The association between repeated specific health guidance during specific health checkups and mental health: a cross-sectional survey study in Japan.

Objective: Repeated guidance through specific health guidance (SHG), a service that provides health advice to high-risk individuals for specific health examinations, may be affected by examinees' mental health status. However, the association between repeated SHG sessions and mental health remains unclear.

Materials and methods: Data were collected from 123 men and women who underwent specific health checkups at Jiaikai Izuro Imamura Hospital between April 13, 2021 and April 13, 2022 after receiving SHG in the previous year. A questionnaire survey was conducted to assess burnout, resilience, and lifestyle-related factors such as weight change and the amount of alcohol consumed. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for repeated SHG were estimated using stepwise multiple logistic and mediation analyses.

Results: The results showed that repeated SHG was significantly associated with weight gain ≥10 kg from the age of 20 years (OR=4.41, 95% CI 1.74-11.20) and burnout subscale of cynicism (OR=4.18, 95% CI 1.31-13.33).

Conclusion: Weight loss guidance could be an effective component of SHG. Additionally, individuals who are repeatedly provided with SHG experience a mental health burden. Furthermore, interventions to reduce cynicism may be necessary to prevent the need for repeated SHG.