Exercise Arrangement Is Associated with Physical and Mental Health in Older Adults

Purpose Although exercising with others might have health benefits, no previous study has comprehensively examined associations of exercise arrangement with physical activity (PA), physical function (PF), and mental health (MH). We examined whether PA, PF, and MH are better when exercising with others than when exercising alone or not exercising. Methods We analyzed cross-sectional data from 7,759 (4,007 men and 3,752 women) non-disabled residents aged 65-84 years. PA, PF, and MH were assessed with the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form (PA sufficiency defined as ≥150 min/week of moderate-to-vigorous PA), Motor Fitness Scale (higher PF defined as total score ≥12 in men and ≥10 in women), and World Health Organization-Five Well-Being Index (better MH defined as a total score ≥13), respectively. Exercise arrangement was classified as "non-exerciser," "exercising alone," and "exercising with others." Using multilevel logistic regression analyses, we examined independent associations of exercise arrangement with PA, PF, and MH. Results Compared with exercising alone, the multivariate-adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence interval) among non-exercisers and those exercising with others were 0.21 (0.17-0.25) and 1.32 (1.04-1.67), respectively, for PA sufficiency, 0.47 (0.40-0.57) and 1.12 (0.94-1.34) for higher PF, and 0.69 (0.58-0.82) and 1.45 (1.17-1.79) for better MH, respectively, in men. In women, the corresponding odds ratios were 0.37 (0.30-0.46) and 1.31 (1.01-1.70) for PA sufficiency, 0.66 (0.54-0.80) and 1.08 (0.88-1.32) for higher PF, and 0.70 (0.58-0.85) and 1.27 (1.03-1.56) for better MH, respectively. Conclusions Exercising alone and with others were better than no exercise for maintaining better PA, PF, and MH in both sexes. Although exercise arrangement had little effect on maintaining PF, exercising with others appears to enhance PA levels and MH in both sexes. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives License 4.0 (CCBY-NC-ND), where it is permissible to download and share the work provided it is properly cited. The work cannot be changed in any way or used commercially without permission from the journal. Address of corresponding author: Satoshi Seino, PhD, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, 35-2 Sakae, Itabashi, Tokyo, 173-0015, Japan, Phone: +81 (3) 3964-3241 ext. 4252, E-mail: seino@tmig.or.jp This study was supported by grants from Ota City. We declare that the results of the present study are presented clearly, honestly, and without fabrication, falsification, or inappropriate data manipulation, and do not constitute endorsement by the American College of Sports Medicine. CONFLICT OF INTERESTS: The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Accepted for Publication: 2 January 2019 © 2019 American College of Sports Medicine

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