Spirituality, Quality of Life, and Health: A Japanese Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: Current reports suggest a positive association between spirituality and quality of life (QoL) in elders. While most studies are qualitative studies and there has been little validation in quantitative studies using scales to measure spirituality. Hence, we aimed to study the effect of spirituality on mental health and QoL in older people residing in Kumejima Town in Japan. METHODS: An interview-based survey was conducted between September 2010 and 2011 on residents of Kumejima Town aged 65 years or older. This survey-based study employed the Spirituality Health Scale for the Elderly (SP Health Scale) alongside assessments of basic attributes (e.g., age, sex); physical, mental, social health, spirituality, and QoL. We conducted a causal structure model to explore causal relationships between these factors. RESULTS: Our study included 338 participants, including 72.5% female with an average age and standard deviation of 77.2 ± 6.4 years. Our analysis revealed a significant association between spiritual health and QoL even after accounting for the impact of physical and mental health, which challenged the conventional belief that QoL inevitably diminishes with age and declining health. These results suggest that enhancing spirituality may offer a means to prevent declines in QoL, fostering a positive outlook on life as individuals age. CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that improving spiritual health can enhance QoL, even in the presence of health challenges and aging. This novel perspective opens doors to redefining health as a state that coexists with illness, with spirituality serving as an integral component. A shift in our understanding of health that prioritizes spirituality, could benefit people of all ages, offering a more holistic approach to well-being that aligns with new medical technologies and evolving perceptions of health.

Effects of rapid aging and lower participation rate among younger adults on the short-term trend of physical activity in the National Health and Nutrition Survey, Japan.

AIM: The National Health and Nutrition Survey, Japan, has annually monitored two indicators of physical activity in adults. They are contrasting in the association with age; the prevalence of exercise habit is lower and step counts are higher among younger participants. The present study aimed to examine the effects of rapid aging of the Japanese population and the lower participation rate among younger adults on the short-term trend of two indicators of physical activity using tabulated data. METHODS: The prevalence of exercise habit and step counts by age groups (≥20 years) from 2003 to 2010 were estimated using tabulated data from the National Health and Nutrition Survey by calculating sex-specific means weighted by age-specific Japanese population data for each year (population-weighted estimates) and for a fixed year (2005; age-standardized estimates). Linear regression analyses were used to test the statistical significance of their trends. RESULTS: Statistically significant increasing trends in the prevalence of exercise habit were observed for the crude means (P = 0.029), the population-weighted estimates (P = 0.007) and the age-standardized estimates (P = 0.016) only in men. Statistically significant decreasing trends in the step counts were observed for the crude means (P = 0.006 in men and P = 0.033 in women) and the population-weighted estimates (P = 0.008 in men and P = 0.049 in women) both in men and women, but for the age-standardized estimates (P = 0.039) only in men. CONCLUSIONS: The effects of rapid aging of the Japanese population and the lower participation rate among younger adults on the short-term trend are not small, and age-standardization is necessary to observe even the short-term trend of physical activity data. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2017; 17: 1677-1682.

Evaluation of personal dose equivalent using optically stimulated luminescent dosemeters in Marumori after the Fukushima nuclear accident.

The personal dose equivalent for 36 Marumori residents living in wooden houses was evaluated using optically stimulated luminescent dosemeters after the Fukushima nuclear accident. The cumulative doses to residents over 200 d from 1 September 2011 ranged from 536 to 1490 µSv. In each resident's house, the indoor and outdoor ambient dose equivalents were measured with an NaI scintillation survey meter. A linear relationship with a slope of 0.5 was found between them; however, the ratio of the indoor to the outdoor ambient dose equivalent varied from 0.36 to 1.0. A better linear relationship was observed between the personal dose equivalent and the indoor ambient dose equivalent compared with that between the personal dose equivalent and the outdoor ambient dose equivalent. These results indicate that the individual exposure dose depends on the indoor ambient dose equivalent rather than the outdoor ambient dose equivalent. These results should be very helpful in obtaining the countermeasures to reduce residents' exposure dose.

Distribution of vitamin E intake among Japanese dietary supplement and fortified food users: a secondary analysis from the National Health and Nutrition Survey, 2003-2009.

This study was performed to: (1) assess the prevalence of dietary supplement and fortified food use, (2) examine the differences in vitamin E intake with and without dietary supplementation and/or fortified food use, and (3) determine whether some individuals consume vitamin E above the tolerable upper intake level (UL). Data were obtained from 64,624 individuals (age, ≥1 y; 47.4% males) who completed a 1-d household dietary assessment that was part of the National Health and Nutrition Survey conducted in Japan, 2003-2009. The survey also obtained information on the brand or generic name of each dietary supplement or fortified food reported, including their ingredients, through dietary assessment. The prevalence of a potential risk of excess was estimated by the proportion of persons above the age-/sex-specific ULs provided by the Dietary Reference Intakes for Japanese 2010. Supplement use was reported by 5.8% of men and 7.7% of women, whereas fortified food consumption was reported by only 2.9% of men and 3.6% of women. Use of dietary supplements was most common among older women, whereas use of fortified foods was most common among younger women. Both dietary supplement and fortified food use accounted for maximum vitamin E intake; however, the use of dietary supplements and fortified foods had little effect on the median and 95th percentile intake values. None of the subjects consumed nutrients above the UL. The collected data confirm that the use of both dietary supplements and fortified foods contributes a small amount to nutrient intake in Japanese subjects.