Objective: To compare the relative validity of food group intakes derived from a comprehensive self-administered diet history questionnaire (DHQ) and a brieftype DHQ (BDHQ) developed for the assessment of Japanese diets during the previous month using semi-weighed dietary records (DR) as a reference method. The value of human nutritional studies is largely dependent on the accuracy of the dietary information used. In particular, many epidemiological studies are evaluated by the accuracy of their assessment of an individual's habitual diet. Long-term dietary habits are often assessed using dietary questionnaires (1) ; however, given that food culture and dietary habits vary by country, these need to be developed specifically for each country (2) . In addition, because dietary questionnaires do not necessarily estimate true food intake, their validity needs to be evaluated. The most common way to do this is to assess actual intakes for a limited number of days using dietary records and a 24 h dietary recall (1)(2)(3) . Sasaki et al. (4) developed a comprehensive selfadministered diet history questionnaire (DHQ) that uses both food frequency methodology (consumption frequency and portion size) and diet history methodology (e.g. assessment of cooking methods and staple foods for each meal separately) to estimate the dietary intakes of 150 food and beverage items. This DHQ has been validated using the dietary record (4) , 24 h urine (5) , serum (6) and doubly labelled water (7) methods, and has been used

BackgroundA comprehensive self-administered diet history questionnaire (DHQ: 150-item semi-quantitative questionnaire) and a brief self-administered DHQ (BDHQ: 58-item fixed-portion–type questionnaire) were developed for assessing Japanese diets. We compared the relative validity of nutrient intake derived from DHQ with that from the BDHQ, using semi-weighed 16-day dietary records (DRs) as reference.MethodsNinety-two Japanese women aged 31 to 69 years and 92 Japanese men aged 32 to 76 years completed a 4-nonconsecutive-day DR, a DHQ, and a BDHQ 4 times each (once per season) in 3 areas of Japan (Osaka, Nagano, and Tottori).ResultsNo significant differences were seen in estimates of energy-adjusted intakes of 42 selected nutrients (based on the residual method) between the 16-day DRs and the first DHQ (DHQ1) or between the DR and the first BDHQ (BDHQ1) for 18 (43%) and 14 (33%) nutrients, respectively, among women and for 4 (10%) and 21 (50%) nutrients among men. The median (interquartile range) Pearson correlation coefficients with the DR for energy-adjusted intakes of the 42 nutrients were 0.57 (0.50 to 0.64) for the DHQ1 and 0.54 (0.45 to 0.61) for the BDHQ1 in women; in men, the respective values were 0.50 (0.42 to 0.59) and 0.56 (0.41 to 0.63). Similar results were observed for the means of the 4 DHQs and BDHQs.ConclusionsThe DHQ and BDHQ had satisfactory ranking ability for the energy-adjusted intakes of many nutrients among the present Japanese population, although these instruments were satisfactory in estimating mean values for only a small number of nutrients.

Ryoko KATAGIRI, et al.: Association between Sleep Quality and Diets sleep quality was significantly associated with high carbohydrate intake (p for trend 0.03). Conclusions: A low intake of vegetables and fish, high intake of confectionary and noodles and unhealthy eating habits were independently associated with poor sleep quality. Poor sleep quality was also associated with high carbohydrate intake in free-living Japanese middle-aged female workers. (J Occup Health 2014; 56: 359-368) Key words: Eating habits, Food intake, Japanese female workers, Sleep quality Inadequate sleep is prevalent in modern societies 1) . Mean sleep duration has decreased in many countries, including Japan 2) , and attention has focused on the associations of inadequate sleep and health outcomes. Associations with inadequate, particularly short, sleep duration have been reported for obesity 3) and total mortality 4) . In the workplace too, shift work 5) and high work demands 6) have been associated with sleep disturbances, and people with poor sleep quality take more sick leave or have problems in occupational activities 7) . Thus, a reduction in sleep disturbance will positively impact both general and working populations.Sleep can be evaluated from two aspects, quantity (sleep duration) and quality. Although adequate methods of evaluating sleep quality have not been rigorously established 8) , Buysse and his group developed the "Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)" to evaluate total sleep quality 9) . This questionnaire assesses seven aspects of sleep (subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep duration, habitual sleep efficiency, sleep disturbance, use of sleeping medications and daytime dysfunction), and their sum yields a global score for Here, we examined this association using information acquired from validated questionnaires. Methods: A total of 3,129 female workers aged 34 to 65 years were analyzed. Dietary intake was assessed using a self-administered diet history questionnaire (DHQ), and subjective sleep quality was assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). The relationship between the intake of several food groups and nutrients and sleep quality was examined using multivariable logistic regression models. The effect of eating habits on sleep quality was also examined. Results: Poor sleep quality was associated with low intake of vegetables (p for trend 0.002) and fish (p for trend 0.04) and high intake of confectionary (p for trend 0.004) and noodles (p for trend 0.03) after adjustment for potential confounding factors (age, body mass index, physical activity, depression score, employment status, alcohol intake and smoking status). Poor sleep quality was also significantly and positively associated with consumption of energy drinks and sugar-sweetened beverages, skipping breakfast, and eating irregularly. In addition, poor

BackgroundProtein intake has been inversely associated with frailty. However, no study has examined the effect of the difference of protein sources (animal or plant) or the amino acid composing the protein on frailty. Therefore, we examined the association of protein and amino acid intakes with frailty among elderly Japanese women.MethodsA total of 2108 grandmothers or acquaintances of dietetic students aged 65 years and older participated in this cross-sectional multicenter study, which was conducted in 85 dietetic schools in 35 prefectures of Japan. Intakes of total, animal, and plant protein and eight selected amino acids were estimated from a validated brief-type self-administered diet history questionnaire and amino acid composition database. Frailty was defined as the presence of three or more of the following four components: slowness and weakness (two points), exhaustion, low physical activity, and unintentional weight loss.ResultsThe number of subjects with frailty was 481 (23%). Adjusted ORs (95% CI) for frailty in the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth quintiles of total protein intake were 1.00 (reference), 1.02 (0.72, 1.45), 0.64 (0.45, 0.93), 0.62 (0.43, 0.90), and 0.66 (0.46, 0.96), respectively (P for trend = 0.001). Subjects categorized to the third, fourth, and fifth quintiles of total protein intake (>69.8 g/d) showed significantly lower ORs than those to the first quintile (all P <0.03). The intakes of animal and plant protein and all selected amino acids were also inversely associated with frailty (P for trend <0.04), with the multivariate adjusted OR in the highest compared to the lowest quintile of 0.73 for animal protein and 0.66 for plant protein, and 0.67-0.74 for amino acids, albeit that the ORs for these dietary variables were less marked than those for total protein.ConclusionsTotal protein intake was significantly inversely associated with frailty in elderly Japanese women. The association of total protein with frailty may be observed regardless of the source of protein and the amino acid composing the protein.

BackgroundAlthough several reports concerning the association of iodine excess and thyroid disease have appeared, no systematic review of the association between iodine excess intake and thyroid diseases, especially hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism, has yet been reported.MethodWe conducted a systematic search of Ovid MEDLINE, PubMed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials databases, Ichushi-Web and CiNii database for intervention trials and observational studies. Search terms were constructed from related words for excess AND iodine intake or excretion AND thyroid hormones or diseases AND study designs. After considering the qualitative heterogeneity among studies, a meta-analysis was conducted and odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated in random-effects models. A protocol was registered with PROSPERO (No. CRD42015028081).Results50 articles were included, including three intervention trials, six case-control studies, six follow-up studies and 35 cross-sectional studies. Three cross-sectional studies in adults included in meta-analysis. Odds ratio of overt and subclinical hypothyroidism between excess and adequate populations were 2.78 (CI:1.47 to 5.27) and 2.03 (CI:1.58 to 2.62) in adults, respectively. Source of excess iodine status was mainly iodized salt or water in included studies.ConclusionAlthough universal salt iodization has improved goiter rates, chronic exposure to excess iodine from water or poorly monitored salt are risk factors for hypothyroidism in free-living populations. Monitoring of both iodine concentration in salt as well as the iodine concentration in local drinking water are essential to preventing thyroid diseases. Hypothyroidism should be also carefully monitored in areas with excess iodine. Because of the low quality and limited number of included studies, further evidence and review are required.