Spa resort use and health-related quality of life, sleep, sickness absence and hospital admission: the Japanese civil servants study.
OBJECTIVE
To examine whether spa resort use is associated with the health of Japanese employees.


METHODS
Cross-sectional survey.


METHODS
3341 employees (2280 males and 1061 females) aged 20-65 in local government in Japan.


METHODS
The physical and mental component summary scores (PCS and MCS) of the Short Form 36 (SF-36), sleep quality as measured by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), sickness leave (> or =7 days in the previous year), and hospital admission in the previous year.


RESULTS
The PCS and MCS increased with the frequency of spa resort use in men and women. Less frequent use was associated with poor sleep quality for men and women and sickness leave for men. There was no significant relationship between use frequency and hospital admission.


CONCLUSIONS
Spa resort use may have beneficial effects on physical and particularly mental health. Longitudinal research is necessary to clarify the causality.
Sekine
Michikazu
M
Department of Welfare Promotion and Epidemiology, University of Toyama, Faculty of Medicine, 2630 Sugitani, Toyama 930-0194, Japan. sekine@ms.toyama-mpu.ac.jp
Nasermoaddeli
Ali
A
Wang
Hongbing
H
Kanayama
Hitomi
H
Kagamimori
Sadanobu
S
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006294:Health Resorts; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D010343:Patient Admission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011788:Quality of Life; D018582:Sick Leave / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control