著者

Hideki Tsumura Hideyuki Kanda Nagisa Sugaya Satoshi Tsuboi Kenzo Takahashi

出版者

Japan Epidemiological Association

雑誌

Journal of Epidemiology (ISSN:09175040)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.28, no.4, pp.202-206, 2018-04-05 (Released:2018-04-05)

参考文献数

32

被引用文献数

11 15

---

Background: The prevalence of Internet addiction (IA) among employed adults has not been reported using a large sample. To clarify the actual status of addictive Internet use among employed adults, this study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and the risk factors of IA and at-risk IA among employed adults in Japan.Methods: This cross-sectional study surveyed all junior and senior high school personnel in Shimane Prefecture, a rural area in Japan. Eligible participants included 3,211 junior and senior high school personnel (1,259 men and 1,952 women). Participants completed a questionnaire on their activities and factors related to Internet use.Results: The prevalence of IA and at-risk IA was 0.03% and 4.82%, respectively. Furthermore, game playing was shown to be the Internet activity most closely associated with at-risk IA.Conclusions: This study showed that around 5% of school personnel in a rural area in Japan are at risk for developing addiction to the Internet and that using the Internet for game playing is related to at-risk IA. Our results suggest that employed adults should be instructed to use the Internet properly.