Lateral ankle sprain (LAS) is one of the most common sport-related injuries among basketball players. Most basketball players experience a first LAS particularly in junior high school. Thus, it is crucial to develop effective prevention strategies for LAS in junior high school populations. However, the characteristics for first-time LAS are not clear. This study aimed to compare the physical and functional characteristics of junior high school basketball players with and without a history of LAS. Two hundred and thirty-eight junior high school basketball players (128 boys and 110 girls) volunteered for this study. We asked participants to complete a self-reported injury history questionnaire. We also assessed physical functions, including range of motion, muscular strength, dynamic balance, and performance. The prevalence of LAS was 75.6% (boys: 73.4%, girls: 78.2%). Boys with a history of LAS had significantly higher height, body mass, and BMI compared to those without a history of LAS (p<0.05). Girls with a history of LAS had significantly lower scores on the star excursion balance test in the anterior reaching direction compared with the control group (p=0.015). Various measures of physical function were associated with LAS, but these associations were different between boys’ and girls’ basketball players. These findings from this study indicate that clinicians should identify sex-specific impairments associated with LAS when designing targeted intervention programs.

Previous studies among middle-aged and older adults have shown that engagement in exercise with others is more strongly associated with better mental health than engagement in exercise alone. However, the applicability of such findings to workers remains unclear. This study aimed to examine whether 1) engagement in exercise with others and time spent exercising with others were associated with lower stress response and mental distress among workers, and 2) self-determined motivation toward exercise mediated these associations among workers. This was a cross-sectional study. A web-based questionnaire survey was conducted among 810 workers aged 20 to 59 years. The survey measured respondents’ engagement and time spent exercising alone and with others, self-determined motivation toward exercise, psychological and physical stress responses, mental distress, and basic factors. Basic factors were treated as covariates. The analyses of covariance showed that engagement in exercise with others was significantly associated with lower psychological and physical stress responses and mental distress, while engagement in exercise alone was not. Multiple regression analyses revealed that longer time spent exercising with others was not associated with lower psychological and physical stress responses or mental distress. Path analyses showed that mediation effect of self-determined motivation on these associations was not significant. Although dose-response associations and the mediating role of self-determined motivation were not confirmed, this study found that engagement in exercise with others was associated with lower stress responses and mental distress among workers.

This study aimed to develop affective experience, attitude, and behavioral intention scales for exercise, and examine their associations with exercise behavior. A web-based questionnaire survey was conducted among 500 individuals aged 60 to 69 years at baseline. The survey measured respondents’ affective experiences, attitude, behavioral intention, exercise behavior, and demographic factors. The same survey was conducted 2 weeks (n = 345) and 1 year later (n = 338). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses showed that the factor structures of the affective experience (2 factors: 3 items each for positive experience and negative experience), attitude (2 factors: 3 items each for affective attitudes and instrumental attitudes), and behavioral intention scales (2 factors: 4 items each for intention to maintain behavior and intention to overcome barriers) were acceptable. For these scales, the Cronbach’s alpha coefficients ranged from 0.69 to 0.92, Pearson’s correlation coefficients for baseline and 2-week follow-up ranged from 0.51 to 0.81, and Cohen’s d values for the associations with exercise behavior ranged from 0.46 to 0.98. After adjusting for demographic factors and exercise behavior at baseline, structural equation modeling showed that an affective attitude toward exercise at baseline significantly predicted exercise behavior at 1-year follow-up (standardized coefficient = 0.27), and that the affective attitude was predominantly explained by the positive affective experience of exercise (standardized coefficient = 0.80). The results confirmed the validities and reliabilities of the scales. Positive affective experiences and affective attitudes may be important determinants of exercise behavior.

Objective：We aimed to examine the criterion-related validity of observable items of gait abnormality in patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA) using three-dimensional gait analysis and to assess the test-retest reliability.Methods：The items of gait abnormality were pooled from a prior study and rated using a 3-point scale. Content validity was examined by four experts in knee OA research and accepted when there was an agreement among at least three experts. Correlation between abnormality rating and three-dimensional gait analysis data was examined. The test-retest reliability of the agreement rate was then assessed in the same subject twice.Results：Eleven items were pooled, and all met the criterion of content validity. Eight items showed adequate correlation with the three-dimensional gait analysis data and had test-retest reliability exceeding 0.61.Conclusion：In patients with knee OA, observable items of gait abnormality had good test-retest reliability and criterion-related validity according to the three-dimensional gait analysis data.

Objective：We aimed to examine the criterion-related validity of observable items of gait abnormality in patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA) using three-dimensional gait analysis and to assess the test-retest reliability.Methods：The items of gait abnormality were pooled from a prior study and rated using a 3-point scale. Content validity was examined by four experts in knee OA research and accepted when there was an agreement among at least three experts. Correlation between abnormality rating and three-dimensional gait analysis data was examined. The test-retest reliability of the agreement rate was then assessed in the same subject twice.Results：Eleven items were pooled, and all met the criterion of content validity. Eight items showed adequate correlation with the three-dimensional gait analysis data and had test-retest reliability exceeding 0.61.Conclusion：In patients with knee OA, observable items of gait abnormality had good test-retest reliability and criterion-related validity according to the three-dimensional gait analysis data.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Antithrombotic/nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug (NSAID) therapies increase the incidence of upper gastrointestinal bleeding. The features of hemorrhagic peptic ulcer disease in patients receiving antithrombotic/NSAID therapies were investigated. METHODS: We investigated the medical records of 485 consecutive patients who underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy and were diagnosed with hemorrhagic gastroduodenal ulcers. The patients treated with antithrombotic agents/NSAIDs were categorized as the antithrombotic therapy (AT) group (n=213). The patients who were not treated with antithrombotics/NSAIDs were categorized as the control (C) group (n=263). The clinical characteristics were compared between the groups. RESULTS: The patients in the AT group were significantly older than those in the C group (p<0.0001). The hemoglobin levels before/without transfusion were significantly lower in the AT group (8.24+/-2.41 g/dL) than in the C group (9.44+/-2.95 g/dL) (p<0.0001). After adjusting for age, the difference in the hemoglobin levels between the two groups remained significant (p=0.0334). The transfusion rates were significantly higher in the AT group than in the C group (p=0.0002). However, the outcome of endoscopic hemostasis was similar in the AT and C groups. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with hemorrhagic peptic ulcers receiving antithrombotic/NSAID therapies were exposed to a greater risk of severe bleeding that required transfusion but were still treatable by endoscopy.
Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal ; Endoscopy ; Endoscopy, Digestive System ; Hemoglobins ; Hemorrhage ; Hemostasis, Endoscopic ; Humans ; Incidence ; Medical Records ; Peptic Ulcer

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the study was to examine the relationships among the psychological, social, and environmental factors influencing the utilization of senior centers among older adults in Korea. METHODS: A questionnaire survey was administered to two types of older adults who lived in Seoul, Korea: 262 older adults who used senior centers (3 places) and 156 older adults who did not use senior centers. RESULTS: Our results showed clearly that the utilization of the senior centers in Korea is affected by higher self-efficacy (odds ratio [OR], 6.08; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.31 to 12.32), higher perceived benefits (OR, 1.71; 95% CI, 1.16 to 4.36), lower perceived barriers (OR, 6.43; 95% CI, 3.07 to 11.45), higher family support (OR, 4.21; 95% CI, 2.02 to 8.77), and higher support from friends (OR, 4.08; 95% CI, 2.38 to 7.81). The results also showed that participants whose total travel time was 15 to 29 minutes (OR, 2.84; 95% CI, 1.21 to 3.64) or less than 14 minutes (OR, 4.68; 95% CI, 3.41 to 8.41) were more likely to use a senior center than those who had to travel more than 30 minutes. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that the utilization of senior centers in Korea is affected by psychological, social, and environmental factors, specifically by self-efficacy, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, social support, convenience of transportation, and total travel time to the senior centers. The effects of longer-term utilization of the senior centers by non-users on health-related outcomes in a large population warrant attention.
Aged ; Aging/*psychology ; Community Health Centers/statistics & numerical data/*utilization ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; *Environment ; Female ; Health Services for the Aged/statistics & numerical data/*utilization ; Health Surveys ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Questionnaires ; Self Efficacy ; *Social Behavior ; Social Support ; Time Factors ; Travel

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between the use of senior center and health-related quality of life in Korean older adults. METHODS: A questionnaire survey was conducted to two types of older adults who lived in Busan, Korea: 154 older adults who used a senior center and 137 older adults who did not use a senior center. The Korean version of short-form 36-item health survey was administered to assess the health-related quality of life. Demographic variables were obtained from a questionnaire. These were gender, age, family status, marital status, education, monthly income, present illness, body mass index and physical activity. RESULTS: The 8-domain scales of physical function and role-physical were significantly higher in the users of the senior center compared with the non-users (F=4.87, p=0.027 and F=7.02, p=0.009, respectively). The 8-domain scales of vitality was also significantly higher in the users of the senior center compared with the non-users (F=7.48, p=0.007). CONCLUSIONS: The present study showed that the users of the senior center have higher physical function, role-physical and vitality compared with the non-users. These findings suggest that although the results are unable to specify causal relationships using the senior center may lead to some improvement in health-related quality of life.
Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Female ; *Health Status ; Humans ; Male ; Motor Activity ; *Quality of Life ; Questionnaires ; Republic of Korea

The purpose of this study was to explore patterns of lifestyle walking behavior among Japanese adults aged 30-49 and to identify their sociodemographic characteristics.A sample of 5,009 was collected from registrants of a social research company. The study was a cross-sectional survey using the Internet. Measured variables were walking behavior in five domains (commuting, working, shopping, exercising and other movement) and sociodemographic characteristics. Hierarchical cluster analysis was utilized to identify walking patterns.Four walking behavior clusters were identified: cluster 1 (N=1,089) walking while commuting, working and shopping; cluster 2 (N=381) walking while commuting; cluster 3 (N=1,257) walking for exercise; cluster 4 (N=1,161) walking while shopping. Cluster 1 had the highest proportion of walkers who met physical activity recommendations. Also it had a high proportion of women who were unmarried, employed, without children, or finished university or graduate school. Cluster 2 showed a high proportion of men who were married, with children, with high household income, or finished university or graduate school, and women who were married, employed, without children, with high household income, or finished university or graduate school. Cluster 3 had a high proportion of women aged 40-49. Cluster 4 showed a low proportion of men with high household income and a high proportion of women who were married, unemployed, or with children.This study indicated that walking behavior patterns in both genders was different depending on marital status, number of children, educational level and household income. In addition, the employment status of women had apparent effects on these patterns.

OBJECTIVETeeth can serve as records of environmental exposure to heavy metals during their formation. We applied a new technology - synchrotron radiation microbeams (SRXRF) - for analysis of heavy metals in human permanent teeth in modern and historical samples.

METHODSEach tooth was cut in half. A longitudinal section 200 mum in thickness was subjected to the determination of the heavy metal content by SRXRF or conventional analytical methods (ICP-MS analysis or reduction-aeration atomic absorption spectrometry). The relative concentrations of Pb, Hg, Cu and Zn measured by SRXRF were translated in concentrations (in g of heavy metal/g of enamel) using calibration curves by the two analytical methods.

RESULTSConcentrations in teeth in the modern females (n = 5) were 1.2 +/- 0.5 mug/g (n = 5) for Pb; 1.7 +/- 0.2 ng/g for Hg; 0.9 +/- 1.1 mug/g for Cu; 150 +/- 24.6 mug/g for Zn. The levels of Pb were highest in the teeth samples obtained from the humans of the Edo era (1603-1868 AD: ) (0.5-4.0 mug/g, n = 4). No trend was observed in this study in the Hg content in teeth during 3,000 years. The concentrations of Cu were highest in teeth of two medieval craftsmen (57.0 and 220 mug/g). The levels of Zn were higher in modern subjects (P < 0.05) than those in the Jomon (~1000 BC: ) to Edo periods [113.2 +/- 27.4 (mug/g, n = 11)]. Reconstruction of developmental exposure history to lead in a famous court painter of the Edo period (18th century) revealed high levels of Pb (7.1-22.0 mug/g) in his childhood.

CONCLUSIONSSRXRF is useful a method for reconstructing human exposures in very long trends.