Relationship between low visual acuity and nonfatal occupational same-level falls in Japanese female employees: a cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: The incidence of work-related falls on the same level is increasing, particularly among middle-aged and older female workers. Vision is an important risk factor of falls. We investigated whether objectively measured visual acuity was associated with the incidence of falls. METHODS: This cohort study included 7,317 female employees aged 20-69 in Japanese supermarket stores. Monocular acuity measured during health checkups was classified into 3 levels ( ≥0.7, 0.3-0.7, <0.3). Incidence rate ratios (IRR) of work-related falls within one year were estimated. RESULTS: IRRs were 1.26 (95%CI: 0.92-1.72) in the 0.3-0.7 group and 2.27 (95%CI: 1.15-4.48) in the <0.3 group. CONCLUSIONS: Risk of work-related fall was higher in those with low visual acuity. Vision correction may contribute to fall prevention in workplaces.

Offering on-site mammography in workplaces improved screening rates: Cluster randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVES: Despite evidence of breast cancer screening efficacy, the screening rate has remained less than 50% in Japan. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of an environmental approach offering on-site mammography in workplaces. METHODS: Supermarket stores were randomly assigned into two groups, the intervention group (leaflet and mammography) and the control group (leaflet). From May to July 2018, participants in the intervention group were given a leaflet informing them of the subsidies for breast cancer screening and offered the opportunity to have mammography in their workplaces. Participants in the control group were given the same leaflet, but had to arrange their own screening outside the workplace. The primary outcome was the breast cancer screening rate in 2018. The odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for having screening in the intervention group compared with the control group were estimated using multilevel logistic regression. RESULTS: We analyzed data from 1624 participants (mean age 53 years) from 25 supermarket stores (intervention: 8 stores, control: 17 stores). Among participants who had not attended screening in the previous year, the screening rate was 7% in the control group and 53% in the intervention group, with an adjusted OR (95% CI) of 14.22 (8.97-22.54). The effect was greater in those who had never attended screening before. CONCLUSION: In a worksite-based cluster randomized controlled trial in Japanese supermarket stores, an environmental approach offering mammography in workplaces substantially increased the breast cancer screening rate within 1 year (UMIN000030465).

[Current status of home blood pressure measurement and relevant demographics and lifestyle characteristics of individuals with periodic measurement: a cross-sectional study in a worksite population].

OBJECTIVES: The current status of home blood pressure (HBP) measurement is unknown at a Japanese worksite. We aimed to calculate the proportion of individuals who periodically measured HBP and to explore the demographic and lifestyle characteristics of these workers. METHODS: The study included 4,664 employees aged 40-65 years who worked at a retail company and underwent health check-ups in 2018. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) of participant's demographics and lifestyle characteristics and habits for HBP measurement by sex and medical treatment for hypertension. Periodic HBP measurement was defined as HBP measurements performed two times or more per month (opportunistic HBP measurement) among participants not being treated for hypertension, and daily measurement of HBP (everyday HBP measurement) among participants treated for hypertension. RESULTS: The percentages of opportunistic HBP measurement were 8.7% in males and 12.4% in females not being treated for hypertension. In both sexes, age (ORs per 1-year increment: 1.11 in males and 1.06 in females) and blood pressure (ORs of ≥ 140/90 mmHg: 7.42 in males and 4.71 in females compared with < 130/80 mmHg) were positively associated with opportunistic HBP measurement. Females treated for dyslipidemia (OR: 1.77), who had a self-described fast walking speed (OR: 1.49), and who exercised habitually (OR: 1.79) had significantly high ORs for opportunistic HBP measurement. Females who frequently consumed snacks after dinner had significantly lower ORs (0.65) than those who did not. The percentages of workers who did everyday HBP measurement were 21.6% in males and 25.5% in females treated for hypertension. Males treated for diabetes (OR: 0.23) had significantly lower OR than those who did not. Females treated for dyslipidemia (OR was 0.53), who had uncontrolled hypertension (OR: 0.58), consumed alcohol (OR: 0.60), and frequently ate within two hours before bed (OR: 0.54) had significantly lower ORs. Females who lived alone had significantly higher ORs (2.43) than those who did not. CONCLUSION: Approximately 10% of individuals not treated for hypertension periodically measured HBP. Age and blood pressure in males and females, and healthy lifestyles in females, were associated with having opportunistic HBP measurement. Approximately 25% of individuals treated for hypertension measured HBP every day. Individuals treated for dyslipidemia or diabetes and females with unhealthy lifestyle and uncontrolled hypertension were less likely to measure HBP every day.

Cluster-randomized controlled trial for the early promotion of clinic visits for untreated hypertension.

Despite clear evidence of the benefits of lowering blood pressure among patients with hypertension, the treatment rate remains <40% worldwide. In the present trial, we aimed to investigate the effects of the early promotion of clinic visits among patients with untreated hypertension detected during annual health checkups. This was a worksite-based, parallel group, cluster-randomized trial with blinded outcome assessment. Employees of 152 Japanese supermarket stores found to have untreated hypertension (blood pressure levels ≥ 160/100 mmHg) during health checkups were assigned to an early promotion group (encouraged to visit a clinic in face-to-face interviews and provided with a referral letter to a physician as well as a leaflet) or a control group (received usual care), according to random assignment. The primary outcome was the completion of a clinic visit within 6 months. Odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals for the early promotion group versus the control group were estimated using multilevel logistic regression with random effects of clusters. A total of 273 participants (mean age 50.3 years, 55% women) from 107 stores were assigned to the early promotion group (138 from 55 stores) or control group (135 from 52 stores). During the 6-month follow-up, 47 (34.1%) participants in the early promotion group visited a clinic, as did 26 (19.3%) in the control group (odds ratio 2.33, 95% confidence interval 1.12-4.84, P = 0.024). Early promotion using a referral letter during health checkups significantly increased the number of clinic visits within 6 months completed by participants with untreated hypertension (UMIN000025411).

The Relationship Between Fear-avoidance Beliefs in Employees with Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain and Work Productivity: A Longitudinal Study.

This study aimed to identify risk factors for chronic musculoskeletal pain (CMSP) and sought to examine the effect of fear-avoidance beliefs (FABs) on work productivity in workers with CMSP. We performed a longitudinal study using self-administered questionnaires given to employees in three different industries between April 2016 and March 2017. The questionnaire concerned background characteristics, work-related factors and musculoskeletal pain, the Work Functioning Impairment Scale (WFun), and the Japanese version of the Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia (TSK-J). We performed logistic regression analysis to evaluate factors affecting CMSP and a multi-way analysis of variance to analyze the relationship between FABs and CMSP and the effect of FABs on the ability to function at work. Age (odds ratio [OR] = 1.02, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.00-1.03), mean working hours (OR = 1.18, 95% CI: 1.04-1.33), and changes in working hours (OR = 1.18, 95% CI: 1.02-1.37) were significantly associated with CMSP. Regarding FABs, we found that the stronger the FAB, the greater the WFun score, and that an increase in FABs resulted in a significant increase in WFun scores. This study demonstrated that long or increased working hours may be risk factors for CMSP, and that stronger FABs in those with CMSP are associated with decreased ability to function at work. In addition, measures to reduce FABs in workers with CMSP may be effective.

Relationships Between Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain and Working Hours and Sleeping Hours: A Cross-sectional Study.

Ten to twenty percent of the population of Japan has chronic pain. Although studies have confirmed a relationship between sleeping hours and chronic pain, it remains unclear whether there is an association between working hours and chronic pain, especially chronic musculoskeletal pain (CMP), in workers. A self-administered questionnaire that sought information regarding background characteristics and work-related factors was sent to 118 enterprises; finally, 1,747 participants were included in the analysis and were classified into CMP (n = 448) and non-CMP (n = 1299) groups. Logistic regression analysis revealed that age (odds ratio [OR] = 1.02, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.01-1.03), sex (reference: female, OR = 0.68, 95% CI: 0.52-0.88), working hours (OR = 1.11, 95% CI: 1.03-1.20), and sleeping hours (OR = 0.84, 95% CI: 0.75-0.95) were significantly associated with CMP. Participants were categorized into four groups according to working hours (long: ≥ 9 hours/day [long-work], short: < 9 hours/day [short-work]) and sleeping hours (long: ≥ 7 hours/day [long-sleep], short: < 7 hours/day [short-sleep]). Furthermore, logistic regression analysis showed that the CMP OR was 2.02 (95% CI: 1.46-2.78) times higher in 'long-work plus short-sleep workers' and 1.47 (95% CI: 0.94-2.30) times higher in 'long-work plus long-sleep workers' than in 'short-work plus long-sleep workers'. Thus, working hours are associated with CMP frequency, but sleeping sufficiently may prevent CMP in workers even if they work for long hours. In conclusion, adequate instructions on sleeping hours should be provided by occupational health staff, as this may be effective in preventing CMP.

Relationship between outpatient visit frequency and hypertension control: a 9-year occupational cohort study.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the frequency of outpatient visits and hypertension control as determined from health insurance records. This 9-year cohort study in Japan was based on 518 participants with hypertension who underwent health checkups in 2004. Participants were aged 35-56 years and none had a history of cardiovascular or cerebrovascular disease. All were covered by the same employee health insurer. Mean annual outpatient visit days at a hospital/clinic during the 9-year period were classified within four quartiles (Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4). Uncontrolled hypertension was defined as a systolic blood pressure (BP) ⩾140 mm Hg and a diastolic BP ⩾90 mm Hg. Logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the multivariable-adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the prevalence of uncontrolled hypertension in groups Q1, Q2 and Q3 vs. Q4. The median (25th-75th percentile) annual outpatient visit days was 9.4 (4.0-15.5). Uncontrolled hypertension was observed in 62.4% of the participants in 2013. The multivariable-adjusted ORs and 95% CIs for uncontrolled hypertension in Q1, Q2 and Q3 vs. Q4 were 4.03 (2.28-7.12), 1.67 (0.99-2.81) and 1.44 (0.86-2.41), respectively. Uncontrolled hypertension increased significantly as the number of outpatient visits decreased (P for trend <0.001). This tendency was maintained when participants taking antihypertensive agents at baseline were excluded. Our study showed an inverse relationship between outpatient visit frequency and uncontrolled hypertension.

Strong expression of polypeptide N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase 3 independently predicts shortened disease-free survival in patients with early stage oral squamous cell carcinoma.

The polypeptide N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase (GalNAc-Ts) family of enzymes regulates the critical initial steps of mucin-type O-glycosylation. Among GalNAc-Ts that may significantly influence cancer biology, thus affecting cell differentiation, adhesion, invasion, and/or metastasis, GalNAc-T3 exhibits a high expression in several human cancers, closely associated with tumor progression and a poor prognosis. However, the expression pattern of GalNAc-T3 in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) remains obscure. Since postoperative recurrence of even early stage OSCC (ESOSCC) occurs at an early phase, significantly affecting their clinical course and worse outcome, the identification of clinically significant accurate biomarkers is needed. Therefore, we investigated the correlation between the immunohistochemical GalNAc-T3 expression and various clinicopathological characteristics and recurrence using 110 paraffin-embedded tumor samples obtained from patients with surgically resected ESOSCC (T1-2N0). Recurrence was recognized in 37 of 110 (33.6 %) patients. The GalNAc-T3 expression was considered to be strongly positive when 20 % or more of the cancer cells showed positive cytoplasmic staining. Consequently, a strong expression of GalNAc-T3 was observed in 40 patients (36.4 %), showing a close relationship to poor differentiation, the presence of lymphatic and vascular invasion, and recurrence. Univariate and multivariate analyses further demonstrated that the patients with a strong GalNAc-T3+ status had markedly lower disease-free survival (DFS) rates, especially within the first 2 years postoperatively. Therefore, GalNAc-T3 might play a role in the pathogenesis of ESOSCC recurrence, and its immunohistochemical detection potentially predicts a shorter DFS and may be a useful parameter for providing clinical management against ESOSCC in the early postoperative phase.

The combination of strong immunohistochemical mtTFA expression and a high survivin index predicts a shorter disease-specific survival in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

Mitochondrial transcription factor A (mtTFA) plays a crucial role in both the transcription and maintenance of mitochondrial DNA. A high expression of mtTFA has been demonstrated in several solid tumors, and is closely associated with cancer cell survival/apoptosis and growth. However, its expression pattern in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PAC) remains to be elucidated. Additionally, our groups have recently revealed that a subset of apoptosis-related genes is strongly regulated by mtTFA, and that two putative mtTFA binding sites are present in the promoter region of the survivin gene, which is a member of the inhibitor-of-apoptosis protein family. We therefore investigated the correlation of the immunohistochemical mtTFA expression and the survivin index with various clinicopathological variables and the prognosis, using 70 paraffin-embedded tumor samples from patients with surgically-resected PAC. The mtTFA expression or survivin index was considered to be strong or high when ≥30% or 10% of the PAC cells showed positive staining, respectively. Strong mtTFA expression and/or a high survivin index was revealed to have a significant relationship to a pathologically high tumor grading and advanced tumor stage. Moreover, mtTFA showed significantly high co-expression with survivin. Univariate and multivariate analyses demonstrated that both the strong mtTFA expression and high survivin index groups had significantly shorter survival rates, especially within the first two years postoperatively. The combination of strong mtTFA expression and a high survivin index may predict a poor prognosis in patients with PAC, and these new biomarkers might offer useful information for the early clinical management.

The combination of a nuclear HMGB1-positive and HMGB2-negative expression is potentially associated with a shortened survival in patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

High-mobility group box (HMGB) proteins are ubiquitous, abundant nuclear non-histone chromosomal proteins that play a critical role in binding to distorted DNA structures and subsequently regulating DNA transcription, replication, repair, and recombination. Both HMGB1 and HMGB2 exhibit a high expression in several human cancers and are closely associated with tumor progression and a poor prognosis. However, the expression patterns of these molecules in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remain to be elucidated. As most cases of postoperative relapse of PDAC occur within the first 2 years, the clinical significance of accurate biomarkers is needed. Therefore, we investigated the correlation between the immunohistochemical HMGB1 and HMGB2 expression and the clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis using 62 paraffin-embedded tumor samples obtained from patients with surgically resected PDAC. The HMGB1/2 expression was considered to be positive when 10 % or more of the cancer cells showed positive nuclear, not merely cytoplasmic, staining. Consequently, the expression of HMGB1/2 was observed in 54 (87.1 %) and 31 (50.0 %) patients, respectively. Unexpectedly, a positive HMGB1 expression was found to have a significantly close relationship with a negative HMGB2 expression. The univariate and multivariate analyses demonstrated that the patients with a HMGB1+ and HMGB2- status had markedly lower disease-specific survival rates, especially within the first 2 years postoperatively, whereas those with a HMGB1+ status alone did not. Therefore, the combination of a HMGB1+ and HMGB2- expression potentially predicts a poor prognosis in patients with PDAC, and these new biomarkers may be useful parameters for clinical management in the early postoperative phase.