Jiro Takeuchi

The Mother and Child Health Handbook in Japan as a Health Promotion Tool An Overview of Its History, Contents, Use, Benefits, and Global Influence

Background. The Mother and Child Health Handbook (MCHH), a tool used by almost all parents in Japan, serves as a record book shared by parents and health providers to monitor maternal health care throughout the perinatal period, track the child’s health and growth, and provide educational information. Methods. A review of the existing literature was performed by narrative review using electronic databases with the search term “Maternal and Child Health Handbook” from January 1980 to February 2016. Results. Twenty-eight papers were obtained: 3 review articles, 17 original articles, 2 brief reports, 2 letters, 1 research note, and 3 proceedings. After the MCHH was initiated in 1947, Japan’s infant mortality rate decreased to 2.6 per 1000 live births in 2007, and it is still decreasing. Information recorded in the MCHH at antenatal examinations can be used to evaluate a child’s risk of obesity, cardiovascular disease, endocrine disease, mental illness, and infectious disease. Utah’s Department of Health implemented a program called “Baby Your Baby” in 1987 based on the Japanese MCHH; this included a similar booklet with family records and educational information. Thus, the MCHH is a unique tool in Japan that has influenced other countries to adopt similar programs. Conclusion. We will confirm the importance of the MCHH’s role in promoting health and open dialogue.

Fruit intake reduces the onset of respiratory allergic symptoms in schoolchildren

Previous studies have shown that dietary pattern is associated with allergy prevention.

Sports activities enhance the prevalence of rhinitis symptoms in schoolchildren.

To evaluate the association between sports activities and allergic symptoms, especially rhinitis, among schoolchildren.

Serological assessment of measles-rubella vaccination catch-up campaign among university students.

In Japan, 5000–300 000 persons contracted measles every year until 2001. The measles/rubella‐combined (MR) vaccination at age 17–18 years (phase 4 MR vaccination: MR‐IV) was launched in 2008 in Japan as a measles–rubella catch‐up campaign. A serological assessment of this campaign has not been thoroughly performed.

Women among First Authors in Japanese Cardiovascular Journal

The representation of women in Japanese academic medicine is not evident. We aimed to assess trends related to the proportion of female first authors in Japanese cardiovascular journals.We reviewed original research articles in 6 journals published in English by Japanese societies between 2006 and 2015 related to cardiovascular fields. We conducted a multivariable logistic regression analysis to assess the factors associated with the gender of first authors and plotted the trend of predicted probability for female first authors over the study period. Of 7,005 original articles, 1,330 (19.0%) had female first authors. Affiliations located in Japan (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.76; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.71-0.81), concurrent first and corresponding authors (aOR, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.64-0.74), and the total number of listed authors (aOR, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.95-0.99) were negatively associated with female first authors. The adjusted probability of a female first author increased from 13% to 20% on an average between 2006 and 2009, but the increase reached a plateau after 2010.Female first authors of original research articles published in Japanese cardiovascular journals increased over the examined decade. However, the representation of women is still low and has plateaued in recent years. A gender gap in authorship for Japanese cardiovascular journals remains.

Prevalence of randomised controlled trials in Japanese cardiovascular journals: a descriptive study

Background Little is known about the recent proportion and trends of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) published in Japanese cardiovascular journals. Methods and results This study retrospectively reviewed all original research articles published between 2006 and 2015 in six English-language journals issued by societies related to cardiovascular medicine in Japan. All these journals had been indexed in PubMed for more than 5 years until 2015. We examined the 2-year trends in the prevalence of RCTs, as well as the types of study subjects and interventions investigated. In addition, we applied a multivariable logistic regression analysis to assess the factors related to the publication of RCTs. A total of 7117 articles were eligible for our analyses. The proportion of RCTs among Japanese journals was 3.5% (252/7117). No significant change in the prevalence of RCTs among all included journals was noted (3.8% vs 3.1%, p=0.751). RCTs related to ischaemic heart disease were the most frequently published (85/252, 33.7%). In the multivariable analysis, a male first author (adjusted OR (AOR) 1.97; 95% CI 1.30 to 2.99) and reports from Asia (AOR 1.62; 95% CI 1.19 to 2.21) were significantly associated with the publication of RCTs. Conclusions In Japanese cardiovascular journals, RCTs accounted for 3.5% of all original research articles published, and there was no change in the prevalence of RCTs during the study period.