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

4

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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

Kotaro Imamura Yumi Asai Kazuhiro Watanabe Akizumi Tsutsumi Akihito Shimazu Akiomi Inoue Hisanori Hiro Yuko Odagiri Toru Yoshikawa Etsuko Yoshikawa Norito Kawakami

出版者

Japan Society for Occupational Health

雑誌

Journal of Occupational Health (ISSN:13419145)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.60, no.4, pp.298-306, 2018-07-20 (Released:2018-07-25)

参考文献数

29

被引用文献数

16

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Objectives: This retrospective cohort study evaluated the impact of the Stress Check Program, a recently introduced national policy and program aimed at reducing psychological distress among Japanese workers. Methods: A baseline survey was conducted from November 2015 to February 2016, the period when Japan began enforcing the Stress Check Program. A one-year follow-up survey was conducted in December 2016. In the follow-up survey, two exposure variables were collected: having taken the annual stress survey, and experiencing an improvement in the psychosocial work environment. Psychological distress was assessed using the Brief Job Stress Questionnaire (BJSQ) at baseline and 1-year follow-up. The two exposure variables were used to define four groups: "Neither", "Stress survey (SS) only", "Psychosocial work environment improvement (WI) only", and "Both". BJSQ results were analyzed using repeated measures general linear modeling (GLM). Results: The study included 2,492 participants: 1,342 in the "Neither" group, 1,009 in the "SS only" group, 76 in the "WI only" group, and 65 in the "Both" group. Overall time-group interaction effects were not significant. The "Both" group showed significantly greater improvements in psychological distress than the "Neither" group (p = 0.02) at the 1-year follow-up, although the effect size was small (d = -0.14). Conclusions: Combination of the annual stress survey and improvement in psychosocial work environment may have been effective in reducing psychological distress in workers, although the effect size was small.

著者

Shigeru Inoue Yumiko Ohya Yuko Odagiri Tomoko Takamiya Masamitsu Kamada Shinpei Okada Kohichiro Oka Yoshinori Kitabatake Tomoki Nakaya James F Sallis Teruichi Shimomitsu

出版者

Japan Epidemiological Association

雑誌

Journal of Epidemiology (ISSN:09175040)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.21, no.6, pp.481-490, 2011-11-05 (Released:2011-11-05)

参考文献数

34

被引用文献数

79 110

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Background: Recent research has revealed the importance of neighborhood environment as a determinant of physical activity. However, evidence among elderly adults is limited. This study examined the association between perceived neighborhood environment and walking for specific purposes among Japanese elderly adults.Methods: This population-based, cross-sectional study enrolled 1921 participants (age: 65–74 years, men: 51.9%). Neighborhood environment (International Physical Activity Questionnaire Environmental Module) and walking for specific purposes (ie, transportation or recreation) were assessed by self-report. Multilevel logistic regression analyses with individuals at level 1 and neighborhoods at level 2 were conducted to examine the association between environment and walking, after adjustment for potential confounders.Results: Access to exercise facilities, social environment, and aesthetics were associated with total neighborhood walking. Odds ratios (95% CI) were 1.23 (1.00–1.51), 1.39 (1.14–1.71), and 1.48 (1.21–1.81), respectively. Regarding walking for specific purposes, social environment and aesthetics were consistent correlates of both transportation walking and recreational walking. Environmental correlates differed by specific types of walking and by sex. Transportation walking significantly correlated with a greater variety of environmental attributes. Sex differences were observed, especially for transportation walking. Bicycle lanes, crime safety, traffic safety, aesthetics, and household motor vehicles were significant correlates among men, while access to shops, access to exercise facilities, and social environment were important among women.Conclusions: Specific environment–walking associations differed by walking purpose and sex among elderly adults. Social environment and aesthetics were consistent correlates of both transportation walking and recreational walking. Improving these environmental features might be effective in promoting physical activity among elderly Japanese.

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 6

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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

4

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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

Hiroyuki Kikuchi Masaki Machida Itaru Nakamura Reiko Saito Yuko Odagiri Takako Kojima Hidehiro Watanabe Keisuke Fukui Shigeru Inoue

出版者

Japan Epidemiological Association

雑誌

Journal of Epidemiology (ISSN:09175040)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.30, no.11, pp.522-528, 2020-11-05 (Released:2020-11-05)

参考文献数

28

被引用文献数

3 83

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Background: This longitudinal study aimed to examine the changes in psychological distress of the general public from the early to community-transmission phases of the COVID-19 pandemic and to investigate the factors related to these changes.Methods: An internet-based survey of 2,400 Japanese people was conducted in two phases: early phase (baseline survey: February 25–27, 2020) and community-transmission phase (follow-up survey: April 1–6, 2020). The presence of severe psychological distress (SPD) was measured using the Kessler’s Six-scale Psychological Distress Scale. The difference of SPD percentages between the two phases was examined. Mixed-effects ordinal logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the factors associated with the change of SPD status between the two phases.Results: Surveys for both phases had 2,078 valid respondents (49.3% men; average age, 50.3 years). In the two surveys, individuals with SPD were 9.3% and 11.3%, respectively, demonstrating a significant increase between the two phases (P = 0.005). Significantly higher likelihood to develop SPD were observed among those in lower (ie, 18,600–37,200 United States dollars [USD], odds ratio [OR] 1.95; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.10–3.46) and the lowest income category (ie, <18,600 USD, OR 2.12; 95% CI, 1.16–3.86). Furthermore, those with respiratory diseases were more likely to develop SPD (OR 2.56; 95% CI, 1.51–4.34).Conclusions: From the early to community-transmission phases of COVID-19, psychological distress increased among the Japanese. Recommendations include implementing mental health measures together with protective measures against COVID-19 infection, prioritizing low-income people and those with underlying diseases.