著者

Takafumi Abe Jun Kitayuguchi Noritoshi Fukushima Masamitsu Kamada Shinpei Okada Kenji Ueta Chiaki Tanaka Yoshiteru Mutoh

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.26, 2022 (Released:2022-06-18)

参考文献数

20

被引用文献数

15

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Background: Physical inactivity during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic may have hindered the development of fundamental movement skills in preschoolers. This serial cross-sectional study compared fundamental movement skills by age group before and during the COVID-19 pandemic (2019–2020), among Japanese preschoolers aged 3–5 years.Methods: Of the 22 preschools within Unnan City, Shimane Prefecture, Japan, 21 (95.5%) and 17 (77.3%) participated in the 2019 and 2020 surveys, respectively. We analyzed 608 and 517 preschoolers in both surveys. Fundamental movement skills were objectively assessed with a 25 m run, standing long jump, and softball throw, based on the Japanese physical activity guidelines for preschoolers. Mann–Whitney U tests were used to compare the fundamental movement skills data between periods.Results: For the 25 m run, participants aged 5 years were faster before than during the pandemic (p = 0.018), while participants aged 3 and 4 years showed no significant differences. Participants aged 3–5 years showed no significant differences before and during the pandemic for the standing long jump (p ≥ 0.072). For the softball throw, all grades scored higher before than during the pandemic (p < 0.001).Conclusions: These findings suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic impeded the development of fundamental motor skills, especially for object control skills. This highlights the need for interventions aimed at developing fundamental motor skills in preschoolers during and after the pandemic.

著者

Hiroyuki Kikuchi Masaki Machida Itaru Nakamura Reiko Saito Yuko Odagiri Noritoshi Fukushima Tomoko Takamiya Shiho Amagasa Keisuke Fukui Takako Kojima Hidehiro Watanabe Shigeru Inoue

出版者

Japan Epidemiological Association

雑誌

Journal of Epidemiology (ISSN:09175040)

巻号頁・発行日

pp.JE20210397, (Released:2022-04-16)

参考文献数

45

被引用文献数

6

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BackgroundThis longitudinal study aimed to investigate how psychological distress levels changed from early to middle phases of the new coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic depending on the living arrangements of individuals.MethodAn internet-based, longitudinal survey of 2,400 Japanese people was conducted every 5-6 weeks between February 2020 and January 2021. The presence of severe psychological distress (SPD) was measured using the Kessler’s psychological distress scale. Living arrangements were classified into two groups, i.e. living alone or living with others. Mixed-effects logistic regression analysis was performed to assess whether changes in SPD status were different depending on living arrangements.ResultsOf 2400 respondents, 446 (18.5%) lived alone. Although the proportion of SPD in both individuals living alone and those living with others increased to the same extent in the early phase of the pandemic, however, after early phase of pandemic, the distress levels decreased in the group living with others, compared with the group living alone, which remained high. The odds ratio (OR) of developing SPD in interaction term with survey phases tended to be higher among those who lived alone than those who lived with others in Phase 6 (OR: 1.89, CI: 0.99-3.64) and Phase 7 (OR:1.88, CI: 0.97-3.63)ConclusionsDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, those living alone are persistently at a higher risk of SPD compared to those living with others. Effective countermeasures targeting those living alone such as enhancing online communication or providing psychological therapies are essential.

著者

Masaki Machida Tomoko Takamiya Shiho Amagasa Hiroshi Murayama Takeo Fujiwara Yuko Odagiri Hiroyuki Kikuchi Noritoshi Fukushima Mitsuo Kouno Yu Saito Fumitoshi Yoshimine Shigeru Inoue Yugo Shobugawa

出版者

Japan Epidemiological Association

雑誌

Journal of Epidemiology (ISSN:09175040)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.32, no.11, pp.489-495, 2022-11-05 (Released:2022-11-05)

参考文献数

43

被引用文献数

7 9

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Background: The hippocampus is a brain structure important for memory and cognitive function. Physical activity may help prevent hippocampal atrophy. However, few studies have measured sedentary behavior (SB) and intensity-specific physical activity using an accelerometer. This study aimed to examine the cross-sectional associations of objectively-determined SB, light-intensity physical activity (LPA), and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) measured by an accelerometer with hippocampal volume among community-dwelling older adults using compositional data analysis (CoDa) approach.Methods: This cross-sectional study was part of the Neuron to Environmental Impact across Generations (NEIGE) study. A randomly recruited sample of 485 Japanese older adults (47% male; aged 65–84 years) wore tri-axial accelerometers (Omron Healthcare) for 7 consecutive days in 2017. Hippocampal volume was measured with magnetic resonance imaging and the left and right hippocampal volumes were automatically segmented using FreeSurfer software. Associations of sedentary and physically active behaviors with hippocampal volume were examined with compositional linear regression analysis based on isometric log-ratio transformations of time use adjusted for potential confounding factors.Results: The relative proportion of time spent in MVPA, compared to the other two activities, was significantly positively associated with right hippocampal volume (β: 57.1, P-value = 0.027). However, no association existed between higher proportions of MVPA and left hippocampal volume, or between proportions of SB or LPA with either left or right hippocampal volumes.Conclusion: The proportion of time spent in MVPA, relative to the other two activities, was significantly positively associated with right hippocampal volume. MVPA may be beneficial for maintaining hippocampal volume.

著者

Hiroyuki Kikuchi Masaki Machida Itaru Nakamura Reiko Saito Yuko Odagiri Noritoshi Fukushima Tomoko Takamiya Shiho Amagasa Keisuke Fukui Takako Kojima Hidehiro Watanabe Shigeru Inoue

出版者

Japan Epidemiological Association

雑誌

Journal of Epidemiology (ISSN:09175040)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.32, no.7, pp.345-353, 2022-07-05 (Released:2022-07-05)

参考文献数

45

被引用文献数

6

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Background: This longitudinal study aimed to investigate how psychological distress levels changed from early to middle phases of the new coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic depending on the living arrangements of individuals.Methods: An internet-based, longitudinal survey of 2,400 Japanese people was conducted every 5–6 weeks between February 2020 and January 2021. The presence of severe psychological distress (SPD) was measured using the Kessler’s psychological distress scale. Living arrangements were classified into two groups (ie, living alone or living with others). Mixed-effects logistic regression analysis was performed to assess whether changes in SPD status were different depending on living arrangements.Results: Of 2,400 respondents, 446 (18.5%) lived alone. Although the proportion of SPD in both individuals living alone and those living with others increased to the same extent in the early phase of the pandemic, the distress levels decreased after the early phase of the pandemic in the group living with others, compared with the group living alone, for which SPD remained high. The odds ratio (OR) of developing SPD in interaction term with survey phases tended to be higher among those who lived alone than those who lived with others in Phase 6 (OR 1.89; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.99–3.64) and Phase 7 (OR 1.88; 95% CI, 0.97–3.63).Conclusion: During the COVID-19 pandemic, those living alone are persistently at a higher risk of SPD compared to those living with others. Effective countermeasures targeting those living alone, such as enhancing online communication or providing psychological therapies, are essential.

著者

Shiho Amagasa Noritoshi Fukushima Hiroyuki Kikuchi Koichiro Oka Sebastien Chastin Catrine Tudor-Locke Neville Owen Shigeru Inoue

出版者

Japan Epidemiological Association

雑誌

Journal of Epidemiology (ISSN:09175040)

巻号頁・発行日

pp.JE20200080, (Released:2020-06-13)

参考文献数

39

被引用文献数

19

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Background: Daily step count is the most simple measure of physical activity. However, little is known about how daily step count related to time spent in different intensities of physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior (SB).Methods: These cross-sectional data were derived from 450 older Japanese adults (56.7% men, mean age 74.3 years) who were randomly selected from three communities and responded a survey. Daily step count and time spent in moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA), light-intensity PA (LPA), and SB were measured using a validated wearable technology (HJA-350IT). Associations of daily step count with time spent in measured behaviors were examined by linear regression models using isometric log-ratio transformations of time-use composition, adjusting for gender, age and residential area.Results: Participants averaged 5,412 (SD: 2,878) steps/d and accumulated MVPA, LPA, and SB corresponding to 4.0, 34.8, and 61.2% of daily waking time, respectively. Daily step count significantly increased with increase in time spent in MVPA relative to other behaviors (i.e. LPA and SB) and in the ratio of LPA to SB after allowing for MVPA. After stratification, daily step count was significantly related to the ratio of LPA to SB in those taking <5,000 steps/d, but not in those taking 5,000-7,499 and ≥7,500 steps/d.Conclusions: Higher daily step count can be an indicator of not only larger relative contribution of time spent in MVPA, but also higher ratio between LPA and SB, particularly among those who are the least physically active.

著者

Shiho Amagasa Shigeru Inoue Hiroshi Murayama Takeo Fujiwara Hiroyuki Kikuchi Noritoshi Fukushima Masaki Machida Sebastien Chastin Neville Owen Yugo Shobugawa

出版者

Japan Epidemiological Association

雑誌

Journal of Epidemiology (ISSN:09175040)

巻号頁・発行日

pp.JE20190141, (Released:2019-10-26)

参考文献数

45

被引用文献数

22

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Background: Physical activity can help to protect against cognitive decline in older adults. However, little is known about the potential combined relationships of time spent in sedentary behavior (SB), light-intensity physical activity (LPA), and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) with indices of cognitive health. We examined the cross-sectional associations of objectively-determined sedentary and physically-active behaviors with an indicator of cognitive function decline (CFD) in older adults.Methods: A randomly-recruited sample of 511 Japanese older adults (47% male; aged 65-84 years) wore a tri-axial accelerometer (HJA-750C, Omron) for seven consecutive days in 2017. Cognitive function was assessed by interviewers using the Japanese version of Mini-Mental State Examination, with a score of ≤23 indicating CFD. Associations of sedentary and physically-active behaviors with CFD were examined using a compositional logistic regression analysis based on isometric log-ratio transformations of time use, adjusting for potential confounders.Results: Forty one (9.4%) of the participants had an indication of CFD. Activity compositions differed significantly between CFD and normal cognitive function (NCF); the proportion of time spent in MVPA was 39.1% lower, relatively to the overall mean composition in those with CFD, and was 5.3% higher in those with NCF. There was a significant beneficial association of having a higher proportion of MVPA relative to other activities with CFD. LPA and SB were not associated with CFD when models were corrected for time spent in all activity behaviors.Conclusions: Larger relative contribution of MVPA was favorably associated with an indicator of CFD in older adults.