Publications by authors named "Ling Zha"
Article Synopsis
- Anticholinergic drugs may lead to cognitive impairment, and this study specifically examined their risk of causing dementia in older adults in Japan compared to beta-3 agonists.
- The study involved over 1.4 million participants, with nearly 13,500 taking anticholinergics and around 24,700 using beta-3 agonists, all aged 65 and older with overactive bladder.
- Results indicated that users of anticholinergic drugs had a 22% higher risk of developing dementia compared to those using beta-3 agonists, suggesting a significant association between anticholinergic use and increased dementia risk.
The objective of this retrospective observational study was to investigate the impact of fecal occult blood test (FOBT) as colorectal cancer (CRC) screening by primary tumor location. We compared the risk of requiring treatment for advanced disease and total medical costs per patient between CRC patients who underwent FOBT within 1 year before initial treatment for CRC and those who did not, using the JMDC Claims database, large-scale health insurance claims and checkup data in Japan. Treatment for advanced disease was defined as (1) nonendoscopic therapy or (2) chemotherapy or radiotherapy, performed during the follow-up period.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- This study investigated how a patient's health status before experiencing sepsis affects their recovery and mortality one year after discharge, focusing on a large population in Japan.
- Researchers categorized the pre-sepsis care needs of 17,648 patients into several levels, revealing that higher care needs were linked to increased mortality rates and changes in post-discharge care requirements.
- The findings suggest that patients with greater pre-sepsis care needs face a higher risk of death and intensified care needs within a year after being discharged from the hospital.
Article Synopsis
- The study explored the causes of death in cancer survivors, focusing on non-cancer-related mortality, as advancements in cancer care have improved survival rates.
- Conducted using data from Japan's National Cancer Registry, the analysis covered 3,990,661 cancer patients over a period of up to 4 years post-diagnosis.
- Findings revealed that non-cancer-related deaths rose significantly over time, with heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, and pneumonia being the leading causes, highlighting the importance of managing overall health in cancer survivors.
Article Synopsis
- The study investigates the link between care needs levels (CNL) at hospital discharge and outcomes in older patients with acute heart failure (aHF), highlighting that those with higher CNL are at greater risk for worse post-discharge outcomes.
- A cohort of over 17,000 patients aged 65 and older was examined, categorizing their CNL into four levels based on their daily care needs at the time of hospitalization.
- Results revealed that nearly all patients’ care needs worsened after discharge, with increased risks of mortality for those with higher levels of care needs, indicating that higher CNL at hospitalization correlates with a significantly higher risk of death within a year.
Article Synopsis
- Previous research suggests a potential link between statin use and a lower risk of dementia, but this has not been clearly established in Japan's aging population.
- This study analyzed data from the LIFE Study, focusing on Japanese participants aged 65 and older, to investigate this association more thoroughly.
- Results showed that statin users had a significantly reduced risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease, with higher cumulative statin doses offering greater protective benefits compared to non-users.
Article Synopsis
- The study investigated the relationship between statin use and Parkinson's disease risk in Japanese individuals aged 65 and older, using data from the Longevity Improvement and Fair Evidence Study.
- Results showed that statin use was inversely associated with the risk of developing Parkinson's disease, suggesting a protective effect, especially with higher cumulative doses of statins.
- Specifically, lower doses correlated with an increased risk, while higher doses were linked to a decreased risk of Parkinson's disease among older adults in Japan.
Background: Few prediction models for individuals with early-stage out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) have undergone external validation. This study aimed to externally validate updated prediction models for OHCA outcomes using a large nationwide dataset.
Methods And Results: We performed a secondary analysis of the JAAM-OHCA (Comprehensive Registry of In-Hospital Intensive Care for Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Survival and the Japanese Association for Acute Medicine Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest) registry.
Intestinal adhesion is one of the complications that occurs more frequently after abdominal surgery. Postsurgical intestinal adhesion (PIA) can lead to a series of health problems, including abdominal pain, intestinal obstruction, and female infertility. Currently, hydrogels and nanofibrous films as barriers are often used for preventing PIA formation; however, these kinds of materials have their intrinsic disadvantages.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis hospital-based, cross-sectional study aimed to explore the association between diet and fluctuating intestinal bacteria in early-stage colorectal cancer (CRC) (, , , and ). Healthy participants ( = 212) who underwent total colonoscopy at National Cancer Center Hospital (Tokyo, Japan) were divided into two groups according to the relative abundance of bacteria in their feces: those in the top 25% of relative bacterial abundance as cases and the bottom 25% as controls. The participants were divided into three groups (low, medium, and high) according to their intake of food groups associated with CRC.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- Hikikomori is a social condition characterized by prolonged isolation, where individuals avoid social interactions for 6 months or longer, initially seen mostly in young people but now recognized in older adults due to an aging population.
- A recent cross-sectional study in Japan assessed hikikomori among individuals aged 15-64, revealing a 2.3% prevalence overall, with slight differences between younger (2.12%) and older adults (2.42%).
- Key risk factors for hikikomori included unemployment, truancy, past psychiatric issues, being male, and lacking an environment that provides peace and belonging.
Several studies have investigated the association between the use of anti-cholesterol drugs and cancer risks, of which results have been inconsistent. This study included 67,768 participants from the Japan Public Health Center-based Prospective Study. The data on anti-cholesterol drug use was collected using three questionnaires of the survey conducted every five years.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Research has described differences in the provision of prehospital treatment for women who experience out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. However, studies have reported conflicting results regarding survival outcomes or in-hospital interventions between sexes. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the association of sex with survival outcomes and in-hospital treatments in Japan.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRisk of Parkinson's disease-related death in cancer survivors: A population-based study in Japan.
Parkinsonism Relat Disord
February 2024
Article Synopsis
- * Results showed that cancer patients had a significantly higher risk of dying from PD, with a standardized mortality ratio (SMR) of 2.34, and a notably high risk observed in those with mouth-to-stomach cancers (SMR of 3.72).
- * It is suggested that improved management and treatment for PD could help cancer survivors, particularly those at higher risk, reduce PD-related mortality.
Article Synopsis
- A study in Japan aimed to investigate the relationship between anticholinergic drugs and the risk of dementia in older adults, focusing on a population over 65 years old.
- The research analyzed claim data from 2014 to 2020, including nearly 67,000 dementia cases and 329,000 matched controls, revealing that those prescribed anticholinergic medications had a significantly higher likelihood of being diagnosed with dementia.
- Specific drug types linked to increased dementia risk included antidepressants, antiparkinsonian drugs, antipsychotics, and bladder antimuscarinics, indicating a need for careful prescription in the aging population.
Background: Data on the risk of cardiovascular-related mortality in patients with cancer are limited.
Methods And Results: This retrospective cohort study used data from the Osaka Cancer Registry and vital statistics in Japan between 1985 and 2013. The causes of death were investigated, and the risk of fatal heart disease was analyzed.
Article Synopsis
- ECPR is being explored as a potential life-saving treatment for patients who experience out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA), focusing on how it impacts survival and brain function outcomes.
- The study analyzed data from a large registry, comparing ECPR-treated patients with a control group and considering factors like initial heart rhythm (shockable vs. non-shockable) to evaluate the effectiveness of ECPR.
- Results indicated that ECPR significantly improved survival rates after 30 days, particularly for patients with non-shockable rhythms, suggesting further research is needed to explore its full potential and identify the best candidates for this treatment.
Purpose: Patients with aggressive thyroid cancer are frequently failed by the central therapy of ablative radioiodide (RAI) uptake, due to reduced plasma membrane (PM) localization of the sodium/iodide symporter (NIS). We aimed to understand how NIS is endocytosed away from the PM of human thyroid cancer cells, and whether this was druggable in vivo.
Experimental Design: Informed by analysis of endocytic gene expression in patients with aggressive thyroid cancer, we used mutagenesis, NanoBiT interaction assays, cell surface biotinylation assays, RAI uptake, and NanoBRET to understand the mechanisms of NIS endocytosis in transformed cell lines and patient-derived human primary thyroid cells.
Article Synopsis
- * The research used data from a Japanese registry and found 2738 applicable patients from a larger group of 57,754 who had non-traumatic shockable OHCA.
- * Results indicated that while IABP appeared less effective in the original analysis, using a different statistical approach showed no significant difference in favorable outcomes between patients with and without IABP.
Aim: Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) has a poor prognosis in children; however, the annual patterns of prognosis and treatment have not been fully investigated.
Methods: From the Japanese Association for Acute Medicine OHCA registry, a multicenter prospective observational registry in Japan, we identified pediatric patients (zero to 17 years old) between June 2014 and December 2019. The primary outcome was one-month survival.
Background: Little is known about the transport and outcomes of emergency patients with cardiocerebrovascular diseases in Japan before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods and results: Data were extracted from a population-based registry in Osaka, Japan, from 2019 to 2021. There were almost no differences in the numbers of emergency patients hospitalized with myocardial infarction, stroke, or heart failure or their deaths.
Background: Previous epidemiologic studies found inconsistent associations between fish consumption and renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Although the consumption of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) was reported to protect against the development of some types of cancer, little is known regarding its association with RCC.
Methods: We investigated the association between fish and n-3 PUFA consumption and RCC risk using the Japan Public Health Center-based Prospective Study.
Background: Many epidemiological studies have investigated dietary intake of antioxidant vitamins in relation to prostate cancer risk in Western countries, but the results are inconsistent. However, few studies have reported this relationship in Asian countries.
Methods: We investigated the association between intake of vitamins, including lycopene, α-carotene, β-carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E, with prostate cancer risk in the Japan Public Health Center-based Prospective (JPHC) study.