Healthcare burden of narcolepsy in Japan: A retrospective analysis of health insurance claims from the Japan Medical Data Center.

Background: Narcolepsy is a chronic disorder that requires lifelong management; however, few studies have evaluated disease burden of narcolepsy. We estimated the healthcare burden of narcolepsy in Japan using data from the Japan Medical Data Center health insurance claims database.

Methods: This was a retrospective analysis of clinical burden, healthcare resource utilization, and costs among incident narcolepsy cases and matched controls identified between January 1, 2014 and December 31, 2019.

Effectiveness and Characteristics of Work Participation Interventions for Adults with Musculoskeletal Upper Limb Conditions: A Systematic Review.

Purpose: To systematically identify and evaluate interventions to improve work participation for adults with upper limb musculoskeletal conditions, and explore contextual factors and mechanisms that suggest how the intervention is effective, for whom, and in what setting.

Methods: The review protocol was pre-registered with PROSPERO (CRD42023433216). Eligible studies met the following criteria.

Small Area Estimation of PSA Testing in US States and Counties.

Background: In 2012, the US Preventive Services Task Force recommended against prostate cancer screening using the PSA test for all age groups. In 2018, the US Preventive Services Task Force's recommendation shifted from a "D" (not recommended) to a "C" (selectively offering PSA-based screening based on professional judgment and patient preferences) in men ages 55 to 69. Limited reliable county-level prostate cancer screening data are available for cancer surveillance purposes.

Supporting work participation for adults with hand and upper limb conditions: A survey of the British Association of hand therapists.

Introduction: Musculoskeletal disorders affect over a third of the UK adult population and are a common reason for sick leave from work. The aims of this study were to describe the reported provision of work participation support for adults with hand and upper limb conditions by UK hand therapists, and to identify potential training needs in this area.

Methods: A previous survey of the Australian Hand Therapy Association was adapted for the UK.

Developing Sampling Weights for Statistical Analysis of Parent-Child Pair Data From the National Health Interview Survey.

The National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics since 1957, is the principal source of information on the health of the U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized population.

Assessing the profile and utility of diplomates in occupational medicine.

Background: The utility of the occupational medicine diploma in the UK is yet to be explored. The NHS 'Growing Occupational Health (OH) and Wellbeing' programme provides opportunities for diplomates to increase their OH work.

Aims: To assess what proportion of diplomates carry out OH work, the type of work being undertaken, to identify obstacles impeding OH work, to capture their interest in future work opportunities and what additional support they require.

Constructing therapeutic support and negotiating competing agendas: A discourse analysis of vocational advice provided to individuals who are absent from work due to ill-health.

Work participation is known to benefit people's overall health and wellbeing, but accessing vocational support during periods of sickness absence to facilitate return-to-work can be challenging for many people. In this study, we explored how vocational advice was delivered by trained vocational support workers (VSWs) to people who had been signed-off from work by their General Practitioner (GP), as part of a feasibility study testing a vocational advice intervention. We investigated the discursive and interactional strategies employed by VSWs and people absent from work, to pursue their joint and respective goals.

Calibration Weighting Methods for the National Center for Health Statistics Research and Development Survey.

Objectives The Research and Development Survey (RANDS) is a series of web-based, commercial panel surveys that have been conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) since 2015. RANDS was designed for methodological research purposes,including supplementing NCHS' evaluation of surveys and questionnaires to detect measurement error, and exploring methods to integrate data from commercial survey panels with high-quality data collections to improve survey estimation. The latter goal of improving survey estimation is in response to limitations of web surveys, including coverage and nonresponse bias.

Loci for insulin processing and secretion provide insight into type 2 diabetes risk.

Insulin secretion is critical for glucose homeostasis, and increased levels of the precursor proinsulin relative to insulin indicate pancreatic islet beta-cell stress and insufficient insulin secretory capacity in the setting of insulin resistance. We conducted meta-analyses of genome-wide association results for fasting proinsulin from 16 European-ancestry studies in 45,861 individuals. We found 36 independent signals at 30 loci (p value < 5 × 10), which validated 12 previously reported loci for proinsulin and ten additional loci previously identified for another glycemic trait.

Multiple imputation of missing data with skip-pattern covariates: a comparison of alternative strategies.

Multiple imputation (MI) is a widely used approach to address missing data issues in surveys. Variables included in MI can have various distributional forms with different degrees of missingness. However, when variables with missing data contain skip patterns (i.

Propensity-score Adjusted Estimates for Selected Health Outcomes From the Research and Development Survey.

To evaluate the quality of web surveys, the National Center for Health Statistics' Division of Research and Methodology has been conducting a series of studies with survey data from commercially recruited panels,referred to as the Research and Development Survey (RANDS). This report describes the propensity-score adjusted estimates from the second round of RANDS (RANDS 2) using the 2016 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS).

The impact of Covid-19 on research into work and health.

Background: The global coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic created a profound disruption to the delivery of planned scientific research with unknown immediate and potentially longer-term impacts.

Aims: We explored researchers' experiences of the impact of the pandemic on the continued development and delivery of research into work and health, and on research infrastructure in this field.

Methods: A cross-sectional study.

Expanding the strategic and clinical leadership role of accredited specialists.

Background: We sought to explore the value and benefits of accredited specialists employed in the National Health Service (NHS), and proposed strategies for expanding their role.

Aims: To explore the core characteristics of accredited specialists and to examine how their skills could be further utilized to enhance occupational health (OH) services.

Methods: Mixed methods comprising a survey and qualitative work.

Sample Design and Estimation Structures for the National Health Interview Survey, 2016-2025.

This report presents operating characteristics of the NHIS 2016-2025 sample design. The general sampling structure is presented, along with a discussion of weighting and variance estimation techniques primarily for 2016-2018. This report is organized into four major sections.

Attitudes and practices of ophthalmology doctors in London (UK) on the importance of discussing work as a clinical outcome with patients during consultations: A cross sectional survey.

Background: Limited research suggests that non-occupational health doctors rarely discuss occupation with their patients. There is a gap in research regarding the attitudes and practices of doctors towards discussing patient occupation and return to work. The aim of this work was to explore the attitudes of ophthalmology doctors towards work as a clinical outcome and assess the need for occupational health training among participants (doctors).

A national survey of skin health in nursing personnel.

Background: Hand dermatitis is a well-established occupational risk in nursing staff.

Aims: To explore skin health in nursing staff and to develop resources and recommendations to promote good skincare at work.

Methods: Cross-sectional survey.

Exploring the importance of work outcomes in gynaecological patients.

Background: There has been increasing evidence that physicians in gynaecology are not routinely enquiring about work during consultations.

Aims: To explore the effect gynaecological conditions can have on work functioning, the importance of work outcomes among patients and whether work considerations are discussed during clinical consultations.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was administered to employed patients attending a gynaecological clinic at Guy's Hospital.

Subcutaneous adipose tissue splice quantitative trait loci reveal differences in isoform usage associated with cardiometabolic traits.

Alternate splicing events can create isoforms that alter gene function, and genetic variants associated with alternate gene isoforms may reveal molecular mechanisms of disease. We used subcutaneous adipose tissue of 426 Finnish men from the METSIM study and identified splice junction quantitative trait loci (sQTLs) for 6,077 splice junctions (FDR < 1%). In the same individuals, we detected expression QTLs (eQTLs) for 59,443 exons and 15,397 genes (FDR < 1%).

Assessing the psychosocial impact of stammering on work.

Background: Stammering (stuttering) is a speech condition with high heterogeneity, affecting approximately 1% of adults. Research shows it can limit career progression, impact job performance and quality of life.

Aims: To assess the psychosocial impact of stammering among healthcare workers and to develop a new workplace support intervention.

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on sickness absence for mental ill health in National Health Service staff.

Objective: To explore the patterns of sickness absence in National Health Service (NHS) staff attributable to mental ill health during the first wave of the COVID-19 epidemic in March-July 2020.

Design: Case-referent analysis of a secondary dataset.

Setting: NHS Trusts in England.