Association between mothers’ problematic Internet use and maternal recognition of child abuse

Background: There are few studies about mothers' problematic Internet use (PIU). Mothers' PIU may lead to inadequate parenting and child abuse. Objective: This cross-sectional study aimed to clarify the association between mothers' PIU and their recognition of child abuse. Participants and setting: We analyzed data collected of health examinations of children aged 4 months, 1.5 years, and 3 years which were carried out in Matsue City, Shimane Prefecture, Japan between April 2016 and March 2017. The number of the subjects were 1685, 1729, 1674, respectively. Methods: We used logistic regression analysis to clarify the association between mothers' PIU (Young's Diagnostic Questionnaire for Internet Addiction score: ≥5) and their recognition of child abuse (selecting for on a questionnaire survey), which was adjusted for covariates such as maternal age, number of children, daytime caretaker, social support, postpartum depression, and current smoking status of the parents. Results: Based on the multivariate logistic regression analysis, the mothers' PIU was significantly correlated with their recognition of child abuse for children aged 4 months, 1.5 years, or 3 years [odds ratio (OR): 13.30, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.26-139.98, OR: 7.02, 95% CI: 1.28-38.55, and OR: 28.06, 2.48-317.93, respectively]. Conclusion: This study revealed the possibility that mothers with PIU recognize child abuse more than mothers without PIU. However, further studies should be conducted to increase reliability and validity

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

Attitudes of Japanese Medical Students towards Disclosure of a Diagnosis of Life-threatening Illness

In this study we investigated the attitudes of Japanese medical students toward being informed of a diagnosis of life-threatening illness. Fourth-year medical students from 20 randomly sampled universities were administered questionnaires that examined their opinion about whether they would welcome disclosure of medical information if they were diagnosed as having an ultimately fatal disease. Data from 1,619 students (male 1,074, female 545, effective collection rate 90.6%) were analyzed. With regard to attitudes about disclosure of a diagnosis of life-threatening illness, 87.7% of the students stated that they would wish to be informed even if there was little chance of recovery, and 11.6% expressed a wish to be informed of their condition only if there was a chance of recovery. Students who did not wish to be informed even if there was a chance of recovery accounted for 0.7% of those surveyed. Our study reveals that medical students are more positive than are members of the general population with regard to being informed of the truth. The proportion of those who wished to be informed even if there was little chance of recovery was higher among students from national and public universities than among those from private universities, and the inter-group difference was statistically significant. Among male students, answers to the survey were significantly correlated with 12-item General Health Questionnaire scores and mental health status, suggesting that mental health status may have affected how this study population viewed being informed of their diagnosis.</p

Gender differences in dietary behaviors among Japanese adolescents

Unhealthy dietary behaviors in adolescence are an important public health problem. Gender differences in dietary behaviors have already appeared during adolescence. However, few studies have assessed a variety of adolescent dietary behaviors in Japan. We aimed to clarify gender differences in unhealthy dietary behaviors among Japanese adolescents. The participants consisted of 84,988 participants from seventh to 12th grades. Unhealthy dietary behaviors were defined according to the National Health and Nutrition Survey. Multivariable logistic regression was used to analyze a nationally representative sample of Japanese adolescents from the 2014 to 2015 Lifestyle Survey. The effective response rate was 51.4%. The prevalence of unhealthy dietary behaviors (skipping breakfast, snacking, eating out, skipping meals, eating alone at dinner, and subjectively poor diet quality) among boys and girls was 14.2% versus 12.4%, 19.6% versus 14.1%, 10.6% versus 7.0%, 7.9% versus 5.6%, 13.3% versus 12.1%, and 12.3% versus 15.8%, respectively. Compared with boys, girls were more negatively associated with skipping breakfast [OR = 0.76 (95% CI 0.73–0.79)], snacking [OR = 0.67 (95% CI 0.65–0.70)], eating out [OR = 0.62 (95% CI 0.59–0.66)], skipping meals [OR = 0.61 (95% CI 0.58–0.65)], and eating alone at dinner [OR = 0.79 (95% CI 0.76–0.83)]. However, girls were more positively associated with subjectively poor diet quality [OR = 1.19 (95% CI 1.14.1.24)]. The findings suggest that gender differences existed in dietary behaviors. Gender differences in dietary behaviors suggest opportunities for tailoring interventions related to dietary education in schools

Why Are COVID-19 Mortality Rates by Country or Region So Different?: An Ecologic Study of Factors Associated with Mortality from Novel Coronavirus Infections by Country

[Background] In order to find out the factors associated with the large disparities in COVID-19 mortality rates by country, we conducted an ecological study by linking existing statistics. In Japan, a large variation was observed in between geographical areas when assessing mortality. We performed a regional correlation analysis to find factors related to regional mortality. [Methods] This study design was an ecologic study. A multiple regression analysis was performed with COVID-19 mortality rates of different countries as the dependent variable together with various health care and economic factors. We calculated the cumulative mortality rate as of June 30, 2020. For the regional correlation analysis of Japan, 47 prefectures were divided into nine regions. The factors examined were health care and tourism. Data for 33 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries were analyzed. In Japan’s regional analysis, the whole country was classified into nine regions. [Results] Factors related to mortality were the incidence of Kawasaki disease (KD), number of computed tomographies (CTs), and alcohol consumption. Mortality was low in countries with high incidence of KD and high number of CTs, as well as in countries with high alcohol consumption. In European countries, high smoking prevalence and a high Gini coefficient were positively related to high mortality. According to a regional analysis in Japan, mortality was related to proportion of population in the densely inhabited districts, the number of foreign visitors per capita, and the number of Chinese visitors per capita. [Conclusion] Low mortality in East Asia was associated with specific disease morbidity (KD), alcohol consumption, and CT numbers. It was suggested that the mortality gap in Japan was related to the number of foreign tourists and the proportion of population in the densely inhabited districts

Mental Health Status among Japanese Medical Students: A Cross-Sectional Survey of 20 Universities

The purposes of this study were to evaluate the mental health status of Japanese medical students and to examine differences based on gender, as well as on university type and location, using the results of a nationwide survey. Between December 2006 and March 2007, we conducted a questionnaire survey among fourth-year medical students at 20 randomly selected medical schools in Japan. The data from 1,619 students (response rate:90.6%;male:1,074;female:545) were analyzed. We used the Japanese version of the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) to measure mental health status. Poor mental health status (GHQ-12 score of 4 points or higher) was observed in 36.6% and 48.8% of the male and female medical students, respectively. The ratio of the age-adjusted prevalence of poor mental health status in female versus male medical students was 1.33 (95% confidence interval:1.10-1.62). The universities were categorized into two groups based on the university type (national/public:15 vs. private:5) or location (in a large city:7 vs. in a local city:13 cities). The prevalence of poor mental health status in both men and women differed between these groups, although not significantly. The GHQ-12 scores in men significantly differed between the categorized groups of universities. These results suggest that adequate attention must be paid to the mental health of medical students, especially females, and that a system for providing mental health care for medical students must be established in the context of actual conditions at each university

Relationship between an Angiotensinogen Gene Polymorphism (M235T) and Serum Lipids: A Cross-Sectional Study among Japanese Workers

Angiotensinogen (AGT) is a component of the renin-angiotensin system, which plays a central role in blood pressure regulation. Although it is controversial, the association between AGT gene polymorphisms and hypertension, and coronary heart disease is suspected. In a case-control study on the metabolic syndrome, an association between AGT M235T polymorphism and serum total cholesterol (TC) level was demonstrated by Thomas et al. (2001). To reconfirm this relationship, a cross-sectional study among Japanese workers with 876 dyslipidemia and 1,158 non-dyslipidemia subjects was carried out. To evaluate the AGT M235T polymorphism, a PCR-mutant allele specific amplification (MASA) method was employed. No significant difference in the distribution of genetic variance was observed between the two groups. Although it was not significant, the T allele correlating to the lower TC of the present study occurred in a reversed manner to the previous report. In our results, no significant association between AGT M235T and TC was observed