Frequent in-person contact, especially with friends, was associated with lower odds of poor mental health among older adults in Japan, whereas most remote contact modes were not, even after adjustment for socioeconomic factors.
Key Findings
Results
In-person contact with friends/acquaintances was associated with significantly lower odds of poor mental health among older adults in Japan.
Compared to no contact, 1-3 times/month in-person contact with friends/acquaintances was associated with OR 0.71 (95% CI 0.59-0.84)
Weekly or more in-person contact with friends/acquaintances was associated with OR 0.59 (95% CI 0.48-0.73) compared to no contact
Both friend in-person contact frequencies remained significant after false discovery rate multiplicity control
Sample consisted of 6786 older adults with mean age 72.7 years, 50.4% men
Results
In-person contact with non-cohabiting family/relatives was associated with lower odds of poor mental health, though the association was somewhat weaker than for friends.
1-3 times/month in-person contact with non-cohabiting family/relatives was associated with OR 0.84 (95% CI 0.71-0.99) compared to no contact
Weekly or more in-person family/relative contact was associated with OR 0.71 (95% CI 0.57-0.89) compared to no contact
After multiplicity control, only weekly in-person family contact remained significant, while both friend in-person frequencies remained significant
Adjustments included demographic, health, lifestyle, physical activity, employment, education, and household income covariates
Results
Remote modes of social contact (phone, email/messages, video call) were not clearly associated with poor mental health outcomes.
Eight past-month partner-mode exposures were examined: family or friends by in-person, phone, email/messages, or video call
Remote contact modes were categorized as none, 1-3 times/month, or ≥1 time/week
Remote modes showed no clear associations with poor mental health in fully adjusted models for either family or friend contact partners
False discovery rate control was applied across 16 prespecified contrasts to address multiplicity
Results
The prevalence of poor mental health among older adults in the sample was 11.8%, defined as reporting one or more poor mental health days in the past 30 days.
Poor mental health was defined as ≥1 versus 0 poor mental health days in the past 30 days using the CDC Healthy Days item
11.8% of the 6786 older adults reported ≥1 poor mental health day
The study used the 2024 Japan COVID-19 and Society Internet Survey (JACSIS), conducted December 2024-January 2025
All respondents aged ≥65 years in the analysis-ready dataset were included, and no analytic variables had missing values
Methods
The study used a cross-sectional design with logistic regression and false discovery rate control to examine partner- and mode-specific social contact in relation to poor mental health.
Covariates included demographic, health, lifestyle, physical activity, employment, education, and household income factors
False discovery rate control was applied across 16 prespecified contrasts
Contact frequency was categorized as none, 1-3 times/month, or ≥1 time/week for each of the eight partner-mode combinations
What This Means
This research examined whether the type of social contact — specifically who older adults interact with and how they interact — matters for their mental health. Using survey data from nearly 6,800 Japanese adults aged 65 and older, the study found that about 12% reported experiencing at least one poor mental health day in the previous month. The key finding was that meeting friends and acquaintances in person was strongly linked to better mental health, with those who had weekly in-person friend contact being about 40% less likely to report poor mental health compared to those with no such contact. Meeting non-cohabiting family members in person also showed a benefit, though somewhat weaker.
Importantly, remote forms of contact — such as phone calls, text messages/emails, and video calls — did not show clear associations with better mental health outcomes, regardless of whether the contact was with friends or family. This pattern held even after accounting for factors like income and education that might otherwise explain the difference. These findings suggest that the mode of contact (in-person vs. remote) and the type of relationship partner (friends vs. family) both matter when considering the mental health benefits of social interaction for older adults.
This research suggests that encouraging in-person social engagement, particularly with friends and acquaintances, may be more beneficial for the mental wellbeing of older adults than remote communication alternatives. This has potential relevance for community programs, public health policies, and social support strategies targeting older populations, though the cross-sectional design means causality cannot be established — it is possible that older adults in better mental health are simply more able or willing to engage in in-person contact.
Kubota K, Aishima M, Matsumura Y, Miura T, Tabuchi T. (2026). Partner- and Mode-Specific Social Contact and Poor Mental Health Among Older Adults in Japan: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of the 2024 JACSIS Study.. Geriatrics & gerontology international. https://doi.org/10.1111/ggi.70840