ABSTRACT
Though it has been reported that in Western developed countries socioeconomic
status is associated with non-communicable diseases (NCD), there are sparse evidence
from Japan, midst an income gap that has been pointed out in recent years.
Therefore, we examined the presence or absence of NCD and the number of comorbidities
according to household income in Japanese, using data from the National
Health and Nutrition Survey of 2010. 1287 men and 1659 women aged 20 - 79 years
from households at 3 income levels (<2, 2 - 5.9, ≥6 million yen) were analyzed. Participants
completed questionnaires regarding whether they had been diagnosed with
NCD, as well as undergoing clinical laboratory tests. Logistic regression analyses
were used for statistical analysis with adjustment for age, gender, household size, and
population of municipalities. The prevalences of participants with high, medium,
and low income were 22.3%, 57.6%, and 20.2%, respectively. Participants with the
lowest income had the highest odds of hypertension (OR [95% confidence interval
(CI)] = 1.71 [1.29 - 2.26], p < 0.001), diabetes (1.50 [1.02 - 2.20], p = 0.041), and
stroke (5.07 [2.04 - 12.60] p < 0.001). Additionally, prevalences of participants with 2
or 3 NCD (hypertension, diabetes, and hypercholesterolemia) were 15.0% and 33.0%
in high and low income levels, respectively. A low income could contribute to a high
prevalence of NCD and large number of comorbidities among Japanese. Establishing
a health policy in Japan is needed to enable an optimal health condition and lifestyle
regardless of socioeconomic disparities.
Share and Cite:
Horikawa, C. , Murayama, N. , Ota, A. , Tsuruta, M. , Matsunaga, S. , Fujihara, K. , Hanyu, O. and Sone, H. (2017) Prevalence of Non-Communicable Diseases and Number of Comorbidities According to Differences in Household Income Levels in Japan: Analysis from National Health and Nutrition Survey.
Food and Nutrition Sciences,
8, 19-30. doi:
10.4236/fns.2017.81002.