Reproductive factors and risk of epithelial ovarian cancer: results from the Asia Cohort Consortium.

Background: There are scarce data on risk factors for epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) in Asian populations. Our goal was to advance knowledge on reproductive -related risk factors for EOC in a large population of Asian women.

Methods: This study used pooled individual data from baseline questionnaires in 11 prospective cohorts (baseline years, 1958-2015) in the Asia Cohort Consortium.

Number of teeth and functional disability in community-dwelling older adults.

Introduction: This study determined whether tooth loss was associated with the development of functional disability and estimated the population attributable fraction (PAF) of functional disability due to tooth loss, along with risk factors for functional disability such as physical function and cognitive impairment.

Methods: The participants were 838 community-dwelling older adults aged ≥70 years living in the Tsurugaya district in Japan in 2003. The exposure variable was the number of remaining teeth (counted by trained dentists).

Active and passive smoking and breast cancer in Japan: a pooled analysis of nine population-based cohort studies.

Background: Epidemiological studies have shown inconsistent results regarding the link between smoking and breast cancer risk, despite the biological plausibility of a positive association.

Methods: Participants were 166 611 women from nine prospective cohort studies in Japan which launched in 1984-1994 and followed for 8-22 years. Information on smoking and secondhand smoke was obtained through self-administered baseline questionnaires.

Lung Cancer Risk Prediction Models for Asian Ever-Smokers.

Introduction: Although lung cancer prediction models are widely used to support risk-based screening, their performance outside Western populations remains uncertain. This study aims to evaluate the performance of 11 existing risk prediction models in multiple Asian populations and to refit prediction models for Asians.

Methods: In a pooled analysis of 186,458 Asian ever-smokers from 19 prospective cohorts, we assessed calibration (expected-to-observed ratio) and discrimination (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve [AUC]) for each model.

Association between Social Isolation and the Risk of Incident Functional Disability in Elderly Survivors after the Great East Japan Earthquake.

Social isolation is frequently observed among survivors of disaster. However, there is limited evidence regarding the association between social isolation and adverse health outcomes among survivors of disaster. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between social isolation and the risk of incident functional disability (IFD) among survivors of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE).

Reproductive Factors and Endometrial Cancer Risk Among Women.

Importance: Despite evidence of an association between reproductive factors and endometrial cancer risk, prospective studies have been conducted mainly in non-Asian countries.

Objective: To assess the association between reproductive factors, such as number of deliveries, age at menarche, or menopause, and endometrial cancer risk.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This cohort study used pooled individual data from 13 prospective cohort studies conducted between 1963 and 2014 in the Asia Cohort Consortium.

Effect of the decreased frequency of going out on the association between anxiety and sleep disorder during the COVID-19 pandemic: a mediation analysis.

Purpose: The objective of the present study was to examine the relationship between anxiety and sleep disorder during the COVID-19 pandemic and to evaluate whether sleep disorder is mediated by the decreased frequency of going out.

Methods: The data of a total of 1976 residents aged 18 years and over who had responded to a self-reported questionnaires at a health survey in 2020 were analyzed. The subjects were divided into four groups based on their response to the questionnaire on anxiety about the COVID-19 pandemic.

Association of Central Blood Pressure and Carotid Intima Media Thickness with New-Onset Hypertension in People with High Normal Blood Pressure.

Aim: People with high normal blood pressure (BP) have a higher risk of cardiovascular events than those with normal BP; therefore, progression to hypertension (HT) should be prevented. We aimed to assess the HT risk using central BP and carotid intima media thickness (CIMT) in people with high normal BP.

Methods: This prospective cohort study used the Tohoku Medical Megabank Community-Based Project Cohort Study (conducted from 2013 in Miyagi Prefecture in Japan).

Association between Low Back Pain and Neck Pain: A 3-Year Longitudinal Study Using the Data of the People after the Great East Japan Earthquake.

Low back pain (LBP) and neck pain (NP) are common health problems worldwide. LBP often coexists with NP; however, the association between these pains remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to clarify the association between LBP and NP, focusing on dose-dependent effects.

Association between psychological distress and disability-free life expectancy in the older Japanese adults.

Background: Our study aimed to investigate the association between psychological distress and disability-free life expectancy (DFLE).

Methods: In 2006, a cohort study was conducted of 12,365 Japanese individuals aged ≥65 years, who were followed-up for 13 years. Psychological distress was measured using the Kessler 6-item psychological distress scale and was categorized into no (0-4), mild (5-9), moderate (10-12), and serious distress (13-24).

Evacuation at Home Delayed the First Medical Intervention in Minamisanriku Town after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.

Introduction: In Japan, evacuation at home is expected to increase in the future as a post-disaster evacuation type due to the pandemic, aging, and diverse disabilities of the population. However, more disaster-related indirect deaths occurred in homes than in evacuation centers after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE). The health risks faced by evacuees at home have not been adequately discussed.

Psychological distress in later life and incident dementia: The Ohsaki Cohort 2006 Study.

Background: The role of reverse causation in the association between psychological distress and incident dementia remains unclear. We investigated whether psychological distress is a risk factor for, or prodromal symptom of, dementia.

Methods: A longitudinal analysis of psychological distress with incident dementia was conducted among 12,076 Japanese individuals (age ≥65 years) followed for 5.

Seaweed consumption and the risk of prostate cancer: the Miyagi cohort study.

Some laboratory studies have shown that fucoidan, which is contained in seaweed extract, has inhibitory effects on the invasion and angiogenesis of tumor cells; however, the association between seaweed consumption and prostate cancer incidence remains unclear. The purpose of the present study was to examine the association between seaweed consumption and the risk of prostate cancer incidence in the Japanese population. Data from 19 311 men in the Miyagi Cohort Study who were 40-64 years old at baseline in 1990 were examined.

Combined Fat Mass and Fat-free Mass Indices and Lung Function Among Japanese Population: The Tohoku Medical Megabank Community-based Cohort Study.

Background: Although fat mass index (FMI) and fat-free mass index (FFMI) affect lung function, FMI and FFMI are not independent of each other, since FMI and FFMI were calculated as fat mass and fat-free mass divided by height squared, respectively. We aimed to examine the association of combined FMI and FFMI with lung function.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, lung function was evaluated using forced expiratory volume at 1 s (FEV) and forced vital capacity (FVC) measured using spirometry.