{"id":8089,"date":"2024-10-22T15:52:14","date_gmt":"2024-10-22T15:52:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/?p=8089"},"modified":"2024-10-22T15:52:16","modified_gmt":"2024-10-22T15:52:16","slug":"japans-mental-health-key-to-improved-life-expectancy-study-finds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/japans-mental-health-key-to-improved-life-expectancy-study-finds\/","title":{"rendered":"Japan\u2019s Mental Health Key to Improved Life Expectancy, Study Finds"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-blockquote uagb-block-e7eb3fc3 uagb-blockquote__skin-border uagb-blockquote__stack-img-none\"><blockquote class=\"uagb-blockquote\"><div class=\"uagb-blockquote__content\">A new study by Yuka Minagawa from Sophia University underscores the importance of mental health in improving life expectancy in Japan, urging policymakers to integrate mental health initiatives into public health strategies.<\/div><footer><div class=\"uagb-blockquote__author-wrap uagb-blockquote__author-at-left\"><\/div><\/footer><\/blockquote><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-content-justification-space-between is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-b0ffac9c wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\"><div style=\"font-size:16px\" class=\"has-text-align-left wp-block-post-author\"><div class=\"wp-block-post-author__content\"><p class=\"wp-block-post-author__name\">The University Network<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share uagb-social-share__outer-wrap uagb-social-share__layout-horizontal uagb-block-ee584a31\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-ec619ce7\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"facebook\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\"><path d=\"M504 256C504 119 393 8 256 8S8 119 8 256c0 123.8 90.69 226.4 209.3 245V327.7h-63V256h63v-54.64c0-62.15 37-96.48 93.67-96.48 27.14 0 55.52 4.84 55.52 4.84v61h-31.28c-30.8 0-40.41 19.12-40.41 38.73V256h68.78l-11 71.69h-57.78V501C413.3 482.4 504 379.8 504 256z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-32d99934\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?url=\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"twitter\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\"><path d=\"M389.2 48h70.6L305.6 224.2 487 464H345L233.7 318.6 106.5 464H35.8L200.7 275.5 26.8 48H172.4L272.9 180.9 389.2 48zM364.4 421.8h39.1L151.1 88h-42L364.4 421.8z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-1d136f14\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/shareArticle?url=\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"linkedin\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\"><path d=\"M416 32H31.9C14.3 32 0 46.5 0 64.3v383.4C0 465.5 14.3 480 31.9 480H416c17.6 0 32-14.5 32-32.3V64.3c0-17.8-14.4-32.3-32-32.3zM135.4 416H69V202.2h66.5V416zm-33.2-243c-21.3 0-38.5-17.3-38.5-38.5S80.9 96 102.2 96c21.2 0 38.5 17.3 38.5 38.5 0 21.3-17.2 38.5-38.5 38.5zm282.1 243h-66.4V312c0-24.8-.5-56.7-34.5-56.7-34.6 0-39.9 27-39.9 54.9V416h-66.4V202.2h63.7v29.2h.9c8.9-16.8 30.6-34.5 62.9-34.5 67.2 0 79.7 44.3 79.7 101.9V416z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A new study from Sophia University highlights the underestimated role of mental health in improving life expectancy in Japan, a nation renowned for its long-lived population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While physical health has been extensively studied in Japan, mental health has often been overlooked due to stigma, even as issues like anxiety, substance use disorders and high suicide rates have increased. This comprehensive study, the first of its kind, analyzed the relationship between physical and mental health among Japanese adults between 2010 and 2022 using health expectancy data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhile the concept of health expectancy has been gaining attention as a comprehensive measurement of population health status, most studies in Japan have focused only on physical health indicators and overlooked the role of mental health. This study addresses this gap by estimating the length of life free of psychological distress,\u201d Yuka Minagawa, an associate professor of sociology at Sophia University, said in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sophia.ac.jp\/eng\/article\/news\/release\/20241022\/\" title=\"\">news release<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The research, recently <a href=\"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/full\/10.1111\/aswp.12329\" title=\"\">published<\/a> in the Asian Social Work and Policy Review, utilized mortality data from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) and psychological distress data from the MHLW&#8217;s Comprehensive Survey of Living Conditions (CSLC). The study measured psychological distress using the Japanese version of the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale 6.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The findings revealed a notable improvement in distress-free life expectancy (LE) among both men and women, particularly benefiting younger individuals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWidowhood adversely affects men&#8217;s mental health, which leads to psychological distress and depression since they must adapt to lifestyle changes without spousal support,\u201d added Minagawa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Interestingly, the data showed that psychological distress-free LE decreased between 2010 and 2013, likely due to the aftermath of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, but subsequently improved through 2022. The positive trend surprisingly continued despite the COVID-19 pandemic, although this does not suggest Japan&#8217;s mental health was unaffected during this period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The study also analyzed changes in distress-free LE by age and gender. For men, reductions in mortality had a more substantial impact than changes in psychological distress. In contrast, for women, both factors contributed equally to improvements in distress-free LE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe study improves our understanding of population health by highlighting the crucial role of mental health in the overall well-being of the population. As the prevalence of mental health issues increases, policymakers must focus on the complex relationship between physical and mental health in contemporary Japan,\u201d Minagawa added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This study carries profound implications for Japan&#8217;s health policies. As mental health issues rise, integrating mental health into public health strategies becomes crucial. The findings call for targeted interventions to support mental well-being, particularly among vulnerable groups such as the elderly and widowed individuals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A new study from Sophia University highlights the underestimated role of mental health in improving life expectancy in Japan, a nation renowned for its long-lived population. While physical health has been extensively studied in Japan, mental health has often been overlooked due to stigma, even as issues like anxiety, substance use disorders and high suicide [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"single-no-separators","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8089","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"The University Network","author_link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/author\/funky_junkie\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"A new study from Sophia University highlights the underestimated role of mental health in improving life expectancy in Japan, a nation renowned for its long-lived population. While physical health has been extensively studied in Japan, mental health has often been overlooked due to stigma, even as issues like anxiety, substance use disorders and high suicide&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8089","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8089"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8089\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8127,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8089\/revisions\/8127"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8089"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8089"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8089"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}