Factors associated with adherence to recommendations for medical visits following annual health checkups among Japanese employees: A prospective cohort study

There are growing concerns in Japanese workplaces that many employees do not follow recommendations to visit medical institutions for further examinations following annual health checkups. Although previous studies have shown that job-and health-related factors affect adherence to such recommendations, these longitudinal associations are unknown. We examined the longitudinal associations between job-and health-related factors and visiting medical institutions after annual health checkups among Japanese employees. We conducted prospective cohort study in a food-related company in fiscal year 2019. Participants completed a self-administered questionnaire to assess job-and health-related factors. Of 2914 employees who completed the questionnaire, 615 received recommendations to visit medical institutions following annual health checkups fiscal year 2020; these employees comprised our sample. We used logistic regression analysis to examine the associations between each factor and medical institution visits. Of participants, 474 (77.1 %) were men, 432 (70.2 %) were aged over 40 years, and 293 (47.6 %) visited a medical institution. Logistic regression analysis showed that participants with a primary doctor and those with obesity were more likely to visit medical institutions. In Japanese workplaces, having a primary doctor may be important in increasing adherence to medical visit recommendations following annual health checkups. However, more focus is also needed on employees without obesity who may be more confident about their health and so less likely to follow recommendations. Further intervention studies focusing on these factors are needed to identify effective interventions to improve adherence to medical recommendations.