Longitudinal Changes in Arterial Stiffness Associated with Physical Activity Intensity: The Toon Health Study.

Aims: Several studies have revealed an association between moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and arterial stiffness, which is a known risk factor for cardiovascular disease. However, a few studies have considered the difference in the longitudinal effect of its intensity in a large general population. Therefore, we examined the effect of MVPA intensity on longitudinal changes in arterial stiffness.

A Cross-Sectional Study of the Relationship of Timed Up & Go Test with Physical Characteristics and Physical Activity in Healthy Japanese: The Toon Health Study.

This study evaluated the Timed Up & Go test (TUG) among healthy Japanese individuals without walking problems to clarify the relationship of TUG performance with physical characteristics and physical activity according to sex and age groups. In total, 797 men and women (30-84 years old) in Toon City, Ehime Prefecture, were assessed from 2016 to 2017. The survey data for physical characteristics, TUG performance, and physical activity measures were used.

The Relationship between Locomotive Syndrome Risk, Gait Pattern, and Standing Posture in Young Japanese Women: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Young people are also at risk of developing locomotive syndrome for unclear reasons. Therefore, we sought to evaluate the locomotive syndrome risk in young Japanese women and the relationship between standing posture and gait patterns. We used survey materials for physical measurements, locomotive syndrome risk tests, normal and maximum walking test, a standing posture test, and physical activity measures.

Influence of Insulin Resistance on the Association Between Physical Activity and Heart Rate Variability: The Toon Health Study.

Background: Autonomic activity is possibly influenced by physical activity (PA). However, it remains unclear whether this association is modified by insulin resistance.

Methods: This population-based study between 2009 and 2012 included 2016 men and women aged 30-79 years.

Mortality of Japanese Olympic athletes: 1952-2017 cohort study.

Aim: To evaluate mortality among Japanese Olympic athletes compared with the general population and also evaluate their mortality based on total number of Olympics participation and intensity of sports disciplines.

Methods: Information on biography, vital status, date of birth, date of death and latest follow-up date on Japanese Olympians was retrieved from six online databases and compared. Standardised mortality ratio (SMR) was estimated according to observation periods and years from last participation in the Olympics.

Use of doubly labeled water to validate a physical activity questionnaire developed for the Japanese population.

Background: No study has attempted to use the doubly labeled water (DLW) method to validate a physical activity questionnaire administered to a Japanese population. The development and refinement of such questionnaires require that physical activity components related to physical activity level be examined.

Methods: Among 226 Japanese men and women 20 to 83 years of age, total energy expenditure (TEE) was assessed using the Japan Arteriosclerosis Longitudinal Study Physical Activity Questionnaire (JALSPAQ), and the results were compared with TEE measured by the DLW method as a gold standard.

Body mass index and risk of stroke and myocardial infarction in a relatively lean population: meta-analysis of 16 Japanese cohorts using individual data.

Background: The association of overweight/obesity with the incidence of cardiovascular diseases, especially stroke, has not been comprehensively examined in relatively lean populations in which stroke is more prevalent than coronary heart disease.

Methods And Results: Pooled individual data from 16 Japanese cohorts comprising 45 235 participants ages 40 to 89 years without previous history of cardiovascular disease were studied. During follow-up, 1113 incident strokes and 190 myocardial infarctions were identified.

Light-intensity activities are important for estimating physical activity energy expenditure using uniaxial and triaxial accelerometers.

This study evaluated the validity of the total energy expenditure (TEE) estimated using uniaxial (ACCuni) and triaxial (ACCtri) accelerometers in the elderly. Thirty-two healthy elderly (64-87 years) participated in this study. TEE was measured using the doubly labeled water (DLW) method (TEE(DLW)).

Effect of a 4-year workplace-based physical activity intervention program on the blood lipid profiles of participating employees: the high-risk and population strategy for occupational health promotion (HIPOP-OHP) study.

Individuals who are physically fit or engage in regular physical activity have a lower incidence of cardiovascular disease and risk of mortality. We conducted a large-scale controlled trial of interventions to decrease cardiovascular risk factors, during which we assessed the effect of a workplace-based intervention program, which was part of a population strategy for promoting long-term increases in physical activity, on the blood lipid profiles of participating employees. Data were collected from 2929 participants and this report presents the results of a survey conducted in five factories for the intervention group and five factories for the control group at baseline and year 5.

[Epidemiological study of preferable life style for psychological health promotion].

Objective: We sought to examine relationships of lifestyle factors, including diet, physical activity, sleep, alcohol consumption and smoking, with perceived stress and depressive symptoms.

Methods: Between 2001 and 2002, 7,947 men and women (mean 52.4 years) took part in examinations at the Osaka Medical Center for Health Science and Promotion.

Plasma fibrinogen concentrations and risk of stroke and its subtypes among Japanese men and women.

Background And Purpose: We aimed to examine the impact of fibrinogen concentrations on the incidence of stroke.

Methods: We examined the association between fibrinogen and risk of total stroke and stroke subtypes in an 11-year prospective study of 4608 men and 7589 women aged 40 to 79 years with no history of stroke and/or coronary heart disease. The analysis was repeated, stratified by smoking status, to examine whether the association between fibrinogen and stroke was modified by smoking.

Impact of metabolic syndrome on brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity in Japanese.

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of metabolic syndrome on brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) by using the new guidelines for diagnosis of this syndrome in Japan. We examined 525 men and women without a history of cardiovascular disease or cancer, and an ankle-brachial index < 0.9.

Serum total homocysteine concentrations and risk of stroke and its subtypes in Japanese.

Background: To date, no prospective studies have examined the association between serum homocysteine levels and the risk of stroke and stroke subtypes in Asian populations.

Methods And Results: A prospective, nested, case-control study of Japanese subjects 40 to 85 years of age was conducted by using frozen serum samples from 11 846 participants in cardiovascular risk surveys collected from 1984 to 1995 for one community and 1989 to 1995 for the other two communities. By the end of 2000, we identified 150 incident strokes, the subtypes of which were confirmed by imaging studies.

Prevalence and correlates of carotid atherosclerosis among elderly Japanese men.

We determined intima-media thickness (IMT) and diameter of carotid artery and estimated their correlations with cardiovascular risk factors in 1129 men aged 60-74 years, who participated in a cardiovascular risk survey in three Japanese communities. The multivariate odds ratios (95% confidence interval) for the maximum IMT > or = 1.1 mm in the common carotid artery (CCA) were 1.

[Trends for stroke incidence, severity, and prognosis in a rural community with a long-term stroke prevention program].

Objective: To examine the benefit of a long-term community-based stroke prevention program, we explored 35 years of surveillance data of stroke incidence for residents in a rural area in Japan.

Method: The surveyed community was Ikawa town (population in 2000 was 6,116) in Akita prefecture, where a community-based stroke prevention program has been conducted since 1963. Incidence rates and numbers of stroke episodes, proportions for loss of consciousness and motor paralysis at onset, proportions for each seriousness category (A: death within one day after onset, B: death during 2-7 days after onset, C: survival more than 8 days after onset with complete hemiparesis, D: survival more than 8 days after onset with incomplete or no hemiparesis), and one-year survival rates and activity of daily living were investigated for 1964-69, 1970-79, 1980-89 and 1990-98.

Prospective study of major and minor ST-T abnormalities and risk of stroke among Japanese.

Background And Purpose: The association between minor ST-T abnormalities and stroke incidence has not been well elucidated. We sought to examine the relationship between nonspecific minor or major ST-T abnormalities and the incidence of stroke among Japanese men and women.

Methods: A 15.

Ankle-arm blood pressure index and cardiovascular risk factors in elderly Japanese men.

Low ankle-arm systolic blood pressure index (AAI) correlates with various cardiovascular risk factors and with risk of subsequent coronary heart disease and stroke in Western countries. However, few epidemiological data are available among Japanese, in whom the reported prevalence of peripheral artery disease is low. We examined the relationship between AAI and cardiovascular risk factors among 1,219 men aged 60 to 79 years in two Japanese communities in 1999 and 2000.

Study of Prevention of Colorectal Cancer through Lifestyle Modification: an Introduction to the Protocol.

Previous epidemiological studies have suggested that lack of exercise and a high fat diet increase the risk of colorectal cancer. We planned a clinical trial to test these propositions, using subjects with multiple colorectal adenomas and/or carcinomas. Enrolment in this study was conducted in two stages.

Smoking raises the risk of total and ischemic strokes in hypertensive men.

To examine the relation between cigarette smoking and risk of stroke and coronary heart disease among Japanese, we conducted a 14-year prospective study of 3,626 men aged 40-69, initially free from history of stroke and coronary heart disease. We identified 257 strokes (75 hemorrhagic and 173 ischemic strokes) and 100 coronary heart disease events. When we adjusted for age and other cardiovascular risk factors, a significant excess risk among current smokers of > 20 cigarettes/day vs.