2021 Volume 81 Issue 5 Pages 444-452
This study sought to clarify the characteristics of older community members who can be classified as frail. Furthermore, to evaluate community participation and social capital （SC）, which is considered an important health resource for older adults, we aimed to define the nature of the relationship among SC （the norms of trust and reciprocity in cognitive SC）, community participation, and frailty. We evaluated 843 individuals aged ≥65 years who had undergone special health checkups and/or health checkups for older adults. All participants provided consent to participate in this study. In this cross-sectional study, we conducted a self-administered questionnaire survey that evaluated the following topics: sex, age, family makeup, and basic attributes, such as subjective health, tendency to forget things, energy/liveliness, mood/anxiety disorders, food/choking, community participation （participation in community activities）, SC norms of trust and reciprocity, and “Kaigo-Yobo Check-List.” Out of the 843 individuals who consented to participate, 764 completed the questionnaire and were thus included for further analysis. Of the 764, 358 were male （46.9％）, 406 were female （53.1％）, and 102 （13.4％） were considered frail. Items that correlated significantly with frailty, as determined using the chi-square test, were as follows: eating alone, reduced frequency of going out compared with the previous year, financial comfort, community participation, SC-trust, and the norm of SC-reciprocity. After model selection using the log-linear model, a three-factor interaction was observed among SC-trust, community participation, and frailty, whereas two-factor interactions were observed between SC-reciprocity and SC-trust and between the norm of SC-reciprocity and frailty. Our findings suggest that SC-reciprocity increases SC-trust, encourages community participation, and prevents frailty among older community members.
