Gender differences in conversations that play roles in preventing dementia among the elderly in Japan

People in general may be aware of the important roles conversations play in promoting our health. However, it does not seem to be well-known whether conversations affect old men and women differently. This report aims to examine whether conversations have different roles in preventing old men and women from dementia. Our results suggest that many present practices conducted by public agencies in Japan might be inappropriate for especially men's health promotion. We analyze large-scale cohort data of the Japanese elderly (N=3771), which were collected in two waves (2000 and 2003/2004). We employ multiple logistic regression models as analytical methods. Findings include that (1) conversations had positive effects on preventing old women from dementia when we compared those who had ordinal conversations with families and friends with others (OR: 2.9, P<.001); (2) but conversations had no significant effects on old men; and (3) these findings were also the case when we controlled for their ages, previous health status, educational levels and incomes (OR for women: 1.6, P<.05). We consider these findings can be explained by people's recent lifestyles, economic systems, and traditional culture. On the basis of these results and discussions, we propose some possible types of public programs for elderly men and even middle-aged men in order to prevent them from dementia. Such programs contain some elements to improve men's skills in having enjoyable conversations.