Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2018 Nov 27;60(6):458-466.
doi: 10.1539/joh.2017-0295-OA. Epub 2018 Aug 28.

Mental health of working-age populations in Japan who provide nursing care for a person at home: A cross-sectional analysis

Hisashi Eguchi  1 , Koji Wada  2
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Mental health of working-age populations in Japan who provide nursing care for a person at home: A cross-sectional analysis

Hisashi Eguchi et al. J Occup Health. .

Abstract

Objectives: This study investigated potential associations between having a person in need of nursing care at home and psychological distress amongst the Japanese working population, using a nationally representative sample.

Methods: We extracted data from the 2013 Comprehensive Survey of Living Conditions conducted by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan. The original survey was conducted amongst 295,367 households in 5,530 randomly selected municipalities. We analyzed participants aged 25-65 years who headed a household. The original questionnaire included questions about the specific qualifications required to receive long-term care insurance benefits, about psychological distress (measured using the K6 scale), and other covariates. If a family contained a member in need of nursing care at home, the person who headed that household was recognized as the participant who had a person in need of nursing care at home. Multiple logistic regression analysis was conducted to investigate the association between having a person in need of nursing care at home and psychological distress.

Results: A total of 36,193 men and 2,765 women were included in the analysis, 2.9% of whom had a person in need of nursing care at home. Statistical analysis revealed an association between having a care-requiring older relative at home and psychological distress (odds ratio: 1.40, 95% confidence interval: 1.01-1.93).

Conclusions: Having a person in need of nursing care at home appears to be positively correlated with worsening mental health of working populations in Japan.

Keywords: Caregivers; Cross-sectional studies; Mental health; Working age population.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of interest: None declared

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Flow chart of this study sample
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Cabinet Office, Government of Japan. . Annual Report on the Aging Society: 2016. [Online]. 2016[cited 2016 May 20]; Available from: URL: http://www8.cao.go.jp/kourei/whitepaper/w-2016/html/zenbun/s1_2_3.html
    1. Tamiya N, Noguchi H, Nishi A, et al. . Population ageing and wellbeing: lessons from Japan's long-term care insurance policy. Lancet 2011; 378 (9797): 1183-1192. - PubMed
    1. Molloy GJ, Johnston DW, Witham MD. Family caregiving and congestive heart failure. Review and analysis. Eur J Heart Fail 2005; 7 (4): 592-603. - PubMed
    1. Waite A, Bebbington P, Skelton-Robinson M, et al. . Social factors and depression in carers of people with dementia. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry 2004; 19 (6): 582-587. - PubMed
    1. Hirst M. Carer distress: a prospective, population-based study. Soc Sci Med 2005; 61 (3): 697-708. - PubMed

Publication types