Adolescent Alcohol Use in Japan, 1996

We conducted the 1st nationwide survey on the use of alcohol by Japanese high school students. The survey design was a cross-sectional sampling survey. The targets of the survey were junior and senior high schools throughout Japan. Sample schools were selected by stratified cluster sampling. Self-administered anonymous questionnaires were sent to sample schools for all students to fill out. Among sampled schools, 65.6% and 67.0% of junior high schools and senior high schools responded, respectively. A total of 117,325 students responded and 115,814 questionnaires were subjected to analysis. The current drinking rate was defined as the percentage of students who had drank alcohol at least 1 day within the 30 day period before answering the questionnaire, starting at 26.0% for boys and 22.2% for girls in the 1st grade of junior high and increasing to 54.9% for boys and 43.4% for girls in the 3rd grade of senior high school. The experience rate of alcohol drinking on ceremonial occasions was much higher. The experience rates of drinking with peers, at parties, in bars and drinking alone increased with age. The cumulative experience rate of drinking with peers was dramatically increased in senior high school students. The most popular alcohol beverage was beer among boys, and sweet fruit-flavored liquor among girls. The most prevalent sources of alcohol for student drinkers were convenience stores, bars, liquor stores and vending machines. The results showed that adolescent drinking in Japan is quite widespread; this suggests that education toward the prevention of drinking should start in primary school. Adults around junior and senior high school students should take adolescent drinking seriously

Gender differences in excessive daytime sleepiness among Japanese workers

Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) is serious concern in the workplace with respect to errors, accidents, absenteeism, reduced productivity and impaired personal or professional life. Previous community studies found a female preponderance of EDS, however, there is little research on EDS and gender in occupational settings. We examined the gender differences in prevalence and risk factors of EDS among employees working at a telecommunications company in the Tokyo metropolitan area. Our outcome measure of EDS was the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). A self-administered questionnaire on health and sleep including ESS was distributed to 5571 workers between December 1999 and January 2000, and 5072 responses were returned (91.0%). A total of 4722 full-time, non-manual and non-shift employees aged 20-59 were used for analysis (3909 men and 813 women). Chi-squared tests and multiple logistic regression analyses were applied for examining the gender differences in the prevalence and risk factors of EDS. The prevalence rates of EDS were 13.3% for women and 7.2% for men (PExcessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) Gender Sleep duration Sleep-wake rhythms Depression Marital status Japan

Excessive Daytime Sleepiness and its Associated Factors among Male Non-shift White-collar Workers , including an increase in mortality and

Abstract: Excessive Daytime Sleepiness and its Associated Factors among Male Non-shift Whitecollar Workers: Yuriko DOI, et al. Department of Epidemiology, National Institute of Public HealthExcessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) has been noted as a tremendous burden on our modern society and life, but evidence on EDS is limited for white-collar workers in occupational settings. To estimate the prevalence rate of EDS and examine its associated factors, we investigated 3,909 male non-shift whitecollar employees aged 20-59 working in a telecommunications company in the Tokyo metropolitan area between December 1999 and January 2000 (a response rate of 91.0%). Our main findings in the present study were that the prevalence rate of EDS was 7.2% and five factors associated with EDS were identified in a multivariate logistic regression model (p<0.05): nocturnal sleep duration, sleep-wake schedules, depression, marital status and smoking. These results suggest that the individual behavioral modification of sleep habits and lifestyle is one of the promising strategies for reducing EDS. More importantly, it is possible that occupational and health promotion policies such as a ban on overtime work and the provision of mental health hygiene and social support at worksites are effective for the prevention of EDS in the workplace. The consequences of sleep deprivation and sleepiness have been noted as a tremendous burden on our modern society and life Received Oct 16 2001; Accepted Jan 31, 2002 Correspondence to: Y. Doi, Department of Epidemiology, National Institute of Public Health, 2-3-6 Minami, Wako, Saitama 351-0104 Japan morbidity, errors and accidents, absenteeism, a decrease in productivity, and the deterioration of personal and professional relationships 2, 3) . Japanese society is not an exception with respect to sleep loss and sleepiness 4) . In particular, excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) is the critical issue in workplaces from the viewpoints of occupational health and safety. Past research has focused on daytime sleepiness and alertness among shift workers whose circadian rhythms are affected by the irregular sleep-wake schedules due to their shift work Therefore, the purpose of our study was to shed light on EDS among male non-shift white-collar workers residing and working in the Tokyo metropolitan area, who restrict their sleep due to work, work-related activities and their long commute Subjects and Methods Subjects The telecommunications company employed 5,608 white-collar workers at 22 work sites distributed in Kanagawa Prefecture at the time of the survey conducted between December 1999 and January 2000. After permission for the study was obtained from the headquarters and the labor union, questionnaires on sleep and health were distributed to 5,571 full-time white-collar workers by site staff. A total of 5,072 workers responded to the survey (a response rate of 91.0%). Each questionnaire, sealed in an envelope, was collected fro

Mortality rates for farmers and fishermen in Japan compared with England and Wales

Life tables for all causes of death for farmers and fisherman in Japan have been compared with those for England and Wales. Considering all causes of death, there are no occupational differences between farmers and fishermen in Japan. On the other hand, there are large occupational differences indicating that fishermen are worse off than farmers in England and Wales. Standardized mortality ratios (SMR) for each disease in terms of occupation have also been compared in the two countries. The SMRs for leading causes of death in Japan, such as cerebrovascular disease, are significantly lower for fishermen than for farmers in Japan. On the contrary, SMRs for leading causes of death in England and Wales, such as ischemic heart disease and lung cancer, are significantly higher for fishermen than for farmers in England and Wales. However the SMRs for ischemic heart disease and lung cancer are significantly higher for fishermen than for farmers in both countries.

Geographical distribution of cerebrovascular disease mortality and food intakes in Japan

The present study focusses on an analysis of the relationship between cerebrovascular disease mortality and food intake. For this purpose, standardized mortality ratios(SMRs) from cerebrovascular disease were calculated for 3341 basic administrative units (wards, cities, towns and villages) between 1969 and 1978 in Japan. The major nutrient intakes and 30 selected food items were obtained from the 1974-1974 Ministry of Health and Welfare, National Nutrition Surveys in 1040 randomly sampled census tracts in 600 areas (18% of the nation). Our analysis demonstrates that the geographical pattern of cerebrovascular disease SMRs in Japan vary from higher in East Japan to lower in the West, and higher in the less urbanized areas, and lower in the more urban ones. Foods positively associated with cerebrovascular disease were rice and other starchy foods, pork, algae (seaweed), and salty foods such as miso (soybean paste), pickled vegetables, soy sauce and salted fish. All of these foods, with the exception of pork, are part of the traditional Japanese diet. On the contrary, mortality was negatively associated with intakes of wheat, butter and margarine, beef and eggs, items considered to be representative of a European diet. Using a stepwise multiple regression analysis, miso and salted fish were selected as positive, and beef and eggs as negative correlates of cerebrovascular disease mortality. According to these results, it is suggested that these four foods are useful as negative and positive indicators of improvement in dietary intakes as related to the reduction in the occurence of cerebrovascular disease.cerebrovascular disease nutrient intakes Japan