Trust in the Mass Media and the Healthcare System, Interpersonal Trust and Self-Rated Health: A Population-Based Study in Japan

To investigate the relationship between trust in the mass media and self-rated health, we analyzed cross-sectional data of the Japanese population, using a logistic regression adjusted for age, gender, marital status, income, education, occupation, interpersonal trust and trust in the healthcare system. In a total of 2685 participants, 962 (35.8%) were classified as being in poor health. There were 737 (27.4%) with distrust in the mass media. In the adjusted model, distrust in the mass media was significantly associated with poor health with an odds ratio of 1.348 (95% CI, 1.078 to 1.687). Distrust in the healthcare system and interpersonal distrust was also associated with poor health. In conclusion, distrust in the mass media is significantly associated with poor health. Since the mass media is likely to be an important resource for health promotion, quality in media contents needs more improvement to enhance public trust for making people healthier.