A reappraisal of association between ventilator-associated events and mortality among critically ill patients using marginal structural model: multicenter observational study.

Purpose: Ventilator-associated events (VAEs), developed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), are considered a new medical quality indicator associated with poor outcomes. However, previous studies failed to adjust for changes in patient severity, leaving open the possibility that VAEs are just a surrogate for severity. This study aimed to reevaluate the association between VAEs and mortality, adjusting for changes in severity over time.

Risk of endometrial cancer among breast cancer survivors in Japan: a matched cohort study.

Background: Breast cancer (BC) survivors may have an increased risk of endometrial cancer due to shared risk factors and tamoxifen use. However, the risk among women in Japan and that for each endocrine therapy regimen remains unknown when comparing BC survivors to women without BC.

Methods: We conducted a matched-cohort study using the JMDC claims database, covering company employees and their family members in Japan.

Impact of Postoperative Infection on Lower Limb Function After Surgery for Malignant Bone and Soft Tissue Tumors: Data from a Nationwide Registry in Japan.

Background: Due to the scarcity of cases, adjustments for confounding factors in analyses of the effects of postoperative infections on limb function after surgery for malignant bone and soft tissue tumors were insufficient in previous studies. One solution is to use big data from a nationwide registry.

Methods: Data from the Bone and Soft Tissue Tumor Registry in Japan were used to examine the impact of postoperative infections on limb function after surgery for malignant bone and soft tissue tumors in the lower extremities.

Time for a change? Threshold for obesity in contemporary Japanese population.

Background: The obesity criteria for Japanese population are defined based on a cross-sectional study conducted 30 years ago. We aimed to examine the validity of a BMI of 25 kg/m as a determinant of obesity in the Japanese population by assessing the association between BMI and the lifestyle-related diseases in a large and long-term cohort.

Methods: This cohort study included 162,136 individuals aged ≥40 years who participated in a medical health checkup program at Panasonic Corporation covering 166 operational sites from 2008 to 2023.

Bidirectional association between locomotive syndrome and metabolic syndrome: A 6-year longitudinal study in Japanese workers.

Objective: Locomotive syndrome (LS), characterized by reduced mobility due to musculoskeletal problems, and metabolic syndrome (MetS) are significant public health concerns with considerable societal impact. This study aimed to investigate the bidirectional association between LS and MetS in a cohort of Japanese manufacturing workers using a 6-year longitudinal dataset.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study used annual health checkup data from actively employed adults (aged ≥40) from 2016 to 2022.

Non-cancer risks among female breast cancer survivors: a matched cohort study in Japan.

Background: The number of breast cancer (BC) survivors has increased worldwide, but the landscape of their non-cancer disease risks remains unclear, especially among Asian women.

Methods: In the JMDC claims database, which covers company employees and their family members in Japan, women aged 18-74 years with and without an incident BC were matched in a 1:4 ratio for age and entry timing to the database between January 2005 and December 2019. The risks for six cardiovascular diseases (myocardial infarction, heart failure, atrial fibrillation/flutter, ischaemic stroke, intracranial haemorrhage, and pulmonary embolism) and six non-cardiovascular diseases (major osteoporotic fractures, other fractures, gastrointestinal bleeding, urinary tract infection, infectious pneumonia, and anxiety/depression) were compared between the groups.

Lipid Profiles After Changes in Alcohol Consumption Among Adults Undergoing Annual Checkups.

Importance: Despite growing criticism of alcohol consumption due to its overall health risks, it remains unknown how changes in alcohol consumption, particularly cessation, affect lipid profiles outside of intense interventions.

Objective: To clarify the association of alcohol initiation and cessation with subsequent changes in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C).

Design, Setting, And Participants: This cohort study included individuals undergoing annual checkups at a center for preventive medicine in Tokyo, Japan, from October 2012 to October 2022.

Smoking behavior-related genetic variants and lung cancer risk in Japanese: an assessment by mediation analysis.

Cigarette smoking is one of the most important risk factors for lung cancer. Genetic studies have shown that smoking behavior-related genetic variants are directly associated with lung cancer, independent of smoking behavior, mainly in European populations. A recent genome-wide association study in Japan identified five loci associated with the number of cigarettes smoked per day.

Disease activity of rheumatoid arthritis and kidney function decline: a large prospective registry study.

Introduction: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a common comorbidity of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The association of longitudinal RA disease activity with long-term kidney function has remained uncertain.

Method: We analysed a multicentre prospective RA registry in the USA from 2001 to 2022.

Prevalence and Clinical Outcomes of Discordant Lesions Between Fractional Flow Reserve and Nonhyperemic Pressure Ratios in Clinical Practice: The J-PRIDE Registry.

Background: Limited large-scale, real-world data exist on the prevalence and clinical impact of discordance between fractional flow reserve (FFR) and nonhyperemic pressure ratios (NHPRs).

Methods: The J-PRIDE registry (Clinical Outcomes of Japanese Patients With Coronary Artery Disease Assessed by Resting Indices and Fractional Flow Reserve: A Prospective Multicenter Registry) prospectively enrolled 4304 lesions in 3200 patients from 20 Japanese centers. The lesions were classified into FFR+/NHPR-, FFR-/NHPR+, FFR+/NHPR+, or FFR-/NHPR groups according to cutoff values of 0.

Impact of epinephrine on neurological outcomes in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest after automated external defibrillator use in Japan.

OHCA (out-of-hospital cardiac arrest) patients have improved neurological outcomes with public-access automated external defibrillator (PAD) use. However, the benefit of epinephrine administration after PAD use remains controversial. The purpose of the study was to investigate the impact of epinephrine administration on neurological outcomes in OHCA patients after PAD use.

Relationship Between the Axis of the Humeral Heads and the Spinal Sagittal Alignment in Asymptomatic Volunteers.

Background Currently, there is no known correlation between relevant parameters of respective non-adjacent spinal segments, which suggests the possibility of a third external factor. To our knowledge, no study has examined the humeral head position in consideration of spinal sagittal alignment.This study aims to establish new parameters related to the humeral head axis and evaluate the relationship between the axis of the humeral head and spinal sagittal alignment in asymptomatic volunteers.

Weight Reduction and Target Serum Urate Level: A Longitudinal Study of Annual Medical Examination.

Objective: Our objective was to evaluate associations of weight reduction with serum urate (SU) changes and achieving an SU level <6 mg/dL in the real-world setting, outside of specific weight reduction interventions.

Methods: We analyzed systematically collected data of annual medical examination participants from October 2012 to October 2022. Exposure was weight change (increase or decrease) between two consecutive visits, categorized as minimal (≤0.

Associations between anthropometric indices as complementary predictors and incidence of type 2 diabetes; Panasonic Cohort Study 21.

Aims: To compare the predictive abilities of body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist-corrected BMI (wBMI), a body shape index (ABSI), and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) for the incidence of type 2 diabetes and determine the practical cut-off values for the Japanese population.

Methods: This study used data from 155,623 participants who had medical checkups with Panasonic Corporation between 2008 and 2021. Predictive abilities of anthropometric indices were evaluated at 13 years using time-dependent receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses.

Methodological Tutorial Series for Epidemiological Studies: When and How to Split the Follow-up Time in the Analysis of Epidemiological or Clinical Studies With Follow-ups.

In epidemiological or clinical studies with follow-ups, data tables generated and processed for statistical analysis are often of the "wide-format" type, consisting of one row per individual. However, depending on the situation and purpose of the study, they may need to be transformed into the "long-format" type, which allows for multiple rows per individual. This tutorial clarifies the typical situations wherein researchers are recommended to split follow-up times to generate long-format data tables.

Body Mass Index, Height, and Head and Neck Cancer Risk: The Japan Public Health Center-based Prospective Study.

Background: Although both a lower and a higher body mass index (BMI) are reportedly associated with head and neck cancer (HNC), reports from Asia are scarce. Moreover, evidence regarding the association between height and HNC is limited.

Methods: We investigated associations between BMI, height, and the incidence of HNC among 102,668 participants (49,029 men and 53,639 women) aged 40-69 years in the Japan Public Health Center-based Prospective Study.

Comparison of machine-learning and logistic regression models for prediction of 30-day unplanned readmission in electronic health records: A development and validation study.

It is expected but unknown whether machine-learning models can outperform regression models, such as a logistic regression (LR) model, especially when the number and types of predictor variables increase in electronic health records (EHRs). We aimed to compare the predictive performance of gradient-boosted decision tree (GBDT), random forest (RF), deep neural network (DNN), and LR with the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LR-LASSO) for unplanned readmission. We used EHRs of patients discharged alive from 38 hospitals in 2015-2017 for derivation and in 2018 for validation, including basic characteristics, diagnosis, surgery, procedure, and drug codes, and blood-test results.

Trends in inpatient orthopedic surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan: a nationwide data study.

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has resulted in substantial morbidity and mortality globally. The National Database of Health Insurance Claims and Specific Health Checkups of Japan (NDB) covers 99.9% of health insurance claim receipts by general practitioners.

Association Between Oral Malodor and Dementia: An 11-Year Follow-Up Study in Japan.

Background: As infrequent social interaction is a potential risk of dementia, oral malodor may increase the risk of dementia, including Alzheimer's disease.

Objective: This study investigated the association between malodor and dementia.

Methods: We used the Japan Public Health Center-based Prospective Study data obtained at Yokote City.

Effect of Social Distancing Caused by Heavy Snowfall on Seasonal Influenza Epidemic in a Local Region in Japan.

Background: The effectiveness of social distancing in controlling influenza epidemics is debatable. We analyzed the local impact of large-scale social distancing caused by heavy snowfall on influenza epidemic.

Methods: Surveillance data from the National Institute of Infectious Diseases on influenza diagnosed at registered Fukui Prefecture institutions were plotted in epidemic curves.