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Introduction. The relationship among lifestyle, aging and psychological wellbeing was evaluated in Japanese working men. Methods. Self-administered questionnaire on six lifestyle factors and the General Health Questionnaire 12-item version (GHQ12) were administered to 3306 male workers. Health practice index (HPI) was calculated as a desirable lifestyle score by summing up each binary lifestyle score (0, 1), ranging from 0 to 6. To check validity of the study outcome, the authors repeated twice with 1 year interval. HPI was categorised into three groups by the score of 0--2, 3--4 and 5--6. Results. The number of subjects categorised by HPI was 532, 1967 and 807, respectively. The mean value of GHQ12 significantly decreased as the HPI increased by adjusting age. Multiple regression analysis was conducted to predict GHQ12 by six lifestyle scores, and age, sleep, night snacking and exercise were significantly related to GHQ12. Multiple logistic regression analysis was conducted and age in 50s, two-shift work, sleep, night snacking and exercise were significantly associated with GHQ12. Conclusion. Although cause--effect relationship cannot make clear, some of desirable health practices and aging were closely related to psychological wellbeing judged by GHQ12. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. Shift work has been reported to be associated with an increase in the metabolic syndrome (MetS). To clarify the association between the type of shift work and the risk of MetS, a cross-sectional field survey was conducted after adjusting for age and lifestyle factors. Methods. The subjects were 3007 Japanese males, aged 34–64 years old, who were employees (1700 day and 1307 shift workers) of a car-manufacturing company. The standard Japanese criteria for the diagnosis of MetS was used. Age, smoking habit, drinking habit, sleeping habit and exercise habit were used as the independent variables. Results. The prevalence of MetS in the day workers, two-shift workers, and three-shift workers were 13.8% (234/1700), 10.7% (120/1125) and 17.6% (32/182), respectively. There was a significant difference in the prevalence between the two-shift workers and the day workers. Estimation of the odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) of age, two-shift work and habitual exercise for MetS were 1.03 (1.01–1.04), 0.77 (0.61–0.98) and 0.64 (0.51–0.81), respectively. Conclusion. Two-shift work was associated with lower risk of MetS, which is not in accordance with past reports. This finding should therefore be re-analysed, including investigation of the job content in each group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. Statistical information regarding the prevalence of metabolic syndrome among a wide age range of workers is insufficient. Methods. A total of 4278 men between the ages of 20 and 59 years participated in the study. Metabolic syndrome was diagnosed according to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) III criteria. Results. Overall, the prevalences of metabolic syndrome according to the IDF and NCEPIII criteria were 13.6% and 14.8%, respectively. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome according to the IDF (NCEPIII) criteria among workers in their 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s were 4.8% (6.1%), 9.9% (12.2%), 18.4% (21.6%) and 25.8% (34.0%), respectively. A plot of the prevalence of metabolic syndrome according to the NCEPIII criteria versus age had a steep gradient and increased sharply for men in their 50s. In contrast, a plot of the prevalence of metabolic syndrome according to the IDF criteria versus age increased in a linear manner. Conclusion. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome increased among workers according to age, but the increasing trend and the absolute prevalence of metabolic syndrome differed according to the two sets of diagnostic criteria used in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]