The prevalence and functional impact of chronic edema and lymphedema in Japan: LIMPRINT study

Background: This was a part of LIMPRINT (Lymphoedema IMpact and PRevalence – INTernational), an international study aimed at capturing the size and impact of lymphedema and chronic edema in different countries and health services across the world. The purpose of this study was to clarify the prevalence and the impact of chronic edema in Japan. Methods and Results: This was a two-phase facility-based study to determine the prevalence and functional impact of chronic edema in the adult population in Japan between 2014 and 2015. The prevalence study involved a university hospital, an acute community hospital, and a long-term medical facility. The impact study involved 6 facilities, including two outpatient clinics in acute care hospitals (one led by a physician and the other led by a nurse), inpatient wards in two acute care hospitals, and two nursing home/long-term care facilities. Various questionnaires and clinical assessments were used to gather patient demographic data and assess the functional impact of chronic edema. The results showed that: chronic edema was much more prevalent in the long-term care facility than in acute care hospitals; cellulitis episodes occurred in approximately 50% of cases in the gynecologist-led outpatient clinic, even though >80.0% of patients received standard management for edema; edema was found in the trunk region, including the buttock, abdomen, and chest-breast areas, in addition to the upper and lower limbs; and subjective satisfaction with edema control was low, even though the quality of life scores were good. Conclusions: The prevalence of chronic edema varied according to the facility type, ranging from 5.0% to 66.1%. The edema was located in all body parts, including the trunk region. Subjective satisfaction with control of edema was poor, while general quality of life was good. This large health care issue needs more attention

A global corporate census: publicly traded and close companies in 1910

In 1910 the world had almost half a million corporations, only one-hundredth of today's total. About one-fifth—with over half of corporate capital—were publicly tradable, higher portions than today. Most publicly quoted corporations traded in Europe and the British Empire, but most close (private) corporations operated in the US, which, until the 1940s, had more corporations per capita than anywhere else. The 83 countries surveyed here differed markedly in company numbers, corporate capital/GDP ratios, and average corporate size. Enclave economies—dominated by quoted (and often foreign-owned) companies—had the largest average sizes, while other nations had more varied mixes of large quoted corporations and close company small and medium enterprises