Home cooking has been suggested as a key to healthy dietary intakes. However, little is known about the association between cooking behaviour and nutrient intake among young-to-middle-aged women. We aimed to investigate the association between home cooking frequency and nutrient intake adequacy among married Japanese women. Self-administered questionnaires were used to assess the weekly frequency of cooking dinner at home and habitual nutrient intake during the preceding month. We evaluated nutrient intake adequacy by comparing the self-reported intake with two indices of the dietary reference intakes for Japanese (2015): the estimated average requirement (EAR) of fourteen nutrients, and the ‘tentative dietary goal for preventing lifestyle-related diseases’ (DG) of seven nutrients. A total of 143 participants (25–44 years old) completed the questionnaires, with 32·9 % of participants reporting a weekly home cooking frequency of seven times/week. Women with a higher home cooking frequency (seven times/week) were more likely to have children (P = 0·001) than those with a lower home cooking frequency (0–6 times/week). Of the nutrients evaluated, there was no significant difference between the two groups in meeting EAR and DG. Our findings suggest that daily home cooking may not be necessary to achieve adequate nutrient intake, specifically among married, young-to-middle-aged Japanese women.

Monitoring nutritional status of the population is essential in the development and evaluation of national or local health policies. In this study, we aimed to demonstrate analysis on the trends in dietary intake of energy and macronutrients, as well as Na, in Japanese population using the data of series of cross-sectional national surveys – the National Nutrition Survey (NNS) and the National Health Nutrition Survey (NHNS) – during the period from 1995 to 2016. The NNS and NHNS participants aged 20–79 years were included in the analysis. Dietary intake was estimated using 1-d household-based dietary record. The trend in total energy intake, energy intake from macronutrients (fat and protein), Na intake and energy-adjusted Na intake were analysed using regression models adjusted to 2010 age distribution and anthropometry status. A total of 94 270 men and 107 890 women were included the analysis. Total energy intake showed a decreasing trend in both men and women. Similarly, energy intake from protein decreased, but energy intake (%) from fat increased in both sexes. Energy-adjusted Na intake showed a decreasing trend in both men and women. This study identified the decrease in total energy intake and energy intake from protein, whereas there were inverse trends in energy intake from fat among Japanese adults. Continued monitoring of trends in dietary intake will be needed, and there should be efforts to increase the accuracy of current survey procedures.

A growing body of evidence from Western countries shows that the presence of children in households is associated with the dietary intake of adults, but little is known about this relationship in non-Western countries with different food cultures. Our aim was to examine whether dietary intake was different with respect to the presence of young children in the home among Japanese married women. Subjects were Japanese married women (aged 23–44 years) living with children aged less than 5 years (n 73) and married women who did not have children (n 85). Data regarding habitual dietary intake were obtained using a validated, self-administered diet history questionnaire. A cross-sectional comparison between women with young children and women without children was conducted using ANCOVA adjusted for potential confounding factors. Women with young children had a significantly greater intake of protein, carbohydrates, Na, Zn and Cu than did women without children. Intake of cereals, pulses and sugar was significantly higher among mothers than among non-mothers. Intake of both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages was significantly higher among non-mothers than among mothers. Thus, the presence of young children at home might influence women's intake of macronutrients and some minerals, especially Na, and beverages among Japanese married women. Our findings suggest that effective dietary interventions among Japanese mothers with young children may differ from those of married women without children.

In this communication, we report an acute leukemia patient who developed conversion disorder mimicking the adverse effects of high-dose cytosine arabinoside (Ara-C) treatment after the patient received high-dose Ara-C treatment.

A 21-year-old woman, with acute recurrent leukemia after bone marrow transplantation, received high-dose Ara-C treatment and 10 days later was referred for psychiatric consultation because of an abrupt onset of convulsion. On neurologic examination, she showed convulsion of all the limbs without loss of consciousness. All limbs looked paretic; however, tendon reflexes in all limbs were normal and pathological reflex was not recognized. When her hand was dropped onto her own face, it fell next to her face but not on her face. Laboratory data were unremarkable. She had no history of psychiatric illness or drug or alcohol abuse.

The patient explained that she knew about the recurrence of her own leukemia and the news of the death of a close friend due to leukemia at the same time, which was a shocking event for her, focusing her attention on her own fears of dying from the same disease.

Conversion disorder in cancer patients is not common; however, appropriate diagnosis is very important to avoid inappropriate examinations and treatments.

In leukemia patients receiving chemotherapy, various kinds of signs and symptoms may develop due to the adverse effects of chemotherapy and/or infection. Therefore, conversion disorder might be overlooked and inappropriate treatment and examinations might be performed. Clinicians should consider conversion disorder in the differential diagnosis when patients develop unexplained neurological symptoms.