Yukako Tani

Tokyo Medical and Dental University | TMDU

The health benefits of social relationships and social capital are well known. However, little research has examined the determinants of social relationships and social capital. We examined whether cooking skill was associated with social relationships and social capital in older Japanese people. We used 2016 Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study d...

There is limited evidence that what children eat for breakfast contributes to their mental health. This study aimed to examine the associations between food categories for breakfast and mental health among children in Japan. A proportion of participants aged 9–10 years in the Adachi Child Health Impact of Living Difficulty (A-CHILD) study in Japan...

Childhood adversity is a risk factor for poor health in late life and includes economic hardship and family violence, whose prevalence is high among offspring of military conscripted father. We assessed the association between paternal military conscription (PMC) and paternal war death (PWD) during Second World War and self-rated health (SRH) among...

People have a preference for, and feel better in, beautiful natural environments. However, there are no epidemiological studies on the association between neighborhood beauty and neuroimaging measures. We aimed to determine association between neighborhood beauty and regional brain volume. Participants were 476 community-dwelling older adults from...

BackgroundsA history of childhood abuse and subsequent poor relationship with parents in adulthood among pregnant women is a known risk factor for postpartum depression (PPD). Although parent-daughter relationship can change during pregnancy, little is known whether the trajectories have an impact on PPD. The aim of this study is to examine whether...

Objectives: People have a preference for, and feel better in, beautiful natural environments. However, there are no epidemiological studies on the association between exposure to neighborhood beauty and neuroimaging measures, such as regional brain volume. This study aimed to determine association between subjective and objective neighborhood beaut...

Background: Having siblings may foster sociality; however, little is known about whether sibling number determines social capital, the resources obtained through social networks. We examined the association between sibling number and social capital among Japanese parents rearing schoolchildren. Methods: We used cross-sectional data from the 2018...

Experience of natural disaster was related to an increased risk of long-term child internalizing problems. Initial traumatic experiences are hypothesized to work as disaster-related stresses and sensitize neural circuitry, leading to heightened reactivity to subsequent stressful experiences, which in turn results in delayed onset of internalizing p...

Objective: the present study aimed to investigate the relationship between the frequency of eating together and the risk of weight loss in older adults. Methods: this was a three-year follow-up prospective cohort study based on a self-reported questionnaire. We used data from the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study (JAGES) conducted in 2016 an...

Objectives : Having gratitude is associated with reduced social isolation and depression, which are risk factors for dementia. However, it is unknown whether gratitude is directly associated with cognitive function. This study aimed to determine associations between gratitude and cognitive function and to elucidate the underlying biological mechani...

Aim We prospectively examined the association between leisure activities and changes in instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) among participants of the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study (JAGES). Methods We analyzed data collected from 49 732 JAGES participants (23 359 men and 26 373 women), aged ≥65 years, from 24 municipalities in Ja...

We examined whether caregiver cooking skills were associated with frequency of home cooking, child dietary behaviors, and child body weight status in Japan. We used cross-sectional data from the 2018 Adachi Child Health Impact of Living Difficulty study, targeting primary and junior high school students aged 9–14 years in Adachi City, Tokyo, Japan...

Background: Childhood maltreatment can impede gratitude, yet little is known about the older population and its moderators. The aim of this study is to clarify the association between childhood maltreatment and levels of gratitude of the older population, and the moderating effect of social ties on the association. Methods: We analyzed the data...

Nursery schools can play an important role in children developing healthy eating behaviours, including vegetable consumption. However, the effect of school-level vegetable promotion on vegetable consumption and body mass index (BMI) remains unclear. This study examined the associations of nursery school-level promotion of eating vegetables first at...

Introduction This study investigated whether individual-level social capital modifies the association between adverse childhood experiences and dementia onset. Methods A 3-year follow-up (2013–2016) was conducted among participants who were physically and cognitively independent in the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study. Dementia incidence for...

Objective To examine the associations of home cooking with caregiver–child interaction and child mental health in Japan. Design Cross-sectional data collected in 2018. Frequency of home cooking was assessed by questionnaire among 4,126 caregivers and classified as high (almost every day), medium (4–5 days/week), or low (≤ 3 days/week). Caregiver–c...

Sidewalks are indispensable environmental resources for daily life in that they encourage physical activity. However, the percentage of sidewalks installation is low even in developed countries. We examined the association between neighborhood sidewalk environment and dementia in Japan. We conducted a 3-year follow-up (2010-2013) among participants...

Background: Engagement in leisure activities among older people is associated with a lower risk of mortality. However, no studies have been conducted focusing on the difference of associations with mortality risk among multiple types of leisure activities. Methods: We examined prospectively the association of engagement in leisure activities with a...

This study aimed to investigate the association between the frequency of home cooking and cardiovascular disease risk among Japanese adolescents. We used cross-sectional data on adolescents from the 2018 Adachi Child Health Impact of Living Difficulty study, which targeted junior high school students aged 13–14 years in Adachi, Tokyo, Japan. Freque...

Aim To examine whether patterns of social participation vary in their associations with functional disability. Methods Data from 44 978 participants (22 750 men and 22 228 women) who participated in the 2010 Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study were analyzed; a study of those aged ≥65 years from 23 municipalities in eight prefectures. Social part...

Background: Poor cooking skills have been linked to unhealthy diets. However, limited research has examined associations of cooking skills with older adults' health outcomes. We examined whether cooking skills were associated with dietary behaviors and body weight among older people in Japan. Methods: We used cross-sectional data from the 2016 J...

Eating behavior is an important aspect for dietary quality and long-term health. This study examined associations between eating vegetables first at a meal and food intakes among preschool children in Tokyo, Japan. We used cross-sectional data of 135 preschool children from seven nursery schools in Adachi City, Tokyo, Japan. Caregivers completed a...

Dietary intake of adequate quality and quantity in early life is essential for healthy growth and development. This study aimed to examine the association between one-year change in growth and diet quality in preschool children in Adachi City, Tokyo, Japan. A total of 110 participants (49% boys, four to five years old at baseline) were included in...

Importance The prevalence of dementia in Japan has been increasing. Childhood poverty has been associated with increased risk of cognitive impairment, possibly mediated by individuals’ educational paths. However, the associations between dementia and adverse childhood experiences other than poverty and education have not been well documented. Obje...

Given that parents are mainly responsible for a preschooler's dietary management, they need to understand a child's diet. However, few studies have examined the association between parental perception of a preschool child's “good” dietary habits and actual food intake. We conducted a cross-sectional study investigating whether a child's food intake...

Objective: As most studies relating to mental health and disasters have employed cross-sectional or follow-up assessments about psychological health with post-disaster information, the association between changes in social ties and mental health remains unclear. We examined the relationship between the changes in survivor neighborhood ties and depr...

Background: About one in ten mothers experience postpartum depression (PPD) in Japan. Although the individual and social risk factors of depression have been reported, few studies have focused on the neighborhood environmental features. In this study, we examined the association between neighborhood environmental features and PPD symptoms among Ja...

Background: Socioeconomic mobility affects health throughout the life course. However, it is not known whether there are gender differences in the association between life-course subjective socioeconomic status (SSS) mobility and mortality at older ages. Methods: Participants were 16,690 community-dwelling adults aged 65–100 years in the Japan Gero...

We investigated the contextual effects of community social capital on functional ability among older people with functional disability in Japan, and the cross-level interaction effects between community social capital and individual psychosocial characteristics. We used data from the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study for 1936 men and 2207 women...

Introduction Interventions targeting built environmental factors may encourage older people to engage in favorable behaviors and decrease dementia risk, but epidemiologic evidence is limited. This study investigated the association between neighborhood food environment and dementia incidence. Methods A 3-year follow-up (2010–2013) was conducted am...

Background Recovery from functionally disabled status is an important target of public health measures for older adults. This study aimed to examine socioeconomic inequalities in the improvement of functional ability among older adults stratified by the level of disability at baseline. Methods In the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study, we condu...

Background: Studies on sex-specific socioeconomic gradients in objectively evaluated diabetes among older adults are scarce. Methods: We used cross-sectional data of 9,893 adults aged 65 years and older in Aichi Prefecture without long-term care insurance from the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study (JAGES) in 2010 (Response rate: 66.3%). We coll...

Background: Previous research has linked lower availability of food stores selling fruits and vegetables to unhealthy diet. However, the longitudinal association between the availability of healthy food stores and mortality is unknown. This study examined the association between neighborhood availability of food stores and mortality by driving sta...

Background: We explored the distinct trajectories of functional decline among older adults in Japan, and evaluated whether the frequency of outings, an important indicator of social activity, predicts the identified trajectories. Methods: We analyzed data on 2,364 adults aged 65 years or older from the Japan Aichi Gerontological Evaluation Study...

Background/objectives: Vegetable intake during childhood may reduce the risk of subsequent asthma. We verified the effect of maternal intake during pregnancy on asthma risk in offspring, which has rarely been studied. Subjects/methods: In a hospital-based birth cohort study conducted in Tokyo, we administered a food frequency questionnaire at tw...

Background: Because eating behaviors are established early in life, it is important to instill healthy eating habits in children. However, no published studies have examined the effects of what is habitually consumed first at a meal on children's body weight in real settings. The aim of this study was to examine the associations between what was co...

Background: There is little longitudinal evidence on the impact of specific living arrangements (ie, who individuals live with) on mental health among older adults, and no studies have examined the modifying effect of residential social cohesion level on this association. We aimed to examine the association between living arrangements and depressi...

Background The use of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3PUFA) in preventive or therapeutic modalities for postpartum depression, especially long-chain types such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and a docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), is of considerable interest. High n-3PUFA consumption has been reported among pregnant Japanese women. Therefore, analysi...

Background: Although reducing socioeconomic inequalities in depression is necessary, their associated factors have rarely been studied. This study aimed to screen the potential contextual factors associated with income-based inequality in older adults' depression. Methods: Using data from the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study (JAGES) of 2013...

Background Increasing evidence suggests an impact of childhood disadvantage on late-life functional impairment in Western countries. However, the processes by which childhood disadvantage affects functional capacity are influenced by several factors unique to particular societies. We examined the impact of childhood disadvantage on functional decli...

The 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami resulted in widespread property destruction and over 250,000 displaced residents. We sought to examine whether the type of housing arrangement available to the affected victims was associated with a differential incidence of depressive symptoms. In this prospective cohort study comprising participant...

Background.: A life-course perspective is essential in understanding the determinants of higher-level functional limitations. We examine the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on higher-level functional limitations in older people. Methods.: Data were from the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study 2013, a population-based cohort of i...

Background: Although living in a hilly environment may promote muscular activity in the daily lives of residents, and such activity may prevent diabetes mellitus, few studies have focused on the impact of living in a hilly environment on diabetes mellitus. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of a hilly neighborhood environment...

Objectives: To determine whether oral health status predicts depressive symptoms in older Japanese people. Design: Longitudinal study. Setting: Twenty-four municipalities in Japan. Participants: Community-dwelling individuals aged 65 years and older who responded to mail surveys performed by the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study in 2010...

Objectives: Eating by oneself may be a risk factor for poor nutritional and mental statuses among older adults. However, their longitudinal association with mortality in relation to coresidential status is unknown. Method: We conducted a 3-year follow-up of participants in the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study, a population-based cohort of 6...

Aim The present study examined whether social support, informal socializing and social participation are associated with glycemic control in older people. Methods Data for this population-based cross-sectional study was obtained from the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study (JAGES) 2010 linked to the annual health check-up data in Japan. We analy...

Background: Childhood socioeconomic disadvantage has been previously linked to increased mortality risk in adulthood. However, most previous studies have focused on middle-aged adults in Western contexts. Here, we sought to examine the association between childhood socioeconomic status (SES) and mortality among healthy older Japanese adults. Meth...

Objective Previous investigations on the impact of childhood socioeconomic status (SES) on depression have focused on middle-aged adults in Western countries. It is unknown whether childhood SES has a long-latency effect on the onset of depression among older adults. Design Prospective cohort study. Setting Data were from the Japan Gerontological...

Background: Low serum albumin levels are associated with aging and medical conditions such as cancer, liver dysfunction, inflammation, and malnutrition and might be an independent predictor of long-term mortality in healthy older populations. We tested the hypothesis that economic status is associated with serum albumin levels and explained by nut...

The rapid increase of the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) suggests that exposure to chemicals may impact the development of ASD. Therefore, we reviewed literature on the following chemicals, nutrient to investigate their association with ASD: (1) smoke/tobacco, (2) alcohol, (3) air pollution, (4) pesticides, (5) endocrine-disrupting ch...

Objective To date, no study has prospectively examined the association between social capital (SC) in the community and oral health. The aim of this longitudinal cohort study was to examine the association between both community-level and individual-level SC and tooth loss in older Japanese people. Design Prospective cohort study Setting We utilise...

Background: eating by oneself may be a risk factor for mental illness among older adults, but may be influenced by cohabitation status. We examined the association between eating alone and depression in the context of cohabitation status in older adults in Japan. Design: a longitudinal, population-based study. Setting: data from the Japan Gerontolo...

We examined whether eating alone is associated with dietary behaviors and body weight status, and assessed the modifying effects of cohabitation status in older Japanese people. Data from the 2010 Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study, with a self-reported questionnaire for 38,690 men and 43,674 women aged ≥ 65 years, were used. Eating status was c...

Although the distribution of energy intake throughout the day appears to impact overall daily energy intake, little is known about the ad libitum distribution of energy intake. Our aim was to investigate associations between the distribution of energy intake during the day and subsequent or overall energy intake, and food choice in free-living adul...

Background/objectives: To examine the influence of season and climate (air temperature and humidity) on water intake by the food group in a sample of free-living Japanese adults. Subjects/methods: Four-nonconsecutive-day, semi-weighed dietary records were collected from each of the four seasons in a single 12-month period (16 days in total). The...

Resolution of inflammation is critical to restoration of tissue function after an inflammatory response. We previously demonstrated that 12/15-lipoxygenase (12/15-LOX)-expressing eosinophils contribute to this process in murine zymosan-induced peritonitis. In this study, eosinophils promoted resolution by regulating expression of macrophage CXCL13....

Acute inflammation in healthy individuals is self-limiting and has an active termination program. The mechanisms by which acute inflammation is resolved are of interest. In murine zymosan-induced peritonitis, we found that eosinophils are recruited to the inflamed loci during the resolution phase of acute inflammation. In vivo depletion of eosinoph...

Inflammation is a defensive response to injury and infection, but excessive or inappropriate inflammation contributes to a range of acute and chronic human diseases. Clinical assessment of dietary supplementation of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) including eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) indicate their benefic...