Association between neighbourhood convenience stores and independent living in older people in Japan

Objective: On ageing, and as physical functionality declines, shopping for food and commodities can become a challenge. In Japan, convenience stores (CVSs) play an important role in older people's daily lives. This study investigated the relationship between the geographical accessibility of CVSs, supermarkets and grocery stores and shopping independence. Methods: We used the administrative long-term care insurance data from a sample of 7703 older adults. The spatial coverages of the stores were calculated using a geographic information system. A multilevel regression analysis was conducted to examine the association between neighbourhood spatial coverage and individual shopping independence. Results: After adjusting for demographic characteristics, individual functioning and neighbourhood-level population density, the regression analysis revealed that the CVSs spatial coverage was negatively associated with a risk of shopping dependence (odds ratio = 0.73, P = 0.03). Conclusion: The findings suggest that geographical accessibility of CVSs may be beneficial for maintaining shopping independence.