Association of health-related quality of life with health examination including organic functions and lifestyles in Japanese employees

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to compare the association of each item of a health examination including organic functions and lifestyles with health-related quality of life (HRQoL) by gender. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey by a self-administered questionnaire using the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) was conducted for Japanese employees from October 1999 to September 2000. Participants in this study consisted of 458 men and 321 women systematically selected from the health examinees. MAIN RESULTS: The determination of organic functions including 'body mass index', 'blood pressure', 'liver functioning', and 'blood sugar control' was hardly associated with HRQoL, except for the body mass index in women. All the lifestyle items including smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol, eating breakfast, doing exercise, adhering to bedtime, and working overtime were associated with HRQoL in the multiple regression models. In the mental component summary (MCS), the standardized regression coefficient of 'hours of overtime' was -0.235 in the men and -0.212 in the women (p < 0.001). In the physical component summary (PCS), that of 'energy consumed in exercise' was 0.149 in the women (p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: This study reveals that the association between lifestyle and HRQoL was stronger than that between organic function and HRQoL.