TY - JOUR
T1 - Increased frequency of participation in civic associations and reduced depressive symptoms
T2 - Prospective study of older Japanese survivors of the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake
AU - Zhang, Wen
AU - Tsuji, Taishi
AU - Yokoyama, Meiko
AU - Ide, Kazushige
AU - Aida, Jun
AU - Kawachi, Ichiro
AU - Kondo, Katsunori
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health ( R01AG042463 ), as well as the Grants-in-Aid Scientific Research 2011–2016 (KAKENHI 23243070 ), 2011–2014 (KAKENHI 22390400 ) and 2012–2015 (KAKENHI 24390469 ) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science ; Health Labor Sciences Research from the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare .
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Authors
PY - 2021/5
Y1 - 2021/5
N2 - Rationale: Few studies have examined whether changes in participation in civic associations can mitigate depressive symptoms among older disaster survivors. Objectives: We examined prospectively the association between changes in participation in civic associations and changes in depressive symptoms among older survivors of the 2011 Great Eastern Japan Earthquake. Methods: We analyzed questionnaire-based survey data on pre- and post-disaster participation in civic associations and depressive symptoms compiled for 3567 respondents aged 65 years and above. Changes in these symptoms were assessed using a 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) as a continuous variable for 2010 and 2013. We investigated four types of civic associations: sports, hobby, voluntary groups, and senior citizens’ clubs. Changes in participation were calculated by subtracting the participation frequency measured in 2010 from that measured in 2013. Applying 95% confidence intervals, we used linear regression models with imputation to estimate the age- and sex-adjusted and multivariate-adjusted standardized coefficients. Results: The survivors' GDS scores increased by 0.13 points on average between the pre-disaster and post-disaster periods. Average changes in the participation frequencies of respondents in each group were respectively +0.36 days/year, −5.63 days/year, +0.51 days/year, and −1.45 days/year. Increased frequencies of participation in the sports and hobby groups were inversely associated with changes in GDS scores (B = −0.003, Cohen's f2 = 0.10, P = 0.01 and B = −0.002, Cohen's f2 = 0.08, P = 0.04, respectively). The associations did not differ depending on the experience of housing damage caused by the disaster. In addition, we did not observe a significant association between changes in participation frequencies for voluntary groups or senior citizens' clubs and changes in GDS scores after multivariable adjustment. Conclusions: Depressive symptoms of older adults post-disaster may be mitigated through increased frequency of participation in sports and hobby groups; yet, civic participation did not mitigate the adverse impact of disaster experiences on mental health.
AB - Rationale: Few studies have examined whether changes in participation in civic associations can mitigate depressive symptoms among older disaster survivors. Objectives: We examined prospectively the association between changes in participation in civic associations and changes in depressive symptoms among older survivors of the 2011 Great Eastern Japan Earthquake. Methods: We analyzed questionnaire-based survey data on pre- and post-disaster participation in civic associations and depressive symptoms compiled for 3567 respondents aged 65 years and above. Changes in these symptoms were assessed using a 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) as a continuous variable for 2010 and 2013. We investigated four types of civic associations: sports, hobby, voluntary groups, and senior citizens’ clubs. Changes in participation were calculated by subtracting the participation frequency measured in 2010 from that measured in 2013. Applying 95% confidence intervals, we used linear regression models with imputation to estimate the age- and sex-adjusted and multivariate-adjusted standardized coefficients. Results: The survivors' GDS scores increased by 0.13 points on average between the pre-disaster and post-disaster periods. Average changes in the participation frequencies of respondents in each group were respectively +0.36 days/year, −5.63 days/year, +0.51 days/year, and −1.45 days/year. Increased frequencies of participation in the sports and hobby groups were inversely associated with changes in GDS scores (B = −0.003, Cohen's f2 = 0.10, P = 0.01 and B = −0.002, Cohen's f2 = 0.08, P = 0.04, respectively). The associations did not differ depending on the experience of housing damage caused by the disaster. In addition, we did not observe a significant association between changes in participation frequencies for voluntary groups or senior citizens' clubs and changes in GDS scores after multivariable adjustment. Conclusions: Depressive symptoms of older adults post-disaster may be mitigated through increased frequency of participation in sports and hobby groups; yet, civic participation did not mitigate the adverse impact of disaster experiences on mental health.
KW - Aging
KW - Civic associations
KW - Depressive symptoms
KW - Great east Japan Earthquake
KW - Hobby groups
KW - Natural disasters
KW - Social participation
KW - Sports group
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U2 - 10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.113827
DO - 10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.113827
M3 - Article
C2 - 33744732
AN - SCOPUS:85102626082
VL - 276
JO - Ethics in Science and Medicine
JF - Ethics in Science and Medicine
SN - 0277-9536
M1 - 113827
ER -