BackgroundLow birth weight has been shown to be closely associated with neonatal mortality and morbidity, inhibited growth, poor cognitive development, and chronic diseases later in life. Some studies have also shown that excessive mobile phone use in the postnatal period may lead to behavioral complications in the children during their growing years; however, the relationship between mobile phone use during pregnancy and neonatal birth weight is not clear. The aim of the present study was to determine the associations of excessive mobile phone use with neonatal birth weight and infant health status.MethodsA sample of 461 mother and child pairs participated in a survey on maternal characteristics, infant characteristics, and maternal mobile phone usage information during pregnancy.ResultsOur results showed that pregnant women tend to excessively use mobile phones in Japan. The mean infant birth weight was lower in the excessive use group than in the ordinary use group, and the frequency of infant emergency transport was significantly higher in the excessive use group than in the ordinary use group.ConclusionsExcessive mobile phone use during pregnancy may be a risk factor for lower birth weight and a high rate of infant emergency transport.

Purpose This study examined the association between smoking and perioperative complications of laparoscopic abdominal surgery and whether these complications were reduced with ≥ 4 weeks of preoperative smoking cessation. Methods A total of 555 patients who underwent gastric and colorectal cancer surgeries under general anesthesia were divided into the following groups retrospectively: 290 individuals without smoking history (NS group), 144 previous smokers (stopped smoking more than 8 weeks before surgery, PS group), and 121 current smokers (CS group) divided to two groups according to preoperative smoking cessation for < 4 (CS1, n = 76) and 4–8 weeks (CS2, n = 45). Results When compared with the NS group, postoperative hospitalization duration was significantly longer in the CS1 group (p < 0.01), whereas differences between the CS2 or PS groups and NS group were not significant. The total number of postoperative complications was higher in all groups of smoking than in NS group, independent on preoperative smoking cessation; however, suture failure was significantly more frequent only in CS1 group. Although pack-years did not significantly affect complication rates in smokers, duration of smoking cessation time in PS group was a negative predictor of postoperative complications. Conclusion Providing more than 4 weeks of smoking cessation before gastrointestinal surgery can reduce the duration of hospitalization and rate of suture failure.

ObjectivesThe present study aimed to investigate the relationship between airflow limitation (AL) severity and comorbidities in comprehensive health examination.MethodsThis cross-sectional study included 6661 men and 6044 women aged 40–89 who underwent a lung function test during medical checkups. AL was defined as forced expiratory volume in 1 s/forced vital capacity of < 0.7. Logistic regression analysis was used to assess the association between AL severity and the presence of comorbidities.ResultsWhen compared with the normal lung function group, subjects with AL had a higher prevalence of lung cancer (odd ratio (OR) 9.88, 95% confidence interval (CI) 3.88–25.14) in men, hypertension (OR 1.63, 95% CI 1.26–2.10) in women, diabetes and hyperglycemia (OR 1.23, 95% CI 1.02–1.49 in men, OR 1.61, 95% CI 1.18–2.20 in women) in men and women after adjusting for potential confounders. In men, lung cancer and MetS (the Joint Interim Statement: JIS) were significantly associated with moderate-to-very severe AL after adjustment. In women, hypertension, diabetes and hyperglycemia, MetS (JIS), and MetS (the Japanese Committee of the Criteria for MetS: JCCMS) were significantly associated with mild AL after adjustment. Hypertension was significantly associated with moderate-to-very severe AL after adjustment in women.ConclusionsSignificant relationships were found between AL severity and the presence of comorbid lung cancer in men, hypertension in women, diabetes and hyperglycemia, and MetS in men and women. Knowledge of comorbidities associated with AL should be widely publicized to raise the awareness of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).