The Relationship of Alcohol Consumption and Drinking Pattern to the Risk of Glomerular Hyperfiltration in Middle-aged Japanese Men: The Kansai Healthcare Study.

Background: Glomerular hyperfiltration has been reported to be associated with adverse renal outcomes in the general population. It is not known whether drinking pattern is associated with the risk of glomerular hyperfiltration in healthy individuals.

Methods: We prospectively followed middle-aged 8,640 Japanese men with normal renal function, no proteinuria, no diabetes, and no use of antihypertensive medications at entry.

Body Mass Index and the Risk of Persistent Proteinuria in Middle-Aged Men: The Kansai Healthcare Study.

Introduction: Proteinuria is a risk factor for end-stage renal failure. However, it is not known whether body mass index (BMI) is prospectively associated with the risk of future developing proteinuria, taking into account transient proteinuria.

Methods: We enrolled 9,320 nondiabetic Japanese middle-aged men who had no proteinuria, an estimated glomerular filtration rate ≥60 mL/min/1.

Habitual Alcohol Intake Modifies Relationship of Uric Acid to Incident Chronic Kidney Disease.

Background: Previous studies showed that higher serum uric acid levels increased the risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD), but moderate alcohol consumption decreased it. The comparative importance of serum uric acid levels and habitual alcohol consumption as risk factors for CKD remain undefined. We therefore evaluated the relationship of baseline serum uric acid level in combination with daily alcohol consumption to the incidence of CKD.

Serum Gamma-Glutamyltransferase, Daily Alcohol Consumption, and the Risk of Chronic Kidney Disease: The Kansai Healthcare Study.

Background: Serum gamma-glutamyltransferase has been recognized as the risk factor of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. However, the association between serum gamma-glutamyltransferase and the risk of chronic kidney disease is not well known, and no prospective studies have examined separately the relationship of serum gamma-glutamyltransferase with the risk of proteinuria versus that of low estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR).

Methods: We prospectively followed 9,341 Japanese men who did not have low eGFR, proteinuria, or diabetes, and did not take antihypertensive medications at entry for the analysis of proteinuria, and we followed 9,299 men for the analysis of low eGFR.

Design and validation of a novel estimator of visceral adipose tissue area and comparison to existing adiposity surrogates.

Aims: Visceral adiposity measured by computed tomography (CT) as intra-abdominal fat area (IAFA) predicts metabolic diseases. Existing adiposity surrogates have not been systematically compared to a regression-based model derived in individuals of Japanese ancestry. We developed and validated a method to estimate IAFA in individuals of Japanese ancestry and compared it to existing adiposity surrogates.

The Association Between Metabolically Healthy Obesity and the Risk of Proteinuria: The Kansai Healthcare Study.

Background: Metabolically healthy obesity seems to be a unique phenotype for the risk of cardiometabolic diseases. However, it is not known whether this phenotype is associated with the risk of proteinuria.

Methods: Study subjects were 9,185 non-diabetic Japanese male workers aged 40-55 years who had no proteinuria, an estimated glomerular filtration rate ≥60 mL/min/1.

Blood pressure components and the risk for proteinuria in Japanese men: The Kansai Healthcare Study.

Background: We examined prospectively which of the four blood pressure (BP) components (systolic BP [SBP], diastolic BP [DBP], pulse pressure [PP], and mean arterial pressure [MAP]) was best in predicting the risk of proteinuria.

Methods: This prospective study included 9341 non-diabetic Japanese middle-aged men who had no proteinuria and an estimated glomerular filtration rate ≥60 mL/min/1.73 m and were not taking antihypertensive medications at entry.

Relationship between cumulative exposure to 1,2-dichloropropane and incidence risk of cholangiocarcinoma among offset printing workers.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between cumulative exposure to 1,2-dichloropropane (1,2-DCP) and incidence risk of cholangiocarcinoma among workers in the offset proof-printing section of a small printing company in Osaka, Japan.

Methods: We identified 95 workers of a printing company (78 men and 17 women) who had been exposed to 1,2-DCP between 1987 and 2006, and calculated the standardised incidence ratio (SIR) of cholangiocarcinoma from 1987 to 2012. We estimated cumulative exposure to 1,2-DCP and calculated SIRs in four exposure categories.

Relationship Between Alcohol Drinking Pattern and Risk of Proteinuria: The Kansai Healthcare Study.

Background: Moderate alcohol consumption has been reported to be associated with a decreased risk of cardiometabolic diseases. Whether drinking pattern is associated with the risk of proteinuria is unknown.

Methods: Study subjects were 9154 non-diabetic Japanese men aged 40-55 years, with an estimated glomerular filtration rate ≥60 mL/min/1.

Investigation of Spatial Clustering of Biliary Tract Cancer Incidence in Osaka, Japan: Neighborhood Effect of a Printing Factory.

Background: In 2013, an unusually high incidence of biliary tract cancer among current or former workers of the offset color proof printing department of a printing company in Osaka, Japan, was reported. The purpose of this study was to examine whether distance from the printing factory was associated with incidence of biliary tract cancer and whether incident biliary tract cancer cases clustered around the printing factory in Osaka using population-based cancer registry data.

Methods: We estimated the age-standardized incidence ratio of biliary tract cancer according to distance from this printing factory.

Risk of bile duct cancer among printing workers exposed to 1,2-dichloropropane and/or dichloromethane.

Objectives: We conducted a retrospective cohort study to examine the risk of bile duct cancer among current and former workers in the offset color proof printing department at a printing company in Osaka, Japan.

Methods: Standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) between January 1, 1985, and December 31, 2012, were estimated for the cumulative years of exposure to two chemicals, dichloromethane (DCM) and 1,2-dichloropropane (1,2-DCP), using the national incidence level as a reference. In addition, we examined risk patterns by the calendar year in which observation started.

Drinking pattern and risk of chronic kidney disease: the kansai healthcare study.

Background/aims: The association between alcohol consumption and the risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD) has been reported. What is not known is whether drinking pattern combined with the weekly frequency of alcohol consumption and the quantity per drinking day is associated with the risk of CKD.

Methods: We enrolled 9,112 Japanese nondiabetic men aged 40 to 55 years with absence of proteinuria, an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of 60 ml/min/1.

Sleep duration and the risk of future lipid profile abnormalities in middle-aged men: the Kansai Healthcare Study.

Background: Although short sleep duration has been reported to be associated with future cardiometabolic diseases, it is not fully understood whether sleep duration is prospectively associated with the risk of each lipid profile abnormality.

Methods: Subjects were nondiabetic Japanese, 40-55 years of age, who were not taking oral lipid-lowering medications: for the incidence of low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), 7627 men with an HDL-C level ≥ 40 mg/dL; for high triglycerides, 6973 men with a triglyceride level <200 mg/dL; for high low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), 7273 men with an LDL-C level <160 mg/dL; for high non-HDL-C, 7415 men with a non-HDL-C level <190 mg/dL; and for high total cholesterol (TC), 7196 men with a TC level <240 mg/dL. Lipid profile abnormalities were defined according to the Adult Treatment Panel III guidelines of the National Cholesterol Education Program.

Case series of 17 patients with cholangiocarcinoma among young adult workers of a printing company in Japan.

Background: An outbreak of cholangiocarcinoma occurred among workers in the offset color proof-printing department at a printing company in Japan. The aim of this study was to clarify the characteristics of the patients with cholangiocarcinoma.

Methods: This was a retrospective study conducted in 13 Japanese hospitals between 1996 to 2013.

Serum butyrylcholinesterase and the risk of future type 2 diabetes: the Kansai Healthcare Study.

Objective: Butyrylcholinesterase is synthesized in the liver. The serum butyrylcholinesterase level has been cross-sectionally reported to be higher in patients with diabetes, hyperlipidaemia, obesity and fatty liver than in those without them. It is not known whether serum butyrylcholinesterase is associated with the risk of future type 2 diabetes.

Patterns of insulin concentration during the OGTT predict the risk of type 2 diabetes in Japanese Americans.

Objective: To examine whether the patterns of insulin concentration during the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) predict type 2 diabetes.

Research Design And Methods: We followed 400 nondiabetic Japanese Americans for 10-11 years. Insulin concentrations at 30, 60, and 120 min during a 2-h 75-g OGTT at baseline were used to derive the following possible patterns of insulin: pattern 1 (30-min peak, higher insulin level at 60 than at 120 min), pattern 2 (30-min peak, lower or equal level at 60 vs.

Increment of absolute neutrophil count in the third trimester and increased risk of small-for-gestational-age birth: Hirakata Risk Associated with Pregnancy Assessment Research (HIRAPAR).

Objective: Small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infants, who have growth restriction, have higher perinatal morbidity and mortality. Excessive inflammatory reaction such as neutrophil activation has been observed in pregnant women whose offspring had restricted fetal growth, but the association between white blood cell (WBC) counts and SGA birth has not yet been assessed. We therefore examined the association of WBC count and its change with the risk of SGA birth.

Gestational bodyweight gain among underweight Japanese women related to small-for-gestational-age birth.

Aim: The prevalence of underweight women, who have an increased risk for small-for-gestational-age (SGA) birth, is increasing in Japan. We examined the associations of pre-pregnancy body mass index and gestational weight gain (GWG) with SGA birth among Japanese women.

Material And Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study of 1391 women who delivered full-term singleton babies.

Tonsillectomy has beneficial effects on remission and progression of IgA nephropathy independent of steroid therapy.

Background: Indication of tonsillectomy in IgA nephropathy is controversial. The purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of tonsillectomy on remission and progression of IgA nephropathy.

Methods: We conducted a single-center 7-year historical cohort study in 200 patients with biopsy-proven IgA nephropathy.

Cigarette smoking and the association with glomerular hyperfiltration and proteinuria in healthy middle-aged men.

Background And Objectives: Glomerular hyperfiltration and albuminuria accompanied by early-stage diabetic kidney disease predict future renal failure. Cigarette smoking has reported to be associated with elevated GFR in cross-sectional studies and with renal deterioration in longitudinal studies. The degree of glomerular hyperfiltration and proteinuria associated with smoking, which presumably is a phenomenon of early renal damage, has not been investigated in a satisfying manner so far.

Elevated white blood cell count worsens proteinuria but not estimated glomerular filtration rate: the Kansai Healthcare Study.

Background/aims: No prospective studies have estimated the association between white blood cell (WBC) count and the risk of proteinuria. We prospectively examined the relationships of WBC count, as a marker of inflammation, with two outcomes: proteinuria and low estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR).

Methods: We enrolled 10,008 Japanese men aged 40-55 years who had neither proteinuria nor low eGFR and were not taking antihypertensive medications at entry.

Blood pressure components and risk for chronic kidney disease in middle-aged Japanese men: The Kansai Healthcare Study.

It is unclear which blood pressure (BP) components (that is, systolic BP (SBP), diastolic BP (DBP), pulse pressure (PP) and mean arterial pressure (MAP)) are superior predictors of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Furthermore it is unclear whether the combination of SBP+DBP or PP+MAP is superior to any of these four individual BP components in predicting CKD. We enrolled 9928 Japanese men aged 40-55 years who had a normal estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), no proteinuria and no history of cardiovascular disease and were not taking any antihypertensive medications at baseline.

Visceral adiposity, not abdominal subcutaneous fat area, is associated with high blood pressure in Japanese men: the Ohtori study.

Visceral adiposity is considered to have a key role in cardiometabolic diseases. The purpose of this study is to investigate cross-sectionally the association between intra-abdominal fat area (IAFA) measured by computed tomography (CT) and high blood pressure independent of abdominal subcutaneous fat area (ASFA) and insulin resistance. Study participants included 624 Japanese men not taking oral hypoglycemic medications or insulin.

Relationship between drinking patterns and the risk of type 2 diabetes: the Kansai Healthcare Study.

Background: Moderate alcohol consumption is associated with a decreased risk of type 2 diabetes. However, the relationship between drinking patterns, such as the weekly frequency of alcohol consumption and the quantity per drinking day, and the incidence of type 2 diabetes has not been sufficiently addressed.

Methods: Study participants included 10 631 Japanese men aged 40-55 years without type 2 diabetes at entry.

Fasting tests of insulin secretion and sensitivity predict future prediabetes in Japanese with normal glucose tolerance.

Unlabelled: Aims/Introduction:  Reduced insulin sensitivity and secretion are important in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes. Their relationships to prediabetes, impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and impaired fasting glucose (IFG) have been previously studied with the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). We investigated whether or not baseline measures of insulin secretion and sensitivity obtained from fasting blood specimens were related to the development of prediabetes and how these measures compared with those based on the OGTT.