Childhood Adversities and Psychological Health of Adult Children of Parents with Mental Illness in Japan.

In this study, we seek to clarify whether the present-day experience of psychological distress among adults whose parents suffered from mental illness is related to their childhood experiences of abuse and neglect and their provision of emotional care for their parents during their school-age years. To this end, a web-based cross-sectional study was conducted. A total of 120 participants over the age of 20 who attended a self-help group responded (50% response rate); of these, 94 had a parent diagnosed with a mental illness, and these participants were included for data analysis purposes. Of the 94 respondents, 65 (69.2%) were highly distressed, as measured by a Kessler (K) 6 measure of ≥5. A logistic regression analysis revealed that the experience of providing emotional care for parents during school-age childhood was significantly related to high levels of distress in adulthood (OR = 3.48; 95% CI 1.21-9.96). For children of parents with mental illnesses, the effects of providing emotional care for parents during childhood may include long-term psychological distress. For this reason, mentally ill parents raising children need visiting community nurses or other professionals to provide emotional care on behalf of their children.

Outbreak of equine coronavirus infection among riding horses in Tokyo, Japan.

In 2020, an outbreak of equine coronavirus (ECoV) infection occurred among 41 horses at a riding stable in Tokyo, Japan. This stable had 16 Thoroughbreds and 25 horses of other breeds, including Andalusians, ponies and miniature horses. Fifteen horses (37 %) showed mild clinical signs such as fever, lethargy, anorexia and diarrhoea, and they recovered within 3 days of onset. A virus neutralization test showed that all 41 horses were infected with ECoV, signifying that 26 horses (63 %) were subclinical. The results suggest that subclinical horses played an important role as spreaders. A genome sequence analysis revealed that the lengths from genes p4.7 to p12.7 or NS2 in ECoV differed from those of ECoVs detected previously, suggesting that this outbreak was caused by a virus different from those that caused previous outbreaks among draughthorses in Japan. Among 30 horses that tested positive by real-time RT-PCR, ECoV shedding periods of non-Thoroughbreds were significantly longer than those of Thoroughbreds. The difference in shedding periods may indicate that some breeds excrete ECoV longer than other breeds and can contribute to the spread of ECoV.

[Previous experiences of Japanese children with parents who have a mental illness, and their consultation situation at school: A survey of grown-up children].

Objectives　The purpose of this study was to understand the experience of grown-up children with parents suffering from mental illness during their elementary, junior high, and high school years, and the consultation situations at their schools.Methods　A web-based questionnaire survey was conducted on 240 grown-up children who had participated in groups for children with parents suffering from mental illness. The analysis was a simple tabulation and compared the consultation history inside and outside the school environment, according to the respondent's age. Free-response descriptions were categorized according to the content.Results　A total of 120 respondents answered, ranging in age from 20 to over 50 years, with the majority being women (85.8%). Their mothers were the most likely parent to suffer from a mental illness (67.5%), and their estimated age at illness onset was before entering elementary school (73.1%).　During their elementary, junior high, and high school years, 57.8-61.5% of the respondents provided emotional care, and 29.7-32.1% did household chores. When they were in elementary school, most recognized adult fights (62.4%) and experienced attacks by parents (51.4%). Signs that others could have noticed included the fact that parents did not visit the school or talk to teachers, being bullied, forgetfulness, absenteeism, arriving late for school, and academic deterioration. Nearly half of the respondents (43.2-55.0%) hid their challenges during their elementary, junior high, and high school years. They were aware of teachers' prejudice towards mental illness, discriminatory behavior, and lack of consideration for privacy. At the same time, many respondents wanted teachers to be concerned about their circumstances and listen to their stories.　More than half of the respondents (62.7-80.7%) did not approach school staff, who did not notice their problems. When they were high school students, they had an inadequate consultation environment or were unprepared to consult. The easiest person to approach was the teacher in charge.Conclusion　Children with parents suffering from a mental illness were those most in need of support, while being the least connected to sources of support. Schools need to support children to become aware of their problems at home, and teachers need to pay more attention to their students, and listen to them carefully, including to what they may not say.

Circulating pituitary and gonadal hormones in spring-born Thoroughbred fillies and colts from birth to puberty.

The present study was conducted to elucidate the profile of circulating gonadotropins and gonadal hormones from birth to puberty and relationship between gonadal seasonality and hormonal secretion in both sexes of Thoroughbred horses. Spring-born colts (n=6) and fillies (n=9) were blood sampled weekly from jugular vein from birth to 60 weeks of age. Circulating FSH, LH, prolactin, testosterone, progesterone, estradiol-17ß, and immunoreactive (ir)-inhibin were measured by radioimmunoassay. In both sexes, the steroid hormones levels were remarkably high at birth, rapidly dropped within a week and remained at the lower levels until the start of second spring after birth. Ir-inhibin was also high during the birth, remaining lowest during winter and again increasing towards the second summer. There was an increase in FSH concentration in foals during the first summer months after birth and in the next summer, the FSH concentration along with that of LH increased significantly. The seasonal increase in circulating prolactin was remarkable even in the first year, and no differences were noted between the two summers. These results clearly demonstrated that the hypothalamo-pituitary axis is already responsive to changes in photoperiod and secrete prolactin similar to adult horses, but pituitary gonadotrophs for FSH and LH secretion is less sensitive. When the values of these hormones in the second breeding season after birth were compared with adult values of the respective sex in the breeding season, no significant differences were observed, indicating that spring-born fillies and colts have already attained the stage of puberty at the second breeding season after birth.