Analysis of the growth trajectories of junior residents in Japan: a longitudinal cohort study using data from a nationwide e-portfolio system (EPOC2).

Objectives: As more emphasis is placed on the acquisition of competencies in medical education, portfolios are increasingly being used for evaluation. EPOC2 (E-POrtfolio of Clinical training) is an e-portfolio system developed in Japan and is used by about 800 clinical training hospitals. The study objective is to identify the learning trajectory of junior residents to provide insights into the provision of better postgraduate and undergraduate medical education in Japan.

[Medical Professionalism as a Pivotal Goal in the Postgraduate Clinical Training].

Postgraduate clinical training for physicians in Japan has been mandatory since 2004, with the provision that the system itself is to be revised every 5 years if necessary. Major revisions were implemented in 2020, involving the objectives, strategies, and evaluations of the clinical training program. Among the revisions was a section on professionalism in the first part of objectives.

Retrospective evaluation of the symptom-based work restriction strategy of healthcare providers in the first epidemic of COVID-19 at a tertiary care hospital in Tokyo, Japan.

Background: Effectiveness of restricting healthcare providers (HCPs) from working based on the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-like symptoms should be evaluated.

Methods: A total of 495 HCPs in a tertiary care hospital in Tokyo, Japan, participated in this study between June and July in 2020. Analysis of serum anti-severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antibody to identify infected HCPs, questionnaire surveys, and medical record reviews were conducted to evaluate the appropriateness of symptom-based work restriction for 10 days.

Health care worker burnout after the first wave of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Japan.

Objectives: To determine the prevalence of burnout according to job category after the first wave of COVID-19 in Japan and to explore its association with certain factors.

Methods: An online cross-sectional survey of health care workers (HCWs) from June 15 to July 6, 2020, was conducted at a tertiary hospital in Tokyo, Japan. Demographic characteristics, results of the Japanese version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey, types of anxiety and stress, changes in life and work after the peak of the pandemic, and types of support aimed at reducing the physical or mental burden, were determined.

Differences in clinical knowledge levels between residents in two post-graduate rotation programmes in Japan.

Background: In Japan, between 2010 and 2020, there were two post-graduate training curricula for post-graduate medical education, as follows: comprehensive rotation programmes (CRPs), which require rotation in at least seven clinical departments; and limited rotation programmes (LRPs), which require rotation in fewer clinical departments. The curriculum that should be used for standardized Japanese post-graduate training has long been debated. Multiple studies show that post-graduate trainees who trained with CRPs were more satisfied and confident and gained more clinical experience than those who trained with LRPs.

Prevalence of Health Care Worker Burnout During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic in Japan.

This cross-sectional study evaluates the prevalence of and factors associated with burnout among frontline health care workers during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Japan.

Variation in somatic symptoms by patient health questionnaire-9 depression scores in a representative Japanese sample.

Background: This study aims to evaluate variation in somatic symptoms by age using patient health questionnaire-9 (PHQ) depression scores, which may be helpful in identifying depression.

Methods: The study evaluated a nationally representative cross-sectional sample of community-dwelling adults in Japan in 2013. We utilized the PHQ to identify risk for depression, with PHQ ≥ 10 defining at least moderate depression.

Weather and Health Symptoms.

Weather affects the daily lives of individuals. However, its health effects have not been fully elucidated. It may lead to physical symptoms and/or influence mental health.

HbA1c monitoring interval in patients on treatment for stable type 2 diabetes. A ten-year retrospective, open cohort study.

[Aims] This study aims to suggest an informative interval for HbA1c in DM patients with stable glycemic control, based on test characteristics of the HbA1C assay using the signal-to-noise ratio method. [Methods] This was a retrospective, open cohort study. Data were collected between January 2005 to December 2014 at a tertiary-level community hospital in Japan.

Diabetes screening intervals based on risk stratification.

Background: Guidelines for frequency of Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) screening remain unclear, with proposed screening intervals typically based on expert opinion. This study aims to demonstrate that HbA1c screening intervals may differ substantially when considering individual risk for diabetes.

Methods: This was a multi-institutional retrospective open cohort study.

Having a Mentor or a Doctoral Degree Is Helpful for Mid-Career Physicians to Publish Papers in Peer-Reviewed Journals.

The evidence suggests that mentoring is one of useful teaching methods in academic medicine but it is not clear for which outcome mentoring is effective. In this study, the authors investigated the number of original research articles that the participants had published in peer-reviewed English-language journals (as a first or a corresponding author) within one year prior to investigation and what characteristics of the participants who published at least one paper would be like compared to those who did not. In March 2015, the authors recruit early- and mid-career Japanese physicians (238 men and 240 women; mean age 40.

Differential time trends of outcomes and costs of care for acute myocardial infarction hospitalizations by ST elevation and type of intervention in the United States, 2001-2011.

Background: Little is known whether time trends of in-hospital mortality and costs of care for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) differ by type of AMI (ST-elevation myocardial infarction [STEMI] vs. non-ST-elevation [NSTEMI]) and by the intervention received (percutaneous coronary intervention [PCI], coronary artery bypass grafting [CABG], or no intervention) in the United States.

Methods And Results: We conducted a serial cross-sectional study of all hospitalizations for AMI aged 30 years or older using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample, 2001-2011 (1,456,154 discharges; a weighted estimate of 7,135,592 discharges).

Bone mineral density: reference values and correlates for Bangladeshi women aged 16-65 years.

Background: Studies examining the reference values of bone mineral density (BMD) and their patterns at different ages are largely based on data generated from developed countries. The objective of this study was to estimate reference values of BMD, along with their correlates, for women living in urban and suburban areas of Bangladesh.

Methods: Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scans were performed on 500 women 16-65 years of age.

Association of weight gain since age 20 with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in normal weight individuals.

Background And Aims: Interventions for lifestyle diseases including non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) have focused on overweight and obese populations. The impact of adult weight gain on NAFLD development among normal weight individuals remains unclear.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we collected data from participants presenting to a health check-up program.

A predictive rule for mortality of inpatients with Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia: A classification and regression tree analysis.

Objective: To create a predictive rule to identify risk factors for mortality among patients with Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia (SAB).

Design, Setting And Patients: This was a retrospective cohort study of all adult patients with SAB at a large community hospital in Tokyo, Japan, from April 1, 2004 to March 31, 2011. Baseline data and clinically relevant factors were collected from electronic charts.