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. 2022 Jun 5;32(6):245-253.
doi: 10.2188/jea.JE20200427. Epub 2021 Jun 22.

Prospective Study of Engagement in Leisure Activities and All-Cause Mortality Among Older Japanese Adults

Takaki Kobayashi  1 , Yukako Tani  1 , Shiho Kino  2 , Takeo Fujiwara  1 , Katsunori Kondo  3 , Ichiro Kawachi  2
Affiliations

Prospective Study of Engagement in Leisure Activities and All-Cause Mortality Among Older Japanese Adults

Takaki Kobayashi et al. J Epidemiol. .

Abstract

Background: Engagement in leisure activities among older people is associated with a lower risk of mortality. However, no studies have been conducted focusing on the difference of associations with mortality risk among multiple types of leisure activities.

Methods: We examined prospectively the association of engagement in leisure activities with all-cause mortality in a cohort of older Japanese adults. The Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study included 48,216 participants aged 65 years or older. During a mean follow-up period of 5.6 years, we observed 5,575 deaths (11.6%). We investigated the total number of leisure activities, as well as combinations of 25 different leisure activities with Cox proportional hazards models, adjusting for potential confounding factors.

Results: We found a linear relationship between the total number of leisure activities and mortality hazard (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.93; 95% CI, 0.92-0.95). Furthermore, engagement in leisure activities involving physical activity, as well as group-based interactions, showed the strongest associations with lowered mortality. By contrast, engagement in cultural leisure activities and solitary leisure activities were not associated with all-cause mortality.

Conclusion: Although we cannot rule out residual confounding, our findings suggest that encouraging engagement in physically-active group-based leisure activities may promote longevity in older adults.

Keywords: Japan; aging; leisure activities; older people.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of interest: None declared.

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