A Basic Study on Aging and Stress. Stress Appraisal in Rural Inhabitants of Middle and Advanced Age / 日本農村医学会雑誌

ABSTRACT

The purspose of this study was to clarify the relationships between life events and acute stresses felt by rural inhabitants of middle and advanced age. For this purpose, we made a survey of 1, 528 residents aged 40-69 in a farming village, Chiba Prefecture, and inquired of them about 27 stress-producing life events over the past one year. The correlations were sought by multivariate analysis.<BR>A logistic regression analysis using gender and age as covariates found that significant risk variables for acute stress were trouble with relative, trouble with boss, change in number of arguments with spouse, loan, injury/illness, change in social activities, death of spouse and change in health or behavior of family member among the sources of distress, and retirement, outstanding personal achievement and change in living conditions among the source of eustress.<BR>In males, significant variables for acute stress were loan, injury/illness and trouble with boss as distresses, and homecoming and outstanding personal achievement as etistresses. In females, trouble with relatives, change in number of arguments with spouse, change in social activities, injury/illness, change in health or behavior of family member as distresses and change in living conditions as an eustress.<BR>The present study suggested that risk variables fostering distress are trouble with other people and health problems of the subject or family member. But there were slight differences between men and women.