Can bars and izakaya pubs contribute to improving mental health of middle-aged Japanese men?

摘要

JAPAN HAS A relatively high prevalence rate of death due to suicide, with more than 30 000 suicides every year since 1998. According to Nagasaki prefecture health office, in the last decade, there has been a high prevalence of suicide among middle-aged men, with debt and/or losing one's job being listed as one of the major causes. Previous studies have suggested several ways of relieving stress among Japanese people, but effective approaches to increase resilience as a means of preventing suicide among Japanese middle-aged men are yet to be established. The authors conducted this study to determine to what extent bars and izakaya pubs can contribute to mitigating stress among middle-aged Japanese men by providing a place for them to de-stress. A self-administered questionnaire was posted to masters of a total of 260 bars and izakaya pubs registered in Ohmura-city, Nagasaki prefecture, in December 2009. The questionnaire collected information on demographic characteristics, years of experience of working in bars and izakaya pubs, experience of being asked for advice on personal matters by their customers >=40 years old, and the kinds of matters on which they were asked to advise. In total, 84 returned the completed questionnaires. A further 19 participated in telephone interviews using the same questionnaire, which was conducted with those who did not initially respond. In total, 103 respondents were included in the analysis. Half of the respondents from bars were >=60 years old, and 43 (68.3%) had >=10 years of experience working in bars. The most frequent matters that they were asked to listen to and give advice on were those related to work (56.3%). Regardless of respondent sex and age, those respondents with longer working histories in bars and izakaya pubs had a higher likelihood of experience of customers consulting them about debts/loans (adjusted odds ratio: 5.48, P<0.05). Having a place to complain and to receive counseling could potentially mitigate stre...