著者

Kimiko Tomioka Midori Shima Keigo Saeki

出版者

The Japanese Society for Hygiene

雑誌

Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine (ISSN:1342078X)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.27, pp.18, 2022 (Released:2022-05-03)

参考文献数

41

被引用文献数

3

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Background: Community health activities by public health nurses (PHNs) are known to improve lifestyle habits of local residents, and may encourage the practice of infectious disease prevention behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic. We investigated the association between prefecture-level COVID-19 incidence rate and the number of PHNs per population in Japan, by the COVID-19 variant type.Methods: Our data were based on government surveys where prefectural-level data are accessible to the public. The outcome variable was the COVID-19 incidence rate (i.e., the cumulative number of COVID-19 cases per 100,000 population for each variant type in 47 prefectures). The explanatory variable was the number of PHNs per 100,000 population by prefecture. Covariates included socioeconomic factors, regional characteristics, healthcare resources, and health behaviors. The generalized estimating equations of the multivariable Poisson regression models were used to estimate adjusted incidence rate ratio (IRR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for the COVID-19 cases. We performed stratified analyses by variant type (i.e., wild type, alpha variant, and delta variant).Results: A total of 1,705,224 confirmed COVID-19 cases (1351.6 per 100,000 population) in Japan were reported as of September 30, 2021. The number of PHNs per 100,000 population in Japan was 41.9. Multivariable Poisson regression models showed that a lower number of PHNs per population was associated with higher IRR of COVID-19. Among all COVID-19 cases, compared to the highest quintile group of the number of PHNs per population, the adjusted IRR of the lowest quintile group was consistently significant in the models adjusting for socioeconomic factors (IRR: 3.76, 95% CI: 2.55–5.54), regional characteristics (1.73, 1.28–2.34), healthcare resources (3.88, 2.45–6.16), and health behaviors (2.17, 1.39–3.37). These significant associations were unaffected by the variant type of COVID-19.Conclusion: We found that the COVID-19 incidence rate was higher in prefectures with fewer PHNs per population, regardless of the COVID-19 variant type. By increasing the number of PHNs, it may be possible to contain the spread of COVID-19 in Japan and provide an effective human resource to combat emerging infectious diseases in the future.

著者

Kimiko Tomioka Junko Iwamoto Keigo Saeki Nozomi Okamoto

出版者

Japan Epidemiological Association

雑誌

Journal of Epidemiology (ISSN:09175040)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.21, no.6, pp.459-465, 2011-11-05 (Released:2011-11-05)

参考文献数

35

被引用文献数

202 217

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Background: The International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) is a self-reported questionnaire for assessing physical activity and has been tested in 12 countries among adults aged 18 to 65 years. The present study evaluated the reliability and validity of the IPAQ among adults aged 65 years and older.Methods: The study included 164 men and 161 women selected from participants of the Fujiwara-kyo Study, a prospective cohort of elderly Japanese adults. To examine test–retest reliability, the participants were asked to complete the IPAQ twice, 2 weeks apart. The criterion validity of the IPAQ was tested by using an accelerometer.Results: Based on intraclass correlation coefficients, the reliability of the total IPAQ was 0.65 and 0.57 for men and women, respectively, aged 65 to 74 years and 0.50 and 0.56 for those aged 75 to 89 years. The Spearman correlation coefficients between total IPAQ score and total physical activity measured by accelerometer (TPA-AC) were 0.42 and 0.49 for men and women, respectively, aged 65 to 74 and 0.53 and 0.49 for those aged 75 to 89. Weighted kappa coefficients between total IPAQ score and TPA-AC were 0.49 and 0.39 for men and women, respectively, aged 65 to 74 and 0.46 and 0.47 for those aged 75 to 89.Conclusions: The reliability of the IPAQ was not sufficient, but the validity was adequate. Although there were some limitations with regard to repeatability and agreement in classification, the IPAQ was a useful tool for assessing physical activity among elderly adults.

著者

Yoshiaki Tai Kenji Obayashi Kazuki Okumura Yuki Yamagami Hiromitsu Negoro Norio Kurumatani Keigo Saeki

出版者

Japan Epidemiological Association

雑誌

Journal of Epidemiology (ISSN:09175040)

巻号頁・発行日

pp.JE20210471, (Released:2022-02-19)

参考文献数

34

被引用文献数

1

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Background Cold exposure induces lower urinary tract symptoms including nocturia. Cold-induced detrusor overactivity can be alleviated by increasing skin temperature in rats. However, no study has shown an association between passive heating with hot-water bathing and nocturia among humans.Methods We included 1,051 Japanese community-dwelling older adults (mean age 71.7 years) in this cross-sectional study from 2010 to 2014. The number of nocturnal voids was recorded in a self-administered urination diary. Nocturia was defined as ≥2 nocturnal voids. We evaluated bathing conditions in the participants’ houses.Results Hot-water bathing (n = 888) was associated with a lower prevalence of nocturia than no bathing (n = 163), independent of potential confounders including age, sex, obesity, income, physical activity, diabetes, medication (diuretics, nondiuretic antihypertensives, and hypnotics), depressive symptoms, indoor/outdoor temperature, and day length (odds ratio [OR]: 0.68, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.48–0.97; p = 0.035). Compared with the quartile group with the longest bath-to-bed interval (range: 161–576 min), the second and third quartile groups (range: 61–100 and 101–160 min, respectively) were associated with a lower prevalence of nocturia, after adjusting for water temperature and bathing duration besides the same covariates (OR: 0.60, 95% CI: 0.38–0.96; p = 0.031 and OR: 0.59, 95% CI: 0.37–0.94; p = 0.025, respectively).Conclusion Hot-water bathing, particularly with a bath-to-bed interval of 61–160 min, was significantly associated with a lower prevalence of nocturia among older adults.

著者

Tadanobu Yoshikawa Kenji Obayashi Kimie Miyata Tomo Nishi Tetsuo Ueda Norio Kurumatani Keigo Saeki Nahoko Ogata

出版者

The Japanese Circulation Society

雑誌

Circulation Journal (ISSN:13469843)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.83, no.10, pp.2044-2048, 2019-09-25 (Released:2019-09-25)

参考文献数

31

被引用文献数

1

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Background:Decreased light reception because of cataracts leads to potential circadian misalignment, resulting in exacerbation of atherosclerosis; however, little is known about the association between cataracts and atherosclerosis in populations.Methods and Results:In this cross-sectional study, cataracts were graded using slit lamp biomicroscopy with the Lens Opacities Classification System III and carotid atherosclerosis was assessed based on carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) measured using ultrasonography of the common carotid artery in 442 elderly participants (mean age, 70.0 years). Cataract was defined as nuclear cataract grade ≥3.0, cortical cataract grade ≥2.0, or posterior subcapsular cataract grade ≥2.0 in both eyes. The mean and maximal carotid IMT was 0.86±0.15 mm and 1.07±0.29 mm, respectively. In multivariable analysis adjusted for potential confounders, the mean and maximal carotid IMT were significantly greater in the cataract group than in the non-cataract group by 0.04 mm (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.01–0.06) and 0.07 mm (95% CI, 0.01–0.12), respectively. Logistic regression analysis adjusted for confounders revealed a significantly higher odds ratio for carotid atherosclerosis (maximal carotid IMT ≥1.1 mm) in the cataract group than in the non-cataract group (odds ratio, 1.78; 95% CI, 1.14–2.78).Conclusions:Cataracts may be independently associated with subclinical carotid atherosclerosis in the elderly population, indicating a need for further prospective studies.

著者

Kei Moriya Keigo Saeki Norihisa Nishimura Shinya Sato Yasuhiko Sawada Hiroaki Takaya Kosuke Kaji Hideto Kawaratani Tadashi Namisaki Takemi Akahane Hitoshi Yoshiji

出版者

The Japanese Society of Internal Medicine

雑誌

Internal Medicine (ISSN:09182918)

巻号頁・発行日

pp.1817-23, (Released:2023-05-17)

参考文献数

50

被引用文献数

1

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Background and Aims Patients with autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) reportedly have an impaired quality of life (QOL), mainly due to depression, even during remission. In addition, hypozincaemia has been demonstrated in patients with chronic liver disease, including AIH, and is known to be related to depression. Corticosteroids are known to cause mental instability. We therefore investigated the longitudinal association between zinc supplementation and changes in the mental status among AIH patients treated with corticosteroids. Patients and Methods This study enrolled 26 patients with serological remission of AIH routinely treated at our facility after excluding 15 patients who either discontinued polaprezinc (150 mg/day) within 24 months or interrupted treatment. Two questionnaires, the Chronic Liver Disease Questionnaire (CLDQ) and SF-36, were adopted to evaluate the QOL before and after zinc supplementation. Results Serum zinc levels were significantly elevated after zinc supplementation (P <0.0001). The CLDQ worry subscale significantly improved after zinc supplementation (P = 0.017), but none of the SF-36 subscales was affected. Multivariate analyses demonstrated that daily prednisolone dosing was inversely related to both the CLDQ worry domain score (P = 0.036) and the SF-36 mental health component (P = 0.031). There was a significant negative correlation between the changes in the daily steroid dose and the CLDQ worry domain scores before and after zinc supplementation (P = 0.006). No serious adverse events occurred during the observation period. Conclusions Zinc supplementation safely and efficiently improved mental impairment, possibly caused by continuous treatment with corticosteroids, in patients with AIH.

著者

Kimiko Tomioka Norio Kurumatani Keigo Saeki

出版者

Japan Epidemiological Association

雑誌

Journal of Epidemiology (ISSN:09175040)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.29, no.11, pp.424-431, 2019-11-05 (Released:2019-11-05)

参考文献数

45

被引用文献数

7

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Background: Participation in leisure activities (LA) is essential for successful aging. Our aim was to investigate the cross-sectional association of types of LA with self-rated health (SRH) by gender and work status.Methods: The target population was all residents aged ≥65 years in a municipality (n = 16,010; response rate, 62.5%). We analyzed 4,044 men and 4,617 women without disabilities. LA were categorized into 14 types. SRH was assessed through the SF-8. Excellent or very good SRH was defined as positive SRH. Covariates included age, marital status, education, subjective economic status, body mass index, chronic diseases, alcohol, smoking, walking time, depression, and cognitive functioning. Multiple logistic regressions were used to calculate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for positive SRH, with non-participation as the reference.Results: After adjustment for covariates and mutual adjustment for other LA, participation in the following types of LA was positively associated with positive SRH: sports activities among working men (OR 1.46; 95% CI, 1.07–2.00), non-working men (OR 1.33; 95% CI, 1.04–1.69), and non-working women (OR 1.74; 95% CI, 1.41–2.15); cooking among non-working men (OR 1.65; 95% CI, 1.18–2.33) and non-working women (OR 1.28; 95% CI, 1.03–1.60); musical activities among working men (OR 1.44; 95% CI, 1.01–2.05) and non-working women (OR 1.59; 95% CI, 1.29–1.95); and technology usage only among working men (OR 1.41; 95% CI, 1.01–1.96). In contrast, TV watching was negatively associated with positive SRH among non-working women (OR 0.69; 95% CI, 0.56–0.85).Conclusions: Our results suggest that encouraging older adults to participate in types of LA appropriate to their gender and work status might be a key to positive SRH.

著者

Kimiko Tomioka Norio Kurumatani Keigo Saeki

出版者

Japan Epidemiological Association

雑誌

Journal of Epidemiology (ISSN:09175040)

巻号頁・発行日

pp.JE20180195, (Released:2019-03-02)

参考文献数

55

被引用文献数

38

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Background: Higher smoking prevalence in less educated persons and manual workers is well-known. This study examines the independent relationship of education and occupation with tobacco use.Methods: We used anonymized data from a nationwide population survey (30,617 men and 33,934 women). Education was divided into junior high school, high school, or university attainment. Occupation was grouped into upper non-manual, lower non-manual, and manual. Poisson regression models stratified by age and gender were used to estimate adjusted prevalence ratio (PR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for current smoking.Results: After adjustment for covariates, education, and occupation, education was significantly related to current smoking in both genders; compared to university graduates, PRs (95% CIs) of junior high school graduates aged 20–39, 40–64, and ≥65 were 1.74 (1.53–1.98), 1.50 (1.36–1.65), and 1.28 (1.08–1.50) among men, and 3.54 (2.92–4.30), 2.72 (2.29–3.23), and 1.74 (1.14–2.66) among women, respectively. However, significantly higher smoking prevalence in manual than in upper non-manual was found only in men aged 20–64; compared to upper non-manual, the PRs (95% CIs) of manual workers aged 20–39, 40–64, and ≥65 were 1.11 (1.02–1.22), 1.18 (1.10–1.27), and 1.10 (0.89–1.37) among men, and 0.95 (0.75–1.20), 0.92 (0.75–1.12), and 0.46 (0.22–0.95) among women, respectively.Conclusions: Independent of occupation, educational disparities in smoking existed, regardless of age and gender. Occupation-smoking relationship varied with age and gender. Our study suggests that we should pay attention to social inequality in smoking as well as national smoking prevalence.