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The Japanese Society of Travel and Health (JSTH) and the Japanese Society for Occupational Health (JSOH) have compiled "Novel Coronavirus Information" together as a joint document, which has been shared with the public on their respective websites since February 2020. In May 11, 2020, this document was to be published as "A Guide for Businesses and Employers Responding to Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)" (hereinafter referred to as "this Guide"). This Guide was prepared for persons in charge of COVID-19 control measures in their workplace. It should be used at the discretion of each business operator according to their workplace environment. The examples of infection control measures shown in this Guide are not guaranteed to work for all situations, and they do not limit or bind actual measures being put in place. When selecting actual measures, it is necessary to obtain new information and thoroughly understand individual cases and situations. This Guide was prepared based on findings and reports about the virus and response measures taken by the relevant ministries (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, etc.) that could be confirmed as of December 15, 2020. Therefore, the contents of this Guide may need to be modified in the future, depending on changes in the situations mentioned above. In the preparation of this Guide, every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of currently obtainable information. However, neither JSTH or JSOH shall be held liable for any unfavorable circumstance, such as loss and damage (including lost profits and various expenses), harmful rumors, etc. experienced by a business operator, his/her employees, and any other persons concerned as a result of various measures considered/implemented using this Guide by persons responsible for infection control in the workplace.

Objective The present study aimed to estimate cumulative incidence of overweight and obesity and describe 5‐year longitudinal changes in body mass index (BMI) in a large occupational cohort in Japan. Methods Participants were 55 229 Japanese employees, who were aged 20‐59 years and attended at all subsequent annual health check‐ups between 2009 and 2014. Mixed model analysis was performed to examine the effects of age and cohort by gender on BMI change, with age as a random variable. Cumulative incidence of overweight (23.0≤ BMI

Objectives We aimed to compare the association of body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and waist‐to‐height ratio (WHtR) with risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) among middle‐aged working Japanese men. Methods A nested case‐control study was performed among middle‐aged male employees who underwent periodic health checkup. A total of 241 CVD cases were identified and matched individually on age, gender, and worksite with 1205 controls. Data on BMI, WC, WHtR, smoking, hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidemia collected at 4 years before the event/index date were retrieved. Associations between BMI, WC, WHtR, and CVD risk were assessed by using conditional logistic regression models. Results The strength of the association of BMI, WC, and WHtR with CVD risk was similar. The smoking‐adjusted odds ratio (95% confidence interval) for CVD was 1.60 (1.38‐1.85), 1.53 (1.33‐1.78), and 1.56 (1.35‐1.81) for a 1 SD unit increase in BMI, WC, and WHtR respectively. After further adjustment for hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidemia, these associations were attenuated but remained statistically significant. Conclusions Measures of general (BMI) and abdominal (WC and WHtR) obesity were similarly associated with CVD in middle‐aged Japanese men.

Objective Working long hours is a potential health hazard. Although self-reporting of working hours in various time frames has been used in epidemiologic studies, its validity is unclear. The objective of this study was to examine the validity and reproducibility of self-reported working hours among Japanese male employees. Methods The participants were 164 male employees of four large-scale companies in Japan. For validity, the Spearman correlation between self-reported working hours in the second survey and the working hours recorded by the company was calculated for the following four time frames: daily working hours, monthly overtime working hours in the last month, average overtime working hours in the last 3 months, and the frequency of long working months (≥45 h/month) within the last 12 months. For reproducibility, the intraclass correlation between the first (September 2013) and second surveys (December 2013) was calculated for each of the four time frames. Results The Spearman correlations between self-reported working hours and those based on company records were 0.74, 0.81, 0.85, and 0.89 for daily, monthly, 3-monthly, and yearly time periods, respectively. The intraclass correlations for self-reported working hours between the two questionnaire surveys were 0.63, 0.66, 0.73, and 0.87 for the respective time frames. Conclusions The results of the present study among Japanese male employees suggest that the validity of self-reported working hours is high for all four time frames, whereas the reproducibility is moderate to high.

The Effects of Job-Related Factors and Lifestyle on the Five-Year Cumulative Incidence of Hypertension in Japanese Steelworkers: Yasushi OKUBO, et al. Department of Hygiene, School of Medicine, Chiba University-We conducted this epidemiological follow-up study from 1990 to 1995 to clarify the effects of job-related factors and/or lifestyle on the five-year cumulative incidence of hypertension in Japanese normotensive steelworkers. The subjects were normotensive 3, 061 males aged 40-54 yr, and 2, 249 subjects were followed-up completely. Job-related factors (job class, job type and promotion), lifestyle (salt intake, calorie intake, habitual exercise, alcohol consumption and smoking habit) and six subjective symptoms which were thought to be related to mental health were evaluated in relationship to the five-year cumulative incidence of hypertension. The results of the multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that age, mean blood pressure in 1990, and promotion during the five-year period were factors significantly related to hypertension. Odds ratios of age (per 1 year old), mean blood pressure (per 1 mmHg) were 1.08 and 1.19, respectively. Odds ratio of promoted workers to non-promoted workers was 0.56. Promotion was related independently to the five-year cumulative incidence of hypertension. No relationship between hypertension and other job-related factors, blood findings or subjective symptoms was noted. In conclusion, our study suggested that age and mean blood pressure strongly influence the five-year cumulative incidence of hypertension, and promotion reduced the risk of hypertension in male workers.

The health status of workers in small companies has been noted to be relatively poor, but no actual comparisons of groups of variously sized companies within the same region based on the same methodology have ever been conducted. We undertook this study to clarify differences in health status according to company size. The subjects comprised workers of a Japanese steel company and various subcontractors who received health checkups in 2003. We obtained answers from 83 companies employing 11,844 workers and analyzed the data for 6,480 men aged 40 yr or more, comparing results of the health checkups, health management practices, and number of occupational health personnel according to company size (number of employees). Mean worker age in the various groups ranged from 49.7 to 54.0 yr. Drinking and smoking habits did not differ between them. There was a significant trend to higher prevalences of diabetes and hypertension, and lower prevalences of renal disease and hypercholesterolemia in smaller companies. Mean body mass index and diastolic blood pressure were significantly higher in companies with 1,000-2,999 workers. Health management practices satisfied the legal requirements of the respective company size. Occupational physicians devoted more time per worker in companies with 1,000-2,999 and 50-299 workers. No consistent differences were apparent between small and large companies in worker health status. Inter-company activities for occupational safety and health were undertaken and labor regulations almost equally adhered to. Endeavors to maintain a certain level of hygiene and health management play an important role in maintaining worker health in small companies.