Published papers

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to determine how municipal subsidies for seasonal influenza vaccines for the elderly affected vaccination coverage and health outcomes and how responses to vaccine prices changed during the COVID-19 pandemic. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: This ecological study includes 1245 municipalities in Japan between 2019 and 2020. Fixed-effects regression analysis was performed to evaluate the effect of influenza vaccine cost subsidy for people aged 65 years or older on vaccination coverage, all-cause mortality, and influenza-related mortality. RESULTS: The vaccination rate increased when patients' copayments decreased, and reducing the copayment by 1000 Japanese Yen (JPY) was estimated to increase the vaccination rate by 6.3% (95% confidence interval [CI] 4.5-8.2%) in the adjusted model. When examining the additional effect of a zero price compared to a nearly zero price, we found that a zero price increased the immunization rate by 6.4% (95% CI 1.4-11.5%). The effect of copayment on the increase in vaccination coverage was significantly lower during the pandemic than in the pre-pandemic period. The municipal and prefectural analyses found no association between influenza vaccine copayments and all-cause, influenza, or pneumonia mortality. CONCLUSION: Cost subsidies and the zero-price effect were shown to increase vaccination coverage but were not associated with relevant mortality measures. Although the impact was attenuated under pandemic conditions, cost subsidy effectively increases the vaccination rate.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to determine how municipal subsidies for seasonal influenza vaccines for the elderly affected vaccination coverage and health outcomes and how responses to vaccine prices changed during the COVID-19 pandemic. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: This ecological study includes 1245 municipalities in Japan between 2019 and 2020. Fixed-effects regression analysis was performed to evaluate the effect of influenza vaccine cost subsidy for people aged 65 years or older on vaccination coverage, all-cause mortality, and influenza-related mortality. RESULTS: The vaccination rate increased when patients' copayments decreased, and reducing the copayment by 1000 Japanese Yen (JPY) was estimated to increase the vaccination rate by 6.3% (95% confidence interval [CI] 4.5-8.2%) in the adjusted model. When examining the additional effect of a zero price compared to a nearly zero price, we found that a zero price increased the immunization rate by 6.4% (95% CI 1.4-11.5%). The effect of copayment on the increase in vaccination coverage was significantly lower during the pandemic than in the pre-pandemic period. The municipal and prefectural analyses found no association between influenza vaccine copayments and all-cause, influenza, or pneumonia mortality. CONCLUSION: Cost subsidies and the zero-price effect were shown to increase vaccination coverage but were not associated with relevant mortality measures. Although the impact was attenuated under pandemic conditions, cost subsidy effectively increases the vaccination rate.

少子高齢化社会の背景と令和2年度からの調査を踏まえ,患者の抱える問題を臓器横断的に捉えた上で,心理社会的背景も踏まえた総合的な視点とアプローチの必要性が示され,医学教育モデル・コア・カリキュラム(令和4年改訂版)に総合的に患者・生活者をみる姿勢が資質・能力に新設された.下位目標として「全人的な視点とアプローチ」「地域の視点とアプローチ」「人生の視点とアプローチ」「社会の視点とアプローチ」が位置づけられた.抽象と具体,概念と経験,自己と他者等の視点を統合し,自己の在り方を省察できるような複数の学習理論を踏まえた教育方法が提案された.このような医学教育を通じて,患者・生活者のウェルビーイングが向上することを期待する.(著者抄録)

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to identify associations between multimorbidity and subjective health outcomes among the very old persons, after adjusting for coexisting conditions such as frailty and depression. STUDY SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: This was an observational cross-sectional study involving 1012 independent, community-dwelling very old persons (507 men, 505 women; aged 85-89 years) in Kawasaki city, Japan. OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome was the cross-sectional associations between multimorbidity and poor self-rated health (SRH) and life satisfaction using binary logistic regression. The secondary outcome was the association of subjective health with each chronic condition. RESULTS: The prevalence of multimorbidity (≥2 conditions) was 94.7%, and the average number of chronic conditions was 4.47±1.9. Multimorbidity was significantly associated with poor SRH in the adjusted model only when six or more chronic conditions were present (OR 4.80; 95% CI 1.34 to 17.11; p=0.016). Cerebrovascular disease, heart disease, respiratory disease, connective tissue disease and arthritis showed significant associations with poor SRH after multivariate adjustment. Sex-specific analysis replicated associations between multimorbidity with six or more conditions and SRH in both men and women, while the diseases with the greatest impact on SRH differed between men and women. Most conditions were not associated with low satisfaction with life scale, with the exception of arthritis (OR 1.92, 95% CI 1.32 to 2.78, p=0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Multimorbidity is prevalent in the independent, community-dwelling very old persons and is associated with poor SRH when six or more conditions are present; conditions causing mobility limitations, such as cerebrovascular disease, connective tissue disease and arthritis, have a negative impact on SRH. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: UMIN000026053.

Focal seizures, characterized by excessive electrical excitation in a brain region, present diagnostic challenges due to diverse manifestations, particularly with non-motor symptoms. Here, we present a 69-year-old Japanese woman experiencing unexplained recurrent episodes of sweating, chills, and shivering. Despite exhaustive investigations that identified no abnormalities, her symptoms remained unalleviated by symptomatic treatments. The episodic nature of her presentations subsequently prompted a clinical suspicion of seizures, leading to further neurological evaluations. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain and electroencephalography (EEG) revealed chronic ischemic changes in the cerebral white matter and intermittent sharp and slow wave bursts in the frontal regions. These findings led to a diagnosis of focal seizures manifesting as autonomic symptoms. The patient's symptoms were successfully treated with carbamazepine. This case illustrates the importance of considering non-motor focal seizures in patients with episodic symptoms, even when routine tests show no abnormalities.

BACKGROUND: Polydoctoring is a crucial aspect of care fragmentation among patients with multimorbidity, but its impact on health outcomes remains unclear. AIM: To determine the effects of polydoctoring, as measured by the Regularly Visited Facility (RVF) indicator, on patient outcomes among older individuals with multimorbidity. DESIGN & SETTING: Data from the ongoing prospective cohort study, Kawasaki Aging and Wellbeing Project (KAWP), was utilized in this study. Among the 1,026 KAWP participants aged 85-89 years, those with two or more chronic conditions were enrolled in this study. METHOD: Care fragmentation or polydoctoring, was evaluated using the RVF, a new indicator that measures the number of medical facilities consistently involved in a patient's care. Based on RVF, mortality was analysed using the Cox-hazards model, with adjustments for age, sex, frailty, and number of comorbidities. RESULTS: A significant reduction in mortality rates was observed in participants with an RVF of ≥3 and 2-4 comorbidities (hazard ratio [HR] 0.46, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.18-0.99). However, no significant difference in mortality based on RVF was observed for those with ≥5 comorbidities. Notably, individuals with ≥5 comorbidities and an RVF of 0 had a significantly higher HR for death (HR 2.68, 95% CI 1.05-6.84). CONCLUSIONS: In older patients with multimorbidity, polydoctoring reduces mortality in patients with ≤4 coexisting conditions, but it does not significantly impact mortality in those with ≥5 conditions. These findings provide insights for healthcare decision-making in managing older patients with multimorbidity.

This article is a short report on the third Japan-UK Primary Care Exchange Programme. Japanese delegates visited Scotland in September of 2015. They watched GP surgeries and attended the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) Annual Primary Care Conference. The following topics are covered as some of the most insightful experiences: NHS Cancer screening programmes, support for people with cancer and their families, working conditions for GPs, and the Half-Day Release Programme for GP specialist training. In addition, the delegates reflected on their experiences.