Network Analysis-Based Disentanglement of the Symptom Heterogeneity in Asian Patients with Schizophrenia: Findings from the Research on Asian Psychotropic Prescription Patterns for Antipsychotics.

The symptom heterogeneity of schizophrenia is consistent with Wittgenstein's analogy of a language game. From the perspective of precision medicine, this study aimed to estimate the symptom presentation and identify the psychonectome in Asian patients, using data obtained from the Research on Asian Psychotropic Prescription Patterns for Antipsychotics. We constructed a network structure of the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) items in 1438 Asian patients with schizophrenia.

The Willingness to Pay for a Hypothetical Vaccine for the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).

This study investigates how people in Japan perceived the severity of and probability of infection from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and how their willingness to purchase a hypothetical vaccine depends on these perceptions and their risk attitudes. We conducted a large-scale panel survey three times between 13 March to 13 April 2020 in Japan. By analyzing the data, we found that the perception of COVID-19 became more serious.

Self-efficacy latent growth trajectories' longitudinal links with achievement and interest: Both baseline and growth rate are important for interest outcomes.

Background: Self-efficacy beliefs have well established theoretical and empirical linkages to persistence and achievement. Budding theoretical and recent empirical research has worked to connect self-efficacy to interest. Building on research in these areas, burgeoning research has begun to examine the relative role of intercept and slope of self-efficacy for these learning outcomes.

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Physician Visits in Japan.

Emerging from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) scenario, fears of social distancing and contagion have led to a decline in the number of physician visits in Japan, placing severe financial strain on most hospitals and clinics. In this context, this study examined the impact of the spread of COVID-19 on the utilization of outpatient services. This study used monthly data drawn from the monthly statistics report of the social insurance medical fee payment fund in Japan and estimated fixed-effects models.

A Call for a Rational Polypharmacy Policy: International Insights From Psychiatrists.

Objective: Recently, rational polypharmacy approaches have been proposed, regardless of the lower risk and cost of monotherapy. Considering monotherapy as first-line treatment and polypharmacy as rational treatment, a balanced attitude toward polypharmacy is recommended. However, the high prevalence of polypharmacy led the Japanese government to establish a polypharmacy reduction policy.

School closures and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan.

The spread of the novel coronavirus disease caused schools in Japan to close to cope with the pandemic. In response to the school closures, parents of students were obliged to care for their children during the daytime, when children usually were at school. Did the increase in the burden of childcare influence parents' mental health? Based on short panel data from mid-March to mid-April 2020, we explore how school closures influenced the mental health of parents with school-aged children.

Valuation of health losses of women with multiple roles using a well-being valuation approach: Evidence from Japan.

Unpaid housework among married working couples is largely done by women in Japan, causing health losses due to work-to-family conflict. However, monetary values for the poor health condition of working mothers with multiple roles have not been explored. The purpose of this study is to examine the impacts of health conditions on life satisfaction (LS) among middle-aged Japanese men and women and attach a monetary value to self-assessed poor health (SAPH).

Assessing recurrence of depression using a zero-inflated negative binomial model: A secondary analysis of lifelog data.

When studying recurrence of depression, researchers should pay attention to cases where physicians' assessment corresponds to the patients' perception. However, they should also focus on potential signs of recurrence when the recurrence is suspected by the physicians but not the patients (false-negative zeros). Because false negatives can delay diagnosis and treatment, we aimed to investigate "sitting idly" as a predictor influencing no alert sign of recurrence and estimated the counts of recurrence of depression.

Correction to: The impact of closing schools on working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic: evidence using panel data from Japan.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1007/s11150-020-09536-5.].

The impact of closing schools on working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic: evidence using panel data from Japan.

COVID-19 has led to the closure of various schools in Japan to cope with the pandemic. This study explores how school closure influences parents' work style based on short panel data for the period of school closure from mid-March to mid-April 2020. Specifically, we analyze how the presence of their children influences parents' work at home and examine how the effect differs by the parent's gender.

Racers' attractive looks, popularity, and performance: how do speedboat racers react to fans' expectations?

Using a large sample of individual-level records in Japan speedboat racing where men and women racers participate, we investigated how racers' performance meets fans' pre-race expectations. To control for endogeneity bias, we measured the order of racers' attractiveness randomly determined in each race and then used this order as instrument for measuring racers' popularity. The fixed-effects IV estimations revealed the following.

QT interval prolongation noted in one percent of 2553 Asian patients with schizophrenia: Findings from the REAP-AP survey.

Although the association between antipsychotic use and corrected QT interval (QTc) prolongation has been repeatedly confirmed, the relationship has been rarely studied in a practical setting. Using data from the Research on Asian Psychotropic Prescription Patterns for Antipsychotics (REAP-AP) survey, our study aimed to investigate the prevalence and clinical correlates of QTc prolongation in 2553 Asian patients with schizophrenia. After adjusting for the potential effect of confounding factors, the baseline and clinical characteristics of the schizophrenia patients with and without QTc prolongation were compared using analyses of covariance and binary logistic analyses.

Predicting recurrence of depression using lifelog data: an explanatory feasibility study with a panel VAR approach.

Background: Although depression has a high rate of recurrence, no prior studies have established a method that could identify the warning signs of its recurrence.

Methods: We collected digital data consisting of individual activity records such as location or mobility information (lifelog data) from 89 patients who were on maintenance therapy for depression for a year, using a smartphone application and a wearable device. We assessed depression and its recurrence using both the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6) and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9.

Differences in High Dose Antipsychotic Prescriptions in Patients with Schizophrenia in Asian Countries/Areas: Findings from the REAP-AP Study.

The REAP-AP study recruited 3,746 patients with schizophrenia, in March and April 2016, from 71 centers in 15 Asian countries/territories namely Bangladesh, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. Our findings reveal a trend according to which high dose antipsychotic prescription is more prevalent in Eastern Asia (especially, Japan and Korea) than in other regions of Asia. This historical factor may be associated with our finding of an Eastern Asian preponderance of high dose antipsychotic prescription.

Polypharmacy and psychotropic drug loading in patients with schizophrenia in Asian countries: Fourth survey of Research on Asian Prescription Patterns on antipsychotics.

Aim: The aim of the present study was to survey the prevalence of antipsychotic polypharmacy and combined medication use across 15 Asian countries and areas in 2016.

Methods: By using the results from the fourth survey of Research on Asian Prescription Patterns on antipsychotics, the rates of polypharmacy and combined medication use in each country were analyzed. Daily medications prescribed for the treatment of inpatients or outpatients with schizophrenia, including antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, anxiolytics, hypnotics, and antiparkinson agents, were collected.

To use the brief psychiatric rating scale to detect disorganized speech in schizophrenia: Findings from the REAP-AP study.

Our study aimed to assess the psychometric validity of the conceptual disorganization item and other items of the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) for detecting disorganized speech in patients with schizophrenia. We included 357 schizophrenia patients with disorganized speech and 1082 without disorganized speech from the survey centers in India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, and Taiwan, using the data from the Research on Asian Psychotropic Patterns for Antipsychotics (REAP-AP) study. After adjusting the effects of confounding variables, a binary logistic regression model was fitted to identify BPRS items independently associated with disorganized speech.

Clinical Characteristics and Psychotropic Prescribing Patterns Associated with impaired Concentration in Asians with Depressive Disorders: The REAP-AD Study.

The Research on Asian Psychotropic Prescription Patterns for Antidepressants (REAP-AD) study aimed to survey and review antidepressant prescribing patterns in different clinical settings in Asian countries/areas. The REAP-AD study collected comprehensive data for psychiatric patients prescribed antidepressants in 10 Asian countries/areas during the period from March to June 2013. Depressive disorders have been an important issue closely associated with ill-health and disability in the realm of mental health.