Excessive Game Playing Is Associated with Poor Toothbrushing Behavior among Athletic Children: A Cross-Sectional Study in Miyagi, Japan.

Dental problems among athletes have been cautioned due to negative impacts not only on their oral health but also on athletic performance. Acquirement of appropriate oral health behavior mainly composed of toothbrushing in childhood can be one of the most important strategies for advancing children's athletic possibilities. Although habits of screen viewing, including game playing, and TV viewing have direct impacts on children's health and behavioral development, little is known about the association between these habits and toothbrushing frequency. A cross-sectional survey examining sports activities was conducted using a self-report questionnaire among school-aged athletic children belonging to the Miyagi Amateur Sports Association (n = 6,658). All statistical analyses were performed with SPSS, and P-values less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. The association between a lower brushing frequency (< 2 times a day) and screen-viewing behavior was examined using multivariate logistic models after adjusting for sex, age, body mass index (BMI), studying time, and sleep duration. After adjustment for all covariates, longer game playing (> 2 hrs a day), but not TV viewing, significantly correlated with lower brushing frequency (P for trend < 0.001). Importantly, longer game-playing behavior was also associated with unhealthy dental behavior defined as a lower brushing frequency regardless of the awareness of dental caries (P for trend < 0.001). In conclusion, this is the first study indicating a type-specific unfavorable impact of screen viewing on oral health behavior among athletic children. Excessive game playing may adversely affect oral health literacy more strongly than TV viewing.

Living status, economic hardship and sleep disturbance were associated with subjective shoulder pain in survivors of the Great East Japan Earthquake: A cross sectional study.

BACKGROUND: The Great East Japan Earthquake and devastating Tsunami hit hard everything on the northeastern coast of Japan. This study aimed to determine socio-psychological factors for "subjective shoulder pain" of the survivors at 2 years evaluated by a self-report questionnaire. METHODS: Between November 2012 to February 2013, survivors replied to the self-report questionnaire, and 2275 people consented to join this study. Living status was divided into 5 categories (1. same house as before the earthquake (reference group), 2. temporary small house, 3. apartment, 4. house of relatives or acquaintance, 5. new house) and economic hardship was divided into 4 categories (1. normal (reference group), 2. a little bit hard, 3. hard, 4. very hard). Gender, age, body mass index, living areas, smoking and drinking habits, complications of diabetes mellitus and cerebral stroke, working status, and walking time were considered as the confounding factors. Kessler Psychological Distress Scale of ≥10/24 and Athens Insomnia Scale of ≥6/24 points were defined as a presence of psychological distress and sleep disturbance, respectively. We used multiple logistic regression analysis to examine the association of shoulder pain with living environment, economic hardship, psychological distress, and sleep disturbance at 2 years after the earthquake. RESULTS: There were significant differences in the risk of having shoulder pain in those with "apartment" (OR = 1.74, 95% CI = 1.03-2.96), "house of relatives or acquaintance" (OR = 2.98, 95% CI = 1.42-6.25), economic hardship of "hard" (OR = 1.71, 95% CI = 1.08-2.7) and "very hard" (OR = 2.51, 95% CI = 1.47-4.29), and sleep disturbance (OR = 2.96, 95% CI = 2.05-4.27). CONCLUSIONS: Living status of "apartment" and "house of relatives or acquaintance", economic hardship of "hard" and "very hard", and "sleep disturbance" were significantly associated with shoulder pain.

Influence of living environment and subjective economic hardship on new-onset of low back pain for survivors of the Great East Japan Earthquake.

BACKGROUND: The Great East Japan Earthquake and subsequent tsunami devastated the northeastern part of Japan. Low back pain is thought to increase after a natural disaster and is related to various factors. The aim of this study was to examine the influencing factors of "Living environment" and "Subjective economic hardship" on new-onset of low back pain in the chronic phase for the survivors of the earthquake evaluated by a self-report questionnaire. METHODS: A panel study was conducted with the Great East Japan Earthquake survivors at 2 and 3 years after the disaster. New-onset of low back pain was defined as low back pain absent at the 1st period (2 years after the earthquake) and present at the 2nd period (3 years after the earthquake). Living environment was divided into 4 categories (1. Living in the same house as before the earthquake, 2. Living in a prefabricated house, 3. Living in a new house, 4. Others: Living in an apartment, house of relatives or acquaintance). Subjective economic hardship was obtained using the following self-report question: "How do you feel about the current economic situation of your household?" The response alternatives were "Normal", "A little bit hard", "Hard", and "Very hard". A univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were used. RESULTS: 1357 survivors consented to join this study. There was no significant association between new-onset of low back pain and living environment. There was significant association between new-onset of low back pain and "A little hard" (OR = 1.6, 95% CI = 1.07-2.40), "Hard" (OR = 2.2, 95% CI = 1.56-3.74), and "Very hard" (OR = 3.19, 95% CI = 1.84-5.53) in subjective economic hardship. CONCLUSIONS: Subjective economic hardship was significantly associated with new-onset of low back pain in the chronic phase for survivors of the Great East Japan Earthquake.