The Association between Annually-repeated Health Screening and Health Behavior among Company Employees

Although several studies have been undertaken to evaluate the efficacy of health screening in causing changes in health-related behavior, there are few findings with respect to the efficacy of annually repeated health screening. Using cross-sectional data drawn from a population consisting of white-collar workers in Osaka, Japan, the relation between the results of annually repeated health screening and individual health behavior was examined. Several diseases were related to diet and alcohol consumption, but not to physical exercise habits. High γ-GTP or alcoholic liver damage and hypertension were related to moderate alcohol consumption (p<0.001 and 0.05). A high cholesterol level was related to a nutritionally balanced diet (p<0.05). However, there were no diseases related to increased physical exercise. Findings in the present study, in combination with the literature indicate the possibility that annually repeated health screening intervention has been effective in promoting positive lifestyle changes in diet and alcohol consumption among participants. However, to conclusively evaluate the effucacy of the annually repeated health screening, further study is necessary.