ota atsuhiko

BACKGROUND: Work-related stress is associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD), yet the contributions of specific work-related stressors, support and satisfaction to CVD incidence are not fully understood. Clarifying whether lifestyle behaviors and physiological factors mediate associations between stressors and CVD is essential for targeted prevention. METHODS: In this prospective cohort study, a cohort of 4,820 Japanese workers (3,876 men and 944 women) aged 35-65 years was followed up for CVD incidence from 2007 to 2022. Work-related stressors (e.g., quantitative job overload), support (e.g., supervisor support) and satisfaction (e.g., family life satisfaction) were assessed using the 57-item Brief Job Stress Questionnaire. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for CVD risk. Mediation analysis evaluated the role of lifestyle behaviors (e.g., smoking, alcohol consumption) and physiological factors (e.g., systolic blood pressure, obesity) in the association between stressors and CVD incidence. RESULTS: Quantitative job overload, low supervisor support, and low family life satisfaction were independently associated with increased CVD incidence (HRs ranging from 1.69 to 2.33). A part (24.9%) of the association of quantitative job overload with CVD was significantly mediated by obesity (p=0.007). CONCLUSION: Quantitative job overload, lack of supervisor support, and low family life satisfaction were significant predictors of CVD among Japanese civil servants. These findings suggest that both reducing excessive workload and strengthening support systems inside and outside the workplace may be important for cardiovascular disease prevention among Japanese civil servants.

This pre–post study aimed to determine whether interprofessional education (IPE) combining online and in-person instruction enhanced medical students’ empathy. The IPE program was conducted during the academic years 2022 and 2023 for medical (n = 240) and other healthcare students. Subjects discussed a case scenario involving a patient with chronic myeloid leukemia, sharing their ideas within their team and with other teams. The medical students’ empathy was assessed before and after the IPE program using the Japanese version of the Jefferson Scale of Empathy for Health Professions Students (JSE-HPS). Medical students provided written responses to the question, “What do you think is necessary for the care of patients with cancer, besides medical skills and knowledge?” Empathy-related terms were identified using frequency and co-occurrence analyses. The frequencies before and after the IPE were compared. The median JSE-HPS score rose from 98.0 to 114.0 (p < 0.001, Wilcoxon signed-rank test). The frequency of words categorized as demonstrating empathy increased from 37.9% to 52.9% after the IPE (p < 0.01, chi-square test). Our hybrid IPE program enhanced medical students’ empathy, which was supported by both quantitative and qualitative methods.