Disparities of indoor temperature in winter: A cross‐sectional analysis of the Nationwide Smart Wellness Housing Survey in Japan

Umishio, Wataru; Ikaga, Toshiharu; Fujino, Yoshihisa; Ando, Shintaro; Kubo, Toshikazu; Nakajima, Yukie; Hoshi, Tanji; Suzuki, Mitsuaki; Kario, Kazuomi; Yoshimura, Takesumi; Yokota, Hiroshi; Murakami, Shuzo

doi:10.1111/ina.12708

Cited by 26 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…We reported the actual status of houses throughout Japan before insulation retrofitting [ 17 ]. Cross-sectional analyses involving 2190 houses revealed average temperatures when participants were at home in the living room and changing room of 16.8 °C and 13.0 °C, respectively, and 12.8 °C when participants slept in the bedroom.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Role of housing in blood pressure control: a review of evidence from the Smart Wellness Housing survey in Japan

Umishio

Ikaga²,

Kario³

et al. 2022

Hypertens Res

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Current countermeasures for preventing hypertension emphasize only improvements to lifestyle. Recently, improving life environment has attracted attention, in parallel with publication of the WHO Housing and health guidelines. We quantitatively evaluated the relationship between housing thermal environment and blood pressure (BP) in a real-world setting. We conducted a nationwide, prospective intervention study—the Smart Wellness Housing survey—in Japan, as a non-randomized controlled trial. The intervention was the retrofitting of thermal insulation in houses. Participant recruitment was done by construction companies in all 47 prefectures of Japan. Measurements of home BP and indoor temperature at 1.0 m above the floor in the living room, changing room, and bedroom were taken for 2 weeks before and after the intervention each winter (November–March) of FY 2014–2019. As of July 2022, over 2500 households and 5000 participants were registered in the database. We found that (1) about 90% of Japanese lived in cold homes (minimum indoor temperature <18 °C), (2) indoor temperature was non-linearly associated with home BP, (3) morning systolic BP (SBP) was more sensitive than evening SBP to changes in indoor temperature, (4) SBP was influenced by indoor temperature change particularly in older participants and women, (5) unstable indoor temperature was associated with large BP variability, and (6) insulation retrofitting intervention significantly reduced home BP, especially in hypertensive patients. We proposed that the BP reduction effect of the life-environment is comparable to that achievable by lifestyle.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…2 Average living room temperature at home in each prefecture from ref. [ 17 ] †Excluding prefectures with data from 5 participating households or less (displayed in white) …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Role of housing in blood pressure control: a review of evidence from the Smart Wellness Housing survey in Japan

Umishio

Ikaga²,

Kario³

et al. 2022

Hypertens Res

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“…Moreover, the temperature inside an electrical refrigerator for storing eye-drops is defined by the Japanese Industrial Standards as at least 0°C and no higher than 8°C, and the catalogs of most electrical appliance manufacturers state that the temperature range inside their refrigerators is ranged from 2 to 8°C. Furthermore, during the Japanese winter (November to March), the mean temperatures in the living and changing rooms were 16.8°C and 13.0°C, respectively, while the mean minimum temperatures in the living room and changing room were 12.6°C and 10.4°C, respectively [ 15 , 16 ]. This can also be lower in colder regions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of storage temperature on the dispersibility of commercially available 0.1% fluorometholone ophthalmic suspension

et al. 2022

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In this study, we focused on the storage conditions and investigated the effects of low-temperature storage (10°C) on the dispersibility of active components in three formulations of fluorometholone (FLU) suspension eye-drops (one original drug and two generic drugs, P1-P3). For all three eye-drop products, before shaking by hand, white sediment anticipated to be the principal active component was seen at the vial base. In the ordinary-temperature storage group, the FLU contents per drop after shaking by hand were 0.076% in P1, 0.023% in P2, and 0.100% in P3, and the content in P2 was significantly lower than that in P1 and P3. In contrast, almost no dispersion was observed in the low-temperature group. The results after sufficient shaking of these samples with a vortex, in contrast, were such that the FLU contents per drop were 0.063% in P1, 0.086% in P2, and 0.088% in P3; the content in P1 was significantly lower than that in P2 and P3, and there was no difference between P2 and P3. Moreover, we evaluated the dispersibility according to the evaluation “Vs / (ρg − ρf) g.” In both the low- and ordinary-temperature storage groups, the value of Vs / (ρg − ρf) g, proportional to the terminal velocity, decreased in the following order: P3 > P1 ≫ P2, and each value in the ordinary-temperature was higher than that in low temperature. The zeta potential decreased in the following order: P2 > P3 ≫ P1. In conclusion, when FLU suspension eye drops are stored at low temperatures until use, such as in a refrigerator, ordinary shaking does not help achieve dispersion to the specified concentration, and even with vigorous shaking with some formulations, the specified concentration cannot be achieved.

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“…There are various theories regarding why Japanese people prefer hot water baths in winter and take baths almost every day. First, indoor in Japanese houses are generally cold in winter [10,11]. In winter, to prevent feeling of cold after bathing, it may be necessary to soak in a hot water to stay warm [5].…”

Section: History Of Japanese Bathingmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review of Japanese-style bathing: its demerits and merits

Tochihara

2022

J Physiol Anthropol

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Japanese-style bathing (JSB), which involves soaking in hot water up to the shoulders in deep bathtubs for a long time in the evening to night, is unique. Many experimental and epidemiological studies and surveys have shown that JSB improve sleep quality, especially shortens sleep onset latency in winter. In addition, repeated JSB lead the improvement of depressive symptoms. JSB is a simple and low-cost non-pharmacological measure to sleep difficulty in winter and mental disorders, especially for the elderly. On the contrary, drowning, while soaking in a bathtub, is the most common of accidental death at home in Japan. It is estimated that approximately 19,000 Japanese individuals die annually while taking a bath, mostly during winter, and most victims are elderly people. Elderly Japanese people tend to prefer a higher-risk JSB because the temperature inside the house during winter, especially the dressing room/bathroom temperature, is very low. Since the physiological thermal effect of the elderly associated with bathing is relatively lower among the elderly than the young, the elderly prefer to take a long hot bath. This elderly’s favorite style of JSB results in larger increased blood pressure in dressing rooms and larger decreased in blood pressure during hot bathing. A sudden drop in blood pressure while immersed in the bathtub leads to fainting and drowning. Furthermore, elderly people are less sensitive to cold air or hot water, therefore, it is difficult to take appropriate measures to prevent large fluctuations in blood pressure. To ensure a safe and comfortable winter bathing, the dressing room/bathroom temperature needs to be maintained at 20 °C or higher, and several degrees higher would be recommended for the elderly.

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Disparities of indoor temperature in winter: A cross‐sectional analysis of the Nationwide Smart Wellness Housing Survey in Japan

Abstract: This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Cited by 26 publications

References 24 publications

Role of housing in blood pressure control: a review of evidence from the Smart Wellness Housing survey in Japan

Role of housing in blood pressure control: a review of evidence from the Smart Wellness Housing survey in Japan

Effect of storage temperature on the dispersibility of commercially available 0.1% fluorometholone ophthalmic suspension

A review of Japanese-style bathing: its demerits and merits

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