Reconsidering the structure of the questionnaire for eudaimonic well-being using wide age-range Japanese adult sample: An exploratory analysis

Background An increasing amount of research is now highlighting the importance of approaching issues of happiness through eudaimonic well-being. However, the literature does not conclusively show a full understanding of the construct of eudaimonic well-being, as previous studies primarily focused on younger samples from Western countries and only a few studies have attempted to explore its psychological construct through exploratory approaches. Therefore, we conducted a survey among a wide range of age groups in Japan to capture the psychological construct of eudaimonic well-being, through an exploratory analytic approach using Questionnaire for Eudaimonic Wellbeing (QEWB). Methods A total of 1126 Japanese participants (580 females, 546 males) were included for analysis. Participants were divided into three age groups according to their age, including 10s to 20s (18–29 years), 30s to 40s (30–49 years) and 50s to 60s (50–69 years). After narrowing down the total number of factors by exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM), we conducted an ESEM and bifactor ESEM with oblique goemin and oblique bi-geomin rotations for choosing and assessing the final model based on the rotated results and its interpretability. Results The results of a parallel analysis and goodness-of-fit indices obtained by ESEM indicated that the QEWB consisted of three or more factors. Both a three-to-six factor and bifactor ESEM with oblique goemin rotation showed that three-factor structure for the 30s to 40s and 50s to 60s and four-factor structure for the 10s to 20s should be chosen, respectively. “Deep and Meaningful Engagement,” a factor only relevant to the 10s to 20s may be an expanded version of what original paper called the Intense Involvement in Activities, with more emphasis on the enthusiastic attitude one has towards activities. Conclusions The structure of eudaimonic well-being may differ across cultures and ages, thus requiring further investigation in the field.

Subjective cognitive impairment and presenteeism mediate the associations of rumination with subjective well-being and ill-being in Japanese adult workers from the community

Background In recent years, the roles of rumination, subjective cognitive impairment (SCI), and presenteeism have been emphasized in occupational mental health. However, associations between rumination, SCI, presenteeism, and psychological well-being are not fully understood. We hypothesized that SCI and presenteeism mediate the associations between rumination and subjective well-being (SWB) and subjective ill-being (SIB). Hence, we investigated the mediating roles of SCI and presenteeism in this study. Methods A total of 458 adult workers (mean age, 40.8±11.9 years; 44.1% male), who were recruited in Tokyo using convenience sampling, were analyzed in this study. The Ruminative Responses Scale, Cognitive Complaints in Bipolar Disorder Rating Assessment, Work Limitations Questionnaire 8, and Subjective Well-being Inventory were used to evaluate rumination, SCI, presenteeism, and psychological well-being (SWB and SIB), respectively. Path analyses were performed to evaluate the relations between these parameters. Results The path analysis indicated that rumination, SCI, and presenteeism were directly and negatively associated with SWB and SIB. Regarding indirect effects, rumination was negatively associated with SWB and SIB via SCI, presenteeism, and both SCI and presenteeism. Furthermore, SCI was negatively associated with SWB and SIB via presenteeism. Conclusions The results suggest that SCI and presenteeism mediate the associations of rumination with SWB and SIB in Japanese adult workers. To address the psychological well-being associated with rumination, evaluating SCI and presenteeism simultaneously may be useful in occupational mental health. This study provides key insights into the development of comprehensive intervention strategy based on the biopsychosocial perspective for worker’s psychological well-being.

Associations of Cognitive Complaints and Depressive Symptoms with Health-Related Quality of Life and Perceived Overall Health in Japanese Adult Volunteers

Cognitive complaints, defined as perceived cognitive dysfunction in daily living, are associated with depressive symptoms. The associations of cognitive complaints and depressive symptoms with health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and perceived overall health in Japanese adults remains unknown. To investigate these relationships, we evaluated a convenience sample of 525 Japanese adult volunteers (Mage: 41.3 ± 11.7; 238 male and 287 female). We used the Cognitive Complaints in Bipolar Disorder Rating Assessment (evaluating cognitive complaints), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (evaluating depressive symptoms), EuroQol-5 Dimension-5 Level (EQ-5D-5L; evaluating HRQoL), and EuroQol-Visual Analogue Scale (EQ-VAS; evaluating perceived overall health). Our path analyses suggested that both cognitive complaints and depressive symptoms had significant total effects on HRQoL and perceived overall health. Furthermore, cognitive complaints were not significantly associated directly with HRQoL and perceived overall health, whereas cognitive complaints were significantly associated with HRQoL and perceived overall health indirectly via depressive symptoms. Depressive symptoms were significantly associated directly with HRQoL and perceived overall health. This study suggests that depressive symptoms may mediate the associations of cognitive complaints with HRQoL and perceived overall health. Thus, to address the HRQoL and perceived overall health associated with cognitive complaints, evaluation and intervention for depressive symptoms may be useful in public health.

Clinical characteristics and incidences of benign and malignant insulinoma using a national inpatient database in Japan

Context Insulinoma is the most common pancreatic functional neuroendocrine neoplasm, yet little information on recent clinical practice in patients with insulinoma, especially malignant insulinoma, is available. Objective To clarify the characteristics and practice patterns in patients with insulinoma using a national inpatient database. Methods Using the Japanese Diagnosis Procedure Combination database, we retrospectively identified patients with insulinoma admitted between 2010 and 2018. We compared background characteristics and therapeutic interventions between patients with benign and malignant insulinoma. We also estimated the incidence of insulinoma using the number of patients with newly diagnosed insulinoma in 2012. Results We identified 844 patients with benign insulinoma and 102 patients with malignant insulinoma. Patients with malignant insulinoma were younger (median, 55.5 vs. 66.0 years, P < 0.001) and less likely to be female (55.9% vs. 65.3%, P = 0.061) than patients with benign insulinoma. Analysis of therapeutic interventions revealed that patients with malignant insulinoma more frequently received medications (71.6% vs. 49.6%, P < 0.001) but less frequently underwent pancreatic surgery (57.8% vs. 72.0%, P = 0.003). Older patients were a smaller proportion of those undergoing surgery and a larger proportion of those managed with medications without surgery (P < 0.001). The incidence of insulinoma was estimated to be 3.27 (95% confidence interval, 2.93–3.61) persons per million Japanese adult population per year. Conclusions The present study using a nationwide database had a larger sample size than previous studies and revealed definitive differences in patient characteristics and therapeutic patterns between benign and malignant insulinoma.

Effects of the consumption of proanthocyanidins derived from acacia bark on blood pressure in healthy Japanese adults: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group comparison study

Objective: The aim of this study is to verify the effects of consuming proanthocyanidins derived from acacia bark on improving blood pressure and blood circulation in healthy Japanese adult subjects. Methods: This was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-comparison study involving 66 healthy Japanese adults. Subjects were allocated into either acacia or placebo group (n = 33 each) using a random number generator. Subjects consumed six tablets/day of either acacia bark extract tablets or placebo for 12 weeks. The primary outcome was the measured value of sitting systolic blood pressure at 12 weeks, whereas the secondary outcomes were sitting systolic and diastolic blood pressures, superoxide dismutase activity in blood, and blood flow.Results: The number of subjects analyzed as full analysis set was 33 (20 men and 13 women) in the Acacia group and 31 (23 men and 8 women) in the placebo group. Compared with the placebo group, the measured values and changes from baseline at 4, 8, and 12 weeks of the sitting systolic blood pressure were significantly lower in the Acacia group. Furthermore, “the ratio of the number of subjects whose sitting systolic blood pressure <130 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure ≤89 mmHg at 12 weeks” of the Acacia group was significantly higher than that of the placebo group. No adverse event was observed. Conclusions: Proanthocyanidins derived from acacia bark showed a hypotensive effect. Trial registration: UMIN-CTR: UMIN000039416. Foundation: Acacia-No-Ki Co., Ltd. Keywords: Acacia bark extract, Proanthocyanidins, Systolic blood pressure, Diastolic blood pressure

A Japanese adult and two girls with NEDMIAL caused by de novo missense variants in DHX30

Lessel et al. reported a novel neurodevelopmental disorder with severe motor impairment and absent language (NEDMIAL) in 12 individuals and identified six different de novo heterozygous missense variants in DHX30. The other clinical features included muscular hypotonia, feeding difficulties, brain anomalies, autistic features, sleep disturbances, and joint hypermobility. We report a Japanese adult with a novel missense variant and two girls with de novo missense variants in DHX30.