title: Interrelationships Between Job Resources, Vigor, Exercise Habit, and Serum Lipids in Japanese Employees: a Multiple Group Path Analysis Using Medical Checkup Data.
abstract: Physical inactivity is one of the major risk factors for dyslipidemia and coronary heart disease. Job resources have been identified as determinants of employees' vigor and physical activity habits.
  
  
  
  Our first purpose was to comprehensively analyze the series of relationships of job resources, through vigor and exercise habit (i.e., one aspect of physical activity), to serum lipid levels in a sample of Japanese employees in a manufacturing company. Our second purpose was to investigate sex differences in these relationships using a multiple-group path analysis.
  
  
  
  Data were collected from 4543 employees (men = 4018, women = 525) during a medical checkup conducted in February and March 2012. Job resources (job control, skill utilization, suitable jobs, and meaningfulness of work), vigor, exercise habit, triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) were measured cross-sectionally.
  
  
  
  Job resources and vigor were positively associated with exercise habit in both sexes. Exercise habit was inversely associated with triglyceride (-0.03 in men and -0.01 in women, ps < 0.05) and LDL-C (-0.07 in both sexes, ps < 0.05). HDL-C was positively associated with exercise habit (0.03 in both sexes, ps < 0.05). There was no significant difference by sex in path coefficients, except for the covariance between suitable jobs and meaningfulness of work.
  
  
  
  Higher levels of job resources were associated with greater vigor, leading to exercise habit, which in turn, improved serum lipid levels. Longitudinal studies are required to demonstrate causality.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mental Health, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Japan, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan. kzwatanabe-tky@umin.ac.jp.|Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Chiyoda-ku, Japan. kzwatanabe-tky@umin.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Kazuhiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 3-29-1 Otsuka, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 112-0012, Japan.
authors.forename: Yasumasa
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Otsuka
authors.affiliation: Department of Mental Health, Institute of Industrial Ecological Sciences, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan, 1-1 Iseigaoka, Yahatanishi-ku, Kitakyushu, 807-8555, Japan.
authors.forename: Akiomi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Inoue
authors.affiliation: College of Economics, Nihon University, Japan, 1-3-2 Misaki-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 101-8360, Japan.
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sakurai
authors.affiliation: Department of Occupational and Public Health Nursing, School of Health Sciences, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan, 1-1 Iseigaoka, Yahatanishi-ku, Kitakyushu, 807-8555, Japan.
authors.forename: Akiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ui
authors.affiliation: Department of Occupational and Public Health Nursing, School of Health Sciences, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan, 1-1 Iseigaoka, Yahatanishi-ku, Kitakyushu, 807-8555, Japan.
authors.forename: Akinori
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nakata
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL / Q000097:blood; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000097:blood*; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D006184:Habits; D006801:Humans; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL; D008055:Lipids; D014280:Triglycerides
keywords: Exercise habit; Job resources; Physical activity; Serum lipids; Vigor