Prospective cohort study of stress, life satisfaction, self-rated health, insomnia, and suicide death in Japan

The association between many psychosocial factors and risk of suicide was examined. A cohort was conducted over 14 years of follow up among the general population (15,597 people) in Japan. A baseline survey of psychosocial characteristics was conducted by self-administrated questionnaire. The relative risks of occasional emotional stress, difficulty maintaining sleep, and reporting unhealthy as their self-rated health are 3.2 (95% CI: 1.3, 7.6), 2.4 (95% CI: 1.3, 4.3) and 2.6 (95% CI: 1.1, 6.2), respectively. The importance of these observations lie in its potential for improving physician and public awareness of psychosocial factors as an early indication of mental health morbidity.