Tokyo Kasei University (東京家政大学, Tōkyō kasei daigaku) is a private university in Itabashi, Tokyo, Japan, established in 1949. The predecessor of the school was founded in 1881.Tokyo Kasei University is a women's university, with a focus on education in the fields of home economics, the humanities, nursing, and child development.
To investigate the association between preoperative extracellular water–to–total body water ratio (ECW/TBW) and time to walking independence among female patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty (THA). This retrospective cohort study included female patients who underwent primary THA between January and December 2022. Preoperative ECW/TBW was measured using bioelectrical impedance analysis and dichotomized at 0.400. The primary outcome was time to walking independence within 14 postoperative days. Cox proportional hazards models assessed the association between ECW/TBW and walking independence, adjusting for age, comorbidities, nutritional status, skeletal muscle mass index, non-operated knee extensor strength, walking pain, and maximum walking speed. Model performance was evaluated using likelihood ratio tests, Harrell’s C-index, and time-dependent area under the curve (AUC). Among 142 patients, 118 (83.1
Central sensitization (CS)-related symptoms are associated with pain severity and disability in patients with knee osteoarthritis (KOA). However, the associations between CS-related symptoms and pressure pain threshold (PPT) measurements at local and remote sites remain unclear. This study investigated the associations between CS-related symptoms and PPTs at local and remote sites in patients with KOA. This cross-sectional study included patients with KOA scheduled for primary unilateral total knee arthroplasty. CS-related symptoms were assessed using the Central Sensitization Inventory (CSI), and PPTs were measured at local (knee) and remote (forearm) sites. Multiple linear regression analyses were performed with CSI score as the independent variable and local and remote PPTs as dependent variables, adjusting for potential confounders. Regression coefficients and 95
Introduction:This study examined whether fatigue mediates the association between sleep debt and depressive symptoms among municipal employees in Japan. Methods:This cross-sectional study was conducted as part of the Night in Japan Home Sleep Monitoring Study (NinJaSleep Study) between November 2023 and March 2024 among 1,435 municipal employees in Koka City, Japan. Sleep debt was quantified using the Sleep Debt Index, calculated from self-reported ideal and actual sleep duration. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and fatigue was assessed using the Chalder Fatigue Scale. Mediation analysis was performed using the PROCESS macro (Model 4), adjusting for age, sex, body mass index, and occupation. Indirect effects were estimated using bootstrapping with 5,000 resamples. Results:Sleep debt was significantly associated with higher fatigue scores (B = 2.37, p < 0.001), and fatigue was positively associated with depressive symptoms (B = 0.32, p < 0.001). The direct association between sleep debt and depressive symptoms was not statistically significant (B = 0.07, p = 0.36). Mediation analysis indicated that the association between sleep debt and depressive symptoms was significantly mediated by fatigue (indirect effect: B = 0.76, 95% CI: 0.61-0.91). Discussion:Sleep debt is associated with depressive symptoms primarily through increased fatigue. These findings highlight fatigue as a key pathway in linking insufficient sleep to mental health outcomes and underscore the importance of addressing fatigue in workplace mental health strategies.
Objectives:Examiner reliability of dynamic quantitative sensory testing (QST) of the knee varies across studies, and the optimal assessment site remains unclear. This study aimed to examine the intra- and inter-examiner reliability of QST performed at the medial joint space of the knee. Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted in 30 healthy adults. QST was assessed at the medial knee joint space using the following measures: pressure pain threshold (PPT) for static QST and temporal summation (TS) and conditioned pain modulation (CPM) for dynamic QST. Two examiners performed each measurement twice on the same day. Intra-examiner reliability was evaluated using intraclass correlation coefficients [ICC (1, k)], and inter-examiner reliability was evaluated using ICC (2, k) and ICC (3, k). Results:The intra-examiner reliability ICCs for Examiners A/B were 0.98/0.99 for PPT, 0.81/0.88 for TS, 0.79/0.90 for CPM absolute change, and 0.84/0.95 for CPM percentage change. Inter-examiner reliability showed ICC (2, k)/ICC (3, k) values of 0.89/0.91 for PPT, 0.91/0.91 for TS, 0.66/0.66 for CPM absolute change, and 0.64/0.64 for CPM percentage change. Conclusions:This exploratory study suggested that QST performed at the medial joint space of the knee exhibited good intra- and inter-examiner reliability, with low variability compared to previously reported assessment sites. These preliminary findings indicate a potential advantage of this location for assessing knee pain. Future studies are needed to verify the clinical validity and applicability of these findings in patients with knee disorders.
BACKGROUND:The association between poor sleep hygiene and insomnia symptoms is well known. However, comprehensive investigations of sleep hygiene characteristics in chronic insomnia are limited. This study investigated the poor sleep hygiene characteristics of individuals with chronic insomnia. METHODS:Data were collected from 2895 adult participants, of whom 300 (10.4%) met the criteria for chronic insomnia. The presence of chronic insomnia was determined using a combination of authorized insomnia screening scales and the international diagnostic criteria for chronic insomnia disorder. Sleep hygiene was assessed using the Sleep Hygiene Practice Scale across four domains: arousal-related behavior, sleep schedule and timing, eating/drinking behavior, and sleep environment. RESULTS:All sleep hygiene domains were significantly associated with chronic insomnia (odds ratios = 1.08-1.19). The area under the curve (AUC) was acceptable for the arousal-related behavior domain (AUC = 0.824) and the sleep schedule and timing domain (AUC = 0.720), but was not acceptable for the other domains (AUCs = 0.612-0.678). The most common poor sleep hygiene habits in chronic insomnia were lack of regular exercise (55%), lack of exposure to natural daylight during the day (36%), and inconsistent sleep schedules (28-38%). On the other hand, the frequency of problems related to caffeine (26%) and alcohol (11%) was relatively low. CONCLUSION:When providing sleep hygiene education for chronic insomnia, it may be more helpful to identify patient-specific issues and focus on those, rather than attempting to address every possible topic.
