[Study of the relationship between incidence of sick leave due to mental health failure and work rules about sick leave].

OBJECTIVES: This study examined the relationships among the support system for return to work, work rules about sick leave, and incidence of sick leave due to mental health failure. METHODS: A questionnaire was distributed to 150 workplaces with a history of use of the occupational health promotion center of a certain prefecture. The questionnaire asked about the number and duration of sick leaves due to mental health failure, the support system for return to work, and work rules about sick leave. RESULTS: A significant correlation between the number of permanent staff and maximum period of sick leave was found (r=0.489, p<0.001), as well as a significant correlation between the number of permanent staff and the period of monetary compensation during sick leave (r=0.315, p=0.031). In addition, in 9 workplaces with more than 1,000 permanent staff, a significant correlation between the period of monetary compensation period during sick leave and incidence of sick leave was found (r=0.670, p=0.048), as well as a significant correlation between the period of monetary compensation during sick leave and the average length of sick leave (r=0.866, p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggest the possibility that monetary compensation is associated with the duration of sick leave due to mental health failure. Hereafter, to construct a support system for mental health, consideration of the effect of monetary compensation appears to be required.

The effect of stress-related factors on mental health status among resident doctors in Japan.

OBJECTIVES: This study was designed to investigate how the interaction between the ability of medical residents (doctors in postgraduate training) to cope with stress and their working conditions might affect their level of job-related stress. METHODS: A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to 549 first-year medical residents at 38 postgraduate education hospitals in Japan, 1-2 months after the start of clinical training. The questionnaires contained the 29-item Sense of Coherence (SOC) Scale, the Brief Scales for Job Stress (BSJS), the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) and questions on basic conditions such as working hours. Sense of coherence is an important concept from the viewpoint of salutogenesis theory and influences stress recognition style. People with a strong SOC have a high ability to cope with stress. RESULTS: The mean +/- standard deviation (SD) score on the SOC Scale was 134.5 +/- 20.5. All participants were classified into three groups according to their SOC Scale scores. Although the objective working conditions of the three groups were statistically similar, the group with the weakest SOC Scale score showed poorer mental health status (p < 0.05) and scored lower for 'reward from work' compared with the groups with stronger SOC scores (p < 0.05). The weaker SOC group also scored higher for 'mental workload' and 'problems in personal relationships' than the other two groups (p < 0.05). Moreover, the weak SOC group scored less for 'support from colleagues and superiors' than the strong SOC group (p < 0.05). A stepwise multiple regression analysis for GHQ-12 score was conducted (R(2) = 0.45). 'Sleep time', 'workload', 'mental workload' and 'problems in personal relationships' were positively correlated with GHQ-12 scores. 'Reward from work' was negatively correlated with GHQ-12 scores. CONCLUSIONS: Residents' mental health was associated not only with working conditions, but also with their attitudes towards those working conditions. Enhancing residents' sense of 'reward from work' might be important in reducing their reactions to stress.

Seasonal variation in metabolic syndrome prevalence.

Accumulating evidence has shown that seasonal variations can exist within metabolic syndrome parameters. The aim of this study was to examine the hypothesis that there are seasonal variations in the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in Japanese subjects. We investigated a total of 1202 male workers in our institution (44+/-10 years) who underwent health checkups in both June (summer) and December (winter) 2008. In this study, metabolic syndrome was defined according to the criteria proposed by the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP), the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and the Japanese Society of Internal Medicine (JSIM). Serum levels of high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol and fasting glucose, as well as blood pressure (BP), were significantly higher in winter than in summer, whereas waist circumference and serum levels of triglyceride exhibited little change. The prevalence rates of NCEP, IDF, and JSIM metabolic syndrome in this study were 3.8, 15.1 and 12.4% in winter and 3.2, 10.7 and 8.4% in summer, respectively. Of all metabolic syndrome components, an elevated BP was most significantly correlated with the seasonal variation of metabolic syndrome prevalence. This study demonstrated seasonal variations in metabolic syndrome prevalence in Japanese male workers. These results indicate that the season of health checkups may affect the clinical diagnosis and management of metabolic syndrome.

Seasonal variation in serum lipid levels in Japanese workers.

AIM: Seasonal variation in serum lipid levels in the Japanese population remains unclear. The aim of this study was to determine whether a variation in lipid levels exists in Japanese workers. METHODS: We investigated 1,331 employees in our institution (1,192 men, 44+/-10 years; 139 women, 38+/-11 years) who underwent health checkups in both June (summer) and December (winter), 2008. RESULTS: Serum levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, and triglyceride were significantly higher in winter than in summer (129.1+/-31.2 mg/dL versus 125.2+/-30.2 mg/dL, p<0.0001; 65.9+/-16.8 mg/dL versus 63.5+/-16.1 mg/dL, p<0.0001; 110.4+/-67.5 mg/dL versus 107.5+/-70.4 mg/dL, p<0.05; respectively), although the ratio of LDL to HDL cholesterol was comparable (2.11+/-0.81 in summer versus 2.12+/-0.81 in winter). The frequency of study subjects diagnosed with hypercholesterolemia, defined as LDL cholesterol > or = 140 mg/dL, was significantly higher in winter than in summer (34.5 % versus 30.9 %, p<0.0001). CONCLUSION: In Japanese workers, we demonstrated that there is a seasonal variation in serum lipid levels and the prevalence of hypercholesterolemia. This result indicates that we have to give careful consideration to the season of blood sampling in the clinical diagnosis of and management decisions for hypercholesterolemia.

The association of sense of coherence and coping profile with stress among research park city workers in Japan.

Via a large scale cross-sectional study among Japanese white color workers, the authors aimed to elucidate: (1) the distributions of Sense of Coherence (SOC), which reflect stress coping abilities, (2) the distributions of the Brief Scale for Coping Profile (BSCP) which reflect coping profiles for stressors; (3) and the association between SOC and BSCP. Anonymous self-administered questionnaires were sent to 20,742 employees at educational and research institutions in Tsukuba Research Park City. A total of 12,009 (57.9%) workers completed and returned the questionnaire; 10,317 workers without missing data were analyzed. SOC scale scores and BSCP subscale scores differed by gender, age, and other demographic features. Among the BSCP subscales, workers whose SOC scale scores were higher tended to adopt a problem-focused coping profile, whereas workers whose SOC scale scores were lower adopted an emotion-focused coping profile. The coping profile that workers adopted depended on their background and demographic characteristics. Stronger SOC allowed one to adopt a problem-focused coping profile that allows for better coping with work-related stressors.