Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders and Associated Factors in Teachers of Physically and Intellectually Disabled Pupils

Teachers in schools for physically and intellectually disabled pupils are assumed to have a risk of developing usculoskeletal disorders including the cervicobrachial and lower back regions. To date, however, studies concerning these issues are extremely limited. The present study aimed at clarifying the magnitude of the musculoskeletal disorders among the teachers, its work-relatedness and associated factors. First, we conducted self-administered questionnaires and medical checkups simultaneously for 126 female nursery school nurses to ascertain the validity of questions and answer options which we developed for epidemiologic research. Questions "haveyou had any pain or stiffness in your neck, shoulders or arms in the past month?" and "have you had any pain or stiffness in your lower back?", and an answer option "almost all day, everyday" were found to correlate well with the results of clinical examinations and difficulties in daily activities. Secondly, we analyzed self-administered questionnaires of 975 teachers working for physically and intellectually disabled pupils at municipal schools in a city. The questions and answer options which had been validated in the first study were used. In the males 16％ and 20％ complained "almost all day, everyday" of the cervicobrachial and lower back symptoms, respectively, and in the females 20％ and 16％ in that order. Adjusted odds ratios of both symptoms increased with an increase in objective scores which were obtained by the homogeneity analysis and were considered to reflect the quantity of nursing care burden on the teachers. In case of the cervicobrachial symptom females against males had a significantly higher odds ratio than unity. These results demonstrated that the musculoskeletal symptoms complained of highly by the teachers were work-related, and that the question and answer options we developed could be useful parameters in epidemiologic research for the symptoms now widely prevailing in various workplaces

Risk for lung cancer in workers exposed to benzidine and/or beta-naphthylamine: a protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND:Risk for lung cancer in workers exposed to benzidine (BZ) and/or beta-naphthylamine (BNA), which are well-known bladder carcinogens, has been examined in many epidemiological studies, but individual epidemiological studies generally lack the power to examine the association between BZ/BNA exposure and lung cancer. We conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to determine the risk for lung cancer among workers exposed to BZ/BNA occupationally. METHODS/DESIGN:Studies will be identified by a MEDLINE, EMBASE, CDSR, and CINAHL search and by the reference lists of articles/relevant reviews. Eligible studies will be cohort and case-control studies that report occupational BZ/BNA exposure and the outcome of interest (lung cancer death/incidence). The method of meta-analysis will be used to combine standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) and/or standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) from retrospective and prospective cohort studies and odds ratios (ORs) from case-control studies. Two reviewers will independently screen articles, extract data, and assess scientific quality using standardized forms and published quality assessment tools tailored for each study design. Overall pooled risk estimates and their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) will be obtained using random effects model. This systematic review and meta-analysis will be conducted following the Meta-analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (MOOSE) guidelines, and results will be reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement.DISCUSSION: This review will identify and synthesize studies of the association between occupational BZ/BNA exposure and lung cancer. The findings will help to identify whether BZ/BNA could cause lung cancer and might indicate whether workers with exposure to BZ/BNA have a need for preventive measures against non-urological cancer besides bladder cancer.© 2014 Tomioka et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article,unless otherwise stated

うつ症状が室温低値と血圧高値の関連に及ぼす影響

Objectives: Cold exposure accounts for more than 7% of all-cause mortality worldwide, and cold-induced blood pressure (BP) elevation and consequent cardiovascular events are partially responsible. For prevention, it is important to identify risk factors for exaggerated temperature-sensitivity of BP but this is not fully understood. This study investigated whether depressive symptoms affect the relationship between indoor temperature and BP. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of 1076 community-based individuals who were at least 60 years of age. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale at a cutoff point of 4/5. We performed ambulatory BP monitoring and indoor temperature measurement on two consecutive days during the cold season in Nara, Japan. Results: When using daytime SBP as a dependent variable, multilevel linear regression analyses showed that lower daytime indoor temperature was significantly associated with higher daytime SBP in the depressive group (n = 216, β = -0.804, P < 0.001) but not in the nondepressive group (n = 860, β = -0.173, P = 0.120); moreover, a significant interaction between depression and daytime indoor temperature was observed (P = 0.014). These relationships were independent of potential confounders including age, gender, BMI, medications, and physical activity. Similar results were obtained for morning SBP, nocturnal SBP dipping, and morning BP surge. Conclusion: The results suggest that depressive participants are more likely to have cold-induced BP elevation than nondepressive participants. Further longitudinal studies are warranted to determine whether people with depressive symptoms are at a high risk for cold-related cardiovascular events.博士（医学）・甲第859号・令和5年3月15

体の痛み、社会的支援、抑うつ状態、脳血管疾患は独立して高齢者の睡眠障害と関連する : 藤原京スタディ横断解析

OBJECTIVE: To investigate independent effects of various factors associated with sleep disturbance among community-dwelling elderly individuals. METHODS: We analyzed data obtained from 3732 individuals aged ≥65 years who responded to a self-administered questionnaire and participated in a structured interview which assessed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), subjective bodily pain, the Jichi Medical School Social Support Scale, the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15), health status, and demographic characteristics. Sleep disturbance was defined as a global PSQI score >5.5, which was used as a dependent variable in multiple logistic regression analysis to determine adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) of related factors. RESULTS: We identified a significant increase in the adjusted ORs for female (OR 1.56, 95 % CI 1.34-1.83), age ≥80 years (1.31, 1.01-1.69), history of stroke (1.44, 1.08-1.92), and a GDS-15 score ≥6 as compared to 0-2 (2.29, 1.86-2.81), with regard to sleep disturbance. Participants with severe or very severe bodily pain had the highest adjusted OR (3.00, 2.15-4.19), and those with very mild bodily pain also had a relatively high OR (1.30, 1.06-1.60), relative to those without subjective bodily pain. In addition, compared with participants with strong social support from spouse or family, those with weak social support had significantly increased adjusted ORs (1.21, 1.01-1.44, 1.44, 1.23-1.70, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The present study indicates that sleeping disturbances among the elderly are closely associated with social support from a spouse and family. They are also associated with pain, even at stages in which subjective bodily pain is very mild.博士（医学）・乙第1381号・平成28年9月28日© The Japanese Society for Hygiene 2016The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12199-016-0529-

高齢者における日中光曝露が夜間尿中メラトニン分泌への与える影響 : 平城京スタディ横断解析

CONTEXT:Melatonin is involved in a variety of diseases, including cancer, insomnia, depression, dementia, hypertension, and diabetes; its secretion is influenced by environmental light. Although daylight exposure increases nocturnal melatonin secretion in a controlled laboratory setting, whether it increases nocturnal melatonin secretion in an uncontrolled daily life setting remains unclear.OBJECTIVE:We aimed to determine the association between daylight exposure in an uncontrolled daily life setting and urinary 6-sulfatoxymelatonin excretion.DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS:A cross-sectional study was conducted in 192 elderly individuals (mean age, 69.9 yr).MEASURES:We measured ambulatory daylight exposure using a wrist light meter in two 48-h sessions; furthermore, we measured overnight urinary 6-sulfatoxymelatonin excretion, an index of melatonin secretion, on the second night of each session.RESULTS:The median duration of daylight exposure of at least 1000 lux was 72 min (interquartile range, 37-124). Univariate linear regression analysis showed marginal to significant associations between log-transformed urinary 6-sulfatoxymelatonin excretion and age, current smoking status, benzodiazepine use, day length, log-transformed duration of daylight exposure of at least 1000 lux, and daytime physical activity. In a multivariate model, log-transformed duration of daylight exposure of at least 1000 lux was significantly associated with log-transformed urinary 6-sulfatoxymelatonin excretion (regression coefficient, 0.101; 95% confidence interval, 0.003-0.199; P = 0.043). Furthermore, an increase in the duration of daylight exposure of at least 1000 lux from 37 to 124 min (25th to 75th percentiles) was associated with a 13.0% increase in urinary 6-sulfatoxymelatonin excretion (6.8 to 7.7 μg).CONCLUSIONS:Daylight exposure in an uncontrolled daily life setting is positively associated with urinary 6-sulfatoxymelatonin excretion in the elderly.博士（医学）・乙第1308号・平成25年3月15日Copyright © 2012 by The Endocrine Societ

高齢者の手段的ADL低下に対するスポーツと文化的趣味活動の交互作用－藤原京スタディー

Background: Maintenance of instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) and social role (SR) is crucial to keep independent life because the decline in SR and IADL was a significant predictor of dependence in basic ADL in later. The independent effect of physical and cultural leisure activities and their effect modification on the IADL remains unknown. Methods: We prospectively observed 3241 elderly with intact IADL at baseline for 5 years. Higher level functional capacity such as IADL and SR was assessed using the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology Index of competence (TMIG index). Results: The mean age of the participants was 72.3 years (standard deviation 5.1), and 46.9% were male, and 90.9% of them received a follow-up assessment. Of the participants, 10.4% developed an IADL decline. Engagement in leisure physical activity was associated with a significantly lower risk of IADL decline (adjusted risk ratio, 0.73; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.60 to 0.89), and cultural leisure activity was also associated with lower risk of IADL decline (adjusted risk ratio, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.63 to 0.95) independent of potential confounders. We also found significant and positive interaction between physical and cultural leisure activities at risk for IADL decline (P = 0.024) and SR decline (P = 0.004). Conclusions: We found an independent association of physical and cultural leisure activities with a lower risk for functional decline in IADL and SR with positive interaction. Combined engagement in physical and cultural activities may effectively prevent from IADL decline and SR decline.博士（医学）・乙第1456号・令和2年3月16日© The Author(s). 2019 Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated

白内障手術既往のある高齢者は視力と独立して高い認知機能を維持する : 平城京コホート研究横断解析

Cataract surgery improves visual acuity and drastically increases the capacity for light reception to the retina. Although previous studies suggested that both light exposure and visual acuity were associated with cognitive function, the relationships between cataract surgery, visual acuity, and cognitive function have not been evaluated in large populations. In this cross-sectional study, we measured cognitive function using the Mini-Mental State Examination and best-corrected visual acuity in pseudophakic (previous cataract surgery) and phakic (no previous cataract surgery) elderly individuals. Of 945 participants (mean age 71.7 years), 166 (17.6%) had pseudophakia and 317 (33.5%) had impaired cognitive function (score ≤26). The pseudophakic group showed significantly better visual acuity than the phakic group (p = 0.003) and lower age-adjusted odds ratio (ORs) for cognitive impairment (OR 0.66; p = 0.038). Consistently, in multivariate logistic regression models, after adjusting for confounding factors, including visual acuity and socioeconomic status, ORs for cognitive impairment were significantly lower in the pseudophakic group than in the phakic group (OR 0.64; 95% confidence interval 0.43-0.96; p = 0.031). This association remained significant in sensitivity analysis, excluding participants with low cognitive score ≤23 (n = 36). In conclusion, in a general elderly population, prevalence of cognitive impairment was significantly lower in pseudophakic individuals independently of visual acuity. The association was also independent of several major causes of cognitive impairment such as aging, gender, obesity, socioeconomic status, hypertension, diabetes, sleep disturbances, depressive symptoms, and physical inactivity.博士（医学）・甲第666号・平成29年3月15日© Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.This is a non-final version of an article published in final form in "http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/rej.2015.1718

Idiopathic pneumoperitoneum after trauma

Intra-abdominal free gas is a finding of extra-intestinal gas in the abdominal cavity on radiography or CT, mainly suggesting gastrointestinal perforation and necessitating emergency surgery. Idiopathic pneumoperitoneum is diagnosed when there is no obvious gastrointestinal perforation, but there is presence of free gas in the abdominal cavity with an unidentifiable cause. Herein, we report a case of idiopathic pneumoperitoneum secondary to high-energy trauma following a car rollover accident. A 95-year-old man was transferred to our clinic after a car-to-car rollover accident. He had abrasions on his right upper arm and left abdomen that appeared to be the result of the accident ; however, no other apparent traumatic injuries were noted. There was no pain in the abdomen, and peritoneal irritation symptoms were also not noted. A CT scan showed fine free air. Although idiopathic pneumoperitoneum could not be ruled out, considering the patient’s background and the possibility of traumatic small bowel perforation, emergency surgery was performed. A thorough search of the abdominal cavity was performed ; however, the surgery was completed without an obvious perforation site. Idiopathic pneumoperitoneum should be considered as a differential disease in cases who have free air on abdominal CT but clinically lack obvious inflammatory reaction findings

Fraction and Number of Unemployed Associated with Self-Reported Low Back Pain: A Nation-Wide Cross-Sectional Study in Japan.

This study examined a cross-sectional association between self-reported low back pain (LBP) and unemployment among working-age people, and estimated the impact of self-reported LBP on unemployment. We used anonymized data from a nationally representative survey (24,854 men and 26,549 women aged 20-64 years). The generalized estimating equations of the multivariable Poisson regression models stratified by gender were used to estimate the adjusted prevalence ratio (PR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for unemployment. The population attributable fraction (PAF) was calculated using Levin\u27s method, with the substitution method for 95% CI estimation. The prevalence of self-reported LBP was 9.0% in men and 11.1% in women. The prevalence of unemployment was 9.3% in men and 31.7% in women. After adjusting for age, socio-economic status, lifestyle habits, and comorbidities, the PR (95% CI) for the unemployment of the LBP group was 1.32 (1.19-1.47) in men and 1.01 (0.96-1.07) in women, compared with the respective non-LBP group. The PAF (95% CI) of unemployment associated with self-reported LBP was 2.8% (1.6%, 4.2%) in men. Because the total population of Japanese men aged 20-64 in 2013 was 36,851 thousand, it was estimated that unemployment in 1037 thousand of the Japanese male working population was LBP-related

日本における小児血友病患者の日本語版KIDSCREEN-52を用いたQOLの自己評価および保護者による評価

Introduction: Assessing health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is critical for providing comprehensive clinical care to patients with haemophilia. HRQOL in individuals with similar cultural backgrounds should be compared using internationally standardized, generic questionnaires. Aim: To evaluate self-/parent-assessed HRQOL in Japanese children and adolescents with haemophilia A or B. Methods: Children and adolescents aged 8-18 years were enrolled. The haemophilia group comprised families with haemophilia, and the control group comprised those without chronic illness. HRQOL was assessed using the self-/parent-reported questionnaire KIDSCREEN-52, the Japanese version. The Oslo 3-Item Social Support Scale was investigated. Results: The questionnaire was completed by 36 families in the haemophilia group and 160 parents and children in the control group. Haemophilia children aged 8-12 years had lower scores for 'moods and emotions' than control children; the parents had lower scores in the haemophilia group than in the control group for 'moods and emotions', 'social support and peers', and 'school environment'. No significant differences in HRQOL were observed between both groups of adolescents aged 13-18 years or their parents. Neck-shoulder pain was associated with a low psychological state, including 'self-perception', but other joint pains did not affect the outcomes of the HRQOL indices. Social support weaknesses were associated with low physical and psychological states, whereas unexpected hospital visits identified low values for 'self-perception', 'autonomy', and 'school environment'. Conclusion: Proactive mental and clinical care in haemophilia families, especially with young children, will foster a better environment for patients and their parents and ease concerns about progress in haemophilia.博士（医学）・甲第747号・令和2年6月30日© 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: [https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/hae.13945], which has been published in final form at [https://doi.org/10.1111/hae.13945]. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions