Background: Childhood health problems affect healthy growth. This study aimed to assess the symptoms and diseases requiring hospital visits commonly found in children in Japan and analyze their effects on health status. Methods: Anonymized data on 1315 children aged 6–14 years were obtained from a national survey questionnaire. The survey items addressed symptoms, disease names, and hospital visits. Associations between symptoms and other factors were examined by means of a contingency table analysis and logistic regression. Results: The proportions of responses for health status were compared for each question item; significant differences were found in age group (p < 0.01), subjective symptoms (p < 0.01), hospital visits (p < 0.01), and lifestyle (p < 0.01). The proportion of responses indicating “poor” perceived health status was high among those with subjective symptoms (4.8%) and hospital visits (4.7%). From the logistic regression, significant odds ratios were found for subjective symptoms (2.10, 95% confidence interval (C.I.) 1.15–3.83) and age group (1.98, 95% C.I. 1.05–3.72). Conclusion: Among measures to improve quality of life from childhood, comprehensive health guidance that emphasizes understanding symptoms and includes age and living conditions is important.

The aim of this study was to identify regional disparities in generic drug usage and to examine related factors. The database used for the analysis was the 2018 national health insurance claims data published on the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare. The drugs that were targeted were a combination of brand-name and generic tetracycline ointments for periodontal treatment and lidocaine injection solution used for dental anesthesia. The usage of generic drugs was calculated and compared by prefecture based on the number of health insurance claims. The comparison of related factors was conducted using data from other national statistical survey. The results showed that the mean generic drug usage of tetracycline for periodontal treatment in all prefectures was 71.2 ± 8.1%, ranging from 45.8% to 85.3%. The mean generic lidocaine used for dental anesthesia was 47.6 ± 10.0%, ranging from 30.5% to 66.2%. The rank correlation coefficient between the two was 0.359 (p < 0.05), and the tendency of using both generic drugs was low in major metropolitan areas. Generic drug usage in Japan is low; thus, in order to reduce healthcare costs, generic drugs need to be actively used in dentistry.

Background: Oral disabilities occur due to tooth loss. This study aimed to investigate oral and systemic factors related to diet in elderly residents receiving domiciliary dental care. Methods: The subjects were 74 consenting residents. Survey items included whether subjects could eat independently and diet type. Subjects were examined by the dentist for the number of teeth, occlusal support index, and wearing dentures. Contingency table analysis was performed to determine what levels of decline in general and oral functions led to difficulties eating a normal diet. Results: There was a significant difference in the mean number of activities of daily living (ADL) requiring assistance evident between subjects eating a normal diet and those eating fluid boiled rice (p < 0.01). A comparison of occlusal support and diet type showed that most subjects who ate a soft diet or gruel had no occlusal support. Almost all subjects who ate a normal diet wore dentures. However, only 38% of subjects eating a soft diet and 40% of those eating gruel did wear dentures; both group differences were significant (p < 0.01). Conclusions: Future studies need to further investigate oral factors related to the type of diet and their relationships to domiciliary dental care in older adults.