Zusammenfassung

Background: Physical activities have important roles in longer healthy life expectancy. Previous studies reported that greater financial strain was associated with less physical activities in old age. However, social support may have a buffering effect on this association. This study investigated the relationship between financial strain and daily physical activities, and the buffering effect of social supports on this relationship, using data from a 19-year longitudinal study for older Japanese. Methods: Data came from a national sample of 4,869 adults aged 60 and over in Japan, with up to 7 repeated observations between 1987 and 2006. Physical activity was assessed by frequency of exercise (rarely, sometimes, often, and always). Factor for financial strain was created using the sum of three questions. Social support included two types: emotional and instrumental. Covariates included socio-demographics, health behaviors, and health conditions. Results: The random-effects ordered logistic model showed that greater financial strain in the previous wave (t-1) was associated with less frequency of exercise in the next wave (t) in both genders. Among female, buffering effects of emotional and instrumental supports were observed, but the directions of the effects were opposite. Greater emotional support partially offset the deleterious effect of financial strain on the frequency of exercise. On the other hand, greater instrumental support precipitated the deleterious effect of financial strain. Conclusion: The findings of this study imply that emotional and instrumental supports have different buffering functions on the relationship between financial strain and physical activity among older female.