The Relationship between Family Meals and Mental Health Problems in Japanese Elementary School Children: A Cross-Sectional Study.

The relative burden of mental health problems in children is increasing worldwide. Family meals have attracted attention as an effective modifiable factor for preventing children's mental health problems. We examined the relationship between family meals and mental health problems in Japanese elementary schoolchildren.

Effect of Dietary Nori (Dried Laver) on Blood Pressure in Young Japanese Children: An Intervention Study.

Background: Few studies have examined the association between seaweed intake and blood pressure in children. We conducted an intervention study to investigate whether seaweed intake affects blood pressure.

Methods: Subjects were children aged 4 to 5 years attending a preschool in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, in 2010.

Associations of Cell Phone Use and Screen Viewing with Overweight in Children.

Effects of using mobile devices on childhood obesity have not been well studied. We aimed to ascertain whether cell phone use and screen viewing are associated with excess body weight in a cross-sectional study of Japanese school children. Subjects were 3141 students, ages 6 to 7 years, who participated in the Hekinan Children's Study conducted during 2011-2015.

The Hekinan Children's Study: Design and Profile of Participants at Baseline.

Background: The early life environment is now recognized as a key factor contributing to susceptibility to certain diseases in later life.

Methods: We initiated a cohort study among school children in 2011 to primarily investigate the associations between lifestyle and environmental factors and some surrogate markers of chronic diseases, such as cardiometabolic risk factors (ie, obesity, high blood pressure, high blood glucose, insulin, or lipids) and cancer risk factors (ie, height and age at menarche). A baseline questionnaire asked for information, including demographic variables, medical history and use of medication, dietary habits, physical activity, sleep habits, and behavioral and emotional problems of children.

Level of perception of technical terms regarding the effect of radiation on the human body by residents of Japan.

Background: This study aimed to examine the level of perception of the technical terms related to the effect of radiation on the human body among residents of the six prefectures of Miyagi, Fukushima, Tokyo, Aichi, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki in Japan. Miyagi and Fukushima were selected as devastated area by Great East Japan Earthquake. Tokyo and Aichi were selected as control.

Dietary soy and natto intake and cardiovascular disease mortality in Japanese adults: the Takayama study.

Background: Whether soy intake is associated with a decreased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains unclear. A traditional Japanese soy food, natto, contains a potent fibrinolytic enzyme. However, its relation to CVD has not been studied.

ZNF384-related fusion genes define a subgroup of childhood B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia with a characteristic immunotype.

Fusion genes involving ZNF384 have recently been identified in B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and 7 fusion partners have been reported. We further characterized this type of fusion gene by whole transcriptome sequencing and/or polymerase chain reaction. In addition to previously reported genes, we identified BMP2K as a novel fusion partner for ZNF384 Including the EP300-ZNF384 that we reported recently, the total frequency of ZNF384-related fusion genes was 4.

Associations between polymorphisms in folate-metabolizing genes and pancreatic cancer risk in Japanese subjects.

Background: Evidence supporting the associations between folate metabolizing gene polymorphisms and pancreatic cancer has been inconclusive. We examined their associations in a case-control study of Japanese subjects.

Methods: Our case-control study involved 360 newly diagnosed pancreatic cancer cases and 400 frequency-matched, non-cancer control subjects.

Genome-wide association study-identified SNPs (rs3790844, rs3790843) in the NR5A2 gene and risk of pancreatic cancer in Japanese.

We genotyped 2 SNPs (rs3790844 T/C and rs3790843 G/A) in the NR5A2 gene that were identified in a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of pancreatic cancer in populations of mainly European ancestry, and we examined their associations with pancreatic cancer risk in a case-control study of 360 patients and 400 control subjects in Japan. Unconditional logistic regression models were used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). The SNPs were in linkage disequilibrium (r(2) = 0.

Sleep Duration and the Risk of Mortality From Stroke in Japan: The Takayama Cohort Study.

Background: Few studies have assessed the associations between sleep duration and stroke subtypes. We examined whether sleep duration is associated with mortality from total stroke, ischemic stroke, and hemorrhagic stroke in a population-based cohort of Japanese men and women.

Methods: Subjects included 12 875 men and 15 021 women aged 35 years or older in 1992, who were followed until 2008.

Choline and Betaine Intakes Are Not Associated with Cardiovascular Disease Mortality Risk in Japanese Men and Women.

Background: Dietary intakes of betaine and choline may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease; however, epidemiologic evidence is limited. Seafood is a rich source of betaine and is a popular traditional food in Japan.

Objective: We examined the associations of betaine and choline intakes with cardiovascular disease mortality in a population-based cohort study in Japan.

Susceptibility to 6-MP toxicity conferred by a NUDT15 variant in Japanese children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.

Genotyping of TPMT prior to 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP) administration in acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) patients has been integrated into clinical practice in some populations of European ancestry. However, the comparable rates of 6-MP myelotoxicity, but rarity of TPMT variants, in Asians suggest that major determinants have yet to be discovered in this population. We genotyped 92 Japanese paediatric ALL patients for NUDT15 rs116855232, a 6-MP toxicity-related locus discovered in Asians.

Dietary intakes of glutamic acid and glycine are associated with stroke mortality in Japanese adults.

Background: Dietary intakes of glutamic acid and glycine have been reported to be associated with blood pressure. However, the link between intakes of these amino acids and stroke has not been studied.

Objective: We aimed to examine the association between glutamic acid and glycine intakes and the risk of mortality from stroke in a population-based cohort study in Japan.

Case-control study of diabetes-related genetic variants and pancreatic cancer risk in Japan.

Aim: To examine whether diabetes-related genetic variants are associated with pancreatic cancer risk.

Methods: We genotyped 7 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in PPARG2 (rs1801282), ADIPOQ (rs1501299), ADRB3 (rs4994), KCNQ1 (rs2237895), KCNJ11 (rs5219), TCF7L2 (rs7903146), and CDKAL1 (rs2206734), and examined their associations with pancreatic cancer risk in a multi-institute case-control study including 360 cases and 400 controls in Japan. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect detailed information on lifestyle factors.

Dietary glycaemic index and glycaemic load in relation to all-cause and cause-specific mortality in a Japanese community: the Takayama study.

Diets with a high glycaemic index (GI) or glycaemic load (GL) have been hypothesised to increase the risk of diabetes, CVD and some cancers. In the present study, the associations of dietary GI and GL with the risk of all-cause and cause-specific mortality were prospectively examined in a general population in Japan, where white rice is the main contributor of dietary GI and GL. A total of 28,356 residents of Takayama City, Japan, who responded to a self-administered questionnaire in 1992 were included in the present analyses.

Lack of associations between genetic polymorphisms in GSTM1, GSTT1 and GSTP1 and pancreatic cancer risk: a multi-institutional case-control study in Japan.

Background: We aimed to evaluate the role of genetic polymorphisms in tobacco carcinogen-metabolizing genes and their interactions with smoking in a hospital-based case-control study of Japanese subjects.

Materials And Methods: We examine the associations of pancreatic cancer risk with genetic polymorphisms in GSTM1, GSTT1 and GSTP1, phase II enzymes that catalyze the conjugation of toxic and carcinogenic electrophilic molecules. The study population consisted of 360 patients and 400 control subjects, who were recruited from several medical facilities in Japan.

Association between tinnitus and sleep disorders in the general Japanese population.

Objectives: There are few studies about the association between tinnitus and sleep disorders in the general population worldwide. This study assessed this association in a Japanese community.

Methods: A total of 14,027 participants 45 to 79 years of age who were in the Takayama Study responded to a self-administered questionnaire about tinnitus and sleep disorders.

Branched-chain amino acid intake and the risk of diabetes in a Japanese community: the Takayama study.

Dietary supplementation with branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), including leucine, isoleucine, and valine, has shown potential benefits for the metabolic profile. However, higher blood BCAA levels have been associated with insulin resistance. To our knowledge, there has been no study on dietary BCAAs and the risk of diabetes.

Associations of endogenous melatonin and sleep-related factors with behavioral problems in preschool Japanese children.

Purpose: We aimed to investigate the associations of sleep disturbance and sleep time with behavioral problems and to assess whether endogenous melatonin was associated with sleep-related factors and behavioral problems.

Methods: Subjects were 234 boys and 203 girls, aged 3-6 years, in a cross-sectional study in Japan in 2006. Information related to children's sleep disturbance, sleep time, and behavioral problems was obtained from parent-administered questionnaires.

Diabetes mellitus and cancer risk: pooled analysis of eight cohort studies in Japan.

Although a growing body of evidence suggests a link between diabetes and cancer, it is not clear whether diabetes independently increases the risk of cancer. We conducted a comprehensive assessment of the association between pre-existing diabetes and total and site-specific cancer risk based on a pooled analysis of eight cohort studies in Japan (>330 000 subjects). We estimated a summary hazard ratio by pooling study-specific hazard ratios for total and site-specific cancer by using a random-effects model.