The effect of obesity and smoking status on lung age in Japanese men.

Background And Objective: The lung age of smokers is greater than their real age. We have had the clinical impression that the lung age of non-smokers might be older than their real age and that obese subjects with decreased VC and FEV1 would also have an increased lung age. This cross-sectional study investigated the relationships between lung age and smoking status, and lung age and BMI.

Occupations associated with bullae on chest radiographs in Japanese middle-aged men.

Objectives: To examine an association between occupation and bullae seen on chest radiographs.

Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study of 27,361 men in their 50s who consulted our institute for health screening. Logistic models that independently incorporated occupation, age and smoking as variables in a stepwise fashion were selected.

Prediction of patient discomfort during fibreoptic bronchoscopy.

Objective: This study investigated the potential for predicting which patients would have a negative emotional reaction to bronchoscopy.

Methodology: A questionnaire was distributed to 120 patients who had undergone diagnostic fibreoptic bronchoscopy. A visual analog scale to evaluate the patient's discomfort was adopted.