Association between Childhood Suicidal Ideation and Geriatric Depression in Japan: A Population-Based Cross-Sectional Study

Global Prevalence of Childhood Exposure to Physical Violence within Domestic and Family Relationships in the General Population: A Systematic Review and Proportional Meta-Analysis

Efforts to identify and prevent childhood exposure to physical violence within domestic and family relationships must be underpinned by reliable prevalence estimates to ensure the appropriate allocation of resources and benchmarks for assessing intervention efficacy. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of the global prevalence of childhood exposure to physical domestic and family violence separately as a victim or witness. Searches were conducted in Criminal Justice Abstracts, Embase, Scopus, PubMed, PsychInfo, and Google Scholar. Studies were included if they were peer-reviewed, published in English, had a representative sample, unweighted estimates, and were published between January 2010 and December 2022. One-hundred-and-sixteen studies comprising 56 independent samples were retained. Proportional meta-analysis was conducted to calculate the pooled prevalence for each exposure. Pooled prevalence estimates were also stratified by region and sex. The global pooled prevalence of childhood exposure to physical domestic and family violence as a victim or witness was 17.3% and 16.5%, respectively. Prevalence estimates were highest in West Asia and Africa (victim = 42.8%; witness = 38.3%) and lowest for the Developed Asia Pacific region (victim = 3.7%; witness = 5.4%). Males were 25% more likely than females to be the victim of physical domestic and family violence during childhood, while both were equally likely to have witnessed it. These findings suggest that childhood exposure to domestic and family violence is relatively common, affecting around one-in-six people by 18 years of age globally. Regional variations in prevalence estimates may reflect underlying economic conditions, cultural norms, and service availability.

Association between childhood parental involvement and late-life cognitive function: A population-based cross-sectional study among cognitively intact community-dwelling older adults in Japan

AIM

Although poor childhood rearing environment is known to negatively impact late-life cognitive function, there is a scarcity of evidence on the contribution of positive parenting behaviors. The present study investigates the association between parental involvement in childhood and late-life cognitive function.

METHODS

A total of 266 older adults aged between 65 and 88 years living in Wakuya City, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, without indication of mild cognitive impairment or dementia, participated in a survey. Parental involvement in childhood was assessed by a questionnaire, and late-life cognitive function was measured by the Japanese version of the Quick Mild Cognitive Impairment (QMCI) screening test (range: 0-100). Multiple regression analysis was performed to investigate the association, adjusting for potential confounders and mediators.

RESULTS

After adjusting for age, sex, other child-rearing environment, and academic performance in grade 6, older adults with a high level of positive parental involvement in childhood scored 6.00 (95% CI: 2.39, 9.61) points higher for the QMCI total score than those without. Parental involvement in childhood showed significant dose-response positive associations with the QMCI total score (P < 0.001), clock-drawing test score (P < 0.05), and verbal fluency score (P < 0.001). Among the six types of positive parental involvement, book reading showed a significant independent positive association with QMCI total score (P < 0.01) and logical memory score (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

Greater parental involvement in childhood, particularly book reading, was associated with better late-life cognitive function. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2021; 21: 794-801.

Association between procrastination in childhood and the number of remaining teeth in Japanese older adults

BACKGROUND

Procrastination is associated with stress and unhealthy behaviors. The oral condition reflects the long-term history of an individual's stress exposure and oral health behaviors; however, empirical studies on the association of procrastination in childhood with remaining teeth in older age are limited. We investigated the association of procrastination in childhood with the number of remaining teeth among community-dwelling older Japanese adults.

METHODS

In total, 1616 community-dwelling senior residents of Wakuya City (Miyagi Prefecture, Japan) who were enrolled in the National Health Plan & the Medical Care System for the Elderly completed a self-administered questionnaire on the number of teeth. Procrastination was measured using a single binary question about timing of holiday homework completion in childhood. The number of remaining teeth was assessed via a questionnaire with response options of ≥20, 10-19, 1-9, and 0 teeth. Ordered logistic regression models with potential confounders (sex, age, maternal education, childhood socioeconomic status (SES), childhood maltreatment, conscientiousness trait) and mediators (adulthood SES, smoking history, alcohol use history) were estimated.

RESULTS

Forty-six percent of participants reported a higher tendency to procrastinate in childhood. The proportions of participants with ≥20, 10-19, 1-9, and 0 teeth were 39.6, 22.7, 24.0, and 13.7%, respectively. After adjusting for all covariates, a higher tendency to procrastinate in childhood was significantly associated with having fewer remaining teeth (odds ratio = 1.28; 95% confidence interval = 1.05-1.57).

CONCLUSION

A higher tendency to procrastinate in childhood was associated with having fewer remaining teeth in later life.