Human leukocyte antigen class II DRB1*1302 allele protects against cervical cancer: At which step of multistage carcinogenesis?

We investigated the role of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class II alleles in multistage cervical carcinogenesis. Cross-sectional analysis for HLA association with cervical cancer included 1253 Japanese women: normal cytology (NL, n = 341), cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 1 (CIN1, n = 505), CIN grade 2 or 3 (CIN2/3, n = 96), or invasive cervical cancer (ICC, n = 311). The HLA class II allele frequencies were compared by Fisher's exact test or the χ(2) -test.

Association between carotenoids and outcome of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia: a prospective cohort study.

Background: It has been suggested that micronutrients such as alpha-tocopherol, retinol, lutein, cryptoxanthin, lycopene, and alpha- and beta-carotene may help in the prevention of cervical cancer. Our aim was to investigate whether serum concentrations and/or dietary intake of micronutrients influence the regression or progression of low-grade cervical abnormalities.

Methods: In a prospective cohort study of 391 patients with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) grade 1-2 lesions, we measured serum micronutrient concentrations in addition to a self-administered questionnaire about dietary intake.

Do neutralizing antibody responses generated by human papillomavirus infections favor a better outcome of low-grade cervical lesions?

To determine the role of neutralizing antibody generated by human papillomavirus (HPV) infections, baseline levels of serum neutralizing antibodies directed against HPV 16 and cervical HPV DNA were determined in 242 unvaccinated women with low-grade cervical abnormalities, who were then monitored by cytology and colposcopy every 4 months. In women infected with HPV 16 (n = 42), abnormal cytology persisted longer in those positive for HPV 16-specific neutralizing antibodies at baseline (median time to cytological regression: 23.8 vs.

HLA class II DRB1*1302 allele protects against progression to cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 3: a multicenter prospective cohort study.

Objective: Genetic variations in human leukocyte antigens (HLA) class II regions may influence the risk of cervical cancer by altering the efficiency of the immune responses to human papillomavirus antigens. This prospective study was designed to evaluate the effects of HLA class II alleles on the natural course of cervical precursor lesions.

Methods: We followed a total of 454 Japanese women with cytological low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL) and histological cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grades 1 to 2 (CIN1-CIN2).

Randomized crossover study of latanoprost and travoprost in eyes with open-angle glaucoma.

Introduction: To compare the intraocular pressure (IOP)-lowering effects of 0.005% latanoprost to that of 0.004% travoprost in eyes with open-angle glaucoma (OAG).

Subsequent risks for cervical precancer and cancer in women with low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions unconfirmed by colposcopy-directed biopsy: results from a multicenter, prospective, cohort study.

Objective: To investigate the natural course of low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSILs) that cannot be histologically confirmed by colposcopy-directed biopsy.

Methods: In a multicenter, prospective, cohort study of Japanese women with LSILs, we analyzed the follow-up data from 64 women who had a negative biopsy result at the initial colposcopy (biopsy-negative LSIL) in comparison with those from 479 women who had a histologic diagnosis of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 1 (LSIL/CIN1). Patients were monitored by cytology and colposcopy every 4 months for a mean follow-up period of 39.

Prevalence of tinnitus in community-dwelling Japanese adults.

Background: Several studies have reported the prevalence of tinnitus among general populations; however, most of these studies were conducted in Europe or the United States. We estimated the prevalence of tinnitus among the general adult population in Japan.

Methods: The subjects were participants in the Takayama Study, a population-based cohort study.

Cigarette smoking and other lifestyle factors in relation to the risk of pancreatic cancer death: a prospective cohort study in Japan.

Objective: To examine the association of smoking and lifestyle factors with pancreatic cancer death in the prospective design.

Methods: Mortality from pancreatic cancer in regard to smoking, body mass index, physical activity, and alcohol, coffee and green tea intake, was studied in a prospective cohort of 30,826 inhabitants in Takayama, Japan. In 1992, each subject completed a self-administered questionnaire on demographic information, smoking, drinking habits, diet, exercise and medical histories.

Association of farming with the development of cedar pollinosis in Japanese adults.

Purpose: Although cross-sectional studies have reported that the prevalence of allergy is reduced on a farm, few prospective studies were carried out on adults. We examined the association of experience of farming with occurrence of cedar pollinosis in a prospective cohort in Japan.

Methods: A total of 5,698 men and 6,533 women, aged 35 to 69 at baseline in 1992, participated in the Takayama Study, a population-based prospective cohort study.

Predicting the progression of cervical precursor lesions by human papillomavirus genotyping: a prospective cohort study.

Only a subset of cervical precursor lesions progress to cervical cancer and because of the lack of the predictive markers, it cannot be ascertained which lesions will progress or not. To estimate the risk of disease progression associated with human papillomavirus (HPV) genotypes, we followed 570 Japanese women with cytological LSIL (low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion) and histological CIN (cervical intraepithelial neoplasia) grade 1-2 lesions (479 CIN 1; 91 CIN 2) at 3 to 4 month intervals for a mean follow-up period of 39.1 months.

Tobacco smoking and regression of low-grade cervical abnormalities.

The role of tobacco smoking in the multistage carcinogenesis at the cervix is not fully understood because of a paucity of prospective data. To assess the relationship between smoking and spontaneous regression of cervical precursor lesions, a total of 516 women with low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL) were monitored by cytology and colposcopy every 4 months. Probability of LSIL regression within 2 years was analyzed in relation to smoking behaviors, with regression defined as at least two consecutive negative Pap smears and normal colposcopy.

Dietary glycemic index, glycemic load, and intake of carbohydrate and rice in relation to risk of mortality from stroke and its subtypes in Japanese men and women.

We assessed the relationship of the dietary glycemic index (GI), glycemic load (GL), and intake of carbohydrate and rice, and risk of mortality from stroke and its subtypes. The cohort consisted of 12,561 men and 15,301 women residing in Takayama, Japan, in 1992. At the baseline, a food frequency questionnaire was administered; and the dietary GI, GL, and intake of carbohydrates and rice were estimated.

Consumption of coffee, green tea, oolong tea, black tea, chocolate snacks and the caffeine content in relation to risk of diabetes in Japanese men and women.

Although the inverse association between coffee consumption and risk of diabetes has been reported numerous times, the role of caffeine intake in this association has remained unclear. We evaluated the consumption of coffee and other beverages and food containing caffeine in relation to the incidence of diabetes. The study participants were 5897 men and 7643 women in a community-based cohort in Takayama, Japan.

Diet based on the Japanese Food Guide Spinning Top and subsequent mortality among men and women in a general Japanese population.

Background: The Japanese Food Guide Spinning Top was developed by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishery to promote healthful diets.

Objective: Adherence to the Japanese Food Guide Spinning Top was evaluated in terms of future mortality in a prospective cohort study.

Design: A prospective cohort study among men and women in a general Japanese population.

Cigarette smoking and the adult onset of bronchial asthma in Japanese men and women.

Background: Although smoking is a well-known risk factor for the onset of airway diseases, the associations between smoking and asthma are inconsistent.

Objective: To examine the relationship of smoking in adulthood with the occurrence of asthma in Japanese individuals.

Methods: A total of 6,674 men and 8,301 women from a population-based cohort in Takayama, Japan, participated in this prospective study.

Self-reported diabetes mellitus and risk of mortality from all causes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer in Takayama: a population-based prospective cohort study in Japan.

Background: Diabetes mellitus has been reported to be a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD), and higher risk of CVD among women than that among men has been observed in many studies. Further, the association of diabetes with increasing risk of cancer has also been reported. Well-designed studies conducted among men and women in the general Japanese population remain scarce.

Rationality/anti-emotionality personality and dietary habits in a community population in Japan.

Background: There are no strong and consistent predictors of dietary habits although some associations have been shown with psychological factors. The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationships between the rationality and anti-emotionality (R/A) personality and dietary consumption in a Japanese community.

Methods: The Takayama study is a community-based cohort study on diet and cancer in Gifu, Japan, and was initiated on September 1, 1992.

Soy isoflavone intake is not associated with the development of cedar pollinosis in adults.

Although soy isoflavone has been suggested to have both immune-enhancing and immune-suppressive effects, the effects of soy isoflavone intake on allergic disorders are unclear. A cross-sectional study indicated that a high intake of soy isoflavone is associated with a decreased risk of allergic rhinitis. We aimed to prospectively examine the relationship between soy isoflavone intake and risk of cedar pollinosis, the most common seasonal allergic rhinitis in Japan.

Smoking and risk of cedar pollinosis in Japanese men and women.

Background: Pollinosis induced by the cedar pollen antigen is the most common seasonal allergic reaction in Japan. We aimed to examine the relationship between smoking and risk of cedar pollinosis in a population-based cohort of the Japanese.

Methods: Study subjects were 12,221 men and women from the Takayama Study cohort who were 35-69 years old at enrollment in 1992.

Fruit and vegetable intake and mortality from cardiovascular disease are inversely associated in Japanese women but not in men.

Some epidemiological studies undertaken in Western countries have demonstrated that high intake of fruit and vegetables results in decreased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The objective of this study was to examine the hypothesis that high intake of fruit and vegetables lowers CVD mortality in a population-based cohort of Japanese subjects. In 1992, fruit and vegetable intake was assessed in 13,355 men and 15,724 women in Takayama, Gifu, Japan using a validated FFQ.

Causal attributions to epidemiological risk factors and their associations to later psychological adjustment among Japanese breast cancer patients.

Goals: The objective of this study was to evaluate the causal attributions for breast cancer and their association with the subsequent psychological adjustment.

Materials And Methods: Sixty-three Japanese patients newly diagnosed with breast cancer were asked by an interviewer about risk factors and explanations for the etiology of breast cancer using a four-point scale. The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) were administered about 2 months later to measure psychological adjustment to the illness.

Long-term therapeutic outcome of acute primary angle closure in Japanese.

Purpose: To investigate the long-term clinical course of acute primary angle closure (APAC) and acute primary angle-closure glaucoma (APACG) in Japanese patients.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed our records of 66 consecutive APAC or APACG eyes observed between February 1992 and December 2003 (mean follow-up, 42.1 months).

Prospective cohort study of body mass index in adolescence and death from stomach cancer in Japan.

We investigated the association between body mass index (BMI) values and the risk of death from stomach cancer later in life. From 1992 to 2000, 28 443 participants (13 211 men and 15 232 women) were followed, and 129 deaths from stomach cancer (86 men and 43 women) occurred. BMI (BMI at the baseline) and BMI(20y) (BMI at age 20 years) were obtained by questionnaire at the beginning of the study.

Japan's national tuberculosis control strategies with economic considerations.

We made a bibliographic search for Japanese and non-Japanese literature on tuberculosis control programs to study the current public health policies for tuberculosis control in Japan especially in regard to cost-effectiveness. Then, we compared the Japanese, strategies for tuberculosis control with those in other countries including the United States, and those recommended by World Health Organization (WHO). The current trend of tuberculosis incidence in the Japanese community demonstrates major differences from the situation that had prompted installation of tuberculosis control measures several decades ago.

Sodium intake and risk of death from stroke in Japanese men and women.

Background And Purpose: Despite the evidence for a positive association of dietary salt and blood pressure, the few prospective studies that have assessed the association between dietary salt and stroke have reported inconsistent results. The purpose of this study was to examine the relation between sodium intake and death from stroke in a population-based cohort of Japanese men and women.

Methods: In 1992, usual diet including sodium intake was determined in 13 355 men and 15 724 women in Takayama City, Gifu, with the use of a validated food frequency questionnaire.