Objectives: Eating by oneself may be a risk factor for poor nutritional and mental statuses among older adults. However, their longitudinal association with mortality in relation to coresidential status is unknown. Method: We conducted a 3-year follow-up of participants in the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study, a populationbased cohort of 65 years or older Japanese adults. We analyzed mortality for 33,083 men and 38,698 women from 2010 to 2013 and used. Cox regression models were used to

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... imate hazard ratios (HR) for mortality. Results: A total of 3,217 deaths occurred during the follow-up. Compared with men who ate and lived with others, the HRs after adjusting for age and health status were 1.48 (95% confidence intervals [CI]: 1.26-1.74) for men who ate alone yet lived with others and 1.19 (95% CI: 1.01-1.41) for men who ate and lived alone. Among women, the adjusted HR was 1.18 (95% CI: 0.97-1.43) for women who ate alone yet lived with others and 1.10 (95% CI: 0.93-1.29) for women who ate and lived alone. Discussion: A setting in which older adults eat together may be protective for them. Promotion of this intervention should focus on men who eat alone yet live with others.