A battery of self-screening instruments and self-reported body frame could not detect eating disorders among college students.

OBJECTIVE: Although studies have shown inconsistent results in terms of prevalence of eating disorders, the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26) was used to screen students for abnormal eating behaviors. The results of the self-reported EAT-26 and body frame, as well as the efficacy of using self-administered questionnaires (SAQs) were examined to detect eating disorders in new college students. RESULTS: An anonymous questionnaire (EAT-26) was provided to 7738 new students; 4552 (58.8%) responders were included in the final analysis. Semi-structured interviews were conducted for 131 (1.7%) students. Among them, 6 students showed a high EAT-26 score, but were not diagnosed with an eating disorder based on the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders (SCID-I). Three students were diagnosed with an eating disorder using SCID-I, but their EAT-26 scores were below the threshold. From these results, in a non-clinical population, findings on EAT-26 do not agree with those on SCID-I in terms of the diagnosis of eating disorders, and this battery is not appropriate for detecting eating disorders.

Is high job control a risk factor for poor quality of life in workers with high autism spectrum tendencies? A cross-sectional survey at a factory in Japan.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the effect of autism spectrum (AS) tendencies and psychosocial job characteristics on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among factory workers. METHODS: A questionnaire survey was administered to 376 Japanese factory employees from the same company (response rate: 83.6%) in 2010. Psychosocial job characteristics, including job demand, job control, and social support, were evaluated using the Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ). AS tendencies was assessed using the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ), and HRQOL was assessed using the Medical Outcomes Study Short-Form General Health Survey (SF-8). Associations were investigated using multiple logistic regression analysis adjusted for confounders. RESULTS: In the multivariate analysis, AQ was positively (odds ratio [OR]: 3.94; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.70-9.73) and social support in the workplace was inversely (OR: 0.25; 95% CI: 0.10-0.57) associated with poor mental HRQOL. No significant interaction was observed between AQ and JCQ subitems. Only social support was inversely associated with poor physical HRQOL (OR and 95% CI for medium social support: 0.45 and 0.21-0.94), and a significant interaction between AQ and job control was observed (p=0.02), suggesting that high job control was associated with poor physical HRQOL among workers with high AQ, whereas low job control tended to be associated with poor physical HRQOL among others. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that AS tendencies have a negative effect on workers' HRQOL and social support is a primary factor in maintaining HRQOL. Moreover, a structured work environment can maintain physical HRQOL in workers with high AS tendencies since higher job control will be stressful.

Relationship between social support during pregnancy and postpartum depressive state: a prospective cohort study.

Although the association between social support and postpartum depression has been previously investigated, its causal relationship remains unclear. Therefore, we examined prospectively whether social support during pregnancy affected postpartum depression. Social support and depressive symptoms were assessed by Japanese version of Social Support Questionnaire (J-SSQ) and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), among 877 pregnant women in early pregnancy and at one month postpartum. First, J-SSQ was standardized among peripartum women. The J-SSQ was found to have a two-factor structure, with Number and Satisfaction subscales, by exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Analysis of covariance was performed to examine how EPDS and J-SSQ scores during pregnancy affected the EPDS score at postpartum. Significant associations were found between postpartum EPDS score and both EPDS and total scores on the Number subscales during pregnancy (ß = 0.488 and -0.054, ps < 0.001). Specifically, this negative correlation was stronger in depressive than non-depressive groups. Meanwhile, total score on Satisfaction subscales was not significantly associated with postpartum EPDS score. These results suggest that having a larger number of supportive persons during pregnancy helps protect against postpartum depression, and that this effect is greater in depressive than non-depressive pregnant women. This finding is expected to be vitally important in preventive interventions.

The postpartum depressive state in relation to perceived rearing: a prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: The relationship between perceived rearing and the postpartum depressive state remains unclear. We aimed to examine whether perceived rearing is a risk factor for postpartum depression as measured by the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), and whether the score of perceived rearing is affected by depressive mood (the state dependency of perceived rearing). METHODS: Pregnant women (n = 448, mean age 31.8 ± 4.2 years) completed the EPDS as a measure of depressive state in early pregnancy (T1), late pregnancy (around 36 weeks), and at 1 month postpartum (T2), and the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) at T1 as a measure of perceived rearing. Changes in the EPDS and the PBI scores from T1 to T2 were compared between the non depressive (ND) group and the postpartum depressive (PD) group. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in any PBI category for perceived rearing between the ND and PD groups at T1. EPDS scores did not change significantly from T1 to T2 in the ND group but increased significantly in the PD group. The PBI maternal care score increased significantly in the ND group (p<0.01), while decreasing in the PD group (p<0.05). Additionally, in both the ND and PD groups, significant negative correlation was observed regarding change in the EPDS and PBI maternal care scores from T1 to T2 (r = -0.28, p = 0.013). CONCLUSIONS: The present study suggests that perceived rearing is not a strong risk factor for postpartum depression as measured by the EPDS. Furthermore, the results indicated the state dependency of the PBI maternal care score.

Prospective study on the association between harm avoidance and postpartum depressive state in a maternal cohort of Japanese women.

BACKGROUND: Recent studies have displayed increased interest in examining the relationship between personality traits and the onset, treatment response patterns, and relapse of depression. This study aimed to examine whether or not harm avoidance (HA) was a risk factor for postpartum depression measured by the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and the state dependency of HA. METHODS: Pregnant women (n=460; mean age 31.9±4.2 years) who participated in a prenatal program completed the EPDS as a measure of depressive state and the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) as a measure of HA during three periods: early pregnancy (T1), late pregnancy (around 36 weeks), and 1 month postpartum (T2). Changes in EPDS and HA scores from T1 to T2 were compared between the non depressive (ND) group and the postpartum depressive (PD) group. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in the level of HA between the ND and PD groups at T1. In the ND group, EPDS and HA scores did not change significantly from T1 to T2. In the PD group, both scores increased significantly from T1 to T2 (EPDS, p<0.0001; HA, p<0.048). In the ND and PD groups, a significant positive correlation was observed in changes in EPDS and HA scores from T1 to T2 (r=0.31, p=0.002). CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that HA cannot be considered a risk factor for the development of postpartum depression measured by EPDS. Furthermore, HA may be state dependent.

[School-attendance problems, subjective symptoms and lifestyle factors: the Shizuoka health and lifestyle survey of students].

PURPOSE: This cross-sectional study was conducted to examine the prevalence of students with a sense of not wishing to-attend school, and associations with subjective symptoms and lifestyle factors. METHODS: The database of the Shizuoka health and lifestyle survey of students conducted in November 2003 was used. The subjects were 5448 elementary, junior high and high school students and 1051 caregivers of elementary school students. A self-administered questionnaire was administered to obtain infiromation on non-willingness to-attend school, subjective symptoms and lifestyle factors for students and lifestyle factors for caregivers. RESULTS: Valid responses were obtained from 2675 elementary school students, 940 junior high school students, 1377 high school students and 659 caregivers. The prevalence of students who experienced unwillingness to attend school in males was 11.4% in elementary schools, 12.1% in junior high schools and 25.3% in high schools. The prevalences in females were 9.8%, 19.6% and 35.9%, respectively. Multiple logistic regression analysis with such unwillingness as the objective variable and subjective symptoms and lifestyle factors as the explanatory variables, stratified by school and sex, adjusted for school grade in elementary schools, showed significantly high odds ratios (ORs) for reduction of vitality (OR: 3.68-8.22), irritable moods (OR: 3.00-6.30), feelings of fatigue and weariness (OR: 3.63-5.10) and difficulty waking up in the morning (OR: 1.98-2.69) in each school and sex, with an additional strong tendency for weight loss (OR: 1.83-2.97), with insignificantly high OR of boys in junior high schools (OR: 2.09, 95% Confidence interval: 0.95-4.60). No significant association was found between unwillingness to attend school in elementary school students with the lifestyle factors of their caregivers. CONCLUSIONS: There was no gender difference in the prevalence of students with feeleings of unwillingness to attend school in elementary school students, but figures were higher in females than in males for junior high and high school students. This was associated with the same subjective symptoms as those observed for students actually not attending school.