsequent 6 years.

For the first time, this study has shown that initiating leisure activities in the future is associated with a reduced risk of death and need for long-term nursing care. This is true even if one is not currently engaged in leisure activities.

Aida said, "It is thought that hobbies can lead to health by changing one's mood, immersing oneself in a hobby, socializing with friends, and exercising. I'd been working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic, and I hadn't been out in ages. When I finally did go out, I found it exhausting to climb the stairs. But at the same time, I felt refreshed to see the blue sky. Remembering those experiences, I did the research with a team built around graduate students."

Journal Information
Publication: Journal of the American Geriatrics Society
Title: Changes in leisure activity, all-cause mortality, and functional disability in older Japanese adults: The JAGES cohort study
DOI: 10.1111/jgs.19264