Influenza newspaper reports and the influenza epidemic: an observational study in Fukuoka City, Japan.

OBJECTIVES: We examined whether the weekly number of newspaper articles reporting on influenza was related to the incidence of influenza in a large city. DESIGN: Prospective, non-randomised, observational study. SETTING: Registry data of influenza cases in Fukuoka City, Japan. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 83,613 cases of influenza cases that occurred between October 1999 and March 2007 in Fukuoka City, Japan. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: A linear model with autoregressive time series errors was fitted to time series data on the incidence of influenza and the accumulated number of influenza-related newspaper articles with different time lags in Fukuoka City, Japan. In order to obtain further evidence that the number of newspaper articles a week with specific time lags is related to the incidence of influenza, Granger causality was also tested. RESULTS: Of the 16 models including 'number of newspaper articles' with different time lags between 2 and 17 weeks (xt-2 to t-17), the ß coefficients of 'number of newspaper articles' at time lags between t-5 and t-13 were significant. However, the ß coefficients of 'number of newspaper articles' that are significant with respect to the Granger causality tests (p<0.05) were the weekly number of newspaper articles at time lags between t-6 and t-10 (time shift of 10 weeks, ß=-0.301, p<0.01; time shift of 9 weeks, ß=-0.200, p<0.01; time shift of 8 weeks, ß=-0.156, p<0.01; time shift of 7 weeks, ß=-0.122, p<0.05; time shift of 6 weeks, ß=-0.113, p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: We found that the number of newspaper articles reporting on influenza in a week was related to the incidence of influenza 6-10 weeks after media coverage in a large city in Japan.

Are lifetime prevalence of impetigo, molluscum and herpes infection really increased in children having atopic dermatitis?

BACKGROUND: Cutaneous infections such as impetigo contagiosum (IC), molluscum contagiosum (MC) and herpes virus infection (HI) appear to be associated with atopic dermatitis (AD), but there are no reports of concrete epidemiological evidence. OBJECTIVE: We evaluated the association of childhood AD with these infections by conducting a population-based cross-sectional study. METHODS: Enrolled in this study were 1117 children aged 0-6 years old attending nursery schools in Ishigaki City, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Physical examination was performed by dermatologists, and a questionnaire was completed on each child's history of allergic diseases including AD, asthma, allergic rhinitis and egg allergy, and that of skin infections including IC, MC and HI, as well as familial history of AD. RESULTS: In 913 children (AD; 132), a history of IC, MC or HI was observed in 45.1%, 19.7%, and 2.5%, respectively. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that the odds of having a history of IC were 1.8 times higher in AD children than in non-AD children. Meanwhile, a history of MC was significantly correlated to the male gender, but not to a personal history of AD. As for HI, we found no correlated factors in this study. CONCLUSIONS: The lifetime prevalence of IC was indeed higher in young children with a history of AD.

[Analysis of case studies to evaluate supports for depressive white-collar workers who are returning to work after sick leave].

PURPOSE: In Japan, mental health problems due to work stress among white-collar workers have become an important topic which needs to be addressed. As for the support for workers who are returning to work after sick leave, reliable findings have not yet been reported. The purpose of the present study was to obtain findings concerning support for workers who are returning to work after sick leave. METHOD: We analyzed cases studies of white-collar workers between Jan. 1983 and May 2009. RESULTS: We identified 9 types of support; sick leave, change of work place, change of boss, change of work, decreasing work load, introduction of a decreased work load period, limiting work, consultation with corporate health care staff, and intervention by a party other than the company. DISCUSSION: Generally speaking, it has been revealed that each support has both positive and negative influences upon employees returning to work. In addition, consulting with corporate health care staff (p<0.01) showed significantly higher rates of no relapse into depression than in the absence of such consulting. However, this finding might be accompanied with a problem of potential bias with respect to published articles, and the relationship between health care professionals (i.e., physicians, occupational nurses, counselors, etc.) and a depressive worker. In addition, the content and date of a company's support for a worker returning to work might vary significantly. Thus, we need to be very careful in interpreting these findings.

Applicability of press needles to a double-blind trial: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

OBJECTIVES: Owing to a lack of a suitable needle procedure, it has been impossible to evaluate the efficacy of acupuncture in clinical studies using double-blind testing. We evaluated the applicability of a new kind of press needle (Pyonex) to a double-blind trial by comparing the press needle with a placebo (lacking the needle element). METHODS: The purpose of the study consisted of 2 phases. In the phase 1, to evaluate the applicability and efficacy of the press needles, 90 participants who had never been treated using acupuncture were randomly assigned to receive either the press needle (n=45) or a placebo (n=45). The applicability was measured using a questionnaire regarding the perception of penetration, and efficacy was measured using a visual analog scale of low back pain (LBP). When the applicability and efficacy of the press needles were confirmed in phase 1, the mechanism of LBP relief by the press needles was examined in phase 2. RESULTS: In phase 1, intergroup comparisons showed no significant differences concerning the perception of penetration. In addition, for patients with LBP, the press needles reduced the subjective evaluation of LBP compared with the placebo (P<0.05). In phase 2, visual analog scale results indicated that LBP was reduced significantly more in the press needle group than in the local anesthesia group (P<0.05). DISCUSSION: The participants could not distinguish between the press needle and a placebo, and the data from the press needle group suggested a specific influence on patients with LBP. These findings imply that the press needle and a placebo provide an effective means of realizing a double-blind setting for clinical studies of acupuncture.

Acupuncture practitioner-patient communication in Japan.

We evaluated acupuncture practitioner-patient communication using pairs of practitioners and patients. Our primary objective was to evaluate the concordance of practitioner and patient perceptions in terms of explanations regarding consultation, therapy, and patient satisfaction. The subjects were 250 practitioners and their 1250 patients in Fukuoka, Japan. Answers were obtained from 91 acupuncture practitioners (36.40%) and 407 patients (32.56%). Of these, responses from 125 pairs without missing values were used for the analysis. When practitioner-patient communication, as evaluated by the difference between the patients' and the practitioners' perceptions with respect to the level of practitioner explanation, was good, patient outcome (ie, satisfaction with therapy, improvement in health) was also good. Factors related to poor practitioner-patient communication included age of the practitioner, the number of practitioners at a clinic, the experience of the practitioner, and the age of the patient. These findings may be useful in improving practitioner-patient communication.