Effect of Exercising with Others on Incident Functional Disability and All-Cause Mortality in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Five-Year Follow-Up Survey

We clarified the effect of exercising with others on the risks of incident functional disability and all-cause mortality among community-dwelling adults. We used an inventory mail survey with a five-year follow-up for 1520 independently living older adults (mean age: 73.4 ± 6.3 years) in Kasama City, Japan. Subjects responded to a self-reported questionnaire in June 2014. Exercise habits and the presence of exercise partners were assessed. Subjects were classified into three groups: Non-exercise, exercising alone, and exercising with others. Follow-up information and date of incident functional disability and death during the five-year follow-up were collected from the database. To compare the association between exercise habits and functional disability and mortality, Cox regression analysis was conducted. Compared with the non-exercise group, exercising with others had significantly lower hazard ratios (HRs) for functional disability (0.59, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.40-0.88) and mortality (0.40, 95% CI 0.24-0.66) in the covariate models. Compared with exercising alone, exercising with others decreased the HRs for incident functional disability (0.53, 95% CI: 0.36-0.80) and mortality (0.50, 95% CI 0.29-0.85) rates in the unadjusted model; these associations were not significant in the covariate models. Exercising with others can contribute to functional disability prevention and longevity.