ABSTRACT
Youthful feelings were shown to have a positive effect on the mental and physical conditions of the elderly. On the contrary, elderly people whose self-perceived age is older than their chronological age were shown to experience negative health outcomes. This study investigated whether the self-perceived age (younger or older) relative to chronological age promotes social activity. The baseline data acquired from 3094 older adults as part of the Keeping Active across Generations Uniting the Youth and the Aged study was used in the current study. The participants completed a questionnaire that solicits information pertaining to sociodemographic factors, felt age, self-rated health, physical activity, depression, disease burden, fall history, fear of falling, level of instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) and social activity. The discrepancy between felt age and chronological age was defined as the self-perceived age. Self-perceived age was calculated by subtracting the participant’s chronological age from the felt age, and the score for the difference was divided by the chronological age. The Japan Science and Technology Agency Index of Competence was used to evaluate social activity. Regression analysis results revealed that a younger self-perceived age was associated with higher social activity after controlling for sociodemographic factors, self-rated health, depression, physical activity, disease burden, level of IADL, fall history and fear of falling. Fall history was significantly associated with higher social activity in young-old participants (65 - 74 years) (p = 0.014) but not in old-old participants (>75 years). This study suggests that a younger self-perceived age in older adults would lead to a high-level living function. This finding may provide useful information for interventions aimed at the promotion of health and/or the prevention of frailty.