Open AccessPrevalence of depressive symptoms in a Japanese occupational setting: a preliminary study.
Author(s) -
Noboru Iwata,
Yuko Okuyama,
Yoshikazu Kawakami,
Kazuo Saito
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
american journal of public health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.284
H-Index - 264
eISSN - 1541-0048
pISSN - 0090-0036
DOI - 10.2105/ajph.79.11.1486
Subject(s) - center for epidemiologic studies depression scale , depressive symptoms , marital status , depression (economics) , demography , medicine , population , gerontology , psychiatry , environmental health , anxiety , sociology , economics , macroeconomics
We measured the prevalence of depressive symptoms in 2,190 Japanese tax office workers using the Japanese version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Score distribution by sex was more symmetrical and the mean score of each sex was higher than in the United States population. A high level of depressive symptoms was found in 15.2 percent of males and 10.6 percent of females by controlling for age and marital status. Males aged 50 years and over had more depressive symptoms than other male age groups. Perceived stress, related both to family life and the workplace, was associated with a high level of depressive symptoms. "Long-distance marriage" ("business bachelorhood"), peculiar to Japanese occupations, had little influence on depressive symptomatology.