Top

Published in:

01-06-2012 | Original Paper

Prevalence of Psychological Distress, as Measured by the Kessler 6 (K6), and Related Factors in Japanese Employees

Authors: Masahito Fushimi, Seiji Saito, Tetsuo Shimizu, Yasutsugu Kudo, Masayuki Seki, Katsuyuki Murata

Published in: Community Mental Health Journal | Issue 3/2012

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of and related factors for psychological distress among employees. The employees in Akita prefecture, Japan, were invited to complete the Kessler 6 (K6). A value of 13 or higher on the K6 scale indicated high psychological distress. Furthermore, we identified the relationships among the prevalence of high psychological distress, socio-demographic status, and employment-related variables. The data of 1,709 employees indicated that 10.8% of the employees had high psychological distress; the proportion of psychological distress found in the present study was high compared to that found in previous studies. The identified socio-demographic and occupation-related factors included young age groups associated with a high risk and clerical or administrative tasks associated with a low risk of psychological distress. The data of this study can be used as K6 benchmark values, which enhance the significance of future corporate health risk appraisal surveys.

Andrews, G., Henderson, S., & Hall, W. (2001). Prevalence, comorbidity, disability and service utilisation. Overview of the Australian National Mental Health Survey. British Journal of Psychiatry, 178, 145–153.PubMedCrossRef

Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) (2003). National health survey: Mental Health, Australia, 2001 (cat. no. 4811.0). Canberra: ABS.

Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) (2006). National health survey: Summary of results, Australia, 2004–05 (cat. no. 4364.0). Canberra: ABS.

Bijl, R. V., de Graaf, R., Hiripi, E., Kessler, R. C., Kohn, R., Offord, D. R., et al. (2003). The prevalence of treated and untreated mental disorders in five countries. Health Affairs, 22, 122–133.PubMedCrossRef

Bijl, R. V., Ravelli, A., & van Zessen, G. (1998). Prevalence of psychiatric disorder in the general population: Results of The Netherlands Mental Health Survey and incidence study (NEMESIS). Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 33, 587–595.PubMedCrossRef

Bültmann, U., Kant, I., Kasl, S. V., Beurskens, A. J., & van den Brandt, P. A. (2002). Fatigue and psychological distress in the working population: psychometrics, prevalence, and correlates. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 52, 445–452.PubMedCrossRef

Cannuscio, C. C., Colditz, G. A., Rimm, E. B., Berkman, L. F., Jones, C. P., & Kawachi, I. (2004). Employment status, social ties, and caregivers’ mental health. Social Science and Medicine, 58, 1247–1256.PubMedCrossRef

Cuijpers, P., Smit, F., Oostenbrink, J., de Graaf, R., Ten Have, M., & Beekman, A. (2007). Economic costs of minor depression: a population-based study. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 115, 229–236.PubMedCrossRef

Dewa, C. S., & Lin, E. (2000). Chronic physical illness, psychiatric disorder and disability in the workplace. Social Science and Medicine, 51, 41–50.PubMedCrossRef

Dewa, C. S., McDaid, D., & Ettner, S. L. (2007). An international perspective on worker mental health problems: Who bears the burden and how are costs addressed? Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 52, 346–356.

Furukawa, T. A., Kessler, R. C., Slade, T., & Andrews, G. (2003). The performance of the K6 and K10 screening scales for psychological distress in the Australian National Survey of Mental Health and Well-Being. Psychological Medicine, 33, 357–362.PubMedCrossRef

Fushimi, M., Shimizu, T., Saito, S., Kudo, Y., Seki, M., & Murata, K. (2010). Prevalence of and risk factors for psychological distress among employees in Japan. Public Health, 124, 713–715.PubMedCrossRef

Fushimi, M., Sugawara, J., & Shimizu, T. (2005). Suicide patterns and characteristics in Akita, Japan. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 59, 296–302.PubMedCrossRef

Gilbody, S., Bower, P., & Whitty, P. (2006). Costs and consequences of enhanced primary care for depression: Systematic review of randomised economic evaluations. British Journal of Psychiatry, 189, 297–308.PubMedCrossRef

Goetzel, R. Z., Long, S. R., Ozminkowski, R. J., Hawkins, K., Wang, S., & Lynch, W. (2004). Health, absence, disability and presenteeism cost estimates of certain physical and mental health conditions affecting U.S. employers. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 46, 398–412.PubMedCrossRef

Hilton, M. F., Whiteford, H. A., Sheridan, J. S., Cleary, C. M., Chant, D. C., Wang, P. S., et al. (2008). The prevalence of psychological distress in employees and associated occupational risk factors. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 50, 746–757.PubMedCrossRef

Kessler, R. C., Andrews, G., Colpe, L. J., Hiripi, E., Mroczek, D. K., Normand, S. L., et al. (2002). Short screening scales to monitor population prevalences and trends in non-specific psychological distress. Psychological Medicine, 32, 959–976.PubMedCrossRef

Kessler, R. C., Barber, C., Birnbaum, H. G., Frank, R. G., Greenberg, P. E., Rose, R. M., et al. (1999). Depression in the workplace: Effects on short-term disability. Health Affairs, 18, 163–171.PubMedCrossRef

Kessler, R. C., Barker, P. R., Colpe, L. J., Epstein, J. F., Gfroerer, J. C., Hiripi, E., et al. (2003). Screening for serious mental illness in the general population. Archives of General Psychiatry, 60, 184–189.PubMedCrossRef

Kessler, R. C., Chiu, W. T., Demler, O., Merikangas, K. R., & Walters, E. E. (2005). Prevalence, severity, and comorbidity of 12-month DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Archives of General Psychiatry, 62, 617–627.PubMedCrossRef

Kessler, R. C., & Frank, R. G. (1997). The impact of psychiatric disorders on work loss days. Psychological Medicine, 27, 861–873.PubMedCrossRef

Kessler, R. C., Green, J. G., Gruber, M. J., Sampson, N. A., Bromet, E., Cuitan, M., et al. (2010). Screening for serious mental illness in the general population with the K6 screening scale: results from the WHO World Mental Health (WMH) survey initiative. International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research, 19(Suppl 1), 4–22.PubMedCrossRef

King, D. A., & Buchwald, A. M. (1982). Sex differences in subclinical depression: administration of the Beck depression inventory in public and private disclosure situations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 42, 963–969.PubMedCrossRef

Lim, D., Sanderson, K., & Andrews, G. (2000). Lost productivity among full-time workers with mental disorders. Journal of Mental Health Policy and Economics, 3, 139–146.PubMedCrossRef

McVeigh, K. H., Galea, S., Thorpe, L. E., Maulsby, C., Henning, K., & Sederer, L. I. (2006). The epidemiology of nonspecific psychological distress in New York City, 2002 and 2003. Journal of Urban Health, 83, 394–405.PubMedCrossRef

Plaisier, I., de Bruijn, J. G., Smit, J. H., de Graaf, R., Ten Have, M., Beekman, A. T., et al. (2008). Work and family roles and the association with depressive and anxiety disorders: Differences between men and women. Journal of Affective Disorders, 105, 63–72.PubMedCrossRef

Pratt, L. A., Dey, A. N., & Cohen, A. J. (2007). Characteristics of adults with serious psychological distress as measured by the K6 scale: United States, 2001–04. Advance Data, 382, 1–18.PubMed

Prause, J., & Dooley, D. (2001). Favourable employment status change and psychological depression: A two-year follow-up analysis of the national longitudinal survey of youth. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 50, 282–304.CrossRef

Sanderson, K., & Andrews, G. (2006). Common mental disorders in the workforce: Recent findings from descriptive and social epidemiology. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 51, 63–75.

Sigmon, S. T., Rohan, K. J., Dorhofer, D., Hotovy, L. A., Trask, P. C., & Boulard, N. (1997). Effects of consent form information on self-disclosure. Ethics and Behavior, 7, 299–310.PubMedCrossRef

Simon, G. E. (2003). Social and economic burden of mood disorders. Biological Psychiatry, 54, 208–215.PubMedCrossRef

Stewart, W. F., Ricci, J. A., Chee, E., Hahn, S. R., & Morganstein, D. (2003). Cost of lost productive work time among US workers with depression. Journal of the American Medical Association, 289, 3135–3144.PubMedCrossRef

Tsutsumi, A., Nagami, M., Yoshikawa, T., Kogi, K., & Kawakami, N. (2009). Participatory intervention for workplace improvements on mental health and job performance among blue-collar workers: A cluster randomized controlled trial. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 51, 554–563.PubMedCrossRef

Umanodan, R., Kobayashi, Y., Nakamura, M., Kitaoka-Higashiguchi, K., Kawakami, N., & Shimazu, A. (2009). Effects of a worksite stress management training program with six short-hour sessions: A controlled trial among Japanese employees. Journal of Occupational Health, 51, 294–302.PubMedCrossRef

Wang, P. S., Beck, A. L., McKenas, D. K., Meneades, L. M., Pronk, N. P., Saylor, J. S., et al. (2002). Effects of efforts to increase response rates on a workplace chronic condition screening survey. Medical Care, 40, 752–760.PubMedCrossRef

Wang, P. S., Patrick, A., Avorn, J., Azocar, F., Ludman, E., McCulloch, J., et al. (2006). The costs and benefits of enhanced depression care to employers. Archives of General Psychiatry, 63, 1345–1353.PubMedCrossRef

Wang, P. S., Simon, G. E., Avorn, J., Azocar, F., Ludman, E. J., McCulloch, J., et al. (2007). Telephone screening, outreach, and care management for depressed workers and impact on clinical and work productivity outcomes: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of the American Medical Association, 298, 1401–1411.PubMedCrossRef

Wells, J. E., Oakley Browne, M. A., Scott, K. M., McGee, M. A., Baxter, J., & Kokaua, J. (2006). Te Rau Hinengaro: The New Zealand Mental Health Survey: Overview of methods and findings. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 40, 835–844.PubMedCrossRef

Wilhelm, K., Parker, G., Geerligs, L., & Wedgwood, L. (2008). Women and depression: A 30 year learning curve. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 42, 3–12.PubMedCrossRef

Williams, J. W., Jr., Gerrity, M., Holsinger, T., Dobscha, S., Gaynes, B., & Dietrich, A. (2007). Systematic review of multifaceted interventions to improve depression care. General Hospital Psychiatry, 29, 91–116.PubMedCrossRef

Wittchen, H. U. (2010). Screening for serious mental illness: Methodological studies of the K6 screening scale. International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research, 19(Suppl 1), 1–3.PubMedCrossRef

Zhang, M., Rost, K. M., Fortney, J. C., & Smith, G. R. (1999). A community study of depression treatment and employment earnings. Psychiatric Services, 50, 1209–1213.PubMed

Title: Prevalence of Psychological Distress, as Measured by the Kessler 6 (K6), and Related Factors in Japanese Employees
Authors: Masahito Fushimi
Seiji Saito
Tetsuo Shimizu
Yasutsugu Kudo
Masayuki Seki
Katsuyuki Murata
Publication date: 01-06-2012
Publisher: Springer US
Published in: Community Mental Health Journal / Issue 3/2012
Print ISSN: 0010-3853
Electronic ISSN: 1573-2789
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-011-9416-7

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Prevalence of Psychological Distress, as Measured by the Kessler 6 (K6), and Related Factors in Japanese Employees

Abstract

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 3/2012

Preparing for a Public Sector Mental Health Reform in New Mexico: The Experience of Agencies Serving Adults with Serious Mental Illness

Comparison of Treated and Untreated Major Depressive Disorder in a Nationwide Sample of Korean Adults

Lay Diagnoses and Views on Causes, Coping Strategies, and Treatment for Schizophrenia

The Cost of Generalized Anxiety Disorder in Primary Care Settings: Results of the ANCORA Study

“I Hope I Can Make it Out There”: Perceptions of Women with Severe Mental Illness on the Transition from Hospital to Community

Mental Health Status and Related Characteristics of Chinese Male Rural–Urban Migrant Workers