Human Mobility and Medical Costs of Lifestyle-related Diseases during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

In Japan, increasing medical costs associated with the aging of the population is a significant concern. A large proportion of medical costs are related to lifestyle-related diseases. The pandemic forced people to reduce their mobility and worsened health. This study aims to clarify the correlation between the change in human mobility types and medical costs of lifestyle-related diseases during the pandemic. It was found that increasing walking is essential to reduce the medical cost of lifestyle-related diseases even during the COVID-19 pandemic. In detail, in the metropolitan prefectures, the medical costs decreased by increasing mobility of walking from 60% to 150%. In addition, in the other prefectures, the medical costs decreased by increasing mobility of walking from 70% to 170%. The results were significant because they indicate the target value for each human mobility type in metropolitan and other prefectures. Based on the target values, governments could promote mobility of walking and public transit use.