Relative Importance of Central and Peripheral Adiposities on Cardiometabolic Variables in Females: A Japanese Population-Based Study.

In epidemiological studies, there is little evidence regarding the relative impact of central adiposity and peripheral adiposity on cardiometabolic risk factors, especially in Asian populations. This study investigated associations between central-to-peripheral fat ratios and cardiometabolic variables using data from a population-based study of Japanese women. The source population was composed of 1800 women aged 50 yr or older at the 15th- to 16th-yr follow-up survey of the Japanese Population-Based Osteoporosis Cohort Study.

HDL subclasses are heterogeneous in their associations with body fat, as measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry: the Kitakata Kids Health Study.

Background: Obesity, defined as the excessive accumulation of body fat, is frequently associated with low concentrations of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. However, HDL particles are heterogeneous in size and composition. HDL subclasses may be differentially associated with body fat.

Effect of distributing an evidence-based guideline for prevention of osteoporosis on health education programs in municipal health centers: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Current health education programs for osteoporosis prevention are not strictly evidence-based. We assessed whether distribution of an evidence-based guideline improved such programs at municipal health centers.

Methods: This randomized controlled trial evaluated 100 municipal health centers throughout Japan that were randomly selected from those that planned to revise osteoporosis prevention programs.

Seismic intensity and risk of cerebrovascular stroke: 1995 Hanshin-Awaji earthquake.

Introduction: No epidemiological data exist concerning the influence of an earthquake on the risk of stroke. Whether the incidence of cerebrovascular stroke increased after the 1995 Hanshin-Awaji earthquake (EQ) in Japan and whether seismic intensity affected stroke risk dose-dependently was examined.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted among residents, who were living in two towns on the island of Awaji and were participants of the National Health Insurance (NHI) program.

A cohort study on the active life expectancy of stroke patients using a community-based stroke registry in a Japanese rural district.

In order to support patients with a history of stroke, public health nurses, hospitals and ambulance stations in and around the Oyabe Health District (49 000 population, rural area) provided initial information for a community-based stroke registry starting from 1966. This stroke registry was established by the present authors to record the patients' status and provide social services at home. The information from 1032 stroke patients was compiled into a register during the period 1966-79.