It is said that the number of seniors who are not in good health has increased due to the decrease in interactions with others during the COVID-19 pandemic. This has created a situation in which frailty (weakness) in which mental and physical functions decline is on the rise. Frailty is a term that describes a state between a healthy state and a state requiring nursing care. If frailty can be detected early, it can be prevented from becoming serious. This frailty seems to be broadly divided into three types. The first is “physical frailty,” which indicates a decline in physical function, the second is “cognitive frailty,” which indicates a decline in cognitive ability, and the third is “social frailty,” which is a decrease in opportunities to go out and isolation from society. In particular, it is known that social frailty often leads to the remaining two types of frailty. If we can return from a frail state to a healthy state before becoming bedridden, seniors will become healthy, medical costs will be reduced, and a rich local community will be formed.
Research has begun to be conducted from the perspective of “social frailty.” A research team from Keio University and other institutions conducted animal experiments on the happiness hormone (oxytocin) using mice. Sibling mice born to the same mother were kept either alone or in groups of 4-5 mice and observed for 12 weeks. The mice kept alone secreted less oxytocin than those kept in groups. What was found in this experiment was that social loneliness reduced the “happiness hormone” secreted from the hypothalamus in the brain. In a sense, it can be said that the group of mice that had contact with their peers was able to live in a happier environment. Furthermore, isolation also had an effect on the body. Mice kept alone had elevated levels of neutral fats and bad cholesterol in their blood, which led to the progression of arteriosclerosis. Mice kept alone had reduced levels of oxytocin, which led to abnormal lipid metabolism in the liver and promoted arteriosclerosis.
Social loneliness is increasing with the increase in single-person households. It has been reported that people with less skinship also have less oxytocin. Each local government has begun to devise measures to prevent the number of frail seniors from increasing and to further energize frail people. Matsumoto City in Nagano Prefecture is running a program to encourage elderly people who are deemed to be at high risk of frailty based on their electricity consumption to participate in salons. Those at risk of social frailty are encouraged to participate in “gathering spaces.” Of 31 people analyzed to be at high risk of frailty, the health of 27 people has improved. Other municipalities, such as Yuza Town in Yamagata Prefecture and Kotoura Town in Tottori Prefecture, are also seeing an increase in adoption within the jurisdiction of other electric power companies.
