Economic, cognitive, and social paths of education to health-related behaviors: evidence from a population-based study in Japan

BACKGROUND@#There is substantial evidence on the association between lower education and unhealthy behaviors. However, the mechanism underlying this association remains unclear. This study aimed to examine whether income, health literacy, and social support mediate the association between education and health-related behaviors.@*METHODS@#A questionnaire survey was conducted in metropolitan areas in Japan from 2010 to 2011 among residents aged 25-50 years. Data from 3663 participants were used in this study. Health literacy was measured using the Communicative and Critical Health Literacy scale. Health-related behaviors were current smoking, poor dietary habits, hazardous drinking, and lack of exercise. Poisson regression analyses with robust variance estimators were conducted to examine the associations between education and these health-related behaviors. Multiple mediation analyses were conducted to estimate the magnitudes of the mediating effects of income, health literacy, and social support on these associations.@*RESULTS@#Less educated participants had higher risks of all unhealthy behaviors. Income mediated the associations of education with smoking (6.4%) and exercise (20.0%). Health literacy mediated the associations of education with dietary habits (15.4%) and exercise (16.1%). Social support mediated the associations of education with dietary habits (6.4%) and exercise (7.6%). The education-drinking association was mediated by income in the opposite direction (-10.0%). The proportions of the total effects mediated by income, health literacy, and social support were 9.8% for smoking, 24.0% for dietary habits, -3.0% for drinking, and 43.7% for exercise.@*CONCLUSIONS@#These findings may provide clues for designing effective interventions to reduce educational inequalities in health-related behaviors.

Associations of education and income with hazardous drinking among postpartum women in Japan: results from the TMM BirThree Cohort Study

BACKGROUND@#Although the postpartum period is suggested to provide an ideal opportunity for interventions to prevent hazardous drinking, evidence on the associations of education and income with hazardous drinking during this period is limited, including in Japan.@*METHODS@#We analyzed data from 11,031 women who participated in the Tohoku Medical Megabank Project Birth and Three-Generation Cohort Study in Japan. Hazardous drinking was defined as ethanol intake of ≥20 g/day 1 year after delivery. We conducted multiple logistic regression analyses to examine whether educational attainment or equivalent household income was associated with hazardous drinking, adjusting for age, parity, drinking status during pregnancy, work status, postpartum depression, breastfeeding, and income/education. We also conducted stratified analyses by income and education groups.@*RESULTS@#The prevalence of hazardous drinking 1 year after delivery was 3.6%. Lower education was associated with hazardous drinking; the odds ratio (95% confidence interval) of high school education or lower compared with university education or higher was 2.17 (1.59-2.98). Lower income was also associated with hazardous drinking, but this association disappeared after further adjustments for education; the odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) of the lowest compared with highest level of income were 1.42 (1.04-1.94) and 1.12 (0.81-1.54), respectively. A significant interaction was detected; lower education and lower income were associated with increased risks of hazardous drinking only in a lower income group and lower education group, respectively.@*CONCLUSIONS@#Postpartum women with lower education and lower income had higher risks of hazardous drinking in Japan.

The prevalence of psychological distress during pregnancy in Miyagi Prefecture for 3 years after the Great Eas t Japan Earthquake

BACKGROUND@#To examine changes in psychological distress prevalence among pregnant women in Miyagi Prefecture, which was directly affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami, and compare it with the other, less damaged areas of Japan.@*METHODS@#This study was conducted in conjunction with the Japan Environment and Children`s Study. We examined 76,152 pregnant women including 8270 in Miyagi Regional Center and 67,882 in 13 other regional centers from the all-birth fixed data of the Japan Environment and Children's Study. We then compared the prevalence and risk of distress in women in Miyagi Regional Center and women in the 13 regional centers for 3 years after the disaster.@*RESULTS@#Women in the Miyagi Regional Center suffered more psychological distress than those in the 13 regional centers: OR 1.38 (95% CI, 1.03-1.87) to 1.92 (95% CI, 1.42-2.60). Additionally, women in the inland area had a consistently higher prevalence of psychological distress compared to those from the 13 regional centers: OR 1.67 (95% CI, 1.18-2.38) to 2.19 (95% CI, 1.60-2.99).@*CONCLUSIONS@#The lack of pre-disaster data in the Japan Environment and Children's Study made it impossible to compare the incidence of psychological distress before and after the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. However, 3 years after the Great East Japan Earthquake, the prevalence of pregnant women with psychological distress did not improve in Miyagi Regional Center. Further, the prevalence of mental illness in inland areas was consistently higher than that in the 13 regional centers after the disaster.

A Multivariate Analysis on the Effect of No Closed Suction Drain on the Length of Hospital Stay in Total Knee Arthroplasty

PURPOSE: Despite the long history of drain use in total knee arthroplasty (TKA), no drain has been gaining popularity. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether drainage is related to the length of hospital stay. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 166 consecutive unilateral TKAs performed on 135 patients with osteoarthritis were retrospectively reviewed. Closed suction drainage was used in 111 cases (67%). Length of hospital stay after surgery was recorded, and a multivariate linear regression analysis was performed to evaluate various variables (patient factors, surgical factors, and post-surgical factors) and to investigate whether drainage was an independent variable. RESULTS: Hospital stay was shorter in no drain cases (21.7±4.8 days) than in drain cases (24.2±3.7 days, p<0.001). The multivariate analysis showed that older age (β=0.12, p=0.02), drain use (β=2.81, p=0.03), and occurrence of comorbidity (β=1.46, p=0.04) were the independent variables associated with the extended hospital stay. There was no difference in comorbidity between drain cases (39.6%) and no drain cases (27.2%, p=0.13). CONCLUSIONS: The drain use, age, and occurrence of comorbidity were related to the length of hospital stay. TKA without drain is an effective procedure both medically and economically.