Relationship between mortality risk and health-related factors and sense of coherence in residents ofa rural area in Japan

Kanako Yamauchi; Tadahiro Kato; Isao Saito; Masamitsu Yamaizumi

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Relationship between mortality risk and health-related factors and sense of coherence in residents ofa rural area in Japan

VernacularTitle:Relationship between mortality risk and health-related factors and sense of coherence in residents ofa rural area in Japan
Author: Kanako YAMAUCHI ¹ ; Tadahiro KATO ² ; Isao SAITO ³ ; Masamitsu YAMAIZUMI ⁴
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1. Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Hiroshima International University, Japan
2. Center for Education and Educational Research, the Faculty of Education, Ehime University, Japan
3. Department of Public Health and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, Oita University, Japan
4. JA Ehime Kouseiren Medical Examination Center, Japan
Keywords: sense of coherence; standardized mortality ratio; cohort study; mortality risk
From:Journal of Rural Medicine 2020;15(1):38-43
CountryJapan
Language:English
Abstract: Objective: This study aimed to examine the relationship between mortality risk and health-related factors and sense of coherence (SOC) in a cohort study of residents from a rural area of Japan.Materials and Methods: We followed-up with 3,416 baseline respondents over 3.76 years. Residents were subdivided into three groups based on SOC score: low, middle, and high. We used the total SOC score of the low-level SOC group as the standard, and calculated the standardized mortality ratio (SMR) for the middle- and high-level SOC groups. For all three SOC groups, health-related factors were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance, and lifestyle and history were analyzed using the χ2 test. Results were also analyzed by gender and age.Results: For men in the low-level SOC group, the SMR value was defined as 1, and for men in the high-level SOC group (0.44; 95% confidence interval: 0.11–0.77), the SMR value was significantly lower. There was a statistically significant reduction in the percentage of smokers in the men in the high-level SOC group.Conclusion: In this study, high-level SOC was associated with low mortality risk. This finding was particularly pronounced in the men.