Frailty and social participation in older citizens in Japan during the COVID‐19 pandemic

BACKGROUND: This study examined the frailty status of older individuals in Japan at 1 year after the onset of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic based on involvement in social activities before and during the pandemic. METHODS: This cross‐sectional study analyzed citizens aged 65 and 84 who did not require long‐term care in January 2021. A self‐administered questionnaire was mailed to 3000 citizens in Kitaibaraki City, Japan. The questionnaire included social participation status in January 2020 and January 2021, the Kihon Checklist, working status, and economic status. We classified the respondents into the following groups: Nonparticipating, no participation at either time point; Discontinued, participation only in 2020; and Continued, participation at both time points. We compared the Discontinued and Continued groups in terms of Kihon Checklist items using the t‐test. RESULTS: Of 2963 individuals who received the questionnaire, 1307 (44.1%) returned it, and 1047 were analyzed. Of the respondents analyzed, 586 (56.0%) were in the Nonparticipating group, 254 (24.3%) were in the Discontinued group, and 207 (19.8%) were in the Continued group. On the Kihon Checklist, oral function and mood differed significantly between the Discontinued and Continued groups. The proportion of those with impairment in multiple categories of the Kihon Checklist was 12.3% in the Nonparticipating group, 5.5% in the Discontinued group, and 3.4% in the Continued group. CONCLUSIONS: Older individuals who continued participating in social activities at 1 year into the COVID‐19 pandemic might have a lower risk of frailty in terms of oral function and depressed mood.