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.

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.

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.

Combined measurement of fasting plasma glucose and A1C is effective for the prediction of type 2 diabetes: the Kansai Healthcare Study.

Objective: We prospectively assessed whether the combined measurements of fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and A1C were effective for predicting type 2 diabetes.

Research Design And Methods: Study participants included 6,736 nondiabetic Japanese men aged 40-55 years. Type 2 diabetes was diagnosed in those who had an FPG >or=126 mg/dl or who were being treated with an oral antidiabetic agent or insulin.

Lower serum creatinine is a new risk factor of type 2 diabetes: the Kansai healthcare study.

Objective: Because skeletal muscle is one of the target tissues for insulin, skeletal muscle mass might be associated with type 2 diabetes. Serum creatinine is a possible surrogate marker of skeletal muscle mass. The purpose of this study was to determine whether serum creatinine level is associated with type 2 diabetes.

Liver enzymes compared with alcohol consumption in predicting the risk of type 2 diabetes: the Kansai Healthcare Study.

Objective: It has been reported that moderate alcohol consumption decreased the risk of type 2 diabetes but that elevated liver enzymes increased it. The comparative importance of alcohol consumption and liver enzymes as predictors of type 2 diabetes remains unconfirmed.

Research Design And Methods: The participants included 8,576 Japanese men, aged 40-55 years, without type 2 diabetes at entry.