title: Incidence of symptoms and accidents during baths and showers among the Japanese general public.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Bathing is a deeply ingrained custom among Japanese; however, data on the incidence rate of symptoms and accidents during bathing have not yet been reported for the Japanese general public.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a population-based cross-sectional study of 617 Japanese adults who attended a specialized health checkup. Participants completed a self-administered questionnaire to assess weekly frequencies of bathtub bathing and showering and the frequency of symptoms/accidents (falling, loss of consciousness, and other) during these activities in the past year. We calculated the incidence rates of accidents per 10 000 baths/showers and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) and compared the clinical characteristics of participants who had symptoms/accidents with those who did not.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The incidence rates of accidents per 10 000 bathtub baths and showers were 0.43 (95% CI: 0.22-0.84) and 0.24 (95% CI: 0.04-1.37). Although these rates are low, there were 740 000 bathtub bathing-related accidents in Japan, due to the fact that bathing is an almost-daily habit. There was no significant difference in clinical characteristics between groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We collected basic information on the incidence of bathing-related accidents in Japan. Falls and loss of consciousness during bathing or showering can potentially lead to a serious accident, so the general public should be educated about the possibility of such accidents during bathing.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Health and Preventive Medicine, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu 431-3192, Japan. hayasaka@hama-med.ac.jp
authors.forename: Shinya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hayasaka
authors.forename: Yosuke
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shibata
authors.forename: Tatsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Noda
authors.forename: Yasuaki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Goto
authors.forename: Toshiyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ojima
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000061:Accidents, Home / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001494:Baths / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011634:Public Health; D012647:Self-Assessment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires