Role of vitamin D in energy and bone metabolism in postmenopausal women with type 2 diabetes mellitus: A 6-month follow-up evaluation.

Aims/introduction: Resting energy expenditure was associated with a serum bone turnover marker in postmenopausal women with type 2 diabetes (T2DMPW) in the present cross-sectional study. To clarify the fundamental pathological factor for the correlation of bone metabolism and basal metabolism in type 2 diabetes, a 6-month prospective follow-up study was carried out with supplementation of vitamin D.

Materials And Methods: A total of 44 T2DMPW were enrolled.

Association between basal metabolic function and bone metabolism in postmenopausal women with type 2 diabetes.

Objective: Diabetes is a risk factor for osteoporosis, and glycemic control is critical during osteoporosis treatment in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D). However, diabetic therapies have potentially adverse effects on bone metabolism. Additionally, biomarkers for bone metabolism are directly affected by drug therapies for osteoporosis.

Association between depression and insomnia subtypes: a longitudinal study on the elderly in Japan.

Study Objective: To examine the association between depression and three subtypes of insomnia, namely, difficulty initiating sleep (DIS), early morning awakening (EMA), and difficulty maintaining sleep (DMS).

Design: Cross-sectional and longitudinal study.

Setting: Community dwellers in Japan.

Prevalence of and factors associated with smoking among Japanese medical students.

Background: The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of and factors associated with smoking among Japanese medical students, to help promote effective antismoking measures in this population.

Methods: From the 80 university medical schools in Japan, 20 were randomly selected and invited to participate in our survey. The survey focused on medical students and employed an anonymous self-administered questionnaire.

Attitudes of Japanese medical students towards disclosure of a diagnosis of life-threatening illness.

In this study we investigated the attitudes of Japanese medical students toward being informed of a diagnosis of life-threatening illness. Fourth-year medical students from 20 randomly sampled universities were administered questionnaires that examined their opinion about whether they would welcome disclosure of medical information if they were diagnosed as having an ultimately fatal disease. Data from 1,619 students (male 1,074, female 545, effective collection rate 90.

Associations between sleep disturbance and mental health status: a longitudinal study of Japanese junior high school students.

Background: A limited number of longitudinal studies have addressed the association between sleep disturbance and mental health status among adolescents. To examine whether each of these is a risk factor for the onset of the other, we conducted a prospective longitudinal study of Japanese adolescents.

Methods: In 2004, we performed a baseline study of students attending three private junior high schools in Tokyo, and in 2006, a follow-up study was performed on the same population.

Alcohol consumption behavior of pregnant women in Japan.

Objective: This study was conducted to clarify the prevalence of alcohol consumption among pregnant women in Japan and its associated factors.

Method: 344 institutions participated in the survey which was conducted in February 2006. Each subject was requested to fill out a self-administered anonymous questionnaire.

Smoking trends before, during, and after pregnancy among women and their spouses.

Background: Pregnancy and childbirth can act as strong factors motivating parents to spontaneously quit smoking. The aim of the present survey was to establish smoking cessation guidelines for this group. The objectives were to clarify the smoking status of parents before, during and after pregnancy, as well as the factors associated with continuous smoking during pregnancy and post-partum smoking relapse among women who had stopped smoking during pregnancy.

Association between sleep duration and hemoglobin A1c level.

Objective: The association between sleep habits and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) level has not been sufficiently examined. In the present study of residents in a local community, the associations between sleep duration and HbA1c level were examined.

Methods: Self-administered questionnaires were mailed to 1062 residents in a rural community in Japan, and completed questionnaires were collected.

Association between subjective well-being and sleep among the elderly in Japan.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the association between sleep and subjective quality of life in an elderly Japanese population.

Methods: Elderly people aged 70 years or more (n=1,769) were selected randomly from all areas of Japan. They were visited and interviewed in November 2003.

Assessment of coronary artery abnormalities in a patient with Kawasaki disease by multislice computed tomography.

The high spatial resolution of multislice computed tomography (MSCT) permits direct visualization of the coronary artery system. In this report, we describe coronary artery abnormalities in a young adult with Kawasaki disease. MSCT detected a giant coronary artery aneurysm, coronary artery stenosis in the first diagonal artery, and a multi-layered structure in the right coronary artery and the left circumflex artery.