Evaluation of claims-based frailty measurements in older patients with cancer: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: Frailty is associated with poor outcomes in older adults with cancer. Several efforts have been made to assess frailty using the administrative claims data based on the number of clinical diagnosis codes, yet the literature reporting on this is scarce. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of frailty measures using administrative databases in Japan.

Predictors for recurrence of drug use among males on probation for methamphetamine use in Japan: a one-year follow-up study.

Background: Methamphetamine use is related to severe health, social, and criminal challenges. However, there is limited evidence regarding the factors associated with the recurrence of drug use among individuals who have used methamphetamine, particularly within populations involved in the criminal justice system. This study aimed to identify predictors of illicit drug use at a one-year follow-up among males in Japan who have used methamphetamine and are involved in the criminal justice system.

BMI trajectory of 8,155,894 Japanese adults from exhaustive health checkup data: the contributions of age-related changes in height and weight.

This study aimed to clarify the trajectory of BMI alongside age-related changes in height and weight among Japanese adults. Data from annual health checkups between 2015 and 2020 by the Japan Health Insurance Association were retrospectively analyzed. A total of 4,777,891 men and 3,378,003 women (age 35-69 years) were stratified into 14 subgroups based on sex and 5-year age categories.

Resuscitation Attempt and Outcomes in Patients With Asystole Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest.

Importance: Little is known about the epidemiology of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) in patients with asystole in countries where prehospital resuscitation is not withheld or terminated.

Objective: To investigate the secular trends in the patient outcomes and advanced life support (ALS) procedures and evaluate the association of ALS procedures with favorable outcomes among patients with OHCA and asystole.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This cohort study analyzed data from a nationwide prospective OHCA registry in Japan.

Height status matters for risk of mortality in critically ill children.

Background: Anthropometric measurements are crucial in pediatric critical care, but the impact of height on ICU outcomes is underexplored despite a substantial number of short-for-age children in ICUs. Previous studies suggest that short stature increases the risk of poor clinical outcomes. This study examines the relationship between short stature and ICU outcomes.

Postpartum hair loss is associated with anxiety.

Aim: This study examined the relationship between postpartum hair loss and psychological symptoms.

Methods: This questionnaire-based, cross-sectional study included postpartum women who had delivered at two facilities and completed the questionnaire 10-18 months after delivery. Study protocols were sent by mail in two parts.

Identification of novel sub-phenotypes of severe ARDS requiring ECMO using latent class analysis.

Background: Sub-phenotyping of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) could be useful for evaluating the severity of ARDS or predicting its responsiveness to given therapeutic strategies, but no studies have yet investigated the heterogeneity of patients with severe ARDS requiring veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (V-V ECMO).

Methods: We conducted this retrospective multicenter observational study in adult patients with severe ARDS treated by V-V ECMO. We performed latent class analysis (LCA) for identifying sub-phenotypes of severe ARDS based on the radiological and clinical findings at the start of ECMO support.

Physical Function Trajectory among High-Functioning Long-Term Care Facility Residents: Utilizing Japanese National Data.

Physical function trajectory (PFT) is associated with mortality and hospitalization risks. We aimed to identify and compare the PFTs of newly admitted high-functioning older adults during their first six months at long-term care (LTC) facilities. In this multicenter retrospective cohort study, we included newly admitted high-functioning older adults (Barthel index > 60) from 47 Japanese LTC facilities.

Associations between dietary potassium intake and urinary potassium excretion: a protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: While numerous studies have reported associations between low dietary potassium intake and adverse clinical outcomes, methods to estimate potassium intake, mainly self-reported dietary measures and urinary potassium excretion, entail certain limitations. Self-reported measures are subject to underreporting and overreporting. Urinary potassium excretion is affected by multiple factors including renal function.

Associations Between Dietary Potassium Intake From Different Food Sources and Hyperkalemia in Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease.

Objective: Previous studies reported mixed results on associations between dietary potassium intake and hyperkalemia in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). This study investigated the association between potassium intake from different food sources and hyperkalemia in patients with non-dialysis-dependent CKD.

Methods: A total of 285 patients were recruited at a university hospital and 2 city hospitals in Tokyo.

Analysis of prognosis and background liver disease in non-advanced hepatocellular carcinoma in two decades.

Background/aim: Antiviral hepatitis and systemic therapies for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remarkably progressed in the recent 10 years. This study aimed to reveal the actual transition and changes in the prognosis and background liver disease in non-advanced HCC in the past 20 years.

Methods: This retrospectively recruited 566 patients who were diagnosed with non-advanced HCC from February 2002 to February 2022.

Assessment of clinical relevance of antigen improves diagnostic accuracy of hypersensitivity pneumonitis.

Background: Exposure assessment is integral to the diagnosis of hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP). Although the clinical relevance of exposed antigens is essential for the assessment, many of the previous guidelines or reports have only evaluated simple exposure histories or immunological tests. To overcome this problem, the Exposure Assessment Form (EAF) was developed as an assessment tool for classifying the exposure grade from G0 to G4.

Effect of overweight/obesity and metabolic syndrome on frailty in middle-aged and older Japanese adults.

Background: The potential for developing frailty exists in middle-aged and older adults. While obesity and metabolic syndrome (MetS) increase the risk of frailty in older adults, this relationship remains unclear in middle-aged adults, who are prone to developing lifestyle-related diseases.

Objective: To examine the effect of overweight/obesity and MetS on frailty development in middle-aged and older Japanese adults using real-world data.

Association between Short Stature at Grade 1 and Permanent Teeth Caries at Grade 6 in Elementary School Children in Japan: A Population-Based Cohort Study.

Short stature in children is a marker of low nutritional status and has been suggested to be associated with dental caries. However, longitudinal studies on this topic are scarce. Data from a longitudinal study of elementary school children in Adachi City, Tokyo, Japan, were analyzed.

Effect of warm and humid days on the positivity rate of anti-Trichosporon asahii antibody test for the diagnosis of summer-type hypersensitivity pneumonitis.

Background: Summer-type hypersensitivity pneumonitis (SHP) has been reported to occur during warm and humid summer seasons in Japan; however, the effect of weather conditions on SHP remains unknown. Anti-Trichosporon asahii antibody (TaAb) test is highly specific and useful for the diagnosing SHP. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the impact of weather conditions on SHP by examining the relationship between the positivity rate of TaAb and warm and humid days.

Impairment of Social-Related Quality of Life in COVID-19 Pneumonia Survivors: A Prospective Longitudinal Study.

The post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 (PASC) pose a threat to patients' health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Here, the impact of COVID-19 on HRQOL and the clinical factors associated with impaired HRQOL were examined. Discharged COVID-19 patients were assessed at 3 and 6 months after disease onset.

CD40 is expressed in the subsets of endothelial cells undergoing partial endothelial-mesenchymal transition in tumor microenvironment.

Tumor progression and metastasis are regulated by endothelial cells undergoing endothelial-mesenchymal transition (EndoMT), a cellular differentiation process in which endothelial cells lose their properties and differentiate into mesenchymal cells. The cells undergoing EndoMT differentiate through a spectrum of intermediate phases, suggesting that some cells remain in a partial EndoMT state and exhibit an endothelial/mesenchymal phenotype. However, detailed analysis of partial EndoMT has been hampered by the lack of specific markers.

Physical function decline predictors in nursing home residents using new national quality indicators.

Aim: To determine the predictors of physical function (PF) decline among nursing home residents using items from the Long-term care Information system For Evidence (LIFE), a system launched in 2021 to ensure the quality of long-term care.

Methods: The LIFE data of 1648 residents from 45 nursing homes in Japan were retrospectively collected in July 2021 (T0) and January 2022 (T1), including demographics, PF assessed by the Barthel index (BI), nutrition and oral health, and cognitive function. The Dementia Behavior Disturbance scale was used to assess the frequency of certain behaviors, such as "waking at midnight.