Eating Alone as Social Disengagement is Strongly Associated With Depressive Symptoms in Japanese Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Kuroda, Aki; Tanaka, T.; Hirano, Hirohiko; Ohara, Yuki; Kikutani, Takeshi; Furuya, Hiroyasu; Obuchi, Shuichi; Kawai, Hisashi; Ishii, Shinya; Akishita, Masahiro; Tsuji, Taishi; Iijima, Katsuya

doi:10.1016/j.jamda.2015.01.078

Cited by 69 publications

(65 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Yi-Chen Huang, 1,2 Hsing-Ling Cheng, 3 Mark L Wahlqvist, 2,4,5 Yuan-Ting C Lo, 2 Meei-Shyuan Lee 1,2 To cite: Huang ► Use of a representative free-living Taiwanese cohort with 10 years follow-up for survival. ► Study design provided an understanding of eating arrangements for older adults in a community setting.…”

Section: Gender Differences In Longevity In Freeliving Older Adults Wmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…7 9 However, the present study shows that after control for dietary quality in the model, eating-with-others and mortality remain associated. A possible reason for this is that solitary eating is often associated with depression, [4][5][6] in turn associated with mortality. However, there may be value in solitude itself which would be an alternative interpretation of the difference we have found in mortality risk reduction between eating two times and three times a day with others by men.…”

Section: Food Intake When Eating-with-othersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Numerous countries offer nutritional programmes, such as congregate meals or meals-on-wheels programmes, to encourage eating in a social setting 3. The inverse correlation between eating-with-others and risk of depression has been studied extensively 4–7. Additionally, eating alone can be analysed as a separate risk factor from living alone with regard to depression or depressive symptoms 5 6.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…3 The inverse correlation between eating-with-others and risk of depression has been studied extensively. [4][5][6][7] Additionally, eating alone can be analysed as a separate risk factor from living alone with regard to depression or depressive symptoms. 5 6 Eating-with-others can potentially improve dietary quality, variety and energy intake through social facilitation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Gender differences in longevity in free-living older adults who eat-with-others: a prospective study in Taiwan

Huang

Wahlqvist²,

et al. 2017

BMJ Open

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ObjectivesSocial activities such as ‘eating-with-others’ can positively affect the ageing process. We investigated the gender-specific association between eating arrangements and risk of all-cause mortality among free-living older adults.SettingA representative sample from the Elderly Nutrition and Health Survey in Taiwan during 1999–2000.ParticipantsSome 1894 participants (955 men and 939 women) who aged ≥65 and completed eating arrangement question as well as confirmed survivorship information.Primary and secondary outcome measuresEating arrangements, health condition and 24-hour dietary recall information were collected at baseline. We classified eating arrangements as the daily frequency of eating-with-others (0–3). Survivorship was determined by the National Death Registry until the end of 2008. Cox proportional-hazards regression was used to assess the association between eating-with-others and mortality risk.ResultsOverall, 63.1% of men and 56.4% of women ate with others three times a day. Both men and women who ate with others were more likely to have higher meat and vegetable intakes and greater dietary quality than those who ate alone. The HRs (95% CI) for all-cause mortality when eating-with-others two and three times per day were 0.42 (0.28 to 0.61), 0.67 (0.52 to 0.88) in men and 0.68 (0.42 to 1.11), 0.86 (0.64 to 1.16) in women, compared with those who ate alone. Multivariable HRs (95% CI) adjusted for sociodemographic, nutritional and ‘activities of daily living’ covariates were 0.43 (0.25 to 0.73), 0.63 (0.41 to 0.98) in men and 0.68 (0.35 to 1.30), 0.69 (0.39 to 1.21) in women. With further adjustment for financial status, HR was reduced by 54% in men who ate with others two times a day. Pathway analysis shows this to be dependent on improved dietary quality by eating-with-others.ConclusionsEating-with-others is an independent survival factor in older men. Providing a social environment which encourages eating-with-others may benefit survival of older people, especially for men.

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Section: Gender Differences In Longevity In Freeliving Older Adults Wmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Food Intake When Eating-with-othersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Gender differences in longevity in free-living older adults who eat-with-others: a prospective study in Taiwan

Huang

Wahlqvist²,

et al. 2017

BMJ Open

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“…Given that meals are regarded as an important opportunity for socialization (Kuroda et al, 2015), the transition from traditional eating behavior with families to eating alone may lead to higher rates of depressive symptoms (Kimura et al, 2012). Therefore, the aim of this study was to clarify the associations between different types of usual dinner companions and depression among adults.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is one’s usual dinner companion associated with greater odds of depression? Using data from the 2014 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

Lee

Park

et al. 2016

Int J Soc Psychiatry

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Does eating with others promote happiness among older adults living alone? A 3‐year longitudinal study of the Japan gerontological evaluation study

Wang,

Tsuji,

Ide

et al. 2023

Int J Geriat Psychiatry

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ObjectiveLiving a happy life is an essential issue for old adults. However, how eating with others contributes to happiness and whether this association is different by living arrangements or not is unknown. The current study examined the relationship between the frequency of eating with others and happiness among older adults according to their living arrangements using 3‐year longitudinal data.MethodsThe analyzed sample comprised 18,727 people (10,920 males and 7807 females) with low happiness (0–7 points on score of 0–10 points) from Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study (JAGES) in 2016. Our exposure was the frequency of eating with others: rarely, a few times a year, a few times a month, and a few times a week or more. We performed Modified Poisson Regression to examine the association between the frequency of eating with others and high happiness (8–10 points) in 2019 stratified by living arrangement (living alone/with others).ResultsA total of 4352 (23.2%) people showed high happiness in 2019. After adjusting for age, sex, marital status, education, household income, social participation, illnesses under treatment, and depressive symptoms in 2016, the cumulative incidence ratio (CIR) for high happiness in 2019 among people living alone was more significant, that is, 1.28 (95% confidence intervals: 0.88–1.87), 1.50 (1.05–2.14), and 1.82 (1.26–2.63), than 1.28 (1.11–1.48), 1.30 (1.12–1.50), and 1.33 (1.16–1.52) among people living with others for those who ate with others a few times a year, a few times a month, and a few times a week or more compared to those who rarely ate with others, respectively. The interaction between the frequency of eating with others and living arrangements was statistically significant. The trend test showed that higher frequency of eating with others was significantly associated with high happiness.ConclusionsEating with others was associated with improved happiness among older adults, with such an association being stronger among people living alone.

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Eating Alone as Social Disengagement is Strongly Associated With Depressive Symptoms in Japanese Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Cited by 69 publications

References 34 publications

Gender differences in longevity in free-living older adults who eat-with-others: a prospective study in Taiwan

Gender differences in longevity in free-living older adults who eat-with-others: a prospective study in Taiwan

Is one’s usual dinner companion associated with greater odds of depression? Using data from the 2014 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

Does eating with others promote happiness among older adults living alone? A 3‐year longitudinal study of the Japan gerontological evaluation study

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