Secular Trends in the Prevalence of Small Vulnerable Newborns in Japan, 1997–2021

• In 2023, a United Nations Children’s Fund–World Health Organization group introduced the “small vulnerable newborns (SVNs)” category, focusing on small for gestational age (SGA) and preterm births.
• This study examined trends in the prevalence of SVNs and their subgroup in Japan from 1997–2021 using national vital statistics.
• The overall prevalence of SVNs increased from 7.8% in 1997 to 8.7% in 2005, followed by a decline to 7.7% in 2021.
• The prevalence of SVNs has declined since 2005, mainly due to reduced term SGA births.
• In contrast, persistently high rates of preterm subgroups highlight the ongoing burden of prematurity, requiring targeted preventive strategies.

Moderate-to-vigorous Physical Activity and Total and Site-specific Cancer: The Japan Public Health Center-based Prospective Study

• Our moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) measure included work, transportation, and household as well as leisure-time activities.
• Total MVPA was associated with a reduced risk of overall cancer incidence in females, but not in males.
• MVPA was inversely associated with colon cancer (males) and bladder and endometrial cancers (females).

SARS-CoV-2 Cumulative Infection Over the Pandemic and Its Associated Factors Among Healthcare Workers in Japan

• Detailed data on severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infections, including cumulative and undiagnosed infections, in healthcare workers over the pandemic is lacking.
• This study adds updated results from multicenter serosurveys among healthcare workers in Japan.
• The cumulative infection has sharply increased after the emergence of the Omicron variant, while the proportion of undiagnosed infections has decreased over the pandemic.
• Higher cumulative infection rates were observed among physicians and nurses, as well as among those younger than 50 years.

Short Communication
Association Between Older Drivers’ Signs and Motor Vehicle Crashes in Japan

• In Japan, older drivers are encouraged to display the older drivers’ sign at the front and rear of cars.
• The effect of displaying the older drivers’ sign on car-to-car collision risk has not been investigated.
• Displaying the older drivers’ sign was not associated with a reduced risk of rear-end collisions.

Reading Books Helps Children in Poverty Become More Resilient: Results From a Population-based Longitudinal Study in Japan 

• Poverty in fourth grade was associated with lower child resilience in sixth grade.
• A high number of books reading books in fourth grade was associated with higher child resilience in sixth grade.
• Children who read four or more books per week were as resilient as non-poverty children.
• An accessible reading environment for socioeconomically disadvantaged children may contribute to their subsequent development of resilience.

What Drives Respondents to Seroepidemiological Surveys? Insights From COVID-19 and Implications for Future Pandemics 

• We identified factors associated with participation in seroepidemiological surveys .
• Female, higher education, higher income, and larger household size were associated with increased participation in seroepidemiological surveys.
• Vaccine hesitancy and perceived higher coronavirus disease risk were associated with lower survey participation.
• Non-response bias may overestimate seroprevalence in vaccinated populations.
• Our findings inform strategies to enhance participation in future seroepidemiological studies.

Validity of a Self-administered Food Frequency Questionnaire for Assessing Carotenoid Intakes Using Serum Biomarkers in Japan: The Tohoku Medical Megabank Project 

• Cohort studies in the Tohoku Medical Megabank Project included a self-administered food frequency questionnaire (TMM-FFQ) for adults.
• The validity of the TMM-FFQ compared with serum concentrations was reasonable for α-carotene, β-carotene, and β-cryptoxanthin among men.
• The validity of the TMM-FFQ compared with serum concentrations was not reasonable for lycopene among men.
• The validity of the TMM-FFQ compared with serum concentrations was not reasonable for carotenoids among women.

Study Profile
Study Profile of the Iwate PGS Assessment and Risk Communication (PARC) Study

• Iwate PGS Assessment and Risk Communication Study aims to evaluate behavioral and psychological impact of polygenic-risk communication in ischemic stroke.
• 2,088 working-age participants were enrolled in 2023 in Iwate Prefecture, half of whom received the risk report in 2024 as the intervention group.
• The main hypothesis is that returning polygenic risk information will prompt behavioral changes to reduce non-genetic risk factors for the disease.
• This is the first large-scale cohort study in Japan on polygenic risk communication.
• The study is embedded in the biobank of the TMM Project, and participant data and biospecimens have been securely stored.

Review article
Sedentary Behavior and Health Consequences: A Systematic Scoping Review of Prospective and Longitudinal Studies in Japan

• This systematic review examined evidence on prospective relations of sedentary behavior with health outcomes among Japanese adults.
• Twenty-eight studies were included, most of which assessed sedentary behavior using self-reported television viewing time.
• Most studies reported at least partial evidence of harmful associations between sedentary behavior and health outcomes.
• The associations mostly remained significant when controlling various indicators of physical activity.
• Due to the limited number and moderate quality of studies, definitive conclusions on health outcomes and dose-response relationships cannot be drawn.

Performance of a Salt Check Sheet for Screening Salt Intake Estimated From 24-hour Urinary Sodium Excretion in Middle-aged Japanese Adults Following a Salt Reduction Intervention

• The performance of the simplified 13-item salt check sheet salt check sheet (13 items) as a quantitative diagnostic tool was evaluated.
• The salt check sheet score was compared with salt intake, determined by 24-hour urinary sodium excretion, among 154 middle-aged Japanese participants.
• In males, the area under the receiver operating characteristicsROC curve (AUC) was 0.702, confirming its value as a diagnostic tool for salt intake of ≥10 g/day.
• In females, when using only three specific items, the salt check sheet achieved a moderate AUC of 0.700.

Heterogeneous Associations Between Community Social Capital and Loneliness: A Cross-sectional Study in 2019 

• This study examines the interaction between community social capital and socioeconomic factors on loneliness among older adults.
• Social cohesion and reciprocity are negatively associated with loneliness.
• The interaction between educational attainment and community civic participation affects loneliness, with higher educational attainment leading to lower loneliness at higher levels of civic participation.
• Studies suggest that interventions should consider individual-level social factors such as education to address loneliness.

Association Between Adherence to the Japanese Meal-based Dietary Guideline and All-cause and Cause-specific Mortalities: A Japan Public Health Center-based Prospective Study

• This observational study aimed to examine the association between adherence to the Japanese meal-based dietary guideline (Healthy Meal) and all-cause and cause-specific mortalities.
• Data from the Japan Public Health Center-based Prospective Study with a 19.0-year follow-up were analyzed, including 40,222 men and 47,350 women aged 45–75 years, with adherence to Healthy Meal assessed through dietary intake from a validated food frequency questionnaire.
• Higher adherence to Healthy Meal was associated with a lower risk of all-cause in both sexes; hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were 0.86 [(95% confidence interval (CI), 0.82–0.91]) for men and 0.92 (95% CI, 0.87–0.98) for women.
• Significant associations between higher adherence to Healthy Meal and a lower risk of cerebrovascular disease and respiratory disease mortalities were observed in both sexes, whereas significant associations were observed with cancer, cardiovascular disease, and heart disease mortalities were observed only inin only men.

Association of Adipose Tissue Insulin Resistance With Risk of Diabetes Incidence in Middle-aged Japanese Workers According to BMI States: 17 Years of Follow-up of the Aichi Worker’s Cohort Study

• This study aimed to explore the association between baseline adipocyte insulin resistance (Adipo-IR) indexAdipo-IR and incident type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM)T2DM, stratified by body mass indexBMI category in middle-aged Japanese men and women.
• We analyzed 3,257 (men 2,501, women 756) Japanese workers, aged 35–-66 years who were followed up for 17 years.
• Compared with the lowest tertile of Adipo-IR, T2DM risk was significantly increased among the highest tertile category in overweight/obese men (hazard ratio [HR]HR: 2.94, 95% confidence interval [CI]CI, 1.76–- 4.90) and women (HR: 4.24, 95% CI, 1.08-16.61).
• Magnitude of association was stronger among overweight/obese women.