Safety Assessment of Influenza Vaccination for Neurological Outcomes Among Older Adults in Japan: A Self-Controlled Case Series Study.

Purpose: To assess adverse neurological risks following influenza vaccination in older adults.

Methods: Using a linked database of healthcare administrative claims data and vaccination records from an urban city in Japan (April 1, 2014, to March 31, 2020), we conducted an observational study utilizing a self-controlled case series design. We identified individuals aged ≥ 65 years who experienced adverse neurological outcomes, defined as hospitalizations related to epilepsy, paralysis, facial paralysis, neuralgia, neuritis, optic neuritis, migraine, extrapyramidal disorders, Guillain-Barre syndrome, or narcolepsy.

Chlorophyll and topographic patterns demonstrate stress conditions drive the brightness of autumn leaf colour.

Autumn leaf colour brightness is an important cultural ecosystem service. As its spatial patterns and ecophysiological mechanisms remain unclear, we analysed relationships among autumn leaf colour brightness, late summer chlorophyll content, and topographic position in both canopy-based micro-scale analysis and site-based macro-scale analysis. Multispectral drone observations were made in three Fagus crenata forests at elevations of 300, 600, and 900 m in Niigata Prefecture, Japan.

The flower does not open in the city: evolution of plant reproductive traits of Portulaca oleracea in urban populations.

Background And Aims: The impact of urbanization on plant evolution, particularly the evolution of reproductive traits, remains largely unknown. In this study, we aimed to investigate the consequences of urbanization on the reproductive traits of Portulaca oleracea in the Kantō region of Japan. Portulaca oleracea has a unique cleistogamous reproductive system, which consists of genetically determined chasmogamous (open, CH) and cleistogamous (closed, CL) plants.

Comparison of the Effectiveness of Vedolizumab and Ustekinumab in Crohn's Disease Patients Who Failed Anti-tumor Necrosis Factor-α Treatment in Japan: An Observational Study Utilizing Claims Database.

This study aimed to investigate whether the approved sequence of vedolizumab and ustekinumab impacts the results of previous observational studies conducted in the European Union (EU), comparing the effectiveness of these drugs in Crohn's disease (CD) patients who failed anti-tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα) treatment. We conducted this study in Japan, where the approved sequence of drugs is different from that of the EU. We extracted 256 patients diagnosed with CD, who had a history of anti-TNFα treatment and were prescribed either vedolizumab or ustekinumab, from JMDC claims database.

Causality Assessment Between Drugs and Fatal Cerebral Haemorrhage Using Electronic Medical Records: Comparative Evaluation of Disease-Specific and Conventional Methods.

Introduction: A new algorithm for causality assessment of drugs and fatal cerebral haemorrhage (ACAD-FCH) was published in 2021. However, its use in clinical practice has not been verified.

Objectives: This study aimed to explore the practical value of the ACAD-FCH when applying information available in clinical practice.

Patient concern regarding bleeding side effects from oral anticoagulation therapy for atrial fibrillation: an analysis from the multicentre KiCS-AF registry.

Aims: The purpose of this study is to utilize patient-reported outcomes to determine the percentage of patients concerned about mild to moderate bleeding side effects of anticoagulants.

Methods And Results: We consecutively enrolled 3312 newly diagnosed or referred patients for atrial fibrillation (AF) management from 11 sites within the Keio interhospital Cardiovascular Studies-Atrial Fibrillation registry between September 2012 and May 2018. Of these patients, 2636 (79.

Inventory of real-world data sources in Japan: Annual survey conducted by the Japanese Society for Pharmacoepidemiology Task Force.

Purpose: The Database Task Force of the Japan Society for Pharmacoepidemiology began its annual surveys of databases available for clinico and pharmacoepidemiological studies in 2010. In this report, we summarize the characteristics of the databases available in Japan based on the results of our 2021 survey to illustrate the recent developments in the infrastructure for database research in Japan.

Methods: We included 20 major databases from the academia, government, or industry that were accessible to third parties.

Assessing ecosystem vulnerability under severe uncertainty of global climate change.

Assessing the vulnerability and adaptive capacity of species, communities, and ecosystems is essential for successful conservation. Climate change, however, induces extreme uncertainty in various pathways of assessments, which hampers robust decision-making for conservation. Here, we developed a framework that allows us to quantify the level of acceptable uncertainty as a metric of ecosystem robustness, considering the uncertainty due to climate change.

Validation Study of Algorithms to Identify Malignant Tumors and Serious Infections in a Japanese Administrative Healthcare Database.

Background: This retrospective observational study validated case-finding algorithms for malignant tumors and serious infections in a Japanese administrative healthcare database.

Methods: Random samples of possible cases of each disease (January 2015-January 2018) from two hospitals participating in the Medical Data Vision Co., Ltd.

Complex range shifts among forest functional types under the contemporary warming.

The direction and magnitude of species distribution shifts tend to differ among species and functional types (FTs). Quantifying functional trait variation and species interactions will improve our understanding of the complex mechanisms that govern ecosystem dynamics and their responses to climate change. Here, we analyzed differences in the juvenile and adult temperature ranges of Japanese tree species at the mean, colder edge, and warmer edge of their distributions to reveal how functional traits affect interactions between different FT groups (e.

Current site planning of medium to large solar power systems accelerates the loss of the remaining semi-natural and agricultural habitats.

The global transition to renewable energy sources has accelerated to mitigate the effects of global climate change. Sudden increases in solar power facilities have caused the physical destruction of wildlife habitats, thereby resulting in the decline of biodiversity and ecosystem functions. However, previous assessments have been based on the environmental impact of large solar photovoltaics (PVs).

Author Correction: Investigating effect of climate warming on the population declines of Sympetrum frequens during the 1990s in three regions in Japan.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Investigating effect of climate warming on the population declines of Sympetrum frequens during the 1990s in three regions in Japan.

Climate warming is of concern as a key factor in the worldwide decline in insect populations. In Japan, numbers of a common dragonfly in rice paddy fields, Sympetrum frequens, decreased sharply in the 1990s. Because S.

Association Between Routine Nephropathy Monitoring and Subsequent Change in Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate in Patients With Diabetes Mellitus: A Japanese Non-Elderly Cohort Study.

Backgrounds: Current guidelines recommend routine nephropathy monitoring, including microalbuminuria or proteinuria testing, for people with diabetes mellitus; however, its effect in terms of preserving renal function remains unclear. We conducted this study to examine the impact of routine nephropathy monitoring on subsequent changes in estimated glomerular filtration rate.

Methods: We retrospectively identified non-elderly individuals with diabetes mellitus based on the prescription of hypoglycemic agents from a large Japanese database (JMDC, Tokyo, Japan) of screening for lifestyle diseases linked with administrative claims data.

Relationship Between Severe Respiratory Depression and Codeine-Containing Antitussives in Children: A Nested Case-Control Study.

Background: Guidelines recommend against all codeine use in children for its common indications of analgesia and cough suppression because of uncertain benefits and potential risk of death. However, because of its rarity, the occurrence of severe respiratory depression associated with codeine-containing antitussives has been poorly investigated. The objective of this study was to investigate the association between codeine-containing antitussives and severe respiratory depression in children.

Positive predictive value of ICD-10 codes for acute myocardial infarction in Japan: a validation study at a single center.

Background: In Japan, several large healthcare databases have become available for research since the early 2000's. However, validation studies to examine the accuracy of these databases remain scarce. We conducted a validation study in order to estimate the positive predictive value (PPV) of local or ICD-10 codes for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in Japanese claims.

Establishing a Core Outcome Measure for Life Participation: A Standardized Outcomes in Nephrology-kidney Transplantation Consensus Workshop Report.

Background: Kidney transplantation confers substantial survival and quality of life benefits for many patients with end-stage kidney disease compared with dialysis, but complications and side effects of immunosuppression can impair participation in daily life activities. Life participation is a critically important patient-reported outcome for kidney transplant recipients but is infrequently and inconsistently measured in trials. We convened a consensus workshop on establishing an outcome measure for life participation for use in all trials in kidney transplantation.

The use of anticoagulants in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation between 2005 and 2014: A drug utilization study using claims data in Japan.

Background: Anticoagulant therapy is recommended in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) but remains underused. The proper use of anticoagulants has been encouraged in guidelines frequently published over the past two decades.

Materials And Methods: In this study, we used insurance claims data collected from 2005 to 2014 to investigate the prevalence and incidence of non-valvular AF (NVAF) patients aged 20 to 74 years standardized to the Japanese population in 2012 and subdivided by stroke prevention drug type.

Elevated Serum Uric Acid Levels Are Related to Cognitive Deterioration in an Elderly Japanese Population.

Aims: The association between serum uric acid (UA) levels and cognitive function is controversial since UA can be a risk factor for cerebral ischemia as well as acting as a neuroprotective antioxidant.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of 228 elderly participants and examined neuropsychological test results, clinical data as well as brain magnetic resonance imaging data.

Patients: Overall, 64 participants were diagnosed with cognitive deterioration.

Morphological changes in the temporomandibular joint after orthodontic treatment for Angle Class II malocclusion.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the morphological temporomandibular joint (TMJ) changes that occur after orthodontic treatment in patients with Angle Class II malocclusion.

Methods: The post-treatment changes in TMJ morphology were analyzed, based on TMJ cephalometric laminographs in 19 patients with Angle Class II malocclusion and labial inclination of the upper incisors after premolar extraction.

Results: The condylar pass angle, articular eminence to the Frankfort horizontal plane angle, and total, upper, and lower heights of the articular fossa increased significantly on both sides after treatment and retention.

Land abandonment and changes in snow cover period accelerate range expansions of sika deer.

Ongoing climate change and land-use change have the potential to substantially alter the distribution of large herbivores. This may result in drastic changes in ecosystems by changing plant-herbivore interactions. Here, we developed a model explaining sika deer persistence and colonization between 25 years in terms of neighborhood occupancy and habitat suitability.

Epidemiology of psoriasis and palmoplantar pustulosis: a nationwide study using the Japanese national claims database.

Objective: The primary objective was to estimate the national prevalence of psoriasis and palmoplantar pustulosis (PPP) in Japan. Secondary objectives were to determine (1) whether psoriasis and PPP disease activity varies by season, and (2) whether disease severity is associated with concurrent diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidaemia and hypertension.

Settings: Patients with a psoriasis or PPP diagnosis code between April 2010 and March 2011 were identified using a Japanese national database.

Null model approaches to evaluating the relative role of different assembly processes in shaping ecological communities.

Various local processes simultaneously shape ecological assemblages. β-diversity is a useful metric for inferring the underlying mechanisms of community assembly. However, β-diversity is not independent of γ-diversity, which may mask the local mechanisms that govern community processes across regions.

Influence of municipality-level mean income on access to aortic valve surgery: a cross-sectional observational study under Japan's universal health-care coverage.

Background: Universal health-care coverage has attracted the interest of policy makers as a way of achieving health equity. However, previous reports have shown that despite universal coverage, socioeconomic disparity persists in access to high-tech invasive care, such as cardiac treatment. In this study, we aimed to investigate the association between socioeconomic status and care of aortic stenosis in the context of Japan's health-care system, which is mainly publicly funded.