Abstract
Objective: Mental health disorders among community dwelling Japanese people has not been well documented. The objective
of the present study was to gain insights into the relationships between lifestyle factors and mental health in a community
population.
Methods: Associations between lifestyle factors and mental health were investigated in Nagasaki prefecture with a selfadministrated
questionnaire including socio-demographic (age and sex), lifestyle (diet, exercise, sleep, smoking, alcohol drinking),
and mental health factors.
Results: A total of 2,146 people (1,052 men and 1,094 women) responded fully to the 12-item version of the General Health
Questionnaire (GHQ-12). High GHQ-12 scores (defined as a score of ≥ 4, to indicate poor mental health) were more prevalent
in women (18.9%) than in men (15.6%) (P=0.041). Moreover, the proportion of high GHQ-12 score was higher in the younger
age group (20 to 39 years), comparing to other age groups. As the result of multiple logistic regression analysis, four variables
were selected as factors associated with a high GHQ-12 score: women (odds ratio (OR): 1.3, 95% confidence interval (95%
CI): 1.0-1.6); 20 to 39 years (OR: 2.5, 95% CI: 1.7-3.6) and 40 to 64 years (OR: 1.4, 95% CI: 1.0-1.9), both with ≥ 65 years as
reference; not eating meals regularly (OR: 1.7, 95% CI: 1.2-2.4); and not getting enough sleep (OR: 2.8, 95% CI: 2.1-3.6).
Conclusion: The findings indicate that the young and women are more likely to have poor mental health, and that lifestyle
factors such as diet behavior and sleep are associated with mental health.
