| Abstract: | In order to investigate the relationship between health practices and depressive mood, a survey was made by mail questionnaire on 3,987 industrial workers, which included items on 8 health practices and Zung Self-rating Depression Scale (Zung SDS). A total of 3,160 or 79.3% responded to the questionnaire. Multivariate analysis was employed to control the effects of possible confounders, such as demographic, job- and health-related variables. As the results, the following four health practices were found to be significantly related to low depressive score in male cases (N = 2,779): eating breakfast regularly, habitual physical activity, moderate alcohol consumption, and obesity not less than -10%. The following three health practices were found in female cases (N = 381) to be significantly related to low depression score: sleeping regularly 7-8 h per night, habitual physical activity, and non-smoker. It is considered that these health practices might decrease depressive mood, but further analysis is needed to determine their causal relationships because of the cross-sectional design of the present study. |
