Articles

Regional disparity of certified teaching hospitals on physicians’ workload and wages, and popularity among medical students in Japan

Regional disparities in the working conditions of medical doctors have not been fully assessed in Japan. We aimed to clarify these differences in hospital characteristics: doctors’ workload, wages, and popular...

Authors: Yutaro Ikki, Masaaki Yamada and Michikazu Sekine

Impact of birth season on the years of life lost from respiratory diseases in the elderly related to ambient PM_2.5 exposure in Ningbo, China

Ambient fine particle (PM_2.5) pollution is an important public health problem in China. Short-term ambient PM_2.5 exposure is associated with increased mortality of respiratory diseases. However, few evidence was ...

Authors: Teng Yang, Tianfeng He, Jing Huang and Guoxing Li

Classes of childhood adversities and their associations to the mental health of college undergraduates: a nationwide cross-sectional study

Childhood adversities pose deleterious consequences on health and well-being, but limited studies explore whether unique patterns of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) impact the mental health of emerging ad...

Authors: Peigang Wang, Mohammedhamid Osman Kelifa, Bin Yu and Yinmei Yang

Air pollution and children’s health—a review of adverse effects associated with prenatal exposure from fine to ultrafine particulate matter

Particulate matter (PM), a major component of ambient air pollution, accounts for a substantial burden of diseases and fatality worldwide. Maternal exposure to PM during pregnancy is particularly harmful to ch...

Authors: Natalie M. Johnson, Aline Rodrigues Hoffmann, Jonathan C. Behlen, Carmen Lau, Drew Pendleton, Navada Harvey, Ross Shore, Yixin Li, Jingshu Chen, Yanan Tian and Renyi Zhang

Morphology and epidemiological study of idiopathic scoliosis among primary school students in Chaozhou, China

Idiopathic scoliosis (IS) affects patients’ quality of life, yet there have been few reports of its morphology and epidemiological study in the southeast region of China. The aim of this study is to access the...

Authors: Zemin Cai, Ruibin Wu, Shukai Zheng, Zhaolong Qiu and Kusheng Wu

Associations of education and income with hazardous drinking among postpartum women in Japan: results from the TMM BirThree Cohort Study

Although the postpartum period is suggested to provide an ideal opportunity for interventions to prevent hazardous drinking, evidence on the associations of education and income with hazardous drinking during ...

Authors: Keiko Murakami, Mami Ishikuro, Fumihiko Ueno, Aoi Noda, Tomomi Onuma, Fumiko Matsuzaki, Hirohito Metoki, Taku Obara and Shinichi Kuriyama

Seasonality of mortality under a changing climate: a time-series analysis of mortality in Japan between 1972 and 2015

Ambient temperature may contribute to seasonality of mortality; in particular, a warming climate is likely to influence the seasonality of mortality. However, few studies have investigated seasonality of morta...

Authors: Lina Madaniyazi, Yeonseung Chung, Yoonhee Kim, Aurelio Tobias, Chris Fook Sheng Ng, Xerxes Seposo, Yuming Guo, Yasushi Honda, Antonio Gasparrini, Ben Armstrong and Masahiro Hashizume

When physical activity meets the physical environment: precision health insights from the intersection

The physical environment can facilitate or hinder physical activity. A challenge in promoting physical activity is ensuring that the physical environment is supportive and that these supports are appropriately...

Authors: Luisa V. Giles, Michael S. Koehle, Brian E. Saelens, Hind Sbihi and Chris Carlsten

Symptoms of mental health problems among Italian adolescents in 2017–2018 school year: a multicenter cross-sectional study

Identifying individual and contextual factors that influence adolescent well-being is a research priority. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of symptoms of mental health problems and some related facto...

Authors: Francesco Donato, Maria Triassi, Ilaria Loperto, Alessia Maccaro, Sara Mentasti, Federica Crivillaro, Antonella Elvetico, Elia Croce and Elena Raffetti

Associations of novel 24-h accelerometer-derived metrics with adiposity in children and adolescents

Further research is required to explore the associations between 24-h movement behaviours and health outcomes in the paediatric population. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the associations between novel...

Authors: Jan Dygrýn, María Medrano, Pablo Molina-Garcia, Lukáš Rubín, Lukáš Jakubec, David Janda and Aleš Gába

Geographical variations and associated factors of defaulting from immunization among children aged 12 to 23 months in Ethiopia: using spatial and multilevel analysis of 2016 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey

In Ethiopia, despite the considerable improvement in immunization coverage, the burden of defaulting from immunization among children is still high with marked variation among regions. However, the geographica...

Authors: Mukemil Awol, Zewdie Aderaw Alemu, Nurilign Abebe Moges and Kemal Jemal

A cross-sectional study to assess knowledge of women about cervical cancer: an urban and rural comparison

Cervical cancer and its etiopathogenesis, the age of women in whom it is diagnosed, average life expectancy, and prognosis are information widely covered in scientific reports. However, there is no coherent in...

Authors: Małgorzata Lesińska-Sawicka

Dietary supplement use in elementary school children: a Japanese web-based survey

A variety of dietary supplements are commercially available. However, the efficacy and safety of dietary supplement use in children are not well established. Understanding dietary supplement use is important f...

Authors: Kazue Ishitsuka, Satoshi Sasaki, Hidetoshi Mezawa, Mizuho Konishi, Maki Igarashi, Kiwako Yamamoto-Hanada, Shoji F. Nakayama and Yukihiro Ohya

Associations between handgrip strength and hypertension in relation to circulating CD34-positive cell levels among Japanese older men: a cross-sectional study

A positive association between handgrip strength and blood pressure has been reported. Since these factors are linked to the condition of the endothelium, the activity of endothelial repair might influence the...

Authors: Yuji Shimizu, Shin-Ya Kawashiri, Kenichi Nobusue, Hirotomo Yamanashi, Yasuhiro Nagata and Takahiro Maeda

Hepatitis B and C virus infection among healthcare workers in Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Healthcare workers are at risk of acquiring hepatitis B and C virus infections through patients’ blood and bodily fluids exposure. So far, there is no pooled data that shows the prevalence of HBV and HCV among...

Authors: Daniel Atlaw, Biniyam Sahiledengle and Zerihun Tariku

A comparative analysis on risk communication between international and Chinese literature from the perspective of knowledge domain visualization

The outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) severely damaged and endangered people’s lives at the end of 2019. Risk communication plays an important role in the response to it successfully, which has been a...

Authors: Huiling Dong, Qunhong Wu, Yue Pang and Bingyi Wu

Hokkaido birth cohort study on environment and children’s health: cohort profile 2021

The Hokkaido Study on Environment and Children’s Health is an ongoing study consisting of two birth cohorts of different population sizes: the Sapporo cohort and the Hokkaido cohort. Our primary objectives are...

Authors: Reiko Kishi, Atsuko Ikeda-Araki, Chihiro Miyashita, Sachiko Itoh, Sumitaka Kobayashi, Yu Ait Bamai, Keiko Yamazaki, Naomi Tamura, Machiko Minatoya, Rahel Mesfin Ketema, Kritika Poudel, Ryu Miura, Hideyuki Masuda, Mariko Itoh, Takeshi Yamaguchi, Hisanori Fukunaga…

The willingness for dietary and behavioral changes in frontline epidemic prevention workers after experiencing the outbreak of COVID-19 in China: a cross-sectional study

The 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has had a massive impact on public health, resulting in sudden dietary and behavioral habit changes. Frontline epidemic prevention workers play a pivotal role agai...

Authors: Weijun Yu, Ying Xu, Jianhua Zhang, Qing Yuan, Yanfang Guo, Zhixue Li, Xiangyang He, Yan Ma, Fengmin Cai, Zheng Liu, Rencheng Zhao, Dewang Wang, Jialong Chen and Quanwei Guo

Association between socioeconomic status and prolonged television viewing time in a general Japanese population: NIPPON DATA2010

It has been pointed out that prolonged television (TV) viewing is one of the sedentary behaviors that is harmful to health; however, the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and prolonged TV viewing ...

Authors: Yuka Sumimoto, Masahiko Yanagita, Naomi Miyamatsu, Nagako Okuda, Nobuo Nishi, Yosikazu Nakamura, Koshi Nakamura, Naoko Miyagawa, Motohiko Miyachi, Aya Kadota, Takayoshi Ohkubo, Tomonori Okamura, Hirotsugu Ueshima, Akira Okayama and Katsuyuki Miura

The relationship between socioeconomic status and childhood overweight/obesity is linked through paternal obesity and dietary intake: a cross-sectional study in Chongqing, China

The prevalence of obesity and overweight in childhood has increased dramatically over the past decades globally. Thus, the risk factors of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents must be studied.

Authors: Jingyu Chen, Shunqing Luo, Xiaohua Liang, Yetao Luo and Rina Li

Effect of diurnal temperature range on emergency room visits for acute upper respiratory tract infections

An acute upper respiratory tract infection (URI) is the most common disease worldwide, irrespective of age or sex. This study aimed to evaluate the short-term effect of diurnal temperature range (DTR) on emerg...

Authors: Jin Young Jang and Byung Chul Chun

Food safety knowledge, attitude, and hygiene practices of street-cooked food handlers in North Dayi District, Ghana

Food safety and hygiene are currently a global health apprehension especially in unindustrialized countries as a result of increasing food-borne diseases (FBDs) and accompanying deaths. This study aimed at ass...

Authors: Lawrence Sena Tuglo, Percival Delali Agordoh, David Tekpor, Zhongqin Pan, Gabriel Agbanyo and Minjie Chu

Correction to: Prediction of 11-year incidence of psychophysically dependent status or death among community-dwelling younger elderlies: from an age-specified community-based cohort study (the NISSIN project)

Authors: Satoe Okabayashi, Takashi Kawamura, Hisashi Noma, Kenji Wakai, Masahiko Ando, Kazuyo Tsushita, Hideki Ohira, Shigekazu Ukawa and Akiko Tamakoshi

Survival of HIV/AIDS patients treated under ART follow-up at the University hospital, northwest Ethiopia

The survival of HIV/AIDS patients on antiretroviral therapy (ART) is determined by a number of factors, including economic, demographic, behavioral, and institutional factors. Understanding the survival time a...

Authors: Zinabu Teka, Kasim Mohammed, Gashu Workneh and Zemichael Gizaw

Determinants of bone health in elderly Japanese men: study design and key findings of the Fujiwara-kyo Osteoporosis Risk in Men (FORMEN) cohort study

The Fujiwara-kyo Osteoporosis Risk in Men (FORMEN) study was launched to investigate risk factors for osteoporotic fractures, interactions of osteoporosis with other non-communicable chronic diseases, and effe...

Authors: Yuki Fujita, Junko Tamaki, Katsuyasu Kouda, Akiko Yura, Yuho Sato, Takahiro Tachiki, Masami Hamada, Etsuko Kajita, Kuniyasu Kamiya, Kazuki Kaji, Koji Tsuda, Kumiko Ohara, Jong-Seong Moon, Jun Kitagawa and Masayuki Iki

Effect of IL-15 addition on asbestos-induced suppression of human cytotoxic T lymphocyte induction

Asbestos fibers possess tumorigenicity and are thought to cause mesothelioma. We have previously reported that exposure to asbestos fibers causes a reduction in antitumor immunity. Asbestos exposure in the mix...

Authors: Naoko Kumagai-Takei, Yasumitsu Nishimura, Hidenori Matsuzaki, Suni Lee, Kei Yoshitome, Tatsuo Ito and Takemi Otsuki

Associations between floods and bacillary dysentery cases in main urban areas of Chongqing, China, 2005–2016: a retrospective study

Understanding the association between floods and bacillary dysentery (BD) incidence is necessary for us to assess the health risk of extreme weather events. This study aims at exploring the association between...

Authors: Yang Ma, Tong Wen, Dianguo Xing and Yan Zhang

Early childhood traffic-related air pollution and risk of allergic rhinitis at 2–4 years of age modification by family stress and male gender: a case-control study in Shenyang, China

Few studies have explored the modifications by family stress and male gender in the relationship between early exposure to traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) and allergic rhinitis (AR) risk in preschool chil...

Authors: Shuai Hao, Fang Yuan, Pai Pang, Bo Yang, Xuejun Jiang and Aihui Yan

Urinary N-terminal pro–B-type natriuretic peptide as a biomarker for cardiovascular events in a general Japanese population: the Hisayama Study

Epidemiological evidence has shown that serum N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) concentrations, a diagnostic biomarker for heart failure, are positively associated with cardiovascular risk. ...

Authors: Keisuke Yamasaki, Jun Hata, Tomomi Ide, Takuya Nagata, Satoko Sakata, Daigo Yoshida, Takanori Honda, Yoichiro Hirakawa, Toshiaki Nakano, Takanari Kitazono, Hiroyuki Tsutsui and Toshiharu Ninomiya

Association between the type of physical activity and metabolic syndrome in middle-aged and older adult residents of a semi-mountainous area in Japan

Physical activity is reported to prevent metabolic syndrome. However, it is unclear whether exercise or daily physical activity is more beneficial for residents of semi-mountainous areas. This study aimed to i...

Authors: Noriko Kudo, Ritsuko Nishide, Mayumi Mizutani, Shota Ogawa and Susumu Tanimura

Prediction of 11-year incidence of psychophysically dependent status or death among community-dwelling younger elderlies: from an age-specified community-based cohort study (the NISSIN project)

Predicting adverse health events and implementing preventative measures are a necessary challenge. It is important for healthcare planners and policymakers to allocate the limited resource to high-risk persons...

Authors: Satoe Okabayashi, Takashi Kawamura, Hisashi Noma, Kenji Wakai, Masahiko Ando, Kazuyo Tsushita, Hideki Ohira, Shigekazu Ukawa and Akiko Tamakoshi

The association between overweight and prevalence of food allergy in Japanese children: a cross-sectional study

Food allergy (FA) is a common disease in children, and its prevalence has increased in developed countries. The impact of overweight on children health also becomes an important social problem. However, the re...

Authors: Koichiro Hayashi, Hiromasa Tsujiguchi, Daisuke Hori, Yohei Yamada, Yukari Shimizu, Thao Thi Thu Nguyen, Yuri Hibino, Yasuhiro Kambayashi, Akinori Hara and Hiroyuki Nakamura

Epidemiology and risk factors of needlestick injuries among healthcare workers in Iran: a systematic reviews and meta-analysis

Occupational contact with blood and body fluids poses a significant risk to healthcare workers. The aim of this systematic review is to investigate the epidemiology and risk factors affecting needlestick injur...

Authors: Soheil Hassanipour, Mojtaba Sepandi, Reza Tavakkol, Mousa Jabbari, Hadiseh Rabiei, Mahdi Malakoutikhah, Mohammad Fathalipour and Gholamhossein Pourtaghi

Sex differences in the link between blood cobalt concentrations and insulin resistance in adults without diabetes

Little is known about the effects of environmental cobalt exposure on insulin resistance (IR) in the general adult population. We investigated the association between cobalt concentration and IR.

Authors: Yong Chen, Haobin Huang, Xiaowei He, Weiwei Duan and Xuming Mo

Development of a program to prevent sexual violence among teens in Japan: education using DVD video teaching materials and web-based learning

This study aimed to develop an education system using DVD video-based teaching materials or web-based learning to reduce sexual violence among teens in Japan.

Authors: Miyuki Nagamatsu, Narumi Ooshige, Nozomi Sonoda, Mika Niina and Ken-ichi Hara

Maternal metal concentration during gestation and pediatric morbidity in children: an exploratory analysis

The majority of studies linking exposure to metals with certain health outcomes focus on known toxic metals. Alternatively, this study assesses the extent to which exposure to a wider range of metals during ge...

Authors: Isabella Karakis, Daniella Landau, Roni Gat, Nofar Shemesh, Ofir Tirosh, Maayan Yitshak-Sade, Batia Sarov and Lena Novack

Establishment and associated factors of health records among young Chinese migrants

Most Chinese migrants have been faced with obstacles to getting access to local public health services. Young migrants among internal migrants make a major contribution to the economy. However, the establishme...

Authors: Hong Shi, Xiumin Zhang, Xiangrong Li, Zheng Ren, Hanfang Zhao, Minfu He, Xinwen Fan, Xia Guo, Shuang Zha, Shuyin Qiao, Yuyu Li, Yajiao Pu and Hongjian Liu

Phytochemicals of Periploca aphylla Dcne. ameliorated streptozotocin-induced diabetes in rat

Periploca aphylla is used by local population and indigenous medicine practitioners as stomachic, tonic, antitumor, antiulcer, and for treatment of inflammatory disorders. The aim of this study was to evaluate an...

Authors: Umbreen Rashid and Muhammad Rashid Khan

Changes in health status, workload, and lifestyle after starting the COVID-19 pandemic: a web-based survey of Japanese men and women

This study aimed to examine the change in health status of the general public after starting the COVID-19 pandemic and its association with changes in workload and lifestyle.

Authors: Machi Suka, Takashi Yamauchi and Hiroyuki Yanagisawa

Engagement in different sport disciplines during university years and risk of locomotive syndrome in older age: J-Fit⁺ Study

Among former Olympic-level athletes, engagement in different sport disciplines has been associated with mortality risk in subsequent years. However, limited evidence is available on whether engagement in diffe...

Authors: Shaoshuai Shen, Koya Suzuki, Yoshimitsu Kohmura, Noriyuki Fuku, Yuki Someya and Hisashi Naito

Associations between trunk-to-peripheral fat ratio and cardiometabolic risk factors in elderly Japanese men: baseline data from the Fujiwara-kyo Osteoporosis Risk in Men (FORMEN) study

Body mass-independent parameters might be more appropriate for assessing cardiometabolic abnormalities than weight-dependent indices in Asians who have relatively high visceral adiposity but low body fat. Dual...

Authors: Katsuyasu Kouda, Yuki Fujita, Kumiko Ohara, Takahiro Tachiki, Junko Tamaki, Akiko Yura, Jong-Seong Moon, Etsuko Kajita, Kazuhiro Uenishi and Masayuki Iki

Effects of maternal exposure to arsenic on social behavior and related gene expression in F2 male mice

Arsenic is a developmental neurotoxicant. It means that its neurotoxic effect could occur in offspring by maternal arsenic exposure. Our previous study showed that developmental arsenic exposure impaired socia...

Authors: Soe-Minn Htway, Takehiro Suzuki, Sanda Kyaw, Keiko Nohara and Tin-Tin Win-Shwe

Students’ attitude and sleep pattern during school closure following COVID-19 pandemic quarantine: a web-based survey in south of Iran

School closure is one of the main policies of global health care strategies performed worldwide. Despite all benefits, there might be some threats for younger groups spending their time in quarantine. This stu...

Authors: Keivan Ranjbar, Hamidreza Hosseinpour, Reza Shahriarirad, Haleh Ghaem, Khoubyar Jafari, Tayebeh Rahimi, Alireza Mirahmadizadeh and Parisa Hosseinpour

COVID-19 pandemic-induced physical inactivity: the necessity of updating the Global Action Plan on Physical Activity 2018-2030

To prevent and reduce inactivity, the World Health Organization (WHO) designed a global plan called Global Action Plan on Physical Activity 2018–2030 (GAPPA) in 2017. In this plan and according to the state of...

Authors: H. Amini, S. Habibi, A. H. Islamoglu, E. Isanejad, C. Uz and H. Daniyari

Chronic exposure of bisphenol S (BPS) affect hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular activities in adult male rats: possible in estrogenic mode of action

The industrial revolution has resulted in increased synthesis and the introduction of a variety of compounds into the environment and their potentially hazardous effects have been observed in the biota. The pr...

Authors: Hizb Ullah, Faizan Ullah, Owais Rehman, Sarwat Jahan, Tayyaba Afsar, Dara Al-Disi, Ali Almajwal and Suhail Razak

Cross-sectional survey of depressive symptoms and suicide-related ideation at a Japanese national university during the COVID-19 stay-home order

We aimed to estimate the prevalence of depressive symptoms as well as suicide-related ideation among Japanese university students during the stay-home order necessitated by the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemi...

Authors: Kyoko Nomura, Sachiko Minamizono, Eri Maeda, Roseline Kim, Toyoto Iwata, Junko Hirayama, Kyoichi Ono, Masahito Fushimi, Takeshi Goto, Kazuo Mishima and Fumio Yamamoto

Public perceptions, individual characteristics, and preventive behaviors for COVID-19 in six countries: a cross-sectional study

Public perceptions and personal characteristics are heterogeneous between countries and subgroups, which may have different impacts on health-protective behaviors during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)...

Authors: Ryosuke Fujii, Kensuke Suzuki and Junichiro Niimi

Reproducibility and validity of food group intake in a short food frequency questionnaire for the middle-aged Japanese population

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the reproducibility and validity of a short food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) for food group intake in Japan, the reproducibility and partial validity of which were p...

Authors: Nahomi Imaeda, Chiho Goto, Tae Sasakabe, Haruo Mikami, Isao Oze, Akihiro Hosono, Mariko Naito, Naoko Miyagawa, Etsuko Ozaki, Hiroaki Ikezaki, Hinako Nanri, Noriko T. Nakahata, Sakurako K. Kamano, Kiyonori Kuriki, Yuri T. Yaguchi, Takamasa Kayama…

The prevalence of psychological distress during pregnancy in Miyagi Prefecture for 3 years after the Great Eas t Japan Earthquake

To examine changes in psychological distress prevalence among pregnant women in Miyagi Prefecture, which was directly affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami, and compare it with the other, les...

Authors: Kaou Tanoue, Zen Watanabe, Hidekazu Nishigori, Noriyuki Iwama, Michihiro Satoh, Takahisa Murakami, Kousuke Tanaka, Satomi Sasaki, Kasumi Sakurai, Mami Ishikuro, Taku Obara, Masatoshi Saito, Junichi Sugawara, Nozomi Tatsuta, Shinichi Kuriyama, Takahiro Arima…

Effectiveness of community and school-based sanitation interventions in improving latrine coverage: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled interventions

Approximately 1000 children die each year due to preventable water and sanitation-related diarrheal diseases. Six in 10 people lacked access to safely managed sanitation facilities in 2015. Numerous community-...

Authors: Satoshi Igaki, Nguyen Tran Minh Duc, Nguyen Hai Nam, Tran Thi Tuyet Nga, Parshal Bhandari, Amr Elhamamsy, Caroline Ibrahim Lotify, Mostafa Elsayed Hewalla, Gehad Mohamed Tawfik, Peterson Gitonga Mathenge, Masahiro Hashizume and Nguyen Tien Huy