Misuzu Watanabe

Effects of vital exhaustion on cardiac autonomic nervous functions assessed by heart rate variability at rest in middle-aged male workers

We investigated the effects of vital exhaustion (VE) on cardiac autonomic functions in relation to working conditions such as overtime and frequent business trips, and to lifestyles such as smoking on 52 healthy middle-aged male workers. VE was evaluated by an abbreviated Maastricht Vital Exhaustion Questionnaire. Cardiac autonomic function atsupine rest was assessed by spectral analysis of heart rate variability inanannual healthcheckup.Themeanamplitudeofthehigh frequency(HF: 0.15-0.4 Hz) component was lowerinthe high-VE group, whereas no significant difference in the ratio ofthe low frequency (LF: 0.04-0.15 Hz) component powerto HF power (the LF/HF ratio) was observed among VE groups. There were significant interactive effects of VE and smoking on HF amplitude, and of VE and frequent business trips on the LF/HF ratio. VE symptoms were related to the suppression of the cardiac parasympathetic nervous functionat rest in middle-aged male workers, but not to the alteration in sympathovagal balance. Smoking and overwork such as frequent business trips may amplify the autonomic dysfunction in relation to VE among workers with a pronounced feeling of VE.

Relationship between Effort-Reward Imbalance, Low Social Support and Depressive State among Japanese Male Workers

The globalisation of the world economy is rapidly increasing. In response to such changes, work stress has gained increased concern all over the industrialized world, particularly in the Western countries. Siegrist recently highlighted work stress from the standpoint of the imbalance between high effort and low reward due to a lack of reciprocity at work. This effort-reward imbalance (ERI) model includes two components: (1) ERI, the ratio between extrinsic efforts (psychological and physical demands on the job) and low rewards (salary, esteem, and status control); and (2) overcommitment (OC), an intrinsic psychological coping style associated with the inability to withdraw from work obligations. It is posited that OC amplifies the adverse effects of ERI on health, because overcommited people exaggerate their efforts beyond the levels normally considered appropriate. The ERI model claims that the combination of high effort spent and low reward received at work induces an adverse effect on workers’ psychological and physical (particularly cardiovascular) health. In Japan, Tsutsumi et al. 9) developed the Japanese version of the ERI questionnaire, and reported that the ERI model is useful in studying current occupational stress and in evaluating the risk of depression among Japanese workers, but most of the previous studies did not investigate the complete individual effect of ERI (excluded OC) or OC (excluded ERI) on workers’ health. Apart from the ERI model, it has generally been proposed that social support should be considered as a buffering factor in determining the stress effect. There is much evidence that socially integrated individuals have lower illness and mortality rates than more socially isolated ones. In work stress models, such as the job strain model or the NIOSH general job stress model, social support plays a significant role as a stress buffering factor on health outcomes. We therefore hypothesized that social support also has an impact on the influence of the ERI model on workers’ health, but this issue has scarcely been investigated, particularly in countries outside of Europe. The present study was therefore conducted on Japanese male workers to confirm our hypothesis. We investigated how ERI, OC and social support were completely individually or combinedly associated with depressive states of workers. Subjects were limited to males, because the number of females in the corporation investigated was too small to conduct the following analyses. Additionally, we intended to exclude the influence of gender differences in the ERI model, which has been presented in previous studies.

Blood Pressure and Heart Rate Variability in Taxi Drivers on Long Duty Schedules

Blood Pressure and Heart Rate Variability in Taxi Drivers on Long Duty Schedules: Fumio KObayashi, et al. Department of Health and Psychosocial Medicine, Aichi Medical University School of Medicine

Associations of depressive symptoms with serum proportions of palmitic and arachidonic acids, and α-tocopherol effects among male population--a preliminary study.

BACKGROUND & AIMS Recent years, inflammation and oxidative stress have been addressed in relation to interactions between fatty acid (FA) and depression. To study the associations between FAs and depressive symptoms in men, serum FA proportion was compared with perceived depression. We also measured α-tocopherol (a-Toc) levels to investigate the associations with FA functions. METHODS A cross-sectional study was performed on 113 male workers recruited from a software development company in Japan. Depressive symptoms were assessed according to the 20-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) scale. Twenty-four FAs in the serum from the peripheral blood were examined. RESULTS CES-D scores were significantly positively correlated with the serum percentage of palmitic acid (PA), while they were negatively correlated with arachidonic acid (AA). The CES-D scores were not correlated with the serum ratio of docosahexaenoic acid or eicosapentaenoic acid (n-3 poly-unsaturated FAs (PUFAs)). CES-D scores were significantly negatively correlated with a-Toc/PA ratio (correlation: adjusting for possible confounders). CONCLUSIONS Although no associations were found between depressive symptoms and n-3 PUFA proportions in male population, depressive symptoms were positively correlated with PA percentages and negatively correlated with AA percentages. PA may increase neural vulnerability and AA may decrease the severity of depression. Moreover, a-Toc may have protective effects against depressive symptoms.

Effect of Nursing Assistance Tools on Preventing Musculoskeletal Pain among Staff in Schools for Disabled Children

Effect of Nursing Assistance Tools on Preventing Musculoskeletal Pain among Staff in Schools for Disabled Children: Shigeki Muto, et al. Seirei Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine—Objective is to clarify whether nursing assistance tools (a mat with attached handles, a pair of trousers with knee pads and a waist holding belt) prevent musculoskeletal pain, such as low back pain and upper arm pain, and depression, and improve the burden on the lower back and upper arm among staff in schools for disabled children. This study design was a non‐randomized intervention trial. The subjects were 41 staff in two schools for disabled children in Japan. Nursing assistance tools were used with the intervention group to help with their nursing activities. We investigated the one‐month prevalence of low back pain and the degree of burden on the lower back using a questionnaire at the baseline and at the end point 4 to 6 months later. The prevalence of low back pain did not change significantly in either group. In the intervention group, the prevalence of upper arm pain decreased from 47.6% at the baseline to 23.8% at the end point (p=0.063). The percentage of participants with a high level of burden on the lower back from excretory nursing activity decreased from 57.1% at the baseline to 33.3% at the end point (p=0.063) in the intervention group. These results suggest that nursing assistance tools may prevent upper arm pain and improve the burden on the lower back among staff in schools for disabled children; however, these tools did not significantly prevent low back pain and depression.