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• Worksite Healthcare Systems and Lifestyle-related Risk Factors among Employees at Small-to-medium Worksites in Okinawa, Japan

  Kudaka, S; Taira, K; Sakima, A; Nakamura, K

  Ｊｏｕｒｎａｌ　ｏｆ　Ａｔｈｅｒｏｓｃｌｅｒｏｓｉｓ　ａｎｄ　Ｔｈｒｏｍｂｏｓｉｓ ( 一般社団法人 日本動脈硬化学会 )  advpub ( 0 )   2026 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

  Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)

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  <p><b>Aim</b>: To investigate whether the presence of common health education (HE) and a healthcare administrator (HA) at a worksite would be associated with a lower prevalence of current smoking, current daily alcohol consumption, and obesity among employees at real-world, small-to-medium worksites.</p><p><b>Methods</b>: The present cross-sectional study included 72,704 employees aged 35–59 years at 5,910 small-to-medium companies in Okinawa, Japan. Odds ratios were calculated by sex for each factor for HE (information provision alone, lecture classes alone, or both services) presence and HA presence, using a multilevel logistic regression model, with HE absence (neither) and HA absence, respectively, serving as the reference.</p><p><b>Results</b>: The odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) for current smoking among men and women in the combined HE services group were 0.80 (0.68–0.93) and 0.68 (0.52–0.88), respectively, after adjusting for age, HA status, medication status, and basic worksite characteristics. The adjusted odds ratios for current daily alcohol consumption among men and women in the combined HE services group were 0.81 (0.69–0.95) and 0.84 (0.69–1.02), respectively. However, the four HE groups had similar odds of obesity in both men and women. The HA-present and HA-absent groups had similar odds of all outcomes in both men and women, except that men in the HA-present group had lower odds of current daily alcohol consumption: 0.92 (0.86–0.98).</p><p><b>Conclusions</b>: The combined HE services presence was associated with lower odds of current smoking and daily alcohol consumption among employees, whereas HA presence was associated with lower odds of daily alcohol consumption among men.</p>

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• Simple Subjective Sleep Quality and Blood Pressure in Individuals With Optimal Sleep Duration: A Cross-Sectional Study

  Taira, K; Fukumine, Y; Nakamura, K

  JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MEDICINE RESEARCH-CANADA ( Journal of Clinical Medicine Research )  16 ( 12 ) 600 - 607   2024.12 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

  Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)

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  BACKGROUND: An individual's simple subjective feeling of having poor sleep quality usually occurs in combination with short sleep duration. Previous studies have mainly investigated the association between simple subjective sleep quality and blood pressure in a general population without considering the complicated issue regarding poor sleep quality and short sleep duration. The aim of this study was therefore to investigate whether poor sleep quality was associated with increased blood pressure in individuals with optimal sleep duration. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 169 residents aged ≥ 18 years who lived in a remote island of Okinawa, Japan. The participants had a sleep duration of 6 - 7.9 h/day on weekdays and were not taking either sleep medication or antihypertensive medication. Analysis of covariance was used to compare systolic and diastolic blood pressures in the participants grouped according to simple subjective sleep quality. RESULTS: Of the 169 participants, 51 (30.2%) reported that their sleep quality was poor. After adjustment for age, sex, and other potential confounders including sleep duration within optimal levels, the participants aged ≤ 49 years had mean (95% confidence interval) systolic and diastolic blood pressures (mm Hg) of 121.0 (114.7 - 127.3) and 68.7 (63.8 - 73.6) in the good sleep quality group, and 127.8 (120.7 - 134.9) and 71.8 (66.2 - 77.3) in the poor sleep quality group (P = 0.01 and P = 0.14, respectively). However, in those aged ≥ 50 years, the corresponding means were 130.6 (121.3 - 139.8) and 79.1 (73.5 - 84.7) in the good-quality group and 126.9 (114.6 - 139.2) and 78.0 (70.5 - 85.4) in the poor-quality group (P = 0.43 and P = 0.68, respectively). There was a statistically significant interaction between simple subjective sleep quality and age for systolic blood pressure (P value for interaction = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that an individual's simple subjective feeling of poor sleep quality was associated with increased systolic blood pressure in participants aged ≤ 49 years with optimal sleep duration. These findings highlight the importance of easily assessing simple subjective sleep quality in clinical settings even in individuals with optimal sleep duration, in order to prevent and manage hypertension.

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• Oral frailty, appetite and dietary variety in late-stage older adults: A cross-sectional study (the STudy of lAte-stage oldeR adulTs in Tottori; START Tottori)

  Nakagawa, S; Miura, K; Arai, E; Taira, K; Watanabe, Y; Shirobe, M; Motokawa, K; Ohara, Y; Iwasaki, M; Hirano, H; Ono, T; Adachi, A; Watanabe, T; Yamazaki, Y

  GERIATRICS & GERONTOLOGY INTERNATIONAL ( Geriatrics and Gerontology International )  24 ( 6 ) 626 - 633   2024.06 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

  Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)

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  AIM: Efforts to combat frailty and preserve good health in older adults have highlighted oral frailty as an early indicator of overall frailty. Individuals showing oral frailty are at an elevated risk of insufficient nutritional intake compared with those without oral frailty; however, underlying mechanisms remain poorly explored. In this cross-sectional study, we aimed to examine the link between oral frailty and undernutrition, especially regarding poor appetite and low dietary diversity. METHODS: The analysis included 2727 late-stage older adults (mean age 79.9 ± 4.3 years) who underwent dental checkups in a prefecture in Japan from 2016 to 2020. The examination involved a questionnaire survey (covering basic information, frailty screening index, appetite index: Simplified Nutritional Appetite Questionnaire; and dietary variety: Dietary Variety Score) and a measurement survey (including intraoral confirmation, oral diadochokinesis and masticatory efficiency test). Individuals with three or more indications of poor oral function, identified through oral function assessment, were defined as showing oral frailty. Binomial logistic regression and path analyses examined associations among oral frailty, Simplified Nutritional Appetite Questionnaire and Dietary Variety Score. RESULTS: Among those analyzed, 1208 (44.3%) participants were categorized into the oral frailty group. Binomial logistic regression analysis showed that Simplified Nutritional Appetite Questionnaire (odds ratio for oral frailty per 1-point increase 0.88, 95% confidence interval 0.84-0.93) and Dietary Variety Score (odds ratio 0.95, 95% confidence interval 0.92-0.98) were significantly associated with oral frailty. The path analysis showed individual associations between each examined factor. CONCLUSIONS: Oral frailty was associated with decreased appetite and dietary variety in late-stage older adults. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2024; ••: ••-••.

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• Association between Death or Hospitalization and Observable Variables of Eating and Swallowing Function among Elderly Residents in Long-Term Care Facilities: A Multicenter Prospective Cohort Study

  Takeda M, Watanabe Y, Taira K, Miura K, Ohara Y, Iwasaki M, Ito K, Nakajima J, Iwasa Y, Itoda M, et al

  Healthcare ( Healthcare (Switzerland) )  11 ( 13 )   2023.06 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

  Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)

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  This 1-year multicenter prospective cohort study aimed to determine the association between observable eating and swallowing function factors and outcomes (death/hospitalization or survival) among elderly persons in long-term care insurance facilities in Japan. Baseline assessments of factors, such as language, drooling, halitosis, hypersalivation, tongue movement, perioral muscle function, coughing, respiration after swallowing, rinsing, and oral residue, among others, were conducted. A score of 0 was considered positive, and a score of 1 or 2 was considered negative. Patient age, sex, body mass index, Barthel index, and Clinical Dementia Rating were recorded. The death/hospitalization or survival rates over 1 year were recorded, and patients were allocated into groups depending on the respective outcome (death/hospitalization group or survival group) and baseline characteristics. A total of 986 residents from 32 facilities were included, with 216 in the death/hospitalization group and 770 in the survival group. Language, salivation, halitosis, perioral muscle, coughing, respiration after swallowing, rinsing, and oral residue were significantly associated with the outcomes (p < 0.05). Therefore, routine performance of these simple assessments by caregivers may allow early detection and treatment to prevent death, pneumonia, aspiration, and malnutrition in elderly persons.

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• Association between denture use and food form in older adults requiring long-term care: A multicenter cross-sectional study

  Taira, Kenshu Watanabe, Yutaka Okada, Kazutaka Kondo, Miyako Takeda, Maaya Ito, Kayoko Nakajima, Junko Iwasaki, Masanori Itoda, Masataka Inohara, Ken Sasaki, Rikimaru Nishi, Yasuhiro Furuya, Junichi Watanabe, Yoshihiko Umemoto, George Kishima, Masako Tohara, Takashi Sato, Yuji Yoshida, Mitsuyoshi Yamazaki, Yutaka

  Journal of Prosthodontic Research   67 ( 3 ) 366 - 375   2022.07 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

  Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)

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  PURPOSE: This study aimed to determine whether denture use contributes to maintaining and improving food forms in long-term care facility (LTCFs) residents. METHODS: In 888 residents of 37 LTCFs in Japan, the following were investigated: nutritional intake status, food forms, age, sex, Barthel index (BI), clinical dementia rating (CDR), number of teeth present, number of occlusal supports, swallowing function, and use of dentures. Among all residents, those who were well-nourished and had ≤9 occlusal supports were analyzed. Based on standardized criteria, the food forms consumed by the subjects were divided into two groups: dysphagia and normal diet, which were further classified into four levels. Analysis was performed using a generalized estimation equation with the four levels of food forms as dependent variables and age, sex, BI, CDR, presence of dysphagia, number of teeth present, and use of dentures as independent variables. RESULTS: The final analysis included 622 (70.0%) residents. Of these, 380 (61.1%) used dentures. The analyses revealed that food form was significantly associated with age (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 0.98), BI (OR, 1.04), number of teeth present (OR, 1.03), presence of dysphagia (OR, 0.44), and use of dentures (OR, 2.82). CONCLUSIONS: Denture use was associated with food forms among Japanese LTCF residents. This indicates that the use of dentures is related to the maintenance of food forms, even in the elderly who participate in few activities of daily living, have reduced cognitive function, and require long-term care.

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Other Papers 【 display / non-display 】

Other Papers 【 display / non-display 】

• A case of successful gamma knife for trigeminal neuralgia in an older woman

  松田捺美, 平良賢周, 新井絵里, 尾崎公哉, 渡邊裕, 山崎裕

  日本歯科心身医学会雑誌   37 ( 1-2 )   2022  [Refereed]

   

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