Subjective Household Economic Status and Obesity in Toddlers: A Cross-Sectional Study of Daycare Centers in Japan.

BACKGROUND: Although lower household economic status is known to be a risk factor for obesity among school-age children, such an association among toddlers remains unclear. The present study investigated the association between household economic status and obesity in toddlers. DESIGN: We conducted a cross-sectional study of children aged 4 years attending daycare centers in Japan. Information on subjective household economic status ["affluent", "neither", "less affluent", or "non-affluent"] was collected via questionnaire from the children's guardians in 2015. Based on measured values of height and weight, obesity was defined using the International Obesity Task Force cut-offs of overweight (BMI ≥17.47 for boys and ≥17.19 for girls). We used the logistic regression model to investigate the association between household economic status and obesity. RESULTS: Among 1,848 respondents, the prevalence of obesity was 6.8%. Non-affluent household economic status was associated with a significantly higher probability of obesity in toddlers; the multivariate adjusted odds ratio for "non-affluent" households was 2.31 (95% confidence interval, 1.23-4.33) compared with "affluent" households. CONCLUSION: Perception of non-affluent economic status by the guardian was associated with a higher probability of toddler obesity. This result suggests that non-affluent household economic status is associated with obesity in toddlers.

Antibiotic effects of WP-0405, a thermo-setting ofloxacin gel, on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus keratitis in rabbits.

PURPOSE: The chemotherapeutic effects and pharmacokinetics properties of WP-0405 (a thermo-setting in situ 0.3% ofloxacin-containing ophthalmic gel) and ofloxacin (a conventional 0.3% ofloxacin solution) on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) keratitis were compared in a rabbit model. METHOD: The single-instillation pharmacokinetics of WP-0405 and ofloxacin in the cornea, aqueous humor, conjunctiva, and iris-ciliary body were determined in normal rabbit eyes. To compare the duration of antimicrobial action, WP-0405 or ofloxacin was instilled oncedaily in an early-treatment model of keratitis, and corneas were either removed immediately or 4 or 8 h postinstillation. In another experiment, WP-0405 was instilled two or three times daily to compare its antibiotic efficacy with three-times daily instillation of ofloxacin in the same early-treatment model of keratitis; corneas were then removed after determining the extent of the abscess area. In another experiment, WP-0405 was instilled four or eight times daily to compare its effects with eight-times daily instillation of ofloxacin in a late-treatment model of keratitis, and corneas were removed. The number of viable bacteria in the corneas was determined in all experiments. RESULTS: Cmax and AUC0- in tissues treated with WP-0405 were 1.5-3.4-fold and 1.8-2.9-fold greater than those treated with ofloxacin, respectively. WP-0405 significantly reduced the number of viable bacteria for up to 8 h after a single instillation. WP-0405 not only significantly reduced the number of viable bacteria, but also the size of the abscess area at the same frequency of instillation. When compared to ofloxacin, WP-0405 exhibited an approximately equivalent antibiotic effect, with fewer administrations. CONCLUSIONS: As a result of its pharmacokinetics, WP-0405 had a more potent, longer-acting antibiotic effect than did ofloxacin. Furthermore, because of its lower required instillation frequency, which would improve patient compliance, WP-0405 has great potential therapeutic benefits.