Table 6.
Factors associated with risk perception of severe illness.
| Odds ratio | 95% Confidence Intervals | p-value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sociodemographic characteristics | |||
| Age | 1.03 | 1.02–1.03 | <0.001 |
| Gender (SA) | |||
| Women (reference) | 1.00 | NA | NA |
| Men | 1.01 | 0.92–1.12 | 0.81 |
| Region (SA) | |||
| Hokkaido and Tohoku | 0.81 | 0.70–0.93 | <0.01 |
| Kanto | 1.00 | NA | NA |
| Chubu | 0.82 | 0.73–0.93 | <0.01 |
| Kansai | 0.83 | 0.73–0.94 | <0.01 |
| Chugoku and Shikoku | 0.79 | 0.67–0.93 | <0.01 |
| Kyusyu and Okinawa | 0.88 | 0.76–1.02 | 0.09 |
| Highest educational level (SA) | 0.99 | 0.94–1.03 | 0.56 |
| Occupation type (SA) | |||
| Agriculture, forestry and fisheries | 1.85 | 1.10–3.11 | <0.05 |
| Construction | 1.25 | 0.94–1.67 | 0.12 |
| Manufacturing | 1.19 | 0.97–1.48 | 0.10 |
| Information and communications | 1.13 | 0.84–1.53 | 0.42 |
| Transportation and postal services | 0.96 | 0.71–1.30 | 0.80 |
| Wholesale and retail trade | 1.10 | 0.87–1.40 | 0.41 |
| Finance and insurance | 1.12 | 0.81–1.54 | 0.49 |
| Real estate and goods rental and leasing | 1.54 | 1.09–2.17 | <0.05 |
| Scientific research, professional and technical services | 1.21 | 0.81–1.79 | 0.35 |
| Accommodations, food and beverage services | 1.00 | 0.71–1.40 | 0.99 |
| Living-related and personal services and amusement services | 1.10 | 0.77–1.59 | 0.60 |
| Education and learning support | 0.86 | 0.64–1.15 | 0.31 |
| Medical healthcare and welfare (reference) | 1.00 | NA | NA |
| Combined services | 1.12 | 0.71–1.78 | 0.62 |
| Services (not elsewhere classified) | 1.05 | 0.84–1.31 | 0.65 |
| Public service (not elsewhere classified) | 1.14 | 0.85–1.53 | 0.39 |
| Students | 0.99 | 0.67–1.44 | 0.94 |
| Homemaker | 1.41 | 1.16–1.73 | <0.01 |
| Others | 1.13 | 0.92–1.39 | 0.25 |
| Annual household income in 2020 (million JPY; thousand USD) (SA) | 0.96 | 0.94–0.97 | <0.001 |
| To what extent did the COVID-19 pandemic affect your life, within the past year? (SA) | |||
| Not at all (reference) | 1.00 | NA | NA |
| Not much | 0.86 | 0.68–1.09 | 0.21 |
| Somewhat | 1.23 | 0.99–1.55 | 0.07 |
| Quite a lot | 1.81 | 1.43–2.29 | <0.001 |
| Health-related characteristics, including health literacy | |||
| Self-reported health status (SA) | |||
| Very good | 0.65 | 0.57–0.73 | <0.001 |
| Good | 0.75 | 0.67–0.84 | <0.001 |
| Fair (reference) | 1.00 | NA | NA |
| Poor | 1.52 | 1.33–1.74 | <0.001 |
| Very poor | 2.77 | 2.13–3.59 | <0.001 |
| Have you ever received a COVID-19 test? (MA) | |||
| Yes – PCR test | 0.97 | 0.81–1.17 | 0.76 |
| Yes – antigen test | 1.47 | 1.07–2.03 | <0.05 |
| Yes – antibody testing | 1.23 | 0.84–1.81 | 0.29 |
| Yes – unsure about either of the three | 1.40 | 1.02–1.93 | <0.05 |
| Presence of underlying diseases (e.g. diabetes, heart failure, respiratory disease, COPD, etc., or on dialysis, or using immunosuppressive or anticancer drugs) (SA) | 3.17 | 2.80–3.58 | <0.001 |
| Living with family members who are elderly or have underlying diseases (SA) | 1.11 | 0.99–1.24 | 0.09 |
| Do you receive an influenza vaccine? (SA) | |||
| Every year (reference) | 1.00 | NA | NA |
| Every few years | 0.87 | 0.77–0.98 | <0.05 |
| Rarely or never | 0.82 | 0.74–0.91 | <0.001 |
| Has anyone close to you ever been infected with COVID-19? (MA) | |||
| Family or friends | 0.93 | 0.75–1.16 | 0.54 |
| Colleagues at work | 0.81 | 0.67–0.97 | <0.05 |
| How confident are you filling out medical forms by yourself?” (health literacy) (SA) | |||
| Not at all | 1.33 | 0.97–1.82 | 0.08 |
| A little bit | 1.20 | 1.00–1.44 | <0.05 |
| Somewhat (reference) | 1.00 | NA | NA |
| Extremely | 0.81 | 0.72–0.90 | <0.001 |
| Quite a bit | 0.79 | 0.70–0.91 | <0.01 |
| Vaccine-related characteristics | |||
| How do you think the disadvantages of the COVID-19 vaccine are? (SA) – perceived risks of a COVID-19 vaccine | |||
| Very small | 0.79 | 0.64–0.97 | <0.05 |
| Small | 0.86 | 0.76–0.96 | <0.01 |
| Medium (reference) | 1.00 | NA | NA |
| Large | 1.38 | 1.20–1.57 | <0.001 |
| Very large | 1.52 | 1.14–2.02 | <0.01 |
| How do you feel are the benefits of the COVID-19 vaccine? (SA) – perceived benefits of a COVID-19 vaccine | |||
| Very small | 0.97 | 0.70–1.34 | 0.83 |
| Small | 0.84 | 0.69–1.01 | 0.07 |
| Medium (reference) | 1.00 | NA | NA |
| Large | 0.92 | 0.82–1.04 | 0.17 |
| Very large | 1.15 | 0.94–1.41 | 0.16 |
| Do you think getting a COVID-19 vaccine will ease your anxiety? (SA) – perceived benefits of a COVID-19 vaccine | |||
| Strongly disagree | 1.44 | 1.11–1.86 | <0.01 |
| Disagree | 1.04 | 0.91–1.19 | 0.59 |
| Neither agree nor disagree (reference) | 1.00 | NA | NA |
| Agree | 0.95 | 0.85–1.07 | 0.40 |
| Strongly agree | 1.03 | 0.80–1.32 | 0.84 |
| If others have been vaccinated against COVID-19, do you think you should be vaccinated as well? (SA) – perceived norms about a COVID-19 vaccine | |||
| Strongly disagree | 0.63 | 0.45–0.87 | <0.01 |
| Disagree | 0.88 | 0.74–1.04 | 0.13 |
| Neither agree nor disagree (reference) | 1.00 | NA | NA |
| Agree | 0.99 | 0.88–1.11 | 0.86 |
| Strongly agree | 1.48 | 1.24–1.76 | <0.001 |
| Information sources (MA) | |||
| The Internet | 0.87 | 0.80–0.95 | <0.01 |
| Other companies | 1.72 | 1.34–2.22 | <0.001 |
| Trust levels in information sources (MA) | |||
| Healthcare workers | 1.07 | 0.99–1.17 | 0.10 |
| Television, radio and newspaper | 1.14 | 1.04–1.25 | <0.01 |
| SNS | 1.15 | 1.06–1.25 | <0.01 |
| Medical information sites | 0.90 | 0.84–0.98 | <0.01 |
| Governments | 0.85 | 0.78–0.93 | <0.001 |
SA: Single answer, MA: Multiple answer, The Internet: Internet news sites and search engines (Google, Yahoo, etc.), SNS: Social networking services, Governments: Local authorities such as prefectures and municipalities, government, Medical task-force advising the government, known as the Novel Coronavirus Expert Meeting (re-established as Novel Coronavirus Infectious Disease Control Subcommittee in July 2020). Age, highest educational level, annual household income in 2020 were treated as continuous variables.