| Abstract: | Subjects were the adults aged >=20 and provided valid answers to the questions on the mental health domain of the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) in the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) conducted in 2001 in Taiwan. Results: A total of 8,686 males and 8,859 females were included. The mean scores for males in age groups of 20-44, 45-64 and 65+ were 74.7, 75.9, and 74.9, whereas 71.3, 70.8, and 67.2 were for females. Males who rarely/never wore helmets when riding motorcycle were in worse mental state than those who always wore helmets (OR=0.50, CI=(0.27,0.93)). Subjects who always fastened seat belts in the car were in better mental state than those who never/rarely fastened (males: OR=0.42, CI=(0.25,0.72), females: OR=0.48, CI=(0.32,0.72)). Females and males who smoked >=20 cigarettes everyday were in worse mental state than the non-smokers whether controlling for age groups and SES or not. Employed subjects got significantly better scores than those unemployed when controlled the other variables. When all other variables (excluding behaviors) were controlled, the elderly scored better than the other age groups, females with less than 6 years of school education were in worse state, and married females were with better scores. Conclusion: Employment, unsafe driving behavior, and heavy smoking may be important indicators on mental health state. Women with lower education or aged >=65 years were vulnerable. |
