Association between shift work in early pregnancy, snacking, and inappropriate weight gain during pregnancy: The Japan Environment and Children's Study.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between night shifts and snacking behaviors during pregnancy using Japanese maternal-infant longitudinal data from a large-scale study. METHODS: This study used the Japan Environment and Children's Study dataset jecs-ta-20190930, released in October 2019. After simple analysis using analysis of variance and multiple comparisons, crude odds ratios (cOR) and adjusted odds ratios (aORs) were calculated. To evaluate eating habits, we examined habitual fast food and snacks (e.g., potato chips, corn puffs and tortilla chips) consumption, midnight snacks, and regular missing breakfast. RESULTS: There was no significant association between inappropriate weight gain during pregnancy and night shift work in early pregnancy. The aOR for consuming snacks more than once a week after noticing pregnancy for shift workers was 1.34 (95% confidence interval 1.27-1.41; p < 0.001) compared with worker without night shiftwork. The aOR for shift workers consuming fast food more than three times a week during pregnancy was 1.40 (95% confidence interval 0.79-2.33; p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Pregnant night shift workers did not show excessive weight gain but had an increased frequency of consumption of snack foods compared with pregnant dayshift workers.

The Effects of Drought Severity and Its Aftereffects on Mortality in Bangladesh.

BACKGROUND: Drought has been a considerable problem for many years in northern Bangladesh. However, the health impacts of drought in this region are not well understood. METHODS: This study analyzed the impact of drought duration and severity on select causes of mortality in northern Bangladesh. Rainfall data from three meteorological stations (Rangpur, Dinajpur and Nilphamari) in northern Bangladesh were used to assess drought and non-drought periods, and the Standardized Precipitation Index was used to categorize mild, moderate, severe, and extreme drought. Mortality data from 2007 to 2017 for the three areas were collected from the Sample Vital Registration System, which is a survey of 1 million people. The generalized linear model with Poisson regression link was used to identify associations between mortality and the drought severity and 1-month preceding SPI. RESULTS: Only severe and extreme drought in the short-term drought periods affected mortality. Long-term drought was not associated with natural cause mortality in Rangpur and Nilphamari. In Dinajpur, mild and moderate drought was associated with circulatory- and respiratory-related mortality. CONCLUSION: The impact of drought on mortality varied by region. This study improves our understanding of how droughts affect specific causes of mortality and will help policy makers to take appropriate measures against drought impacts on selected cause of mortality. Future research will be critical to reduce drought-related risks of health.

The Effect of Minimum and Maximum Air Temperatures in the Summer on Heat Stroke in Japan: A Time-Stratified Case-Crossover Study.

An increase in the global surface temperature and changes in urban morphologies are associated with increased heat stress especially in urban areas. This can be one of the contributing factors underlying an increase in heat strokes. We examined the impact of summer minimum air temperatures, which often represent nighttime temperatures, as well as a maximum temperature on a heat stroke. We collected data from the records of daily ambulance transports for heat strokes and meteorological data for July and August of 2017-2019 in the Tottori Prefecture, Japan. A time-stratified case-crossover design was used to determine the association of maximum/minimum air temperatures and the incidence of heat strokes. We used a logistic regression to identify factors associated with the severity of heat strokes. A total of 1108 cases were identified with 373 (33.7%) calls originating in the home (of these, 59.8% were the age of ≥ 75). A total of 65.8% of cases under the age of 18 were related to exercise. Days with a minimum temperature ≥ 25 °C had an odds ratio (95% confidence interval) of 3.77 (2.19, 6.51) for the incidence of an exercise-related heat stroke (reference: days with a minimum temperature < 23 °C). The odds ratio for a heat stroke occurring at home or for calls for an ambulance to the home was 6.75 (4.47, 10.20). The severity of the heat stroke was associated with older age but not with air temperature. Minimum and maximum air temperatures may be associated with the incidence of heat strokes and in particular the former with non-exertional heat strokes.