A conceptual analysis of older adults' empowerment in contemporary japanese culture.

Background: Empowerment among older adults is a key concept for improving their health. In contrast, empowerment evolves according to cultural and historical contexts and needs to be consistently tested and constructed. The purpose of this study was to clarify the components of older adults' empowerment in contemporary Japan and to reconstruct the definition of empowerment.

Changes in psychosocial factors among community-dwelling older adults before and after Japan's declaration of a state of emergency over coronavirus disease 2019.

Background: Social distancing measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 may cause changes in psychosocial factors. This study aimed to clarify changes in psychosocial factors among older adults before and after Japan's declaration of a state of emergency over coronavirus disease 2019.

Methods: This was a longitudinal cohort questionnaire study.

Social frailty and depressive symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic among older adults in Japan: Role of home exercise habits.

Objectives: We examined the association between social frailty and depressive symptoms among community-dwelling older adults during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Additionally, we investigated whether home exercise habits moderated the impact of social frailty on depressive symptoms.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included 1,103 community-dwelling older adults (54.

Validity and reliability of a checklist for patients with Behçet's disease based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health.

In 2020, we reported the "BD-checklist 92" for patients with Behçet's disease (BD) based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the validity and reliability of this checklist. Questionnaires using the "BD-checklist 92" and the 36-item Short Form Survey (SF-36) were sent to ten affiliated institutions.

Effect of Early Rehabilitation on Gait, Wound and Home Discharge in Lower Extremity Chronic Wound Patients: A Japanese Multicenter Retrospective Study.

This study investigated the effect of early rehabilitation on gait restoration, wound healing, and home discharge in patients with lower extremity (LE) chronic wounds. This multicenter, retrospective cohort study included 233 Japanese inpatients who received treatment for LE chronic wounds from April 2012 to March 2015. A multivariate analysis was conducted using outcomes of gait restoration, wound healing, and home discharge as dependent variables.

Association between community-level social capital and frailty onset among older adults: a multilevel longitudinal study from the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study (JAGES).

Background: Little is known about the prospective association between community-level social capital and individual-level frailty onset. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the impact of community-level social capital on frailty onset among older adults using 3-year longitudinal data.

Methods: This prospective cohort study recruited non-institutionalised older adults from the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study, established in 2013 and robust older adults were followed up for 3 years.

The effects of endurance exercise combined with high-temperature head-out water immersion on serum concentration of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in healthy young men.

Objectives: To evaluate acute changes in serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) concentration following combined endurance exercise and heat stress through head-out water immersion (HOI).

Setting: Observational study with crossover design.

Methods: Ten healthy young male participants performed HOI at 40 °C (40 °C HOI) or continuous cycling at 60% of maximal oxygen uptake while immersed in 40 °C (40 °C HOI-ex) or 23 °C water (23 °C HOI-ex) for 15 min.

Association between family caregivers and depressive symptoms among community-dwelling older adults in Japan: A cross-sectional study during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objectives: Novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic could increase the mental health burden of family caregivers of older adults, but related reports are limited. We examined the association between family caregiving and changes in the depressive symptom status during the pandemic.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included 957 (mean age [standard deviation] = 80.

Association between Occupational Dysfunction and Social Isolation in Japanese Older Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study.

We clarified the relationship between occupational dysfunction and social isolation among community-dwelling adults. We used a self-administered questionnaire with a cross-sectional study for 2879 independently living older adults in Kasama City, Japan. Participants responded to a self-reported questionnaire in November 2019.

Social Isolation and Self-Reported Cognitive Decline Among Older Adults in Japan: A Longitudinal Study in the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Objectives: We aimed to examine the association between the transition to social isolation and cognitive decline in older adults during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Design: Longitudinal study.

Setting And Participants: The study included participants from a community in a semiurban area of Japan.

Effects of Aerobic, Resistance, or Combined Exercise Training Among Older Adults with Subjective Memory Complaints: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Physical exercise is suggested to be effective for preventing cognitive decline in older adults, but the relative efficacy of different types of exercise have yet to be clarified.

Objective: This single-blinded randomized controlled trial was designed to investigate the differential effects of aerobic exercise training (AT), resistance exercise training (RT), and combined exercise training (CT) on cognition in older adults with subjective memory complaints (SMC).

Methods: Community-dwelling older adults with SMC (n = 415; mean age = 72.

Effects of walking with a "draw-in maneuver" on the knee adduction moment and hip muscle activity.

[Purpose] To investigate the effect of performing a draw-in maneuver (DI) on knee adduction moment (KAM) and hip and trunk muscle activities while walking. [Participants and Methods] We included 30 healthy young adults (21.5 ± 0.

An Analysis of Differentially Expressed Coding and Long Non-Coding RNAs in Multiple Models of Skeletal Muscle Atrophy.

The loss of skeletal muscle mass (muscle atrophy or wasting) caused by aging, diseases, and injury decreases quality of life, survival rates, and healthy life expectancy in humans. Although long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been implicated in skeletal muscle formation and differentiation, their precise roles in muscle atrophy remain unclear. In this study, we used RNA-sequencing (RNA-Seq) to examine changes in the expression of lncRNAs in four muscle atrophy conditions (denervation, casting, fasting, and cancer cachexia) in mice.

Relationship between nutritional status and phase angle as a noninvasive method to predict malnutrition by sex in older inpatients.

Phase angle has been suggested as a useful, noninvasive, and objective index to evaluate the nutritional status of older people. However, there are no studies analyzing the relationship between nutritional status and phase angle in older patients, according to sex. The aim of this study was to clarify the relationship between phase angle and malnutrition, and to calculate cut-off points of malnutrition with phase angle in older inpatients, according to sex.

Mesenchymal Bmp3b expression maintains skeletal muscle integrity and decreases in age-related sarcopenia.

Age-related sarcopenia constitutes an important health problem associated with adverse outcomes. Sarcopenia is closely associated with fat infiltration in muscle, which is attributable to interstitial mesenchymal progenitors. Mesenchymal progenitors are nonmyogenic in nature but are required for homeostatic muscle maintenance.

Association of fear of falling with cognitive function and physical activity in older community-dwelling adults.

Purpose: This study addressed a two-part question. First, is cognitive decline associated with fear of falling (FoF)? Second, if this association is observed, is there also an association between FoF and physical activity (PA) independent of cognitive decline?

Methods: Participants in the study were community-dwelling Japanese residents between 65 and 85 years of age (N = 458, mean age = 72.4 ± 4.

Effect of Care Capacity on Stroke Patients' Recovery in Activities of Daily Living: A Multi-Hospital Study.

Background: This study aimed to investigate whether care capacity for patients following stroke contributes to improved activities of daily living (ADL) at discharge from hospital based on the degree of stroke severity.

Design: Retrospective, observational, longitudinal study.

Setting: Acute phase hospitals.

Toe flexor strength is associated with mobility in older adults with pronated and supinated feet but not with neutral feet.

Background: Older adults are known to have more pronated foot posture and decreased toe flexor strength (TFS), as well as decreased mobility in daily life compared to young adults. Although foot posture is reported to be an influential factor for walking biomechanics in young adults, there is less information on this subject in older adults. Age-related reduction in TFS is shown to be associated with impairments of functional performance, but it is poorly understood whether foot posture influences the relationships between TFS and functional performances.

MBNL1-Associated Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Apoptosis in C2C12 Myotubes and Mouse Skeletal Muscle.

We explored the interrelationship between a tissue-specific alternative splicing factor muscleblind-like 1 (MBNL1) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ coactivator 1-α (PGC-1α), B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) or Bcl-2-associated X protein (Bax) in C2C12 myotubes and mouse skeletal muscle to investigate a possible physiological role of MBNL1 in mitochondrial-associated apoptosis of skeletal muscle. Expression level of PGC-1α and mitochondrial membrane potential evaluated by the fluorescence ratio of JC-1 aggregate to monomer in C2C12 myotubes were suppressed by knockdown of MBNL1. Conversely, the ratio of Bax to Bcl-2 as well as the apoptotic index in C2C12 myotubes was increased by MBNL1 knockdown.

Grip Exercise of Non-Paretic Hand Can Improve Venous Return in the Paretic Arm in Stroke Patients: An Experimental Study in the Supine and Sitting Positions.

: This study aims to determine the effect of grip exercise by the non-paretic hand on venous return in the paretic arm in stroke in sitting and supine positions. : The study population included 21 stroke patients (mean age, 59.5 years).

Ultrasound measurements of the median nerve at the carpal tunnel in ambulant chronic stroke patients: comparison between paretic and non-paretic sides.

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to examine the cross-sectional area (CSA) and longitudinal sliding length (LSL) of the median nerve bilaterally in patients with ambulant chronic hemiplegia and to compare these measurements with those in healthy controls using ultrasound. [Participants and Methods] Forty patients with hemiplegia who developed a non-functional hand on the paretic side after one year or more of stroke and 25 asymptomatic controls were included. To obtain the CSA of the median nerve at the wrist in the neutral position and the LSL of the median nerve during wrist extension, the participants underwent bilateral ultrasound examination.

Enhancement of walking ability using a custom-made hinged knee brace in patients who experienced ambient stroke and are in the acute phase.

[Purpose] In this study, we investigated the immediate effect on walking using a custom-made hinged knee brace with adjustable knee flexion and extension support (support brace) in patients in the acute phase of stroke. [Participants and Methods] Thirteen patients (56.8 ± 6.

Influence of seasonal variations on physical activity in older people living in mountainous agricultural areas.

Increasing activity levels in older people is important for maintaining quality of life and ameliorating the risks of morbidity related to falls, depression, and dementia. This study aimed to clarify the seasonal variation effects on total energy expenditure, number of steps, time spent in low- and moderate- or high-intensity physical activities, and daily activities performed. This was a cross-sectional study of 22 community-dwelling older individuals (3 men, 19 women; mean age, 75.

Change in smoking cessation stage over 1 year in patients with schizophrenia: a follow up study in Japan.

Background: We performed a follow up study about willingness and behaviors to quit smoking among smokers with schizophrenia in Japan.

Methods: Participants were outpatients with schizophrenia aged 20-69 years who had been visiting the hospital for ≥1 year as of April 1, 2016, and had visited the hospital more than once in the previous 6 months. A baseline survey on smoking behaviors including current smoking status and smoking cessation stage, was administered in 420 participants that were randomly extracted from a patient pool (n = 680) in 2016, and a follow-up survey was administered in 2017.