Vaccination could be a key protective measure against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and it is important to understand the acceptability of the COVID-19 vaccine among the general public. However, there is no study on the acceptance of a COVID-19 vaccine in Japan. Therefore, this study aimed to describe the COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and hesitancy situation in Japan and assess the factors associated with such issues. This was a cross-sectional study based on an internet survey completed by 2956 people. Participants were asked to indicate how likely they were to get vaccinated for COVID-19. In addition, the participants responded to questions regarding sociodemographic factors, attitudes, and beliefs regarding COVID-19 infection and vaccination. The proportion of participants with a high likelihood of getting a COVID-19 vaccine was 62.1%. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that vaccine acceptance was lower among several sociodemographic groups, such as women, adults aged 20–49 years, and those with a low-income level. Several psychological factors, especially the perceived effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine, and willingness to protect others by getting oneself vaccinated, were associated with vaccine acceptance. Our results indicate that the perceived effectiveness of the vaccine and willingness to protect others may play an important role in the acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Although the pedestrian-friendly qualities of streetscapes promote walking, quantitative understanding of streetscape functionality remains insufficient. This study proposed a novel automated method to assess streetscape walkability (SW) using semantic segmentation and statistical modeling on Google Street View images. Using compositions of segmented streetscape elements, such as buildings and street trees, a regression-style model was built to predict SW, scored using a human-based auditing method. Older female active leisure walkers living in Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo, are associated with SW scores estimated by the model (OR = 3.783; 95% CI = 1.459 to 10.409), but male walkers are not.

An increasing number of studies have demonstrated that light-intensity physical activity (LPA) confers health benefits after adjustment for moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). The purpose of this systematic review was to summarize existing epidemiological evidence on associations of objectively measured LPA with health outcomes in adults. This review was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. We searched on PubMed, Web of Science, CINAL, and Cochrane Library for articles analyzing the association between objectively determined LPA and health outcomes that were published up to January 2017. Data were extracted regarding authors, publication year, country of survey, study setting, number of participants, study design, physical activity (PA) assessment (type of accelerometer and intensity), health outcomes, confounders, and results (summary measures and association). A coding system was used to summarize the results. Of the 3254 studies identified, 24 cross-sectional and 6 longitudinal studies were included in this review. Most of the studies targeted the Western population. LPA was inversely associated with all-cause mortality risk and associated favorably with some cardiometabolic risk factors including waist circumference, triglyceride levels, insulin, and presence of metabolic syndrome. Only a small amount of data were available on mental health and cognitive function. LPA appears to be beneficially associated with important health outcomes after adjustment for MVPA in the adult population. Although current global PA guidelines recommend only MVPA, promoting LPA may confer additional health benefits.

The most effective type of social participation against psychological distress in older adults is not well documented. The aim of this study was to examine whether different types of social participation are associated with changes in psychological distress level in older men and women in Japan. Two thousand seven hundred community-dwelling older adults (aged 65–74 years, 50% women) were randomly selected from the resident registry of three cities. Of these, participants who reported social participation and psychological distress level in the baseline survey in 2010 were followed up. Psychological distress was evaluated based on K6 scales at baseline and follow-up (in 2015). Social participation level was examined using question items from the National Health and Nutrition Survey in Japan. Exploratory factor analysis was used to derive the underlying factor structure. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to examine the association between social participation and changes in psychological distress level after adjusting for covariates stratified by both gender and age group or living arrangement. Data from 825 community-dwelling older adults (45.3% women) were analyzed. Social participation was categorized into two types using factor analysis: community involvement (volunteer activities, community events, clubs for the elderly) and individual relationship (friendship, communication with family and friends, hobbies). During the 5-year follow-up, 29.5% of participants reported a deterioration in psychological distress. Higher community involvement was independently associated with lower risk of psychological distress for older women (β = 0.099, p = 0.047), whereas there were no associations with individual relationship for either gender. Furthermore, in older women living with others, higher community involvement was also associated with lower risk of psychological distress (β = 0.110, p = 0.048). Community involvement provides older women with mental health benefits regardless of individual relationship level. Promoting community involvement may be an effective strategy for healthy mental aging.

Men are generally believed to be more physically active than women when evaluated using current physical activity (PA) guidelines, which count only moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in bouts lasting at least 10 min. However, it remains unclear men are truly more physically active provided that all-intensity PA are evaluated. This population based cross-sectional study aimed to examine gender differences in patterns of objectively-assessed PA in older adults. One thousand two hundred ten community-dwelling Japanese older adults who were originally randomly selected from residential registry of three municipalities were asked to respond a questionnaire and wear an accelerometer (HJA-350IT, Omron Healthcare). The prevalence of achieving current PA guidelines, ≥150 min/week MVPA in bouts lasting at least 10 min, was calculated. Gender differences in volume of each-intensity activity (METs-hour) were assessed by analysis of covariance after adjustment for age and wear time. Data from 450 (255 men, mean 74 years) participants who had valid accelerometer data were analyzed. Women were less likely to meet the guidelines (men: 31.0, women: 21.5%; p < 0.05). However, women accumulated more light-intensity PA (LPA) and short-bout (1–9 min) MVPA, and thus established higher total volume of PA (men: 22.0 METs-hour/day, women: 23.9 METs-hour/day) (p < 0.05). Older women were less active when evaluated against current PA guidelines, but more active by total PA. Considering accumulated evidence on health benefits of LPA and short-bout MVPA, our findings highlight the potential for the limitation of assessing PA using current PA guidelines.

Mobile and tablet apps, ubiquitous and pervasive computing, wearable computing and domotics for health.