Association Between Social Networking Service Use at Age 76 and Six-Year Frailty Trajectories in Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Background: Frailty prevention is a critical public health priority in Japan’s rapidly aging society. Although the use of social networking services (SNSs) has increased, longitudinal evidence regarding its association with frailty remains limited. Methods: This population-based longitudinal observational study analyzed municipal survey data from Agano City, Japan. Community-dwelling residents aged 70 years at the baseline were followed for six years using the Kihon Checklist (KCL). Frailty status was classified as robust, pre-frail, or frail. SNS use and usage frequency were assessed at age 76. Results: Among 479 participants, 49.3% remained robust, while 10.4% showed improvements in frailty status over six years. SNS use at age 76 was associated with robust status and with having remained robust from age 70 to 76. Conclusions: These findings indicate that SNS use at age 76 was associated with concurrent frailty status and with having remained robust from age 70 to 76. However, the temporal direction of these associations cannot be determined. Further prospective studies are needed to clarify the temporal relationship between SNS use and frailty.