Effects of a 12-week workplace counseling program on physical activity and low back pain: A pilot randomized controlled study.

BACKGROUND: Physical activity (PA) is essential in the management and rehabilitation of low back pain (LBP). However, it is not clear that PA interventions in the workplace can improve LBP. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the effects of workplace counseling on PA and LBP among workers. METHODS: We recruited 37 people with 12 weeks of LBP who worked in a manufacturing company in Aichi, Japan. Participants were randomly assigned to the intervention (n= 20) or control group (n= 17). All participants of both groups were affixed with waist-worn accelerometers to monitor PA. The intervention group also received a program of face-to-face counseling with a physical therapist or nurse once a week for 12 weeks to reassure and encourage participants to maintain a high level of PA. PA and LBP severity were assessed at baseline, 3 and 6 months. RESULTS: PA was significantly higher in the intervention group than in the control group at 3 and 6 months. In the intervention group, PA significantly increased at 3 and 6 months from baseline, and LBP severity at 6 months improved significantly from baseline. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that workplace PA intervention can increase PA and improve LBP among workers.

Correction: Relationship between non-communicable diseases and background characteristics among homeless people in Nagoya City, Japan.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0219049.].

Relationship between non-communicable diseases and background characteristics among homeless people in Nagoya City, Japan.

BACKGROUND: There are few reports that objectively show actual health conditions among the homeless or diagnoses of non-communicable diseases based on blood tests. This report discloses the actual data from blood tests and non-communicable diseases among the participants. Furthermore, associations between the test values for lifestyle-related disease and mental disorder/intellectual disability, as well as personal backgrounds of homeless people, were analyzed from the data gathered in the survey. METHODS: This study was performed in a rented meeting room close to Nagoya Station on November 2, 2014. Blood samples, physical measurements, blood pressure measurements intellectual faculties were measured. Physical/mental diseases were diagnosed by doctors. Fisher's exact test was performed to compare between subgroups (by participants' socio-demographic data or the presence of mental illness/cognitive disability) according to non-communicable disease test values, and to calculate the odds ratio. RESULTS: Abnormalities among participants in test values for non-communicable disease were as follows: hypoalbuminemia in one participant (0.9%), abnormalities in liver function in 22 participants (19.3%), decreased renal function in two participants (1.8%), dyslipidemia in 67 participants (58.8%), "a person whose impaired glucose tolerance cannot be ruled out" in 20 participants (17.5%), obesity in 33 participants (28.9%), thinness in five participants (4.3%), and hypertension in 60 participants (52.6%). Compared to the National health and nutrition survey 2015, non-communicable diseases of the homeless people were similar or slightly better than in the general population in Japan. Participants aged 20-39 years had a significant positive tendency of having liver function abnormality compared to ≥60 years old participants. There was no significant tendency with socio-demographic characteristics in dyslipidemia and "impaired glucose tolerance". CONCLUSION: It was found that the percentage of homeless people in Nagoya who showed abnormalities of lifestyle-related disease was similar or better than that of general population in Japan.

The Effectiveness of Japan's Community Centers in Facilitating Social Participation and Maintaining the Functional Capacity of Older People.

This study examines the effectiveness of a community center in Japan at promoting social participation and sustaining its regular users' functional capacity. The surveys were distributed to 108 physically and cognitively independent local older people; 72 responses were received. There were 16 regular users and 56 nonregular users. An inverse probability of treatment-weighted Poisson regression analysis was performed, and prevalence rate ratios were computed for social participation and functional capacity according to respondents' use of the center. Results showed that using the center regularly facilitated social participation, contributing to the maintenance of living functions. Regular users' social participation was promoted through opportunities in sports and volunteer organizations. Their living functions were maintained through instrumental self-maintenance and intellectual activity. Community centers evidently enable beneficial gatherings of older people, encourage social participation, and help to maintain higher level activities of daily living. Thus, they might offer effective preventative care for older people.

Causes of homelessness prevalence: Relationship between homelessness and disability.

AIM: Many studies have reported that the prevalence of mental illness and cognitive disability is higher among homeless individuals compared to the general population, and the rates of mental illness among the homeless population have recently increased. This study: (i) compares causes of homelessness or barriers to escaping homelessness for people with/without mental illness/cognitive disability; (ii) reveals problems with the Japanese homeless policy; and (iii) proposes an effective and necessary support system. METHODS: The participants were 114 homeless individuals. A psychiatric diagnostic interview and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, version III were used to measure participants' mental health and cognitive abilities. A questionnaire was administered comprising 17 items related to the causes of their homelessness and barriers to escaping from it. Participants were divided into four groups - with/without mental illness or cognitive disability - and Fisher's exact test was used to compare the questionnaire results. RESULTS: Individuals with cognitive disabilities considered bad relationships with their family members to be the cause of their homelessness. Conversely, normal individuals considered their homelessness to be the result of debt more so than did individuals with mental problems. Individuals with mental illness had more difficulties escaping homelessness than did either normal individuals or individuals with cognitive disability. This tendency was observed most strongly among individuals with both mental illness and cognitive disability. CONCLUSION: Most homeless individuals considered economic problems to be the cause of their homelessness; however, difficulties with human relationships were also important factors and were more difficult for participants to acknowledge. Furthermore, these difficulties were exacerbated among those individuals with mental problems.

Deprivation and Social Support in Mental Health of Welfare Recipients in Japan.

Although many Western studies examining the mental health of welfare recipients exist, Japanese welfare recipients have been overlooked. This study investigated mental health among welfare recipients in Japan and relations with a sense of deprivation of life's necessities and social support. Participants (n = 305) completed the General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12), Proportional Deprivation Index, and a social support scale. Participants' GHQ-12 scores exceeded those of the general public, as 54.9% scored above the cut-off, suggesting poorer mental health among welfare recipients than the general population. Proportional Deprivation Index and emotional support from relatives and friends were associated with GHQ-12 scores. These results suggest that while chronic deprivation is associated with poorer mental health among welfare recipients, receiving emotional support may help cope with distress and maintain mental health.