Yuki Tanaka

Aim: Cold hypersensitivity in the hands and feet (CHHF) is particularly prevalent among women and older individuals. However, CHHF in the working‐age population has not been elucidated. Methods: We analyzed anonymized data of 26,131 currently employed individuals from the 2019 Comprehensive Survey of Living Conditions, a nationwide survey by Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare that used stratified two‐stage random sampling. CHHF was defined as self‐reported cold sensations in the hands and feet without organic abnormalities. Variables included sex, age, education, marital and economic status, lifestyle, nonrestorative sleep (NRS), mental health, and accompanying symptoms. Sex‐stratified binary logistic regression analyses adjusted for age, education, marital and economic status, smoking, drinking, NRS, and mental health. Results: The overall CHHF prevalence was 5.0 and 18.4 per 1000 persons in men and women (95% confidence interval [CI]: 4.0–6.2 and 16.0–21.1), respectively. CHHF was positively associated with NRS (men, odds ratio [OR]: 1.96, 95% CI: 1.14–3.37; women, OR: 1.89, 95% CI: 1.34–2.66) and mental distress (moderate: men, OR: 3.60, 95% CI: 1.99–6.52; women, OR: 3.79, 95% CI: 2.55–5.64; serious: men, OR: 9.31, 95% CI: 4.45–19.49; women, OR: 10.30, 95% CI: 6.39–16.61) and negatively with higher education (men, OR: 0.54, 95% CI: 0.29–0.98; women, OR: 0.54, 95% CI: 0.34–0.85). Conclusion: CHHF is not rare among working‐age Japanese individuals—particularly women—and is strongly linked to poor mental health and NRS, whereas higher education is negatively associated. Workplace health measures addressing sleep quality and psychological distress may help reduce CHHF.

Worsening adolescent mental health is a significant social issue. Although dreams may reflect one’s mental state, few studies have focused on adolescents. Therefore, this study investigated the relationship between dream content and mental health, specifically anxiety disorder and depressive symptoms, among Japanese adolescents. This cross-sectional study obtained data on gender, grade, age, lifestyle habits, weekday sleep duration, anxiety disorder symptoms, depressive symptoms, and dreams from Japanese high school students. The data were analyzed via multiple logistic regression analyses. The prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms increased with the frequency of “rumination at bedtime”, “memory of dreams”, “emotional carryover”, and “awakening by frightening”, “unpleasant”, “film-like”, “fantastical”, and “recurring” dreams. However, this was not the case for “pleasant dreams”. Furthermore, “rumination at bedtime” (anxiety disorder symptoms: adjusted odds ratio: 10.60; 95% confidence interval: 5.92–18.97; depressive symptoms: 8.79, 5.58–13.87) and “unpleasant dreams” (anxiety disorder symptoms: 5.25, 2.86–9.64; depressive symptoms: 10.13, 5.57–18.44) exhibited particularly high odds ratios. “Rumination at bedtime” and “unpleasant dreams” may serve as early indicators of declining mental health. School- and parent-led interventions aimed at improving mental well-being may help prevent the progression or exacerbation of anxiety and depressive symptoms among adolescents.