Meat consumption and risk of colorectal cancer in Japan: the Miyagi Cohort Study.

The association between meat consumption and risk of colorectal cancer has been controversial. We examined this question in a large prospective cohort study in Japan. From June through August 1990, 47,605 residents, aged 40-64 years, of Miyagi Prefecture in northern Japan completed a self-administered questionnaire, including a food frequency questionnaire.

[Comparison of intensive and moderate individual life-style intervention programs for overweight or obese persons with fasting glucose levels of 95-125 mg/dl in Japan].

Objectives: There are considerable differences in individual health education programs for persons at high risk of type 2 diabetes between ordinary Japanese life-style modification programs and the Diabetes Prevention Program in the US, the former being relatively moderate and the latter more intensive. We therefore compared the effectiveness of intensive and moderate intervention, focusing on the frequency of individual educational classes.

Methods: The subjects were men and women aged 44-69 years living in Nishiaizu town, Fukushima prefecture in Japan.

Inhibition of Oct4 expression in mouse preimplantation embryos using morpholino antisense oligonucleotides.

Morpholino oligonucleotides (MO) can induce gene silencing by binding to a target mRNA and inhibiting its translation, and this technique has been especially successful in studies of embryonic development in various vertebrates. But in mice MO-induced downregulation of target genes has not been widely reported. In this study, we examined whether MO delivery using ethoxylated polyethylenimine (EPEI) delivery reagent is useful for silencing gene expression in the mouse preimplantation embryo, by targeting endogenous gene Oct4.

Alcohol consumption and lung cancer mortality in Japanese men: results from Japan collaborative cohort (JACC) study.

Background: The relationship between alcohol consumption and increased risk of lung cancer is controversial. This study was set up to investigate the association between alcohol consumption and death from lung cancer in a large Japanese cohort.

Methods: The subjects comprised 28,536 males, aged 40-79 years, living throughout Japan.

[Association between depressive symptoms and cerebrovascular lesions on MRI in community-dwelling elderly individuals].

Aim: We conducted a community-based study to verify relationships between cerebrovascular lesions (CVL) on magnetic resonance imaging and depressive symptoms (DS) in elderly individuals, and the validity of Krishnan's MRI-defined vascular depression (MRI-VD).

Methods: MRI was performed in 196 community-dwelling elderly individuals (mean age, 72.3 +/- 1.

Obesity and depressive symptoms in elderly Japanese: the Tsurugaya Project.

Objective: The aim of this study is to examine the association between obesity and depressive symptoms in Japan.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 1128 community-dwelling elderly Japanese aged 70 years or older in 2002. We calculated the body mass index [BMI=weight (kg)/height (m)2] from measured weight and height and evaluated depressive symptoms using the 30-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS 30), with a cut-off point of 11.

Green tea consumption and cognitive function: a cross-sectional study from the Tsurugaya Project 1.

Background: Although considerable experimental and animal evidence shows that green tea may possess potent activities of neuroprotection, neurorescue, and amyloid precursor protein processing that may lead to cognitive enhancement, no human data are available.

Objective: The objective was to examine the association between green tea consumption and cognitive function in humans.

Design: We analyzed cross-sectional data from a community-based Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) conducted in 2002.

Tobacco smoking and colorectal cancer risk: an evaluation based on a systematic review of epidemiologic evidence among the Japanese population.

Background: It is unclear whether tobacco smoking is related to colorectal cancer risk in Japan. We evaluated the association among the Japanese population based on a systematic review of epidemiologic evidence.

Methods: Original data were obtained from searches of MEDLINE using PubMed, complemented with manual searches.

Influence of leisure-time physical activity on the relationship between C-reactive protein and hypertension in a community-based elderly population of Japan: the Tsurugaya project.

There are several studies indicating an association between C-reactive protein (CRP) and blood pressure (BP) in the Japanese population, but the influence of physical activity has not been considered. Therefore, we designed a cross-sectional survey to determine whether leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) modifies the relation between CRP and hypertension among Japanese elderly. Our study population comprised 643 subjects aged 70 years and over in whom CRP, home BP, and self-reported LTPA were measured.

Association between social support and depression status in the elderly: results of a 1-year community-based prospective cohort study in Japan.

We conducted a prospective cohort study on subjects aged>or=70 years in an urban community to determine whether there is any association between lack of social support and depression status. Of the 2730 eligible subjects, 1178 participated and were interviewed in a Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) in 2002. We investigated the five social supports items using the following questions: (i) do you have someone with whom you can consult when you are in trouble?, (ii) do you have someone with whom you can consult when your physical condition is not good?, (iii) do you have someone who can help you with your daily housework?, (iv) do you have someone who can take you to a hospital when you do not feel well?, and (v) do you have someone who can take care of you when you are ill in bed? The Geriatric Depression Scale was used to estimate depression status.

Factors affecting home-measured resting heart rate in the general population: the Ohasama study.

Background: We recently demonstrated that a home-measured resting heart rate (HR) can predict cardiovascular disease mortality, and it is possible that the determinants of home HR are different from casual HR. Therefore, clarifying the determinants of home HR should be useful.

Methods: Home HR was obtained using a self-monitored blood pressure (BP) measuring device.

Male elderly subthreshold depression patients have smaller volume of medial part of prefrontal cortex and precentral gyrus compared with age-matched normal subjects: a voxel-based morphometry.

Background: The brain morphological changes in subthreshold depression (sD) have not been clarified. We examined the structural difference in regional gray matter volume between community-dwelling elderly subjects with sD and age-matched nondepressed normal subjects by voxel-based morphometry (VBM) based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Methods: Thirty-four community-dwelling elderly subjects with sD and 109 age-matched nondepressed normal subjects were studied by MRI.

Green tea and the risk of colorectal cancer: pooled analysis of two prospective studies in Japan.

Background: Although laboratory experiments suggest protective effects of green tea against colorectal cancer, few prospective cohort studies have been conducted.

Methods: We conducted a pooled analysis of two prospective cohort studies among residents in Miyagi Prefecture in rural northern Japan. The first study started in 1984 and included 26,311 subjects.

White-coat hypertension as a risk factor for the development of home hypertension: the Ohasama study.

Background: White-coat hypertension is a condition characterized by elevated blood pressure (BP) in medical settings combined with normal ambulatory-recorded BP or self-measured BP at home (home BP). However, it is unknown whether this condition represents a transient state in the development of hypertension outside medical settings.

Methods: We followed up 128 subjects with white-coat hypertension (home BP <135/85 mm Hg and office BP > or = 140/90 mm Hg) for 8 years and compared the risk of progression with home hypertension (home BP > or = 135/85 mm Hg or start of treatment with antihypertensive medication) with 649 sustained normotensive subjects (home BP <135/85 mm Hg and office BP <140/90 mm Hg) using data from population-based home BP measurement projects in Japan.

Cognitive decline in patients with long-term domiciliary oxygen therapy.

Cognitive and psycho-physiological condition in patients with long-term domiciliary oxygen therapy (DOT) remains uncertain. A cross sectional analysis was performed to investigate the age-related changes in cognitive and psycho-physiologic functions in patients with chronic respiratory failure receiving long-term DOT. Two expert practitioners visited the patient's home and examined them for analysis of cognitive function, emotional status, physical activity and degree of dyspneic sensation.

Evaluation based on systematic review of epidemiological evidence among Japanese populations: tobacco smoking and total cancer risk.

Background: We evaluated the association between tobacco smoking and total cancer risk among Japanese populations based on a systematic review of epidemiological evidence.

Methods: Original data were obtained from searches of MEDLINE using PubMed, complemented with manual searches. Evaluation of associations was based on the strength of evidence and the magnitude of association, together with biological plausibility as previously evaluated by the International Agency for Research on Cancer.

Secondary sulfonylurea failure: comparison of period until insulin treatment between diabetic patients treated with gliclazide and glibenclamide.

We retrospectively evaluated a possible difference in periods until start of insulin treatment between type 2 diabetic patients treated with gliclazide (GCZ) and glibenclamide (GBC), because GCZ might be protective for beta cells than GBC. Subjects were Japanese patients. GCZ group consisted of patients treated with GCZ alone or with GCZ and GBC in the separate treatment periods in combination with or without other oral hypoglycemic agents (OHAs), while GBC group consisted of patients with GBC alone or in combination with other OHAs except GCZ.

Fruit and vegetable consumption and risk of colorectal cancer in Japan: The Miyagi Cohort Study.

Objective: Adequate fruit and vegetable intake has been suggested to protect against colorectal cancer. However, several recent prospective studies have reported no association. We therefore examined the association between fruit and vegetable intakes and the risk of colorectal cancer in a prospective cohort study in Japan.

Personality and cancer survival: the Miyagi cohort study.

We tested the hypothesis that personality plays a role in cancer outcome in a population-based prospective cohort study in Japan. In July 1990, 41 442 residents of Japan completed a short form of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised and a questionnaire on various health habits, and between January 1993 and December 1997, 890 incident cases of cancer were identified among them. These 890 cases were followed up until March 2001, and a total of 356 deaths from all causes was identified among them.

C-reactive protein and peripheral artery disease among Japanese elderly: the Tsurugaya Project.

We investigated the cross-sectional relationship between ankle brachial index and cardiovascular disease risk factors, including C-reactive protein (CRP), among Japanese elderly, a topic which has had little prior epidemiologic study. Our study population comprised 946 subjects aged at least 70 years in whom both CRP and ankle brachial index were measured. The participants were classified into a low (ankle brachial index<0.

Personality and mortality from ischemic heart disease and stroke.

Background: The role of personality in the causation of circulatory diseases has been controversial.

Methods: From June through August 1990, 41,442 residents of Miyagi Prefecture in northern Japan completed the Japanese version of the short-form Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised and another questionnaire on various health habits. During 11 years of follow-up until March 31, 2001, we identified 90 deaths from ischemic heart disease (IHD) and 131 deaths from stroke.

Modifiable factors for the length of life with disability before death: mortality retrospective study in Japan.

Background: Past studies have measured and described the length of life with disability before death, but there has been no study of the relationship between modifiable lifestyle factors and duration of disability.

Objective: To examine whether there are modifiable factors influencing the length of life with disability before death.

Methods: The study was designed as a retrospective observation of the deceased who had earlier been enrolled in a prospective cohort study.