Older Community Residents Who Participate in Group Activities Have Higher Daily Physical Activity Levels and Lower Medical Costs

Abstract

Participation in a group activity improves levels of activities of daily living and self-rated health in community-dwelling older adults. However, whether the group activity is associated with daily physical activity (PA) levels and medical costs has not yet been explored. The author administered a questionnaire to participants of group activities for community-dwelling older adults. Levels of daily PA were greater in those who participated once a month (n = 1147), twice a month (n = 1432), and 4 times a month (n = 635) compared with nonparticipating counterparts (n = 570). In the stepwise regression, group activity participation rate was identified as an independent predictor of daily PA levels. Before group activities began, there were no differences in medical costs between participants (n = 721) and nonparticipants (n = 1124). However, after group activities were established, medical costs were lower in participants than in nonparticipants. These results suggest that older community residents who participate in group activities have higher daily PA levels and lower medical costs.

An Overview of Social Participation in Older Adults: Concepts and Assessments

“…In Japan, the relationship between social participation and each factor in older adults has been investigated. In addition, in previous studies, social participation was associated with better cognitive function [19][20][21][22][23] ; less depressive symptoms [24][25][26][27][28] and psychological distress 29 ) ; more instrumental activities of daily living [30][31][32] ; less functional disability [33][34][35][36][37][38] ; better physical activity [39][40][41] ; better life-space mobility 42 ) ; better mental health 43 ) ; self-related health 44 ) and health-related quality of life 45 ) ; social isolation 46,47 ) ; medical care costs 46,47 ) ; and a lower incidence of dementia 48) , frailty [49][50][51] , and mortality 52) in Japanese older adults (Fig. 1).…”

Promoting social engagement of the elderly to cope with aging of the Chinese population

“…A growing number of studies have indicated the important role of social engagement in promoting health and reducing the burden of caregiving among older adults (12,13). A study has also suggested that older people who engage in group activities have lower medical costs (14).…”