Contribution of dental prostheses on the association between dental visits and self- reported chewing ability among older Japanese adults: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Dental treatment restores chewing ability among those with fewer teeth. However, few studies have evaluated the impact of dental visits on chewing ability. This study examined the mediating effect of dental prosthetic treatment for missing teeth on the association between dental visits and self-reported chewing ability in Japan, where national health insurance covers most of the basic prosthetic treatments.

Mediating Role of Health Insurance on Socioeconomic Inequalities in Dental Utilisation Patterns Among Indonesian Adults.

Objectives: From the perspective of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) to reduce health inequalities, health insurance plays a crucial role. This study examined the mediating effect of health insurance on the economic and educational inequalities in dental utilisation patterns among Indonesian adults.

Methods: This cross-sectional study analysed self-reported data from participants (n = 26 351) of the Indonesian Family Life Survey-5 (IFLS-5) conducted during the transition of Indonesia's health financing system in 2014-2015.

Dynamic responses of lactate-stimulated microbial communities in an excavated waste rock to water contents and oxic/anoxic conditions for biological selenium immobilization.

Although indigenous microbial communities in excavated waste rocks reduce selenium (Se) in lactate-amended anaerobic incubations, their adaptabilities to the realistic redox conditions are largely unknown. Here, responses of the microbial communities to the water contents and atmospheric oxic/anoxic compositions, as redox controlling factors, of batch incubations amended with Se and lactate were investigated by chemical and molecular biological analyses. Decreases in dissolved Se and lactate with production of acetate and hydrogen were found in all the incubations.

The Mediating Effect of Smoking on the Association between Income and Dementia among Japanese Older People.

Introduction: Health inequalities in dementia have been reported. Smoking is a risk factor for dementia and is disproportionately distributed in marginalized populations. This study examined the mediating effect of smoking on the association between income and dementia among older Japanese people.

Water fluoridation as a population strategy for reducing oral health inequalities: high-dimensional effect heterogeneity analysis using machine learning.

Background: Dental caries is the most prevalent disease worldwide, associated with substantial health inequalities. Water fluoridation is a population strategy shown to effectively prevent dental caries; however, its impact on health inequalities remains inconclusive. We investigated the high-dimensional effect heterogeneity of water fluoridation in preventing dental caries among children in Australia.

Dental prosthesis use and mortality: A time-varying exposure analysis with machine learning.

Statement Of Problem: Tooth loss has been associated with an increased risk of mortality, and dental prosthesis use may mitigate the effect by recovering masticatory function. However, most studies investigated dental prosthesis use only at baseline and did not consider changes during the follow-up.

Purpose: The purpose of this prospective cohort study was to examine the association between dental prosthesis use as a time-varying exposure and mortality in older Japanese adults.

Association between oral health and multidimensional flourishing: A cross-sectional study from Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study (JAGES).

Purpose: Human flourishing is a multidimensional concept that encompasses happiness and life satisfaction (happiness), mental and physical health (health), meaning and purpose (purpose), character and virtue (character), and close social relationships (social), which are characterized by comprehensive well-being. This cross-sectional study investigated the association of oral health, number of remaining teeth, and prosthesis use with multidimensional flourishing.

Methods: Data was sourced from the 2022 wave of the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study, a population-based survey of independent individuals aged 65 years or older.

Tooth loss explains income inequalities in dementia.

Objectives: Socioeconomic inequalities in oral health and dementia exist worldwide. This study investigated the mediating effects of tooth loss on the association between income and dementia.

Methods: This study used data from the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study, which targeted people aged ≥65 years.

Number of Teeth and Dementia-free Life Expectancy: A 10-Year Follow-Up Study from the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study.

Objectives: Previous studies have reported that tooth loss is associated with an increased risk of dementia; however, few have explored the association between number of teeth and dementia-free and total life expectancies. We investigated whether having more teeth is associated with longer dementia-free and total life expectancies.

Design: A 10-year follow-up prospective cohort study from 2010 to 2020.

Health utility attributable to oral conditions in Japanese adults.

Objective: Utility values enable relative comparisons across various health conditions, providing information for efficient allocation of healthcare resources. This study aimed to (1) quantify the utility values attributable to oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) in Japanese adults and (2) develop models for converting the 14-item Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14) scores into EuroQoL 5-dimension 5-level (EQ-5D-5L)-based utility values.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study.

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on children overweight in Japan in 2020.

Objectives: This study aimed to explore the association between the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and overweight incidence among preadolescent elementary school children in Japan.

Methods: A population-based longitudinal study was conducted in Adachi City, Tokyo, Japan, using data from the Adachi Child Health Impact of Living Difficulty (A-CHILD) study. The control group (2016-2018) comprised 434 children, and the COVID-19 exposure group (2018-2020) included 3500 children.

Determining the most appropriate socioeconomic status indicator for describing inequalities in dental visits by Japanese older people.

Objectives: This study examined the association between various socioeconomic status (SES) indicators and dental visits among older Japanese.

Background: When examining health inequalities, an adequate indicator of SES should be applied. In older adults, wealth and pensions are considered more appropriate indicators of SES than education and income, but few studies have examined.

Tongue Strength of Older Adults Requiring Long-Term Care Varies throughout the Day.

Physical performance shows approximately 30% diurnal variation; however, diurnal variation in oral function remains unclear. This study aimed to determine the diurnal variation in oral and swallowing function in older adults requiring long-term care. The participants included 13 adults aged >60 years (3 men and 10 women, mean age: 77.

Does Tobacco Smoking Increase Social Isolation? A Mendelian Randomization Study.

In this study, we aimed to investigate the causal effect of smoking on social isolation among older adults in England. Data from older adults of European ancestry who participated in 1 or more waves of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, from wave 1 (2002/2003) to wave 9 (2018/2019), were analyzed (n = 43,687 observations from 7,008 individuals; mean age = 68.50 years).

COVID-19 severity is associated with the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding.

Objective: The association between the severity of COVID-19 and gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding is unknown. This study aimed to determine whether the severity of COVID-19 is a risk factor for GI bleeding.

Design: A multicentre, retrospective cohort study was conducted on hospitalised patients with COVID-19 between January 2020 and December 2021.

Association between the number of convenience stores and caries status in permanent teeth among elementary school children: results from the A-CHILD population-based longitudinal cohort study.

Background: In Japan, people have rich access to 24-h convenience stores where they can buy sweets, juice and fluoride hygiene products, among others. However, the association between the number of convenience stores in a neighbourhood and caries in elementary school children status has not been studied. This study aimed to investigate this particular association.

Persistent poverty and child dental caries: time-varying exposure analysis.

Background: This study investigated the cumulative impact of persistent poverty on dental caries among elementary schoolchildren in Japan.

Methods: Data were derived from four-wave longitudinal data of children in all public elementary schools in Adachi City, Tokyo, Japan, from 2015 to 2020 (n=4291, response rate: 80.1%-83.

Association between adverse childhood experiences and marital status among Japanese older adults.

Background: Marital status is a well-known social determinant of health. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) affect attachment, critical to establishing and maintaining intimate relationships, such as marital status.

Objective: This study examined the association between ACEs and marital status among older Japanese adults.

Change of human flourishing during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan: Results from population-based U-CORONA study.

Longitudinal change in flourishing during the pandemic of COVID-19 would provide new insight to reveal determinants of well-being. We aimed to describe changes in flourishing during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan and to examine the association of sex, age, education, and income with changes in flourishing. Utsunomiya COVID-19 seROprevalence Neighborhood Association (U-CORONA) study conducted in October 2020 and November 2021 was used (n = 419 in 2020 and n = 478 in 2021, and n = 327 for both waves).

Peritoneal closure and the processus vaginalis transection method to prevent inguinal hernia after robot-assisted radical prostatectomy.

Objectives: Postoperative inguinal hernia (IH) is one of the most common complications of radical prostatectomy (RP) including robot-assisted RP (RARP). However, a procedure to prevent IH after RARP has not been established. We investigated the impact of processus vaginalis transection (PVT) and PVT with peritoneal closure on IH after RARP.

"?": Paternal Military Conscription During WWII, Economic Hardship and Family Violence in Childhood, and Health in Late Life in Japan.

Childhood adversity is a risk factor for poor health in late life and includes economic hardship and family violence, whose prevalence is high among offspring of military conscripted father. We assessed the association between paternal military conscription (PMC) and paternal war death (PWD) during Second World War and self-rated health (SRH) among older adults in Japan. Data were obtained from a population-based cohort of functionally independent people aged 65 years or older from 39 municipalities across Japan in 2016.

Tap water natural fluoride and parent-reported experience of child dental caries in Japan: Evidence from a nationwide birth cohort survey.

Introduction: Water fluoridation is an effective measure to prevent dental caries. In Japan, artificial water fluoridation is not implemented, and tap water natural fluoride concentration geographically differs because of various soil natures. This study aimed to examine the association between tap water natural fluoride and parent-reported experience of dental caries in children.