Relationship between types of anxiety and the ability to recognize facial expressions.

This study examined whether three subtypes of anxiety (trait anxiety, state anxiety, and social anxiety) have different effects on recognition of facial expressions. One hundred and thirty-eight participants matched facial expressions of three intensity levels (20 %, 40 %, 100 %) with one of the six emotion labels ("happy", "sad", "fear", "angry", "disgust", and "surprise"). While using a conventional method of analysis we were able to replicate some significant correlations between each anxiety type and recognition performance found in the literature.

Low serum albumin, aspartate aminotransferase, and body mass are risk factors for frailty in elderly people with diabetes-a cross-sectional study.

Background: Frailty is broadly characterized by vulnerability and decline in physical, mental and social activities and is more common in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Frailty is closely associated with nutrition, muscle strength, inflammation, and hormones etc. In hormones, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S) and cortisol are suggested to be such candidates affecting frailty.

High sex hormone-binding globulin concentration is a risk factor for high fibrosis-4 index in middle-aged Japanese men.

Low endogenous testosterone and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) concentrations have been reported to be associated with metabolic syndrome (MetS) and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). However, little is known about the relationships between testosterone or SHBG and liver fibrosis in NAFLD. Thus, we aimed to clarify the relationships between serum testosterone or SHBG concentration and fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) index, a marker of liver fibrosis.

A High Serum Cortisol/DHEA-S Ratio Is a Risk Factor for Sarcopenia in Elderly Diabetic Patients.

Context: Elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) have a high prevalence of frailty and/or sarcopenia. Sarcopenia is thought to be related to discordant secretions of the adrenal hormones cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), as well as the sulfate ester of DHEA (DHEA-S). The current study sought to evaluate the risk factors for sarcopenia in elderly patients with T2DM.

Comparative study of the correlation between atherosclerosis and osteoporosis in women in Japan and Mongolia.

Objective: Associations between vascular calcification and osteoporosis are well documented, yet effects of lifestyle on atherosclerosis and osteoporosis remain unclear. This study evaluated the relationship between atherosclerosis and osteoporosis of people with different lifestyles living on Uku Island in Japan (rice consumption and fishing lifestyle) and in Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia (meat consumption and nomadic lifestyle), and investigated the differences of lifestyles on atherosclerosis and osteoporosis.

Methods: Participants were women aged over 50 years who had undergone a previous medical examination for atherosclerosis and osteoporosis (Uku Island, 104, Ulaanbaatar, 71).

Low glycated hemoglobin level is associated with severity of frailty in Japanese elderly diabetes patients.

Aims/introduction: Previously, a study using a narrowly defined (physical base) frailty scale reported that both good and bad (U-shaped curve) glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels were frailty risk factors in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. However, no such studies in Japan have shown this. We aimed to evaluate the frailty risk factors including HbA1c in elderly Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus using a broadly defined (both physical and psychosocial base) frailty scale, the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS).

The Usability of CAT System for Assessing the Depressive Level of Japanese-A Study on Psychometric Properties and Response Behavior.

Background: An innovative measurement system using a computerized adaptive testing technique based on the item response theory (CAT) has been expanding to measure mental health status. However, little is known about details in its measurement properties based on the empirical data. Moreover, the response time (RT) data, which are not available by a paper-and-pencil measurement but available by a computerized measurement, would be worth investigating for exploring the response behavior.