Mental Health, Suicidal Ideation, and Related Factors among Workers from Medium-sized Business Establishments in Northern Japan: Comparative Study of Sex Differences

Abstract

A questionnaire survey was conducted among 3,233 workers (2,442 males and 791 females) from 17 medium-sized business establishments in northern Japan with respect to GHQ-12 score, suicidal ideation, sociodemographic characteristics, work-associated factors, and attitude toward mental health resources. Sex differences were assessed for each questionnaire item, and logistic regression analyses were performed separately for males and females. Significant correlations between common mental disorder (CMD: GHQ-12 score≥3) and the following factors were found for both sexes: short sleep, irregular working schedule, working in specific businesses, and attitude toward mental health resources. Associations between CMD and excess workload were significant only in male workers. While correlations between suicidal ideation and demand for mental health resources were observed in both sexes, significant correlations were observed between suicidal ideation and use of mental health resources for female workers alone. These results suggest that screening of a high-risk population and provision of mental health resources contribute to suicide prevention as a part of mental health promotion measures in medium-sized business establishments. They also suggest the need for identification of business/job type-specific stressors while considering sex differences in lifestyle factors, working environment, and help-seeking behavior.

Occupation and suicide: Colorado, 2004–2006

“…Results from the analyses we conducted support the notion that workers in certain occupations may be at higher risk of suicide due to a range of work exposures and to work related stress [Ostry et al, 2007;Bartram and Baldwin, 2010;Takusari et al, 2011].…”

Gender Differences in Factors Associated with Suicidal Ideation and Depressive Symptoms among Middle-aged Workers in Japan

“…Previous studies have shown a significant relationship between sleep disturbance, depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation 18,32,33) . Goodwin and Marusic (2008) showed that shortened sleep was associated with a statistically significant increase in the likelihood of suicidal ideation (OR 2.5, 95%CI 1.6-3.9) and suicidal attempt (OR 3.0, 95%CI 1.4-6.4), after adjusting for confounding variables in a community population in the US 34) .…”

“…Previous studies have reported that suicidal ideation and depression were related to several potential factors, including lifestyle, job stress, and socio-demographic background 18,19) . However, there have been limited evidences focusing on this gender difference [18][19][20] .…”

“…However, there have been limited evidences focusing on this gender difference [18][19][20] . Different patterns based on gender might result in gender specific indicators of suicidal ideation and depression.…”

Suicide Ideation and Acceptability Among Females Aged 15 to 34 Years in Rural China

“…Compared with Western countries, suicide in China demonstrates three unique characteristics: a) the female suicide rates are approximately the same as in the males; b) the rural suicide rates are almost double those in the urban rates; and c) there exist two peaks in the curve of suicide rates among different ages, the 15-to 34-year-olds and the 60-to 84-year-olds (Phillips et al, 2002a;Qin et al, 2001). The sex difference was found in many studies from different cultures, which showed that females had a higher incidence of suicidal ideation and suicide attempt but lower suicide rates than male in the world (He and Lester, 2001;Schaffer et al, 2000;Takusari et al, 2011).…”