The association of long working hours and short sleep duration on mental health among Japanese physicians.

This cross-sectional study investigates the association between long working hours, short sleep duration, and mental health among Japanese physicians. We enrolled 232 Japanese physicians. We used the Brief Job Stress Questionnaire to assess high-stress status, and the Japanese version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale to assess depressive status. Daily sleep duration (DSD) and weekly working hours (WWHs) were collected using a self-administered questionnaire. Multivariable-adjusted logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the association of the combined categories of DSD and WWHs with high-stress and depressive status. Compared to physicians with WWHs <80 h and DSD ≥6 h, the multivariable-adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of high-stress status for those with WWHs ≥80 and DSD ≥6, WWHs <80 and DSD <6, and WWHs ≥80 and DSD <6 were 2.76 (0.97-7.87), 3.36 (1.53-7.40), and 3.92 (1.52-10.14), respectively. The respective ORs (CIs) of depressive status were 1.82 (0.42-7.81), 4.03 (1.41-11.53), and 4.69 (1.33-16.62). The results showed that regardless of working long hours or not, physicians with DSD <6 h had significantly higher stress and depressive status, suggesting that not only regulating long working hours but also ensuring adequate sleep duration is important for preventing physicians' mental health.

Validation of the diagnostic utility of D-dimer measurement in patients with acute aortic syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate the validity of D-dimer measurements for the diagnosis of acute aortic syndrome in patients admitted to hospital with acute chest pain. METHODS: A retrospective observational study design was used. Consecutive patients ( n=887) admitted to a tertiary hospital with acute chest pain (acute aortic syndrome, 123; acute pulmonary embolism, 29; and other disease, 735) from the emergency department between January 2011 and April 2014 were assessed to validate the diagnostic value of D-dimer measurements. RESULTS: The D-dimer level was significantly increased in patients with acute aortic syndrome (median (interquartile range) 4.9 (2.0-17.4) µg/ml) compared with control patients (median (interquartile range) 0.6 (0.3-1.4) µg/ml; p<0.001). At a cut-off point of 0.5 µg/ml, the sensitivity for acute aortic syndrome was 0.97 (95% confidence interval 0.92-0.99) and was similar to that for acute pulmonary embolism (0.97 (0.82-0.99)). The age-adjusted D-dimer cut-off point, defined as age × 0.01 µg/ml in patients ⩾50 years, successfully reduced the number of false-positive diagnoses by 13%, while still retaining a high sensitivity (0.96 (0.91-0.99)). The five false-negative diagnoses of acute aortic syndrome included three patients with intramural haematoma, one patient with a penetrating aortic ulcer and one patient with an impending aortic rupture. A combination of probability assessment and the D-dimer approach reduced the number of false-negatives from five patients to two patients. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated that the D-dimer test can distinguish acute aortic syndrome from other diseases presenting with acute chest pain with high sensitivity and modest specificity. Using the D-dimer approach presents limitations with some subtypes of acute aortic syndrome, such as intramural haematoma.