Association of Smoking Behavior and Socio‐Demographic Factors, Work, Lifestyle and Mental Health of Japanese Civil Servants

Abstract

suggest that socio-demographic, lifestyle and mental health characteristics are independently associated with current smoking. These factors should be considered in smoking cessation policies as program components. (J Occup Health 2007; 49: 443-452) Key words: Smoking behavior, Socio-demographic factors, Education, Lifestyle, Affect balance scale, Japanese civil servants Tobacco smoking is of great public health concern world-wide [1][2][3] . Although the prevalence of smoking has steadily decreased, from 82.3% (in 1965) to 46.9% (in 2004) in men and from 15.7% (in 1965) to 13.2% (in 2004) in women 4) , the prevalence of smoking among Japanese men is still higher than in other developed countries 5) . Although the prevalence of smoking among Japanese women is lower than in Western countries, it has gradually increased especially among the 20-30 year age group 6, 7) . Recently, in European and American populations, many previous studies have reported that smoking is associated with socio-demographic factors [8][9][10] , low education level [10][11][12][13] , work stress 14,15) and mental health 16,17) . In Japan, some studies have demonstrated a significant correlation between smoking behavior and socio-demographic status 18,19) , low education level 20) , but only a limited range of variables related to smoking behavior have been analyzed in such studies, and many of them did not investigate for possible cofounders. Although some occidental studies have found a positive association between smoking and mental health in males 16,17) , no association was observed in the Japanese surveys 21,22) . The relationship between smoking behavior and possible cofounder factors such as socio-demographic factors, lifestyle, mental health, and work characteristics and so on has not been investigated fully in the Japanese population. The questionnaire included items on socio-demographic factors, education level, grade of employment, lifestyle, affect balance scale, and work characteristics. Smoking status was divided into current smoker, ex-smoker and never smoked. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate the relationship between smoking and the other items. Men presented a higher smoking prevalence rate than women (53.1% vs. 4.9%). In men, a strong relationship between current smoker and advanced age (40 yr or older), low education level, less physical activity, irregular breakfast and negative affect balance was found. Among men with a low education, the prevalence of smoking cessation was significantly lower in comparison to men with a high education. In women, being young (20-29 yr), unmarried (single or other), having a hobby, and irregular breakfast were associated with smoking behavior. Furthermore, smoking cessation was significantly associated with having a hobby and negative affect balance. The above results

Associations of smoking status with other lifestyle behaviors are modified by sex and occupational category among urban civil servants in Japan

“…The strong association between current smoking and irregular breakfasting was reported in previous studies [4,25]. In addition, a study that investigated associations between smoking and intake of various foodstuffs demonstrated lower consumption of fresh vegetables, yellow and green vegetables, and fruit by smokers [26].…”

“…Therefore, we could not investigate which factors specifically accounted for the differences in the associations of smoking status with other lifestyle behaviors between occupational categories. Finally, the study subjects may not fully represent all the white-or blue-collar workers in Japan because urban civil servants were found to have less anxiety about their employment and more income than other workers in Japan [4]. Therefore, generalizations to the whole Japanese population should be made with caution.…”

“…Smoking status has been reported to be associated with various factors, for example, age [4][5][6], residential area [5][6][7], education level [4,8], marital status [4,6,7,9], income [6,7,10], occupation [5,6,11,12], employment status [7], other smokers in the household [7], household size [5], job strain [13], social capital [14], and mental health [15,16]. Moreover, it appears that smokers are more likely to engage in unhealthy behaviors.…”

“…A Canadian study suggested that the health of men is more affected by lifestyle behaviors, while the health of women is more affected by social structural and psychosocial factors [17]. In Japanese civil servants, more lifestyle factors were correlated with smoking status in males than in females [4]; current smoking was significantly associated with less physical activity or higher alcohol consumption only in men and with irregular breakfast consumption in both men and women [4].…”

Is the Relationship between Smoking and Mental Health Influenced by Other Unhealthy Lifestyle Factors? Results from a 3-Year Follow-up Study Among Adolescents in Oslo, Norway

“…Other studies have shown that drinking alcohol and using illegal drugs is associated with a higher risk of being depressed [17,18]. Tracking studies from early adolescence to young adulthood show some stability in lifestyle habits like physical activity, food consumption, and smoking [19][20][21].…”