Shiun-ko has proved to be effcctive in burns and hemorrhoids. However, it is not frequently used in children because it has a disagreeable smell, stains clothes, and is indicated only for dry lesions. This formulation, however, has several advantages including its bactericidal activity and its inhibition of cicatrization without forming keloids. We therefore used Shiun-ko in children with vulvar hemangioma or burns. Although the lesions were wet, they dried quickly and healed without keloid for-mation. This formulation appears to be applicable even to wet wounds if it is kneaded and stretched when applied.

OBJECTIVETo examine the effectiveness of newly developed materials for providing health-related information to the worksite population, we compared the amount of attention that employees paid to the materials.

METHODSStudy subjects were 2,361 employees in six companies participating in an intervention program between 2002 and 2003. Three kinds of media were used as tools for providing health information: [1] Point Of Purchase advertising menus (POP menus) were placed on all tables in company restaurants, [2] posters were put on walls and [3] leaflets were distributed at health-related events. One year or more after the introduction of these media, we compared the amount of attention paid to each type of medium.

RESULTSAmongst the three types of media, the POP menu drew the most attention, although results were not consistent in all gender and company groups. Every piece of information provided by the POP menus was "always" or "almost always" read by 41% of the men and 51% of the women surveyed. The corresponding rate for posters was 30% in men and 32% in women. For leaflets, only 16% of men and 22% of women read almost all of the leaflets. More attention was paid to the POP menu when the sample was women, older, and ate at the company restaurant at least three times a week.

CONCLUSIONThe POP menu may provide health-related information to a broader range of people than posters and leaflets, therefore, it is an effective material for population strategy.

OBJECTIVESThe prevalence of thoracic kyphosis is considered to increase as the population is ageing in Japan. However, little is known about the clinical and preventive significance of kyphosis. The purpose of the study is to assess the association of kyphosis with subjective poor health and functional activity in the community-dwelling Japanese elderly. The relation of kyphosis with blood pressure, as a subclinical indicator of arteriosclerosis, is also examined.

METHODSThe subjects consisted of 536 (male 241, female 295) elderly persons aged 65 years old and older. Trained examiners measured thoracic kyphosis using a flexicurve, and kyphosis index was calculated. Information on the subjects' subjective poor health and functional activity were collected through a face-to-face interview, and blood pressure was measured by a conventional method.

RESULTSIn females, their kyphosis index increased with age increased, whereas in males, there was no clear age-related change. An increased kyphosis index was associated with subjective poor health only among females. Compared with the lowest kyphosis index tertile, adjusted odds ratios for being in poor health were 5.4 (95% confidence interval: 1.1-27.4) in the middle tertile, and 6.4 (95% confidence interval: 1.3-32.1) in the highest tertile. Kyphosis index did not seem to be associated with functional activity score and blood pressure both in males and females even after adjustment.

CONCLUSIONSKyphosis is associated with subjective poor health in the community-dwelling female elderly in this study population, but not with functional activity and blood pressure both in males and females.