Worksite Wellness for the Primary and Secondary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease in Japan: The Current Delivery System and Future Directions

In the Japanese workplace, employers are required to provide annual health checkups for workers in accordance with the “Industrial Safety and Health Law,” which also mandates that an occupational physician be assigned to companies employing at least 50 workers. The annual medical examination includes testing for the early detection of cardiovascular risk factors such as hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes, and the metabolic syndrome. This approach has successfully contributed to the extremely low incidence of coronary artery disease among Japanese workers. However, problems such as poor health and the low rate of participation in health checkups among small-scale companies still persist. Furthermore, although most wellness delivery systems in Japan employ strategies targeting high-risk individuals, instituting a strategy addressing the broader population irrespective of screening may be effective in reducing disease risk in the overall population. As a future direction, we should therefore develop practical methods for implementing a population strategy.