Abstract
BackgroundRecently socioeconomic status (SES) and job stress index received more attention to affect mental health. Folate intake has been implicated to have negative association with depression. However, few studies were published for the evidence association together with the consideration of SES and job stress factors. The current study is a part of the Japanese study of Health, Occupation and Psychosocial factors related Equity (J-HOPE study) that focused on the association of social stratification and health and our objective was to clarify the association between folate intake and depressive symptoms in Japanese general workers.MethodsSubjects were 2266 workers in a Japanese nationwide company. SES and job stress factors were assessed by self-administered questionnaire. Folate intake was estimated by a validated, brief, self-administered diet history questionnaire. Depressive symptoms were measured by Kessler’s K6 questionnaire. “Individuals with depressive symptoms” was defined as K6≧9 (in K6 score of 0–24 scoring system). Multiple logistic regression and linear regression model were used to evaluate the association between folate and depressive symptoms.ResultsSeveral SES factors (proportion of management positions, years of continuous employment, and annual household income) and folate intake were found to be significantly lower in the subjects with depressive symptom (SES factors: p < 0.001; folate intake: P = 0.001). There was an inverse, independent linear association between K6 score and folate intake after adjusting for age, sex, job stress scores (job strains, worksite supports), and SES factors (p = 0.010). The impact of folate intake on the prevalence of depressive symptom by a multiple logistic model was (ORs[95% CI]: 0.813 [0.664-0.994]; P =0.044).ConclusionsOur cross-sectional study suggested an inverse, independent relation of energy-adjusted folate intake with depression score and prevalence of depressive symptoms in Japanese workers, together with the consideration of SES and job stress factors.
Highlights
Socioeconomic status (SES) and job stress index received more attention to affect mental health
The mean (± standard deviation, Standard deviation (SD)) age and body mass index (BMI) of the total subjects (n = 2266) were 43.5 ± 9.8 years and 23.1 ± 3.3 kg/m2, respectively, which are typical for middle-aged Japanese. 495 subjects (21.8%) had a Kessler 6 (K6) score more than 9 and they were defined as with depressive symptom
As to socioeconomic status (SES) factors, proportion of management positions, years of continuous employment, and unadjusted annual household income were found to be significantly lower in the subjects with depressive symptom
Summary
Socioeconomic status (SES) and job stress index received more attention to affect mental health. Few studies were published for the evidence association together with the consideration of SES and job stress factors. The current study is a part of the Japanese study of Health, Occupation and Psychosocial factors related Equity (J-HOPE study) that focused on the association of social stratification and health and our objective was to clarify the association between folate intake and depressive symptoms in Japanese general workers. Among many putative risk factors, folate deficiency has been recognized since the 1960s as an potentiation of antidepressant medication by folate + vitamin B12 supplementation [11]. Another risk factor of depression is low socioeconomic status (SES) [12,13]. 51 studies reported an odds ratio greater than 1, of which 35 were statistically significant
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