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Objective: This study aimed to determine the association between psychological distress and leisure-time exercise/socioeconomic status by age group, using data from a cohort study in Japan during the COVID-19 pandemic., Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among participants in the ME-BYO cohort, aged 20-85 years, living or working in Kanagawa, Japan. A questionnaire was disseminated to 1,573 participants (51.7% men) between December 2020 and March 2021. The questionnaire items included psychological distress (using the 6-item Kessler Psychological Distress Scale [K6]), leisure-time exercise, and socioeconomic status. Multivariate analyses were conducted using logistic regression analysis for each age group., Results: We found that 47.4% of 20-39-year-olds, 40.6% of 40-64-year-olds, and 28.3% of 65-85-year-olds experienced psychological distress (K6: ≥5 points). For those aged 20-39 years, leisure-time exercise (odds ratio [OR] (95% confidence interval) = 0.45 (0.28-0.73)) and higher annual household income [0.53 (0.32-0.90)] were associated with less psychological distress. For those aged 40-64 years, older age was associated with less psychological distress, while full-time work [1.98 (1.05-9.71)] was associated with more psychological distress. In the 65-85-year age group, higher education and higher annual income tended to be associated with less psychological distress. For those over 40 years of age, living with other(s) was associated with reduced psychological distress., Conclusion: In the general population of Japan, not engaging in leisure-time exercise and low income affect psychological distress among young adults. Further detailed studies are needed to consider overall physical activity, job type, and work style., Competing Interests: HI and NS are members of Hygeia Communication General Incorporated Association. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Saito, Nakamura, Watanabe, Ikegami, Shinmura, Sato, Miyagi and Narimatsu.)

Objective: Social stigma related to coronavirus disease (COVID-19), i. e., COVID-19 stigma, forms a burden on people socially, economically, and mentally. This study assessed COVID-19 stigma using a scale to identify a population likely to exhibit higher prejudice against COVID-19 itself as well as those infected with COVID-19., Methods: We adapted and modified the Cancer Stigma Scale to assess COVID-19 stigma and used it as the baseline survey of a cohort study in Japan. The questionnaire was disseminated to 1,573 participants (51.7% men) between December 2020 and March 2021. The questionnaire items included the infection status of individuals close to the respondent and their preventive behaviors related to COVID-19, quality of life (QOL; using the EuroQoL 5-Dimension 5-Level [EQ-5D-5L]), and psychological distress (using the 6-item Kessler Psychological Distress Scale [K6]). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed to validate the COVID-19 stigma scale, and we further used the structural equation modeling (SEM) to assess the relationship with QOL and psychological distress., Results: COVID-19 stigma was calculated for the 257 (16.3%) participants who responded to the questionnaire. The mean age (standard deviation) was 54.5 (14.4) years, and 50.2% were men. Factor analysis revealed a five-factor model: Awkwardness (feeling uncomfortable being with a person infected before), Severity (fear of not being able to return to normal after infection), Avoidance (attitude of avoiding infected persons), Policy Opposition (expecting more public funding investment), and Personal Responsibility (believing that infected persons themselves are responsible for their infection). Participants > 70 years had the highest scores among other age groups considering all factors except for Policy Opposition. Standardized coefficients in SEM for COVID-19 stigma (latent variable) was highest for Severity (beta = 0.86). Regression coefficients of COVID-19 stigma on K6 and QOL were 0.21 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.074-0.342) and -0.159 (95% CI -0.295-0.022), respectively., Conclusion: People aged ≥ 70 years are more likely to exhibit COVID-19 stigma. Additionally, the results indicate that COVID-19 stigma impacts QOL and psychological distress., Competing Interests: Authors HI and NS are members of Hygeia Communication General Incorporated Association. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Sawaguchi, Nakamura, Watanabe, Tsuno, Ikegami, Shinmura, Saito and Narimatsu.)

Aim: To identify groups of nurses engaging in coronavirus disease (COVID-19) care who are most in need of organizational support., Background: Overwhelming stress and susceptibility to burnout have been reported in nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic., Methods: Nurses working at five hospitals that accepted COVID-19 patients answered the questionnaire. The Tokyo Metropolitan Distress Scale for Pandemic, Self-Diagnosis Check List for Assessment of Workers' Accumulated Fatigue and Japanese Burnout Scale were evaluated. Multiple regression analysis was performed to examine the relationship between engaging in COVID-19 care and psychosocial/physical burden., Results: In total, 895 questionnaires were analysed. With experience in caring for COVID-19 patients as the independent variable, nurses caring for suspected cases had significantly higher standardized Tokyo Metropolitan Distress Scale for Pandemic scores for 'concerns for infection' (standardized partial regression coefficient β = .921, P = .004), Assessment of Workers' Accumulated Fatigue (β = .445, P = .022) and Japanese Burnout Scale 'emotional exhaustion' (β = .136, P = .021) than those caring for confirmed cases., Conclusions: Nurses caring for suspected COVID-19 patients have the highest psychological/physical burden and propensity for burnout., Implications for Nursing Management: Extensive support systems are required for nurses caring for confirmed and suspected COVID-19 cases., (© 2022 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)