Associations between Lifestyle and Mental Health in a Group of Japanese Overseas Workers and Their Spouses Resident in Duesseldorf, Germany

Abstract

This study investigated associations between lifestyle factors and selected aspects of mental health in a group of Japanese overseas workers and their accompanying spouses who were residing in and around Düsseldorf, Germany, in February 1994. Considering four aspects of mental health (depression, mental instability, nervousness and neurosis) and six lifestyle factors (alcohol consumption, sleeping hours, cigarette smoking, physical exercise, eating breakfast and eating snacks), a cross-sectional study involving 822 volunteers (486 workers and 336 spouses) was performed using the Todai Health Index (THI) for surveying self-perceived health and a lifestyle related self-administered questionnaire. Alcohol consumption had no associations with any of the four aspects of mental health, and only very weak inverse associations were found between the other five lifestyle factors and the four aspects of mental health in the workers group. In the spouses group, physical exercise was the only lifestyle factor significantly associated with mental health.

Impact of socioeconomic- and lifestyle-related risk factors on poor mental health conditions: A nationwide longitudinal 5-wave panel study in Japan

“…For this study, we controlled for unobservable and time-invariant variables, such as natural good mental health conditions, by using the FE-CLR models. Then, we found that there is no longitudinal association between mental health and drinking habits, a finding consistent with previous cohort studies [ 15 , 19 , 39 ]. Contrastingly, problem drinking may be a part of some stress coping strategies [ 45 ], so future studies are warranted to identify the relationship between stress coping and the amount of alcohol consumption.…”

“…Regarding exercise, the lack of physical activity could be a risk factor for poor mental health conditions [ 39 ], and some studies report that physical activity could play a significant role in promoting better mental health outcomes [ 15 , 19 , 39 – 41 ]. Moreover, one previous study reported that adolescents who had low aerobic fitness were more likely to report poorer sleep quality [ 42 ].…”

“…A study reported that problematic drinking habits are associated with depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation for men and women alike [ 35 ]. Notwithstanding, some studies, including a cohort study, reported that there was no association between mental health and drinking habits [ 15 , 19 , 39 ]. For this study, we controlled for unobservable and time-invariant variables, such as natural good mental health conditions, by using the FE-CLR models.…”

Comparison of Eating Habits in Obese and Non-obese Filipinas Living in an Urban Area of Japan

“…Participants’ reported lifestyle habits were also measured in this study using the cumulative lifestyle index (CLI) [ 15 ]. CLI scores are based on responses to six lifestyle questions: ‘sleeping at least 6 h a day’, ‘not smoking’, ‘eating breakfast at least five times a week’, ‘consuming snacks twice a week at most’, ‘no alcohol consumption’, and ‘exercising at least once a week’.…”