Authorship：Lead author,　Corresponding author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

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Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：(一社)日本女性心身医学会  

【Background】Premenstrual syndrome（PMS）and menopausal symptoms are significant
gynecological health issues yet poorly understood, often associated with psychological distress due to
hormonal fluctuations. To address this gap, this study aimed to evaluate the association between PMS,
menopausal symptoms, and psychological distress, using the Kessler Screening Scale for Psychological
Distress（K6）. 【Methods】We conducted a cross-sectional study of a health survey project at the
workplace. Regression analysis was performed to assess the relationships between psychological distress
by K6 and PMS, and menopausal symptoms. To validate the use of K6, we conducted a Receiver
Operating Characteristic（ROC）curve analysis.【 Results】PMS and menopausal symptoms were significantly
associated with higher scores. Mental symptoms as the totalized sub-indicators had the
strongest association with psychological distress in both PMS（β ＝0.329, 95%CI：0.290-0.368, p＜
0.001）and menopause（β ＝0.569, 95%CI：0.532-0.605, p＜0.001）.【 Conclusions】Psychological distress
is more dominant among working women, and K6 may offer a simple workplace screening tool for
PMS and menopausal symptoms, potentially enabling early identification for better awareness and
management. These results highlight the urgent need for improved support systems and evidence-
based interventions to enhance the well-being of working women.

DOI： https://doi.org/10.18977/jspog.30.3_364

Authorship：Lead author,　Corresponding author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Editorial Committee of Japanese Journal of Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Infectious Dis  

DOI： 10.7883/yoken.jjid.2025.155

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Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)   Publisher：International Exchange and Innovation Conference on Engineering & Sciences  

This review examines the role of digital health technologies in enhancing personalized preventive care in low-income countries (LICs), where non-communicable diseases continue to rise amidst chronic limitations of healthcare infrastructure, workforce, and data system. It explores telemedicine, open-source electronic health records, AI-driven analytics, and nursing informatics within LIC settings, drawing on recent evidence from 2020–2025. Real-world implementations, such as offline-first platforms and portable health clinics, demonstrate feasibility and clinical impact. However, barriers such as algorithmic bias, fragmented systems, and digital illiteracy persist. The review proposes an integration framework addressing contextual relevance, interoperability, workforce development, and ethical governance. It concludes with actionable strategies to design equitable, sustainable digital solutions for under-resourced healthcare systems.

DOI： 10.5109/7395621

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Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (bulletin of university, research institution)   Publisher：Faculty of Arts and Science, Kyushu Unieversity  

The prevalence of obesity, hypertension (HTN), and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is increasing worldwide, with significant public health implications, particularly in low- and middle-income regions. However, epidemiological data for remote rural districts in Sabah, Malaysia remains limited. This report aimed to assess the epidemiology of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) such as obesity, HTN and T2DM among voluntary health checkup participants across selected districts in Sabah, Malaysia. A total of 1,247 adults aged 18 years or above underwent health checkups as part of Sabah state’s rural outreach activities, which included anthropometric measurements, blood pressure assessment, and blood glucose tests. Data analysis revealed that the proportion of obesity, HTN, and suspected T2DM was 21.7%, 40.3%, 28.1%, respectively. The percentage of participants who had both HTN and suspected T2DM was 13.7%. Older age was significantly associated with HTN and suspected T2DM. Higher rates of HTN were observed among males. Significantly higher odds ratios for having obesity, HTN, suspected T2DM, were found in rural districts including Beaufort, Tawau, and Lahad Datu districts, compared to the urban district of Kota Kinabalu. Participants in rural districts had a significantly higher likelihood of having two or more of these NCDs (comorbidity) than participants in the Kota Kinabalu district after controlling for sex and age. The findings highlight the urgent need for targeted community health interventions and policies addressing lifestyle modifications, with a focus on at-risk demographics in rural areas. This study provides a foundation for future research on NCDs in Sabah and emphasizes the importance of preventative measures in reducing the growing burden of obesity, HTN, and T2DM in Malaysia.

DOI： 10.15017/7339194

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Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Journal of UOEH  

This is the first multicenter survey to clarify occupational environments and health and stress status in various medical professionals (MPs). The survey questionnaire included the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), Effort-Reward Imbalance (ERI), Quality of Working Life (QWL), medical incidents, and demographic data. We collected 3,335 questionnaires from 7,698 MPs and analyzed 3,036 of them. The MPs were categorized into 6 groups: nurses (n = 1,821); physicians (706); dentists (83); pharmacists (77); MPs involved in disease diagnoses (MP-diagnosis), including clinical laboratory technicians and radiographers (261); and MPs involved in patient treatment (MP-treatment), including physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, and other therapists (88). Working hours were the longest for physicians, and the night shift work was the greatest for nurses. Mental health (GHQ) was the worst in nurses and was the best in physicians. ERI was worse in nurses and MP-treatment than in other occupations. QWL in maintaining personal values was the worst in physicians. Different health/stress statuses must be considered when assisting MPs and forming policy guidelines.

DOI： 10.7888/juoeh.47.27

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Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Wiley  

Objectives

This study aimed to assess differences in health condition, effort–reward imbalance (ERI), and quality of working life (QWL) between medical professionals (MPs) in the Philippines and Japan.

Methods

After adjustment using propensity score matching, 86 MPs in the Philippines and 598 MPs in Japan were included in the main analysis, which assessed health condition (General Health Questionnaire [GHQ‐30], subjective health, and sleep), ERI, and QWL. ERI was evaluated on the basis of the perceived effort required for work and the reward received, whereas QWL focused on stress in working environment.

Results

MPs in the Philippines had poorer subjective health (23.5% vs. 12.9%, p < 0.01) compared with their Japanese counterparts. MPs in the Philippines significantly had poorer subjective health (23.5% vs. 12.9%, p < 0.01), higher proportion of ERI due to higher effort (12.9% vs. 5.0%, p < 0.01) and higher QWL scores compared with those in Japan. This trend was particularly prevalent among doctors in the Philippines. Gender‐based disparities in domestic burden were observed among Japanese MPs (female; 4.0 ± 2.1 h vs. male; 2.7 ± 1.8 h, p < 0.01), which was potentially linked to worse working life balance and health status in female.

Conclusions

Our results indicated that MPs in the Philippines experienced stronger work‐related stress compared with those in Japan. Despite Japanese MPs exhibiting lower proportion of ERI, gender‐based disparities in domestic burden were found, potentially suggested to an imbalance of working life balance and health status between female and male MPs in Japan.

DOI： 10.1155/adph/4624858

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Authorship：Last author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Inquiry United States  

Telemedicine aims to slow the spread of infection, enhance the quality and cost of healthcare, and increase patient engagement and satisfaction. Recently, the Japanese government has promoted the use of telemedicine. Despite the efforts of the government, the service is not in widespread use in Japan, even in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic. The present study aims to assess the awareness of telemedicine among Japanese older adults and learn about their experiences with the service. Furthermore, it aims to understand the patients’ needs and perspectives for creating a user-friendly telemedicine service. Therefore, one hundred and ten outpatients with chronic diseases were contacted during the COVID-19 pandemic, and data were collected from them using face-to-face questionnaires. Group 1 and group 2 separately include 55 patients aged 40 to 64 years, and 65 years and above, respectively. Statistical analyses were conducted using Microsoft Excel 2019, AutoSum feature “Ʃ,” with statistical significance set at P < .05 by t-test, to compare the means of the 2 groups of participants. The survey results revealed that one patient in each group (2 out of 110 people) had experience using the remote consultation service. The acceptance of telemedicine concept by age and gender was found to be greater among middle-aged adults (2.9, SD 0.7) and male patients (2.9, SD 0.6) than among older adults (2.5, SD 0.8) and female patients (2.5, SD 0.9), and the difference in each aspect was significant (P = .012, 0.024), respectively. Middle-aged adults (2.8, SD 0.6) were also found to be more willing to use the service in the future than older adults (2.5, SD 0.7), and the difference was significant (P = .037). On the other hand, the limited use of telemedicine among the study participants was due to the following main factors; limited knowledge of the service, usability challenges of technology, and cultural factors. Regarding the development of telemedicine, key recommendations were made for creating a user-friendly telemedicine that meets the needs of as many as possible of patients. In conclusion, there are challenges that affect the growth of telemedicine in Japan. Therefore, learning about the patients’ perspectives and needs play an important role in increasing telemedicine utilization. The outcomes of the present study will be useful to researchers, designers, engineers, and all those interested in this field of research.

DOI： 10.1177/00469580251371879

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Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Elsevier BV  

Background and Objective: One of the primary challenges faced by telehealth systems is the accurate transmission of patient information to remote doctors. In this context, portable medical sensors deployed at the remote patients' end play a crucial role in measuring vital information. There are many sensors available in the market. However, the accuracy of the sensors has been always a concern. The objective of this study is to verify different sensors and create awareness for using accurate sensors to avoid misdiagnosis for the patients’ safety. Methods: This study considered the test result of a Japanese clinical pathology laboratory as the reference gold standard. The clinical pathology laboratory uses 1) Hexokinase UV method for blood glucose, 2) Enzymatic Determination method for cholesterol, 3) Automatic Analyzer (EDTA-2 K) of Hemoglobin, and 4) Uricase POD method for uric acid. To assess the performance of a medical sensor, its test results were compared to the gold standard test results obtained from the laboratory using the same sample. A Normalized Root Mean Square Error (NRMSE) threshold of less than 0.2 was established as the criterion for determining whether the medical sensor's performance fell within an acceptable range. Results: Among the eight most commonly used blood glucose devices in the Asian market, only one device was deemed acceptable with NRMSE less than 0.2. However, all four devices found in the Japanese market showed their acceptability. In the case of cholesterol, hemoglobin, and uric acid devices, only a limited number of items were available in Asian markets. Some of the hemoglobin and uric acid devices were found to be somewhat acceptable, while all the cholesterol sensors were found erroneous. Conclusions: This study has clearly shown the issues with the portable medical sensors and recommends the device approval authority of each country to approve sales of the quality sensors only for patients’ safety.

DOI： 10.1016/j.cmpbup.2024.100147

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Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Studies in Health Technology and Informatics  

Portable medical sensors play an important role in healthcare services, especially in rural communities. Many telehealth systems use these devices for providing patients' vital information from a distance to remote doctors. Erroneous data will not only mislead the remote doctor for correct diagnosis but it will cause health threats to these unreached community people. Therefore, it is very important to identify good sensors with an acceptable level of accuracy but within the affordable price of the available sensors in the market. This study aims to identify quality portable cholesterol sensors with high accuracy with the reference of the Japanese clinical pathology laboratory as a gold standard. We have considered cholesterol sensors that measure total cholesterol for this study that are commonly used in the developing countries of Asia. We found that out of four, three of them were very much erroneous and cannot be recommended even for primary healthcare.

DOI： 10.3233/SHTI230977

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Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

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Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)   Publisher：(一社)日本医療情報学会  

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Authorship：Lead author,　Corresponding author   Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, Japan  

<p>We conducted a questionnaire survey among nurses, medical doctors, radiological technologists, and pharmacists in 2020 to identify the factors explanatory associated with work-related and medical accident risks among medical professionals at university hospitals in Japan. Participants were divided into high- and low-risk groups based on their experiences of work-related and medical accidents from the last year before the survey, and their mental health, job-related stress by effort-reward imbalance, and time factors were compared. Among them, 22% of nurses, 16% of medical doctors, 17% of radiological technologists, and 18% of pharmacists were in the high-risk group. Moreover, the high-risk groups, except for pharmacists, had significantly poor health statuses than the low-risk groups. Nurses and medical doctors in the high-risk group had significantly longer working hours and more night shifts than the low-risk groups. This study highlighted that job stress was significantly and independently associated with a high risk of work-related and medical accidents in all occupations, even when adjusted for confounding factors, health status, and time factors. The study suggested that mitigating and controlling stress would reduce accident risk among medical professionals performing interpersonal work.</p>

DOI： 10.2486/josh.josh-2023-0004-ge

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Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：JMIR Publications Inc.  

Background: Ensuring an appropriate continuum of care in maternal, newborn, and child health, as well as providing nutrition care, is challenging in remote areas. To make care accessible for mothers and infants, we developed a telehealth care system called Portable Health Clinic for Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health. / Objective: Our study will examine the telehealth care system’s effectiveness in improving women’s and infants’ care uptake and detecting their health problems. / Methods: A quasi-experimental study will be conducted in rural Bangladesh. Villages will be allocated to the intervention and control areas. Pregnant women (≥16 gestational weeks) will participate together with their infants and will be followed up 1 year after delivery or birth. The intervention will include regular health checkups via the Portable Health Clinic telehealth care system, which is equipped with a series of sensors and an information system that can triage participants’ health levels based on the results of their checkups. Women and infants will receive care 4 times during the antenatal period, thrice during the postnatal period, and twice during the motherhood and childhood periods. The outcomes will be participants’ health checkup coverage, gestational and neonatal complication rates, complementary feeding rates, and health-seeking behaviors. We will use a multilevel logistic regression and a generalized estimating equation to evaluate the intervention’s effectiveness. / Results: Recruitment began in June 2020. As of June 2022, we have consented 295 mothers in the study. Data collection is expected to conclude in June 2024. / Conclusions: Our new trial will show the effectiveness and extent of using a telehealth care system to ensure an appropriate continuum of care in maternal, newborn, and child health (from the antenatal period to the motherhood and childhood periods) and improve women’s and infants’ health status.

DOI： 10.2196/41586

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Authorship：Last author   Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Japanese Society of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine  

<p>In this study, we collected ticks from wild boars and vegetation to survey a prevalence of Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV) in tick population from Ito campus of Kyushu University (Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan) and its allied region. Ixodid ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) were collected from wild boar and vegetation at Ito campus, and were screened by reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) for detection of SFTSV. Five ixodid species were collected and identified in this survey. <i>Haemaphysalis flava</i> Neumann was the dominant species in this area. The RT-PCR results showed that all 152 pools of tick samples, included 12 pooled tick samples from two wild boars tested positive for antibodies to SFTSV, were negative for SFTSV.</p>

DOI： 10.5686/jjzwm.27.119

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Language：English   Publishing type：Part of collection (book)   Publisher：Springer International Publishing  

DOI： 10.1007/978-3-030-91237-6_43

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Authorship：Lead author,　Corresponding author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

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Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Elsevier BV  

BACKGROUND: A developing country like Bangladesh suffers very much from the sudden appearance of the COVID-19 pandemic due to the shortage of medical facilities for testing and follow-up treatment. The Portable Health Clinic (PHC) system has developed the COVID-19 module with a triage system for the detection of COVID-19 suspects and the follow-up of the home quarantined COVID-19 patients to reduce the workload of the limited medical facilities. METHODS: The PHC COVID-19 system maintains a questionnaire-based triage function using the experience of the Japanese practice of diseases management for early detection of suspected COVID-19 patients who may need a confirmation test. Then only the highly suspected patients go for testing preventing the unnecessary crowd from the confirmation PCR test centers and hospitals. Like the basic PHC system, it also has the features for patients' treatment and follow-up for the home quarantined COVID-19 positive and suspect patients using a telemedicine system. This COVID-19 system service box contains 4 self-checking medical sensors, namely, (1) thermometer, (2) pulse oximeter, (3) blood pressure machine, and (4) glucometer for patient's health monitoring including a tablet PC installed with COVID-19 system application for communication between patient and doctor for tele-consultancy. RESULTS: This study conducted a COVID-19 triage among 300 villagers and identified 220 green, 45 light-yellow, 2 yellow, 30 orange, and 3 red patients. Besides the 3 red patients, the call center doctors also referred another 13 patients out of the 30 orange patients to health facilities for PCR tests as suspect COVID-19 positive, and to go under their follow-up. Out of these (3 + 13 =) 16 patients, only 4 went for PCR test and 3 of them had been tested positive. The remaining orange, yellow and light-yellow patients were advised home quarantine under the follow-up of the PHC health workers and got cured in 1-2 weeks. CONCLUSIONS: This system can contribute to the community healthcare system by ensuring quality service to the suspected and 80% or more tested COVID-19 positive patients who are usually in the moderate or mild state and do not need to be hospitalized. The PHC COVID-19 system provides services maintaining social distance for preventing infection and ensuring clinical safety for both the patients and the health workers.

DOI： 10.1016/j.cmpbup.2022.100061

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Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：PLoS ONE  

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has widely spread worldwide since 2020. Several countries have imposed lockdown or stay-at-home policies to prevent the infection. Bangladesh experienced a lockdown from March 2020 to May 2020, and internal travel was restricted. Such long and strict confinement may impact women's health. Herein, we aimed to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women's health by comparing their health status before and during the pandemic. We conducted a prospective longitudinal study in two zones in the Chhaygaon union, rural district Shariatpur, Bangladesh. The study population comprised non-pregnant women aged 15-49 years. We visited the household of all eligible women and invited them for health checkups. The survey staff examined their health status at the checkup camps and conducted questionnaire interviews. In total, 121 non-pregnant women received health checkups both from June 2019 to July 2019 and in October 2020, before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, respectively. Compared with those during the 2019 health checkup, the medians of body mass index, systolic blood pressure, and diastolic blood pressure were significantly higher (22.7 kg/m2 to 23.6 kg/m2; 110.0 mmHg to 111.0 mmHg; and 73.0 mmHg to 75.0 mmHg, respectively, p<0.05) during the 2020 health checkup. In contrast, urine glucose levels were significantly lower (10.1% to 3.4%, p = 0.021). The lack of physical activity and other inconvenience accumulation caused by the prolonged confinement might have affected their health status. This necessitates local health workers to promote physical activity to prevent health deterioration during the pandemic.

DOI： 10.1371/journal.pone.0266141

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Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)   Publisher：Studies in Health Technology and Informatics  

Rural women in developing countries do not have any option but to visit the distant city to see the obstetricians and gynecologists in case of any maternal and child health issues. However, it becomes more difficult to travel during the COVID-19 pandemic situation. Thus, the telehealth service using the Portable Health Clinic can be very effective for maternal and child health care services. Since the PHC system provides home delivery services through the local health workers, the rural women can avail regular continuum of care services. This study found a 300% increase in participation in the continuum of care. This is not because they receive the service at home but also because they can receive consultancy from urban specialist doctors without travel during the pandemic situation.

DOI： 10.3233/SHTI220700

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Other Link： https://dblp.uni-trier.de/db/conf/icimth/icimth2022.html#IslamKSINJNYAN22

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)   Publisher：Oxford University Press (OUP)  

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title>
<jats:p>The purpose of this collaborative study between researchers in Japan and the U.S. was to understand the retirement experience and potential changes in social interactions (amount, type, and mode of communication) among older adults living independently in the community. Specifically, we were interested in individuals’ expectations about retirement and the types of social interactions experienced prior to and post-retirement, situated within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Both research teams conducted in-depth one-on-one interviews with community-residing retired older adults in early 2021. In the findings we explore similarities and differences between the retirement experiences of Japanese and American older adults, including methodological differences that transpired; specifically, we evaluate the meaning and experience of the COVID-19 pandemic in each of these cultural contexts and how retired older adults experienced its impact in their social interactions.</jats:p>

DOI： 10.1093/geroni/igab046.1745

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Authorship：Lead author,　Last author,　Corresponding author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)   Publisher：Oxford University Press (OUP)  

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title>
<jats:p>Using the Study on the Lifestyle and Values of Senior Citizens (The Eighth International Study by the Japan Cabinet Office), the social interactions were assessed in the context of health and life satisfaction of the older adults of the U.S and Japan to confirm the relationship between ICT usage and social interactions. The less social interaction was defined as those who answered that they had no "role in the family," "working," or "social activities such as volunteering." The proportion of less-social interaction people and non-use of ICT increased with age, but the proportions of Japanese were higher than that in Americans. The adjusted odds ratio for non-use of ICT to the risk of isolation of the older adults in Japan was 2.43 (95% CI: 1.59-3.73), but no significant relationship was observed in American older adults. Future research will examine the use of ICT by older adults in each country.</jats:p>

DOI： 10.1093/geroni/igab046.1746

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Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Elsevier BV  

Regular health checkups are important for mothers and newborns to detect health problems at an early stage; however, this is often difficult in resource-limited settings. Therefore, the portable health clinic (PHC) for maternal and child health (MCH), a telemedicine health checkup system, was introduced as an intervention study in a rural area in Bangladesh. The aim of this research project was to report findings that we had observed at a mid-point of the intervention period.This was an intervention study conducted in Shariatpur, Bangladesh. The study population included pregnant/parturient women aged 15-49 years and their newborns. With the help of the newly created PHC for MCH, health workers, with a set of sensor devices in an attaché case, visited mothers and newborns at home to examine their health status. Their health status was triaged into four categories using a data management application, and in cases of affected or emergent health status, they were placed on remote video consultation with a doctor.In total, 94 women were included in the PHC for MCH intervention. The rate of participants who received antenatal care at least four times or postnatal care at least once increased (from 29% to 51%, and from 27% to 78%, respectively) compared with before introducing PHC for MCH. Using the PHC for MCH, we detected health problems in pregnant/parturient women; a relatively high percentage had anemia (45-54%) and/or abnormal pulse rate (20-40%). Moreover, after introducing the PHC for MCH, more than 40% of women who received multiple antenatal care or postnatal care checkups improved their health status.The PHC for MCH could be an effective system to improve the health of mothers and newborns by increasing the availability of care. In the future, this system is expected to be used as a primary resource for maternity healthcare, not only in rural areas but also in other social environments.

DOI： 10.1016/j.cmpb.2021.106156

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Authorship：Corresponding author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Wiley  

This study examined the association between occupation and health status among Japanese employees. The data from the Comprehensive Survey of Living Conditions in Japan encompassed 102,575 employees (55,399 males and 47,176 females), who were employed workers aged 15–44 years. Self-rated health was used as an indicator of health status in the health questionnaire. A multiple logistic regression analysis of the association between health status and occupation was conducted to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) with an adjustment for confounding factors. When the non-regular employees were assessed, many of their occupations were linked to poorer health tendencies in general, with the exception of male Service workers (OR 0.75, 95% CI 0.60–0.94). Finally, particular employment and occupations were observed as having better or worse health tendencies than other types of work.

DOI： 10.1111/jpr.12379

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Other Link： https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1111/jpr.12379

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (bulletin of university, research institution)   Publisher：Institute of Decision Science for a Sustainable Society, Kyushu University  

Background: Understanding levels of prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension (HTN) and type 2 diabetes (T2D) is important for effective prevention of non-communicable diseases. However, these data are still insufficient, particularly among industry workers in India. Objectives: This study investigated HTN and T2D awareness, treatment, and control in urban industry workers in Jaipur, India. Methods: A cross-sectional survey using a questionnaire and health checkups was conducted in March 2018. Two hundred and fifty-nine (259) male factory and office workers participated in the survey. The questionnaire data included the participants’ sociodemographic information, awareness, treatment, and control behaviors. The health checkup data included the participants’ blood pressure, blood glucose, height, body weight, and other clinical outcomes. Results: The health checkup found that 36.3% and 13.7% were newly diagnosed as having HTN or T2D, respectively. Among participants who were “newly diagnosed” or “already diagnosed before” as having HTN” (n=106), the percentages of those who were already aware of having HTN (awareness), were taking any HTN drugs (treatment), and were controlled for HTN (control) were only 20.8%, 18.9% and 4.7%, respectively. Among participants who were “newly diagnosed” or “already diagnosed before” as having T2D (n=52), the percentages of those who were aware of having T2D (awareness), were taking any T2D drugs (treatment), and were controlled for T2D (control) were 44.2%, 28.8% and 13.5%, respectively. Conclusion: Levels of awareness, treatment, and control of HTN and T2D among rural industry workers in Jaipur are lower than those in previous studies in India. To improve these levels, regular health checkups targeting industry workers are needed in India.

DOI： 10.15017/4400024

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Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (bulletin of university, research institution)   Publisher：Institute of Decision Science for a Sustainable Society, Kyushu University  

Telemedicine is the distribution of health-related services and information via electronic information and telecommunication technologies, mainly including long-distance patient and clinician contact, care, advice, reminders, education, intervention, monitoring, and remote admissions. In recent years, with the development of telemedicine in various stages of medical care, the role of telemedicine is increasingly recognized. In 2020, the outbreak of COVID-19 has greatly impacted the traditional medical service model, but at the same time, brings opportunities to telemedicine development. In this article, we reviewed the history of telemedicine, different forms and applications of telemedicine and prospected the role of telemedicine in the fight against COVID-19, especially in the triage system.

DOI： 10.15017/4400022

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Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (bulletin of university, research institution)   Publisher：Institute of Decision Science for a Sustainable Society, Kyushu University  

Background: Telemedicine has been recognized as a key approach in delivering non-communicable disease prevention and management services to unreached populations. Most existing research pertaining to telemedicine and the patients’ clinical outcomes has been conducted in Europe and North America, with a marked lack of such research in the developing countries in Asia, particularly with regard to implementing case studies in non-clinical settings. Introduction: Utilizing a case study involving telemedicine and mobile health checkups performed using a portable health clinic (PHC) system, this study presents the seasonal changes in office workers’ non-communicable disease outcomes. Methods: Data were collected from 73 office workers at Grameen Compounds, who completed four quarterly interventions of telemedicine and health checkups in August 2018 (baseline), November 2018 (3 months), February 2019 (6 months) and June 2019 (9 months). Data included basic sociodemographic and health checkup information. Paired sample t-tests and McNemar tests were conducted to compare changes in both continuous and categorical values of non-communicable disease outcomes, including blood pressure (BP), blood glucose (BG), and serum uric acid (SUA), by quarter. Results: Levels of SUA decreased significantly after 3 months (P=0.001) and 6 months (P=0.000). Levels of BG decreased significantly after 6 months (P=0.008). Levels of systolic and diastolic BP were reduced significantly after 9 months (P=0.000 and P=0.008, respectively) compared with the baseline. The percentages of hyperuricemia was significantly lower after 3 and 6 months (P=0.000 both times). The percentages of hypertension and type 2 diabetes were also significantly lower after 6 months (P=0.039). However, these percentages began to increase again after 9 months. Conclusions: Levels of blood pressure, blood glucose, and SUA showed different seasonal trends in improvement and relapse within a year. Evaluations of telemedicine and mobile health checkup services need to consider seasonal changes in fruit intake, level of exercise, and duration of resulting effects on non-communicable disease outcomes.

DOI： 10.15017/4400016

CiNii Research

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (bulletin of university, research institution)   Publisher：Institute of Decision Science for a Sustainable Society, Kyushu University  

Background: Although several studies have investigated the effectiveness of health checkup services, very few have been conducted in developing countries. Objective: The study examined factory workers’ health awareness, attitudes, behaviors, and non-communicable disease (NCD) outcomes before and after receiving mobile health checkups using a portable health clinic system in India. Methods: Data were collected from 141 factory workers at the largest dairy factory in Jaipur who participated in the baseline and 6 months follow-up health checkup surveys in 2018. The questionnaire and health checkup data included participants’ sociodemographic information, awareness, attitudes, behaviors, and NCD outcomes. The significance of differences in these data between the first and second health checkups was compared using paired sample t-tests and McNemar tests. Results: The mean blood glucose level decreased significantly from 139.3 to 123.9 mg/dL after 6 months. The mean value of body mass index (BMI) was significantly reduced from 25.0 to 24.8 after 6 months. The proportion of participants who were aware of their hypertension status increased significantly after 6 months (8.5% to 25.5%). The percentages of participants who reported “currently taking medicine or drugs for hypertension or type 2 diabetes” increased significantly after 6 months (5.7% to 17.7% and 6.4% to 12.8%, respectively). The percentage of participants who reported “already trying to improve their eating habits” significantly increased from 5.7% to 17.7%, and who reported “already trying to improve their excise habits” increased significantly from 3.5% to 12.1%. The proportion of participants who reported “I am willing to pay more than 500 Indian rupees [approximately 800 Japanese yen] for mobile health checkup services” rose significantly from 4.3% to 39.7%. Conclusions: The levels of participants’ awareness, ttitudes, behaviors, and NCD outcomes improved after 6 months. Regular mobile health checkup services could be an effective approach in developing countries.

DOI： 10.15017/4400023

CiNii Research

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (bulletin of university, research institution)   Publisher：Institute of Decision Science for a Sustainable Society, Kyushu University  

Background: The relationship between body mass index (BMI) and other factors with type 2 diabetic complications and comorbidities have not been fully characterized in vegetarian populations. / Purpose of the study: This study aimed to determine whether BMI and sociodemographic factors are associated with the presence of type 2 diabetic complications and comorbidities in vegetarian outpatients attending a diabetes clinic in the city of Jaipur, India. / Methods: A cross-sectional survey was administered to 184 type 2 diabetic outpatients using a questionanire. The questionnaire included questions regarding the participants’ diet type, medical history, current health conditions, and sociodemographic profile. The participants’ height and weight were also measured. / Results: One hundred and thirty patients (71%) reported themselves to be vegan, lacto-vegetarian, or lacto-ovo-vegetarian. Of these, 63 vegetarian paraticipants (49%) had at least one chronic complication or comorbidity. Vegetarian participants with a BMI≥30 kg/m2 were significantly more likely to have complications or comorbidities than those with a BMI<23, <24, or <25 kg/m2. In addition, vegetarian participants who had been living with type 2 diabetes for more than 10 years were significantly more likely than those with a duration of less than 4 years to have complications or comorbidities. Finally, those with a higher level of education were significantly less likely to have complications or comorbidities than those with a lower level of education. / Conclusion: Vegetarian outpatients with a BMI≥30 kg/m2, those who had been living with type 2 diabetes for more than 10 years, and those with no primary school education need to be targeted to prevent complications or comorbidities.

DOI： 10.15017/4400020

CiNii Research

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (bulletin of university, research institution)   Publisher：Institute of Decision Science for a Sustainable Society, Kyushu University  

Background: It is still largely unknown which anthropometric indicators of obesity are the best predictors of hypertension (HTN) in developing countries. Objective: This study compared four common anthropometric obesity indicators; body mass index (BMI), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), waist-to-hip ratio (WHpR), and waist circumference (WC), to evaluate as predictors of HTN among male factory workers in Rajasthan, India. Methods: Cross-sectional surveys, including questionnaires and health checkups, were conducted for 379 male participants at two dairy factories; one in a rural and another in an urban area between March 2018 and December 2019. Results: Participants with BMI cutoff points of ≥ 24 kg/m2 and ≥ 23 kg/m2 were 1.77 and 2.41 times more likely to have HTN than those with BMI < 24 kg/m2 and < 23 kg/m2. Similarly, participants with WHtR cutoff points of ≥ 0.53 and ≥ 0.51 were 1.88 and 2.12 times more likely to have HTN than those with WHtR < 0.53 and < 0.51, respectively. Participants with WC ≥ 85 cm and ≥ 83 cm were 1.78 and 2.44 times more likely to have HTN than those with WC < 85 cm and < 83 cm, respectively. Conclusions: The study findings suggest that BMI, WHtR, and WC are better than WHpR for predicting HTN in male factory workers in India.

DOI： 10.15017/4400025

CiNii Research

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Japan Society for Occupational Health  

<p><b>Objective</b>: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused devastating damage to employment globally, particularly among the non-standard workforce. The objective of this study was to identify the effects of the pandemic on the employment status and lives of working students in Japan.</p><p><b>Methods</b>: The Labour Force Survey (January 2019 to May 2020) was used to examine changes in students’ work situations. In addition, to investigate the economic and health conditions of university students during the pandemic, the Student Lifestyle Survey was conducted in late May 2020. This survey asked students at a national university in Tokyo about recent changes in their studies, work, and lives.</p><p><b>Results</b>: The number of working students reported in the Labour Force Survey has declined sharply since March 2020, falling by 780,000 (46%) in April. According to a survey of university students’ living conditions, 37% were concerned about living expenses and tuition fees, and a higher percentage of students who were aware of financial insecurity had poor self-rated health.</p><p><b>Conclusion</b>: Nearly half of working students have lost their jobs during the pandemic in Japan, which has affected their lives, studies, and health. There is a need to monitor the impact of economic insecurity on students’ studies and health over time, and to expand the safety net for disadvantaged students.</p>

DOI： 10.1002/1348-9585.12209

PubMed

CiNii Research

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：JMIR Publications Inc.  

<jats:sec>
<jats:title>Background</jats:title>
<jats:p>Uric acid is associated with noncommunicable diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, chronic kidney disease, coronary artery disease, stroke, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, vascular dementia, and hypertension. Therefore, uric acid is considered to be a risk factor for the development of noncommunicable diseases. Most studies on uric acid have been performed in developed countries, and the application of machine-learning approaches in uric acid prediction in developing countries is rare. Different machine-learning algorithms will work differently on different types of data in various diseases; therefore, a different investigation is needed for different types of data to identify the most accurate algorithms. Specifically, no study has yet focused on the urban corporate population in Bangladesh, despite the high risk of developing noncommunicable diseases for this population.</jats:p>
</jats:sec>
<jats:sec>
<jats:title>Objective</jats:title>
<jats:p>The aim of this study was to develop a model for predicting blood uric acid values based on basic health checkup test results, dietary information, and sociodemographic characteristics using machine-learning algorithms. The prediction of health checkup test measurements can be very helpful to reduce health management costs.</jats:p>
</jats:sec>
<jats:sec>
<jats:title>Methods</jats:title>
<jats:p>Various machine-learning approaches were used in this study because clinical input data are not completely independent and exhibit complex interactions. Conventional statistical models have limitations to consider these complex interactions, whereas machine learning can consider all possible interactions among input data. We used boosted decision tree regression, decision forest regression, Bayesian linear regression, and linear regression to predict personalized blood uric acid based on basic health checkup test results, dietary information, and sociodemographic characteristics. We evaluated the performance of these five widely used machine-learning models using data collected from 271 employees in the Grameen Bank complex of Dhaka, Bangladesh.</jats:p>
</jats:sec>
<jats:sec>
<jats:title>Results</jats:title>
<jats:p>The mean uric acid level was 6.63 mg/dL, indicating a borderline result for the majority of the sample (normal range <7.0 mg/dL). Therefore, these individuals should be monitoring their uric acid regularly. The boosted decision tree regression model showed the best performance among the models tested based on the root mean squared error of 0.03, which is also better than that of any previously reported model.</jats:p>
</jats:sec>
<jats:sec>
<jats:title>Conclusions</jats:title>
<jats:p>A uric acid prediction model was developed based on personal characteristics, dietary information, and some basic health checkup measurements. This model will be useful for improving awareness among high-risk individuals and populations, which can help to save medical costs. A future study could include additional features (eg, work stress, daily physical activity, alcohol intake, eating red meat) in improving prediction.</jats:p>
</jats:sec>

DOI： 10.2196/18331

PubMed

CiNii Research

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (bulletin of university, research institution)   Publisher：Institute of Decision Science for a Sustainable Society, Kyushu University  

Introduction: New methods and tools in healthcare sector are growing gradually due to the continuing innovation in medicine and technologies. Health care technology system adoption varies among health care professionals (doctors, nurses), patients, and potential users. Therefore, for increasing number of technologies in the health care field, the use of technology acceptance model is needed to guide implementation process across health care contexts and user groups. Therefore, understanding and creating the conditions under which information system will be grasped by human remains a high priority research issue of information systems research and practice. Moreover, due to the scarcity of medical infrastructure including doctors and hospitals, remote healthcare services by using advanced Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is getting popular around the world. Due to potential benefits and the various eHealth initiatives in place, many recent studies have been done to enhance acceptance of eHealth services by all citizens. / Objective: Therefore, the purpose of this review is to systematically review all published studies on investigating the users' adoption of eHealth to summarize results of previous studies and to show future direction for further research. This study reviews all published research on acceptance model in e-health. / Method: This study conducted a systematic search of the web of science database and google scholar to collect studies about the adoption of eHealth technology. The author selected 19 articles to review. This literature review is conducted to identify currently available eHealth adoption framework. / Conclusion: The result showed that understanding and creating the conditions under which information system will be grasped by human is a high priority research issue of information systems research and practice. Based on the identified adoption factors in different eHealth technological context, it is suggested that the common investigated factors in the previous studies for each technological context and user group, need to be tested empirically in real settings. The confirmed factors are then recommended for apply as a basic model in each technological context and user group. / Originality: This study inform scope for future research by identifying gaps in literature in this field. To our knowledge this is the first study to systematically review to identify influencing factors, and future directions of adoption of ICT based health services.

DOI： 10.15017/4400004

CiNii Research

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Springer Science and Business Media LLC  

In 1952, the Japanese Society for Hygiene had once passed a resolution at its 22nd symposium on population control, recommending the suppression of population growth based on the idea of cultivating a healthier population in the area of eugenics. Over half a century has now passed since this recommendation; Japan is witnessing an aging of the population (it is estimated that over 65-year-olds made up 27.7% of the population in 2017) and a decline in the birth rate (total fertility rate 1.43 births per woman in 2017) at a rate that is unparalleled in the world; Japan is faced with a "super-aging" society with low birth rate. In 2017, the Society passed a resolution to encourage all scientists to engage in academic researches to address the issue of the declining birth rate that Japan is currently facing. In this commentary, the Society hereby declares that the entire text of the 1952 proposal is revoked and the ideas relating to eugenics is rejected. Since the Society has set up a working group on the issue in 2016, there have been three symposiums, and working group committee members began publishing a series of articles in the Society's Japanese language journal. This commentary primarily provides an overview of the findings from the published articles, which will form the scientific basis for the Society's declaration. The areas we covered here included the following: (1) improving the social and work environment to balance between the personal and professional life; (2) proactive education on reproductive health; (3) children's health begins with nutritional management in women of reproductive age; (4) workplace environment and occupational health; (5) workplace measures to counter the declining birth rate; (6) research into the effect of environmental chemicals on sexual maturity, reproductive function, and the children of next generation; and (7) comprehensive research into the relationship among contemporary society, parental stress, and healthy child-rearing. Based on the seven topics, we will set out a declaration to address Japan's aging society with low birth rate.

DOI： 10.1186/s12199-019-0768-x

PubMed

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (other academic)   Publisher：The Japanese Society for Hygiene  

DOI： 10.1265/jjh.18034

PubMed

CiNii Research

Authorship：Last author   Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (conference, symposium, etc.)   Publisher：東京 : 前川ヒトづくり財団  

CiNii Research

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：International Research and Cooperation Association for Bio & Socio-Sciences Advancement  

<p>Reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health (RMNCH) care services could be critical entry points for preventing non-communicable diseases in women and children. In high-income countries, non-communicable diseases screening has been integrated into both the medical and public health systems. To integrate these services in low- and middle-income countries, it is necessary to closely examine its effectiveness and feasibility. In this systematic review, we evaluated the effectiveness of integrating gestational and non-gestational non-communicable diseases interventions and RMNCH care among women and children in low- and middle-income countries. This systematic review included randomized and quasi-randomized controlled trials published from 2000 to 2015. Participants included reproductive-age women, children < 5 years old, and RMNCH care providers. The included interventions comprised packaged care/services that integrated RMNCH services with non-communicable disease care. The outcomes were maternal and/or infant mortality and complications, as well as health care service coverage. We analyzed six studies from 7,949 retrieved articles. Yoga exercise (<i>p</i> < 0.01) and nutritional improvements (<i>p</i> < 0.05) were effective in reducing gestational hypertension and diabetes. Additionally, integrating cervical cancer and RMNCH services was useful for identifying potential cervical cancer cases. Interventions that integrate non-communicable disease care/screening and RMNCH care may positively impact the health of women and children in low- and middle-income countries. However, as primary evidence is scarce, further research on the effectiveness of integrating non-communicable disease prevention and RMNCH care is warranted. (<i>Review Registration</i>: PROSPERO International prospective register of systematic reviews (CRD42015023425).)</p>

DOI： 10.5582/bst.2018.01070

PubMed

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (conference, symposium, etc.)   Publisher：The Japanese Society for Hygiene  

<p>In this paper, we examine the trend in Japan towards nonregular employment and its effects on marriage, childbirth, and childcare from the viewpoint of a decreasing societal birthrate. Although the decision to marry includes personal values and preferences, socioeconomic status factors such as income and employment type are also associated with the determinants of marriage. Nonregular employment workers have a lower rate and motivation for marriage than regular workers. Thus, socioeconomic disparity caused by employment needs to be minimized through governmental measures and policies. Nonregular employment is increasing among younger generations, and for them, maternity and childcare leave are especially vital. Employee insurance coverage should be expanded to function as a form of income security during these leaves of absence, such that nonregular workers are also covered. During the childcare period, which lasts more than 10 years, it is necessary to cover childrearing costs and also the time required to spend with children. If a single working parent is involved in childcare alone, there is the burden of both work and childcare. Additionally, long work hours can also impact workers that are not involved in childcare. This is a dilemma: a stable and regular employment is often necessary to achieve a higher education; however, it is difficult for nonregular employees to take care of and prepare children for higher education owing to limited financial means. Properly designed measures and policies are necessary to break this chain. Importantly, considerations about life and work are important for all workers, including nonregular workers, who are especially affected in terms of marriage, childbirth, and childcare.</p>

DOI： 10.1265/jjh.73.215

PubMed

CiNii Research

Authorship：Lead author,　Corresponding author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：BioMed Central  

Background:Menstrual problems can significantly impact daily and work life. In reaction to a shrinking population, the Japanese government is encouraging more women to participate in the labor force. Actual success in achieving this aim, however, is limited. Specifically, participation in the workforce by women during their reproductive years is impacted by their health, which involves not only work conditions, but also traditional family circumstances. Therefore, it is important to further assess and gather more information about the health status of women who work during their reproductive years in Japan. Specifically, women’s health can be represented by menstruation status, which is a pivotal indicator. In this study, we assessed the association between short rest periods in work intervals and menstruation and other health status indicators among female workers in Japan.Methods:Study participants were recruited from the alumnae of a university, which provided a uniform educational level. All 9864 female alumnae were asked to join the survey and 1630 (17%) accepted. The final sample of study participants (n = 505) were aged 23–43 years, had maintained the same job status for at least 1 year, and were not shift workers, had no maternal status, and did not lack any related information. The participants were divided into two groups according to interval time, with 11 h between end of work and resumption of daily work as a benchmark. This interval time was based on EU regulations and the goal set by the government of Japan. Health outcomes included: menstrual cycle, dysmenorrhoea symptoms, anxiety regarding health, and satisfaction in terms of health. Multiple logistic regression analyses were conducted to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for health indexes in association with interval time by adjusting for confounding variables that included both psychosocial and biological factors.Results:We compared the health status of women in the workforce with and without a sufficient interval time of 11 h/day. Workers who had a short interval time had a significantly higher prevalence of anxiety about health and dissatisfaction with their health. For menstruation status, only abnormal menstruation cycles were observed more often among workers in the short interval group than those of the long interval group. However, this association disappeared when biological confounding factors were adjusted in a multivariable regression model. Dysmenorrhea symptoms did not show a statistically significant association with short interval time.Conclusions:This study found a significant association between a short interval time of less than 11 h/day and subjective health indicators and the menstrual health status of women in the workforce. Menstrual health was more affected by biological factors than social psychological factors. A long work time and short interval time could increase worker anxiety and dissatisfaction and may deteriorate the menstrual cycle.

DOI： 10.1186/s13030-017-0112-x

PubMed

CiNii Research

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：東京 : 日本ストレス学会  

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (bulletin of university, research institution)   Publisher：九州大学男女共同参画推進室  

第1部 基調講演 / 　“The Science of Broadening Participation of Women in Science and Education Fields and the Workforce” / 　　ケリー・クレッグヘンダーソン(アメリカ国立科学財団社会科学・行動科学・経済学局副局長) / 　“Broadening Participation of Women-Economic Analyses” / 　　大野 由夏(北海道大学大学院経済学研究科教授） / 　“Unwillingness Employment Status and Health among Highly Educated Women” / 　　錦谷 まりこ(九州大学持続可能な社会のための決断科学センター准教授) / 第2部 パネルディスカッション / 　1. “On the Convergence in Female Participation Rates” / 　　安部 由起子(北海道大学公共政策大学院教授) / 　2. “Mothers of Children with Disabilities and Care for Such Mothers” / 　　山下 亜紀子(九州大学大学院人間環境学研究院准教授) / 　3. パネルディスカッション

CiNii Research

Authorship：Lead author,　Last author,　Corresponding author   Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (bulletin of university, research institution)   Publisher：Institute of Decision Science for a Sustainable Society, Kyushu University  

特集 : 決断科学へ向けて

DOI： 10.15017/1563554

CiNii Research

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health  

<p>The participation of women in the Japanese labor force is characterized by its M-shaped curve, which reflects decreased employment rates during child-rearing years. Although, this M-shaped curve is now improving, the majority of women in employment are likely to fall into the category of non-regular workers. Based on a review of the previous Japanese studies of the health of non-regular workers, we found that non-regular female workers experienced greater psychological distress, poorer self-rated health, a higher smoking rate, and less access to preventive medicine than regular workers did. However, despite the large number of non-regular workers, there are limited researches regarding their health. In contrast, several studies in Japan concluded that regular workers also had worse health conditions due to the additional responsibility and longer work hours associated with the job, housekeeping, and child rearing. The health of non-regular workers might be threatened by the effects of precarious employment status, lower income, a lower safety net, outdated social norm regarding non-regular workers, and difficulty in achieving a work-life balance. A sector wide social approach to consider life course aspect is needed to protect the health and well-being of female workers' health; promotion of an occupational health program alone is insufficient.</p>

DOI： 10.2486/indhealth.2016-0105

PubMed

CiNii Research

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：The Medical Association of Nippon Medical School  

<p><b>Background: </b>Cancer patients' satisfaction with their treatment decisions has been demonstrated to be associated with improved health outcomes, but few studies of this issue have been conducted in Japan. <b>Objective: </b>To explore key factors in enhancing patient satisfaction, we assessed the association between their satisfaction and their relationships with their physicians. <b>Methods: </b>We conducted cross-sectional questionnaire surveys among patients who had received cancer treatment. One source was outpatients from a cancer center hospital, and the other was through the website of Japan's most popular newspaper. The questionnaire included demographic questions and general self-rated life status issues, such as peace of mind, quality of life, daily activities, family relationships, rapport with attending physician, assessment of the physician's explanations, and feelings of happiness during the previous week. <b>Results: </b>Of 576 respondents, 383 subjects said they were satisfied and 193 dissatisfied. It was confirmed that the online survey was comparable to the paper-based survey in examining patient satisfaction. The dissatisfied group included more females and fewer subjects who were forced to retire from jobs than the satisfied group. The patients in the satisfied group had a more favorable subjective opinion of their recent life. The patients in the dissatisfied group received more chemotherapy and had more side effects than those in the satisfied group. Assessment of the physician's role showed significant differences between the two groups; the patients in the satisfied group felt more than those in the dissatisfied group that their physicians' explanations of treatment were sufficient and were satisfied with their rapport with their physicians. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that rapport with physicians was a significant factor (odds ratio=3.79, 95% CI=2.25-6.39). <b>Conclusions: </b>Rapport between physicians and patients is one of the most important factors in patient satisfaction with treatment decisions.</p>

DOI： 10.1272/jnms.83.235

PubMed

CiNii Research

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

CiNii Research

Authorship：Lead author,　Corresponding author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)  

CiNii Research

Authorship：Lead author,　Last author,　Corresponding author   Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (conference, symposium, etc.)   Publisher：Japanese Soiety of Psychosomatic Obstetrics and Gynecology  

DOI： 10.18977/jspog.20.2_161

CiNii Research

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Japan Society for Occupational Health  

<b>Objectives:</b> The aim of this study was to examine whether the association between employment contract and self-rated health differs by household structure in a representative sample of employees in Japan. <b>Methods:</b> The participants were 81,441 male and 64,471 female employees aged 18–59 years who had participated in the 2010 Comprehensive Survey of Living Conditions. We assessed the interactive effect of employment contract (permanent or precarious) and household structure (couple only, couple with children, single parent, single person, or other multi-person) on fair/poor health, adjusting for covariates by using logistic regression. We then calculated the relative poverty rate by employment contract and household structure. <b>Results:</b> The interaction effect was significant for women (<i>p</i><0.001) but not for men (<i>p</i>=0.413). A higher percentage of female precarious workers who lived in single-parent households (20.2%) reported fair/poor health compared with those in other types of households (10.4–13.2%), although the prevalence of fair/poor health did not differ substantially by household structure among female permanent workers. The relative poverty rates of female precarious workers who lived in single-parent households were higher compared with those of other female workers. <b>Conclusions:</b> Our results suggest that female precarious workers are not a homogeneous group and that those living in single-parent households suffer from poor health due to low income and insufficient coverage by insurance firms and family-based safety nets.(J Occup Health 2014; 56: 339-346)

DOI： 10.1539/joh.13-0279-oa

PubMed

CiNii Research

Authorship：Last author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Japan Society of Ningen Dock  

<p><b>Objective: </b>The economic inequality gap in Japan has rapidly widened in recent years, and financial disparity has been reported to affect health status. The present study investigated a relationship between economic status and cancer knowledge, healthy behavior, and cancer check-up rates. </p><p><b>Methods:</b> This cross-sectional study involved 6,004 residents of Yokohama City and Oyama City, Japan, randomly selected from the gender and age strata. Subjects aged between 35 and 65 were divided into 2 groups according to whether they perceived their economic status as affluent or not. </p><p><b>Results: </b>Nearly 35% of the subjects answered that they did not consider themselves to be affluent. The subjects in this group had lower education levels and less regular employment, and fewer were married, compared with the affluent group. They also tended to have less knowledge about a healthy lifestyle, eat fewer vegetables, smoke, have an unhealthy body weight, and receive fewer cancer check-ups. We found strong correlations between relative economic satisfaction and cancer prevention knowledge, healthy lifestyle, and behaviors. People who did not perceive themselves as affluent tended to know less about cancer risks, have unhealthy diets and smoking habits, and receive fewer cancer check-ups. </p><p><b>Conclusion:</b> A significant positive correlation exists between economic satisfaction and cancer prevention behaviors in Japan. Because economic dissatisfaction derives from a comparison with others, a reduction in social disparity may be necessary to increase cancer check-up rates and promote healthy lifestyles.</p>

DOI： 10.11320/ningendockitn.1.1_47

CiNii Research

Authorship：Last author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Cambridge University Press (CUP)  

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:sec id="S1049023X13008704_abs1" sec-type="intro"><jats:title>Introduction</jats:title><jats:p>Social networks play an important role in disaster situations as they have become a new form of social convergence that provides collective information. The effect of social media on people who experienced disaster should be assessed.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec id="S1049023X13008704_abs2" sec-type="general"><jats:title>Hypothesis</jats:title><jats:p>In this study, Twitter communication during the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011 was assessed. The hypothesis of this study was that usage of Twitter had psychological effects on victims of the disaster.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec id="S1049023X13008704_abs3" sec-type="methods"><jats:title>Methods</jats:title><jats:p>A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was carried out in cooperation with a major Japanese newspaper three months after the disaster, and 1,144 volunteer participants responded. They were asked about their health, area of residence, property damage they had experienced, information sources they used at the time of the disaster, and their usage of Twitter. Further, the Twitter users were divided into two groups—with and without disaster experience. Their psychological effects relating to feelings of relief, stress or anxiety that they experienced in using Twitter were compared between two groups, and Twitter's psychological risk of disaster experience was estimated as an odds ratio.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec id="S1049023X13008704_abs4" sec-type="results"><jats:title>Results</jats:title><jats:p>Twitter users in this study tended to reside in disaster-affected areas and thought Twitter was a credible information source during the time of the disaster. The psychological effect of Twitter differed based on participants’ disaster experience and gender. Females with disaster experience reported more feelings of relief and stress as a result of using Twitter compared to females who did not experience the disaster. On the other hand, males with disaster experience only reported more stress experiences as a result of using Twitter compared to those without disaster experience.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec id="S1049023X13008704_abs5" sec-type="conclusion"><jats:title>Conclusion</jats:title><jats:p>Twitter users with disaster experience had a higher usage of Twitter than those without disaster experience. Social media might have had a material psychological influence on people who experienced disaster, and the effect differed by gender. Regardless of gender, negative feelings were transmitted easily among people who experienced the disaster. It was anticipated that the application of Twitter in a disaster situation will be expanded further by taking these findings into consideration.</jats:p><jats:p><jats:mixed-citation id="S1049023X13008704_" publication-type="journal"><jats:name name-style="western"><jats:surname>Umihara</jats:surname><jats:given-names>J</jats:given-names></jats:name>, <jats:name name-style="western"><jats:surname>Nishikitani</jats:surname><jats:given-names>M</jats:given-names></jats:name>. <jats:article-title>Emergent use of Twitter in the 2011 Tohoku earthquake</jats:article-title>. <jats:source>Prehosp Disaster Med.</jats:source><jats:year>2013</jats:year>;<jats:volume>28</jats:volume>(<jats:issue>5</jats:issue>):<jats:fpage>1</jats:fpage>-<jats:lpage>7</jats:lpage></jats:mixed-citation>.</jats:p></jats:sec>

DOI： 10.1017/s1049023x13008704

PubMed

CiNii Research

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Elsevier BV  

This study aimed to quantify the contributions of the factors that have influenced changes in income-related health inequalities. We used data from a nationally representative sample of Japanese men and women aged 20-59 years who participated in eight repeated cross-sectional surveys between 1986 and 2007. A concentration index (CI) was used to measure income-related inequalities in self-rated health (SRH) and decomposed into contributing factors. We then examined temporal changes in CIs and their contributing factors. Results showed that income-related inequalities in SRH, unfavourable to low-income groups, persisted throughout the study period. Despite widening income inequalities, inequalities in SRH narrowed during the period of economic stagnation since the late 1990s because of the profound deterioration in SRH among middle- to high-income groups. Decomposition analysis showed that income itself and unemployment or economic inactivity were the most important contributors to inequalities in SRH for both sexes at almost all time points. However, from 1986 to 2007, the relative contribution of income to these inequalities decreased from 78% to 14% in men and from 85% to 38% in women. By contrast, the relative contribution of unemployment or economic inactivity increased from 18% to 77% in men and from 10% to 31% in women. Our results suggest that a reduction in avoidable health inequalities could be achieved by reducing the influence of unemployment or economic inactivity on health.

DOI： 10.1016/j.socscimed.2012.11.042

PubMed

CiNii Research

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Wiley  

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:sec><jats:title>Background</jats:title><jats:p>Precarious employment is one of the social determinants of health. In 2010, 34.4% of Japanese workers fell into this employment category. The purpose of our study was to assess whether the use of annual health check‐ups varied by worker contract type.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods</jats:title><jats:p>Using 2007 nationally representative survey data, we compared the annual health check‐up compliance of permanently employed full‐time workers versus that of precariously employed workers (hourly, dispatched, and fixed‐term workers).</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results</jats:title><jats:p>Dispatched workers and hourly workers received health check‐ups less often compared with permanent workers. Hourly young male workers received health check‐ups five times less frequently than permanent workers. The percentage of workers who consulted a physician after receiving advice to do so did not differ by employment types, except in older men.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusions</jats:title><jats:p>In Japan, workers with precarious employment, most notably hourly and dispatched workers, had a lower rate of health check‐ups compared with full‐time workers in permanent positions. Am. J. Ind. Med. 55:884–892, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.</jats:p></jats:sec>

DOI： 10.1002/ajim.22090

PubMed

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Japan Society for Occupational Health  

<b>Objectives: </b>The purpose of this study was to review research articles about the health of workers with precarious employment (precarious workers). <b>Methods:</b> Articles that compared the health status between permanent and precarious workers were systematically searched. The collected articles are discussed with respect to their study design, data source, sample size, country, health outcome, definition of precarious employment, and primary findings. <b>Results:</b> Sixty-eight articles were identified by the inclusion criteria. Health outcomes were categorized into four types: occupational injuries, physical health, mental health, and alternative health measurements. Precarious employment was associated with a high prevalence of occupational injuries, higher mortality rate, and inferior degree of mental health. For alternative health measures, access to health services were limited among precarious workers. Sickness absence or leave was taken less often by precarious workers than permanent workers. <b>Conclusions: </b>Unstable employment and the limited welfare of precarious workers might affect their health in relation to a variety of health-related characteristics while several studies concluded that permanent workers had an inferior health status. Therefore, the current social climate, which allows precarious employment with low benefits and diverse work contracts, might be detrimental for workers' health, in general. <br> <i>(San Ei Shi 2011; 53: 117-139)</i><br>

DOI： 10.1539/sangyoeisei.a11002

PubMed

CiNii Research

Authorship：Lead author,　Corresponding author   Language：English   Publisher：Springer Science and Business Media LLC  

Among the complementary and alternative medical services available in Japan, only judo therapists are covered under the national health-insurance program without a referral from a physician. Many orthopedists claim that judo therapists deprive them of potential patients. If such competition exists, fewer patients would be expected to visit orthopedists in areas where many patients visit judo therapists. Therefore, we examined the correlation between the number of patients visiting judo therapists and those visiting physicians for musculoskeletal diseases.In a cross-sectional study covering each prefecture in Japan (n = 47), we obtained figures for the numbers of judo therapist facilities and elderly patients (over 70 years old) who visited them and the numbers of orthopedists and patients who visited physicians for musculoskeletal diseases. Correlations between the numbers of practitioners per 100,000 population and the numbers of their patients per 100,000 population were examined by prefecture.There were positive correlations between the numbers of judo therapist facilities and elderly patients who visited them (r = 0.72, P0.01, n = 47), and between the numbers of orthopedists and elderly patients who visited physicians for musculoskeletal diseases (r = 0.32, P = 0.03). However, there was no significant correlation between the numbers of elderly patients who visited judo therapist facilities and those who visited physicians (r = 0.06, P = 0.68) for musculoskeletal diseases.This study did not find a negative correlation between the numbers of patients visiting judo therapists and patients visiting physicians for musculoskeletal diseases. Thus, these results do not support the orthopedists' claim that the two services compete for patients.

CiNii Research

Authorship：Lead author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Tohoku University Medical Press  

The enteric nervous system regulates epithelial ion and fluid secretion. Our previous study has shown that the low (0.2-1 mM) concentrations of Ba²⁺, a K⁺ channel inhibitor, evoke Ca²⁺-dependent oscillatory Cl− secretion via activation of submucosal cholinergic neurons in guinea pig distal colon. However, it is still unclear which types of Ca²⁺ channels are involved in the oscillation at the neuroepithelial junction. We investigated the inhibitory effects of organic and inorganic Ca²⁺ channel antagonists on the short circuit current (I_sc) of colonic epithelia (mucosa-submucosa sheets) mounted in Ussing chambers. The amplitude (412 ± 37 μA cm⁻²) and frequency (2.6 ± 0.1 cycles min⁻¹) of the Ba²⁺-induced I_sc in normal (1.8 mM) Ca²⁺ solution (<i>n </i>= 26) significantly decreased by 37.6% and 38.5%, respectively, in the low (0.1 mM) Ca²⁺ solution (<i>n </i>= 14). The I_sc amplitude was reversibly inhibited by either verapamil (an L-type Ca²⁺ channel antagonist) or divalent cations (Cd²⁺, Mn²⁺, Ni²⁺) in a concentration-dependent manner. The concentration of verapamil for half-maximum inhibition (IC₅₀) was 4 and 2 μ</i>M in normal and low Ca²⁺ solution, respectively. The relative blocking potencies of metal ions were Cd²⁺ > Mn²⁺, Ni²⁺ in normal Ca²⁺ solution. In contrast, the frequency of I_sc was unchanged over the range of concentrations of the Ca²⁺ channel antagonists used. Our results show that the oscillatory I_sc evoked by Ba²⁺ involves L-type voltage-gated Ca²⁺ channels. We conclude that L-type Ca²⁺ channels play a key role in the oscillation at the neuroepithelial junctions of guinea pig colon.

DOI： 10.1620/tjem.211.151

PubMed

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Japanese Society of Psychosomatic Medicine  

Objectives: Low back, joint and shoulder pains are the three most common complaints among musculoskeletal symptoms in the Japanese people. This study aims to clarify the effects of stress perception and related social indicators on the three musculoskeletal symptoms in a Japanese population. Subjects and method: Twenty health-related variables (stress perception and 19 social indicators) and the three symptoms were obtained from the following Japanese national surveys: the Comprehensive Survey of Living Condition of the People on Health and Welfare, the System of Social and Demographic Statistics of Japan, and the Statistical Report on Health Administration Services. Concerning the definition of stress perception, the subjects answered "yes" if they perceived any of the stressors for the following 27 life-related categories including work, family, neighbourhood relations, as well as living-, social-, financial-, and health related situations. Among 46 Japanese prefectures, exclusive of Hyogo Prefecture, multiple regression analyses (stepwise method) were used to assess the effects of the stress perception on the prevalence of the musculoskeletal symptoms, taking the significant effects of the social indicators into consideration in 1995 and 2000. Results: By factor analysis, the 19 indicators were classified into three factors of urbanization, aging and life-regularity, and individualization. The prevalence of stress perception was significantly correlated to the 8 indicators of urbanization factor. Simple correlation analysis revealed a significant relationship of stress perception only to low back pain (in 2001) and shoulder pain (in both years). The results of multiple regression analysis showed that stress perception was related to low back and shoulder pain in 1995, after controlling for the effects of the other indicators of the urbanization factor (e.g. lower proportion of farming and higher education for shoulder pain) and those of the aging factor (e.g. natural population growth and female gender for low back pain). In 2001 stress perception was related to all three musculoskeletal symptoms through the same regression analyses. Conclusion: Taking the effects of urbanization into consideration, stress perception seems to be closely related to the complaints of musculoskeletal symptoms in Japan. Although the present findings were obtained from prefecture-based dataset, they have some important practical implications. Health staff should be aware of the close association between stress and musculoskeletal symptoms. Within the context of a thorough evaluation of stress and social life factors, the reporting of symptoms may be an important signal to consider for referring patients to the specialists for exclusion of psychiatric conditions or for stress management. In addition to such individual approaches, we may consider population approaches to tackle stress where many people complain of these musculoskeletal symptoms.

DOI： 10.15064/jjpm.47.2_103

CiNii Research

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

CiNii Research

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

CiNii Research

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Japan Society for Occupational Health  

Siegrist has suggested that situations in which people believe they have expended high effort, but perceive themselves to have reaped relatively little reward, lead to a state of emotional distress . People’s ability to cope with stress varies, and the effort-reward imbalance (ERI) model can accommodate this. People who are overcommitted will exaggerate their efforts because of their desire for esteem and approval, and will find the discrepancy between effort and reward particularly stressful. Therefore, Siegrist proposed that overcommitment not only results in emotional exhaustion but also exacerbates the negative effects of the ERI 2, . In Japan, the economic recession of the 1990s and increased international competition have forced companies to restructure. The Japanese traditional systems, which include lifetime employment and seniority-constrained wages and promotions, are being dismantled. Consequently a performance-based pay system has been introduced that has resulted in a competitive working climate, over-commitment, and job insecurity among workers. Fatigue may lead to occupational accidents in the workplace, as well as negative health outcomes. In this study, Siegrist’s hypothesized model, the negative effect of ERI on fatigue and its exacerbation through over-commitment, was assessed in Japanese overtime workers 2, .

CiNii Research

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Japan Society for Occupational Health  

In Japan, death from overwork (“karoshi” in Japanese) is the focus of social concern. Extremely long work hours and deprivation of sleep exert vital exhaustion and mood changes, resulting in disease conditions such as depression and ischemic heart disease . As the prevention of diseases caused by heavy overtime schedules is a live issue in Japan, decisive and objective indicators are necessary for the early detection of irrecoverable damage to workers’ health. Young overtime workers, under forty, are often passed over by routine medical check-ups, nevertheless they have been suffering from shortened sleep and lack of effective rest. Especially information-technology workers in Japan are involved in extreme overwork beyond daytime working hours in order to compete in the global market. Detailed health assessments should be carried out with a view to identifying and implementing measures to relieve adverse health effects in overtime workers. The critical flicker fusion frequency (CFF) test is a suitable method for the measurement of short-term visual strain , however, few studies have indicated that CFF is sensitive as an objective measure of chronic fatigue. Therefore other convenient tools are required to detect exhausted workers at risk. Computerized static posturography has been used to examine balance function disorders, measuring displacements of the body’s center of pressure by the use of a force platform during static upright posture. The posturographic measurements are reportedly suitable for monitoring fatigue. Since continued insufficient sleep can lead to inability to concentrate, perceptual changes and dizziness, we performed a quantitative study using postural sway parameters as the disturbance stimulation of foot pressure movement in order to evaluate fatigued conditions of overtime workers at the early stage. The purpose of this study was to find medical evidence for the effects of extended working hours and short sleep time among younger workers under forty, and to recommend certain measures for their health assessment and control.

DOI： 10.1539/joh.48.65

PubMed

CiNii Research

Authorship：Lead author   Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (other academic)   Publisher：Japan Society for Occupational Health  

DOI： 10.1539/sangyoeisei.kj00004429924

CiNii Research

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (other academic)   Publisher：Japan Society for Occupational Health  

DOI： 10.1539/sangyoeisei.kj00003804309

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (other academic)   Publisher：Japan Society for Occupational Health  

DOI： 10.1539/sangyoeisei.kj00003804461

CiNii Research

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health  

To investigate the impact of overtime work, sleep duration, and perceived job characteristics on physical and mental status, a cross-sectional study was conducted on 377 workers (average age; 28 years old) in an information-technology (IT) company, engaged in consultation, system integration solution, and data management relevant to IT system. The psychophysical outcomes of overtime work were assessed using the Hamilton Depression Scale (HDS), Profile of Mood Status (POMS), major physical symptoms, and overtime work data for the preceding three-months. Sleep duration was directly asked by a physician. A job strain index was defined as the ratio of job-demands to job-control scores evaluated using the Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ). In a univariate analysis, overtime work was significantly related with HDS scores, POMS anger-hostility scores, and the total physical symptom count in both sexes (all p<0.05), but not in multiple regression models, after controlling for sleep duration and the job strain index. Sleep duration was negatively related to the symptom count in men and to POMS tension-anxiety scores in women (both p<0.05); the job strain index was positively related to POMS anger-hostility scores in both sexes and to HDS scores and POMS tension-anxiety scores in men (all p<0.05). Although overtime work was associated with physical and mental complaints, sleep duration and the job strain index seemed to be better indicators for physical and mental distress in overloaded workers.

DOI： 10.2486/indhealth.43.623

PubMed

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

CiNii Research

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：The Japanese Society of Hypertension  

<B>This study examined the relationship between arterial stiffness and autonomic nervous function in a young population. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 382 Japanese males, aged 24 to 39 years, who worked at the same information service company. Brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) was measured using an automatic waveform analyzer, and the spectral power of heart rate variability in the low frequency (LF: 0.04-0.15 Hz) and the high frequency (HF: 0.15-0.40 Hz) band was evaluated by the maximum entropy method. LF/HF and HF were used as the indicators of sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous activity, respectively. Psycho-hormonal responses were examined by the Profile of Mood State (tension-anxiety and anger-hostility scales) and Hamilton’s Depression Scale with serum cortisol and catecholamine levels. In a univariate analysis, baPWV was positively associated with the following variables (all <I>p</I> <0.05): LF/HF, age, body mass index, systolic and diastolic blood pressures, heart rate, serum total cholesterol and triglycerides, blood glucose, and plasma cortisol and noradrenaline. Multiple regression analysis indicated that LF/HF was an independent predictor of baPWV (<I>p</I> <0.05), after controlling for significant effects of age, systolic blood pressure, and plasma noradrenaline levels. There was no significant effect of HF on baPWV in this multivariate analysis. Neither mood state nor health-related lifestyle factors such as smoking were significant. It was suggested that baPWV is closely associated with sympathetic nervous activity in young men. (<I>Hypertens Res</I> 2004; 27: 925-931)</B>

DOI： 10.1291/hypres.27.925

PubMed

CiNii Research

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Tohoku University Medical Press  

This study aims to clarify the effects of stress perception and related social indicators on three major musculoskeletal symptoms: low back, shoulder, and joint pains in a Japanese population. Twenty health-related variables (stress perception and 19 social indicators) and the three symptoms were obtained from the following Japanese national surveys: the Comprehensive Survey of Living Condition of the People on Health and Welfare, the System of Social and Demographic Statistics of Japan, and the Statistical Report on Health Administration Services. The results were compared among 46 Japanese prefectures in 1995 and 2001. By factor analysis, the 19 indicators were classified into three factors of urbanization, aging and life-regularity, and individualization. The prevalence of stress perception was significantly correlated to the 8 indicators of urbanization factor. Although simple correlation analysis revealed a significant relationship of stress perception only to shoulder pain (in both years) and low back pain (in 2001), the results of multiple regression analysis showed that stress perception and some urbanization factors were significantly associated with all the three symptoms in both years exclusive of joint pain in 1995. Taking the effects of urbanization into consideration, stress perception seems to be closely related to the complaints of musculoskeletal symptoms in Japan.

DOI： 10.1620/tjem.203.195

PubMed

CiNii Research

Authorship：Lead author,　Corresponding author   Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (other academic)  

CiNii Research

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health  

To disclose the effects of chromium (Cr) on olfactory function, olfactory threshold tests were conducted on 27 male plating workers (Cr workers) with signs and symptoms of olfactory irritation but without nasal septum perforation or ulcer and on 34 male control subjects in Korean plating factories. The Cr workers had been exposed to Cr fume for 0.9 to 18.2 (mean 7.9) years; their blood Cr concentrations (0.16-3.69, mean 1.29 μg/dl) were significantly higher than those of the 34 control subjects (0.04-1.95, mean 0.55 μg/dl). Scores on recognition thresholds among the Cr workers were significantly higher than those of the control subjects (p<0.05) and related positively and significantly to the exposure periods of the 27 Cr workers (p<0.05). Olfactory thresholds were not significantly different between the Cr workers with and without nasal signs or symptoms, except that the scores on the recognition threshold were significantly higher in those experiencing difficulty with smell (p<0.05). It is suggested that olfactory threshold is affected by Cr without development of nasal septum perforation or ulceration.

DOI： 10.2486/indhealth.41.279

PubMed

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (conference, symposium, etc.)   Publisher：東京 : ソルト・サイエンス研究財団  

CiNii Research

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health  

To examine the effects of occupational and environmental neurotoxicants on vestibular, cerebellar and spinocerebellar functions, the following three groups of subjects were examined, using a computerized posturography with sway frequency analysis: (1) 49 male chemical factory workers exposed to lead stearate, aged 27-63 (mean 43) years, with concurrent blood lead concentrations (BPbs) of 11-113 (mean 48) μg/100 g and past mean BPbs of 7-52 (mean 24) μg /100 g; (2) 29 male sandal, shoe and leather factory workers, aged 35-73 (mean 51) years, with urinary 2, 5-hexanedione (HD) concentrations of 0.41-3.06 (mean 1.20) mg/g creatinine; and (3) 9 females, aged 19-58 (mean 29) years, who were exposed to sarin accidentally 6-8 months before the study (Tokyo Subway Sarin Poisoning, March 20, 1995) and showed plasma cholinesterase (ChE) activities of 13-95 (mean 68) IU/l on the day of poisoning. The pattern of posturographic changes in lead workers suggested that the vestibulocerebellum (lower vermis), anterior cerebellar lobe and spinocerebellar afferent pathway were asymptomatically affected; the vestibulocerebellar change reflected concurrent lead absorption and the anterior cerebellar one reflected past absorption. Similarly, vestibulocerebellar and spinocerebellar functions were affected by n-hexane in solvent workers; the effect on the vestibulocerebellar function was probably inhibited by xylene. Also, the chronic (long-term) effect on the vestibulocerebellar function persisted in acute sarin poisoning. It is thus suggested that the vesitibulocerebellar function is most sensitive to all the three chemicals examined. It appears that the computerized posturography with frequency analysis is a useful technique for assessment of vestibular, cerebellar and spinocerebellar effects in occupational and environmental health.

DOI： 10.2486/indhealth.40.14

PubMed

CiNii Research

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：THE PHYSIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF JAPAN  

We investigated the capacity of newborn rats to excrete an acute potassium load to understand the development of a renal potassium excretion system. Three groups of the rats (7-14 d) were used to collect urine periodically over 6 h after oral infusion of potassium: control (no potassium loading) and low- and high-potassium-loaded rats. In the low-potassium-loaded group, infused with about 0.6 μEq of potassium chloride/g body wt., the rate of renal potassium excretion increased from 0.08 ± 0.02 (7 d) to 0.13 ± 0.02 (10 d) and 0.21 ± 0.03 (14 d) μEq/h/g body wt. The high-potassium-loaded rats (1.5-2.8 μEq/g body wt. potassium load) excreted potassium at a higher rate of 0.18 ± 0.05 (7 d), 0.30 ± 0.02 (10 d), and 0.45 ± 0.10 (14 d) μEq/h/g body wt. They excreted 77% (7 d), 76% (10 d), and 95% (14 d) of the potassium load. These values were much larger than the rate of 0.026 μEq/h/g body wt. of the control rats and of 0.08 μEq/h/g body wt., a mean potassium excretion rate during development from 7 to 14 d calculated from the data in the previous study (Kanno T et al.: J. Pediatr. Gastr. Nutr. 24: 242-252, 1997). In the same period, serum potassium concentration in the newborn rats decreased significantly (p < 0.01) from 7.2 ± 0.1 (7 d) to 6.7 ± 0.1 mEq/l (14 d). All these results suggest that a renal potassium excretion system in the rat develops at least in the second week of life, and its capacity is high enough to excrete the daily potassium intake.<br>

DOI： 10.2170/jjphysiol.51.745

PubMed

CiNii Research

Authorship：Lead author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)   Publisher：The Japanese Society of Toxicology  

CiNii Research

Authorship：Lead author,　Corresponding author   Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：和光 : 「日本味と匂学会」事務局  

CiNii Research

Authorship：Lead author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Japan Society for Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Agrochemistry  

  6-<i>O</i>-β-<small>D</small>-Xylopyranosyl-β-<small>D</small>-glucopyranosides (β-primeverosides) of (<i>Z</i>)-3-hexenol and <i>trans</i>-linalool 3,7-oxide were newly isolated from fresh leaves of a tea cultivar (<i>Camellia sinensis</i> var. <i>sinensis</i> cv. Yabukita). In addition, the already identified β-primeverosides of benzyl alcohol, methyl salicylate, and <i>trans</i>-linalool 3,6-oxide from an oolong tea cultivar were isolated from the Yabukita cultivar. It was confirmed that all aglycones of the linalool oxide glycosides isolated here were of the optically active <i>S</i>-form by chiral GC after enzymatic hydrolysis with glycosidase.<br>

DOI： 10.1271/bbb.63.1631

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CiNii Research

Authorship：Lead author   Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (other academic)   Publisher：Japan Society for Occupational Health  

DOI： 10.1539/sangyoeisei.kj00002990471

CiNii Research

Authorship：Last author   Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (other academic)   Publisher：Japan Society for Occupational Health  

DOI： 10.1539/sangyoeisei.kj00001990726

CiNii Research

Authorship：Corresponding author   Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (international conference proceedings)   Publisher：Japan Society for Occupational Health  

DOI： 10.1539/sangyoeisei.kj00001990351

CiNii Research

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：The Japan Society for Analytical Chemistry  

The determination of odor recognition threshold values of n- and iso-amyl (pentyl) acetates was carried out by odor panel test (Japanese students 18-22 years old;6 males and a female) using 10- liter Tedlar bag static method. The trace concentrations of n-and iso-amyl acetates in the Tedlar bag were determined by gas chromatography and an odor sensor (SnO₂ type). The odor recognition threshold values of amyl acetates were 7.70ppm for n-amyl and 1.50ppm for iso- amyl. The odor quality from several odor panels were evaluated, such as a binder solvent-like, aqueous paint, stimuli, fruity, aromatic, ether-like, gasoline-like, pungent, minty, sour, petroleum- like, respectively.

DOI： 10.2116/analsci.13.supplement_505

CiNii Research

Authorship：Lead author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Japan Society for Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Agrochemistry  

A new glycosidic aroma precursor was isolated from green tea leaves (Camellia sinensis var. sinensis cv. Yabukita) along with the known primeverosides of cis-linalool 3, 6-oxide, linalool and geraniol. These glycosides were separated by chromatographic isolation on Amberlite XAD-2, ODS flash chromatography, and finally HPLC. The chemical structure of the new unknown glycoside was confirmed as geranyl 6-O-α-L-arabinopyranosyl-β-D-glucopyranoside (geranyl β-vicianoside) by spectrometric analyses and by an enzymatic hydrolysis with glycosidase followed by GC-MS and HPLC analyses. Moreover the vicianoside was hydrolyzed with acetone powder obtained from fresh tea leaves to generate the same compounds, suggesting this glycoside to be a tea aroma precursor.

DOI： 10.1271/bbb.60.929

PubMed

CiNii Research

Total pages：335   Responsible for pages：134-151   Language：Japanese   Book type：Scholarly book

Total pages：335   Responsible for pages：232-250   Language：Japanese   Book type：Scholarly book

Language：Japanese   Book type：Textbook, survey, introduction

Language：Japanese   Book type：Textbook, survey, introduction

Language：Japanese   Book type：Textbook, survey, introduction

Total pages：2   Language：English   Book type：Report

DOI： 10.3233/SHTI240436

Total pages：821   Responsible for pages：689-707   Language：English   Book type：Textbook, survey, introduction

DOI： 10.1007/978-3-030-91237-6

Responsible for pages：163-167   Language：English   Book type：Scholarly book

DOI： 10.3233/SHTI220053

Total pages：251   Responsible for pages：93-104   Language：English   Book type：Scholarly book

DOI： 10.1007/978-981-15-8632-3

Total pages：251   Responsible for pages：3-64   Language：English   Book type：Scholarly book

Responsible for pages：130-134   Language：English   Book type：Scholarly book

DOI： 10.3233/SHTI210684

Responsible for pages：123-143   Language：English   Book type：Scholarly book

Total pages：392   Responsible for pages：381  

CiNii Research

Total pages：145   Responsible for pages：88-93   Language：Japanese   Book type：Textbook, survey, introduction

Responsible for pages：119-132   Language：Japanese   Book type：Textbook, survey, introduction

Responsible for pages：171-182   Language：Japanese   Book type：Textbook, survey, introduction

Responsible for pages：157-170   Language：Japanese   Book type：Textbook, survey, introduction

Language：Japanese   Book type：Textbook, survey, introduction

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Authorship：Lead author,　Corresponding author   Language：English   Publishing type：Article, review, commentary, editorial, etc. (scientific journal)  

Authorship：Lead author,　Last author   Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Article, review, commentary, editorial, etc. (scientific journal)  

Language：English   Publishing type：Article, review, commentary, editorial, etc. (bulletin of university, research institution)  

DOI： 10.15017/7339194

Publishing type：Research paper, summary (national, other academic conference)  

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Authorship：Lead author,　Last author,　Corresponding author   Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Article, review, commentary, editorial, etc. (bulletin of university, research institution)  

DOI： 10.15017/4400026

Language：English   Publishing type：Article, review, commentary, editorial, etc. (bulletin of university, research institution)  

DOI： 10.15017/4400016

Language：English   Publishing type：Article, review, commentary, editorial, etc. (bulletin of university, research institution)  

DOI： 10.15017/4400020

Language：English   Publishing type：Article, review, commentary, editorial, etc. (bulletin of university, research institution)  

DOI： 10.15017/4400022

Language：English   Publishing type：Article, review, commentary, editorial, etc. (bulletin of university, research institution)  

DOI： 10.15017/4400023

Language：English   Publishing type：Article, review, commentary, editorial, etc. (bulletin of university, research institution)  

DOI： 10.15017/4400024

Authorship：Last author   Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Article, review, commentary, editorial, etc. (bulletin of university, research institution)  

DOI： 10.15017/4400005

Language：English   Publishing type：Article, review, commentary, editorial, etc. (bulletin of university, research institution)  

DOI： 10.15017/4400004

Authorship：Lead author,　Last author,　Corresponding author   Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Article, review, commentary, editorial, etc. (bulletin of university, research institution)  

DOI： 10.15017/2236686

Authorship：Lead author,　Last author,　Corresponding author   Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Book review, literature introduction, etc.  

Authorship：Last author   Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Article, review, commentary, editorial, etc. (scientific journal)  

Authorship：Lead author,　Last author,　Corresponding author   Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Article, review, commentary, editorial, etc. (scientific journal)  

Authorship：Lead author,　Last author,　Corresponding author   Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Article, review, commentary, editorial, etc. (scientific journal)  

Authorship：Lead author,　Last author,　Corresponding author   Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Article, review, commentary, editorial, etc. (bulletin of university, research institution)  

DOI： 10.15017/1563554

Authorship：Last author   Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Article, review, commentary, editorial, etc. (scientific journal)  

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Rapid communication, short report, research note, etc. (bulletin of university, research institution)  

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Article, review, commentary, editorial, etc. (scientific journal)  

Type：Peer review 

Type：Competition, symposium, etc. 

Type：Competition, symposium, etc. 

Type：Competition, symposium, etc. 

Type：Competition, symposium, etc.