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ABSTRACT: OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to assess and compare the improvement in oral and systemic conditions and health-related quality of life in patients with missing teeth receiving dental implants and conventional treatment. METHODS: A total of 97 patients with missing teeth, of whom 59 received dental implants and 38 received conventional treatment, were included in this study. The patients were divided into two age groups for a more detailed analysis: a 30- to 59-year age group (young) and a >60-year age group. The changes in oral condition, mental health, and health utility level before and after (pre- and post-, respectively) the procedures were assessed using an original questionnaire, the General Health Questionnaire 12 (GHQ12), and Health Utilities Index Mark 3. RESULTS: Responses to the GHQ12 indicated that treatment with implants significantly improved the oral health of patients in all treatment groups, except for the young group receiving partial dentures (PD). The mental state improved with a lower GHQ score; in terms of pre- versus post-procedure, mental state improved after the procedure in the young group receiving full dentures (FD) (1.75 ± 2.12 vs. 0.88 ± 2.10, p < 0.05), in the old group receiving PD (2.61 ± 3.91 vs. 0.72 ± 1.71, p < 0.05), and in the old group receiving FD (2.63 ± 3.12 vs. 0.44 ± 0.27, p < 0.05). The sleep score also improved by implant in FD of the old group (2.00 vs. 1.00, p < 0.05); it also is better with a lower score. CONCLUSIONS: Recovery of oral function and oral stability in middle-aged people who did not receive implants was possible with PD. However, the results suggest that implant treatment in edentulous denture cases and particularly in elderly people with dentures has a certain efficacy on the physical condition mediated through an improvement in aspects of the mental state.
Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine 04/2012;
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ABSTRACT: Sleep disorders and psychological stress have become major concerns as health risks in modern Japanese society. Chronic sleep deprivation could lead to physical and mental exhaustion, which could affect the circulatory condition. In this study, we have investigated the effects of long-term sleep problems and mental health conditions on abnormal ECG findings from the standpoint of community health.
Data were obtained from the records of community physical checkups conducted in a town in Okinawa from 1993 to 2001. Data regarding average sleep duration and the 12-item version of the general health questionnaire (GHQ) were also collected at the community physical checkups. In order to compute the odds ratio of electrocardiographic (ECG) findings according to mental health condition and sleep duration, we conducted multivariate analysis using logistic regression maneuvers.
There was a significant difference of average GHQ scores according to sleep duration, with shorter sleep duration (< or =6 h) correlating with poorer GHQ and longer sleep duration (> or =8 h) correlating with healthier GHQ (p < 0.05). In the multivariate logistic regression analysis among subjects with poorer GHQ, shorter sleep duration showed significantly high odds ratio (OR = 7.14) for abnormal ECG findings.
The present study suggested that the mental health condition appears to impact ECG results indirectly through its strong association with sleep duration and provided ground for suggestion that mental health items to be included in community physical checkup examination items.
Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine 08/2008; 13(4):227-33.
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Shinji Fukazawa,
Koji Teruya,
Takamoto Uemura,
Tomoko Omine,
Tomoko Matsui,
Nobuo Takeda, Hiroteru Okamoto,
Kaoru Ichikawa,
Kosuke Tsuchida,
Rieko Takemae,
Momoo Matsuda,
Tooru Tsunoda
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ABSTRACT: Changes in B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and electrocardiographic (ECG) findings in an adult Japanese population were measured over a 5-year period, and the statistical relationships between these were evaluated.
This was a longitudinal analysis in which data were collected on 353 subjects (135 men and 218 women) who had undergone general health checks in 1998 and 2003.
Data were examined by correlation coefficient and one-way analysis of covariance using repeated measurements. The correlation coefficient for BNP between 1998 and 2003 was 0.622 (P < 0.0001) for the men and 0.557 (P < 0.0001) for women. The changes in BNP over the same period were 13.71 +/- 26.06 (P < 0.0001) pg/ml in the men and 20.17 +/- 32.01 (P < 0.0001) pg/ml in the women. In 99 men and 145 women who had undergone ECG tests, with both normal and abnormal findings, visual inspections of changes in the ECG findings with respect to BNP changes were performed over the 5-year period. In men, both age and BNP significantly correlated with changes in ECG findings; however, in women, no significant correlation between BNP and changes in ECG findings was observed.
This regional longitudinal study revealed a gender difference in the relationship between long-term changes in BNP and ECG findings, suggesting that a 10 pg/ml or more increase in BNP in men over a 5-year period may a indicate worsening of cardiac function and the need for intervention.
Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine 06/2008; 13(3):156-61.
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Hiroteru Okamoto,
Tooru Tsunoda,
Koji Teruya,
Nobuo Takeda,
Takamoto Uemura,
Tomoko Matsui,
Shinji Fukazawa,
Kaoru Ichikawa,
Rieko Takemae,
Kosuke Tsuchida,
Yutaka Takashima
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ABSTRACT: This study was conducted to evaluate the occupational health of Japanese physicians in emergency medicine. Subjects participating in this study were eighty-nine physicians working at 12 medical facilities (10 critical care emergency centers) in Japan. Participants were asked to complete a questionnaire of work conditions and to provide blood samples for immune variable measurements (CD4, CD8, CD56 and natural killer cell (NK cell) activity) before commencing their work. The data collected from seventy-four of 89 participating physicians were analyzed. The traditional work group comprised of 39 emergency physicians, who were significantly overworked compared to other two groups: the shift work group and the day work group. Among these three groups, no immune variable was significantly different except lymphocyte, number of CD4, and NK cell activity; and the NK cell activity of the shift work group was significantly lower than those of the traditional work group (p<0.01) and the day work group (p<0.01) in terms of Bonferroni's multiple comparison, probably due to circadian rhythm. It was indicated that NK cell activity was significantly lower in samples collected at night versus in the morning (OR=8.34, 95%CI: 1.95-35.6, p<0.01) through multiple logistic regression analyses. NK cell activity was significantly lower in individuals taking 0-3 days off per month, as compared to those taking 4 or more days off (OR=4.65, 95%CI: 1.27-17.0, p=0.02), according to multiple logistic regression analyses. Therefore, the low NK cell activity appears to have reflected the extent of fatigue arising from physicians' overwork. Overwork would have been a potential risk for the physicians' health, resulting in a lower quality of Japanese emergency medical services than that which could have been achieved otherwise. This study suggests that it would be better for the Japanese emergency physicians to take 4 or more days off per month for their health and the quality of their services.
Journal of Occupational Health 04/2008; 50(2):136-46. · 1.55 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors effecting on an observation time needed for outpatient treatment of acute alcohol intoxication. Subjects were 181 patients with acute alcohol intoxication who visited at the Center of Critical Care Medicine of St. Luke's International Hospital from June 1999 to May 2000. One of 181 patients was admitted as an inpatient. The mean observation time of 180 outpatients was about 3 hours. Ninety-nine outpatients (55%) needed observation time less than 3 hours. High level of Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC), moderate consciousness disorder (Japan Coma Scale; JCS 10-30), and severe consciousness disorder (JCS 100-300) were significant factors to increase observation time more than 3 hours. Gender and age were not significant factors associated with more-than-3-hour observation time. Observation time of mild consciousness disorder (JCS 1-3) was significantly decreased against that of clear consciousness (JCS 0). Effects of acetaldehyde might be related to elongation of the observation time among clear consciousness patients. Medical resources of emergency medicine in Japan are not enough in some cases (such as few beds and small numbers of staffs), and it is occasionally difficult for patients to stay at a emergency unit for a long time. And the number of hospitalization for acute alcohol intoxication is likely to increase in Japan. Consideration on the attributes, such as BAC or patient's consciousness, associated with observation time of outpatient treatment might be useful to reduce the number of hospitalization and the cost of medical care for acute alcohol intoxication in emergency medicine.
Nihon Arukōru Yakubutsu Igakkai zasshi = Japanese journal of alcohol studies & drug dependence 05/2004; 39(2):136-44.
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ABSTRACT: In the past few years, Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) have been rapidly penetrating into Japanese companies as a new method to manage stress of workforce in Japan. A quality assurance system for EAP, however, has not been established in Japan since EAP itself is a relatively new one. In this study, we examined an EAP program evaluation tool used by the Council on Accreditation (COA) and discussed its applicability to EAP providers in Japan. The results show that the COA standards are applicable to Japanese EAP, with some cultural adaptations added to the standards.
International Congress Series 1294:163-166.
