Association between club factors and health status among Japanese high school sports club activity coaches: a nationwide cross-sectional study

Background: Many high school teachers in Japan supervise school sports club activities, which leads to long working hours and elevated stress.However, the relationship between club factors and the health status of coaches remain unclear.Objective: This study examined associations between club factors and the health status of Japanese high school sports club activity coaches.Methods: We conducted a nationwide cross-sectional survey of school sports club activity coaches in all Japanese high schools.Two health outcomes were assessed: selfrated health (SRH; good or poor) and psychological distress using the Kessler 6 scale (K6; high distress or not).Data on seven club factors were collected: sport type, weekday and weekend activity duration and frequency, number of student managers, and club aim.Odds ratios for a favorable health outcome of each factor were calculated.Results: Among 6,045 respondents, weekday activity time ≥ 3 hours was associated with poorer SRH (OR = 0.70; 95% confidence interval: 0.58-0.85)and higher psychological distress (0.67; 0.52-0.86).Coaching ≥ 5 days per week (0.80; 0.68-0.95) and weekend activity ≥ 4 hours (0.83; 0.70-0.98)were also linked to poorer SRH.Aiming for national competitions (1.28; 1.06-1.56)and having ≥ 2 student managers (1.29; 1.07-1.55)were associated with favorable health. Conclusions: Multiple student managers and an emphasis on national competitionswere linked to improved coach health, whereas extended weekday and weekend activities were associated with poorer outcomes.