Quality of Life in Hand Eczema Questionnaire: Validation of the Japanese version of a disease-specific measure of quality of life for hand eczema patients.

Hand eczema (HE) is a common skin disease that impairs health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Impairments in HRQOL have already been reported in Japanese HE patients using the Skindex-16. Recently, an instrument to measure disease-specific HRQOL in HE patients was developed by an international expert group, consisting of domains for: (i) symptoms; (ii) emotions; (iii) functioning; and (iv) treatment and prevention.

Cross-Cultural Validation of the Quality of Life in Hand Eczema Questionnaire (QOLHEQ).

The Quality of Life in Hand Eczema Questionnaire (QOLHEQ) is the only instrument assessing disease-specific health-related quality of life in patients with hand eczema. It is available in eight language versions. In this study we assessed if the items of different language versions of the QOLHEQ yield comparable values across countries.

Self-reported hand eczema among dental workers in Japan - a cross-sectional study.

Background: Dental workers are considered to have a high risk of developing occupational hand eczema.

Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of work-related hand eczema and associated risk factors in dental workers in Japan.

Methods: A self-administered questionnaire was sent by mail to all dental clinics of Kumamoto City, Japan.

Allergic contact dermatitis from two-component acrylic resin in a manicurist and a dental hygienist.

Backgrounds: Two-component acrylic resin used in nail art and dentistry can cause allergic contact dermatitis (ACD), but only a few reports from Japan have been published.

Cases: A 35-year-old female manicurist (case 1) and 30-year-old female dental hygienist (case 2) were diagnosed with ACD caused by ethyl methacrylate and methyl methacrylate in a liquid monomer of two-component acrylic resin respectively. Case 1 was sensitized from direct skin contact with nail art acrylic products, which could have been avoided, and gave up both being a manicurist and a user.

Relationship between lifestyle and lifestyle-related factors in a rural-urban population of Japan.

Objective: To clarify the actual state of residents' lifestyle in a mixed rural-urban area in Japan, and to investigate the relationship between residents' lifestyle and lifestyle-related factors.

Methods: The Japanese version of Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile-II (HPLP-II), lifestyle-related factors developed through group work with residents of Town A, and demographic variables were used to evaluate 1176 community residents' lifestyles and associated factors.

Results: Factor analysis revealed that there were 4 factors related to healthy lifestyle.

Assessment of health-promoting lifestyle profile in Japanese university students.

Objectives: This descriptive study of 314 students was conducted to determine whether there were any relationships of their demographic variables with a health-promoting lifestyle profile.

Methods: The Japanese version of the Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile II (HPLP-II) questionnaire was used to investigate students' lifestyles. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and multiple comparison procedures using the Scheffe test were conducted to identify significant differences among university year (first, second, etc.

Policy framework for formulating environmental management strategy for sustainable development of tanneries in India.

Objectives: The leather industry is one of the main examples of industries which play an important role in the Indian economy in terms of exports and employment opportunities, while being blamed for environmental pollution. The objective of this study was to find the advances or improvements in the Japanese leather industry which are not found in typical leather industries in developing countries. We examined the Japanese leather industry in this context because Japan is a developed country in which tanning processes have been a traditional business from ancient times, and also the leather industry has played an important role in the process of economic development of Japan.

A comparative study of health-promoting lifestyles in agricultural and non-agricultural workers in Japan.

Objectives: To clarify the difference in health-promoting lifestyles between agricultural and non-agricultural workers in Japan, a cross-sectional study was conducted on 627 residents living in a town with a mixed rural-urban population.

Methods: The subjects were divided into 8 groups by job (agricultural and non-agricultural), age (young and old), and gender (male and female). To evaluate the subjects' lifestyles, the Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile II (HPLP-II) was applied.

Applying the social cognitive perspective to volunteer intention in China: the mediating roles of self-efficacy and motivation.

When predicting volunteer intention, much attention is paid to the volunteer organization environment (VOE). Given that self-efficacy and motivation have emerged as important predictors of volunteer intention, we adopted a combination of ideas of Bandura's social cognitive theory and Ajzen's theory of planned behavior integrating VOE, self-efficacy and motivation to examine their effects on volunteer intention and to determine whether self-efficacy and motivation mediate the relationship between VOE and volunteer intention. The subjects of this study consisted of 198 community health volunteers in Shanghai city, China.

Quality of life associated with perceived stigma and discrimination among the floating population in Shanghai, China: a qualitative study.

The floating population refers to the large and increasing number of migrants without local household registration status and has become a new demographic phenomenon in China. Most of these migrants move from the rural areas of the central and western parts of China to the eastern and coastal metropolitan areas in pursuit of a better life. The floating population of China was composed of 121 million people in 2000, and this number was expected to increase to 300 million by 2010.

[Skin sensitizers in cosmetics and skin care products].

Cosmetics are defined as "articles with mild action on the human body, which are intended to be applied to the human body through rubbing, sprinkling or other methods, aiming to clean, beautify and increase the attractiveness, alter the appearance or to keep the skin or hair in good condition (The Pharmaceutical Affairs Law: Article 2)." Consequently, they include personal hygiene products such as shampoos, soaps and toothpaste. In Europe, 1% of the population is estimated to be allergic to fragrances and 2-3% to ingredients of cosmetics; 10% of outpatients patch-tested for cosmetics allergy were found to be positive.

Description of environmental determinants of quality of life in children with intellectual disability in Japan using the Delphi technique.

Objectives: The present study aimed to define the framework of an environment conducive to the well-being of children with intellectually disability (CID).

Methods: A questionnaire composed of 31 items was developed through literature review. Then a 2-round Delphi survey was conducted with 3 different panels: health professionals (HPs), parents of CID, and teachers.

Development of an assessment sheet for fall prediction in stroke inpatients in convalescent rehabilitation wards in Japan.

Objective: We conducted a study to develop an assessment sheet for fall prediction in stroke inpatients that is handy and reliable to help ward staff to devise a fall prevention strategy for each inpatient immediately upon admission.

Methods: The study consisted of three steps: (1) developing a data sampling form to record variables related to risk of falls in stroke inpatients and conducting a follow-up survey for stroke inpatients from their admission to discharge by using the form; (2) carrying out analyses of characteristics of the present subjects and selecting variables showing a high hazard ratio (HR) for falls using the Cox regression analysis; (3) developing an assessment sheet for fall prediction involving variables giving the integral coefficient for each variable in accordance with the HR determined in the second step.

Results And Discussion: (1) Subjects of the present survey were 704 inpatients from 17 hospitals including 270 fallers.

Toxicity study of the volatile constituents of Myoga utilizing acute dermal irritation assays and the Guinea-pig Maximization test.

Myoga is a fragrant plant which is the special product of Japan and is cultivated throughout Japan. According to our earlier investigation (unpublished data) of myoga cultivators in Japan, 8 of 35 cultivators experienced contact dermatitis in the harvest season. The purpose of this study was to assess the allergenicity of myoga and its major volatile components.

Arsenic-contaminated water and extent of acute childhood malnutrition (wasting) in rural Bangladesh.

To investigate whether children's nutritional status, especially the extent of wasting [acute malnutrition as measured by weight-for-height Z (WHZ) score] is associated with arsenic contamination of drinking water, a survey was carried out in two discrete rural areas located less than 30 km southeast and northeast of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. 761 children between 7 and 14 years of age were randomly selected, one child per household. The arsenic concentration in the tube well water used by each child and the prevalence and intensity of infection of three geo-helminths [Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura and hookworm (Ancylostoma duodenale or Necator americanus)] were determined.

Occupational dermatoses among fibreglass-reinforced plastics factory workers.

Fibreglass-reinforced plastics (FRP) factory workers are at high risk of developing occupational dermatoses because of their exposure to many chemicals used in the manufacture of plastics as well as to glass fibre or dust. Patch tests were carried out on 29 workers involved in FRP manufacturing processes where unsaturated polyester (UP) resin was used, to investigate the causes of their skin problems. Of the 22 workers who reported experiencing skin problems, 16 showed positive results to at least 1 chemical, including 6 cases of multiple sensitivity.

Skin problems among fiber-glass reinforced plastics factory workers in Japan.

Two surveys, one in winter the other in summer time, examined the skin problems of the entire manual workers (N=148) from 11 small-to-medium sized fiber-glass reinforced plastics (FRP) factories located in Kyushu, Japan. The workers were exposed to unsaturated polyester resin, including styrene and auxiliary agents such as cobalt naphthenate, hardeners such as methyl ethyl ketone peroxides, glass fiber and dust including shortened glass fiber and plastic particles. Eighty-seven workers (58.