Author: suga

Press Release: Review of Screening and Assessment Tools for Social Determinants of Health in the Field of Cardiovascular Disease

We have published a comprehensive review article on screening and assessment tools for Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) in the field of cardiovascular disease (CVD).
This is a collaborative effort with researchers from the Department of Cardiology at St. Luke’s International Hospital and the Department of Academic Informatics at St. Luke’s International University.

The article elucidates the deployment of previously reported SDOH assessment tools in relation to CVD and the correlation between individual SDOH factors and CVD outcomes.
Our research findings were released on December 11, 2023, in the Circulation Journal, an international journal issued by the Japanese Circulation Society.
Press release is here (in Japanese)

【Article information】
Journal: Circulation Journal
Article title: Scoping Review of Screening and Assessment Tools for Social Determinants of Health in the
Field of Cardiovascular Disease
DOI: 10.1253/circj.CJ-23-0443
URL: https://doi.org/10.1253/circj.CJ-23-0443

Press release: Depressive symptoms, suicide ideation and attempts are about twice as common among those who perceive community gender norms as restrictive (Collaborator Kanamori)

A research group led by Mariko Kanamori (Kyoto University Institute for the Future of Human and Society) and Professor Naoki Kondo reported the impact of perceived community gender norms, such as “You are a man/woman, you shouldn’t/shouldn’t do XXX”, on the mental health of older people.

Men who perceived the gender norms of the community they lived in as restrictive were 1.9 times more likely to have depressive symptoms, 2.0 times more likely to have suicidal thoughts and 2.2 times more likely to have attempted suicide. Similarly, women were 1.8 times more likely to have depressive symptoms, 2.1 times more likely to have suicidal thoughts and 2.6 times more likely to have attempted suicide.

The results of this study suggest that those who perceive the atmosphere in their community as being rigid about gender roles and think that it does not allow for diversity are less likely to seek help in times of need, which in turn has a negative impact on their mental health.

The paper was published in International Psychogeriatrics, a leading journal in the field of gerontology and psychology, in the First View online edition on November 6, 2023.

Mariko Kanamori, Andrew Stickley, Kosuke Takemura, Yumiko Kobayashi, Mayumi Oka, Toshiyuki Ojima, Katsunori Kondo, Naoki Kondo. Community gender norms, mental health and suicide ideation and attempts among older Japanese adults: a cross-sectional study. International Psychogeriatrics, 1-11.

 

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S104161022300087X

 

The press release is available on Mariko Kanamori’s website.

http://mariko-kanamori.moo.jp/en/2023/12/01/depressive-symptoms-suicide-ideation-and-attempts-are-about-twice-as-common-among-those-who-perceive-community-gender-norms-as-restrictive/

Press Release: Socioeconomic Inequality of Health Behaviors Among Japanese Adolescents increased by 2.5 times after COVID-19 Pandemic (Assistant Professor Kyan)

A study by Assistant Professor KYAN Akira (belonged to Kobe University at the time of research) and his colleagues found for the first time that socioeconomic inequality in achieving recommended physical activity levels among Japanese youth increased while difference in breakfast intake decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to levels before the pandemic.
Specifically, despite no observed differences in physical activity by income in 2019, by 2021, adolescents from families with lower equivalent household incomes were less likely to engage in physical activity.
Research is needed to continue monitoring the impact these phenomena will have on health over the medium to long term.
This article was adapted and edited in part from the Kobe University Graduate School of Human Development and Environment website.
Article information:
Kyan A, Takakura M. Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Socioeconomic Inequality of Health Behavior Among Japanese Adolescents: A 2-Year Repeated Cross-Sectional Survey. J Phys Act Health. 2023 Apr 22:1-9.
Click *here for more information.

Press Release: Children exposed to the pandemic were 4.39 months behind in development at age 5 (Assistant Professor Sato)

Assistant Professor Sato has published a study examining the association between the COVID-19 pandemic and early childhood development in JAMA Pediatrics.
His team showed that cohorts exposed to the pandemic were 4.39 months behind in development at age 5 compared to a cohort that was not during the follow-up. Variations in development were greater during the pandemic than in the pre-pandemic period, regardless of age.

Article: Sato, K., Fukai, T., Fujisawa, K. K., Nakamuro, M. Association Between the COVID-19 Pandemic and Early Childhood Development. JAMA Pediatrics. 2023 July 10.

DOI: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2023.2096.

Award: Young Investigator Award(YIA) at The Japan Endocrine Society (Associate Professor Inoue)

Associate Professor Inoue received the Young Investigator Award(YIA) at the 96th Annual Meeting of the Japan Endocrine Society. The meeting was held in Nagoya, Japan, from June 1st to 3rd, 2023.
In his presentation, Dr. Inoue proposed the concept of “High Benefit Approach” in which treatment allocation is targeted to individuals with high benefit estimated from state-of-the-art machine learning algorithm (causal forest). He and his team demonstrated the usefulness of this new approach in hypertension management using a large RCT data.
It is a great honor to receive this award in the field of epidemiology, and we expect further progress in bridging the fields of epidemiology and clinical medicine based on the results of this research.
Article:
Kosuke Inoue, Susan Athey, Yusuke Tsugawa (2023). Machine-learning-based high-benefit approach versus conventional high-risk approach in blood pressure management. International Journal of Epidemiology.