Urban-Rural Differences in Subjective Symptoms of Fatigue and Their Relations with Lifestyle Factors in Young Male Japanese Students

ABSTRACT

Object The purposes of this study were to investigate the actual status in subjective symptoms of fatigue (SSF) and lifestyles of young male students living in two different life spheres of the Tokyo metropolitan area and a rural area, and to find regional differences in these characteristics and relations between SSF and lifestyles in school life. Methods: A questionnaire regarding SSF and lifestyle was administered to 412 healthy male students (16-18 yr) attending the two National Colleges of Technology located in the Tokyo metropolitan area (MA) and a local city (LC). Statistical techniques such as a chi-square test and Hayashi’s Quantification Theory I analysis were used to examine relations between SSF and lifestyles. Results and conclusion: A significant difference was found only in “feeling of physical disintegration,” and the MA group was higher than the LC group. The MA students showed shorter sleeping hours and earlier awaken time compared with LC students. In the relations between SSF and lifestyles, sleeping habit was an important factor significantly relating to SSF in both groups. Paying attention to good sleeping habits is an important countermeasure for preventing SSF in the male students.