Association between socioeconomic status and prolonged television viewing time in a general Japanese population: NIPPON DATA2010

BACKGROUND@#It has been pointed out that prolonged television (TV) viewing is one of the sedentary behaviors that is harmful to health; however, the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and prolonged TV viewing time has not been sufficiently investigated in Japan.@*METHODS@#The study population are the participants of NIPPON DATA2010, which is a prospective cohort study of the National Health and Nutrition Survey 2010 in Japan. They were residents in 300 randomly selected areas across Japan. This study included 2752 adults. SES was classified according to the employment status, educational attainment, living status, and equivalent household expenditure (EHE). Prolonged TV viewing time was defined as more than or equal to 4 h of TV viewing per day. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine the association of SES with prolonged TV viewing time.@*RESULTS@#The mean TV viewing time was 2.92 h in all participants. Of 2752 participants, 809 (29.4%) prolonged TV viewing, and the mean TV viewing time of them was 5.61 h. The mean TV viewing time in participants without prolonged TV viewing time was 1.81 h. The mean TV viewing time was prolonged as age classes increased and significantly longer in aged ≥60 years. Prolonged TV viewing time was associated with not working for all age classes and sexes. Only among women, education attainment and living status were also associated with prolonged TV viewing time. For education attainment, the lower the received years of education, the higher odds ratios (OR) of prolonged TV viewing time. For living status, in women aged <60 years, living with others had a significantly higher OR compared to living with spouse. On the other hand, in women aged ≥60 years, living alone had a significantly higher OR. EHE did not have any significant associations with prolonged TV viewing time.@*CONCLUSIONS@#In a general Japanese population, it should be noted that the association between SES and prolonged TV viewing time differed by age and sex. Particularly, it must draw attention to the prolonged TV viewing in elderly. The intervention in order to shorten TV viewing time needs to consider these attributes.

Reproducibility and validity of food group intake in a short food frequency questionnaire for the middle-aged Japanese population

PURPOSE@#The purpose of this study was to evaluate the reproducibility and validity of a short food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) for food group intake in Japan, the reproducibility and partial validity of which were previously confirmed for nutrients.@*METHODS@#A total of 288 middle-aged healthy volunteers from 11 different areas of Japan provided nonconsecutive 3-day weighed dietary records (DRs) at 3-month intervals over four seasons. We evaluated reproducibility based on the first (FFQ1) and second (FFQ2) questionnaires and their validity against the DRs by comparing the intake of 20 food groups. Spearman's rank correlation coefficients (SRs) were calculated between energy-adjusted intake from the FFQs and that from the DRs.@*RESULTS@#The intake of 20 food groups estimated from the two FFQs was mostly equivalent. The median energy-adjusted SRs between the FFQ1 and FFQ2 were 0.61 (range 0.38-0.86) for men and 0.66 (0.45-0.84) for women. For validity, the median de-attenuated SRs between DRs and the FFQ1 were 0.51 (0.17-0.76) for men and 0.47 (0.23-0.77) for women. Compared with the DRs, the proportion of cross-classification into exact plus adjacent quintiles with the FFQ1 ranged from 58 to 86% in men and from 57 to 86% in women. According to the robust Z scores and the Bland-Altman plot graphs, the underestimation errors in the FFQ1 tended to be greater in individuals with high mean levels of consumption for meat for men and for other vegetables for both men and women.@*CONCLUSION@#The FFQ demonstrated high reproducibility and reasonable validity for food group intake. This questionnaire is short and remains appropriate for identifying associations between diet and health/disease among adults in Japan.

Having few remaining teeth is associated with a low nutrient intake and low serum albumin levels in middle-aged and older Japanese individuals: findings from the NIPPON DATA2010

BACKGROUND@#Oral health is thought to be associated with diet quality, and socioeconomic status (SES) affects both oral health and diet. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between the number of teeth and dietary intake as well as nutritional biomarker, considering the subjects' SES.@*METHODS@#We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of data from 2049 individuals aged ≥ 50 years from the National Integrated Project for Prospective Observation of Non-communicable Disease and its Trends in the Aged 2010. The number of remaining teeth was categorized into age-specific quartiles (Q1 to Q4). We assessed the adjusted means and 95% confidence intervals for dietary variables by the number of teeth using analysis of covariance. Stratified analyses by SES were also conducted.@*RESULTS@#The intake of grain products was 31 g higher, and those of vegetables and meat were 30 g and 8 g lower, respectively, in Q1 (fewer teeth) than in Q4 (more teeth). Carbohydrate intake was higher whereas protein, minerals (potassium, magnesium, and zinc), vitamins (vitamins A, E, B, B, β-carotene, and folic acid), and dietary fiber intakes were lower among individuals with fewer teeth. Adjusted mean serum albumin levels were low in Q1. The associations between the number of teeth and dietary intake were more evident in individuals with a low SES.@*CONCLUSIONS@#Having few remaining teeth was associated with a low nutrient intake and low serum albumin levels in middle-aged and older Japanese adults, and these associations were more evident in individuals with low SES.

Socioeconomic and lifestyle factors associated with depressive tendencies in general Japanese men and women: NIPPON DATA2010

BACKGROUND@#The gender-specific characteristics of individuals at an increased risk of developing depression currently remain unclear despite a higher prevalence of depression in women than in men. This study clarified socioeconomic and lifestyle factors associated with an increased risk of subclinical depression in general Japanese men and women.@*METHODS@#Study participants were residents not receiving psychiatric treatments in 300 sites throughout Japan in 2010 (1152 men, 1529 women). Multivariable-adjusted odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs) for socioeconomic factors and lifestyle factors were calculated using a logistic regression analysis.@*RESULTS@#Risk of depressive tendencies was significantly higher in men who were single and living alone (OR, 3.27; 95% CI, 1.56-6.88) than those married. The risk was significantly lower in women who were not working and aged ≥ 60 years (OR, 0.39; 95% CI, 0.22-0.68) and higher in men who were not working and aged < 60 years (OR, 3.57; 95%CI, 1.31-9.72) compared with those who were working. Current smoking was also associated with a significantly increased risk of depressive tendencies in women (OR, 2.96; 95% CI, 1.68-5.22) but not in men.@*CONCLUSIONS@#Socioeconomic and lifestyle factors were associated with an increased risk of depressive tendencies in general Japanese. Related factors were different by sex.