[Association between employment type and employee lifestyle among individuals under the same health insurance society].

Objectives The prevalence of metabolic syndrome, a major risk factor for lifestyle-related diseases, varies across occupations. We aimed to clarify how employment type contributed to lifestyle differences among individuals covered by one health insurance society.Methods Among 17,855 individuals covered by the health insurance society of a Japanese automobile manufacturer who had undergone specific health checkup, we analyzed 13,188 individuals aged 40-64 years, after excluding those with confounding prior medical histories or current medication use. The participants were classified into four groups: headquarter employees (including indirect corporate functions such as management, human resources, general affairs, public relations, and vehicle development), dealership employees (sales representatives, maintenance technicians, and clerical staff), factory employees (working in the company's production plants), and affiliated employees (e.g., component-manufacturing workers in medium-sized companies, real estate employees, and financial sector employees). Descriptive statistics were calculated by sex using responses to questionnaires collected during routine health checkup appointments. Univariate logistic regression analyses were then conducted, with each lifestyle factor as the dependent variable and employment type as the independent variable, followed by multivariable logistic regression adjusted for age (five strata). Odds ratios (ORs), and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated, with headquarter employees as the reference group.Results Among men, the dealership employees had the highest prevalence of low physical activity, with 80.1% reporting exercising for ≥30 min only ≤1 day per week (OR: 1.97, CI: 1.77-2.20). Headquarter employees had the highest proportion of walking for ＜1 h per day (69.1%, reference). The factory employees reported the highest rate of slower walking speeds vs their peers (60.3%, OR: 1.60, CI: 1.45-1.77). The dealership employees also tended to have less healthy overall lifestyle behaviors: 43.4% smoked (OR: 2.55, CI: 2.29-2.83), 48.7% ate dinner within two hours of bedtime (OR: 1.73, CI: 1.57-1.91), 30.4% skipped breakfast ≥3 times per week (OR: 3.08, CI: 2.70-3.50), and 14.0% consumed ≥2 alcoholic drinks daily (OR: 1.95, CI: 1.63-2.34). The factory employees were less motivated to change their lifestyles (38.3%, OR: 2.29, CI: 2.05-2.57), and were less likely to participate in health guidance programs (85.7%, OR: 2.58, CI: 2.27-2.92).Conclusion Employee lifestyles differed significantly by job type in our cohort, although all were covered by the same health insurance society. Employment type also associated with motivation to adopt healthier behaviors. Occupational characteristics should therefore be considered when designing interventions to promote lifestyle improvements using health-related guidance.