Male gender and low education with poor mental health literacy: a population-based study

Both male gender and low socioeconomic status have been related to depression and suicide, but their possible relationship to mental health literacy remains uncertain. The objectives of this study were to assess the level of mental health literacy in rural communities in Japan and to examine related factors.

A population-based cross-sectional study using a questionnaire was conducted. Response rate was 88.2% from 8163 residents aged 30-69 years. The relationships between mental health literacy (including cognition of depression, attitude toward depression, and acceptance of suicide) and demographics, socioeconomic status, and the severity of depression were assessed by logistic regression analysis.

Of the respondents, 25.2% showed an inadequate cognition of depression, 12.5% showed an inadequate attitude toward depression, and 13.1% showed an acceptance of suicide. Of the complete respondents (65.5%), an inadequate cognition of depression was associated with being male (adjusted odds ratio=1.93, 95% confidence interval: 1.68-2.22), advanced age (2.18, 1.58-3.00), and a lower level of education (1.95, 1.34-2.86); an inadequate attitude toward depression was associated with being male (2.18, 1.82-2.61), a lower education (2.34, 1.38-3.97), and the severity of depression (2.26, 1.54-3.32); and an acceptance of suicide was associated with being male (1.33, 1.13-1.58) and the severity of depression (5.77, 4.20-7.93).

Poor mental health literacy related strongly to male gender and a low level of education. According to our results, poor mental health literacy may possibly be a factor contributing to male vulnerability to suicide.