Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Percutaneous Vertebroplasty for Osteoporotic Compression Fractures.

Study Design: Single-center, single-arm, prospective time-series study.

Objective: To assess the cost-effectiveness and improvement in quality of life (QOL) of percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP).

Summary Of Background Data: PVP is known to relieve back pain and increase QOL for osteoporotic compression fractures.

Preoperative administration of polysaccharide Kureha and reduced plasma transforming growth factor-β in patients with advanced gastric cancer: A randomized clinical trial.

Systemic abrogation of TGF-β signaling results in tumor reduction through cytotoxic T lymphocytes activity in a mouse model. The administration of polysaccharide-Kureha (PSK) into tumor-bearing mice also showed tumor regression with reduced TGF-β. However, there have been no studies regarding the PSK administration to cancer patients and the association with plasma TGF-β.

Considering economic analyses in the revision of the preventive vaccination law: a new direction for health policy-making in Japan?

Evidence of a significant vaccine policy shift can be witnessed not only in the number of new vaccines available in Japan but also in the way that vaccine policy is being formulated. In 2010, policy makers decided for the first time ever to commission economic analyses as a reference in their consideration of subsidy allocation. This research offers a first hand account of the recent changes in vaccine policies by examining the decision-making process from the perspective of the researchers commissioned to perform the economic evaluations.

Predicting failure to follow-up screened high blood pressure in Japan: a cohort study.

Background: This study aimed to determine the prevalence and predictors of working-age individuals who did not follow-up for possible hypertension that was detected in the population-based screening.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study, using the database of health insurance claims and health checkups from several health insurance societies for employees in Japan. Screened participants aged ≥20 years, with possible hypertension (systolic blood pressure ≥140 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure ≥90 mmHg) and without known antihypertensive treatment, were included.

Predictors of hyperglycaemic individuals who do not follow up with physicians after screening in Japan: a cohort study.

Aims: Although people screened as being hyperglycaemic often fail to follow up with physicians for clinical assessment, epidemiologic findings on the frequency and predictors of not following up (hereafter, "no follow-up") are lacking. The purpose of this study was to examine the no follow-up rate with physicians after screening for diabetes and predictors of no follow-up.

Methods: We assessed cases of no follow-up with physicians within six months after screening based on medical claims data from employee-based social health insurance programs in Japan, for people aged 20 to 68 years from 2005 to 2010.

Prescribing pattern of anti-Parkinson drugs in Japan: a trend analysis from 2005 to 2010.

Objective: Therapeutic options for Parkinson's disease mainly consist of L-dopa and dopamine agonists. However, in Japan, the product labeling of the ergot dopamine agonists, cabergoline and pergolide, was revised in April 2007 due to the risk of developing cardiac valvulopathy. Here, we describe the prescribing trends of anti-Parkinson drugs from 2005 through 2010 in Japan, and examined whether these trends changed after the drug safety measures in 2007.

Practice patterns for lower respiratory tract infections in hospital patients with particular focus on bacteriological examinations and injection antibiotics use.

Background: Various types of medical institutions perform treatments for lower respiratory tract infections. However, few studies have assessed and compared practice patterns across different medical institutions in Japan. To assess practice patterns for community-acquired lower respiratory tract infections among patients who needed hospitalization, we examined the use of injection antibiotics and the implementation of bacteriological examinations, and compared these across medical institutions.

Association of knowledge of HIV and other factors with individuals' attitudes toward HIV infection: a national cross-sectional survey among the Japanese non-medical working population.

Background: The stigma of and discrimination because of HIV has been described as the most important obstacle to prevention and treatment efforts. The purpose of this study was to investigate negative attitudes and prejudice toward HIV among the Japanese non-medical working population and to explore contributing factors.

Methods: An online anonymous nationwide survey involving approximately 3,000 individuals was conducted in Japan.

Multiple carcinoid tumors of the rectum: report of two cases suggesting the origin of carcinoid tumors.

Two cases of multiple carcinoid tumors of the rectum with numerous micronests of carcinoid tumors are reported. The patients were 51- and 58-year-old males. Many carcinoid tumors and numerous carcinoid micronests were found in the resected rectum; the total number of carcinoid tumors, groups of micronests, and solitary micronests was 69 in the first case and 62 in the second case.

[A quality of life questionnaire for Japanese allergic conjunctival disease].

Purpose: To establish a specific quality of life (QOL) questionnaire for Japanese allergic conjunctival disease (ACD) (Japanese allergic conjunctival disease QOL questionnaire: JACQLQ).

Subjects And Methods: A multicenter study was conducted in 521 patients with ACD and 127 healthy volunteers (total 648 cases). The JACQLQ ver.

Trends in cause specific mortality across occupations in Japanese men of working age during period of economic stagnation, 1980-2005: retrospective cohort study.

Objective: To assess the temporal trends in occupation specific all causes and cause specific mortality in Japan between 1980 and 2005.

Design: Longitudinal analysis of individual death certificates by last occupation before death. Data on population by age and occupation were derived from the population census.

Adult mortality attributable to preventable risk factors for non-communicable diseases and injuries in Japan: a comparative risk assessment.

Background: The population of Japan has achieved the longest life expectancy in the world. To further improve population health, consistent and comparative evidence on mortality attributable to preventable risk factors is necessary for setting priorities for health policies and programs. Although several past studies have quantified the impact of individual risk factors in Japan, to our knowledge no study has assessed and compared the effects of multiple modifiable risk factors for non-communicable diseases and injuries using a standard framework.

Management and treatment of osteoporosis in patients receiving long-term glucocorticoid treatment: current status of adherence to clinical guidelines and related factors.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the adherence of guidelines for the management and treatment of glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis, and to investigate whether it is associated with factors such as age, gender, glucocorticoid dose, physician specialty, and size of facility.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study utilizing administrative data from a database of health insurance claims (2004-2007); 2,368 patients who received glucocorticoid treatment for ≥90 days were extracted. The guideline adherence was determined by evaluations based on glucocorticoid prescription dose, prescription of anti-osteoporosis drugs, and whether or not bone mineral density was measured.

What has made the population of Japan healthy?

People in Japan have the longest life expectancy at birth in the world. Here, we compile the best available evidence about population health in Japan to investigate what has made the Japanese people healthy in the past 50 years. The Japanese population achieved longevity in a fairly short time through a rapid reduction in mortality rates for communicable diseases from the 1950s to the early 1960s, followed by a large reduction in stroke mortality rates.

Factors associated with preferences for health system goals in Japan: a pilot study of the World Health Survey.

Preferences among people for health system goals are important determinants in developing health policy. The aim of this study was to determine preferences for health system goals and their associations with sociodemographic characteristics in Japan. Participants were randomly selected from the general population in 5 prefectures and were asked to rank 5 health system goals in order of preference: health, health inequality, responsiveness, responsiveness inequality, and fair financing.

Building medical ethics education to improve Japanese medical students' attitudes toward respecting patients' rights.

In medical education, it is important for medical students to develop their ethics to respect patients' rights. Some physicians might make light of patients' rights, because the increased awareness of such rights might make it more difficult for them to conduct medical practice. In the present study, predictors significantly associated with "a sense of resistance to patients' rights" were examined using anonymous self-administered questionnaires.

Echocardiography for the detection of valvulopathy associated with the use of ergot-derived dopamine agonists in patients with Parkinson's disease.

Objective: The ergot-derived dopamine agonists, cabergoline and pergolide, are associated with valvulopathy risk. In Japan, product labels were revised in April 2007 to recommend periodic echocardiography for patients taking these dopamine agonists, however, the compliance of physicians to follow through with this recommendation is unknown. This study assessed changes in echocardiography evaluation of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) taking cabergoline or pergolide before and after the label revision and examined the factors related with echocardiography performance.

A lifestyle to prevent or combat the metabolic syndrome among Japanese workers: analyses using the health belief model and the multidimensional health locus of control.

We investigated the predictors significantly associated with a lifestyle to prevent or combat the metabolic syndrome among Japanese workers. We conducted an anonymous self-administered questionnaire survey and analyzed the resulting data using multiple linear regression analysis. The dependent variable was a lifestyle to prevent or combat the metabolic syndrome (7-point scale).

Disseminated Mycobacterium genavense infection in a healthy boy.

Mycobacterium genavense (M genavense) has been recognized as a life-threatening pathogen in severely immunocompromised patients. To our knowledge, disseminated M genavense infection has never been described in immunocompetent individuals. Here, we report a case of disseminated M genavense infection in a healthy Japanese boy.

Acute decompensated heart failure syndromes (ATTEND) registry. A prospective observational multicenter cohort study: rationale, design, and preliminary data.

Acute heart failure syndromes (AHFS) are likely to increase in the future, and the high readmission rate of patients with AHFS is an important issue in Western countries. However, there are very few published epidemiological studies on AHFS in the Asia Pacific region. Because AHFS are heterogeneous, the characteristics, clinical profile, and management of AHFS should be clarified in an epidemiological study.

Enhancing work motivation for Japanese female nurses in small to medium-sized private hospitals by analyzing job satisfaction.

Proper work environments are important for nurses to feel motivated. We examined the associations between work motivation and job satisfaction among Japanese nurses to improve their motivation. In Japan, relatively small and medium-sized private hospitals play a central role in the healthcare industry.

Predictors of Japanese workers' motivation to use the results of worksite health checkups in their daily health management.

Japanese law stipulates that workers undergo worksite health checkups. If workers do not use their results of those checkups in their daily health management, the merit of this law will not be realized. Therefore, it is important to identify the predictors to improve their motivation to use the results of health checkups.

Japanese version of cutaneous body image scale: translation and validation.

Cutaneous body image, defined as the individual's mental perception of the appearance of their skin, hair and nails, is an important psychodermatological element in skin diseases. To measure individuals' cutaneous body image, a practical and accurate instrument is necessary. In this study, we translated the Cutaneous Body Image Scale (CBIS), a 7-item instrument originally created by Gupta et al.

Predictors of Japanese workers' satisfaction with their annual health checkups.

To seek the factors associated with the degree of Japanese workers' satisfaction with their annual health checkups, a survey with an anonymous self-administered questionnaire was conducted. A total of 1,389 questionnaires were analyzed. The average age of the analyzed subjects was 37.

Safety climate and motivation toward patient safety among Japanese nurses in hospitals of fewer than 250 beds.

A questionnaire survey was done to examine the associations between the dimensions of safety climate and the nurses' motivation toward patient safety. Excluding nursing directors, a total of 371 full-time female Japanese nurses (registered nurses and licensed practical nurses) working in 6 hospitals of fewer than 250 beds were analyzed. The average age was 35.