Kaneko Makoto, Saitoh Fumihiro, Hara Hotaka, Motomura Takako, Maruyama Kumiko, Okamoto Yumiko, Kuribayashi Hisako, Imai Kouichi, Kondo Katsunori
Yokohama City University, Kanagawa, Japan.
Japanese Health and Welfare Co-operative Federation, Tokyo, Japan.
Inquiry. 2025 Jan-Dec;62:469580251348822. doi: 10.1177/00469580251348822. Epub 2025 Jul 23.
Although group participation benefits older adults' health, its effects may vary by group type. The Japanese Health and Welfare Co-operative (Hew Co-op) organises peer-led group participation called 'Han Kai' meetings to promote health literacy, but the impact of Han Kai participation on health indicators remains unexplored. This study aimed to examine whether the frequency and duration of Han Kai participation were associated with risk of functional disability. This was a prospective cohort study conducted in Japan between 2018 and 2022. The participants were Han Kai members aged ≥ 65 years who did not receive a Long-Term Care certification. The exposure variables were the frequency of participation in Han Kai per year and the years of participation in 2018. The main outcome was a risk assessment scale score for predicting incident functional disabilities in 2022. Multivariate linear regression was conducted to adjust for covariates. In the study, 2359 older adults participated. Overall, the frequency of Han Kai participation was not significantly associated with disability risk scores. However, participants with ≥10 years of involvement had significantly lower scores (β = -1.95, 95% CI: -3.64 to -0.26, = .024). Among those aged ≥ 75 years, both frequency and duration showed a significant inverse association with risk scores, with a dose-response relationship. Sustained participation in peer-led group meetings such as Han Kai may help mitigate functional decline, particularly among the oldest age groups. These findings support policies that promote long-term community engagement as part of healthy ageing strategies.
尽管群体参与有益于老年人的健康，但其效果可能因群体类型而异。日本健康与福利合作社（Hew Co-op）组织了由同龄人主导的群体参与活动，即“班会”，以提高健康素养，但班会参与对健康指标的影响仍未得到探索。本研究旨在探讨班会参与的频率和时长是否与功能残疾风险相关。这是一项于2018年至2022年在日本进行的前瞻性队列研究。参与者为年龄≥65岁且未获得长期护理认证的班会成员。暴露变量为每年参与班会的频率以及2018年的参与年限。主要结局是预测2022年发生功能残疾的风险评估量表得分。进行多变量线性回归以调整协变量。在该研究中，有2359名老年人参与。总体而言，班会参与频率与残疾风险得分无显著关联。然而，参与时间≥10年的参与者得分显著更低（β = -1.95，95%置信区间：-3.64至-0.26，P = 0.024）。在年龄≥75岁的人群中，频率和时长均与风险得分呈显著负相关，且存在剂量反应关系。持续参与诸如班会这样由同龄人主导的群体会议可能有助于减轻功能衰退，尤其是在最年长的年龄组中。这些发现支持将促进长期社区参与作为健康老龄化战略一部分的政策。
