Both perceived stress and coping strategies may be associated with systemic inflammation in Japanese men, yet caution must be exercised before accepting the stress-inflammation-disease pathway.

BackgroundNon-participation in second surveys is reported to be associated with certain baseline characteristics; however, such data are unavailable for Japanese populations. Although disease incidence during follow-up might influence participation, few reports have addressed this possibility. This study sought to identify factors associated with non-participation in a second survey of a population-based cohort, and to evaluate the influence of self-reported disease incidence on non-participation.MethodsAfter excluding participants who left the area (n = 423), died (n = 163), and withdrew from the study (n = 9) among 12 078 participants in a baseline survey for the Japan Multi-Institutional Collaborative Cohort Study in the Saga region between 2005 and 2007, 11 483 people were invited by mail to participate in a face-to-face second survey between 2010 and 2012. The 5-year clinical health history of non-participants was assessed by mail or telephone. Baseline characteristics and self-reported clinical outcomes of non-participants were compared with those of participants.ResultsAmong 11 483 people, 8454 (73.6%) participated in the second survey, and 2608 out of 3029 non-participants answered mail or telephone health surveys. Female sex, youngest and oldest ages, lower education, lower occupational class, current smoking, lower physical activity level, shorter sleep time, obesity, and constipation were associated with non-participation. Light drinking (0.1–22.9 g ethanol/day) was associated with participation. Non-participants reported a significantly higher incidence of cancer and a significantly lower proportion of hypertension compared with participants.ConclusionsBoth baseline characteristics and disease incidence during the follow-up period had significant associations with non-participation in the face-to-face second survey.

BackgroundAccumulated evidence suggests a weak positive relationship between psychosocial stress and body mass index (BMI), but little is known about stress coping strategies and BMI.ObjectiveWe aimed to examine if perceived stress and coping strategies are related to BMI, with any of their mutual interactions on BMI.MethodsThis cross-sectional study included 5,063 men and 6,982 women aged 40-69 years. A self-administered questionnaire ascertained perceived stress and 5 items of coping strategies (emotion expression, emotional support seeking, positive reappraisal, problem solving, and disengagement). Analyses were performed by gender with adjustment for age, socioeconomic status, and lifestyle factors.ResultsNo significant associations were detected between perceived stress and BMI in either men (P trend = 0.09) or women (P trend = 0.58). In men, however, ‘disengagement’ showed an inverse association with BMI (P trend < 0.001), and ‘positive reappraisal’ and ‘problem solving’ revealed a positive association with BMI (P trend = 0.04 and 0.007, respectively) even after controlling for perceived stress. A possible interaction between perceived stress and ‘disengagement’ on BMI was found in men (P interaction = 0.027); the inverse association between ‘disengagement’ and BMI was more evident in higher levels of stress (β = −0.13, P trend = 0.21 in low; β = −0.22, P trend = 0.01 in medium; and β = −0.24, P trend = 0.06 in high). In men, ‘disengagement’ was inversely associated with overweight/obesity (odds ratio 0.79, 95% confidential interval 0.67-0.95), and “positive reappraisal” was positively associated with it (1.25, 1.02-1.54).ConclusionsCoping strategies may have an important role in developing overweight/obesity, particularly in men.

To examine the orthostatic influence on heart rate and blood pressure variability in persons with tetraplegia playing wheelchair basketball, ten trained persons with tetraplegia, ten untrained persons with tetraplegia, and ten able-bodied participated in this study. Spectrum analysis of the ECG R-R interval and blood-pressure on a beat-by-beat basis during head-up tilt 60 degrees sitting were performed. The ratio of the high frequency to total frequency (HF/TF) in the R-R interval decreased from supine (0.5 +/- 0.2) to sitting (0.3 +/- 0.2), and the low frequency (LF) power in systolic blood pressure increased from 4.7 +/- 9.1 to 15.0 +/- 13.1 mmHg(2) only in the untrained persons with tetraplegia (P < 0.01). The decrease in the HF/TF ratio in the untrained persons with tetraplegia indicates attenuated parasympathetic activity to the orthostatic challenge and the similar increase in LF power indicate that parasympathetic activity was reduced and sympathetic activity increased only in these persons. These results suggest that training enhances cardiovascular stability in tetraplegic subjects.

Weather changes accompanied by decreases in barometric pressure are suggested to trigger meteoropathy, i.e., weather-related pain. In this paper, the epidemiological and clinical features of weather-related pain (TENKITSU) are shown and the mechanism is briefly described. From the weather pain survey 2020, it is estimated that there are at least 10 million people who have weather pain in Japan, but it seems that it is difficult to deal with it in general clinical practice. It is necessary to establish a highly accurate meteoro pathy forecast in order to establish effective preventive treatments. We conducted a large-scale Internet survey and built a predictive model. The survey period was about one year, and 35 surveys were done. We analyzed the correlation between the symptom reports obtained from weather news (WN) users (157,698 in total) and the barometric pressure data. The barometric pressure change pattern that contributes to the onset of weather-related pain was indexed. We found that obvious changes in atmospheric pressure, minute changes in atmospheric pressure (micropressure fluctuations) which occur as a precursor to the collapse of the weather, and diurnal fluctuations in atmospheric pressure (atmospheric tide) correlate with worsening of symptoms. Therefore, we weighted the contributions of these three factors, built a model that predicts the risk of developing weather pain up to 6 days ahead every 3 hours, and started using it at WN.

Physical activity (PA) is recommended to both promote and maintain health and prevent cancer by improving the body's DNA repair system, which is considered a mechanism of cancer prevention. However, associations between PA and urinary levels of 8‐hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8‐OH‐dG), which reflects DNA damage, are unclear. This cross‐sectional study included 2370 men and 4052 women aged 45–74 years enrolled between 2010 and 2012. Habitual PA was assessed by single‐axis accelerometer and urinary 8‐OH‐dG levels by automated HPLC. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between log‐transformed urinary 8‐OH‐dG and total PA (TPA) and PA of moderate/vigorous intensity (MVPA; ≥3 metabolic equivalents), with adjustment for age, body mass index, energy intake, alcohol consumption, smoking status, daily coffee drinking, menopause status (in women), and TPA (for MVPA). On multivariate adjustment, urinary 8‐OH‐dG levels were inversely correlated with TPA (β = −0.020, P < 0.01) in women, and this correlation was not changed by PA intensity. Conversely, urinary 8‐OH‐dG levels were inversely correlated with MVPA (β = −0.022, P < 0.05) in men, although the correlation with TPA was non‐significant. This inverse correlation was clearer in current smokers than in never or former smokers, although the interaction between smoking status and MVPA on urinary 8‐OH‐dG levels was non‐significant. In conclusion, greater TPA in women and greater MVPA in men were correlated with reduction in urinary 8‐OH‐dG, suggesting sex‐specific effects of MVPA and TPA on protection from oxidative DNA damage. Increasing PA may mediate reduction in oxidative stress.

Inconsistent associations have been reported between perceived stress and C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker of systemic inflammation. We previously observed a male-specific inverse relationship between perceived stress and CRP in a cross-sectional study. In the present study, we examined the longitudinal association between changes in perceived stress and CRP, and further analyzed whether changes in coping strategies and social support modify this association. This study included 8454 participants in both a baseline survey and a follow-up survey 5 years later. Psychosocial measures (i.e. perceived stress, coping strategies, and social support) and CRP concentrations were measured by identical means in both surveys. Consistent with our previous findings, increased perceived stress was significantly associated with lower CRP in men (p = .037), but not in women. Increased "emotional expression," a coping strategy, was also associated with lower CRP in women (p = .024). Furthermore, interactions between perceived stress and a coping strategy (positive reappraisal) or social support on CRP were found in men (p = .007 and .038, respectively); the above inverse association between stress and CRP was not detected for participants with diminished positive reappraisal or social support. In conclusion, increases in perceived stress during a 5-year period were associated with decreases in CRP among healthy men, and the observed association was possibly modified by coping strategy or social support.

The recent increase of pertussis in young adults in Japan is hypothesized to be due in part to waning protection from the acellular pertussis vaccine. While a booster immunization may prevent an epidemic of pertussis among these young adults, little is known about the safety and immunogenicity of such a booster with the diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis vaccine (DTaP), which is currently available in Japan. One hundred and eleven medical students with a mean age of 19.4 years were randomly divided into 2 groups of 55 and 56 subjects and received, respectively, 0.2 or 0.5 ml of DTaP. Immunogenicity was assessed by performing the immunoassay using serum, and the geometric mean concentration (GMC), GMC ratio (GMCR), seropositive rate, and booster response rate were calculated. Adverse reactions and adverse events were monitored for 7 days after vaccination. After booster vaccination in the two groups, significant increases were found in the antibodies against pertussis toxin, filamentous hemagglutinin, diphtheria toxoid, and tetanus toxoid, and the booster response rates for all subjects reached 100%. The GMCs and GMCRs against all antigens were significantly higher in the 0.5-ml group than in the 0.2-ml group. No serious adverse events were observed. Frequencies of local reactions were similar in the 2 groups, although the frequency of severe local swelling was significantly higher in the 0.5-ml group. These data support the acceptability of booster immunization using both 0.2 and 0.5 ml of DTaP for young adults for controlling pertussis. (This study was registered at UMIN-CTR under registration number UMIN000010672.)