Frequency of laughter and depression onset among older adults: A 6-year longitudinal study from the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study.

Background: Laughter has been associated with mental and physical health benefits, but longitudinal evidence on whether laughter in daily life protects against depression remain limited. This study aimed to examine whether the frequency of laughter in daily life is associated with the risk of depression onset among older adults.

Methods: We analyzed data from 32,666 adults aged ≥65 years participating in the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study, a three-wave cohort conducted over six-years.

A comprehensive analysis of clinical factors interacting with ectopic intrathyroidal thymus in children and adolescents: The Fukushima Health Management Survey.

The ectopic intrathyroidal thymus (EIT) is located anywhere in the thyroid gland along the developmental pathway of thymic descent due to thymic migration during embryogenesis. Ultrasonographic findings of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) resemble those of EIT, which is frequently found in children. We comprehensively evaluated the clinical factors associated with EIT to understand its physiological implications and to explore helpful information for clinical discrimination between EIT and PTC.

Predictive value of obesity-related indices for incident type 2 diabetes mellitus: a longitudinal study of the Fukushima Health Database 2015-2021.

Background: Obesity indices that combine anthropometric and lipid measurements, such as the atherogenic index of plasma (AIP), cardiometabolic index (CMI), lipid accumulation product (LAP), metabolic score for insulin resistance (Mets-IR), triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index, and visceral adiposity index (VAI), have been recommended as surrogates for assessing cardiometabolic risk. This study aimed to examine the association between these indices and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) incidence risk using large routine health checkup data.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study involved 195,989 participants aged 35-74 years who attended the Specific Health Checkups in 2015 and were observed until 2021 in Fukushima, Japan.

Identifying New Candidate Predictors of Mortality in Japanese Patients with Severe Drug Eruptions.

Unlabelled: BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: SCORe of Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis (SCORTEN) and ABCD-10 have been developed as scoring systems for predicting mortality associated with Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) or toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN). These scores were developed based on a small number of patients; hence, their generalizability requires further exploration. The present study used three algorithms, including a machine learning method, to construct a mortality prediction model for SJS/TEN and to identify new candidate predictors of mortality from severe drug eruptions.

Model-based estimation of thyroid cancer incidence from ultrasound examinations in the Fukushima Health Management Survey: estimated results considering the non-examinees in the first, second and third rounds of the cohort study.

Background: In October 2011, the Fukushima prefectural government started a thyroid ultrasound examination (TUE) as part of the Fukushima Health Management Survey following the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident. The proportion of examinees is an important factor when interpreting the results.

Objectives: To construct models that assess the relationship between the proportion of non-examinees and the characteristics of eligible participants in the first-round to third-round TUEs.

Internal migration patterns to Fukushima following the nuclear accident based on vital statistics and the Fukushima health management survey.

Background: We examined the characteristics and mental health of people who migrated to the Fukushima Prefecture after the 2011 nuclear power plant accident through two studies. While the original community was disrupted by the nuclear accident, internal migrants from other prefectures in Japan have played an increasingly significant role in promoting the recovery process.

Methods: Study 1 used data from the Vital Statistics of Fukushima database from January 1999 to October 2023 to analyze shifts in migration patterns before and after the nuclear accident, focusing on the proportion of internal migrants who relocated to Fukushima following the accident.

Association of Social Participation with Cardiovascular Risk Factors: A Systematic Review.

Aim: Although social participation, defined as involvement in social activities, may be beneficial for cardiovascular health, evidence about the association remains limited. This systematic review summarized the relationship between social participation and cardiovascular risk factors.

Methods: Original articles of longitudinal observational studies published in English before January 1, 2024, were searched via PubMed, Scopus, and Cochrane Library.

Longitudinal health checkup access pattern following a triple disaster using latent class growth analysis: The Fukushima Health Management Survey.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the longitudinal patterns of access to health checkups among residents of municipalities most affected by the triple disaster in Fukushima, Japan.

Study Design: A prospective cohort study.

Methods: Participants included residents in 12 municipalities in Fukushima, Japan.

Association between food intake frequency and psychological distress following the Great East Japan Earthquake: the Fukushima Health Management Survey FY 2012.

Background: Changes in diet following the Great East Japan Earthquake may affect the mental health of evacuees. However, a large-scale data analysis on this topic is still lacking. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between the frequency of food intake per week and psychological distress and traumatic reactions among Fukushima residents two years after the disaster.

Changes in peripheral blood test results among adults in the six years following the Great East Japan Earthquake: the Fukushima Health Management Survey.

The Fukushima Health Management Survey, conducted by Fukushima Prefecture since the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE), has not identified any health effects from radiation exposure.　Complete blood counts (CBC), which are sensitive to radiation exposure, have not shown lymphocytopenia, neutropenia, anemia, or thrombocytopenia, but the white blood cell fractions have not yet been analyzed since 2011.　We classified 25,885 residents (11,383 male, 14,502 female;age range, 16-84 years) in evacuation areas with external exposure dose estimates based on behavioral surveys conducted 4 months after the GEJE into two groups (0-1 [≥0 and <1] and ≥1 mSv) and analyzed changes in CBC and leukocyte fractions from fiscal year (FY) 2011 to FY2017 and their influencing factors.

Correction: Analysis of clinicopathological factors associate with the visibility of early gastric cancer in endoscopic examination and usefulness of linked color imaging: A multicenter prospective study.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Associations of fluctuations in blood glucose and insulin with hypoglycemic symptoms.

Associations between fluctuations in blood glucose levels and medically unexplained symptoms, such as palpitations, numbness in the extremities, dizziness, and drowsiness, have been a topic of debate for an extended period; however, consensus remains elusive. We therefore examined the associations of blood glucose and insulin levels with symptoms by performing a 5 h glucose tolerance test in patients without diabetes with complaints. A total of 139 (54 men and 85 women, mean age 35.

Merging of the Fukushima Health Management Survey With the National and Local Cancer Registry to Refine the Detection of Thyroid Cancer Cases After the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident.

Background: After the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident in 2011, the Fukushima Health Management Survey (FHMS) was implemented in Fukushima Prefecture to promote long-term health care. The FHMS included thyroid ultrasound examination (TUE) for individuals aged ≤ 18 years, including fetuses at the time of the accident. However, the FHMS may not have captured all cases of thyroid cancer because it only followed up with examinees.

A prospective study of the association between lifestyle and the risk of depressive symptoms.

Background: Few studies have prospectively, comprehensively, and by sex, examined the relationship between lifestyle and depressive symptoms. This study aimed to longitudinally examine which lifestyle factors are associated with depressive symptoms in a large cohort of Japanese participants stratified by sex.

Methods: Among 9087 office and community-based residents who attended a health measurement course at the Osaka Medical Center for Health Science and Promotion between 2001 and 2002, 6629 individuals (3962 men and 2667 women) without prior depressive symptoms were followed until the end of March 2012 to observe the associations between lifestyle factors and the development of new depressive symptoms.

Final Report of Trends in Pregnancy and Birth Survey after the Great East Japan Earthquake and Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident: The Fukushima Health Management Survey.

This study aimed to assess long-term changes in pregnancy and birth outcomes after the Great East Japan Earthquake and the accident at the Tokyo Electric Power Company's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Fukushima Prefecture.　This is the final report on perinatal outcomes of the Prefectural Health Survey, which ended after a 10-year observation period.　Questionnaires based on a pregnancy and birth survey conducted by the Radiation Medical Science Center for the Fukushima Health Management Survey were sent to women who had received maternal and child health handbooks from municipal officers in Fukushima Prefecture.

Correction: Eating speed and height loss in relation to overweight: A retrospective study.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Clinicopathological Findings of 220 Pediatric, Adolescent, and Young Adult Patients with Thyroid Cancer in Fukushima Medical University Hospital.

Thyroid ultrasound examinations (TUEs), conducted as part of the Fukushima Health Management Survey (FHMS), were initiated to monitor the health status of residents after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident owing to concerns regarding the increased incidence of thyroid cancer among children, as observed after the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident. This study reported the clinicopathological characteristics of patients with thyroid cancer diagnosed through the FHMS and treated at the Fukushima Medical University Hospital. Data regarding the clinicopathological characteristics of patients with thyroid cancer were collected and evaluated in this descriptive study.

Prevalence, incidence, and recovery of metabolic syndrome after the fukushima nuclear power plant disaster: A 10-year longitudinal study.

After the 2011 Fukushima nuclear power plant accident, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome sharply increased in municipalities near the nuclear power plant, where a massive evacuation of community residents occurred (the evacuation area). However, after the initial increase, the rate of increase in metabolic syndrome in the evacuation area was slower than that in the surrounding area (non-evacuation area). In this study, we compared the incidence of and recovery from metabolic syndrome as well as its prevalence between evacuation and non-evacuation areas during the 10 years after the accident to explore whether the slower increase in metabolic syndrome after the initial increase in the evacuation area stemmed from suppressed incidence or from fast recovery.