Potential factors affecting chronic chemical intolerance associated with constitutional predisposition or lifestyle and environment during childhood: From a six-year follow-up study.

Objective: The Japanese chemical intolerance (JCI) study was conducted in January 2012 with a cohort of 7245 adults from population-based sampling. This study aimed to investigate the childhood constitutional and environmental factors involved in the development of chronic CI from the prospective cohort study.

Methods: In the cohort, 4683 persons were identified after six years.

Chemical intolerance: involvement of brain function and networks after exposure to extrinsic stimuli perceived as hazardous.

Background: Chemical intolerance (CI) is a chronic condition characterized by recurring and severe symptoms triggered by exposure to low levels of odorous or pungent substances. The etiology of CI has been a controversial subject for a long time. The aim of this review is to summarize findings on the neurological processing of sensory information during and after exposure to low levels of odorous or pungent substances in individuals with CI, focusing on the brain function and networks.

Factors affecting self-reported chemical intolerance: A five-year follow-up study in Japan.

Objective: Chemical intolerance (CI) has become a strong public health concern in industrialized countries. The Japanese Chemical Intolerance (JCI) study was conducted in January 2012 with a cohort of 7245 adults from population-based sampling as the baseline. The aim of the present study was to investigate the factors involved in the improvement and development of CI from the five-year follow-up study.

Association between environmental noise and subjective symptoms related to cardiovascular diseases among elderly individuals in Japan.

Noise in housing environments may increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs); however, the most significant sources of noise among elderly individuals remain poorly understood. A nationwide cross-sectional study comprised of 6,181 elderly people (age ≥ 65 years) was conducted using a web-based self-reported questionnaire in 2014. Questions pertaining to CVD-related subjective symptoms within the past year addressed symptoms of chest pain, disturbances in pulse, acute impaired tongue movement, limb paralysis, and foot pain or numbness during walking.

Association of Odor Thresholds and Responses in Cerebral Blood Flow of the Prefrontal Area during Olfactory Stimulation in Patients with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.

Multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) is a disorder characterized by nonspecific and recurrent symptoms from various organ systems associated with exposure to low levels of chemicals. Patients with MCS process odors differently than controls do. Previously, we suggested that this odor processing was associated with increased regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in the prefrontal area during olfactory stimulation using near-infrared spectroscopic (NIRS) imaging.

Assessment of inhalation exposure to indoor air pollutants: Screening for health risks of multiple pollutants in Japanese dwellings.

Over the past few decades, multiple low level indoor pollutants have been found in domestic dwellings. The types and concentrations of these indoor pollutants have not been consistent over time and have changed with alterations in lifestyle, the development of novel products used in housing, and the development of new measurement technologies. To clarify the highest risk pollutants for which health risks should be reduced, we conducted a health risk assessment of 49 indoor air pollutants measured in 602 houses during winter and summer from 2012 to 2014.

Assessment of cerebral blood flow in patients with multiple chemical sensitivity using near-infrared spectroscopy--recovery after olfactory stimulation: a case-control study.

Objectives: Multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) is a chronic acquired disorder characterized by non-specific symptoms in multiple organ systems associated with exposure to odorous chemicals. We previously observed significant activations in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) during olfactory stimulation using several different odorants in patients with MCS by near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) imaging. We also observed that the patients with MCS did not adequately distinguish non-odorant in the late stage of the repeated olfactory stimulation test.

Prevalence and Characteristics of Chemical Intolerance: A Japanese Population-Based Study.

Population-based cross-sectional study was performed to estimate the prevalence of chemical intolerance and to examine the characteristics of the sample. A Web-based survey was conducted that included 7,245 adults in Japan. The criteria for chemical intolerance proposed by Skovbjerg yielded a prevalence of 7.

Changes in cerebral blood flow during olfactory stimulation in patients with multiple chemical sensitivity: a multi-channel near-infrared spectroscopic study.

Multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) is characterized by somatic distress upon exposure to odors. Patients with MCS process odors differently from controls. This odor-processing may be associated with activation in the prefrontal area connecting to the anterior cingulate cortex, which has been suggested as an area of odorant-related activation in MCS patients.

Assessing the risk of Legionnaires' disease: the inhalation exposure model and the estimated risk in residential bathrooms.

Legionella are widely found in the built environment. Patients with Legionnaires' disease have been increasing in Japan; however, health risks from Legionella bacteria in the environment are not appropriately assessed. We performed a quantitative health risk assessment modeled on residential bathrooms in the Adachi outbreak area and estimated risk levels.

Future trends of mesothelioma mortality in Japan based on a risk function.

Mesothelioma is a malignancy with poor prognosis. It is chiefly caused by asbestos exposure and its symptoms can occur about 30-50 yr after the initial exposure. This study aims to predict the future trends in mesothelioma mortality in Japan using a method that is an alternative to the age-cohort model.

Methodology for setting risk-based concentrations of contaminants in soil and groundwater and application to a model contaminated site.

In Japan, environmental standards for contaminants in groundwater and in leachate from soil are set with the assumption that they are used for drinking water over a human lifetime. Where there is neither a well nor groundwater used for drinking, the standard is thus too severe. Therefore, remediation based on these standards incurs excessive effort and cost.

Historical review on development of environmental quality standards and guideline values for air pollutants in Japan.

Environmental quality standards (EQSs) have been established as desirable levels to be maintained for protection of human health and the conservation of the living environment by Basic Environment Law. EQSs in ambient air had been set for 10 substances (sulfur dioxide (SO(2)), carbon monoxide (CO), suspended particulate matter (SPM), nitrogen dioxide (NO(2)) and photochemical oxidants (Ox), benzene, tetrachloroethylene, trichloroethylene, dioxins and dichloromethane) and guideline values for 7 (acrylonitorile, vinyl chloride monomer, mercury, nickel compounds, 1,3-butadiene, chloroform and 1,2-dichloromethane) in Japan by 2009. EQSs for the classical (or traditional) air pollutants, SO(2), CO, SPM, NO(2) and Ox, were set according to the minimal requirement to protect human health, based on evidence from epidemiological studies conducted before the 1970s.

Polychlorinated dioxins, furans, and biphenyls in blood of children and adults living in a dioxin-contaminated area in Tokyo.

The soil of a residential area in Tokyo was found to contain dioxins, namely polychlorinated dioxins, furans, and dioxin-like biphenyls, the levels of which exceeded the environmental guideline [1,000 pg toxic equivalent (TEQ)/g] by up to 6.8 times. To assess the exposure levels of people living in this area and to study the possible relationship of blood dioxin concentrations of children with breast milk and/or formula feeding, a health survey was carried out in 2006, involving a total of 138 people, including 66 children aged 3-15 years, and blood dioxin concentrations and the characteristics and lifestyles of these people were analyzed.

[Toxicity of formaldehyde exposure and the details of its control measures].

The indoor air quality guideline (0.08 ppm) for formaldehyde was set in 1997. Afterwards, the occupational indoor air quality guideline for workplace where formaldehyde was manufactured or treated (the specific workplace handling formaldehyde) was set at the value of 0.

[Nine-month observation of effects of SO2 on the respiratory system in child Miyakejima citizens].

Background: Mt. Oyama on Miyakejima Island erupted in June 2000 and all Miyake village citizens were forced to evacuate the island in the September, due to continuous eruptions and emission of unsafe amounts of volcanic gas, mainly sulfur dioxide (SO2). Beginning in February 2005, residents returned to live on the island despite the fact that volcanic gas was still being emitted.

Mesothelioma risk and environmental exposure to asbestos: past and future trends in Japan.

Although asbestos has been widely distributed in the environment, health risks due to general environmental exposure to asbestos have not been estimated. Future mesothelioma risk from environmental exposure to asbestos in Japan was estimated by comparing historical exposure data and mortality attributed to environmental exposure. We developed an equation to estimate environmentally-attributable mesothelioma based on the US Environmental Protection Agency's model for occupational mesothelioma mortality.

Noise sensitivity and subjective health: questionnaire study conducted along trunk roads in Kusatsu, Japan.

A questionnaire study was conducted in a residential area along trunk roads in Kusatsu, Japan, in order to investigate the association between noise exposure, noise sensitivity, and subjective health. Subjective health of the respondents was measured by the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) which yields the total score as an index of psychiatric disorder and four subscales. Noise sensitivity was measured by the improved version of the Weinstein's noise sensitivity scale named WNS-6B.

Effects of SO2 on respiratory system of adult Miyakejima resident 2 years after returning to the island.

Background: Mt. Oyama in Miyakejima Island erupted in June, 2000. All Miyake villagers were forced to evacuate from the island in September, 2000, due to continuous eruptions and emissions of unsafe amounts of volcanic gas, mainly SO2.

[Questionnaire survey of workers in specific buildings regarding multiple chemical sensitivity].

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the incidence of multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) and effectiveness of the Quick Environment Exposure and Sensitivity Inventory (QEESI) in Japanese workers in specific buildings.

Methods: The survey was performed in 2004-2006 in Japan. QEESI (Japanese version) and a checklist on accumulation of fatigue developed by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare were used in the examination of 410 workers in specific buildings.

[Biodistribution of ultrafine particles of titanium dioxide by intratracheal administration to mice].

TiO2 ultrafine particles are used as photo-catalysis. When ultrafine particles are exposed to hosts, they are invaded in alveolar, transferred to organs through blood vessels and may express biological effects. We administered TiO2 ultra-fine particles (5 nm, 100 nm) intratracheally to mice, and collected whole blood and removed organs (liver, lung, kidney, spleen and brain) after 1, 4 and 24 hours.

[Investigation of air pollution in a shopping center and employees' personal exposure level].

Objectives: To investigate the concentrations of chemicals found inside a shopping center (SC), we investigated the condition of air pollution in a SC and the personal exposure level of SC employees.

Methods: The survey was performed in June 2006 in Kyushu. The chemicals studied were volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and aldehydes.

[Investigation of the condition of asbestos in large-scale buildings in Kitakyushu].

Recently, asbestos-related diseases have become serious all over the world. We investigated the condition of asbestos in large-scale buildings. The survey was performed in 2006 in Kitakyushu with self-administered questionnaires which were sent to managers of 250 buildings.

The risk screening for indoor air pollution chemicals in Japan.

In recent years, public health problems caused by indoor air pollution have been drawing strong public concern in Japan. After conducting extensive exposure assessment, governmental agencies have taken effective measures to solve the problem; for instance, "Guidelines for indoor air quality (IAQ)" of 13 chemicals, for example, formaldehyde, toluene, and xylene, has been established. Thousands of chemicals have been identified in the indoor environment.