Search

The study aimed to examine the association of expanded adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) with psychological distress in adulthood. The data from nation-wide online cohort was used for analysis. Community dwelling adults in Japan were included. The ACEs was assessed by 15 items of ACE-J, including childhood poverty and school bullying. Severe psychological distress was determined as the score of Kessler 6 over 13. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was conducted, by using sample weighting. A total of 28,617 participants were analyzed. About 75% of Japanese people had one or more ACEs. The prevalence of those with ACEs over 4 was 14.7%. Those with ACEs over 4 showed adjusted odds ratio = 8.18 [95% CI 7.14–9.38] for severe psychological distress. The prevalence of childhood poverty was 29% for 50–64 year old participants and 40% of 65 or older participants. The impact of childhood poverty on psychological distress was less than other ACEs in these age cohorts. Bullying was experienced 21–27% in young generations, but 10% in 65 or older participants. However, the impact on psychological distress in adulthood was relatively high in all age groups. ACEs have impacted mental health for a long time. Future research and practice to reduce ACEs are encouraged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the process and meaning of problem-based learning (PBL) that students may experience. The Project Cycle Management method was taught and utilised as an instrument of PBL at a Japanese women's college over a period of 5 years. The study closely examined what and how students learned in PBL from the perspectives of cognitive, social, and internal aspects. Despite the relative ignorance about the internal aspect of learners in previous research, the results of the study revealed that the internal aspect is inseparably linked with the other two aspects, and the three of them simultaneously undergo their own changes in the PBL process. That is, meaningful learning experiences seem to be no less importantly affected by the feelings or internal aspect of learners than by cognitive and social counterparts. Then, beyond knowledge building and skill acquirement, PBL may have contributed to broadening learners' perspectives and promoting their personal development. In this regard, PBL can be defined anew, from an angle different from that of previous research, as learning that can generate rich and varied emotions in learners concurrently as they face problems, enable them to acquire subject matter knowledge and relational skills through dialogue, and eventually guide them to the threshold of personal transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To reveal gene-environment interactions underlying common diseases and estimate the risk for common diseases, the Tohoku Medical Megabank (TMM) project has conducted prospective cohort studies and genomic and multiomics analyses. To establish an integrated biobank, we developed an integrated database called "dbTMM" that incorporates both the individual cohort/clinical data and the genome/multiomics data of 157,191 participants in the Tohoku Medical Megabank project. To our knowledge, dbTMM is the first database to store individual whole-genome data on a variant-by-variant basis as well as cohort/clinical data for over one hundred thousand participants in a prospective cohort study. dbTMM enables us to stratify our cohort by both genome-wide genetic factors and environmental factors, and it provides a research and development platform that enables prospective analysis of large-scale data from genome cohorts. Databases: Integrating megadata for disease research A database integrating 1.3 trillion genome cohort data entries from 157,191 individuals in Japan will facilitate research into the gene-environment interactions underlying common diseases. The Tohoku Medical Megabank integrated database called dbTMM was developed by Soichi Ogishima, Masayuki Yamamoto and colleagues at Tohoku University in Japan. It incorporates the genome, metabolome, proteome, clinical, sociodemographic, lifestyle and environmental data from 84,073 adults, and 73,529 pregnant women and their families, including children. Blood and urine samples were collected from participants and analysed, then obtained genome/multiomics data were stored in dbTMM. Users can stratify the entire population into smaller populations based on multiple data variables, including whole genome variants, to search for statistically significant differences that might warrant further research. The dbTMM is expected to help clarify the genes and gene-environment interactions underlying common diseases and improve disease risk prediction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE:: To examine the effect of age on the relationship between fat-free mass (FFM) and fat mass (FM), and fat-free mass index (FFMI) and fat mass index (FMI) by applying body composition chart analysis on pre- and postadolescent Japanese subjects. SUBJECTS AND METHOD:: A sample of 516 children (244 boys and 272 girls) ranging in age from 11 to 17?y and 840 adults (288 male and 552 female subjects) ranging in age from 18 to 59?y were studied to determine a body composition by an underwater weighing method. FMI and FM were put on an x- and y-axis in body composition chart 1, and FFMI (FFM/ height2) and FMI (FM/height2) were taken on an x- and y-axis in body composition chart 2. RESULTS:: In body composition chart 1, the plots for male subjects stayed flat from 11 to 14?y and after that a steady growth of FFM concurring with the FM growth was observed. During the adult stage, steady increments of FM and gradual decreases of FFM were observed. In body composition chart 2, steady increases of FFMI and gradual decreases of FMI were indicated in the male preadolescent period. In the adult stage, FFMI decreased year by year, although the FMI continued to increase. In female subjects, a conspicuous increase of FMI was observed throughout all periods of the present subjects. After middle age, the decline of FFMI was characteristically demonstrated in the chart. CONCLUSION:: The relationships between FFM and FM are characteristically delineated on the body composition charts demonstrating clear gender differences. The change of body mass index was not reflecting the change of adiposity level in male subjects, although it was occurring along with the changes of the adiposity level in female subjects.International Journal of Obesity (2004) 28, 520-524. doi:10.1038/sj.ijo.0802593 Published online 10 February 2004 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]