Community-Level Participation in Volunteer Groups and Individual Depressive Symptoms in Japanese Older People: A Three-Year Longitudinal Multilevel Analysis Using JAGES Data

Abstract

Background: The current study aimed to investigate the contextual effect of volunteer group participation on subsequent depressive symptoms in older people. Methods: We analyzed the longitudinal data of 37,552 people aged 65 years and older in 24 municipalities surveyed in the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study. Volunteer group participation of older people was assessed in 2013 by one question and depressive symptoms were assessed by the Geriatric Depression Scale 15 in 2016. To investigate a contextual effect, we aggregated individual-level volunteer group participation by each residence area as a community-level independent variable. We conducted a two-level multilevel Poisson regression analysis using the Random Intercepts and Fixed Slopes Model. Results: The average proportion of community-level volunteer group participation was 10.6%. The results of the Poisson regression analysis showed that community-level volunteer group participation reduced the risk for the onset of depressive symptoms by 13% with a 10 percentage point increase in participation, after adjusting for sex, age, population density, total annual sunshine hours and annual rainfall (incident rate ratio, 0.87; 95% confidence interval, 0.78–0.98). Conclusions: Older people living in areas with higher volunteer group participation had a lower risk of developing depressive symptoms regardless of whether or not they participated in a volunteer group.

Frailty and social participation in older citizens in Japan during the COVID‐19 pandemic

“…Social participation is reported to have a preventive effect on the onset of depression. 26,27 Among older residents in a district of Tokyo, Okamura et al reported that between 2018 and April 2020, when the first state of emergency was declared, the proportion of people with depressed mood There were several limitations to this study. First, the study was conducted in a single city in Japan, and the results may have been affected by factors such as local characteristics of the COVID-19 epidemic and the extent of resumption of social participation.…”

“…Social participation is reported to have a preventive effect on the onset of depression. 26 , 27 Among older residents in a district of Tokyo, Okamura et al reported that between 2018 and April 2020, when the first state of emergency was declared, the proportion of people with depressed mood increased from 29% to 38%, and the proportion of people with frailty increased from 10% to 16%. 28 In our study, the prevalence of depressed mood was 20.8% in the Continued group and 37.4% in the Discontinued group, while it was 24.2% and 35.4% for oral frailty.…”

“…Oral function and mood were significantly impaired in those who discontinued social participation activities at 1 year into the pandemic, even in a suburban city where the pandemic was relatively under control. Social participation is reported to have a preventive effect on the onset of depression 26,27 . Among older residents in a district of Tokyo, Okamura et al reported that between 2018 and April 2020, when the first state of emergency was declared, the proportion of people with depressed mood increased from 29% to 38%, and the proportion of people with frailty increased from 10% to 16% 28 .…”

Formal volunteering and depressive symptoms among Community‐Dwelling older adults in China: A longitudinal cross‐level analysis

“…However, formal volunteering can be also viewed as a contextual phenomenon, a collective characteristic of groups that may independently affect health (Meng & Chen, 2014; Murayama et al, 2015; Tamura et al, 2021). Community‐level formal volunteering facilitates collective action and fosters norms of mutual trust and reciprocity (Kawachi et al, 1999).…”

Effects of fear of COVID‐19 on older volunteers' willingness to continue their activities: REPRINTScohort study

“…The positive effects of volunteering on the health of older adults have been reported worldwide: 1 they include stress reduction, 2 alleviation of depressive moods, 3,4 improved physical health, 5,6 increased life expectancy, 7,8 improved quality of life, 9 and reduced mortality 10 . It has also been suggested that older adults receive more benefits than other age groups from volunteering 11,12 .…”