Leisure-time activities and psychological distress in a suburban community in Japan

• We assess the association of leisure-time activities with psychological distress.
• Higher frequency of outdoor leisure activity will decrease psychological distress.
• More frequent physical activity can decrease psychological distress in women.

ObjectiveThere is a wide range of leisure-time activities and previous research indicates that some of these are associated with lower psychological distress. The aim of this study was to assess whether leisure-time activities were associated with psychological distress.MethodsA population-based questionnaire survey was conducted in 2009 in a suburban area of northern Japan using complete enumeration. Of 16,996 residents aged 30–79 years who received the questionnaire, 14,261 (83.9%) responded and 9908 (58.3%) responses were eligible for analysis. The relationship between psychological distress and physical, artistic, outdoor, and volunteer leisure-time activities was assessed separately and simultaneously by sex.ResultsThe percentage of reported psychological distress was 2.8% for men and 3.9% for women. Each category of leisure-time activity was related to psychological distress separately. The simultaneous analyses revealed that engaging in regular outdoor leisure activity was associated with less psychological distress in both men (odds ratio [OR] = 0.38; 95% confidence intervals [CI]: 0.23, 0.63, p < 0.001) and women (OR = 0.39; 95% CI: 0.25, 0.59, p < 0.001). Engaging in regular physical activity was associated with less psychological distress in women (OR = 0.09; 95% CI: 0.01, 0.68, p = 0.019). Volunteer work and art activities were not associated with psychological distress in either men or women.ConclusionGreater engagement in outdoor leisure activity and physical activity was significantly associated with a lower likelihood of psychological distress. The results from the present study indicate that engaging in leisure-time activities, especially in outdoor leisure and physical activities, may be an effective means of promoting public health.