Search

We aimed to examine whether the number of types of hazardous operations at work experienced through a lifetime is associated with cancer incidence, and additionally examined the combined effects with lifestyle‐related factors. Using a nationwide, multicenter, hospital inpatient dataset (2005‐2015), we conducted a matched case‐control study with 1 149 296 study subjects. We classified the participants into those with none, 1, or 2 or more types of hazardous operation experience, based on information of special medical examinations taken, mandatory in Japan for workers engaged in hazardous operations. Using those with no experience as the reference group, we estimated the odds ratios for cancer incidence (all sites, lung, stomach, colon and rectum, liver, pancreas, bile duct, and bladder) by conditional logistic regression with multiple imputations. We also examined the effects of the combination with hazardous operations and lifestyle‐related factors. We observed increased risks for cancer of all sites, and lung, pancreas, and bladder cancer associated with the experience of hazardous operations. Multivariable‐adjusted ORs (95% CIs) of cancer incidence of all sites were 1 (reference), 1.16 (1.12, 1.21), and 1.17 (1.08, 1.27) for none, 1, and 2 or more types of hazardous operation experience, respectively (P for trend, Compared with those with no experience of occupational hazardous operation, the incidence of total, lung, pancreas, and bladder cancer was clearly increased as the number of types of hazardous operation work experience increased. Potential combined associations of hazardous operations with smoking were also observed for lung, pancreas, and bladder cancer, and with diabetes for pancreas cancer.

Introduction: We used data from MOBI-Kids, a 14-country international collaborative case-control study of brain tumors (BTs), to study clinical characteristics of the tumors in older children (10 years or older), adolescents and young adults (up to the age of 24). Methods: Information from clinical records was obtained for 899 BT cases, including signs and symptoms, symptom onset, diagnosis date, tumor type and location. Results: Overall, 64% of all tumors were low-grade, 76% were neuroepithelial tumors and 62% gliomas. There were more males than females among neuroepithelial and embryonal tumor cases, but more females with meningeal tumors. The most frequent locations were cerebellum (22%) and frontal (16%) lobe. The most frequent symptom was headaches (60%), overall, as well as for gliomas, embryonal and 'non-neuroepithelial' tumors; it was convulsions/seizures for neuroepithelial tumors other than glioma, and visual signs and symptoms for meningiomas. A cluster analysis showed that headaches and nausea/vomiting was the only combination of symptoms that exceeded a cutoff of 50%, with a joint occurrence of 67%. Overall, the median time from first symptom to diagnosis was 1.42 months (IQR 0.53-4.80); it exceeded 1 year in 12% of cases, though no particular symptom was associated with exceptionally long or short delays.Conclusions: This is the largest clinical epidemiology study of BT in young people conducted so far. Many signs and symptoms were identified, dominated by headaches and nausea/vomiting. Diagnosis was generally rapid but in 12% diagnostic delay exceeded 1 year with none of the symptoms been associated with a distinctly long time until diagnosis. This work was supported by the MOBI-Kids study and the work in this study was obtained from the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme under Grant Agreements Number 226873—the MOBI-Kids Project—and 603794—the GERoNiMO project. Additional funds for the coordination of MOBI-Kids were obtained from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MINECO), while complementary funds for the conduct of MOBI-Kids in Spain were obtained from the Spanish Health Research Fund (FIS) of the National Institute for Health Carlos III. Italian participation is partially supported by a Ministry of Health grant (RF-2009-1546284). In Canada, funding was provided by a grant from the Canadian Institutes for Health Research under a peer-reviewed university-industry partnership program that involved the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association, who provided technical data on wireless telecommunications practices in Canada. The German study centre received additional support by the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS). Japanese participation in MOBI-Kids was supported by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. New Zealand participation was supported by Health Research Council and Cure Kids. In France, this study received funds from the French National Agency for Sanitary Safety of Food, Environment and Labour (ANSES, contract FSRF2008-3), French National Cancer Institute (INCa), Pfizer Foundation and League against cancer. India received funding from Board of Research in Nuclear Sciences (BRNS). The funding sources had no role in: the study design; the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; the writing of the report; and the decision to submit the article for publication.

The effect of maternal occupational non-ionizing radiation (NIR) exposure from MRI on premature birth and low birth weight delivery was analyzed based on questionnaire survey (263 employees, 443 births). Although the highest occurrence rates of both outcomes were observed in the group whose NIR exposure occurred only before pregnancy, no statistical significance was detected.

In recent years, equipment that generates intermediate-frequency electromagnetic fields (IF-EMFs) has become increasingly prevalent, and the influence of IF-EMFs on human health is thus attracting increasing attention. The present study was conducted with the aim of analyzing whether there is a relationship between the penetration of induction heating cookers and birth outcomes using an ecological study design at the prefectural level. We created data sets for all 47 prefectures in Japan using previously published statistics. Spontaneous fetal death rate, fetal death rate after 22 weeks of pregnancy, perinatal mortality rate, and proportion of newborns weighing less than 2500 g were used as birth outcomes in correlation analysis. A weak positive association was observed between the penetration of induction heating cookers and the fetal death rate after the 22nd week of pregnancy (r = 0.27, p = 0.07), but it was not statistically significant. In addition, a weak negative association was observed between the penetration of induction heating cookers and the spontaneous fetal death rate (r = −0.27, p = 0.07), but it was not statistically significant. In the present ecological study, no statistically significant association were shown between the penetration of induction heating cookers and birth outcomes. To demonstrate further the safety of induction heating cooker use, observations in epidemiological studies of other designs should be considered.

Objective To investigate the effect of guidelines for management of febrile seizures on the clinical practice, we conducted a nationwide survey in Japan. Methods The Japanese guidelines for management of febrile seizures 2015 (GL2015) was released in 2015. In 2016, a questionnaire was sent to all 512 certified hospitals (3 pediatricians each) of the Japan Pediatric Society and all 47 prefecture Pediatric Associations (10 private pediatricians each) in Japan asking about management policies for febrile seizures (FSs) during 2013–2014 and 2016. The questionnaires were about the following procedures: (1) lumbar punctures, blood examinations, and diazepam suppositories for children after a first simple FS at emergency departments; and (2) prophylactic diazepam during febrile illnesses in children with two or three past simple FSs, with no known predictors of recurrence. Results A total of 1327 pediatricians (66.2%) answered the questionnaire. Numbers of pediatricians performing lumbar punctures and blood examinations, and giving diazepam suppositories after a first simple FS were less in 2016 than in 2013–2014 (1.2% and 2.0%, 53.1% and 61.3%, and 36.7% and 51.9%, respectively). Pediatricians recommending prophylactic diazepam for children with two and three FSs decreased from 45.7% and 82.4% in 2013–2014 to 31.0% and 65.0% in 2016, respectively. Conclusion GL2015 had an effect on the clinical practices of pediatricians. On the other hand, 65% recommended prophylactic diazepam to children with three simple FSs even though GL2015 did not recommend use of diazepam based on number of previous FS. Anxiety about frequent seizures may affect pediatricians′ clinical practice.

Over 20 years have passed since the initial spread of mobile phones in Japan. Epidemiological studies of mobile phone use are currently being conducted around the world, but scientific evidence is inconclusive. The present study aimed to simulate the incidence of malignant brain tumors in cohorts that began using mobile phones when they first became popular in Japan. Mobile phone ownership data were collected through an Internet-based questionnaire survey of subjects born between 1960 and 1989. The proportion of mobile phone ownership between 1990 and 2012 was calculated by birth cohort (1960s, 1970s, and 1980s). Subsequently, using the ownership proportion, the incidence of malignant brain tumors was calculated under simulated risk conditions. When the relative risk was set to 1.4 for 1,640 h or more of cumulative mobile phone use and the mean daily call duration was 15 min, the incidence of malignant brain tumors in 2020 was 5.48 per 100,000 population for the 1960s birth cohort, 3.16 for the 1970s birth cohort, and 2.29 for the 1980s birth cohort. Under the modeled scenarios, an increase in the incidence of malignant brain tumors was shown to be observed around 2020. © 2019 Bioelectromagnetics Society.

Investigating the risks of diabetes complications among inpatients with diabetes associated with longest-held and current occupations.Using a Japanese nationwide, multicenter, hospital inpatient dataset (2005-2015), a matched case-control study with 39,550 inpatients with diabetes was conducted. We considered both the longest-held and current occupations of the study subjects.Diabetes complications such as retinopathy, nephropathy, neuropathy, and peripheral vascular complications occur more often in managers, sales workers, service workers, transportation workers, construction and mining workers and carrying, cleaning and packing workers. Among these occupations, particularly the service workers indicated consistently significant increased risks (OR = 1.36 (1.23-1.51)) in developing all the considered subtypes of diabetes complications, and the performed sensitivity analysis confirmed this conclusion. Moreover, among service workers, cooks, waiters, building service staff and other service workers were identified as having the highest risks in developing diabetes complications (ORs = 1.30 (1.12-1.51), 1.63 (1.36-1.95), 1.79 (1.21-2.67), and 2.05 (1.30-3.22), respectively).Our study's potential translational impact should lead to subsequent investigations on the causes connected to certain occupations of various diabetes complications and particularly to more carefully dealing with patients with diabetes who work in the identified occupational areas and their health risks.

BACKGROUND A person's occupation may increase his/her risk for developing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). This study investigated the association between risk for later-onset of IBD and both specific occupations and occupational physical activity (OPA) levels. MATERIALS AND METHODS A multicenter hospital-based matched case-control study was conducted using the Inpatient Clinico-Occupational Survey database. Cases were patients with Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) patients admitted for the first time between 2005 and 2015. Four controls matched by age, sex, admission year and hospital were selected for each case. Cases and controls were grouped into the longest-held occupations as classified by the Japanese Standard Occupational Classification and OPA levels. We conducted conditional logistic regressions to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for IBD, CD and UC adjusted for alcohol consumption and smoking status. RESULTS There were 564 cases (172 CD, 392 UC) and 2086 controls. The risk for UC was higher among sales workers and carrying, cleaning and packing workers (ORs 2.62 [95%CIs 1.18-5.82], 2.52 [1.04-6.09]). There was no association between occupation type and CD risk. Higher OPA level decreased CD risk (OR 0.51 [95%CIs 0.26-1.00]) and increased UC risk (OR 1.53 [95%CIs 1.02-2.30]). CONCLUSIONS Our study revealed that the risk for later-onset of UC, but not CD, was associated with longest-held 'service' and 'manufacture' work. The risk by OPA levels was inversely associated between CD and UC. Further studies are needed by follow-up method for long-term effects of physical activity.

The Inpatient Clinico-Occupational Survey collected data from 3.76 million patients, showing that the average length of stay declined by 16.1 d in FY2008 and by 14.1 d in FY2015. In this study, we assessed the length of hospital stay and readmission, stratified by ICD-10 and employment status. A cross-sectional study was conducted on data from FY2008, including those from 65,806 first hospitalizations and 16,653 readmissions in FY2008, where 62,260 first admissions and 29,242 readmissions in FY 2015. The length of hospital stay was longest in those admitted due to external influences (24.8 d), followed by musculoskeletal disorders (22.5 d). This remained unchanged in FY2015, however, lengths of stay of those were reduced by 20.1 and 20.0 d, respectively. The length of hospital stay for most diseases was longer upon readmission than on first admission, and longer for those who were unemployed. It is necessary to give attention to patients who need to be discharged early due to work, or plan for frequent hospitalization in order to reduce the length of each hospital stay because of the expected increase in the number of elderly workers brought on by a declining birth rate and an aging population.

To clarify whether medical radiation exposure, especially from head computed tomography (CT), increases the risk of brain tumours in young patients in Japan, which ranks the second highest in the world in the number of paediatric CT examinations following the US. From 2011 to 2015, we performed a case–control study of 120 brain tumour patients and 360 appendicitis patients as controls. Reasons, the number of brain and head CT scans date were available from interviews. A cumulative radiation dose to the brain was calculated as a sum of doses received from head CT scans and from conventional x-rays and estimated using a reference table derived from a literature review of published studies. We performed conditional logistic regression to assess the risk of brain tumours from brain and head CT, and from conventional head x-ray procedures. The case group received on average 1.8 CTs to the brain area and 2.2 CTs to the whole head, with a mean estimated brain dose of 32 ± 13 mGy. The odds ratio for developing a brain tumour from having a brain CT was 0.93 (95% confidence interval: 0.38–1.82). This was hardly altered when adjusting for parental educational history and for other diseases (history of neurological disease and attention-deficit disorder/attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder). Neither whole head CT nor cumulative brain dose to the brain increased the risk of glioma or of all brain tumours. Although this study conducted in Japan, where ranks second in the number of CT scans conducted in the world, did not show an increased risk of brain tumours related to CT scans, it should be taken with caution due to a case–control study with limited sample size.

OBJECTIVES We are responsible for answering the research question, "Does a return-to-work program improve the returning outcome?" This is one of the six research questions in the evidence-based "Return-to-work Guidance in Occupational Health 2017" developed by the Kanto branch of the Japanese Society of Occupational Health. This study aimed to integrate the effectiveness of the return-to-work program to improve the state of sick-listed employees suffering from cardiovascular disease, cancer, and musculoskeletal and mental health problems. METHODS Three different databases, PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Ichushi-Web were searched. Based on the results of a systematic review, the guidance developing group created the draft of the recommendations with evidence to decision framework and used a poll to determine the recommendations. We integrated the evidence from a systematic review and meta-analysis at the disease level. This study protocol was registered with PROSPERO (the registration number is: CRD42016048937). RESULTS A total of five articles on musculoskeletal diseases and six on mental health problems were retrieved. No articles in the cardiovascular and cancer areas matched the eligibility criteria. When workers suffered from musculoskeletal disorders, the rehabilitation group statistically returned to work earlier than the usual care group did [HR 1.58 (95% CI 1.26-1.97), -40.71days (95% CI -60.69--20.72) ]. In the mental health problems group, the psychological intervention program group had statistically less days of sick leaves as compared to that in the usual care group [-18.64 days (95% CI -27.98--9.30) ]. CONCLUSIONS It might be suggested that work environment management, work management, tackling psychological problems, cognitive behavioral approach, and several meetings with supervisors and occupational health staff, in addition to a direct focus on backache contributed to the early return-to-work of workers suffering from musculoskeletal disease. Regarding mental health problems, interviews with a psychological approach and consultations with psychologists and psychiatrists might be effective in reducing the days of sick leaves. However, because these methods were investigated in Europe, we need to be careful when introducing these practises in Japan due to the differences in the occupational health support systems. Further, high quality evidence level studies are needed in Japan.

Purpose Few studies have investigated the work continuance rate among stroke survivors who return to work (RTW). The objective of this study was to investigate work sustainability after RTW and the causes of recurrent sickness absence (RSA) among Japanese stroke survivors. Methods Data on stroke survivors were collected from an occupational health register. The inclusion criteria were as follows: employees who were aged 15–60 years old and returned to work after an episode of sick leave due to a clinically certified stroke that was diagnosed during the period from 1 January 2000 through 31 December 2011. Results 284 employees returned to work after their first episode of stroke-induced sick leave. The work continuance rate for all subjects was 78.8 and 59.0% at one and 5 years after the subjects’ RTW, respectively. After returning to work, the subjects worked for a mean of 7.0 years. Of 284 employees who returned to work, 86 (30.3%) experienced RSA. The RSA were caused by recurrent strokes in 57.0% (49/86) of cases, mental disorders in 20.9% (18/86) of cases, and fractures (often due to accidents involving steps at train stations or the subject’s home) in 10.5% (9/86) of cases. 21 employees resigned after returning to work. The resignation rates at 1 and 5 years were 4.9 and 7.6%, respectively. According to the multivariate analysis including all variables, the subjects in the ≥ 50 year group were at greater risk of work discontinuation than the ≤ 49 year (reference) age group (HR: 2.26, 95% CI 1.39–3.68). Conclusions Occupational health professionals need to provide better RTW support to stroke survivors and should pay particularly close attention to preventing recurrent strokes, mental disorders, and fractures.

OBJECTIVE We conducted a systematic review to determine whether work accommodation at the time of return-to-work (RTW) following a period of sick leave would improve work-related outcomes. Using a Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach, we developed recommendations applicable to the field of occupational health in Japan. METHOD We approached our review question for "Evidence-based Return-to-work Guidance in Occupational Health 2017 (RTW 2017) " using a PICO framework (P: workers on sick leave; I: work accommodation; C: usual care; O: improvement of work-related outcomes, such as shortened sick leave period or lower rate of sick leave recurrence). To identify relevant intervention studies about work accommodation at the time of RTW, for example, modified work or partial RTW, we searched Cochrane Library, PubMed, and ICHUSHI Web using keywords/phrases such as workplace accommodation, partial RTW, rehabilitation, and modified work. Although we found no systematic reviews, we did identify 632 randomized controlled trials and cohort studies. Two researchers screened them independently using selection and exclusion criteria defined by the RTW guidance committee in the scope. For intervention studies, we extracted PICO and evaluated risk of bias using RevMan 5.3. For cohort studies, we applied the Newcastle-Ottawa scale for evaluation of risk of bias. We then evaluated the body of evidence based on risk of bias, indirectness, inconsistency, imprecision, and publication bias using GRADEPro GDT. Finally, we adopted Evidence to Decision from GRADE and developed recommendations based on anonymous panels' votes. RESULT We identified three relevant studies, which were one randomized controlled trial and two cohort studies, on Partial RTW or modified work for musculoskeletal disorders. Although we could not conduct a meta-analysis, our qualitative systematic review of these studies led us to conclude that partial RTW could shorten the period of sick leave and modified work could lower the recurrence rates of sick leave. Therefore, "Work accommodation at the time of RTW could be provided for workers on sick leave for musculoskeletal disorders" was weakly recommended on the basis of low evidence. CONCLUSIONS Our recommendation, though plausible, is weak, as it is based on evidence from a small number of studies of foreign occupational health systems. Development of robust recommendations will require accumulation of additional information on diverse factors, such as cost-effectiveness, and on other diseases, for example, mental health disorders or malignant diseases, in Japan.

Kosuke Kiyohara, Junya Sado, Tetsuhisa Kitamura, Mamoru Ayusawa, Masahiko Nitta, Taku Iwami, Ken Nakata, Yasuto Sato, Noriko Kojimahara, Naohito Yamaguchi, Tomotaka Sobue, Yuri Kitamura, for the SPIRITS Investigators, Epidemiology of Pediatric Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest at School ― An Investigation of a Nationwide Registry in Japan ―, Circulation Journal, 2018, Volume 82, Issue 4, Pages 1026-1032, Released March 23, 2018, [Advance publication] Released February 15, 2018, Online ISSN 1347-4820, Print ISSN 1346-9843, https://doi.org/10.1253/circj.CJ-17-1237, https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/circj/82/4/82_CJ-17-1237/_article/-char/en, Background: A better understanding of the epidemiology of pediatric out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) occurring in school settings is important to establish an evidence-based strategy for prevention and better prognosis. Methods and Results: The Stop and Prevent cardIac aRrest, Injury, and Trauma in Schools (SPIRITS) is a nationwide prospective observational study linking databases from 2 nationally representative registries, the Injury and the Accident Mutual Aid Benefit System of The Japan Sport Council and the All-Japan Utstein Registry of the Fire and Disaster Management Agency. Using these databases, we described the detailed characteristics and outcomes of pediatric OHCAs that occurred in school settings in Japan between 2009 and 2014. During the 6-year study period, 295 OHCA cases were confirmed. Overall incidence rate was 0.4 per 100,000 students per year. The majority of OHCA cases had a cardiac origin (71%), occurred during exercise (65%), were witnessed by bystanders (70%), and received bystander-initiated cardiopulmonary resuscitation (73%). In approximately one-third of cases the student was defibrillated by public-access automated external defibrillator (38%). The proportion of patients with 1-month survival and a favorable neurological outcome was 34% among all OHCAs and 43% among OHCAs of cardiac origin. Conclusions: In Japan, approximately 50 pediatric cases of OHCA consistently occur yearly in school settings. The majority of students received basic life support from bystanders, and patients with OHCA of cardiac origin had a relatively good prognosis.

Background Few studies have investigated the work continuance rate among cancer survivors after return to work (RTW). The objective of this study was to clarify work sustainability after RTW among Japanese male cancer survivors. Methods We collected data on male cancer survivors from an occupational health register. Inclusion criteria were as follows: employees who returned to work after an episode of sick leave due to clinically certified cancer diagnosed between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2011. Results Of 1,033 male employees who were diagnosed with cancer, 786 employees (76.1%) returned to work after their first episode of sick leave due to cancer. Work continuance rates among all subjects were 80.1% 1 year after RTW and 48.5% 5 years after RTW. The mean duration of work after RTW was 4.5 years. The work continuance rates varied significantly by cancer type. The "Lung" and "Hepatic, Pancreatic" cancer groups had the shortest duration of work (0.9 year after RTW). Conclusions Of workers who returned to work after their first episode of leave after cancer, 50% continued to work after 5 years in large-scale companies. There was a steep decrease in work continuance rates during the first year after RTW, with considerable differences according to cancer site.

This study aimed to clarify the distribution of the ear side of mobile phone use in the general population of Japan and clarify what factors are associated with the ear side of mobile phone use. Children at elementary and junior high schools (n = 2,518) and adults aged ≥20 years (n = 1,529) completed an Internet-based survey. Data were subjected to a logistic regression analysis. In children, due to the tendency to use the dominant hand, we analyzed the factors associated with the use of right ear in right-handed people. Statistically significant differences were observed only in talk time per call (odds ratio (OR) = 2.17; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.22-3.99). In adults, due to the tendency to use the left ear, we analyzed factors associated with the use of left ear in right-handed people. Significant differences were observed in those aged 30-39 years (OR = 2.55; 95% CI: 1.79-3.68), those aged 40-49 years (OR = 3.08; 95% CI: 2.15-4.43), those aged >50 years (OR = 1.85; 95% CI: 1.20-2.85), and in those with a percentage of total talk time when using mobile phones at work of 51-100% (OR = 1.75; 95% CI: 1.21-2.55). We believe that future epidemiological studies on mobile phone use can be improved by considering the trends in mobile phone use identified in this study. Bioelectromagnetics. 39:53-59, 2018. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Background In Japan, it has been reported that an increase in atmospheric pressure is associated with a higher incidence of acute appendicitis. The aim of this epidemiologic study was to investigate the association between climatic elements and the incidence of acute appendicitis. Materials and methods A case-crossover design was used in the present study. Two wk before diagnosis was used for the target period. The same 2-wk period, but 1, 2, and 3 y before diagnosis, was used for the control period. The study participants were patients with acute appendicitis (10-29 y) from 14 facilities in the Greater Tokyo Area. Mean of the observed values for atmospheric pressure, temperature, relative humidity, and hours of sunshine calculated for each target and control period were used as climatic elements to investigate trends 1 and 2 wk before diagnosis. Results The year of diagnosis, a statistically significant moderate upward trend in atmospheric pressure was observed during the 2-wk period before diagnosis of acute appendicitis (tau = 0.47; P = 0.0213), whereas a weak nonsignificant downward trend was observed 1 y before diagnosis (tau = −0.29; P = 0.1596), and weak nonsignificant upward trends were observed 2 (tau = 0.24; P = 0.2505) and 3 y (tau = 0.28; P = 0.1634) before diagnosis. Conclusions An association was found between atmospheric pressure and the incidence of acute appendicitis. However, no significant differences were found in relation to sex or age. These findings suggest that changes in atmospheric pressure are associated with the likelihood of patients visiting the hospital.

The purpose of this study was to clarify ownership and usage of mobile phones among young patients with brain tumors in Japan. The subjects of this study were patients with brain tumors diagnosed between 2006 and 2010 who were between the ages of 6 and 18 years. The target population for the analysis was 82 patients. Patients were divided into two groups: 16 patients who were mobile phone owners 1 year before diagnosis, and 66 patients who did not own mobile phones (non-owners). Using data on the mobile phone ownership rate obtained from three general-population surveys, we calculated the expected number of mobile phone owners. The three age-adjusted standardized ownership ratios were 0.83 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.56-1.22), 0.51 (95% CI: 0.24-1.04), and 0.75 (95% CI: 0.42-1.32). The mobile phone ownership prevalence among the young Japanese patients with brain tumors in the current study does not differ from available estimates for the general population of corresponding age. However, since the use of mobile phones among children is increasing annually, investigations into the health effects of mobile phone use among children should continue. Bioelectromagnetics. 38:349-355, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

In 2015, the Japanese Society of Child Neurology released new guidelines for the management of febrile seizures, the first update of such guidelines since 1996. In 1988, the Conference on Febrile Convulsions in Japan published "Guidelines for the Treatment of Febrile Seizures." The Task Committee of the Conference proposed a revised version of the guidelines in 1996; that version released in 1996 was used for the next 19years in Japan for the clinical management of children with febrile seizures. Although the guidelines were very helpful for many clinicians, new guidelines were needed to reflect changes in public health and the dissemination of new medical evidence. The Japanese Society of Child Neurology formed a working group in 2012, and published the new guidelines in March 2015. The guidelines include emergency care, application of electroencephalography, neuroimaging, prophylactic diazepam, antipyretics, drugs needing special attention, and vaccines. While the new guidelines contain updated clinical recommendations, many unsolved questions remain. These questions should be clarified by future clinical research.

This study examined changes in recall accuracy for mobile phone calls over a long period. Japanese students' actual call statuses were monitored for 1 month using software-modified phones (SMPs). Three face-to-face interviews were conducted to obtain information regarding self-reported call status during the monitoring period: first interview: immediately after the monitoring period; second interview: after 10-12 months; third interview: after 48-55 months. Using the SMP records as the "gold standard", phone call recall accuracy was assessed for each interview. Data for 94 participants were analyzed. The number of calls made was underestimated considerably and the duration of calls was overestimated slightly in all interviews. Agreement between self-report and SMP records regarding the number of calls, duration of calls and laterality (i.e., use of the dominant ear while making calls) gradually deteriorated with the increase in the interval following the monitoring period (number of calls: first interview: Pearson's r=0.641, third interview: 0.396; duration of calls: first interview: Pearson's r=0.763, third interview: 0.356; laterality: first interview: weighted-κ=0.677, third interview: 0.448). Thus, recall accuracy for mobile phone calls would be consistently imperfect over a long period, and the results of related epidemiological studies should be interpreted carefully.

The aim of this study was to examine whether incidence of malignant neoplasms of the central nervous system from 1993 to 2010 has increased among young people in Japan, and whether the increase could be explained by increase in mobile phone use. Joinpoint regression analysis of incidence data was performed. Subsequently, the expected incidence rate was calculated assuming that the relative risk was 1.4 for those who used mobile phones more than 1640 h cumulatively. Annual percent change was 3.9% (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.6-6.3) for men in their 20s from 1993 to 2010, 12.3% (95% CI, 3.3-22.1) for women in their 20s from 2002 to 2010, 2.7% (95% CI, 1.3-4.1) for men in their 30s from 1993 to 2010, and 3.0% (95% CI, 1.4-4.7) for women in their 30s from 1993 to 2010. Change in incidence rates from 1993 to 2010 was 0.92 per 100,000 people for men in their 20s, 0.83 for women in their 20s, 0.89 for men in their 30s, and 0.74 for women in their 30s. Change in expected incidence rates from 1993 to 2010 was 0.08 per 100,000 people for men in their 20s, 0.03 for women in their 20s, 0.15 for men in their 30s, and 0.05 for women in their 30s. Patterns in sex-, age-, and period-specific incidence increases are inconsistent with sex-, age-, and period-specific prevalence trends, suggesting the overall incidence increase cannot be explained by heavy mobile phone use. Bioelectromagnetics. 37:282-289, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

With rapid aging of the world's population, the demand for research, for a better understanding of aging and aging-related disorders, is increasing. Ideally, such research should be conducted on human subjects. However, due to ethical considerations, animals such as rodents and monkeys are used as alternatives. Among these alternative models, non-human primates are preferred because of their similarities with humans. The small South American common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) may offer several advantages over other non-human primates in terms of its smaller size, shorter life-span, and dental anatomy identical to humans. The purpose of this study was to determine the viability of using the marmoset as a human oral disease model. We collected saliva samples from eight marmosets and eight human subjects. Prokaryotic DNA was extracted from the saliva samples, and 16S bacterial rRNA gene sequencing was performed on each of the samples. Our results indicated that the types of oral microbiomes detected among human and marmoset samples were nearly indistinguishable. In contrast, the oral microbiomes of our human and marmoset subjects were distinctly different from those reported for rats and dogs, which are currently popular research animals. The oral microbiomes of marmosets showed greater diversity than those of humans. However, the oral microbiota of marmosets exhibited less variation than those of humans, which may be attributed to the fact that the marmoset subjects were kept in a controlled environment with identical lifestyles. The characteristics of its oral microbiota, combined with other technical advantages, suggest that the marmoset may provide the best animal model thus far for the study of oral health. This study characterized the oral microbes of the marmoset, thereby providing information to support future application of the marmoset as a model for age-related oral disease.

OBJECTIVE "Return-to-work Guidance in Occupational Health 2017 (RTW Guidance 2017) " is the first occupational health guide in Japan that evaluates the quality of evidence and offers recommendations based on results of the systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Details of the systematic review of each review question (RQs) will be described separately. This article presents an overview of the method and process of developing the "RTW Guidance 2017." MATERIALS AND METHODS The guidance was developed following the previously-published "Method for developing evidence based occupational health guidance," which included the composition of a highly-transparent guidance developing group as well as the recruitment and selection of RQs. Using the Cochrane Library, PubMed, and Ichushi-Web, a literature search for the six RQs was conducted in January 2016 by partly modifying the search terms of the existing systematic review. Articles were selected according to the inclusion criteria, and the quality of evidence was evaluated using the GRADE approach. Meta-analysis was conducted for RQ2 and RQ4, and a qualitative systematic review was conducted for RQ5, RQ6, and cost-effectiveness. Recommendations were subsequently made after a thorough consideration for feasibility in Japan by examining the costs and available resources. RESULTS Based on a comprehensive literature search, eleven RQ2, four RQ4, one RQ5, and three RQ6 were selected. Support program for returning to work, such as "Re-work" for those who are temporarily not working due to musculoskeletal disorders or mental health disorder, was recommended based on moderate evidence (RQ2). For RQ4, the collaboration between occupational health practice and clinical practice was weakly recommended based on low evidence. For RQ5 that evaluated the usefulness of social support, intervention by the manager/co-worker was proposed as a "best practice statement" without indicating it as a recommendation. Work accommodation was weakly recommended based on low evidence in RQ6. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION From the result of systematic reviews, it was recommended for workers on sick leave more than four weeks regardless of sick leave and sickness absence that interventions during leave would improve work-related outcomes, such as earlier reinstatement. Although there is limited evidence regarding occupational health in Japan, it is important for many occupational health professionals to learn the method of developing guidance and to identify issues for future studies with priority in Japan.

The effectiveness of dissemination of public-access automated external defibrillators (AEDs) has been well established for adults, but not for children at the population level. We obtained out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) data between January 2005 and December 2014 from a nationwide OHCA registry of Japan. Our study subjects were OHCA cases aged 6 to 17, involving attempted resuscitation by emergency medical service personnel or by bystanders. The primary outcome measure was 1-month survival with favorable neurological outcome after OHCA. We evaluated trends in the proportion of OHCA cases receiving shocks by a public-access AED and outcomes after OHCA over the 10-year study period. Prehospital factors associated with 1-month survival with favorable neurological outcome were also evaluated. During the 10-year study period, a total of 5,899 OHCAs occurred in school-age children, and 1,452 (24.6%) were of cardiac origin. The overall OHCA incidence rate in school-age children was 4.2 per 100,000 people per year. The proportion of patients with OHCA who received shocks by a public-access AED increased significantly during the study period (0.1% in 2005 and 6.4% in 2014, p for-trend

This study aimed to elucidate the recall accuracy of mobile phone calls among young people using new software-modified phone (SMP) technology. A total of 198 Japanese students aged between 10 and 24 years were instructed to use a SMP for 1 month to record their actual call statuses. Ten to 12 months after this period, face-to-face interviews were conducted to obtain the self-reported call statuses during the monitoring period. Using the SMP record as the gold standard of validation, the recall accuracy of phone calls was evaluated. A total of 19% of the participants (34/177) misclassified their laterality (i.e., the dominant side of ear used while making calls), with the level of agreement being moderate (κ-statistics, 0.449). The level of agreement between the self-reports and SMP records was relatively good for the duration of calls (Pearson's r, 0.620), as compared with the number of calls (Pearson's r, 0.561). The recall was prone to small systematic and large random errors for both the number and duration of calls. Such a large random recall error for the amount of calls and misclassification of laterality suggest that the results of epidemiological studies of mobile phone use based on self-assessment should be interpreted cautiously.

This study aimed to clarify the distribution of the ear side of mobile phone use in the general population of Japan and clarify what factors are associated with the ear side of mobile phone use. Children at elementary and junior high schools (n = 2,518) and adults aged ≥20 years (n = 1,529) completed an Internet-based survey. Data were subjected to a logistic regression analysis. In children, due to the tendency to use the dominant hand, we analyzed the factors associated with the use of right ear in right-handed people. Statistically significant differences were observed only in talk time per call (odds ratio (OR) = 2.17; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.22-3.99). In adults, due to the tendency to use the left ear, we analyzed factors associated with the use of left ear in right-handed people. Significant differences were observed in those aged 30-39 years (OR = 2.55; 95% CI: 1.79-3.68), those aged 40-49 years (OR = 3.08; 95% CI: 2.15-4.43), those aged50 years (OR = 1.85; 95% CI: 1.20-2.85), and in those with a percentage of total talk time when using mobile phones at work of 51-100% (OR = 1.75; 95% CI: 1.21-2.55). We believe that future epidemiological studies on mobile phone use can be improved by considering the trends in mobile phone use identified in this study. Bioelectromagnetics. 39:53-59, 2018. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.