Case-control study of green tea consumption and the risk of endometrial endometrioid adenocarcinoma.

Objective: To investigate the association between green tea consumption and the risk of endometrial cancer restricted to endometrial endometrioid adenocarcinoma (EEA) using a case-control design in Japan.

Methods: The cases were 152 patients with histopathologically diagnosed EEA, and the controls were 285 healthy women who were matched for age and area of residence with individual cases. The subjects completed a questionnaire regarding health-related lifestyle and reproductive history, and a food frequency questionnaire.

[Malnutrition and the risk of long-term care insurance certification or mortality. A cohort study of the Tsurugaya project].

Objective: The purpose of this study was to propose a suitable cut-off point for the serum albumin value to predict which elderly individuals are qualified for long-term care insurance certification and those at risk of death.

Methods: The Tsurugaya Project was a comprehensive geriatric assessment conducted for community-dwelling elderly persons aged 70 years or older in Sendai, Japan. Of those participating, the 832 from whom consent was obtained and who were not qualified for long-term care insurance certification were adopted as subjects.

Sense of life worth living (ikigai) and mortality in Japan: Ohsaki Study.

Objective: To investigate the association between the sense of "life worth living (ikigai)" and the cause-specific mortality risk. The psychological factors play important roles in morbidity and mortality risks. However, the association between the negative psychological factors and the risk of mortality is inconclusive.

[Fish intake and the risk of prostate cancer in Japan: a prospective cohort study].

Objective: Fish intake may reduce the risk of prostate cancer. However, the results of previous prospective cohort studies have been inconsistent, and almost all have been undertaken in Western countries, where total fish intake is low. We therefore investigated the association between fish intake and the risk of prostate cancer in a prospective cohort study in Japan.

Survival prediction of patients with advanced cancer: the predictive accuracy of the model based on biological markers.

To determine whether the addition of biological markers to performance status (PS) and physical symptoms would improve survival prediction among patients with advanced cancer, we developed two prediction models with a scoring system based on 294 consecutive patients with advanced cancer (training set), and then tested its validity on another 93 patients (testing set). We assessed the predictive accuracy of the models using receiver-operating characteristic analysis. Albumin (ALB), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and lymphocyte percentage (Lymp%) were significantly and independently associated with survival length.

Dietary patterns and cardiovascular disease mortality in Japan: a prospective cohort study.

Background: Although ecological observations suggest that the Japanese diet may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), the impact of a Japanese dietary pattern upon mortality due to CVD is unclear.

Methods: We prospectively assessed the association between dietary patterns among the Japanese and CVD mortality. Dietary information was collected from 40 547 Japanese men and women aged 40-79 years without a history of diabetes, stroke, myocardial infarction or cancer at the baseline in 1994.

Alcohol consumption is associated with an increased risk of distal colon and rectal cancer in Japanese men: the Miyagi Cohort Study.

The association between alcohol consumption and the risk of cancer of the proximal or distal colon or rectum remains controversial. We examined this association in a large population-based cohort of Japanese men. In 1990, a self-administered questionnaire on alcohol drinking and other health habits was delivered to 25,279 Japanese men aged 40 to 64 years of age.

Green tea consumption and mortality due to cardiovascular disease, cancer, and all causes in Japan: the Ohsaki study.

Context: Green tea polyphenols have been extensively studied as cardiovascular disease and cancer chemopreventive agents in vitro and in animal studies. However, the effects of green tea consumption in humans remain unclear.

Objective: To investigate the associations between green tea consumption and all-cause and cause-specific mortality.

Lower risk of death from gastric cancer among participants of gastric cancer screening in Japan: a population-based cohort study.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the association between gastric cancer screening and mortality from gastric cancer.

Methods: In 1990, 47,605 Japanese subjects were recruited and completed a questionnaire about participation in gastric cancer screening and life-style. We followed up their vital status through December 2001.

Impact of non-dietary nutrients intake on misclassification in the estimation of nutrient intake in epidemiologic study.

Background: Few previous epidemiologic studies have evaluated the effects of non-dietary nutrient intake, such as supplements, over the counter (OTC) drugs, and prescription drugs containing vitamins or minerals, in examining the relationship between dietary factors and health outcomes.

Methods: To examine the influence of the non-dietary intake of vitamins and calcium on the estimation of nutrient intake, we conducted a cross-sectional study with 1,168 community-dwelling Japanese subjects aged 70 years or older in 2002. The subjects were asked to bring their non-dietary nutrient sources to the examining site.

Dietary intakes and plasma 8-iso-prostaglandin F2alpha concentrations in community-dwelling elderly Japanese: the Tsurugaya project.

We examined the association between dietary intakes and oxidative stress status in elderly Japanese. We analyzed cross-sectional data from a community-based Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment conducted in 2002. The subjects included 961 Japanese subjects aged 70 years or older who were non-daily antioxidant supplements users.

[Association between depressive symptoms and cerebrovascular lesions on MRI in community-dwelling elderly individuals].

Aim: We conducted a community-based study to verify relationships between cerebrovascular lesions (CVL) on magnetic resonance imaging and depressive symptoms (DS) in elderly individuals, and the validity of Krishnan's MRI-defined vascular depression (MRI-VD).

Methods: MRI was performed in 196 community-dwelling elderly individuals (mean age, 72.3 +/- 1.

Green tea consumption and cognitive function: a cross-sectional study from the Tsurugaya Project 1.

Background: Although considerable experimental and animal evidence shows that green tea may possess potent activities of neuroprotection, neurorescue, and amyloid precursor protein processing that may lead to cognitive enhancement, no human data are available.

Objective: The objective was to examine the association between green tea consumption and cognitive function in humans.

Design: We analyzed cross-sectional data from a community-based Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) conducted in 2002.

Influence of leisure-time physical activity on the relationship between C-reactive protein and hypertension in a community-based elderly population of Japan: the Tsurugaya project.

There are several studies indicating an association between C-reactive protein (CRP) and blood pressure (BP) in the Japanese population, but the influence of physical activity has not been considered. Therefore, we designed a cross-sectional survey to determine whether leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) modifies the relation between CRP and hypertension among Japanese elderly. Our study population comprised 643 subjects aged 70 years and over in whom CRP, home BP, and self-reported LTPA were measured.

Association between social support and depression status in the elderly: results of a 1-year community-based prospective cohort study in Japan.

We conducted a prospective cohort study on subjects aged>or=70 years in an urban community to determine whether there is any association between lack of social support and depression status. Of the 2730 eligible subjects, 1178 participated and were interviewed in a Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) in 2002. We investigated the five social supports items using the following questions: (i) do you have someone with whom you can consult when you are in trouble?, (ii) do you have someone with whom you can consult when your physical condition is not good?, (iii) do you have someone who can help you with your daily housework?, (iv) do you have someone who can take you to a hospital when you do not feel well?, and (v) do you have someone who can take care of you when you are ill in bed? The Geriatric Depression Scale was used to estimate depression status.

Factors affecting home-measured resting heart rate in the general population: the Ohasama study.

Background: We recently demonstrated that a home-measured resting heart rate (HR) can predict cardiovascular disease mortality, and it is possible that the determinants of home HR are different from casual HR. Therefore, clarifying the determinants of home HR should be useful.

Methods: Home HR was obtained using a self-monitored blood pressure (BP) measuring device.

C-reactive protein and peripheral artery disease among Japanese elderly: the Tsurugaya Project.

We investigated the cross-sectional relationship between ankle brachial index and cardiovascular disease risk factors, including C-reactive protein (CRP), among Japanese elderly, a topic which has had little prior epidemiologic study. Our study population comprised 946 subjects aged at least 70 years in whom both CRP and ankle brachial index were measured. The participants were classified into a low (ankle brachial index<0.

Modifiable factors for the length of life with disability before death: mortality retrospective study in Japan.

Background: Past studies have measured and described the length of life with disability before death, but there has been no study of the relationship between modifiable lifestyle factors and duration of disability.

Objective: To examine whether there are modifiable factors influencing the length of life with disability before death.

Methods: The study was designed as a retrospective observation of the deceased who had earlier been enrolled in a prospective cohort study.

Coffee consumption and the risk of primary liver cancer: pooled analysis of two prospective studies in Japan.

Although case-control studies suggested that coffee consumption is associated with a decreased risk of liver cancer, no prospective cohort study has been carried out. To examine the association between coffee consumption and the risk of liver cancer, we conducted a pooled analysis of data available from 2 cohort studies in Japan. A self-administered questionnaire about the frequency of coffee consumption and other health habits was distributed to 22,404 subjects (10,588 men and 11,816 women) in Cohort 1 and 38,703 subjects (18,869 men and 19,834 women) in Cohort 2, aged 40 years or more, with no previous history of cancer.

Impact of alcohol consumption upon medical care utilization and costs in men: 4-year observation of National Health Insurance beneficiaries in Japan.

Aims: The purpose of the present study was to examine the association between alcohol consumption and in-patient and out-patient care utilization and its costs, respectively.

Design And Participants: The present data were derived from a 4-year prospective observation of National Health Insurance beneficiaries in rural Japan. A total of 17 497 men aged 40-79 years were analysed, after excluding subjects who at the baseline reported having had at least one of four chronic diseases: stroke, myocardial infarction, liver disease and cancer.

The relationship between body mass index and a plasma lipid peroxidation biomarker in an older, healthy Asian community.

Purpose: To examine the association between body mass index (BMI) and the plasma level of a lipid peroxidation biomarker in a large sample of elderly healthy Asian population. This cross-sectional study included 1150 community-dwelling Japanese aged 70 years or older in 2002.

Methods: We measured the lipid peroxidation biomarker 8-iso-prostaglandin F2alpha (8-iso-PGF2alpha) using the ELISA method.

Joint impact of health risks on health care charges: 7-year follow-up of National Health Insurance beneficiaries in Japan (the Ohsaki Study).

Background: The objective of this study was to examine the joint impact of modifiable health-risk factors such as smoking, obesity, and physical inactivity on direct health care charges.

Method: We conducted a population-based prospective cohort study, with follow-up from 1995 to 2001. The participants were Japanese National Health Insurance (NHI) beneficiaries (26,110 men and women aged 40-79 years).

Prognostic value of home heart rate for cardiovascular mortality in the general population: the Ohasama study.

Background: Recently, the advantages of self-measurement of blood pressure (BP) at home have been recognized. The same advantages could also be applicable to resting heart rate (HR) values assessed at home using a device designed for home BP measurement. However, there have been no studies investigating whether home HR values predict the risk of cardiovascular disease mortality.