[Participation in community gathering places and frailty among older adults: A longitudinal study using three-wave panel data from JAGES 2016, 2019, and 2022].

Abstract

Objectives　Community gathering places have emerged as a key population-level approach for frailty prevention in Japan. Although these activities are expected to support health maintenance and long-term care prevention among older adults, evidence regarding their association with frailty remains limited because few studies have adequately addressed potential confounding and reverse causation. This study aimed to examine the association between participation in community gathering places and frailty using large-scale three-wave panel data.Methods　Data were obtained from the 2016, 2019, and 2022 waves of the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study (JAGES). The analytic sample comprised 41,245 community-dwelling older adults aged ≥65 years from 25 municipalities. Frailty status in 2022 was the outcome, and participation in community gathering places in 2019 was the primary exposure. Thirteen covariates measured in 2016 were included: sex, age, baseline frailty status, urbanicity, equivalent household income, educational attainment, marital status, household composition, employment status, social participation, social support, depressive symptoms, and current medical treatment. Modified Poisson regression models were used to estimate risk ratios. Subgroup analyses stratified by demographic and socioeconomic characteristics were also performed.Results　Older adults who participated in community gathering places at least once monthly had a lower risk of frailty in 2022 than nonparticipants (risk ratio: 0.93, 95% confidence interval: 0.88-0.97). Subgroup analyses showed that the association was generally consistent across sex and age categories. Similar findings were observed among individuals with lower socioeconomic status, indicating that the potential benefits of participation may extend across diverse population groups.Conclusion　Participation in community gathering places was associated with a reduced risk of frailty, suggesting that these community-based activities may contribute to frailty prevention. These findings highlight the importance of strengthening and expanding such programs as part of broader population strategies to promote healthy longevity among older adults.