• Preventive medicine · Dec 2024

    Proximity to public transportation and incidence of depression risk among older adults: A three-year longitudinal analysis from the Japan Gerontological evaluation study.

    • Kazuki Matsumoto, Masamichi Hanazato, Yu-Ru Chen, Yoko Matsuoka, Yuta Mori, Hiroaki Yoshida, and Katsunori Kondo.
    • Graduate School of Medical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chiba University, 1-8-1, Inohana, Chuo-ku, Chiba, Chiba 260-8670, Japan. Electronic address: kazuki.matsumoto@chiba-u.jp.
    • Prev Med. 2024 Dec 9; 191: 108204108204.

    ObjectiveDepression in older adults has been associated with environmental factors, such as green spaces and walkable neighborhoods; however, evidence on the relationship between proximity to public transportation and mental health is scarce. This multi-municipality longitudinal study examined the association between proximity to public transportation and risk of depression among older adults and considered car usage.MethodsWe analyzed data from 4947 functionally independent adults, aged 65 years and older who resided in 25 municipalities across Japan. Data were obtained via the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study in 2016 and 2019. We assessed depression over three years in older adults without depression at baseline via the Geriatric Depression Scale-15. We subjectively and objectively measured their proximity to public transportation. Logistic regression analyses were performed, adjusted for covariates, with analyses stratified by car usage.ResultsOf the participants, 9.76 % developed depression over a three-year period. Those without car usage and with reported lack of proximal public transport exhibited a higher incidence of depression (OR = 1.60, 95 %CI: 1.05-2.42) compared with those who had better access. No significant association was observed in the car user group. Furthermore, no significant association was observed in the analysis that used objective measures with Geographic Information System (GIS) data.ConclusionSubjective limited access to public transport was significantly associated with the risk of depression among older adults without car usage. Hence, improving and maintaining transportation infrastructure may mitigate the risk of depression.Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

      Pubmed     Copy Citation     Plaintext  

      Add institutional full text...

    Notes

     
    Knowledge, pearl, summary or comment to share?
    300 characters remaining
    help        
    You can also include formatting, links, images and footnotes in your notes
    • Simple formatting can be added to notes, such as *italics*, _underline_ or **bold**.
    • Superscript can be denoted by <sup>text</sup> and subscript <sub>text</sub>.
    • Numbered or bulleted lists can be created using either numbered lines 1. 2. 3., hyphens - or asterisks *.
    • Links can be included with: [my link to pubmed](http://pubmed.com)
    • Images can be included with: ![alt text](https://bestmedicaljournal.com/study_graph.jpg "Image Title Text")
    • For footnotes use [^1](This is a footnote.) inline.
    • Or use an inline reference [^1] to refer to a longer footnote elseweher in the document [^1]: This is a long footnote..

    hide…