• Kentaro Mori, Yu Kaiho, Yasutake Tomata, Mamoru Narita, Fumiya Tanji, Kemmyo Sugiyama, Yumi Sugawara, and Ichiro Tsuji.
• The Division of Epidemiology, Department of Health Informatics and Public Health, Tohoku University School of Public Health, Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan.
• J Psychosom Res. 2017 Apr 1; 95: 62-67.

ObjectiveTo test the hypothesis that elderly persons who feel ikigai (a sense of life worth living) have a lower risk of incident functional disability than those who do not. Recent studies have suggested that ikigai impacts on mortality. However, its impact upon disability is unknown. The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between ikigai and incident functional disability among elderly persons.MethodsWe conducted a prospective cohort study of 830 Japanese elderly persons aged ≥70 years as a comprehensive geriatric assessment in 2003. Information on ikigai was collected by self-reported questionnaire. Data on functional disability were retrieved from the public Long-term Care Insurance database in which participants were followed up for 11 years. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for incidence of functional disability were calculated for three groups delineated according to the presence of ikigai (“no”, “uncertain” or “yes”) using the Cox proportional hazards regression model.ResultsThe 11-year incidence of functional disability was 53.3% (442 cases). As compared with the “no” group, the multiple-adjusted HR (95% CI) of incident functional disability was 0.61 (0.36–1.02) for the “uncertain” group and 0.50 (0.30–0.84) for the “yes” group.ConclusionA stronger degree of ikigai is significantly associated with a lower risk of incident functional disability.Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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