Association between domains of the Kihon Checklist and exercise behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic among community-dwelling robust older adults

Abstract

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate factors, focusing on the Kihon Checklist (KCL) domains, related to exercise behavior in community-dwelling robust older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: Post surveys using KCL were conducted in 2018 and 2020 among older adults in Kinokawa City who were not certified as requiring long-term care, respectively. A total of 3698 participants (1972 women, age 70.6±3.7 years), excluding those with a KCL of 4 or more points at baseline, were included in the analysis. In the follow-up survey, we added a question about exercise behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the participants were divided into exercise and non-exercise groups.

Results: The non-exercise group included 704 patients (19.0%). Logistic regression analysis showed that depressive mood was significantly associated with the non-exercise group (odds ratio 1.52, 95% confidence interval 1.14-2.01, p<0.01).

Conclusions: Older adults with depressive moods in the KCL domain may have difficulty establishing exercise during the COVID-19 pandemic, even though they are robust in the KCL total score.