Effect of low-dose calcium supplements on bone loss in perimenopausal and postmenopausal Asian women: a randomized controlled trial.

Current standard-dose calcium supplements (eg, 1000 mg/d) may increase the risk for cardiovascular events. Effectiveness of lower-dose supplements in preventing bone loss should thus be considered. This study aimed to assess whether calcium supplements of 500 or 250 mg/d effectively prevent bone loss in perimenopausal and postmenopausal Japanese women.

Nutritional and biochemical parameters associated with 6-year change in bone mineral density in community-dwelling Japanese women aged 69 years and older: The Muramatsu Study.

Objective: Predictors of bone loss in elderly Asian women have been unclear. This cohort study aimed to assess lifestyle, nutritional, and biochemical predictors of bone loss in elderly Japanese women.

Methods: Subjects included 389 community-dwelling women aged 69 y and older from the Muramatsu cohort initiated in 2003; follow-up ended in 2009.

Physical activity and 5-year changes in physical performance tests and bone mineral density in postmenopausal women: the Yokogoshi Study.

Objective: The effect of physical activity on musculoskeletal health in older adults is not completely understood. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between physical activity and 5-year changes in physical performance tests and bone mineral density (BMD) in postmenopausal women.

Study Design: The design was a 5-year cohort study.

Social network disruption as a major factor associated with psychological distress 3 years after the 2004 Niigata-Chuetsu earthquake in Japan.

Objectives: The 2004 Niigata-Chuetsu earthquake of Japan caused a great deal of damage, and people living in the affected region are still struggling to reconstruct their lives. The aim of this study was to determine factors associated with psychological distress in people living in a town at the epicenter 3 years after the earthquake.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study from June 2007 to January 2008.

Mutagenicity and mutagens of the red chili pepper as gallbladder cancer risk factor in Chilean women.

High consumption of red chili pepper has been shown to be a risk factor for gallbladder cancer (GBC) in Chilean women with gallstones, and included mutagens may be important in this context. We aimed to investigate the mutagenicity and mutagens in Chilean red chili pepper in the Ames test using Salmonella typhimurium strains TA98, TA1537, TA100, and TA1535 with and without metabolic activation (S9 mix). Pure capsaicin was tested for mutagenicity using strain TA98.

Rapid weight gain in early infancy is associated with adult body fat percentage in young women.

Objectives: Although rapid childhood weight gain has been suggested to be a risk factor for lifetime obesity and other chronic diseases, few studies have been conducted in Asian populations. The aim of this study was, therefore, to ascertain whether rapid childhood weight gain is associated with indices of obesity in adulthood and, if so, which period in early development provides the greatest predictive value of future obesity in young Japanese women.

Methods: A total of 86 female university students aged 18-21 years old participated in this study.

Evidence that genetic variants of metabolic detoxication and cell cycle control are not related to gallbladder cancer risk in Chilean women.

Background And Aims: High consumption of red chili pepper has been shown to be a risk factor for gallbladder cancer (GBC) in Chilean women. However, genetic factors in addition to this and other environmental factors may also be associated with an increased risk of GBC. We aimed to examine the associations of cytochrome P450 1A1 (CYP1A1), glutathione S-transferase class mu (GSTM1), and tumor protein p53 (TP53) polymorphisms with the risk of GBC in Chilean women.

Effect of dietary intake on the levels of biliary unsaturated free Fatty acids having inhibitory activity on mutagens.

Unsaturated free fatty acids (FFAs), such as palmitoleic, oleic, linoleic, linolenic and arachidonic acids, have inhibitory actions on mutagenesis. These FFAs in bile may play a role in preventing cholecystopathy and their levels may be influenced by diet. However, the effects of dietary intake on biliary FFAs levels are not known.

Genetic variants involved in gallstone formation and capsaicin metabolism, and the risk of gallbladder cancer in Chilean women.

Aim: To determine the effects of genetic variants associated with gallstone formation and capsaicin (a pungent component of chili pepper) metabolism on the risk of gallbladder cancer (GBC).

Methods: A total of 57 patients with GBC, 119 patients with gallstones, and 70 controls were enrolled in this study. DNA was extracted from their blood or paraffin block sample using standard commercial kits.

Bone fracture in physically disabled children attending schools for handicapped children in Japan.

Objective: Very few epidemiologic studies on bone fracture have been conducted in schools for handicapped children (Yogo schools). The aim of this study was to clarify the frequency and risk factors of bone fracture in physically disabled children in Japan.

Methods: We used a cross-sectional design to examine 525 physically disabled children in 38 Yogo schools in the Hokuriku-Koshinetsu District of Japan.

Prevalence of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms in preschool children: discrepancy between parent and teacher evaluations.

Objective: Clarifying the characteristics of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms in childhood is important for the prevention and management of this disorder. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of ADHD symptoms in Japanese preschool children based on evaluations performed by parents or teachers.

Methods: A questionnaire survey was performed to evaluate the estimated prevalence of ADHD symptoms in preschool children in Niigata City, Japan.

Low calcium intake is associated with increased bone resorption in postmenopausal Japanese women: Yokogoshi Study.

Objective: Low Ca intake is common among Japanese women, but its effect on bone metabolism has not been fully elucidated. The aim of the present study was to determine the relationship between Ca intake and serum markers of bone turnover in postmenopausal Japanese women.

Design: A cross-sectional study.

Unhealthy maternal lifestyle leads to rapid infant weight gain: prevention of future chronic diseases.

Infants' rapid (catch-up) weight gain is associated with later obesity and chronic adult diseases. The aim of this study was to determine maternal and environmental factors related to rapid weight gain at one month and 18 months after full-term birth in Japan. Subjects were 1,524 infants and their mothers who visited the 18-month check-up in Niigata City between October 1, 2007 and September 30, 2008.

Microscopic hematuria is associated with low bone mineral density in aged women and men.

Little is known concerning renal or urological risk factors for osteoporosis. The aim of this study was to explore an association between urinalysis and bone mineral density (BMD) in 4,835 Japanese adults. Participants were 4,835 individuals (female 3,683; male 1,152) aged 50 years and over who received a health check-up between January 1995 and March 2006 in Japan.

Effect of genetic predisposition on the risk of gallbladder cancer in Hungary.

A CYP1A1 polymorphism has been associated with an increased risk for gallbladder cancer (GBC) in Japanese women. However, genetic risk factors for GBC in Hungary, where the population has a relatively high GBC incidence, has not been well studied. We therefore tested associations between CYP1A1 T3801C, CYP1A1 Ile462Val, GSTM1deletion, and TP53 Arg72Pro and GBC in Hungary.

[Fracture-related medical cost of aged people in Niigata Prefecture, Japan: analysis of data from health insurance claims].

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to determine the fracture-related medical cost of aged people to reduce such cost.

Methods: Using health insurance claims, we obtained data on the number of aged people (> or =60 years of age) with fractures among members of the National Health Insurance Organization in Niigata Prefecture and their fracture-related medical cost, every May from 2003 to 2005. We analyzed these data and stratified them by sex, age (5-year age range), and hospitalization history.