Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a coaching program on saliva cortisol sensitivity in normal healthy mothers with young children.
Methods: A randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted with objective and subjective outcome measurements of the stress indicator. A postal survey to assess emotional intelligence (EI) was administered by random sampling to mothers of young children aged 3 months to 6 years in Japan. A total of 74 mothers with median EI scores or lower were enrolled in a RCT involving the coaching program. The intervention group received a 3-month coaching program. The control group was given the coaching program at follow-up. Stress state outcomes (saliva cortisol level, EI score, and Profile of Mood States (POMS)) were measured at baseline and immediate follow-up, with salivary cortisol measured again at a one-month follow-up.
Results: Significant differences were found for saliva cortisol level and the EI score within and between the intervention and control groups. Some POMS subscale scores were significantly different within the intervention and control groups.
Conclusion: The participants in the coaching program had significantly reduced saliva cortisol levels and better secondary outcomes than those in the control group.

This article released online on December 6, 2014 as advance publication has been retracted by the Editorial Board of Journal of Rural Medicine due to the Printer’s error.

This article released online on December 6, 2014 as advance publication has been retracted by the Editorial Board of Journal of Rural Medicine due to the Printer’s error.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a coaching program on saliva cortisol sensitivity in normal healthy mothers with young children.
Methods: A randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted with objective and subjective outcome measurements of the stress indicator. A postal survey to assess emotional intelligence (EI) was administered by random sampling to mothers of young children aged 3 months to 6 years in Japan. A total of 74 mothers with median EI scores or lower were enrolled in a RCT involving the coaching program. The intervention group received a 3-month coaching program. The control group was given the coaching program at follow-up. Stress state outcomes (saliva cortisol level, EI score, and Profile of Mood States (POMS)) were measured at baseline and immediate follow-up, with salivary cortisol measured again at a one-month follow-up.
Results: Significant differences were found for saliva cortisol level and the EI score within and between the intervention and control groups. Some POMS subscale scores were significantly different within the intervention and control groups.
Conclusions: The participants in the coaching program had significantly reduced saliva cortisol levels and better secondary outcomes than those in the control group.

After reviewing studies on weight cycling, we concluded that methodology left much to be desired and that the following matlers should be taken into reconsideration :1. There is as yet no established definition of the term “weight cycling”. Consequently, different definitions of weight cycling are used in different studies.2. The definition of weight cycling lacks any standard. Consequently, different criteria of weight change are used in different studies.3. Weight cycling is assessed by cycles of loss and regain of body weight. For the purpose of elucidating the correlation between weight cycling and health body weight is preferable to BMI as a weight change variable.4. Providing a relevant measure for weight cycling encompasses many components. The body weight collected by direct measurement is most reliable. However, an interval of measurement of body weight differs in different studies.5. In light of the standards of population-based epidemiological research, the studies are generally of small-to-modest size.6. Few studies have been able to differentiate between intentional and unintentional weight changes.
Weight ; Body Weight ; Measurement ; Population ; methodology <2>

【Objectives】A study was carried out to examine the relationships between community consciousness and the health of the middle-aged in a rural area, and to explore how to support their effort to promote health through behavioral modification.【Methods】A questionnaire survey was conducted on 2,336 people, aged 30-64, in town A. We received effective responses from 763 people (32.7% valid response rate). The investigative tool Self-administered questionnaires were sent out by asking them about their identity, community consciousness (attitude toward community, relationships with neighbors, social participation), physical health (health conditions, health behaviors, attitude toward health actions), and mental health (life satisfaction, depression). An analysis was made to find the relationship between the subjects’ attitude toward community and physical or mental health. In addition, we performed a multivariate analysis with physical health and mental health as the objective variables and the items, in which a significant difference was mainly observed in a univariate analysis, as the explanatory variables.【Results】Respondents with a higher score on the attitude toward community scale also had higher scores for health condition, health behaviors, and attitude toward health actions. Those people with higher scores on the attitude toward community scale had higher life satisfaction scores and lower depression scores.【Conclusion】These results revealed a close association between community consciousness and the health of the middle-aged in the rural area. It is necessary to interpret the assessment in consideration of the fact that in rural areas community consciousness is generally high and contributes to healthy support of the middle-aged.

To elucidate the correlation between personal behavior patterns (PBPs) and depression, we made a survey of middle-ages and elderly residents in a certain town for mental health promotion and prevention of depression. We performed not only a univariate analysis but also a multivariate analysis to compare the strength of correlation between PBPs and depression by controlling the confounding factors of age and gender.
1) Univariate analysis
Univariate analysis revealed that the PBPs that were positively related to depression (i. e., in which odds ratio was significantly greater than 1) were sleeping insufficient hours (≤6 hours), taking poorly balanced diet, and skipping breakfast.
In males, the PBPs positively related to depression were having poorly balanced diet and sleeping insufficient hours, while in females they were insufficient sleeping hours, poorly balanced diet, and no breakfast.
2) Multivariate analysis
Multivariate analysis, used to control confounding factors, revealed that the PBPs positively related to depression (for which relative risk was singnificantly greater than 1) were insufficient sleeping hours and poorly balanced diet.
In males, poorly balanced diet was positively related to depression, while in females both insuffisient sleeping hours and poorly balanced diet were related to depression.

We studied the correlations between lifestyle (a set of health-related practices sleeping hours, working hours, breakfast, eating between meals, salt, smoking, drinking, exercise, balance in diet) and the sense of well-being using by Neugarten's Life Satisfaction Index (LSI). For this purpose, a survey was made of middle aged and elderly residents in a town.
Multivariate analysis to control the confounding factors of sex and gender revealed that the practices significantly related to the sense of well-being were diet, exercise and salt in take and that the health practices promoting LSI were balanced diet, regular exercise, restriction of salt and excessive drinking, but having poorly unbalanced diet and skipping breakfast deteriorated LSI.
In males the practices promoting LSI were regular exercise, balanced diet, working long, restriction of salt, intake and working long. Lack of sleep and skipping breakfast deteriorated LSI.
In females the practices promoting LSI were balanced diet, regular execise, restriction of salt, intake and drinking. But nutritionaly imbalanced diet and not eating between meals deteriorated LSI.
Better lifestyle was correlated with high LSI irrespective of sex and gender. These results reveal that healthy lifestyle promotes subjective well-being and suggest that the health practiced deter the age-associated decline in health and the deterioration of bodily functions that typically accompany aging.

The purspose of this study was to clarify the relationships between life events and acute stresses felt by rural inhabitants of middle and advanced age. For this purpose, we made a survey of 1, 528 residents aged 40-69 in a farming village, Chiba Prefecture, and inquired of them about 27 stress-producing life events over the past one year. The correlations were sought by multivariate analysis.
A logistic regression analysis using gender and age as covariates found that significant risk variables for acute stress were trouble with relative, trouble with boss, change in number of arguments with spouse, loan, injury/illness, change in social activities, death of spouse and change in health or behavior of family member among the sources of distress, and retirement, outstanding personal achievement and change in living conditions among the source of eustress.
In males, significant variables for acute stress were loan, injury/illness and trouble with boss as distresses, and homecoming and outstanding personal achievement as etistresses. In females, trouble with relatives, change in number of arguments with spouse, change in social activities, injury/illness, change in health or behavior of family member as distresses and change in living conditions as an eustress.
The present study suggested that risk variables fostering distress are trouble with other people and health problems of the subject or family member. But there were slight differences between men and women.

For the purpose of elucidating the life events which aggravate lifestyle as a totality of healthrelated factors we made a survey of lives of residents in a rural district, and analyzed the correlation between life events and lifestyle.
The results obtained by multivariate analysis were as follows.
1) The life events significantly related to lifestyle were husband-and-wife fight, separation, debts, homecoming, death of one's best friends, inconstancy, decrease in income and insolvency.
The life events that conduce to improved lifestyle were inconstancy, discharge from employment, home coming and so on, while separation, husband-and-wife fight and in solvency were among the life events that aggregate lifestyle.
2) In males, the life events significantly related to lifestyle were homecoming, decrease in income, husband-and-wife fight, marriage, death of one's best friends, inconstancy, discharge and pregnancy.
The life events that conduce to improved lifestyle were discharge, homecoming, inconstancy and pregnancy of his wife, while the life events that deteriorate lifestyle were separation and husband-and-wife fight.
In females, marriage and personal success were significantly related to lifestyle.
The life events that conduce to improved lifestyle were personal success, divorce and retirement, while the life events that adversely influence lifestyle were insolvency, death of spouse and husband-and-wife fight.