Seasonality in physical activity and walking of healthy older adults.

Background: An increasing number of older adults require improvements in their quality of life. Physical activities, particularly walking ability, are of primary importance for older adults. The influence of season on physical activity has not been sufficiently studied among older adults.

Prognosis of anti-hepatitis C virus antibody-positive patients on regular hemodialysis therapy.

The prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is high in patients who are on chronic hemodialysis, but the role of HCV infection and HCV-related liver disease in the mortality of these patients has not been shown. Therefore, we conducted a prospective cohort study of 1470 patients who were on chronic hemodialysis (17 to 89 yr old) from 16 dialysis centers in Japan. Among them, 276 patients (18.