Longitudinal effect of smoking cessation on physical and laboratory findings.

Background: Detailed information on the expected physiologic changes after smoking cessation is practically useful to encourage people to stop smoking. Furthermore, weight increase after cessation may affect such physiologic changes.

Purpose: This article aims to evaluate the effect of smoking cessation on annual changes in body weight, blood pressure, and blood biochemistry.

Shift work is a risk factor for increased total cholesterol level: a 14-year prospective cohort study in 6886 male workers.

Objectives: The widespread adoption of 24 h continuous operations in a number of industries has resulted in an increase in shift work, which may influence lipid metabolism because of disturbed circadian rhythms, broken sleep and lifestyle problems. The objective of the present study was to assess the effect of shift work on serum total cholesterol as an index of lipid metabolism.

Methods: A 14-year prospective cohort study was conducted in day workers (n = 4079) and alternating shift workers (n = 2807) who received annual health check-ups between 1991 and 2005 in a Japanese steel company.

Shiftwork and impaired glucose metabolism: a 14-year cohort study on 7104 male workers.

The aim of this study was to assess the effect of shiftwork on hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) level, as an index of glucose metabolism. A 14 yr prospective cohort study was conducted on day (n = 4219) and alternating shiftworkers (n = 2885) who received annual health checkups between 1991 and 2005 at a Japanese steel company. The endpoints were either a 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, or 30% increase in HbA1c during the period of observation, compared to HbA1c at entry to the study.

Estimation of benchmark rice cadmium doses as threshold values for abnormal urinary findings with adjustment for consumption of Jinzu River water.

We performed this study to determine whether both eating cadmium (Cd)-polluted rice and drinking and/or cooking with Jinzu River water are associated with renal tubular dysfunction. A multiple logistic regression analysis of retrospective data indicated that both factors may contribute to this condition. Estimated threshold values of rice Cd concentration in men were 0.

Longitudinal evaluation of the effect of smoking initiation on body weight, blood pressure, and blood biochemistry.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of smoking initiation on annual changes in body weight, blood pressure, and blood biochemistry.

Methods: This study analyzed the results of annual health examinations from 1991 to 2005 in male Japanese workers. Subjects who started smoking (n=214) initially responded as non-smokers in a self-administered questionnaire (baseline year) and then answered consistently as smokers for 3 subsequent years.