Relationship of general trust with individual health and life related factors among frail elderly residents at home in Hokkaido rural areas in Japan

General Trust (GT), defined as a default expectation of other people’s trustworthiness, is assumed to be a predictor for promotion of health and welfare in individuals as well as for strengthening of social capital in the community. An improvement of health and quality of life of the elderly is recently a crucial agenda. Thus, the purpose of the study was to explore which factors regarding health and life associated with GT among frail elderly people living at homes in Japanese rural area. The study selected the subjects who were designated within three mildest degrees in seven stages of long-term care levels and who met at an item and more in the national basic check-list. 209 participants were interviewed by trained health personnel using a structured questionnaire. GT was measured by a dichotomous outcome of inquiring “do you trust people in general?”. In the univariable analysis, educational status (p = 0.004), activity competence index including instrumental activity of daily living (IADL) (p = 0.020), Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) (p = 0.029) and Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS) (p = 0.010) were significantly related to GT. By logistic regression analysis using a stepwise method with a likelihood ratio, educational status alone was significantly associate with GT (p = 0.010, odds ratio = 1.195 [95% confidence interval; 1.043 - 1.371]). Health related factors had nothing to do with GT. Our finding suggested that the higher educated elderly might have had more opportunities to encounter the others and more indispensability to deliberately discern their trustworthiness than the lower, and consequently had higher GT through social intelligence being strengthened

Ikeno T. Relationship of general trust with individual related factors among frail elderly residents at home

ABSTRACT General Trust (GT), defined as a default expectation of other people's trustworthiness, is assumed to be a predictor for promotion of health and welfare in individuals as well as for strengthening of social capital in the community. An improvement of health and quality of life of the elderly is recently a crucial agenda. Thus, the purpose of the study was to explore which factors regarding health and life associated with GT among frail elderly people living at homes in Japanese rural area. The study selected the subjects who were designated within three mildest degrees in seven stages of long-term care levels and who met at an item and more in the national basic check-list. 209 participants were interviewed by trained health personnel using a structured questionnaire. GT was measured by a dichotomous outcome of inquiring "do you trust people in general?". In the univariable analysis, educational status (p = 0.004), activity competence index including instrumental activity of daily living (IADL) (p = 0.020), Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) (p = 0.029) and Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS) (p = 0.010) were significantly related to GT. By logistic regression analysis using a stepwise method with a likelihood ratio, educational status alone was significantly associate with GT (p = 0.010, odds ratio = 1.195 [95% confidence interval; 1.043 -1.371]). Health related factors had nothing to do with GT. Our finding suggested that the higher educated elderly might have had more opportunities to encounter the others and more indispensability to deliberately discern their trustworthiness than the lower, and consequently had higher GT through social intelligence being strengthened

Sex-specific differences in effect of prenatal exposure to dioxin-like compounds on neurodevelopment in Japanese children : Sapporo cohort study

BACKGROUND: Consistent reports are not available on the effects of dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDD)/ polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDF) (dioxin-like compounds [DLCs]) on child neurodevelopment. Further, the effect of background-level exposure to individual DLC isomers is not known. OBJECTIVES: We carried out the Sapporo cohort study to evaluate the effect of prenatal exposure to each DLC isomer on child neurodevelopment at 6 and 18 months of age, and assessed sex-specific differences in these effects. METHODS: The levels of all and each individual DLC isomers were estimated in maternal peripheral blood. Neurodevelopment was evaluated using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development-2nd Edition for 6-month-old infants (n = 190) and 18-month-old children (n = 121). RESULTS: In male children, levels of 10 DLC isomers were significantly negatively associated with the Psychomotor Developmental Index (PDI) at 6 months of age after adjustment for potential confounding variables. However, at 18 months of age, these associations were absent. In female children, the level of only one DLC isomer was significantly negatively associated with PDI at 6 months of age. However, in contrast to the male children, the levels of six DLC isomers in 18-month-old female children were significantly positively associated with the Mental Developmental Index. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that adverse neurodevelopmental effects of prenatal background-level exposure to DLCs may be stronger in male children

Depression prevention program for workers of private companies : A randomized controlled trial

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the effects of a depression prevention program based on stress inoculation training (SIT) for workers of two private companies, by means of a randomized controlled trial. Method: Ninety three workers of two private companies were assigned to intervention and control groups, and two sessions were conducted in the intervention group of each company at an interval of four weeks. The sessions included lectures on responses to stress and coping skills, problem-solving training, cognitive restructuring training, relaxation, group discussions and self-monitoring. After completing the sessions, two follow-up letters were sent to the participants at two-month intervals. Data from 38 intervention subjects and 39 control subjects were analyzed. Results: There were no major differences between the variables of intervention subjects and control subjects. After two sessions, there was a marginally significant increase of seeking social support in the intervention group (P = 0.052) and a significant decrease of avoidance in both groups (P < 0.05). Concerning the depression score changes, the “Improvement” group of the intervention subjects showed an adjusted OR of 6.83 that was higher compared to the control group, indicating a marginally significant difference (P = 0.083). Conclusion: The results suggest the possibility that the SIT-based program of this study was effective for improving coping and preventing depression. Further research is necessary to develop a depression prevention program adjusted to gender, individual, occupational and other differences of subjects

Randomised controlled pilot study in Japan comparing a home visit program using a Functioning Improvement Tool with a home visit with conversation alone

Objective: This study aimed to determine the effect of a home visit program using a Functioning Improvement Tool (FIT) compared with a home visit using conversation alone. Methods: Twenty-eight participants (mean age, 78.6±7.5 years) were randomly assigned to an intervention (n = 13) or control (n = 15) group for 3 months. The intervention group received a 60-minute FIT home visit program; the control group received a 30-minute home visit using common conversational techniques. Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB), and Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) scores were evaluated. Results: The FAB score was significantly improved in the intervention group compared with the control group (2.5 vs -0.5, P = 0.02). Conclusions: Our FIT home visit program may help prevent dementia. Further studies with larger samples and longer follow-up periods are needed to assess the long-term effectiveness of an FIT home visit program on dementia prevention (UMIN-CTR number, UMIN000004767.

Association between maternal antenatal depression and infant development : a hospital-based prospective cohort study

Objective To examine the association between antenatal depression and infant development after controlling for confounding factors. Methods A hospital-based prospective cohort study (Hokkaido Study on Environment and Children’s Health) was conducted between July 2002 and October 2005 in Sapporo, Japan. Of 309 mothers who delivered at Sapporo Toho Hospital during the study period and who agreed with the clinical assessment of depression, 154 mother–infant pairs were eligible for analysis. Antenatal depression was assessed between the second and third trimesters using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), and infant development was assessed at 6 months by the Bayley Scales of Infant Development II (BSID-II). Data on potential confounders, including socioeconomic status, birth complications, postnatal depression and child care environment, were obtained from medical records and self-administered questionnaires. Univariable and multivariable analyses were conducted in which the EPDS score was entered as an independent variable and the BSID-II scores as a dependent variable, adjusting for confounders. Results Although the antenatal EPDS score tended to be related to the BSID-II score in the univariable analysis, this correlation was lost in the multivariable analysis. However, based on a series of linear regression analyses, antenatal depression was found to be significantly related to shorter gestational age (β = −0.25, 95 % confidence interval (CI) [−1.20, −0.17]), and shorter gestational age was significantly related to a lower BSID-II (mental development) score (β = 0.23, 95 % CI [0.00, 0.00]). Conclusions Gestational age is an important confounder in the association between maternal antenatal depression and infant development. A delay in infant development may be related to a shorter gestational period caused by maternal depression during pregnancy