Association between Proximity of the Elementary School and Depression in Japanese Older Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study from the JAGES 2016 Survey.

Megumi Nishida,Masamichi Hanazato,Katsunori Kondo,Chie Koga

doi:10.3390/ijerph18020500

Abstract

Depression among older adults is one of the most critical public health issues. The proximity of elementary schools has been positively associated with neighborhood social cohesion and quality of life. However, no studies have identified an association between the proximity of elementary school and older adults’ mental health. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the association between the proximity of elementary schools, one of the core facilities of neighborhood communities in Japan, and depression in older adults. A total of 131,871 participants (63,430 men 73.7 ± 6.1 years, 68,441 women 73.8 ± 6.2 years) were analyzed from the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study (JAGES) 2016 survey. Logistic regression analysis showed that there was no association between distance to elementary school and depression among males. However, among females, compared with the participants living within 400 m from the nearest elementary school, the odds ratio of depression for those living between 400 and 799 m and more than 800 m away were 1.06 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.00–1.12) and 1.07 (95% CI 1.00–1.15), respectively. The findings may be useful when considering the design of communities around elementary schools and the planning of facilities as a population-based approach to promote mental health of older women.

Highlights

The incidence of depression is increasing worldwide, and a World Health Organization (WHO) report estimated that more than 300 million people, equivalent to 4.4% of the world’s population, had depression in 2017
In 2006, the WHO advocated for primordial prevention by recommending a change of attitudes, behaviors, and social values, which can be achieved by encouraging positive health behaviors, preventing the adoption of risk behaviors, eliminating established risk behaviors, and promoting the concept of health as a social good [8]
The present analysis suggests that older women who live near an elementary school may have a lower risk of depression than those who do not, even after controlling for basic demographic information such as frequency of going out, frequency of meeting friends, household status, duration of residence, and population density, which are reported to be associated with depression [31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39]

Summary

Introduction

The incidence of depression is increasing worldwide, and a World Health Organization (WHO) report estimated that more than 300 million people, equivalent to 4.4% of the world’s population, had depression in 2017. The total population with depression increased by 18.4% between 2005 and 2015 [1], and its prevalence is exceptionally high among older adults [1]. Primordial prevention requires a population-based approach, which targets the whole population irrespective of the risk level, and this is different from the high-risk approach, which focuses only on individuals or population groups with the highest risk of disease.

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Conclusion