Objectives
 The present study aimed to elucidate issues in maternal and child health in suburban areas by comparing the effects of increases in population, economic power, and amount of information on health behaviors among mothers such as pregnancy, childbirth, and child care in village A in the suburbs of Kathmandu between 2001 and 2006.
Methods
 We conducted an interview survey on mothers of children aged 0-12month in village one in Lalitpur district in Nepal. Data from 2001 and 2006 were compared for the educated group, non-educated group, and all subjects.
Results
 The number of mothers in ethnic minorities increased in 2006. The most commonly used facility for pregnancy examinations, delivery, and child illnesses was hospitals, and their use tended to increase from 2001 to 2006 for each type of visit. In addition, the cost of pregnancy examination and delivery increased approximately 7-and 2-fold, respectively. Kaup index increased by one point for the condition of child development. Prevalence of general infections among children decreased.
Conclusion
 Subjects were polarized into the middle class, which included individuals who had increased income by working as migrants abroad, and an economically disadvantaged group which included individuals who had migrated from rural areas. The active use of health services at hospitals among pregnant women and children was attributed to recognition of the safety and comfort of hospitals as well as the consumer culture resulting from growth of the middle class. The economically disadvantaged group was considered to be at high risk with regard to maternal and child health, and was thus thought to require affordable and accessible support. Issues in child care appeared to be shifting from “nutritional improvement” and “infection control” to “nutritional balance”.

BACKGROUND: We investigated whether family histories of herpes zoster (HZ) are associated with the risk of incident HZ in a Japanese population. METHODS: A total of 12,522 Japanese residents aged ≥50 years in Shozu County participated in the baseline survey between December 2008 and November 2009 (the participation rate = 72.3%). They were interviewed at baseline by research physicians regarding the registrants' history of HZ. A self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted to evaluate the potential confounding factors. 10,530 participants without a history of HZ were followed up to ascertain the incidence of HZ during 3-years follow-up until the end of November 2012 with Japanese nationals. We estimated hazard ratios (HRs) of incident HZ according to first-degree family histories using the Cox proportional hazard regression after adjusting for age, sex, and other potential confounding factors. RESULTS: Compared to no HZ history of each family member, a history of brother or sister was associated with a higher risk of incident HZ while histories of father and mother were not. The multivariable HR (95%CI) of incident HZ for a history of brother or sister was 1.67 (1.04-2.69). When comparing to no family histories of all first-degree relatives, the multivariable HRs (95%CIs) were 1.34 (0.77-2.34) for a history of brother or sister alone, but 4.81 (1.78-13.00) for a history of mother plus brother or sister. As for the number of family histories, the multivariable HRs (95%CIs) were 1.08 (0.76-1.54) for one relative (father, mother, or brother or sister) and 2.75 (1.13-6.70) for two or more relatives. CONCLUSION Family histories of mother plus brother or sister and two or more first-degree relatives were associated with a higher risk of incident HZ.
Female ; Herpes Zoster/epidemiology* ; Humans ; Incidence ; Male ; Mothers ; Proportional Hazards Models