Associations of Daily -Life Related Factors and Occupations Associated with the Accumulation of Somatic or Psychological Complaints in the General Adult Population of Japan

• Published in: JOURNAL OF THE KYORIN MEDICAL SOCIETY Vol. 37; no. 4; pp. 102 - 117
• Main Authors: SEKIGUCHI, Kanako, SHIBUI, Kayo, LI, Lan, UCHIYAMA, Makoto, KOKAZE, Akatsuki, YOSHIDA, Masao, MASUDA, Yumi, TAKASHIMA, Yutaka
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: The Kyorin Medical Society 2006
• Subjects: daily-life related factors; epidemiology; occupations; prevalence; somatic and psychological complaints
• ISSN: 0368-5829; 1349-886X
• DOI: 10.11434/kyorinmed.37.102

Objective: To investigate the prevalences of the accumulation of somatic or psychological complaints (SPC) and its association with daily-life related factors or occupations in the general adult population of Japan. Methods: A total of 4000 adult people, aged 20 and over, were randomly listed up from five areas of Japan using the stratified sampling and 3030 individuals, who had given the informed consent and had completed a questionnaire including information about ten somatic symptoms, seven psychological symptoms, and ten life styles and occupations, were subjected to the analysis, as a response rate of 75.8%. Somatic complainer (SC) was defined as person who had four or more somatic complaints. Psychological complainer (PC) was defined as person who had two or more psychological complaints. Results: Prevalence of the SC was 9.2% and 14.5% for males and females, respectively, while that of the PC was 13.4% and 17.4% for males and females, respectively. The prevalences of several SPCs decreased with increasing age in both sexes. The results of a multivariate logistic regression analyses, controlled for sociodemographic and other life-style factors, showed that short sleep duration (<6 hours), lack of habitual exercise, life dissatisfaction, stress feeling (moderate or much), and being unable to cope with stress were independently associated with an increased prevalence of the SC in both sexes. In females, “Managers and officials except for director for company or organization” was significantly related to an increased prevalence of the SC. On the other hand, stress feeling (moderate or much), being unable to cope with stress, life dissatisfaction and lack of habitual exercise were independently associated with an increased prevalence of the PC in both sexes. In males, among occupational categories, “Managers and officials except for director for company or organization” and “Students” were significantly related to an increased prevalence of the PC. In females, “Workers in private enterprise” and “Unemployment” were significantly related to an increased prevalence of the PC. Conclusion: Many daily-life related factors and occupations may have close relations with the accumulation of somatic or psychological complaints in both sexes. Consideration of daily-life related factors or occupational background may be a key issue in health education for the individuals with the accumulation of the SPC.