Okayama University Medical School Acta Medica Okayama 0386-300X 65 1 2011 The Relationship between Joint Pain and Climate Conditions in Japan 41 48 EN Kimihiko Tokumori Da-Hong Wang Tomoko Takigawa Jiro Takaki Keiki Ogino Original Article 10.18926/AMO/43829 This study aimed to determine whether there was any association between the regional climate and the proportion of people with joint pain. Regional climate data between 1971 and 2000 were obtained from the Japan Meteorological Agency. The variables used in the cluster analysis included sunlight hours, amount of precipitation, number of days with precipitation, and temperature. The regional proportion of people with joint pain was obtained from the National Survey for Health in 2001. After performing a cluster analysis, one-way ANOVA and Welch's test were used to determine whether the climate characteristics of the clusters were significantly different. Within each cluster, stepwise multiple linear regression analyses were performed. We found that sunlight hours showed a direct, negative association with the proportion of people with joint pain (adjusted R2＝0.532, p＝0.016) in cluster 1, which was characterized as the region with the fewest total hours of sunlight, less precipitation, a modest number of rainy days, and low temperature. In the other clusters, the regional female population rate (cluster 2) and the senior population rate (cluster 3, 4) were the primary predictors. We concluded that the degree of exposure to sunlight may play a crucial role in prevention of joint pain. This finding should encourage people to set aside some time for staying outdoors in their daily lives. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Okayama University Medical School Acta Medica Okayama 0386-300X 63 2 2009 Relationship of psychological factors with physical activity stage of change in prime-and middle-aged Japanese 97 104 EN Keiko Mori Hisao Suzuki Da Hong Wang Jiro Takaki Tomoko Takigawa Keiki Ogino Original Article 10.18926/AMO/31833 The present study aimed to investigate the status of physical activity and the differences in psychological factors associated with physical activity from the perspective of transtheoretical model stages between prime- and middle-aged Japanese. The study involved 375 prime-aged volunteers (175 men, 200 women) and 557 middle-aged volunteers (247 men, 310 women) living in Kuse, a town in Okayama Prefecture, Japan. We found that the prime-aged men at the preparation stage had significantly higher self-efficacy scores than at the contemplation stage (p<0.01). Middle-aged men had significantly higher self-efficacy scores at the contemplation stage than at the precontemplation stage (p<0.001). Middle-aged women, meanwhile, had significantly higher self-efficacy scores at the maintenance stage than at the action stage (p<0.01), and at the contemplation stage than at the precontemplation stage (p<0.001). The present findings provide valuable information about the differences in psychological factors affecting physical activity between prime-aged and middle-aged community-dwelling Japanese. This information may be useful to health professionals as they develop effective community-based intervention programs for target populations. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Okayama University Medical School Acta Medica Okayama 0386-300X 62 5 2008 The Half-life of Ascaris lumbricoides Prevalence in Japanese School Children 303 312 EN Carmen Miwa Kurosawa Takehiko Ito Jiro Takaki Bing-Ling Wang Da-Hong Wang Tomoko Takigawa Keiki Ogino Original Article 10.18926/AMO/30970 In the present study, we examined the dynamic of school-health-based parasite control and the related socio-economic influences. This is an ecological study based on data from 46 prefectures in Japan. The exponential decay of Ascaris lumbricoides prevalence was calculated by iterative least-squares method. Pearsonʼs correlation and multiple linear regression model analysis were performed to assess the associations between the prevalence of Ascaris lumbricoides in Japanese school children and socio-economic variables such as the prefecture income per capita, the percentage of primary industry, the population density per 1 km2, the diffusion rate of population under water supply, and the percentage of upper secondary school enrollment. The results indicated that the parasite carrier rate was higher in younger students. The half-life of Ascaris lumbricoides prevalence was approximately 3 years with significant variation among prefectures. Multiple regression analyses showed that the decrease of infection in elementary and lower secondary school children had a significant positive association with primary industry and a significant negative association with prefecture income per capita. The school-health-based parasite intervention differs by prefecture and has changed over time according to the respective prefectural stage of economic development. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Okayama University Medical School Acta Medica Okayama 0386-300X 62 2 2008 Effects of mask fitness and worker education on the prevention of occupational dust exposure 75 82 EN Yoko Takemura Takumi Kishimoto Tomoko Takigawa Shinji Kojima Bing-Ling Wanga Noriko Sakano Da-Hong Wang Jiro Takaki Tadashi Nishide Kou Ishikawa Keiki Ogino Original Article 10.18926/AMO/30957 To decrease the incidence of pneumoconiosis, we examined dust protective mask performance and its relation to pulmonary function as well as the effects of worker education on the proper wearing of masks. One hundred and seventy-eight workers from 15 factories subject to dust exposure participated in this study. All participants were interviewed to obtain relevant personal information and underwent both a mask leakage and a pulmonary function test. The mask leakage was expressed as a percentage, with under 10% leakage indicating that the dust protective mask worked efficiently. In addition, 23 workers from 2 factories were educated on how to wear masks properly. The average mask leakage was 24.3%, and 58% of workers wore ineffective masks. Though pulmonary function was almost normal, the percent vital capacity (%VC) tended to be lower depending on the mask leakage. Mask education, which was very easy and took only a short time, dramatically decreased average mask leakage from 32.1% to 10.5% (p0.001). Educating workers to wear masks properly might prevent the worsening of pulmonary function in response to dust exposure. Appropriate mask fitness by education could be useful in preventing the development of pneumoconiosis. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.