Author: Naoki

New paper: Non-financial social determinants of diabetes among public assistance recipients in Japan: a cohort study.

We published a new paper from Journal of Diabetes Investigation.

Nishioka, D., Saito, J., Ueno, K., & Kondo, N. (2020). Non-financial social determinants of diabetes among public assistance recipients in Japan: a cohort study. Journal of Diabetes Investigation.
https://doi.org/10.1111/jdi.13435

Abstract

Aims/Introduction

Poverty is an important social determinant of diabetes. Poverty is a multidimensional concept including non‐financial difficulties, such as social isolation and exclusion from communities. Many countries provide financial social assistance programs for those in need. This study aimed to explore non‐financial social determinants of diabetes among public assistance recipients in Japan, by using linkage data of two municipal public assistance databases and medical assistance claim data.

Materials and Methods

We carried out a retrospective cohort study. Public assistance is provided to households below the poverty line to ensure their income security. We extracted recipients’ sociodemographic factors of January 2016 (household number and employment status as non‐financial social determinants of diabetes) and identified the incidence of diabetes diagnosis until December 2016 as the outcome.

Results

We included the data of 2,698 younger individuals (aged <65 years) and 3,019 older individuals (aged >65 years). A multivariable Poisson regression, with a robust standard error estimator, showed that among 2,144 younger recipients at risk, unemployment and living alone were slightly associated with 1‐year cumulative incidence of diabetes diagnosis (adjusted incidence ratio 1.20, 95% confidence interval 0.93–1.54 and adjusted incidence ratio 1.15, 95% confidence interval 0.89–1.48, respectively). Among 2,181 older recipients at risk, there was no strong association between their sociodemographic factors and incidence of diabetes diagnosis.

Conclusions

Unemployment and living alone might be additional risk factors for diabetes among younger public assistance recipients. Multidimensional supports assuring financial and non‐financial securities are required to prevent diabetes among people living in poverty.

New paper: Primary care approach to frailty: Japan’s latest trial in responding to the emerging needs of an ageing population.

We published a new paper from Integrated Healthcare Journal.

Rosenberg, M., Kondo, K., Kondo, N., Shimada, H., & Arai, H. (2020). Primary care approach to frailty: Japan’s latest trial in responding to the emerging needs of an ageing population. Integrated Healthcare Journal, 2(1), e000049.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/ihj-2020-000049

My presentation videos

Here is the list of the videos of the Webinars I attended on YouTube.

Older persons and COVID-19

Dr Naoki Kondo, Presentation: Importance of social connection for health and wellbeing of older people: lessons from Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study

Webinar by Help Age International and more. June 2020

Naoki Kondo. Achieving health equity via community organizing: two real-world intervention studies in Japan

ISBNPA Webinar SIG Socio-Economic Inequalities. March 2020

 

New paper: Post-disaster Changes in Social Capital and Mental Health: A Natural Experiment from the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake

We published a new paper from American journal of epidemiology.

Abstract
Levels of social capital can change after a natural disaster; thus far, no study has examined how changes in social capital affect the mental health of disaster victims. This study examined how pre-disaster social capital and its changes after a disaster were associated with the onset of mental disorders. In October 2013, we mailed a questionnaire to participants of the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study living in Mifune town (Kumamoto, Japan) and measured pre-disaster social capital. In April 2016, the Kumamoto earthquake struck the region. Three years after the baseline survey, post-disaster social capital and symptoms of mental disorders were measured using the Screening Questionnaire for Disaster Mental Health (SQD) (n = 828). A multiple Poisson regression indicated that a standard deviation of 1 in pre-disaster social cohesion at community-level reduced the risk of depression (relative risk [RR] = 0.44); a decline in social capital after the disaster elevated the risk among women (RR = 2.44). In contrast to social cohesion, high levels of social participation at community-level were positively associated with the risk of depression among women. Policymakers should pay attention to gender differences and the types of social capital when leveraging social capital for recovery from disasters.

Keywords
depression, natural disaster, natural experiment, social capital, social cohesion, the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake

Koryu Sato,Airi Amemiya,Maho Haseda,Daisuke Takagi,Mariko Kanamori,
Katsunori Kondo,Naoki Kondo. Post-disaster Changes in Social Capital and Mental Health: A Natural Experiment from the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake.
American Journal of Epidemiology, kwaa041,  https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwaa041
Published: 30 March 2020

Selected for the top downloaded paper: Development of a risk assessment scale predicting incident functional disability among older people: Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study

My paper was selected for the top downloaded paper in the journal last year.

The lead author is Taishi Tsuji, an assistant professor at the University of Tsukuba.

Taishi Tsuji Katsunori Kondo Naoki Kondo Jun Aida Daisuke Takagi. Development of a risk assessment scale predicting incident functional disability among older people: Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study

New paper: Assessment of Additional Medical Costs Among Older Adults in Japan With a History of Childhood Maltreatment

We published a new paper from JAMA Network Open.

Abstract

Importance  Childhood maltreatment can have significant consequences on health through the life course, but its association with health care costs in later life is not widely known.

Objective  To assess whether a history of childhood maltreatment is associated with additional medical costs among older adults in Japan.

Design, Setting, and Participants  This population-based cross-sectional study used data from the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study, 2013, linked with national health insurance claims data from April 2012 to March 2014 for 1 municipality that participated in the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study, 2013. The municipality had more than 1.5 million residents, and 978 independent individuals aged 65 to 75 years were included in the analysis. Data were analyzed from October 2017 to February 2019.

Exposures  Childhood maltreatment, including physical abuse, emotional neglect, emotional abuse, and witnessing intimate partner violence.

Main Outcomes and Measures  Mean annual medical costs between April 2012 and March 2013 and between April 2013 and March 2014.

Results  Among 978 independent older adults (mean [SD] age, 70.6 [2.9] years; 426 [43.6%] men), 44 (4.5%) witnessed intimate partner violence, 19 (1.9%) were physically abused, 104 (10.6%) were emotionally neglected, and 56 (5.7%) were emotionally abused in childhood. In total, 176 older adults (18.0%) experienced at least 1 type of childhood maltreatment. Mean annual medical costs of those who experienced any childhood maltreatment were significantly higher than of those who did not (difference, ¥136 456 [US$1255]; 95% CI, ¥38 155-¥234 757 [US$351-US$2160]; P = .007). Those who experienced emotional neglect incurred more mean medical costs than those who did not (difference, ¥161 400 [US$1484]; 95% CI, ¥42 779-¥280 021 [US$394-US$2576]; P = .008). The association of any childhood maltreatment with medical costs remained significant after controlling for age and sex (average marginal effect, ¥116 098 [US$1068]; SE, ¥53 620 [US$493]; 95% CI, ¥11 004-¥221 192 [US$101-US$2034]; P = .03). The estimated additional costs associated with childhood maltreatment would be more than ¥333 billion (US$3.1 million) per year nationwide.

Conclusions and Relevance  In this study, childhood maltreatment was associated with additional medical costs among older adults living in Japan. This finding underlines the importance of primary and secondary prevention of child maltreatment.

Aya Isumi, PhD; Takeo Fujiwara, MD, PhD, MPH; Hirotaka Kato, PhD; Taishi Tsuji, PhD; Daisuke Takagi, PhD; Naoki Kondo,MD, PhD; Katsunori Kondo,MD, PhD.(2020) Assessment of Additional Medical Costs Among Older Adults in Japan With a History of Childhood Maltreatment.JAMA Netw Open. 2020;3(1):e1918681. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.18681
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2758407?guestAccessKey=4e542327-5eed-4244-b760-38a64358517e&utm_source=jps&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=author_alert-jamanetwork&utm_content=author-author_engagement&utm_term=1m