Social factors, such as networks, institutions, trust, and social norms, are currently known as “Social Capital”, the concept of which seeks to provide a basis for visualization and measurement of phenomena stemming from such factors. As a considerable amount of research has demonstrated that collective actions may be established with a greater degree of ease in communities with well-accumulated social factors, we can promote collective actions of Health Promotion activities through the concept of Social Capital and thereby establish more effective intervention. It is to be expected that theoretical research and operational experience using Social Capital may contribute to enhancing the effectiveness of Health Promotion activities, improving various health determinants through collective action.

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Purpose A questionnaire survey was conducted to examine a relationship between indefinite complaints and life styles in junior high school students and to apply the results to life guidance.
Methods Twenty nine public junior high schools were selected by random sampling of 13 cities and 3 towns in Kanagawa Prefecture. A self-reported questionnaire was supplied to all subjects, containing 100 life-style related items, including a simplified CMI (Cornel Medical Index) questionnaire.
Results The number of students who were evaluated as “point medical examination” based on physical symptoms of CMI and “disorder” based on the mental and physical symptom increased with the grade for both males and females. The students who reported “the life rhythm was always irregular” tended to be in the group evaluated as “disorder” or “point medical examination”. The life rhythm was related to bedtime, sleeping hours and eating habits. It was observed that the students whose daily habits were always irregular had late bedtime, short sleeping hours and an irregular eating habit. As a result of the quantification method for the second type of analysis, it was found that sleeping time was the most related factor to the life rhythm. Furthermore 90% and more of students reported they did not consider nutritional balance with regard to their eating habits.
Conclusion It was suggested that those students who had irregular life rhythm needed sufficient sleep and nutrition guidance to maintain their health.

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Purpose The purposes of this study were to assess the loneliness of Japanese high school students who own and use a mobile phone, to clarify the relationships between students’ loneliness and their social network and frequency of use of e-mail feature, and to demonstrate relationships with a student's social network and recognition of the benefits and drawbacks of mobile phone use.
Method The participants were 227 students from two classes in each grade of a high school in the Kanto region of Japan. Participants answered a questionnaire covering the UCLA Loneliness Scale as well as questions pertaining to the circumstances of use of their mobile phones, their social networks (e.g., number of friends), and their perceptions of the benefits and drawbacks of mobile phone use. The questionnaires of students owning a mobile phone were analyzed. Total scores for the UCLA Loneliness Scale were calculated, and factor analysis was performed for the benefits and drawbacks.
Result A total of 220 questionnaires were returned, for which 94.1 percent of respondents owned a mobile phone. The percentages of male and female respondents were 58% and 42%. Chronbach's alpha for the UCLA Loneliness Scale (total score) was 0.87, a result similar to previous studies with high school and university students.
 Factor analysis revealed five factors associated with the benefits and drawbacks of mobile phone use.
 Multiple-regression analysis showed that 42.9% of the variance in “frequency of e-mail use” was explained by grade level, frequency of mobile phone use, and two of the five factors from the benefits and drawbacks (“difficulty of communication,” and “possible sleep loss due to nighttime e-mailing”).
 Stepwise multiple-regression analysis revealed that 24.4% of the variance in UCLA Loneliness Score was explained by gender, the frequency of e-mail use, the number of friends and the presence/absence of a girlfriend or boyfriend.
Conclusion Presence of an active social network and frequent e-mailing by mobile phone reduced students’ loneliness. The frequency depended on their recognition of the benefits and drawbacks of mobile phone use and by the frequency of mobile phone use. This study established that students appreciate the usefulness of their mobile phone as an immediate communication tool, and are aware of its limitations. Although they experience frustration and lack of sleep (because of nighttime use), students use mobile phones to deepen their friendships.

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Purposes To analyze the outcomes of measures designed to decrease cerebrovascular diseases (CVDs) in Japan and to project CVD mortality trends into the 21st century based on an analysis of rates observed in the 20th century.
Methods The numbers of CVD deaths and population sizes from 1920 to 2003 (excluding 1940 to 1946) by sex, year, and 5-year age group (from 20 to 79 years old) were used and effects of various factors on CVD mortality rates were estimated using Nakamura's Bayesian age-period-cohort model. The numbers of CVD deaths up to the year 2050 were projected based on estimates of age, cohort, and future period effects under three scenarios: (i) values remaining constant after year 2003; (ii) linearly extrapolated values; and (iii) quadratically extrapolated values, we obtained using a regression line for period effects from 1995 to 2003.
Results The age, cohort, and period effects on CVD mortality rates were large and in order of the magnitude of their ranges. There were small differences between males and females. The age effect increased with aging and the period effect started decreasing after 1970. The cohort effect was high for birth cohorts born from the 1840s to the 1890s and low for those born from the 1920s to the 1970s. There were some differences in the cohort effect between males and females for birth cohorts born after 1940s; for females there was a gradual decrease, while for males there was a slight increase, after which it remained almost constant.
 According to the three scenarios, CVD deaths: (i) had upward trends through the projected period and peaked at around 2025 and 2045; (ii) remained almost constant at the present level for males, and decreased slightly for females; (iii) decreased for both males and females.
Conclusions The outcomes of measures designed to decrease CVDs were observed as period effects after 1970. Exposure to these measures is associated with prevention of CVD deaths. Nevertheless, in the first half of the 21st century, the number of CVD deaths is projected to increase due to the aging of the baby boomers and upward trends in the cohort effect for males. It would be necessary to adopt and develop both population strategies to decrease future period effects and high-risk strategies to decrease cohort effects for younger males who are currently in their twenties and thirties.

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Objective The current study examined physical, psychological, and socio-environmental factors related to social activities among the elderly in a metropolitan area.
Methods Fifteen hundred individuals aged 65 to 84 years were randomly selected in Osaka City. Data for 771 persons (51.4%) were obtained from a mail survey and these for 654 eligible cases were analyzed for level of social activities from four aspects: personal activities, socially-related activities, learning activities, and job activity. In order to examine factors related to social activities, we used logistic regression analyses with each of the four aspects of social activities as dependent variables. Independent variables were socio-demographic, physical, psychological, and socio-environmental variables.
Results Multivariate analyses revealed the following results: no feeling of difficulty in going outdoors, number of friends, sense of collecting information about social activities, and informational social support were positively associated with personal activities.
 The attitude toward community score, the motivation to live comfortably score, the number of friends, opportunities to be invited to participate, any skill or knowledge, and experience in community activities were positively related to participation in socially-related activities.
 The attitude toward community score, opportunities to be invited to take part, and sense of collecting information about social activities were also positively associated with learning activities.
 Furthermore, motivation to active life score, any skill or knowledge, and experience in community activities were positively related to job activity.
Conclusion Physical, psychological, and socio-environmental factors as well as socio-demographic factors were found to be associated with social activities among the elderly in a metropolitan area.

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[in Japanese]

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