Objective: Adequate periconceptional intake of folic acid decreases the risk of neural tube defects of infant. The present study aimed to investigate the awareness of nursing students about the importance of folic acid intake for the prevention of neural tube defects.Design: Questionnaire survey.Methods: A self-administered questionnaire regarding the importance of folic acid intake for the prevention of neural tube defects was distributed to 423 nursing students of Tohoku University and Tohoku Fukushi University.Results: Among the 408 respondents (response rate; 96.5%), 129 (31.6%) nursing students were aware that folic acid intake decreases the risk of neural tube defects. In the multivariate logistic regression analysis, grade 3-4 (odds ratio = 11.779, 95% confident interval = 5.739-24.177) were associated with the awareness of the importance of folic acid intake among nursing students. Of 129 nursing students who recognized the importance of folic acid intake, 52 (40.3%) and 11 (8.5%) recognized that women should begin folic acid intake before conception and should take about 400μg of folic acid per day during pregnancy respectively.Conclusion: About 30% of nursing students recognized that folic acid intake decreases the risk of neural tube defects and many did not know the details of the effective intake for the prevention of neural tube defects. Therefore, more aggressive promotion of the awareness of the importance of folic acid intake among nursing students is warranted.

Objective: Adequate periconceptional folic acid intake decreases the risk of neural tube defects in infants.  The present study aimed to investigate the awareness of pharmacy students regarding the importance of folic acid intake for the prevention of neural tube defects.
Design: Questionnaire survey.
Methods: A self-administered questionnaire regarding the importance of folic acid intake for the prevention of neural tube defects was distributed to 750 pharmacy students at Tohoku and Ohu Universities.
Results: Among the 685 respondents (response rate; 91.3%), 74 (10.8%) were aware that folic acid intake decreases the risk of neural tube defects.  In multivariate logistic regression analysis, awareness of the importance of folic acid intake was evident among 5th- and 6th-year pharmacy students (odds ratio=3.352, 95% confidence interval=1.797-6.253) and among those who used dietary supplements (2.275, 1.306-3.966).  Among the 74 pharmacy students who recognized the importance of folic acid intake, 17 (23.0%) and 3 (4.1%) were aware that women should begin taking a folic acid supplement before conception and should take about 400 μg per day during pregnancy, respectively.
Conclusion: Only about 10% of the pharmacy students in this study recognized that folic acid intake decreases the risk of neural tube defects, and many were unaware of the recommended intake amount.  Therefore, awareness of the importance of folic acid intake must be more aggressively promoted among pharmacy students.

Objectives: This review aims to introduce preoperative scoring systems to predict lymph node metastasis (LNM) and ongoing clinical trials to investigate the therapeutic role of lymphadenectomy for endometrial cancer. Methods: We summarized previous reports on the preoperative prediction models for LNM and evaluated their validity to omit lymphadenectomy in our recent cohorts. Next, we compared characteristics of two ongoing lymphadenectomy trials (JCOG1412, ECLAT) to examine the survival benefit of lymphadenectomy in endometrial cancer, and described the details of JCOG1412. Results: Lymphadenectomy has been omitted for 64 endometrial cancer patients who met lowrisk criteria to omit lymphadenectomy using our scoring system (LNM score) and no lymphatic failure has been observed. Other two models also produced comparable results. Two randomized phase III trials to evaluate survival benefit of lymphadenectomy are ongoing for endometrial cancer. JCOG1412 compares pelvic lymphadenectomy alone with pelvic and para-aortic lymphadenectomy to evaluate the therapeutic role of para-aortic lymphadenectomy for patients at risk of LNM. For quality assurance of lymphadenectomy, we defined several regulations, including lower limit of the number of resected nodes, and submission of photos of dissected area to evaluate thoroughness of lymphadenectomy in the protocol. The latest monitoring report showed that the quality of lymphadenectomy has been well-controlled in JCOG1412. Conclusion Our strategy seems reasonable to omit lymphadenectomy and could be generalized in clinical practice. JCOG1412 is a high-quality lymphadenectomy trial in terms of the quality of surgical procedures, which would draw the bona-fide conclusions regarding the therapeutic role of lymphadenectomy for endometrial cancer.

Objective: The collection and utilization of adverse drug reaction (ADR) reports are essential in pharmacovigilance activities. Healthcare professionals, especially pharmacists, are required to report ADRs to the regulatory authorities in Japan. The ability of pharmacists to identify ADRs, assess causality and severity, and submit ADR reports is of utmost importance. This study aimed to investigate the current status and challenges of education regarding ADR reporting in pharmacy schools in Japan. Design: A cross-sectional survey. Methods: A self-reported questionnaire was conducted among faculty members of 77 pharmacy schools in Japan to assess the implementation of ADR reporting system education. A separate survey was conducted among hospital and community pharmacists to understand ADR reporting-related training provided during practical training. The questionnaire included items on implementing ADR-related lectures and practical training, characteristics and innovations in such education, and opinions on ADR reporting education. Results: Responses were obtained from 48 pharmacy schools (response rate: 62%). The implementation rates for lectures on the ADR reporting system and ADR causality assessment were 94 and 83%, respectively, typically conducted in the 3rd or 4th year. However, the implementation rate for training on completing ADR reporting forms was only 38%, with 61% of these schools providing practical exercises. The survey of hospital and community pharmacists (n=22) revealed that 82% provided training on completing ADR reporting forms, often using case studies or simulated scenarios. Conclusion: The survey found that pharmacy schools offer lectures on ADR reporting, but there isa need for practical training to improve pharmacists’ ability to report ADRs. To enhance pharmacists’ skills in this area, there should be more collaboration between schools and training sites, and comprehensive educational programs and lifelong learning opportunities should be developed.

BACKGROUND: To examine changes in psychological distress prevalence among pregnant women in Miyagi Prefecture, which was directly affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami, and compare it with the other, less damaged areas of Japan. METHODS: This study was conducted in conjunction with the Japan Environment and Children`s Study. We examined 76,152 pregnant women including 8270 in Miyagi Regional Center and 67,882 in 13 other regional centers from the all-birth fixed data of the Japan Environment and Children's Study. We then compared the prevalence and risk of distress in women in Miyagi Regional Center and women in the 13 regional centers for 3 years after the disaster. RESULTS: Women in the Miyagi Regional Center suffered more psychological distress than those in the 13 regional centers: OR 1.38 (95% CI, 1.03-1.87) to 1.92 (95% CI, 1.42-2.60). Additionally, women in the inland area had a consistently higher prevalence of psychological distress compared to those from the 13 regional centers: OR 1.67 (95% CI, 1.18-2.38) to 2.19 (95% CI, 1.60-2.99). CONCLUSIONS The lack of pre-disaster data in the Japan Environment and Children's Study made it impossible to compare the incidence of psychological distress before and after the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. However, 3 years after the Great East Japan Earthquake, the prevalence of pregnant women with psychological distress did not improve in Miyagi Regional Center. Further, the prevalence of mental illness in inland areas was consistently higher than that in the 13 regional centers after the disaster.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Disasters ; Earthquakes ; Female ; Humans ; Japan/epidemiology* ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Complications/psychology* ; Pregnant Women/psychology* ; Prevalence ; Psychological Distress ; Tsunamis ; Young Adult