Aim Perceived health status, including physical and cognitive fitness, will be negatively associated with future health conditions among old‐old adults. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic has caused sudden changes in lifestyle. Thus, this study examined the associations of participation in an exercise class before the COVID‐19 pandemic and the exercise habits and disruption to the rhythms of daily life during the COVID‐19 state of emergency with perceived declining physical and cognitive fitness among community‐dwelling old‐old adults. Methods In July 2020, we carried out a mail survey of community‐dwelling old‐old adults aged between 77 and 99 years in Bibai, Hokkaido, Japan, to determine their perceived declining physical and cognitive fitness during the COVID‐19 state of emergency. Results Of the 774 responders, 339 (43.8%) participants reported a decline in physical fitness, whereas 259 (33.5%) perceived declining cognitive fitness during the COVID‐19 state of emergency. In a multivariate logistic regression model adjusted for potential confounders, exercise habits during the COVID‐19 state of emergency were significantly associated with a lower perception of declining physical fitness. Disruption to the rhythms of daily life during the COVID‐19 state of emergency was significantly associated with a higher perception of declining physical and cognitive fitness. Conclusions Approximately half and more than one‐third of community‐dwelling old‐old adults perceived declining physical and cognitive fitness, respectively, during the COVID‐19 state of emergency. During this period, exercise habits were positively correlated with perceived health status among old‐old adults, whereas disruption to the rhythms of daily life was negatively correlated. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2021; ••: ••–•• .

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused an abrupt change in lifestyle for many people with restrictions, often leading to a decrease in physical activity (PA), and thus contributing to a negative perception of health status. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of the COVID-19 epidemic on physical activity and perceived physical fitness in Japanese adults aged 40 to 69 years. Data were collected from an online survey conducted between October 19 and 28, 2020. The analytic sample consisted of 1989 Japanese adults (mean age, 50.1 ± 6.9 years; women, 38.9%) who were aged between 40 and 69 years and completed the online survey. Overall, the PA time per week decreased by 32.4% between October 2019 and April 2020. A decrease in PA time was recorded in October 2020; however, a decline of 15.5% was observed. Compared to individuals who did not perceive a decline in physical fitness, individuals who perceived declining physical fitness during the COVID-19 state of emergency demonstrated a greater decrease in PA time in April 2020 (–50.5%), and this trend continued into October 2020 (–25.0%). These findings may indicate that Japanese adults aged 40 to 69 years who perceived declining physical fitness experienced a greater decrease in physical activity.

Health literacy is important for promoting and maintaining good health in old-old adults. It may influence the implementation of exercise in the coronavirus disease epidemic. The present cross-sectional study investigated the association of each dimension of health literacy with the implementation of exercise during the declaration of a state of emergency due to coronavirus disease in community-dwelling old-old adults. We collected data from 483 community-dwelling old-old adults (52.8% women) aged between 77 and 99 years who participated in a mail survey. Participants were divided into exercise or nonexercise groups based on the implementation of exercise during the declaration of a state of emergency. Health literacy was assessed using a 14-item health literacy scale. There were 327 (67.7%) participants in the exercise group and 156 (32.3%) in the nonexercise group. A significantly higher score of health literacy was observed in the exercise group than in the nonexercise group (communicative health literacy score = 14.0 ± 3.6 vs. 12.7 ± 3.8, p = 0.001). In a multivariate logistic regression model adjusted for potential confounders, high communicative health literacy scores were significantly associated with the implementation of exercise during the declaration of a state of emergency (odds ratio = 1.88, 95% confidence interval = 1.20–2.93). Approximately two-thirds of community-dwelling old-old adults implement exercise during the declaration of a state of emergency. High communicative health literacy was associated with the implementation of exercise during this period.