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Late emerging adulthood is pivotal for identity exploration and development and is interrelated with life satisfaction. In the development of identity and life satisfaction, it is important to have a stable employment status that supports the foundation of life. However, the interrelationships among identity, life satisfaction, and employment status in late emerging adulthood are unclear. Using a two-wave longitudinal survey, this study examined identity development and whether the relationship between identity and life satisfaction varies by employment status. Participants included 875 Japanese emerging adults (65.5% women, Mage = 24.74, SDage = 0.44). Multivariate analysis of variance showed that identity synthesis decreased for those who lost their jobs or those who changed from being full-time to part-time employment. Additionally, individuals with full-time employment had higher identity synthesis and lower confusion than those with part-time or no employment. Multi-group path analysis indicated that identity synthesis was positively associated with life satisfaction and confusion was negatively associated, and these relationships did not differ by employment status. These findings suggest that identity development in late emerging adulthood varies by employment status and that the association between identity and life satisfaction may not be moderated by employment status. Overall, this study contributes to elucidating the characteristics of identity development along employment status and its relationship to life satisfaction in late emerging adulthood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: More than half of women do not achieve appropriate gestational weight gain. Maternal body image may be an important factor associated with gestational weight gain. However, this association has not been thoroughly evaluated. We aimed to elucidate whether body image parameters before and during pregnancy are associated with gestational weight gain in Japanese women. Methods: This prospective cohort study was conducted at a hospital in Osaka, Japan from March 2020 to March 2021. We recruited women with singleton pregnancies in their second and third trimesters. Body image was assessed using the Pregnancy and Weight Gain Attitude Scale and additional questions. Gestational weight gain was classified as insufficient, appropriate, or excessive based on recommended ranges in Japan. One-way analysis of variance, chi-square tests, and multinomial logistic regression analyses were performed to identify factors associated with insufficient or excessive weight gain. Results: Of 266 enrolled women, 47 had insufficient weight gain and 100 had excessive weight gain during pregnancy. Risk factors for excessive gestational weight gain included a history of dietary restriction before pregnancy, negative attitudes toward gestational weight gain, and perception of body shape as fat and body shape dissatisfaction during pregnancy. Perception of body shape as thin during pregnancy was identified as a risk factor for insufficient gestational weight gain. Conclusions: Body image before and during pregnancy may be an important factor in preventing insufficient or excessive gestational weight gain in Japanese women. Healthcare professionals should consider body image when providing health guidance on weight management to pregnant women. Significance: What is Already Known? Body image is a possible factor in gestational weight gain. Compared to women in other countries, Japanese women of reproductive age tend to have a negative body image. What this Study adds? A history of dietary restriction before pregnancy and negative body image during pregnancy were associated with excessive gestational weight gain among Japanese women. Perception of body shape during pregnancy as thin was associated with insufficient gestational weight gain. Thus, even in a Japanese population, characterized by a majority of women with pre-pregnancy underweight or normal body mass index status, associations between negative body image and gestational weight gain were similar to those in other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) is the most prevalent form of dysfunction in the cervical cord. For best results, CSM must be identified and treated quickly, before spinal cord injury develops. We aimed at determining the diagnostic value of quantitative and qualitative diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) indices in the assessment of CSM. Thirty patients were included in this prospective study with clinically suspected CSM of both sexes. This study aimed at determining the diagnostic value of quantitative and qualitative DTI indices in early assessment of CSM and subsequently early and proper management decision rendering better clinical outcome. Results: This prospective study included 30 patients: with clinically suspected CSM with a mean age of 51.88 ± 10.28 years. Patients with CSM were graded to 3 grades, mild (No. = 17), moderate (No. = 13) and severe (No. = 0) according to the modified Japanese orthopedic association (mJOA) grading system. Correlation test was performed between mJOA grades of severity with fractional anisotropy (FA), apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and T2 cord signal. We found a negative correlation between ADC and FA with Spearman's rho value of − 0.612 and "P value 0.000" (P value < 0.05), a positive correlation between FA with mJOA clinical score with Spearman's rho value of − 0.504 & "P value 0.036" (P value < 0.05) and a negative correlation between ADC and mJOA clinical score with Spearman's rho value of 0.385 and P value 0.005 (P value < 0.05), and no significant correlation was found between mJOA clinical score and T2 hyperintense signal with Spearman's rho value of − 0.304 and "P value 0.102" (P value < 0.05). Qualitative maps grading by 3D tractography images were done, and 18 patients in the study (60%) showed homogenous intact fiber tracts (grade I), 9 patients (30%) showed reduction or alteration of anisotropy or mixed colors intensity (grade II), and 3 patients (10%) showed fiber tract disruption or displaced cord (grade III). Three DTI parameters (other than FA and ADC) were measured, and two of them show significant difference between their measures in the stenotic and non-stenotic portions of the spinal cord—RA (P value = 0.00) and RD (P value = 0.00). Conclusions: We concluded that DTI is a crucial tool for early diagnosis and grading of CSM (cervical spondylosis myelopathy)—quantitatively and qualitatively—hence, it should be routinely integrated with conventional cervical spine MRI in case of clinically or radiologically suspected cervical cord compression, as the FA parameter together with the clinical assessment formulates the management plan decision for the CSM whether surgical or non-surgical and depicts the need for early surgical decision rendering better clinical outcome compared to that based on T2 hyperintense cord signal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Deep white matter lesions (DWMLs), T2 high-intensity areas in the subcortical white matter on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), are a clinical phenotype of cerebral small vessel disease. Factors such as age and hypertension have been reported to significantly contribute to the presence and severity of DWMLs in cross-sectional studies. We herein report a 10-year longitudinal study on DWMLs in elderly Japanese subjects to reveal the clinical variables contributing to the progression of DWMLs. Methods: A total of 469 Japanese subjects were invited to participate in the study. Of the participants at baseline, 259 subjects completed the revisit MRI study 10 years later. In those 259 subjects, we evaluated the correlation between the progression of DWMLs and clinical variables, such as the gender, age, and overt vascular risk factors. To clarify the role of hypertension, 200 subjects with grade 1 DWMLs at baseline were categorized into three groups according to their status of hypertension and its treatment. Results: Of the 200 subjects with grade 1 DWMLs, 47 subjects (23.5%) showed progression of DWMLs (progression group). In the progression group, the percentage of subjects with hypertension and the systolic blood pressure values were higher than in the non-progression group. In addition, subjects ≥ 60 years old at baseline tended to show deterioration of DWMLs in the group with hypertension without antihypertensive treatment. Conclusion: The results of this 10-year longitudinal study imply a positive correlation between long-standing hypertension and the progression of DWMLs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]