Association between sodium and potassium excretion estimated from spot urine and socioeconomic status among primary school children and their mothers in Okinawa, Japan.

Hypertension is the greatest and the most preventable risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Excessive sodium (Na) intake and insufficient potassium (K) intake have been identified as risk factors for hypertension. Socioeconomic status (SES) may be related to diet quality.

Effect of Nutrition Education on the Vegetable Intake of Residents in Okinawa.

Increasing vegetable intake is recommended for promoting health in communities. This study investigated the effects of nutrition education on vegetable intake and the factors associated with changes in vegetable intake among residents of Okinawa. Subjects (n=1,345; mean [±SD] age 56.

Comparison of Analyzed and Calculated Values of Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid (GABA) Intake from Hospital Diet.

Intake of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) from nutritionally controlled hospital diet was analyzed and compared with those estimated by calculation. Thirty meals provided at a hospital in Okinawa were sampled. GABA content per meal were measured by HPLC and calculated from GABA content data in foods as much as available.

Majority of New Onset of Dental Caries Occurred from Caries-Free Students: A Longitudinal Study in Primary School Students.

We examined Rose's axiom that a large number of people exposed to a small risk may generate more cases than a small number exposed to a high risk, using data on caries incidence. This longitudinal study was based on the records of annual dental checks conducted in primary schools in Okinawa, Japan. Participants were students aged 6-11 years at baseline in 2014, and a follow-up survey was conducted after one-year.

Applying a meal coding system to 16-d weighed dietary record data in the Japanese context: towards the development of simple meal-based dietary assessment tools.

Data on the combination of foods consumed simultaneously at specific eating occasions are scarce, primarily due to a lack of assessment tools. We applied a recently developed meal coding system to multiple-day dietary intake data for assessing its ability to estimate food and nutrient intakes and characterise meal-based dietary patterns in the Japanese context. A total of 242 Japanese adults completed sixteen non-consecutive-day weighed dietary records, including 14 734 eating occasions (3788 breakfasts, 3823 lunches, 3856 dinners and 3267 snacks).

Relationship between nutrition knowledge and dietary intake among primary school children in Japan: Combined effect of children's and their guardians' knowledge.

Background: Improving the dietary habits of children is important to decrease the future burden of noncommunicable diseases. While various food education programs have been implemented worldwide, evaluation of nutrition knowledge is difficult, even at baseline. Further, the relationship between nutrition knowledge and dietary intake has not been clarified in non-western countries.

Validity of a Self-Administered Food-Frequency Questionnaire for Assessing Amino Acid Intake in Japan: Comparison With Intake From 4-Day Weighed Dietary Records and Plasma Levels.

Background: Interest in the physiological roles of amino acids and their impact on health outcomes is substantial and growing. This interest has prompted assessment of the habitual intake of amino acids for use in epidemiologic studies and in clarifying the association between habitual intake and plasma levels of amino acids. Here, we investigated the validity of ranking individuals according to dietary amino acid intake as estimated using a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) in comparison with intakes from dietary records (DRs) and plasma levels.

Estimation of habitual iodine intake in Japanese adults using 16 d diet records over four seasons with a newly developed food composition database for iodine.

Although habitual seaweed consumption in Japan would suggest that iodine intake in Japanese is exceptionally high, intake data from diet records are limited. In the present study, we developed a composition database of iodine and estimated the habitual intake of iodine among Japanese adults. Missing values for iodine content in the existing composition table were imputed based on established criteria.

Higher proportion of total and fat energy intake during the morning may reduce absolute intake of energy within the day. An observational study in free-living Japanese adults.

Background: Although the distribution of energy intake throughout the day appears to impact overall daily energy intake, little is known about the ad libitum distribution of energy intake.

Objective: Our aim was to investigate associations between the distribution of energy intake during the day and subsequent or overall energy intake, and food choice in free-living adults.

Design: A total of 119 women and 116 men completed 16-day semi-weighed dietary records.

Estimation of intakes of copper, zinc, and manganese in Japanese adults using 16-day semi-weighed diet records.

Data for the intake of copper, zinc, and manganese in Japanese populations obtained by detailed diet assessment methods and the most recent version of the food composition database in Japan are scarce. Moreover, data on food sources which contribute to the intake of these nutrients in Asian countries, including Japan, are not available. Here, we estimated copper, zinc, and manganese intake and elucidated major food sources of these nutrients in a Japanese population.

IL-4 and IL-5 secretions predominate in the airways of wistar rats exposed to toluene diisocyanate vapor.

Objectives: We established a Wistar rat model of asthma caused by toluene diisocyanate (TDI) exposure, and investigated the relationship between TDI exposure concentrations and respiratory hypersensitivity, airway inflammation, and cytokine secretions in animals, to better understand the mechanism of TDI induced occupational asthma.

Methods: Wistar rats were exposed to two different concentrations of TDI vapor four hours a day for five consecutive days. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) was performed, and differential leucocytes from the BAL fluid were analyzed.

Within- and between-individual variation in energy and nutrient intake in Japanese adults: effect of age and sex differences on group size and number of records required for adequate dietary assessment.

Background: Information on within- and between-individual variation in energy and nutrient intake is critical for precisely estimating usual dietary intake; however, data from Japanese populations are limited.

Methods: We used dietary records to examine within- and between-individual variation by age and sex in the intake of energy and 31 selected nutrients among Japanese adults. We also calculated the group size required to estimate mean intake for a group and number of days required both to rank individuals within a group and to assess an individual's usual intake, all with appropriate arbitrary precision.

Very old adults with better memory function have higher low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels and lower triglyceride to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratios: KOCOA Project.

We cross-sectionally examined which lipid profiles are associated with better cognitive function among those aged 80 and older, free of dementia (Clinical Dementia Rating ≤0.5), functionally independent, and community-dwelling. Our cohort consisted of 193 participants from the "Keys to Optimal Cognitive Aging (KOCOA) Project", a prospective cohort study in Okinawa, Japan.

Metabolic syndrome and cognitive decline among the oldest old in Okinawa: in search of a mechanism. The KOCOA Project.

The study aim was to test whether the metabolic syndrome or its components predicted cognitive decline among persons aged 80 years and older (mean 85.0 years). Participants were members of the "Keys to Optimal Cognitive Aging Project," a prospective cohort study in Okinawa, Japan.

Comparisons of plasma/serum micronutrients between Okinawan and Oregonian elders: a pilot study.

Certain micronutrients are protective against cognitive decline. We examined whether there is any uniform pattern of circulating micronutrients cross-culturally that are associated with successful cognitive aging. For the U.

The Okinawan diet: health implications of a low-calorie, nutrient-dense, antioxidant-rich dietary pattern low in glycemic load.

Residents of Okinawa, the southernmost prefecture of Japan, are known for their long average life expectancy, high numbers of centenarians, and accompanying low risk of age-associated diseases. Much of the longevity advantage in Okinawa is thought to be related to a healthy lifestyle, particularly the traditional diet, which is low in calories yet nutritionally dense, especially with regard to phytonutrients in the form of antioxidants and flavonoids. Research suggests that diets associated with a reduced risk of chronic diseases are similar to the traditional Okinawan diet, that is, vegetable and fruit heavy (therefore phytonutrient and antioxidant rich) but reduced in meat, refined grains, saturated fat, sugar, salt, and full-fat dairy products.

Estimation of caffeine intake in Japanese adults using 16 d weighed diet records based on a food composition database newly developed for Japanese populations.

Objective: Previous studies in Western populations have linked caffeine intake with health status. While detailed dietary assessment studies in these populations have shown that the main contributors to caffeine intake are coffee and tea, the wide consumption of Japanese and Chinese teas in Japan suggests that sources of intake in Japan may differ from those in Western populations. Among these teas, moreover, caffeine content varies widely among the different forms consumed (brewed, canned or bottled), suggesting the need for detailed dietary assessment in estimating intake in Japanese populations.

Estimation of trans fatty acid intake in Japanese adults using 16-day diet records based on a food composition database developed for the Japanese population.

Background: The Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan do not include information on trans fatty acids. Previous studies estimating trans fatty acid intake among Japanese have limitations regarding the databases utilized and diet assessment methodologies. We developed a comprehensive database of trans fatty acid food composition, and used this database to estimate intake among a Japanese population.

Paradoxical increases in serum levels of highly chlorinated PCBs in aged women in clear contrast to robust decreases in dietary intakes from 1980 to 2003 in Japan.

Objective: Exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) is considered to have culminated between 1950 and 1970 in Japan, and exposure through diet, the major exposure route, has decreased significantly over the last 10 years. The primary goal of the present study was to investigate the long-term trends and congener profiles of serum and dietary levels of PCBs using historical samples.

Methods: Using banked samples collected in 1980, 1995, and 2003 surveys, we determined the daily intakes and serum concentrations of 13 PCB congeners (#74, #99, #118, #138, #146, #153, #156, #163, #164, #170, #180, #182, and #187) in women.

Dietary intervention with Okinawan vegetables increased circulating endothelial progenitor cells in healthy young women.

Objective: Circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) play a critical role in maintaining the integrity of vascular vessels. The number of EPCs inversely correlates with the number of atherosclerotic risk factors. Although nonpharmacological treatment represents the first approach to the primary prevention of atherosclerotic diseases, little is known about the effects of diet on EPCs.

Validity of a self-administered food-frequency questionnaire in the estimation of amino acid intake.

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the validity of a FFQ in the estimation of dietary amino acid intake. Amino acid intake was calculated using a composition database developed based on the Standard Tables of Food Composition for amino acids in Japan. Subjects were subsampled from two populations of the Japan Public Health Center-based Prospective Study who volunteered to participate in the validation study of the FFQ.

Caloric restriction, the traditional Okinawan diet, and healthy aging: the diet of the world's longest-lived people and its potential impact on morbidity and life span.

Long-term caloric restriction (CR) is a robust means of reducing age-related diseases and extending life span in multiple species, but the effects in humans are unknown. The low caloric intake, long life expectancy, and the high prevalence of centenarians in Okinawa have been used as an argument to support the CR hypothesis in humans. However, no long-term, epidemiologic analysis has been conducted on traditional dietary patterns, energy balance, and potential CR phenotypes for the specific cohort of Okinawans who are purported to have had a calorically restricted diet.

Caloric Restriction, Energy Balance and Healthy Aging in Okinawans and Americans: Biomarker Differences in Septuagenarians.

Background: Caloric restriction (CR) is the only consistently reproducible non-genetic means of minimizing age-related diseases and increasing maximum lifespan in short-lived animals but few human studies exist.

Objective: Since elderly Okinawans exhibit several phenotypic features of CR including low BMI, low prevalence of chronic diseases, and exceptional longevity, we hypothesized that this phenotype may be reflected in candidate biomarkers of human aging.

Methods: We retrospectively estimated adult energy balance across the life course for septuagenarian birth cohorts (born ca 1915-1925) from Okinawa and the U.

Potassium excretion in healthy Japanese women was increased by a dietary intervention utilizing home-parcel delivery of Okinawan vegetables.

Potassium, which is abundant in vegetables, is inversely related to blood pressure. Although the situation has changed somewhat in recent years, the Okinawan diet has generally included a large amount of vegetables, and until recently Okinawans had the lowest rates of mortality due to stroke and coronary heart disease in Japan. Based on the hypothesis that these low mortality rates are partly attributable to increased potassium intake resulting from the high vegetable consumption, this study examined whether increasing the consumption of typical yellow-green Okinawan vegetables increases potassium intake.