Publications by authors named "Tomonori Okamura"

Objective Few reports have examined the association between "weight gain since the past combined with the presence of obesity" and diabetes mellitus (DM). Therefore, we longitudinally examined the influence of the combination of "weight gain of ≥10 kg since the age of 20 years" and the presence of obesity on the new onset of DM.Methods We identified 8,704 National Health Insurance enrollees in Habikino City, Osaka Prefecture, who underwent specific health checkups in 2013.

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Background: Dehydration, a risk factor for ischemic cerebrovascular diseases, is common in summer; however, the incidence of ischemic diseases is not necessarily higher in summer. Therefore, this study aimed to clarify the relationships between serum osmolarity, hematocrit, daily non-alcohol drink (NAD) intake and factors such as season and age as risk factors for dehydration.

Method: Participants (703 women and 306 men) in the follow-up survey, in 2012 and 2013, of the Kobe Orthopedic and Biomedical Epidemiologic (KOBE) Study, consisting of healthy individuals living in Kobe, Japan, were categorized into two groups based on the examination month: the warmer and colder seasons.

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Background: The association between alcohol consumption and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) was controversial, and no previous studies have shown the impact of dyslipidemia on the association. We aimed to clarify the association between alcohol consumption and death from cardiovascular disease (CVD) and its subtypes and the impact of dyslipidemia on the association.

Methods: We conducted a 20-year cohort study to clarify the association between alcohol intake and death from CVD and its subtypes in 2,909 Japanese men.

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Aims: Continued low mortality from coronary heart disease in Japan, despite deleterious changes in traditional risk factors, remains unexplained. Since aortic calcification (AC) was an early predictor of cardiovascular mortality, we compared the progression and incidence of AC between Japanese in Japan, white Americans, and third-generation Japanese Americans in the ERA JUMP cohort. We examined whether higher blood levels of marine-derived n-3 fatty acids (FAs) in Japanese than in Americans accounted for the difference.

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Purpose: Hypertension (HT), dyslipidemia (DL), and diabetes mellitus (DM) are major risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. Despite the wide availability of medications to reduce this risk, poor adherence to medications remains an issue. The aim of this study is to evaluate medication adherence of prevalent users in these disease medications (HT, DL, DM) using claims data.

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Background: Prevention of heart failure (HF) is a public health issue. Using the National Vital Statistics, we explored risk factors for HF and coronary artery disease (CAD) mortality.

Methods And Results: Altogether, 7,556 Japanese individuals aged ≥30 years in 1990 were followed over 25 years; of these, 139 and 154 died from HF and CAD, respectively.

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Objectives Although self-reported questionnaires are widely used to collect information on medication use in epidemiological studies, their validity for studies involving older adults has not been sufficiently assessed. This study evaluated the validity of self-reported medication use using questionnaires in comparison with drug notebooks.Methods The study enrolled 370 older community dwellers who participated in an aging sub-study survey of the Tsuruoka Metabolomics Cohort Study between April 2019 and March 2021.

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  • Oral anticoagulants (OACs) help prevent ischemic strokes in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF), but they can also raise the risk of major bleeding, especially in Japanese patients with limited existing data on this risk.
  • In a study analyzing 11,539 NVAF patients receiving OACs, major bleeding occurred in 1.3% of patients per year, with risk factors including advanced age, hypertension, prior bleeding, anemia, and the use of antiplatelet agents.
  • The researchers created a new risk stratification system called HED-[EPA]-B, which showed better predictive capability for major bleeding compared to existing scores like HAS-BLED and ATRIA, suggesting
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  • The Shiga Epidemiological Study of Subclinical Atherosclerosis, conducted in Japan from 2006 to 2008, involved 740 men who were analyzed for lipid profiles and assessed for intracranial artery stenosis (ICAS) through MRI from 2012 to 2015.
  • Of the participants, 205 (28.8%) had ICAS, and 144 (20.3%) showed discordance between LDL cholesterol (LDL-c) and LDL particle number (LDL-p) levels.
  • The study found that individuals with low LDL-c but high LDL-p had the highest risk of ICAS, indicating that assessing both LDL-c and LDL-p may better identify those at risk for arterial issues.
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Objectives Food environment improvement involving salt reduction requires improving access to and labeling low-sodium foods. Assessing the implementation status of these measures is also necessary. However, to date, no established methods exist for assessing the availability of low-sodium foods in communities.

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  • The study focuses on using metabolomics profiles in urine and plasma to improve health risk assessments for low-level cadmium exposure in a large population sample.
  • Researchers analyzed 123 urinary and 94 plasma metabolites from over 3,400 participants, adjusting for various factors like age, gender, and lifestyle choices.
  • Findings indicated that certain urinary metabolites, especially N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAG), were linked to cadmium levels, with specific metabolites showing consistent associations across different exposure levels and pathways related to mitochondria being affected.
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  • This study analyzes real-world data on the use of evolocumab, a cholesterol-lowering medication, in Japan since its introduction in 2016, highlighting patient demographics and clinical profiles.
  • A total of 4,022 patients were evaluated, with the majority receiving treatment in outpatient settings and many having conditions like familial hypercholesterolemia and various cardiovascular diseases.
  • The findings suggest that most patients were on a combination of ezetimibe and statins along with evolocumab, and the median treatment duration was approximately 260 days, providing valuable insights for improving patient care in managing hypercholesterolemia.
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Background: Deviations of hemoglobin from normal levels may be a factor in cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk; however, conclusive evidence is lacking. In addition, preclinical conditions may influence hemoglobin concentrations, but studies focusing on reverse causation are limited. Thus, we examined the relationship between hemoglobin concentrations and CVD mortality risk, considering reverse causation.

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Objective: Comprehensive investigations of correlations between subnational socioeconomic factors and trends in mortality and lifestyle are important for addressing public health problems.

Methods: Forty-seven prefectures in Japan were divided into quartiles based on the proportion of public assistance recipients (PPAR). Age-standardized mortality from all causes, cancer, heart disease, and stroke in each prefecture were averaged for these quartiles in 2000, 2005, 2010, and 2015.

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  • The study investigates the link between nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and atherosclerosis, specifically looking at the cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI) as an indicator of early atherosclerosis.
  • Using a sample of 928 Japanese individuals, researchers examined the relationship through statistical models and analyzed 94 plasma metabolites to identify any associations.
  • Results revealed a positive correlation between NAFLD and CAVI, with ten key metabolites, such as branched-chain and aromatic amino acids, possibly mediating this relationship and suggesting a role of insulin resistance in the progression from NAFLD to atherosclerosis.
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Background: Universal health coverage means that all people can access essential health services without incurring financial hardship. Even in countries with good service coverage and financial protection, the progress towards universal health coverage may decelerate or be limited with respect to the growing older population. This study investigates the incidence/prevalence, determinants, and consequences of catastrophic health expenditure (CHE) and unmet need for healthcare and assesses the potential heterogeneity between younger (≤ 64 years) and older people (65 years≤).

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Studies examining long-term longitudinal metabolomic data and their reliability in large-scale populations are limited. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the reliability of repeated measurements of plasma metabolites in a prospective cohort setting and to explore intra-individual concentration changes at three time points over a 6-year period. The study participants included 2999 individuals (1317 men and 1682 women) from the Tsuruoka Metabolomics Cohort Study, who participated in all three surveys-at baseline, 3 years, and 6 years.

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  • The Tsuruoka Metabolomics Cohort Study (TMCS) is a large-scale, ongoing research project in rural Japan aiming to improve disease prevention strategies for complex illnesses by analyzing risk factors and predictors.
  • The study includes 11,002 participants aged 35-74 from Tsuruoka City, who provide extensive health and lifestyle data and undergo molecular profiling to identify potential disease-linked biomarkers.
  • TMCS focuses on outcomes related to cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and aging effects, utilizing a multi-omics approach to capture comprehensive biological, behavioral, and social data, and boasts a high participation rate and robust study design.
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  • A study investigated the relationship between high blood pressure (BP) and the risk of mortality from various cancers, excluding initial deaths to avoid reverse causality.
  • The analysis included 8,088 participants from the general Japanese population over a 29-year period, focusing on confounding factors like smoking and obesity.
  • Findings revealed a significant association between high BP and an increased risk of colorectal cancer mortality in younger adults, specifically those aged 30-49, while no such link was found for other types of cancer.
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Background: Heated tobacco products (HTPs) have gained global popularity, but their health risks remain unclear. Therefore, the current study aimed to identify plasma metabolites associated with smoking and HTP use in a large Japanese population to improve health risk assessment.

Methods: Metabolomics data from 9,922 baseline participants of the Tsuruoka Metabolomics Cohort Study (TMCS) were analyzed to determine the association between smoking habits and plasma metabolites.

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Aim: A pro-inflammatory diet may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and all-cause mortality. However, this remains inconclusive as there is yet no study using a dietary record method that has been conducted in a large general population. Furthermore, an underestimation of the pro-inflammatory diet may exist due to the unmeasured effect of salt intake.

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