Practices of Japanese nurses for the preparation of N95 respirators.

A delay in the diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) is a public health problem in Japan. This delay may increase the chance of a TB patient visiting in a medical institution without a TB ward. We evaluated the practices of nurses for fit testing and seal checking their N95 respirator masks at hospitals without tuberculosis wards in Kanagawa, Japan. Of 36 nurses who participated in a medical course on infection control and medical safety in June 2010, 33 (91.7%) answered a questionnaire. Seven (22.6%) and 8 (26.7%) nurses had practical experience of fit testing and seal checking N95 masks, respectively. Nurses affiliated with hospitals having sanatorium wards were more likely to be acquainted with fit testing and seal checking than nurses from hospitals with only general wards [6 (39.9%) vs. 0 (0%) and 7 (46.7%) vs. 0 (0%), respectively]. Fewer than 30% of nurses exposed to TB patients had no experience with fit testing and scale checking N95 masks. Only one nurse had practical experience fitting testing at the hospital where she worked. Although the sample size in this study was small, these results showed inadequate experience in handling N95 respirator marks among Japanese nurses at hospitals without tuberculosis wards, which suggests the need to educate nurses practically in fit testing and seal checking N95 respirator masks.

Attitudes about the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic among pregnant Japanese women and the use of the Japanese municipality as a source of information.

We conducted this study to determine the use of Japanese municipal information sources about the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic among 109 pregnant Japanese women during October and November 2009 and to determine their attitudes regarding the pandemic. During November 2009, the number of municipality information users increased significantly, however, the percentage of public magazine users remained under 40% and the percentage of municipality website users remained significantly lower than other website users. The accession of municipality information did not alleviate the anxiety of subjects caused by inaccurate information, such as mortality due to the virus infection and the safety of oseltamivir use. Those who obtained information about the pandemic from the municipality were more willing to receive the influenza vaccine than non-users. The results show the municipality information system needs to be improved to ameliorate anxiety and more effectively convey health information for future pandemics. Other Japanese public health service information systems shoud be assessed as well to determine their efficacy in delivering information regarding the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic.

Maternal and paternal family history of type 2 diabetes differently influence lipid parameters in young nondiabetic Japanese women.

OBJECTIVES: We assessed the association of family history of type 2 diabetes (T2D) with parameters used for health checkups in young Japanese women. METHODS: The subjects were 497 nondiabetic women aged 19-39 years. Among them, the mothers of 34 subjects and fathers of 50 had T2D (MD group and PD group, respectively). The subjects were assessed for levels of total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and triglyceride (TG). RESULTS: TC and LDL-C level showed a tendency to increase in the MD group compared with subjects without family history of T2D. LDL-C/HDL-C ratio ≥2.14 was found in 32.4 and 18.0 % of subjects in the MD and PD groups, respectively. When adjusted for differences in age, body mass index, smoking status, and drinking habits, the MD group was found to have a higher risk of abnormal TC and LDL-C levels than the PD group. LDL-C/HDL-C ratio was independently associated with maternal family history but not with paternal family history (odds ratio 3.44 [99 % confidence interval 1.11-10.6] and 1.21 [0.38-3.89], respectively). There was no association between TG/HDL-C ratio and family history type of T2D. CONCLUSIONS: Maternal family history of T2D had a more pronounced effect on the lipid parameters generally evaluated during health checkups than did paternal family history of T2D. Therefore, we recommend systematic screening for early detection and appropriate healthcare guidance for Japanese women, particularly those with maternal family history of T2D.

Abnormality of risk factors for atherosclerotic disease among young Japanese aged 19-39 years old: an evaluation of health checkup data.

OBJECTIVES: Japanese public health policies on the prevention of atherosclerotic diseases have focused on controlling obesity. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of abnormality in risk factors for atherosclerotic disease among young Japanese classified according to body mass index (BMI). METHODS: Data were obtained from 359 men (mean age 32 ± 5 years) and 1,108 women (mean age 33 ± 4 years) between 2005 and 2010. Abnormal levels of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, and/or gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase were considered to indicate liver dysfunction, and abnormal levels of low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, and/or triglycerides were considered to indicate dyslipidemia. The cutoff points for high blood pressure (HBP) and hyperglycemia were set as a reference in the high-normal range. RESULTS: No significant difference was observed in both sexes in all items among each year. In men, HBP (12.9 %), liver dysfunction (33.9 %), dyslipidemia (29.9 %), and hyperglycemia (2.7 %) were observed in the normal BMI group (18.5 < BMI ≤ 25 kg/m(2)). In women, these abnormalities were observed in both the normal BMI group and lean group. CONCLUSIONS: Asymptomatic abnormalities, particularly liver dysfunction and dyslipidemia, were observed in a substantial percentage of subjects without obesity. Therefore, we recommend that the comprehensive public health policy should be directed at all individuals, including the non-obese group, for the early prevention/detection against atherosclerotic diseases.