青山 泰子

栃木県の調査データを二次利用し、在宅医療的ケア児の生活状況について分析した。医療的ケア児は県内に約300人、20歳未満人口1000人対0.91みられ、年齢分布では6歳未満が50%を占め、寝たきりや座位の児が50%、歩行や走ることが可能な児が31%であった。サービスについては人工呼吸器使用者で「送迎がない」「利用できるサービスの量が不足」「費用負担が大きい」などの項目が有意に高かった。また、介護者で睡眠5時間未満の者は児に経管栄養がある場合において有意に高かった。以上、これらの結果からも、在宅医療的ケア児の運動・知的機能には個人差があり、個々に応じたサービスの提供が必要であると考えられた。

BACKGROUND: Some patients with Kawasaki disease (KD) develop cardiac sequelae, which increase the risk of subsequent ischemic heart events. Knowing the cumulative incidence (CI) of KD with cardiac sequelae may contribute to developing health policies to prevent subsequent ischemic events in these patients. METHODS: Study participants consisted of 254 984 patients aged 0-9 years with KD who were registered in nationwide surveys in Japan from 1991-2016. We calculated the incidence probabilities by dividing the number of patients with KD aged 0-9 years by the population used in vital statistics of each calendar year. We calculated the cumulative proportion of those not affected by KD, by multiplying each probability in patients aged from age 0-9 years. The CI of KD was obtained by subtracting this value from 1. We also calculated the number of patients in each birth cohort (BC). The same was done to calculate the CI of KD-related cardiac sequelae. RESULTS: The CIBC steadily increased from 0.005067 in males and 0.003668 in females in 1991 to 0.011431 in males and 0.0088253 in females in 2007. The CIBC of KD with cardiac sequelae decreased from 0.000478 in males and 0.000213 in females in 1997 to 0.000339 in males and 0.000169 in females in 2007. CONCLUSION: The increasing CIBC of KD indicates an increased susceptibility to KD in accordance with birth year. The decreasing CIBC of cardiac sequelae suggests the efficacy of KD treatment.

目的 地方紙における遺族の自己申告型死亡記事の記載事項を集計し、その地域での死亡やそれに伴う儀式の実態を明らかにするとともに、死亡記事のデータベースとしての利点と問題点を明らかにする。方法 栃木の地方紙である下野新聞の自己申告型死亡記事「おくやみ」欄に掲載された2011〜2015年の栃木県内の死亡者全員のデータを集計解析し、一部の結果は人口動態統計と比較した。観察項目は掲載年月日、市町村、住所の表示(市町村名のみ、町名・字まで、番地まで含めた詳細な住所)、氏名、性別、死亡年月日、死因、死亡時年齢、通夜・告別式などの名称、通夜などの年月日、告別式などの年月日、喪主と喪主の死亡者との続柄の情報である。結果 観察期間中の掲載死亡者数は69,793人で、同時期の人口動態統計による死亡者数の67.6%であった。人口動態統計と比較した掲載割合は男女で差がなく、小児期には掲載割合が低く、10歳代で高く、20歳代で低下し、以降は年齢とともに上昇していた。市町別の掲載割合は宇都宮市や小山市など都市化が進んだ地域では低く、県東部や北部で高い市町がみられた。最も掲載割合が高かったのは茂木町(88.0%)、低かったのは野木町(38.0%)であった。死亡日から通夜や告別式などの日数から、東京などで起こっている火葬場の供給不足に起因する火葬待ち現象は起こっていないことが判明した。六曜の友引の日の告別式はほとんどなく、今後、高齢者の増加に伴う死者の増加によって火葬場の供給不足が起こった場合には、告別式と火葬を切り離して友引に火葬を行うことも解決策の1つと考えられた。死亡者の子供、死亡者の両親、死亡者の子供の配偶者が喪主の場合には、喪主は男の方が多いことが判明した。老衰、自殺、他殺の解析から、掲載された死因の妥当性は低いことが示された。結論 栃木県の地方紙である下野新聞の自己申告型死亡記事「おくやみ」欄の5年分の観察を行い、実態を明らかにした。約3分の2に死亡が掲載されており、データベースとしての使用に一定の価値があると考えられたが、記載された死因の妥当性は低いことが判明した。(著者抄録)

Objectives To reveal the features of death and subsequent funeral services, we analyzed self-reported obituaries in The Shimotsuke, a local daily newspaper in Tochigi, Japan. In addition, the usefulness and disadvantages of such a database of deaths based on the obituaries were discussed.Method For a 5-year period, from January 2011 through December 2015, all the obituary columns in The Shimotsuke were computerized as a database and analyzed. Some results were compared with the vital statistics data in the corresponding period of time. Data analyzed were: dead persons' address (municipalities), name, sex, cause of death, age at death, date of death and funeral services, the chief mourner (Moshu), and so on.Results During the observed 5-year period, 69,793 deaths appeared in the columns, which were 67.6% of the all deaths in the vital statistics. No difference was observed in the proportions between the sexes in the published deaths in comparison with the vital statistics. In both sexes, the proportion was low in 0-9 years old, then high among 10-19 years, decreasing in 20s, and after then the proportion increased according to the age. The proportion was low in city areas, such as Utsunomiya and Oyama, and high in some cities and towns in the northern or eastern parts of Tochigi prefecture. The highest was in Motegi Town (88.0%), and the lowest was Nogi Town (38.0%), which is located in the southern-most part of the prefecture and is closest to the Tokyo metropolitan area. Almost all the funeral services were conducted within a week of the death, and no delays were observed to have been caused by the short supply of cremation services, which exists in large cities in Japan. In case where the chief mourner was a child, a parent, or a spouse of a child, the male sex was dominant. Analyses of death from senile decay, suicide, and homicide indicated that the accuracy of the published cause of death was low. The date of the funeral services was strongly influenced by superstitions in this country.Conclusions Observations of the self-reported obituaries in a local daily newspaper over five years revealed the situations of the deaths in the area that could not be observed using vital statistics. Despite limitations, the information was partially useful as a database.

BACKGROUND: Since 1987, no study has reported the municipal-level geographical clustering of Kawasaki disease (KD) in Japan. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to identify the temporal and municipal-level geographical clustering of KD. METHODS: The annual incidence rates of KD for each municipality were calculated using nationwide data from 73 758 patients with KD (2007-2012). To determine whether temporal and municipal-level clustering existed, we calculated the correlations of the annual incidence rates for each municipality during the study years, and compared these rates with those of the adjacent municipalities. Spatial scanning analysis was used to identify the geographical clusters for each year, and the incidence rates in those clusters were compared with the rates in the surrounding region. RESULTS: The annual national incidence rate of KD, adjusted for the prefecture-specific response rate, was 322.45 patients per 100 000 children aged 0-4 years. The correlation between the annual incidence rates during 2 consecutive years was significantly positive (coefficients, 0.149-0.428). On spatial scanning analysis, the most likely clusters were in the Tokyo metropolitan area during 2007-2010 and 2012, and in Kumamoto prefecture during 2011. CONCLUSION: Kawasaki disease exhibits temporal and municipal-level clustering.

Ischemic heart disease (IHD) remains one of the most important disorders associated with disability and mortality worldwide, and is one of the major causes of cardiovascular diseases in Mongolia. The objective of the current study was to determine the prevalence of IHD and its related factors in a general population in Mongolia. We conducted a nationwide cross-sectional survey between March and September, 2009. General participants were recruited from urban to rural regions in a multistage random cluster sampling method. The diagnosis of IHD was based on the Rose questionnaire (World Health Organization) and electrocardiographic findings. A total of 369 (16.2 %) subjects with IHD were diagnosed among 2,280 participants. The prevalence of subjects with IHD was significantly increased by age: from 9.9 % in individuals age 40-44 years compared to 17.7 % in those over 60 years. Smoking habits (former and current) and non-frequent intake of fruits and vegetables were significantly positively associated with IHD in men, while heavy alcohol drinking habits and lower education period of time were significantly positively associated with IHD in women. IHD was found to be prevalent, especially among people aged over 40 years, in Mongolia. Statistical factors related to IHD were found to be significantly different based on sex. The current data may provide relevant information to prevent IHD in the Mongolian population.

BACKGROUND: The long-term outcomes of Kawasaki disease (KD) are unknown. METHODS: Fifty-two collaborating hospitals collected data on all patients who had received a new definite diagnosis of KD between July 1982 and December 1992. Patients were followed until December 31, 2009 or death. Standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) were calculated based on Japanese vital statistics data. RESULTS: Of the 6576 patients enrolled, 46 (35 males and 11 females) died (SMR: 1.00; 95% CI: 0.73-1.34). Among persons without cardiac sequelae, SMRs were not high after the acute phase of KD (SMR: 0.65; 95% CI: 0.41-0.96). Among persons with cardiac sequelae, 13 males and 1 female died during the observation period (SMR: 1.86; 95% CI: 1.02-3.13). CONCLUSIONS: In this cohort, the mortality rate among Japanese with cardiac sequelae due to KD was significantly higher than that of the general population. In contrast, the rates for males and females without sequelae were not elevated.

BACKGROUND: Although the number of patients and incidence rate of Kawasaki disease (KD) are increasing in Japan, the most recent epidemiologic features of KD are not known. METHODS: The 21st nationwide survey of KD was conducted in 2011 and included patients treated for the disease in 2009 and 2010. Hospitals specializing in pediatrics, and hospitals with a total of 100 or more beds and a pediatric department, were asked to report all patients with KD during the 2 survey years. RESULTS: A total of 1445 departments and hospitals reported 23,730 KD patients (10,975 in 2009 and 12,755 in 2010): 13,515 boys and 10 215 girls. The annual incidence rates were 206.2 and 239.6 per 100,000 children aged 0 to 4 years in 2009 and 2010, respectively; the 2010 rate was the highest ever reported in Japan. Monthly number of patients peaked during winter to spring months; lower peaks were noted during summer months. However, the seasonal patterns in 2009 and 2010 differed from those of previous years. The age-specific incidence rate had a monomodal distribution, with a peak during the latter half of the year of birth. The prevalences of cardiac lesions during acute KD and cardiac sequelae were higher among infants and older age groups. Despite a decrease in prevalence, the proportion of patients with giant coronary aneurysms-the most severe sequela of KD-did not substantially decrease. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence rate and number of patients with KD continue to increase in Japan.

PURPOSE: Overweight or obesity is a known risk factor for cesarean delivery although there is minimal data among Japanese women. The aim of the study was to examine the effect of prepregnancy body mass index (BMI) on singleton cesarean delivery among term nulliparous women using a national sample from the Human Milk Survey. METHODS: Data from the Human Milk Survey between 1998 and 2008 were used for the secondary analysis. Women were categorized as underweight (BMI < 18.5 kg/m(2)), normal weight (18.5 ≤ BMI < 25.0), or overweight (BMI ≥ 25.0) based on their prepregnancy BMI. The association between maternal prepregnancy BMI and cesarean delivery was assessed using logistic regression models. RESULTS: A total of 915 women were included in the analysis. The proportion of cesarean section was 10.1%. Overall, 17.1% of the women were underweight while 6.0% were overweight. After adjusting for maternal age, smoking status, pregnancy complications, and infant birthweight, overweight women were 2.7 times more likely to have a cesarean delivery compared to normal weight women (adjusted odds ratio [adjusted OR] = 2.7, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.4-5.4), and underweight women were half as likely to have a cesarean delivery compared to normal weight women (adjusted OR = 0.5, 95% CI = 0.2-1.1). CONCLUSIONS: Being overweight before pregnancy more than doubled the risk of cesarean delivery independent of age, smoking, pregnancy complications, and infant birthweight among term nulliparous women. Overweight Japanese women should be advised to achieve normal prepregnancy BMI in their preconception period to prevent cesarean delivery.

PURPOSE: To reveal the epidemiologic features of suicides in Tochigi Prefecture using police data, and to discuss critical points to improve suicide prevention and advantages and disadvantages of police data. METHODS: Individual data for suicides during a 2 year period of 2007 and 2008 provided by the Tochigi Police were analyzed. RESULTS: In the observed 2 years, there were 1166 cases of suicide (865 males and 301 females), a higher rate per population in Tochigi than that for the whole of Japan. The age-specific number was highest in the 50's among males, whereas the numbers were similar between the 30's and 70's among females. The age-specific number per population was higher than that for the whole of Japan for individuals in their 20's and 30's. The number was highest in early morning at around 10 o'clock in the weekdays. Of all cases, 58.1% committed suicides at home, and 58.0% were by hanging. As causes of suicides, selected as the 3 most common by the police, health problems were top (61.3%), followed by economic (22.7%) and familial (17.3%) difficulties. With health problems, physical and mental diseases each accounted for approximately half. Those committing suicides because of the economic problems were dominantly males aged 20-69 years, many of whom had multiple debts. One third of the deceased cases left testamentary letters, and 15.9% had experiences of attempted suicide in the past. According to these results, we consider that the following 6 points are important to prevent suicides in Tochigi (1) improvement of school and occupational health targeting males aged 20 to 39 years; (2) persons at high risk should be kept always under close observation by someone such as a family member; (3) those having experience of attempted suicides should be formally treated as high risk persons; (4) consultation systems for various problems, especially for multiple debts, should be prepared and appropriately advertised; (5) mental health care should be provided for patients with physical disorders; and (6) treatment and management for patients with mental illness should be comprehensive. In addition, we noted that the causes of suicides in the police data were based on inferences of police officers investigating the suicide cases so that the validity was poorer than that of psychological autopsy. However, the advantage of the police data was that there was less selection bias because police data covered all the suicides in the area. CONCLUSIONS: Using police data, the epidemiologic features of suicide in Tochigi Prefecture could here be demonstrated, and guidelines for prevention are indicated. Utility of police data for revealing the epidemiologic features of suicides to provide information for suicide prevention was confirmed.

BACKGROUND: The most recent epidemiologic features of Kawasaki disease (KD) are unknown. METHODS: The 20th nationwide survey of KD was conducted in 2009, and included patients treated for the disease in 2007 and 2008. Hospitals specializing in pediatrics, and hospitals with pediatric departments and 100 or more beds, were asked to report all patients with KD during the 2 survey years. RESULTS: From a total of 1540 departments and hospitals, 23,337 patients (11 581 in 2007 and 11 756 in 2008) were reported: 13,523 boys and 9814 girls. The annual incidence rates were 215.3 and 218.6 per 100,000 children aged 0-4 years in 2007 and 2008, respectively. These were the highest annual KD incidence rates ever recorded in Japan. The monthly number of patients peaked during the winter months; smaller increases were noted in the summer months. The age-specific incidence rate showed a monomodal distribution with a peak at age 9-11 months. The prevalences of both cardiac lesions during the acute phase of the disease and cardiac sequelae were higher among infants and older age groups. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence rate and number of patients with KD in Japan continue to increase.

BACKGROUND: Although regular nationwide surveys of Kawasaki disease (KD) are conducted in Japan, there is no system for detecting the real-time epidemic status of this disease. METHODS: A web-based surveillance system for KD was developed. After consideration of the number of patients reported by prefecture to the 19th nationwide survey, 355 pediatric departments were asked to participate in the surveillance, and 225 agreed. Since January 2008, pediatricians in these 225 hospitals have reported KD patient data immediately after diagnosis. The daily numbers of patients are available to the public via the internet at http://www.kawasaki-disease.net/kawasakidata/. The validity of the data in 2008 was evaluated using the Japanese 20th nationwide survey of KD as the gold standard. RESULTS: A total of 3376 patients were reported to the web-based surveillance system from the 1st week through 52nd week of 2008. The number of patients reported to the nationwide survey during the same period was 11 680: a total of 4950 patients from the hospitals participating in the web-based surveillance and 6730 from other hospitals. The epidemic curves were similar, and the correlation coefficient between the web-based surveillance and the total numbers in the nationwide survey was 0.806 (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The web-based surveillance system for Kawasaki disease in Japan demonstrated good validity.