Kenji Obayashi

Exposure to light at night, nocturnal urinary melatonin excretion, and obesity/dyslipidemia in the elderly: a cross-sectional analysis of the HEIJO-KYO study.

CONTEXT Obesity and exposure to light at night (LAN) have increased globally. Although LAN suppresses melatonin secretion and disturbs body mass regulation in experimental settings, its associations with melatonin secretion, obesity, and other metabolic consequences in uncontrolled home settings remain unclear. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to determine the association of exposure to LAN in an uncontrolled home setting with melatonin secretion, obesity, dyslipidemia, and diabetes. DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS A cross-sectional study was performed in 528 elderly individuals (mean age, 72.8 yr). MEASURES The intensity of LAN in the bedroom was measured at 1-min intervals during two consecutive nights, along with overnight urinary melatonin excretion and metabolic parameters. RESULTS Compared with the Dim group (average <3 lux; n = 383), the LAN group (average ≥3 lux; n = 145) showed significantly higher body weight (adjusted mean, 58.8 vs. 56.6 kg; P = 0.01), body mass index (23.3 vs. 22.7 kg/m(2); P = 0.04), waist circumference (84.9 vs. 82.8 cm; P = 0.01), triglyceride levels (119.7 vs. 99.5 mg/dl; P < 0.01), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels (128.6 vs. 122.2 mg/dl; P = 0.04), and showed significantly lower high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels (57.4 vs. 61.3 mg/dl; P = 0.02). These associations were independent of numerous potential confounders, including urinary melatonin excretion. Furthermore, LAN exposure is associated with higher odds ratios (ORs) for obesity (body mass index: OR, 1.89; P = 0.02; abdominal: OR, 1.62; P = 0.04) and dyslipidemia (OR, 1.72; P = 0.02) independent of demographic and socioeconomic parameters. In contrast, urinary melatonin excretion and glucose parameters did not show significant differences between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS Exposure to LAN in an uncontrolled home setting is associated with impaired obese and lipid parameters independent of nocturnal urinary melatonin excretion in elderly individuals. Moreover, LAN exposure is associated with higher ORs for obesity and dyslipidemia independent of demographic and socioeconomic parameters.

Positive Effect of Daylight Exposure on Nocturnal Urinary Melatonin Excretion in the Elderly: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of the HEIJO-KYO Study

CONTEXT Melatonin is involved in a variety of diseases, including cancer, insomnia, depression, dementia, hypertension, and diabetes; its secretion is influenced by environmental light. Although daylight exposure increases nocturnal melatonin secretion in a controlled laboratory setting, whether it increases nocturnal melatonin secretion in an uncontrolled daily life setting remains unclear. OBJECTIVE We aimed to determine the association between daylight exposure in an uncontrolled daily life setting and urinary 6-sulfatoxymelatonin excretion. DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS A cross-sectional study was conducted in 192 elderly individuals (mean age, 69.9 yr). MEASURES We measured ambulatory daylight exposure using a wrist light meter in two 48-h sessions; furthermore, we measured overnight urinary 6-sulfatoxymelatonin excretion, an index of melatonin secretion, on the second night of each session. RESULTS The median duration of daylight exposure of at least 1000 lux was 72 min (interquartile range, 37-124). Univariate linear regression analysis showed marginal to significant associations between log-transformed urinary 6-sulfatoxymelatonin excretion and age, current smoking status, benzodiazepine use, day length, log-transformed duration of daylight exposure of at least 1000 lux, and daytime physical activity. In a multivariate model, log-transformed duration of daylight exposure of at least 1000 lux was significantly associated with log-transformed urinary 6-sulfatoxymelatonin excretion (regression coefficient, 0.101; 95% confidence interval, 0.003-0.199; P = 0.043). Furthermore, an increase in the duration of daylight exposure of at least 1000 lux from 37 to 124 min (25th to 75th percentiles) was associated with a 13.0% increase in urinary 6-sulfatoxymelatonin excretion (6.8 to 7.7 μg). CONCLUSIONS Daylight exposure in an uncontrolled daily life setting is positively associated with urinary 6-sulfatoxymelatonin excretion in the elderly.

Exposure to light at night and risk of depression in the elderly

BACKGROUND Recent advances in understanding the fundamental links between chronobiology and depressive disorders have enabled exploring novel risk factors for depression in the field of biological rhythms. Increased exposure to light at night (LAN) is common in modern life, and LAN exposure is associated with circadian misalignment. However, whether LAN exposure in home settings is associated with depression remains unclear. METHODS We measured the intensities of nighttime bedroom light and ambulatory daytime light along with overnight urinary melatonin excretion (UME) in 516 elderly individuals (mean age, 72.8). Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Geriatric Depression Scale. RESULTS The median nighttime light intensity was 0.8lx (interquartile range, 0.2-3.3). The depressed group (n=101) revealed significantly higher prevalence of LAN exposure (average intensity, ≥ 5 lx) compared with that of the nondepressed group (n=415) using a multivariate logistic regression model adjusted for daytime light exposure, insomnia, hypertension, sleep duration, and physical activity [adjusted odds ratio (OR): 1.89; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.10-3.25; P=0.02]. Consistently, another parameter of LAN exposure (duration of intensity ≥ 10 lx, ≥ 30 min) was significantly more prevalent in the depressed than in the nondepressed group (adjusted OR: 1.71; 95% CI, 1.01-2.89; P=0.046). In contrast, UME was not significantly associated with depressive symptoms. LIMITATION Cross-sectional analysis. CONCLUSION These results suggested that LAN exposure in home settings is significantly associated with depressive symptoms in the general elderly population. The risk of depression may be reduced by keeping nighttime bedroom dark.

Stronger association of indoor temperature than outdoor temperature with blood pressure in colder months.

Background: Higher cardiovascular mortality in winter may be partly explained by increased blood pressure (BP) because of cold exposure. However, this winter excess mortality is higher in countries with moderate winter than those with severe winter climate. Objectives: Although higher BP in low outdoor temperatures has been reported, the magnitude of association of indoor temperature with ambulatory BP remained unclear. We aimed to compare the associations of indoor and outdoor temperature with ambulatory BP. Methods: From repeated measurements on two consecutive days during colder months (October–April) among 868 elderly individuals, we assessed the association of indoor and outdoor temperatures with ambulatory BP using multilevel analysis with random intercept for each individual. Results: Correlation between indoor and outdoor temperature got weak along with decreasing outdoor temperature. Outdoor temperature was not significantly associated with ambulatory BP. In contrast, a 1°C lower indoor temperature was significantly associated with 0.22 mmHg higher daytime SBP, 0.18% higher nocturnal BP fall, 0.34 mmHg higher sleep-trough morning BP surge independent of potential confounders including physical activity. The models with indoor temperature showed better fit of the model than those with outdoor temperature. Night-time SBP did not show significant association with indoor and outdoor temperature but with bed temperature. Discussion: Our results suggest the importance to assess the association of indoor temperature with cardiovascular mortality to determine whether improving housing thermal environment reduces winter excess mortality. Conclusion: Indoor temperature showed stronger association than outdoor temperature with BP in colder months.

Effect of exposure to evening light on sleep initiation in the elderly: A longitudinal analysis for repeated measurements in home settings

Epidemiologic data have demonstrated associations of sleep-onset insomnia with a variety of diseases, including depression, dementia, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Sleep initiation is controlled by the suprachiasmatic nucleus of the hypothalamus and endogenous melatonin, both of which are influenced by environmental light. Exposure to evening light is hypothesized to cause circadian phase delay and melatonin suppression before bedtime, resulting in circadian misalignment and sleep-onset insomnia; however, whether exposure to evening light disturbs sleep initiation in home settings remains unclear. In this longitudinal analysis of 192 elderly individuals (mean age: 69.9 years), we measured evening light exposure and sleep-onset latency for 4 days using a wrist actigraph incorporating a light meter and an accelerometer. Mixed-effect linear regression analysis for repeated measurements was used to evaluate the effect of evening light exposure on subsequent sleep-onset latency. The median intensity of evening light exposure and the median sleep-onset latency were 27.3 lux (interquartile range, 17.9–43.4) and 17 min (interquartile range, 7–33), respectively. Univariate models showed significant associations between sleep-onset latency and age, gender, daytime physical activity, in-bed time, day length and average intensity of evening and nighttime light exposures. In a multivariate model, log-transformed average intensity of evening light exposure was significantly associated with log-transformed sleep-onset latency independent of the former potential confounding factors (regression coefficient, 0.133; 95% CI, 0.020–0.247; p = 0.021). Day length and nighttime light exposure were also significantly associated with log-transformed sleep-onset latency (p = 0.001 and p < 0.001, respectively). In conclusion, exposure to evening light in home setting prolongs subsequent sleep-onset latency in the elderly.

Association between light exposure at night and insomnia in the general elderly population: The HEIJO-KYO cohort

Chronic circadian misalignment between the internal and environmental rhythms, which is typically related to night-shift work and clock-gene variants, is associated with disruption of suprachiasmatic nucleus function and increased risk of insomnia. Under controlled laboratory conditions, light at night (LAN) suppresses melatonin secretion, delays the internal biological rhythm, and reduces sleepiness. Therefore, LAN exposure may cause circadian misalignment and insomnia, though it remains unclear in real-life situations whether LAN exposure is associated with insomnia. To evaluate an association between LAN exposure and sleep quality in home settings, we conducted a cross-sectional community-based study in 857 elderly individuals (mean age, 72.2 years). We evaluated bedroom light intensity using a light meter and subjectively and objectively measured sleep quality using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and an actigraph, respectively, along with urinary 6-sulfatoxymelatonin excretion. Compared with the lowest quartile group of LAN intensity, the highest quartile group revealed a significantly higher odds ratio (OR) for subjective insomnia in a multivariate model adjusted for age, gender, body mass index, daytime physical activity, urinary 6-sulfatoxymelatonin excretion, bedtime, rising time, and day length (adjusted OR, 1.61, 95% confidence interval, 1.05–2.45, p = 0.029). In addition, higher OR for subjective insomnia was significantly associated with the increase in quartiles of LAN intensity (ptrend = 0.043). Consistently, we observed significant association trends between the increase in quartiles of LAN intensity and poorer actigraphic sleep quality, including decreased sleep efficiency, prolonged sleep-onset latency, increased wake-after-sleep onset, shortened total sleep time, and delayed sleep-mid time in multivariate models adjusted for the covariates mentioned above (all ptrend < 0.001). In conclusion, we demonstrated that LAN exposure in home settings is significantly associated with both subjectively and objectively measured sleep quality in a community-based elderly population.

Work-related aggression and violence committed by patients and its psychological influence on doctors.

Work‐related Aggression and Violence Committed by Patients and Its Psychological Influence on Doctors: Keigo Saeki, et al. Department of Community Health and Epidemiology, Nara Medical University School of Medicine

Influence of room heating on ambulatory blood pressure in winter: a randomised controlled study

Background Previous studies have proposed that higher blood pressure (BP) in winter is an important cause of increased mortality from cardiovascular disease during the winter. Some observational and physiological studies have shown that cold exposure increases BP, but evidence from a randomised controlled study assessing the effectiveness of intensive room heating for lowering BP was lacking. Objectives The present study aimed to determine whether intensive room heating in winter decreases ambulatory BP as compared with weak room heating resulting in a 10°C lower target room temperature when sufficient clothing and bedclothes are available. Methods We conducted a parallel group, assessor blinded, simple randomised controlled study with 1:1 allocation among 146 healthy participants in Japan from November 2009 to March 2010. Ambulatory BP was measured while the participants stayed in single experimental rooms from 21:00 to 8:00. During the session, participants could adjust the amount of clothing and bedclothes as required. Compared with the weak room heating group (mean temperature±SD: 13.9±3.3°C), systolic morning BP (mean BP 2 h after getting out of bed) of the intensive room heating group (24.2±1.7°C) was significantly lower by 5.8 mm Hg (95% CI 2.4 to 9.3). Sleep-trough morning BP surges (morning BP minus lowest night-time BP) in the intensive room heating group were significantly suppressed to about two thirds of the values in the weak room heating group (14.3 vs 21.9 mm Hg; p<0.01). Conclusions Intensive room heating decreased morning BP and the morning BP surge in winter.

Association between Melatonin Secretion and Nocturia in Elderly Individuals: a Cross-Sectional Study of the HEIJO-KYO Cohort

PURPOSE Nocturnal voids are regulated by circadian biological rhythms, including decreased urine production and increased bladder storage capacity at night. A previous experimental study suggested that exogenous melatonin decreases urine production and increases bladder capacity in rats. However, little is known about whether melatonin secretion, which is considerably lower than exogenous melatonin, is associated with nocturia in humans. We evaluated the association between melatonin secretion and nocturia. MATERIALS AND METHODS In this cross-sectional study we examined 861 community based elderly individuals with a mean age of 72.1 years. We measured nocturnal void frequency and overnight urinary 6-sulfatoxymelatonin excretion as an index of melatonin secretion. Nocturia was defined as 2 or more nocturnal voids. RESULTS Univariate comparisons between the 261 and 600 study participants with and without nocturia, respectively, showed marginal to significant associations of nocturia with age, gender, body mass index, estimated glomerular filtration rate, calcium channel blockers, benign prostatic hyperplasia, total voided urine volume, urinary 6-sulfatoxymelatonin, duration in bed, day length, and daytime and nighttime physical activity. The multivariate logistic regression model adjusted for the former confounding factors revealed that higher urinary 6-sulfatoxymelatonin was significantly associated with a lower nocturia OR (adjusted OR 0.73, 95% CI 0.56-0.96, p=0.023). After adjustment for age, gender and duration in bed the mean volume of a single voided urine significantly increased with tertiles of increasing urinary 6-sulfatoxymelatonin (p for trend=0.022). CONCLUSIONS Melatonin secretion is significantly and inversely associated with nocturia in a general elderly population.

Nocturnal urinary melatonin excretion is associated with non-dipper pattern in elderly hypertensives

Although oral melatonin administration may enhance a nocturnal blood pressure fall, it remains unclear whether endogenous melatonin, which is present at considerably lower levels than pharmacological melatonin, is associated with the non-dipper pattern. The present cross-sectional study aimed to determine the association between urinary melatonin excretion, an index of endogenous melatonin, and the non-dipper pattern. We measured the following variables in 141 elderly hypertensives: overnight urinary melatonin excretion, ambulatory blood pressure and actigraphic physical activity. We defined a non-dipper pattern as a <10% fall in sleep systolic blood pressure compared with awake systolic blood pressure. When participants were divided into two groups (high and low melatonin groups) by the cutoff value for identifying the top tertile, the characteristics, except for age, did not significantly differ between the two groups. Crude logistic regression analysis showed significant associations of the non-dipper pattern with age, diabetes, higher urinary melatonin excretion (high vs. low) and daytime activity. In a multivariate analysis after adjustment for age, diabetes and daytime activity, the odds ratio for the non-dipper pattern in the high melatonin group was significantly lower than that in the low melatonin group (odds ratio: 0.39, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.17–0.91, P=0.03). Moreover, the mean percentage systolic blood pressure nocturnal fall, adjusted for the former covariates, was significantly higher in the high melatonin group than the low melatonin group (difference 3.5%, 95% CI: 0.0–7.0%, P=0.048). Among elderly hypertensive individuals, nocturnal urinary melatonin excretion is significantly and inversely associated with the non-dipper pattern.