Yasumasa Otsuka

Is self-rated health associated with blood immune markers in healthy individuals?

BackgroundAlthough self-rated health (SRH) has been established as a robust predictor of morbidity and mortality, the immunological mechanisms underpinning this relationship are poorly understood.PurposeThis study examined the association of SRH with humoral and cellular immune markers in healthy individuals who reported no physical illnesses.MethodA total of 116 healthy Japanese white-collar employees (79 women and 37 men) at a pharmaceutical company, aged 23–62 (mean 32) years, underwent a blood draw for the measurement of circulating immune (T, B, and natural killer) cells, inflammatory cytokines (interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α), and plasma immunoglobulin G (IgG) and completed a health survey including SRH. The question regarding SRH ranged from “very good” (coded 1) to “very poor” (coded 5). Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was carried out to calculate the relationship between SRH and immune markers.ResultsIn this sample, poor SRH was positively correlated with B (CD19+) cell numbers (β = 0.260, p < 0.05) and IgG levels (β = 0.335, p < 0.01) even after adjusting for depressive symptoms, age, education, marital status, smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity, body mass index, sex, and sex × SRH interaction. The interaction between SRH and sex on the immune markers was not significant.ConclusionAlthough the connection between SRH and immune markers was not strong in this context, the results suggest that poor SRH may be associated with reduced humoral immune system capacity to respond to new/latent challenges. The results provide some support for the immunological basis of SRH in healthier individuals.

Employment Type, Workplace Interpersonal Conflict, and Insomnia: A Cross-sectional Study of 37,646 Employees in Japan

ABSTRACT. This study explored whether workplace interpersonal conflict (WIC) is associated with insomnia, and whether the relationship between WIC and insomnia differs across different employment groups. A total of 37,646 Japanese full-time employees participated in a cross-sectional survey. Employment types included permanent employment and 2 forms of temporary employment: direct-hire and temporary work agent (TWA). Insomnia symptoms, including difficulty initiating sleep, difficulty maintaining sleep, and early morning awakening were measured. Insomnia was defined as having experienced 1 or more of these symptoms on ≥3 nights per week over the past 12 months. Results showed that WIC was significantly associated with an increased risk of insomnia (odds ratio OR = 1.63; 95% confidence interval CI = 1.55–1.71), controlling for confounders. However, the relationship between WIC and the risk of insomnia was significantly stronger for TWAs than for permanent employees (OR = 1.97; 95% CI = 1.13–3.45). A frequent exposure to WIC may increase the risk of insomnia, particularly for TWAs.

The Japanese Version of the Coping Orientation to Problems Expereinced: A Study of Japanese Schoolteachers

To investigate the internal consistency reliability and three types of validity of the Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced (COPE), a survey was conducted among 209 English schoolteachers in Japan. The Japanese version of the COPE Inventory was developed through a back-translation process. Cronbach coefficients alpha for the Japanese version were above .70 for all subscalcs except five, including Acceptance and Restraint, so internal consistencies for these five were insufficient. Goodness of fit indexes for a confirmatory factor analysis were acceptable except for the Comparative Fit Index. Scores on COPE subscales were significantly correlated with scores on other tests (29 of 75 correlations were in the expected directions). Further exploration is required for several subscales and for generalization to Japanese-speaking populations in careers other than teaching to ensure the Japanese version of the COPE will be useful in assessing coping strategics. Given the limitations, present data for Japanese teachers are encouraging.

Income Is Not Associated with Positive Affect, Life Satisfaction, and Subjective Happiness Among Japanese Workers

Although the relationships between income and well-being have been studied in many countries, these relationships have not been studied among Japanese workers. This study aims at filling this gap, investigating the relationships between income and positive affect, life satisfaction, and subjective happiness in a group of Japanese workers. Two hundred thirty participants completed a self-report questionnaire including annual income, positive affect, life satisfaction, subjective happiness, and other covariates. To test the effects of annual income on positive affect, life satisfaction, and subjective happiness, one-way ANOVAs and ANCOVAs controlling for age, gender, occupation, work schedule, employment, and smoking status were conducted. No associations were found between the level of annual income and positive affect, life satisfaction, or subjective happiness. Occupation, number of working hours, and physical exercise by level of annual income may have partly contributed to our not finding relationships between annual income and these dependent variables.

大学生におけるサポート提供者知覚が精神的健康に及ぼす影響 : エスティーム・エンハンスメント理論に基づく縦断的検討

本研究は, エスティーム・エンハンスメント理論に基づき, ソーシャルサポートの提供者であるという知覚をもつことが, 自尊感情や, コーピングの積極性, 知覚されたサポート量および精神的健康状態に及ぼす影響について検討するため, 大学生を対象に, 2回にわたる縦断的調査を実施した。分析の結果, T1時点においてサポート提供者であった者は, サポート受領者や低群に比べてT2時点における自尊感情が高かった。しかし, 自尊感情以外の指標には統計的に有意な差が認められなかった。本研究の結果より, サポート提供者だと知覚できる方法を開発することによって, 3ヶ月という比較的短期間で大学生の自尊感情を高めることができる可能性が示唆された。