Evaluating presenteeism of mental health problems in Japanese workers

Introduction
It is estimated that both absenteeism and presenteeism of the psychiatric problem is wide spread in Japan. The aim of this study is to comprehend the prevalence and presenteeism of mental health conditions in Japanese workers.

Methods
This cross-sectional study examined the presenteeism of 3819 male and 2958 female workers in 2006-2010. Stanford presenteresm Scale (SPS) was used as a measurement tool of presenteeism. In SPS, first step is: Subjects were asked about their chronic health condition (CHC) that the workers felt for one month recently, and inquired about the primary health condition (PHC) which workers felt was the worst health condition, this was the second step. Next the presenteeism according to the PHC is evaluated by ten items of Work Impairment Score (WIS). Moreover, SPS contains the question concerning absenteeism by PHC.

Results
The percentage of workers who had CHCs were 74.7% male, and 89.8% female. The highest CHC was “Back or neck disorder” in males and females (male: 45.4%, female: 69.1%), and “Depression and anxiety or emotional disorder (Depression)” were the 2nd (33.6%) in the females and the 4th in the males (20.3%). The highest prevalence of PHC was “Back or neck disorder” (male: 18.3%, female: 8.7%) in both males and females, and the second was “Depression” (male: 25.2% female: 9.8%). The WIS of “Depression” was the highest (male: 49.5%, female: 48.2%) in males and females. The absenteeism of “Depression” was the highest in the males and was the sixth highest in the females.

Discussion
Though female's prevalence of “Depression” was higher than male’s one, the absenteeism and the percentage of the PHC in male were higher than in females. It was expected for males to take their health more seriously. Presenteeism of “Depression“was the largest in PHCs. The problem of mental health could be an important problem for the office on the aspect of job performance.