BackgroundJapan is located in an area prone to natural disasters, and major earthquakes have occurred recently in rural areas where the proportion of elderly adults is high. Although elderly persons are vulnerable members of communities at a time of disaster, the prevalence of mental disorders among this population has yet to be reported in Japan. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of mental disorders and suicidal thoughts among community-dwelling elderly persons 3 years after an earthquake and to identify risk factors associated with their quality of life (QOL).MethodsFace-to-face interviews were conducted with 496 community-dwelling persons aged 65 years or older in areas of Japan where 2 major earthquakes had occurred during a 3-year period. The main outcome was diagnosis of a mental disorder or suicidality.ResultsDuring the 3-year period after the earthquake, 1.6% of men and 5.5% of women had received a diagnosis of major depression. There were no cases of posttraumatic stress disorder. Women were more likely than men to report suicidality (7.8% vs 3.8%, P = 0.075).ConclusionsThe prevalence of mental disorders was lower than that reported in previous studies. Despite the low prevalence of mental disorders, the percentage of community-dwelling elderly persons with subclinical mental health symptoms was high. The results indicate that appropriate public health and medical interventions are warranted after a natural disaster.

Among 330 vibration-exposed workers, 24 cases of hypothenar hammer syndrome in 29 hands were diagnosed by arteriography. The right hand was involved in 13, the left hand in six, and both hands in five cases. The mean age was 55 years, mean duration of vibration exposure 19.4 years, and mean duration of episodic Raynaud's phenomenon 6.4 years. The vascular lesions of the ulnar arteries were classified into three major types with subtypes. Type 1: stenosis of the superficial palmar arch around the hook of the hamate. Type 2a: occlusion of the superficial palmar arch around the hook of the hamate. Type 2b: occlusion of both superficial and deep palmar arches around the hook of the hamate. Type 3a: occlusion of the ulnar artery at the proximal part of the wrist. Type 3b: occlusion of the ulnar artery near the wrist with the occlusion of the dorsal carpal branch of the ulnar artery.

Sciences-Objectives: According to some newspapers, concerns are growing over the health of local government employees in the Great East Japan Earthquake disaster areas. Concerns were consistently present after the Hanshin-Awaji and Niigata-Chuetsu earthquakes but not studied analytically. Methods: Municipal employees responding to the disasters after an earthquake and floods answered a questionnaire about the degrees of workload, fatigue, psychological distress, resilience and personality traits. Results: Twothirds of the employees suffered fatigue and psychological distress, which were significantly correlated with workload but inversely correlated with emotional stability personality traits and psychological resilience. Conclusions: Together with substantial workload, individual differences in emotional stability and to lesser degree in resilience were found to have an impact on perceived fatigue. These individual factors should be considered as potential mediators of distresses among local government employees responding to disasters. (J Occup Health 2013; 55: 1-5)

Background: Factor structure of the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) was studied by a survey of subjects who had experienced the 2004 Niigata-Chuetsu earthquake (6.8 on the Richter scale) in Japan.

on behalf of the J-STOP-MetS Study GroupThe aim of this study was to examine whether additional repeated counselling further improves the health effects of limited, highly individualized lifestyle guidance in metabolic syndrome. One hundred and nine previously untreated metabolic syndrome patients received highly standardized and individualized lifestyle guidance for weight loss. A tentative goal of 5% weight reduction over the course of 2 months was set. Patients were then randomly assigned to either the multiple guidance group who received further counselling every 2 months (n¼52) or the single guidance group who received no further guidance until the final assessment 6 months later (n¼57). Baseline data between the multiple guidance and single guidance groups were similar. Body weight and waist circumference were significantly reduced, and liver function, lipid profiles and glucose metabolism were significantly improved in both groups. After adjustment for baseline data, the multiple guidance group showed considerably higher reduction in waist circumference and fasting blood sugar concentration than the single guidance group. These data suggest that additional counselling further improved the antidiabetic effects of limited individualized lifestyle guidance in metabolic syndrome.