BACKGROUND/AIMS: There is no available data on factors associated with healthcare-seeking behavior for functional dyspepsia (FD) symptoms at either tertiary or primary clinics in Japan. Therefore, we aimed to compare clinical symptoms and life styles such as sleep disorders and eating attitude in FD patients visiting general practitioners at primary clinics with those consulting gastroenterologists at tertiary clinics to clarify healthcare-seeking patterns in Japanese patients. METHODS: Fifty-one FD outpatients in a tertiary clinic (college hospital), 50 FD outpatients visiting primary clinics and 50 healthy volunteers were enrolled. Clinical symptoms, quality of life, sleep disorders, eating attitude and anxiety were estimated using the Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale (GSRS), Social Functioning-8 (SF-8) test, Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) test and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) for FD outpatients and healthy volunteers. RESULTS: FD outpatients exhibited higher mean scores of GSRS than healthy volunteers. The SF-8 physical component summary scores in the tertiary clinic group were significantly lower than those in the primary clinic group. GSRS scores were significantly (P < 0.001, P = 0.002) associated with global PSQI scores in FD outpatients as well as with STAI-trait scores (P = 0.006, P = 0.001) compared to healthy volunteers. The frequency of eating between meals in the primary clinic group was significantly (P < 0.05) higher than that in the tertiary clinic group. CONCLUSIONS: It may be important for clarification of healthcare-seeking behavior to determine the difference in both impairment of physical quality of life and eating attitudes between tertiary clinic and primary clinic FD outpatients in Japan.
Anxiety ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Dyspepsia* ; Eating* ; General Practitioners ; Healthy Volunteers ; Humans ; Japan* ; Life Style ; Meals ; Outpatients* ; Quality of Life* ; Sleep Wake Disorders

BACKGROUND/AIMS: There are no available data about the relationship between ghrelin gene genotypes and early phase of gastric emptying in functional dyspepsia (FD) as defined by Rome III classification. METHODS: We enrolled 74 patients presenting with typical symptoms of FD and 64 healthy volunteers. Gastric motility was evaluated using the 13C-acetate breath test. We used Rome III criteria to evaluate upper abdominal symptoms and self-rating questionnaires for depression (SRQ-D) scores to determine status of depression. The Arg51Gln (346G>A), preproghrelin (3056T>C), Leu72Met (408C>A), Gln90Leu (3412T>A) and G-protein beta3 (825C>T) polymorphisms were analyzed in the DNA from blood samples of enrolled subjects. Genotyping was performed by polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: There was a significant relationship between the Gln90Leu3412 genotype and SRQ-D score in FD patients (P = 0.009). Area under the curve at 15 minutes (AUC15) value was significantly associated with the Leu72Met408 genotype (P = 0.015) but not with entire gastric emptying. CONCLUSIONS: The Leu72Met (408C>A) single nucleotide polymorphism was significantly associated with early phase of gastric emptying in FD patients. Further studies will be necessary to clarify the association between ghrelin gene single nucleotide polymorphisms and early phase of gastric emptying in FD patients.
Breath Tests ; Classification ; Depression ; DNA ; Dyspepsia* ; Gastric Emptying* ; Genotype ; Ghrelin* ; GTP-Binding Proteins ; Healthy Volunteers ; Humans ; Japan* ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Surveys and Questionnaires

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The association between clinical symptoms, gastric emptying, quality of life and sleep disorders in distinct functional dyspepsia (FD) patients has not been studied yet in detail. METHODS: We enrolled 79 FD patients (postprandial distress syndrome [PDS], n = 65; epigastric pain syndrome [EPS], n = 47; EPS-PDS overlap, n = 33) and 44 healthy volunteers. Gastric motility was evaluated. We used Rome III criteria to evaluate clinical symptoms and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) scores to determine anxiety status. Sleep disorder was evaluated using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index scores. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in age, sex and Helicobacter pylori positivity between FD subtypes and healthy volunteers. The scores of Glasgow dyspepsia severity scores (GDSS), SF-8 and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) in distinct subtypes of FD patients were significantly different from those in healthy volunteers. However, there were not significant differences in these scores, Tmax and T1/2 among 3 subtypes of FD patients. PSQI score was significantly (P = 0.027, P = 0.002 and P = 0.039, respectively) associated with GDSS among EPS, PDS and EPS-PDS overlap patients. In addition, 8-item short form health survey (SF-8; Physical Component Score and Mental Component Score) was significantly associated with global PSQI score in PDS and EPS-PDS overlap patients. In contrast, SF-8 (Mental Component Score) only was significantly linked to global PSQI score in EPS patients. CONCLUSIONS: Prevalences for sleep disorders, gastric motility and quality of life in 3 subtypes of FD patients were similar levels. In PDS and EPS-PDS overlap patients, SF-8 was significantly associated with global PSQI score.
Anxiety ; Dyspepsia* ; Gastric Emptying* ; Gastrointestinal Diseases ; Health Surveys ; Healthy Volunteers ; Helicobacter pylori ; Humans ; Japan* ; Prevalence ; Quality of Life* ; Sleep Wake Disorders*

We monitored the glucose levels of 3 patients who had undergone total gastrectomy without hypoglycemic symptoms using the Free Style Libre Pro®, a continuous glucose monitoring system, and assessed fluctuations. Mean patient age was 75±3 years and all were men. The highest and lowest sensor glucose (SG) values were 337±54 mg/dL and 44±8 mg/dL, respectively. In 2 of the 3 patients, the lowest SG value was 40 mg/dL, which was the lower limit of detection. After administration of alpha-glucosidase inhibitors, all patients showed improvement in the highest and lowest SG values, and the proportion of time when the SG value was 180 mg/dL or above decreased. The proportion of time when the SG value was less than 70 mg/dL increased in 2 of the 3 patients. However, mean SG values during the same time periods were higher than the pretreatment values, and the proportion of time when the value was less than 60 mg/dL decreased. Consensus error grid analysis performed using blood glucose levels from selfmonitored measurements and meal tolerance tests taken during continuous glucose monitoring versus SG values revealed that all data pairs were within the clinically acceptable regions (zones A and B).

In the 2022 Model Core Curriculum for Medical Education in Japan, "Chapter 3, Educational strategies and assessment" section II. "Learner Assessment," consists of three parts : II-1. Approaches to learner assessment, II-2. Assessment methods, and II-3. Questions about learner assessment. Based on the idea that "the way assessment is done varies from institution to institution," the answer to the "Question" is deliberately not included. We hope that readers will refer to this chapter when planning learning assessments in curriculum development while considering the curriculum's background and context.