An exploratory study using a health diary was made to inquire into health problems and illness behavior of inhabitants in a gradually depopulating mountain village with a heavy snow fall in Niigata Prefecture. Seventy-eight inhabitants (aged 4-79) completed a health diary for one month each starting in winter, spring, summer, and autumn . The results of an analysis of their health diaries (9, 516 person-days in total) were as follows: 1) Main events in everyday life in each season were, in winter, snow removing, in spring, rice-planting, in summer, events related to Bon (the Bunddhist All Souls' Day), and in autumn, rice harvesting. 2) Typical health problems in each season were, in winter, headache, and lower back pain, in spring, lower back pain, in summer, fatigue, and in autumn, headache, and lower back pain. 3) It was suggested that occurrences of these problems had something to do with a unique life event as well as a natural enviromental condition in each season in the area concerned. 4) A total of 541 problem episodes (6.9 per person) were recorded with 54.1 percent of the episodes taking no form of medical action, and 25.1 percent of the episodes taking only a patent medicine. A percentage of the episodes visiting a doctor or a dentist at least once in an episode was 13.5. 5) Patterns of illness behavior were different by sex, age, and contents of health problems. 6) A health diary was supposed to be an effective method of inquiring into health problems and illness behavior in everyday life.
