Factors determining parenting stress in mothers of children with atopic dermatitis

Background: Atopic dermatitis (AD) influences a child's emotional and social well-being, as well as his or her physical health. The influence of AD on the daily lives of parents and caregivers has also been documented. This study examined how parenting stress is affected by demographic background, characteristics of children's AD, and their family systems. Methods: The participants were mothers of children, aged 2–6 years old, who had been diagnosed with AD. The predictive power of a model of parenting stress was examined using multiple regression analysis (stepwise), with parenting stress (PSI-SF) as the dependent variable, and children's demographics, including characteristics of AD; parents' demographics; QoL of families of children with AD (JCMV-CADIS); and family functioning (FAI) as independent variables. We handled missing values using a multiple imputation method. Results: The pooled coefficients obtained from the multiple regression analysis after multiple imputation indicated that “family cohesion,” “family system flexibility,” “emotions related to social factors” and “occupation of mother” determined parenting stress. Lower family cohesion and family system flexibility predicted higher parenting stress. The high impact of “emotions related to social factors” on families’ QoL predicted higher parenting stress. Full-time work by mothers predicted lower parenting stress. Conclusions: The current results reveal that “family cohesion,” “family system flexibility,” “emotions related to social factors” and “full-time work by mothers” predicted parenting stress of mothers who had children with AD. Keywords: Atopic dermatitis, Family, Multiple imputation, Multiple regression, Stres

Development of a Japanese Culturally Modified Version of the Childhood Atopic Dermatitis Impact Scale (JCMV-CADIS)

Background: The Childhood Atopic Dermatitis Impact Scale (CADIS) was developed to measure the impact of AD on QoL in both affected children and their families. However, no scale of this kind exists in Japan. The aims of this study were to validate the Japanese Culturally Modified Version of the CADIS (JCMV-CADIS) and to describe the family impact of children with AD in a Japanese context. Methods: Participants included primary-caregivers for children with AD between 2 and 6 years of age. Interviews were conducted, and new items for the Japanese version were drafted. Reliability and validity were evaluated and compared with the original CADIS, and unique features of the Japanese version were analyzed. Results: Exploratory factor analysis revealed the following factors: “Symptoms” and “Activity Limitations and Behavior” in the Child domain, and “Emotions Related to Social Factors,” “Emotions Related to the Child's Condition,” “Family and Social Function,” “Complexity of Care,” and “Approaches to Management of AD in Daily Life” in the Parent domain. The latter two factors were unique to the JCMV-CADIS and were not derived from the Original. “Emotion” was split into two independent factors. All factors showed good reliability (internal consistency and stability) and validity (concurrent validity and discriminant validity), except for the concurrent validity of “Approaches to Management of AD in Daily Life.” This factor seemed to reflect characteristics similar to the family-related function. Conclusions: The JCMV-CADIS is a QoL scale developed for Japanese children with AD and their families. Further evaluation of clinical applicability is needed

Occasions for laughter and dementia risk: Findings from a six-year cohort study

AIM: Currently, there is little evidence on the relationship between laughter and the risk of dementia, and since laughter is mainly a social behavior, we aimed to examine the association between various occasions for laughter and the risk of dementia in Japanese older adults. METHODS: We draw upon 6-year follow-up data from the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study, including 12 165 independent older adults aged 65 years or over. Occasions for laughter were assessed using a questionnaire, while dementia was diagnosed using the standardized dementia scale of the long-term care insurance system in Japan. Cox proportional hazards models were estimated, yielding hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). RESULTS: The multivariable hazard ratio of dementia incidence for all participants in the groups for high versus low variety of occasions for laughter was 0.84 (95% CI: 0.72-0.98, P for trend <0.001). A greater variety of occasions for laughter was associated with a lower risk of dementia 0.78 (95% CI: 0.63-0.96, P for trend <0.001) among women, but was less pronounced for men, with significant associations only for the medium group. Laughing during conversations with friends, communicating with children or grandchildren, and listening to the radio were primarily associated with decreased risk. CONCLUSION: A greater variety of laughter occasions in individual and social settings was associated with a reduced risk of dementia. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2022; 22: 392–398

Occasions for laughter and dementia risk: findings from a six-year cohort study

Aim Currently, there is little evidence on the relationship between laughter and the risk of dementia, and since laughter is mainly a social behavior, we aimed to examine the association between various occasions for laughter and the risk of dementia in Japanese older adults. Methods We draw upon 6-year follow-up data from the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study, including 12 165 independent older adults aged 65 years or over. Occasions for laughter were assessed using a questionnaire, while dementia was diagnosed using the standardized dementia scale of the long-term care insurance system in Japan. Cox proportional hazards models were estimated, yielding hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results The multivariable hazard ratio of dementia incidence for all participants in the groups for high versus low variety of occasions for laughter was 0.84 (95% CI: 0.72–0.98, P for trend <0.001). A greater variety of occasions for laughter was associated with a lower risk of dementia 0.78 (95% CI: 0.63–0.96, P for trend <0.001) among women, but was less pronounced for men, with significant associations only for the medium group. Laughing during conversations with friends, communicating with children or grandchildren, and listening to the radio were primarily associated with decreased risk. Conclusion A greater variety of laughter occasions in individual and social settings was associated with a reduced risk of dementia