Continuity of Social Interaction and Functional Status: A Nine-year Population-based Prospective Study for the Elderly

Since the dimensions of social activity have not been described comprehensively in detail and whether the continuity of activity effectively protects functional status over the long term were not clear, this study was designed to clarify the association between continuity of social interaction and functional status in a group of elderly people with a social interaction measure. The participants were elders (n=363) over 60 years old living in a rural community close to major urban centres in Japan. The content of the questionnaire included a social interaction measure named Index of Social Interaction (ISI) that developed for evaluating social interaction of various types, Lawton-Brody IADL, age, and gender. Subjects consisted of 147 males with a mean age of 68 (SD = 5.7) and 216 females with a mean age of 68 (SD = 5.4). The continuity of social interaction was examined by data analysis. During a nine-year follow up, after controlling for elders' age and gender, the consistent social activities significantly related to their future functional status included: "reading newspapers" (odds ratio (OR) = 2.93, P < 0.01), "reading books or magazines" (OR = 1.82, P = 0.02), and "having a hobby" (OR = 2.46, P < 0.01). The findings indicated that consistent social interactions involving intellectual activities and hobbies were effective in protecting elder's functional status.