| 1. |
- Inoue, Yosuke, et al.
(författare)
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Neighborhood Characteristics and Cardiovascular Risk among Older People in Japan : Findings from the JAGES Project
- 2016
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Ingår i: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 11:10
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Previous studies have found an association between neighborhood characteristics (i.e., aspects of the physical and social environment) and the incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and elevated CVD risk. This study investigated the relationship between neighborhood characteristics and CVD risk among older people in Japan where research on this association is scarce. Data came from the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study project; questionnaire data collected from 3,810 people aged 65 years or older living in 20 primary school districts in Aichi prefecture, Japan, was linked to a computed composite CVD risk score based on biomarker data (i.e., hemoglobin A1c, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and estimated glomerular filtration rate). A sex-stratified multilevel linear regression analysis revealed that for male participants, living in neighborhoods with a higher perceived occurrence of traffic accidents and reduced personal safety was associated with an elevated CVD risk (coefficient = 1.08 per interquartile range increase, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.30 to 1.86) whereas males living in neighborhoods with a higher perceived proximity of exercise facilities had a lower risk (coefficient = −1.00, 95% CI = −1.78 to −0.21). For females, there was no statistically significant association between neighborhood characteristics and CVD risk. This study suggests that aspects of the neighborhood environment might be important for CVD morbidity and mortality in Japan, particularly among men.
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| 2. |
- Kanamori, Mariko, et al.
(författare)
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Community gender norms, mental health, and suicide ideation and attempts among older Japanese adults : a cross-sectional study
- 2023
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Ingår i: International psychogeriatrics. - 1041-6102 .- 1741-203X.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives:Gender norms embedded in communities may restrict opportunities and harm the mental health of older adults, yet this phenomenon has received little attention. This study investigates the connection between older adults' perceptions of community gender norms and mental health and suicide-related outcomes.Design:Cross-sectional.Setting:This study analyzed data from the 2019 wave of the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study.Participants:In total, 25,937 participants aged 65 years or older in 61 municipalities.Measurements:Perceptions of community gender norms were assessed by the respondents' perceptions of the gender-differentiating language used by those around them such as You should/should not do XXX, because you are a man/woman.Results:The prevalence of all mental health outcomes was higher among both men and women who perceived community gender norms as restrictive. These associations remained in fully adjusted multivariable analyses. Prevalence ratios for men were 1.36 [95% confidence interval: 1.13, 1.65] for psychological resistance to obtaining help, 1.85 [1.54, 2.23] for depressive symptoms, 1.99 [1.34, 2.96] for suicidal ideation, and 2.15 [1.21, 3.80] for suicide attempts. The corresponding figures for women were 1.39 [1.17, 1.65], 1.80 [1.55, 2.10], 2.13 [1.65, 2.74], 2.62 [1.78, 3.87]. There was a more pronounced association between perceiving community gender norms as restrictive and depressive symptoms and suicidal behaviors among those with nonconventional gender role attitudes compared to those with conventional attitudes.Conclusions:Considering the effects of community gender norms, in addition to individual gender role attitudes, may be critical in designing effective public health interventions for improving mental health.
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| 3. |
- Yazawa, Aki, et al.
(författare)
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Association between social participation and hypertension among older people in Japan : the JAGES Study
- 2016
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Ingår i: Hypertension Research. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0916-9636 .- 1348-4214. ; 39, s. 818-824
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Hypertension is an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of mortality in the world. Although previous studies have focused on individual-level behavioral risk factors associated with hypertension, there has been little research on how interacting with others, that is social participation, affects hypertension. To address this research gap, this study examined the association between social participation and hypertension in Japan, a country with a high prevalence of hypertension possibly linked to rapid population aging. Data were used from 4582 participants aged more than 65 years who participated in the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Survey (JAGES) with blood pressure data collected during a health check-up. The frequency of participation in vertical organizations (characterized by hierarchical relationships) and horizontal organizations (characterized by non-hierarchical, egalitarian relationships) was measured by a questionnaire. In a Poisson regression analysis, participation in vertical organizations was not associated with hypertension, whereas participation in horizontal organizations at least once a month was inversely associated with hypertension (prevalence ratio: 0.941). This association remained significant after adjusting for social support variables, although further adjustment for health behaviors attenuated the association. As the frequency of going out and average time spent walking were both associated with hypertension, physical activity may be a possible pathway that connects social participation and hypertension. The results of this study suggest that expanding social participation programs, especially those involving horizontal organizations, may be one way to promote better health among older people in Japan.
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| 4. |
- Hirao, Yuki, et al.
(författare)
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OGLE-2017-BLG-0406 : Spitzer Microlens Parallax Reveals Saturn-mass Planet Orbiting M-dwarf Host in the Inner Galactic Disk
- 2020
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Ingår i: Astronomical Journal. - : American Astronomical Society. - 0004-6256 .- 1538-3881. ; 160:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report the discovery and analysis of the planetary microlensing event OGLE-2017-BLG-0406, which was observed both from the ground and by the Spitzer satellite in a solar orbit. At high magnification, the anomaly in the light curve was densely observed by ground-based-survey and follow-up groups, and it was found to be explained by a planetary lens with a planet/host mass ratio of q = 7.0 x 10(-4) from the light-curve modeling. The ground-only and Spitzer-only data each provide very strong one-dimensional (1D) constraints on the 2D microlens parallax vector pi(E). When combined, these yield a precise measurement of pi(E) and of the masses of the host M-host = 0.56 +/- 0.07 M-circle dot and planet M-planet = 0.41 +/- 0.05 M-Jup. The system lies at a distance D-L = 5.2 +/- 0.5 kpc from the Sun toward the Galactic bulge, and the host is more likely to be a disk population star according to the kinematics of the lens. The projected separation of the planet from the host is a(perpendicular to) = 3.5 +/- 0.3 au (i.e., just over twice the snow line). The Galactic-disk kinematics are established in part from a precise measurement of the source proper motion based on OGLE-IV data. By contrast, the Gaia proper-motion measurement of the source suffers from a catastrophic 10 sigma error.
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| 5. |
- Hiyoshi, Ayako, 1972-, et al.
(författare)
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Historical Overview of Japanese Society, Health, and Health Inequalities from the Nineteenth to the Twenty- first Century
- 2020
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Ingår i: Health in Japan. - Oxford, UK : Oxford University Press. - 9780198848134 ; , s. 147-162
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Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In the previous century, Japan rose from poverty and destruction. High levels of social inequalities before World War II were greatly equalized in the 1960–1980 period. Population health, indicated by life expectancy, height, mortality, and self-rated health, improved. Health inequalities were reduced in line with these improvements. In the past 30 years Japan has experienced low economic growth, rapid ageing, and resource constraints, with some widening of income inequalities. All are indicators of a challenging population health situation. However, health inequalities narrowed for a period in the 1990s and the early 2000s. Limited evidence suggests health inequalities have widened in recent years. Narrowing health inequality after 1990 was partly the result of worsening health in high socioeconomic groups. In the past, the combination of social structure, economic growth, culture, and social policies resulted in remarkable health development and limited health inequalities. Increased research and monitoring is needed to understand these trends, and to support policy development to reduce health inequalities as Japan changes.
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| 6. |
- Hiyoshi, Ayako, 1972-, et al.
(författare)
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Increasing income-based inequality in suicide mortality among working-age women and men, Sweden, 1990-2007 : is there a point of trend change?
- 2018
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Ingår i: Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. - : BMJ Publishing Group Ltd. - 0143-005X .- 1470-2738. ; 72:11, s. 1009-1015
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Income inequalities have risen from the 1990s to 2000s, following the economic recession in 1994, but little research has investigated socioeconomic inequalities in suicide mortality for working-age men and women (aged between 30 and 64 years) over the time using longitudinal data in Sweden.METHODS: Using Swedish national register data between 1990 and 2007 as a series of repeated cohort studies with a 3-year follow-up (sample sizes were approximately 3.7 to 4.0 million in each year), relative and slope indices of inequality (RII and SII respectively) based on quintiles of individual disposable income were calculated and tested for temporal trends.RESULTS: SII for the risk of suicide mortality ranged from 27.6 (95% CI 19.5 to 35.8) to 44.5 (36.3 to 52.6) in men and 5.2 (0.2 to 10.4) to 16.6 (10.7 to 22.4) in women (per 100 000 population). In men, temporal trends in suicide inequalities were stable in SII but increasing in RII by 3% each year (p=0.002). In women, inequalities tended to increase in both RII and SII, especially after the late-1990s, with 10% increment in RII per year (p<0.001).CONCLUSIONS: Despite universal social security and generous welfare provision, income inequalities in suicide were considerable and have widened, especially in women. The steeper rise in women may be partially related to higher job insecurity and poorer working conditions in the female dominated public sector after the recession. To reduce health consequences following an economic crisis and widened income inequalities, additional measures may be necessary in proportion to the levels of financial vulnerability.
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| 7. |
- Hiyoshi, Ayako, 1972-, et al.
(författare)
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Trends in health and health inequality during the Japanese economic stagnation : Implications for a healthy planet
- 2023
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Ingår i: SSM - Population Health. - : Elsevier. - 2352-8273. ; 22
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- INTRODUCTION: Human health and wellbeing may depend on economic growth, the implication being that policymakers need to choose between population health and the health of ecosystems. Over two decades of low economic growth, Japan's life expectancy grew. Here we assess the temporal changes of subjective health and health inequality during the long-term low economic growth period.METHODS: Eight triennial cross-sectional nationally representative surveys in Japan over the period of economic stagnation from 1992 to 2013 were used (n = 625,262). Health is defined positively as wellbeing, and negatively as poor health, based on self-rated health. We used Slope and Relative Indices of Inequality to model inequalities in self-rated health based on household income. Temporal changes in health and health inequalities over time were examined separately for children/adolescents, working-age adults, young-old and old-old.RESULTS: At the end of the period of economic stagnation (2013), compared to the beginning (1992), the overall prevalence of wellbeing declined slightly in all age groups. However, poor health was stable or declined in the young-old and old-old, respectively, and increased only in working-age adults (Prevalence ratio: 1.14, 95% CI 1.08, 1.20, <0.001). Over time, inequality in wellbeing and poor self-rated health were observed in adults but less consistently for children, but the inequalities did not widen in any age group between the start and end of the stagnation period.CONCLUSIONS: Although this study was a case study of one country, Japan, and inference to other countries cannot be made with certainty, the findings provide evidence that low economic growth over two decades did not inevitably translate to unfavourable population health. Japanese health inequalities according to income were stable during the study period. Therefore, this study highlighted the possibility that for high-income countries, low economic growth may be compatible with good population health.
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| 8. |
- Kanamori, Mariko, et al.
(författare)
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Does increased migration affect the rural-urban divide in suicide? A register-based repeated cohort study in Sweden from 1991 to 2015
- 2022
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Ingår i: Population, Space and Place. - : Wiley. - 1544-8444 .- 1544-8452. ; 28:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Some countries have high suicide rates in rural areas with a potentially stronger impact of rural context on foreign-born residents. In Sweden, where immigration has been increasing, dispersion policies have directed refugees/migrants to settle in rural areas. We examined whether trends in suicide mortality vary by nativity and rurality. A repeated cohort study was designed using Swedish national register data between 1991 and 2015. Our three-level analysis found that male suicide rates in rural areas were 1.2 times higher than in urban areas, with the rate decreasing over time in both urban and rural areas. We observed fluctuations in suicide mortality among foreign-born men residing in small rural communities, with high suicide rates in the 2000s. The proportion of unemployed was linked to the excess rate of suicide in rural municipalities. Dispersion policies moving migrants to rural areas should take into account the regional characteristics both within municipalities (e.g., income distribution) and between municipalities (e.g., labour market characteristics).
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| 9. |
- Kanamori, Mariko, et al.
(författare)
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Rural life and suicide : Does the effect of the community context vary by country of birth? A Swedish registry-based multilevel cohort study
- 2020
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Ingår i: Social Science and Medicine. - : Elsevier BV. - 0277-9536 .- 1873-5347. ; 253
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Contextual factors varying by residence in rural or urban areas may have different effects on the suicide of residents by nativity, but evidence on the urban-rural gap in suicide according to nativity is lacking. This study aims to evaluate the effect of cross-level interaction between nativity and rurality of residence on suicide risk, at two levels of aggregation (municipalities/neighborhoods). Study design was nationwide register-based cohort study in Sweden, 2011-2016. Participants were all residents 20 years or older. We calculated Incidence Rate Ratios comparing suicide incidence by nativity using three-level (individuals, neighborhoods, and municipalities) Poisson regression, stratified by gender. Among men, suicide incidences were the highest among those born in other Nordic countries, followed by those born in Sweden, other European countries, Middle Eastern countries, and the rest of the world. Residing in rural areas was associated with high IRR of suicide regardless of nativity, compared to residing in urban areas. When evaluating rurality at municipality level, we observed an increased suicide risk from living in rural areas in men born in other European (rural-urban ratio of nativityspecific IRRs: 1.39) and other Nordic (1.37) countries, followed by native Swedes (1.22). When evaluating rurality at neighborhood level, rurality was associated with increased suicide risk in men for all nativities, with the foreign-born showing higher risk than the Swedish-born. Individual sociodemographic characteristics explained the excess suicide risk in rural municipalities, but not the excess risk in rural neighborhoods. Among women, urban residents showed higher suicide incidence than rural residents. We found no consistent patterning of interaction with nativities among women. Foreign-born individuals residing in rural municipalities may have less access to economic resources and employment opportunities. Furthermore, ethnic discrimination, stigma, and exclusion from social networks and community may be more common in rural neighborhood contexts, leading to an increased risk of suicide.
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| 10. |
- Katikireddi, S Vittal, et al.
(författare)
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Inequalities in all-cause and cause-specific mortality across the life course by wealth and income in Sweden : a register-based cohort study
- 2020
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Ingår i: International Journal of Epidemiology. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0300-5771 .- 1464-3685. ; 49:3, s. 917-925
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Wealth inequalities are increasing in many countries, but their relationship to health is little studied. We investigated the association between individual wealth and mortality across the adult life course in Sweden.Methods: We studied the Swedish adult population using national registers. The amount of wealth tax paid in 1990 was the main exposure of interest and the cohort was followed up for 18 years. Relative indices of inequality (RII) summarize health inequalities across a population and were calculated for all-cause and cause-specific mortality for six different age groups, stratified by sex, using Poisson regression. Mortality inequalities by wealth were contrasted with those assessed by individual and household income. Attenuation by four other measures of socio-economic position and other covariates was investigated.Results: Large inequalities in mortality by wealth were observed and their association with mortality remained more stable across the adult life course than inequalities by income-based measures. Men experienced greater inequalities across all ages (e.g. the RII for wealth was 2.58 [95% confidence interval (CI) 2.54-2.63) in men aged 55-64 years compared with 2.29 (95% CI 2.24-2.34) for women aged 55-64 years), except among the over 85s. Adjustment for covariates, including four other measures of socio-economic position, led to only modest reductions in the association between wealth and mortality.Conclusions: Wealth is strongly associated with mortality throughout the adult life course, including early adulthood. Income redistribution may be insufficient to narrow health inequalities-addressing the increasingly unequal distribution of wealth in high-income countries should be considered.
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