Economic recession and mental health distress among Japanese people in middle age

This study examined the association between the 2008 economic recession and mental health distress among middle-aged Japanese people, and whether sex and socioeconomic status affected this association. Data were obtained from a nationwide longitudinal study ("Longitudinal Survey of Middle-aged and Elderly Persons"), conducted since 2005 on randomly selected Japanese adults aged 50-59 years. Of the 34,240 respondents to the 2005 baseline survey, data for 33,815 who responded at least once both before 2007 and after 2008 were analyzed. The 6-item Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6) was used to assess mental health distress (i.e., K6 scores of ≥ 5). A generalized estimating equation model applied to 6 years of longitudinal data (2005-2010) showed that mental health worsened among men and women after the 2008 recession (odds ratio [95% confidence interval] = 1.11 [1.07-1.15] for men; 1.14 [1.10-1.18] for women), particularly among self-employed men (1.08 [1.02-1.14]). The mental health of women who graduated from junior high school worsened less than that of women who graduated from university or graduate school (0.89 [0.80-0.98]). This study confirmed the association between the 2008 economic recession and mental health distress and identified vulnerable socioeconomic groups. These findings provide useful information for future economic crises.