Association among number, order and type of siblings and adolescent mental health at age 12.

Background: Although the sibling relationship is a unique one, the effects of the number and type of siblings on mental health among adolescents have not been reported.

Methods: Japanese children (total, 9276; boys, 4654; girls, 4622), all 12 years old, and from the Japanese Toyama Birth Cohort Study, were followed up until 2002. Subject self-reported mental health was obtained from the Japanese version of the Dartmouth Primary Care Co-operative Project (COOP) charts.

Daytime sleepiness and associated factors in Japanese school children.

Objective: To examine daytime sleepiness and sleepiness interrelationship with sleep-wake patterns, eating habits, physical activity, and TV/video game time.

Study Design: A cross-sectional survey with 9,261 school children (mean age of 12.8 years) from 93 junior high schools in Toyama prefecture, Japan.

Epidemiological aspects of self-reported sleep onset latency in Japanese junior high school children.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between sleep onset latency (SOL) and other sleep-wake patterns and media use habits in Japanese schoolchildren. A total of 9,718 junior high school children responded (12.8 years) and 9199 questionnaires were used in the present analyses.

Gender and temporal differences in sleep-wake patterns in Japanese schoolchildren.

Study Objective: To determine gender and weekly differences in sleep patterns in Japanese children in junior high school.

Design: A school-based study.

Setting: N/A.

Lifestyles and health-related quality of life in Japanese school children: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Lifestyles are associated with physical and mental health status, as well as health-related quality of life (QOL) in adults. There is little information about relation between lifestyles and QOL in children. This study aims to examine the correlation among Japanese children.

Validity of child sleep diary questionnaire among junior high school children.

Background: The validity of sleep quality and quantity indices as reported by schoolchildren has not been established. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the relationship between subjective sleep habits estimation and objective measurement data in schoolchildren.

Methods: The study consisted of 42 healthy junior high school children aged 13-14.

Validation of a self-reported physical activity questionnaire for schoolchildren.

Background: There is little information about validation of young children's self-reported physical activity. This study assessed the validity of a self-reported questionnaire designed to measure children's physical activity.

Methods: Subjects were 34 boys from 4th to 6th grade of a public elementary school.

Associations between sense of coherence and psychological work characteristics with changes in quality of life in Japanese civil servants: a 1-year follow-up study.

We conducted a 1-year follow-up study to evaluate the lasting effect of psychosocial characteristics on quality of life among Japanese civil servants. For this purpose, sense of coherence (SOC), which has been associated with adoptive measures in responding to life stress, and job strain components of demand and control, were used. We evaluated 1392 civil servants working in departments related to the municipality of T city in Toyama prefecture, Japan, in the springs of 2001 and 2002 with complete information in both phases of the study.

The validity of nursery teachers' report on the physical activity of young children.

This study examined the validity of nursery teachers' report on the physical activity of young children. Subjects were twenty-one children aged 3 to 4 years (12 boys and 9 girls) at a nursery in Toyama Prefecture, Japan. Children were equipped with the Actiwatch (Mini-mitter Company Inc.

Job strain does not relate to morning level vanilmandelic acid in Japanese civil servants.

Epidemiologic and clinical studies have related acute and, less frequently, chronic life stress to cardiovascular diseases. In addition, animal models suggest that chronic psychological stress could cause atherosclerosis, probably by increasing sympathetic activation. In this cross-sectional study we evaluated the association between job strain, as one of the markers of workplace stress, and the urinary excretion of Vanilmandelic acid (VMA) upon awakening as a sympathoadrenal activity marker in the morning.

The validity of sleeping hours of healthy young children as reported by their parents.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the validity of sleeping hours of young children as reported by their parents. The subjects were 21 healthy children aged 3 to 4 years. They were asked to attach a small instrument for calculating sleeping hours objectively, over 3 consecutive nights.

Accuracy of the estimated prevalence of childhood obesity from height and weight values reported by parents: results of the Toyama Birth Cohort study.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the validity of the estimated prevalence of childhood obesity from height and weight reported by parents. The subjects were 170 first-grade children (83 males and 87 females) and 206 fourth-grade children (99 males and 107 females). A questionnaire including questions on height and weight was distributed to children and completed by parents.

Parental obesity, lifestyle factors and obesity in preschool children: results of the Toyama Birth Cohort study.

The aim of this study was to clarify the impact of parental obesity and lifestyle factors on obesity in preschool children. The subjects consisted of 8941 children aged 3 years, born in 1989. Anthropometric measurements and questionnaire surveys were conducted between 1992 and 1994.

Validity of a questionnaire evaluating physical activity level in young children.

Objective: To assess the validity of a questionnaire for evaluating the physical activity of young children as reported by parents.

Methods: Twenty-one male 1st grade elementary school children were the study subjects. The questionnaire contained 3 questions relating to the physical activity of children and was completed by their parents.