Abstract: In recent years, there has been growing interest in the association between the residential environment and health. The association between residential environment (i.e., geographic elevation) and bone status is unknown.... more
Abstract: In recent years, there has been growing interest in the association between the residential environment and health. The association between residential environment (i.e., geographic elevation) and bone status is unknown. Furthermore, these associations could differ by exercise habits due to the chronically greater daily activity caused by steep slopes in mountainous areas. The aim of this study was to test whether the association between bone status of elderly people measured using quantitative ultrasound (QUS) and elevation varied according to the exercise habits in a mountainous area population. Data were collected from a cross-sectional study conducted during 2012–2013. QUS value was expressed as a proportion of the young adult mean (%YAM), with higher scores donating better bone status. After excluding subjects with missing data, we analyzed the data for 321 men and 500 women. Our results indicate that %YAM was not associated with elevation
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Research Interests: Occupational Health, Obesity, Japan, Adolescent, Medicine, and 15 moreMetabolic syndrome, Overweight, Humans, Female, Male, Body Mass Index, Middle Aged, Adult, Ethnic Group, Cross sectional Study, Age Groups, Body fat percentage, cardiovascular disease risk factor, Metabolic Syndrome X, and Glucose tolerance
Clin Chem Lab Med 2006;44:1188–91.
Research Interests: Genetics, Cognitive Science, Polymorphism, Biology, Turkey, and 15 moreJapan, Medicine, Humans, Korea, Mongolia, Namibia, Gene, Clinical Sciences, Single Nucleotide Polymorphism, European Continental Ancestry Group, Asian Continental Ancestry Group, Genetic variation, Short Tandem Repeat, Nucleotides, and Gene frequency
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Jianjun YANG1, 2, Masayuki YAMASAKI1, Paulin Beya wa Bitadi MUTOMBO1, Mamiko IWAMOTO1, Akiko NOGI3, Toru NABIKA4 and Kuninori SHIWAKU1$ 1Department of Environmental and Preventive Medicine, Shimane University Faculty of Medicine, Izumo... more
Jianjun YANG1, 2, Masayuki YAMASAKI1, Paulin Beya wa Bitadi MUTOMBO1, Mamiko IWAMOTO1, Akiko NOGI3, Toru NABIKA4 and Kuninori SHIWAKU1$ 1Department of Environmental and Preventive Medicine, Shimane University Faculty of Medicine, Izumo 693-8501, Japan. 2School of Public Health, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan 750004, China. 3Department of Human Nutrition, Faculty of Nursing and Nutrition, Yamaguchi Prefectural University, Yamaguchi 753-8502, Japan. 4Department of Functional Pathology, Shimane University Faculty of Medicine, Izumo 693-8501, Japan. (Received February 20, 2012; Accepted February 27, 2012)
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Varicose veins (VVs) cluster in families, but the familial risk of VVs has not been determined among adoptees. The aim was to estimate whether the familial transmission of VVs is related to disease in biological and/or adoptive parents.... more
Varicose veins (VVs) cluster in families, but the familial risk of VVs has not been determined among adoptees. The aim was to estimate whether the familial transmission of VVs is related to disease in biological and/or adoptive parents. The Swedish Multi-Generation Register and the Swedish Patient Register were used to follow all Swedish-born adoptees (born 1932-2004) that could be linked to both their biological and their adoptive parents (n = 80,214, 50% females). The risk of VVs was estimated in adoptees with at least one biological parent with VVs but no adoptive parent with VVs (n=187) compared with adoptees without a biological or adoptive parent with VVs (n=1,758). The risk of VVs was also determined in adoptees with at least one adoptive parent but no biological parent with VVs (n=87), and in adoptees with both biological and adoptive parents affected (n=21). Adoptees from an affected biological parent, but no adoptive parent, were more likely to have VVs than adoptees from an unaffected biological or adoptive parent (standard incidence ratio [SIR]: 2.21, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.91-2.55). The familial SIR for adoptees with both an affected biological and an adoptive parent was 4.58 (2.83-7.01). Adoptees with an affected adoptive parent, but no biological parent, were not at increased risk of VVs (SIR: 1.15, 0.92-1.42). These novel findings suggest that genetic factors make a strong contribution to the familial transmission of VVs from parents to offspring, although familial environmental factors might contribute.
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ABSTRACT
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The epidemiological features of diphyllobothriosis nihonkaiense are described. The case incidence showed peaks in the 1920s, 1970s, and 1980s. The geographic distribution covers all Japan. The main subjective symptoms are evacuation... more
The epidemiological features of diphyllobothriosis nihonkaiense are described. The case incidence showed peaks in the 1920s, 1970s, and 1980s. The geographic distribution covers all Japan. The main subjective symptoms are evacuation (83%), diarrhea or loose bowels (14%), and abdominal pain (13%). The taxonomic features of Diphyllobothrium nihonkaiense are described according to the following points: the shape and size of the scolex, bothrium development, neck length, segment form and size, segmental surface structure, internal structure, form and size of egg, pattern of egg-surface pits, growth condition of coracidia, form and size of hooks of the hexacanth embryo, form and size of the plerocercoid, bothrial slit, and tail excavation, and transverse furrows of the body surface. As for the internal structure of the plerocercoid, microtriches, the subtegumental and longitudinal muscle layer, parenchymal longitudinal muscle layer, subtegumental cell layer, and distribution of frontal gland showed as marked features. The physiological, biochemical, and molecular phylogenic features have been applied to species identification. We have tried to analyze the trace element content, amino acid content, isozyme pattern, immunological specificity, and DNA sequences. The natural focus of D. nihonkaiense is not yet defined, but the intermediate host, the masu salmon, Oncorhynchus masou, spawns all around the Sea of Okhotsk and the Sea of Japan.
Apolipoprotein A5 gene promoter region T-1131C polymorphism (APOA5 T-1131C) is known to be associated with elevated plasma TG levels, although little is known of the influence of the interaction between APOA5 T-1131C and lifestyle... more
Apolipoprotein A5 gene promoter region T-1131C polymorphism (APOA5 T-1131C) is known to be associated with elevated plasma TG levels, although little is known of the influence of the interaction between APOA5 T-1131C and lifestyle modification on TG levels. To investigate this matter, we studied APOA5 T-1131C and plasma TG levels of subjects participating in a three-month lifestyle modification program. A three-month lifestyle modification program was conducted with 297 participants (Age: 57 ± 8 years) in Izumo City, Japan, from 2001-2007. Changes in energy balance (the difference between energy intake and energy expenditure) and BMI were used to evaluate the participants' responses to the lifestyle modification. Even after adjusting for confounding factors, plasma TG levels were significantly different at baseline among three genotype subgroups: TT, 126 ± 68 mg/dl; TC, 134 ± 74 mg/dl; and CC, 172 ± 101 mg/dl. Lifestyle modification resulted in significant reductions in plasma T...
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Salt intake is recognized as an important risk factor for hypertension in the general population. On the other hand, the availability of various classes of antihypertensive drugs means that it is generally not considered crucial to... more
Salt intake is recognized as an important risk factor for hypertension in the general population. On the other hand, the availability of various classes of antihypertensive drugs means that it is generally not considered crucial to control the salt intake of hypertensive patients. In this study, we evaluated whether blood pressure (BP) was correlated with 24-hour salt intake in patients receiving antihypertensive therapy. A total of 1496 consecutive participants undergoing health screening examinations were recruited. Subjects were divided into two groups according to their antihypertensive medications checked on prescriptions: 1005 subjects without antihypertensive therapy (untreated subjects) and 491 subjects with antihypertensive therapy (treated subjects). The 24-hour urinary sodium excretion (24h-uNa), a surrogate marker for daily salt intake, was estimated with the formula proposed by Tanaka et al. in 2002. Univariate analysis indicated that 24h-uNa was positively correlated w...
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The World Health Organization (WHO) put forward a global strategy goal of "Health for All by year 2000" and pointed out the task of achieving this based on the primary health care (PHC) during the Alma-Ate Conference in... more
The World Health Organization (WHO) put forward a global strategy goal of "Health for All by year 2000" and pointed out the task of achieving this based on the primary health care (PHC) during the Alma-Ate Conference in 1978. The government of China have endorsed the WHO agreement and performed much work toward it. However, the gap between urban areas and rural areas is widening. The accomplishment of the goal of "Health for All by the year 2000" is still a critical task in China. In this study, main health problems, government policies and measures on the framework of quality of life, health status, lifestyle and health-supporting environment, medical, health and welfare system and health policies in PHC of China were diagnosed and evaluated according to the "diagnosis and evaluation for health promotion" by Green and Kreuter (1991). Japanese experiences in a combined medical, health and welfare system, elderly care, environmental protection and health education are very helpful to strengthen PHC in China. A new partnership for "Health for All" between Japan and China to achieve the goal of "Health for All by the year 2000" is imperative.
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Undercarboxylated osteocalcin (ucOC) produced from the bone was recently found to play a regulatory role in the insulin and adiponectin secretion. We performed a cross-sectional study to investigate the relationship between ucOC and... more
Undercarboxylated osteocalcin (ucOC) produced from the bone was recently found to play a regulatory role in the insulin and adiponectin secretion. We performed a cross-sectional study to investigate the relationship between ucOC and diabetes mellitus (DM). We included 1,870 subjects aged over 50 from participants of a health examination. According to the current medication and past history, 605 subjects had hypertension (HT), 316 had dyslipidemia (DL), and 182 had type 2 DM. Fasting blood samples were collected to measure concentrations of ucOC and the bone turnover marker, tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase 5b (TRACP5b) by ELISA. The serum ucOC level was significantly lower in DM(+) than DM(-) in both men and women. In a logistic regression analysis, a low level of ucOC was significantly associated with the presence of DM in both men and women after adjusting for age, BMI, serum creatinine, triglyceride, and TRACP5b. Multiple regression analysis showed a negative association of uc...
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To examine whether there is an association between neighborhood deprivation and age-related eye diseases, particularly macular degeneration, cataract, diabetes-related eye complications, and glaucoma. The study population comprised a... more
To examine whether there is an association between neighborhood deprivation and age-related eye diseases, particularly macular degeneration, cataract, diabetes-related eye complications, and glaucoma. The study population comprised a nationwide sample of 2,060,887 men and 2,250,851 women aged 40 years or older living in Sweden who were followed from 1 January 2000 until the first hospitalization/outpatient registration for age-related eye disease during the study period, death, emigration, or the end of the study period on 31 December 2010. Multilevel logistic regression was used to estimate the association between neighborhood deprivation and age-related eye diseases. In men, the odds ratio (OR) for age-related eye diseases for those living in high-deprivation neighborhoods compared to those living in low-deprivation neighborhoods remained significant after adjustment for potential confounding factors (macular degeneration, OR 1.08, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.03-1.12; cataract,...
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Apolipoprotein A5 gene promoter region T-1131C polymorphism (APOA5 T-1131C) is known to be associated with elevated plasma TG levels, although little is known of the influence of the interaction between APOA5 T-1131C and lifestyle... more
Apolipoprotein A5 gene promoter region T-1131C polymorphism (APOA5 T-1131C) is known to be associated with elevated plasma TG levels, although little is known of the influence of the interaction between APOA5 T-1131C and lifestyle modification on TG levels. To investigate this matter, we studied APOA5 T-1131C and plasma TG levels of subjects participating in a three-month lifestyle modification program. A three-month lifestyle modification program was conducted with 297 participants (Age: 57 ± 8 years) in Izumo City, Japan, from 2001-2007. Changes in energy balance (the difference between energy intake and energy expenditure) and BMI were used to evaluate the participants' responses to the lifestyle modification. Even after adjusting for confounding factors, plasma TG levels were significantly different at baseline among three genotype subgroups: TT, 126 ± 68 mg/dl; TC, 134 ± 74 mg/dl; and CC, 172 ± 101 mg/dl. Lifestyle modification resulted in significant reductions in plasma T...