title: Mental health of two communities of Japanese-Brazilians: a comparative study in Japan and in Brazil.
abstract: The aim of the present study was to assess the mental health status of Japanese-Brazilians living in Kiyoharadai, Japan and compare the findings with the Japanese-Brazilians living in Bauru, Brazil. A comparative community-based mental health survey was conducted from November 1997 to April 1999 on a randomly selected sample of Brazilians of Japanese descent living in Bauru, Brazil (n=213) and on the entire Brazilian community of Kiyoharadai, Utsunomiya, Japan (n=158), using the self-reporting questionnaire (SRQ-20). Analysis was done by chi2, Fisher and multiple logistic regression. Scores indicating probable cases of minor psychiatric disorders, were found in 3.2% of the community in Bauru city and 17.8% (OR=7.01) of the community in Kiyoharadai. The sociodemographic data indicated that those with high SRQ-20 scores were most likely to be female (OR=2.98), smokers (OR=2.76), and those whose former occupation was student when living in Brazil (OR=9.57). The mental health status of the Japanese-Brazilians living in Kiyoharadai, Japan is significantly worse than that of the community living in Bauru, Brazil, particularly among women, smokers and those who were students when living in Brazil. Further research concerning the mental health of this community is necessary and assistance provided.
authors.affiliation: Federal University of Sao Paulo, Department of Emergency Medicine, Sao Paulo, Brazil. lincoln.dmed@epm.br
authors.forename: Lincoln Sakiara
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Miyasaka
authors.forename: Koichiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Otsuka
authors.forename: Keisuke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tsuji
authors.forename: Alvaro Nagib
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Atallah
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kunihiro
authors.forename: Yoshikazu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kato
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Abe
authors.forename: Yoshiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kamada
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology; D004641:Emigration and Immigration; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology*; D012647:Self-Assessment