Details of a Researcher - Okamura, Tomonori

Papers - Okamura, Tomonori

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Effects of serum B vitamins on elevated plasma homocysteine levels associated with the mutation of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase gene in Japanese

Moriyama Yuri, Okamura Tomonori, Kajinami Kouji, Iso Hiroyasu, Inazu Akihiro, Kawashiri Masaaki, Mizuno Mihoko, Takeda Yoshiko, Sakamoto Yasuki, Kimura Humio, Suzuki Hideyoshi, Mabuchi Hiroshi

Atherosclerosis 164 ( 2 ) 321 - 328 2002.10

ISSN 0021-9150

High plasma homocysteine, a risk factor for atherosclerosis, is frequently caused by a common mutation in the gene for the enzyme, 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR), C677T (alanine to valine substitution) or low intake of B vitamins that affect the remethylation or transsulfuration pathways in homocysteine metabolism. However, the interaction of the C677T mutation and B vitamins other than folate has not been well elucidated. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 324 men and 641 women who participated in a 1996 health examination under a hypothesis that high nutritional status of folate, vitamin B12 and vitamin B6 expressed as high serum levels, may compensate for the hyperhomocysteinemia associated with homozygosity for the C677T mutation, but not for having the mutation per se. Age-adjusted plasma homocysteine levels were higher for both men and women with the homozygous genotype for the mutation than those who were heterozygous or had no mutation. Elevated homocysteine levels in homozygous genotype was attenuated among persons with higher serum levels of vitamin B12 and folate, but not vitamin B6, and among persons with the combination of lower folate and higher vitamin B12 and of higher folate and higher vitamin B12, split by the median. These findings suggest that elevated homocysteine levels among Japanese with the homozygous genotype for the MTHFR gene mutation can be modified efficiently by dietary supplement of vitamin B12 as well as folate. © 2002 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

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What unfavorable factors are associated with low serum total cholesterol in a Japanese population?

Mao Xu, Okamura Tomonori, Choudhury Sohel R., Kita Yoshikuni, Kadowaki Takashi, Okayama Akira, Niki Isao, Ueshima Hirotsugu

Journal of Epidemiology 12 ( 3 ) 271 - 279 2002.05

ISSN 0917-5040

An inverse association between blood cholesterol level and excess mortality in low cholesterol level subjects has been reported, but there has been no reasonable explanation widely accepted. To evaluate the associations between unfavorable factors and low blood cholesterol in non-Western populations, we performed a cross-sectional study in a rural Japanese population. A self-administered questionnaire concerning health characteristics and a nutritional survey, using a continuous 48-hour dietary record, was conducted on 461 males and 571 females aged 20-79 years old. The serum total cholesterol (TC) of less than 160 mg/dl was defined as low cholesterol, which accounted for 18% of the subjects. The multivariate odds ratio of having low cholesterol adjusted for age and selected variables were 0.70 (95% Cl: 0.52-0.94) for 1SD increment of Key's lipid factor, 0.71 (0.51-0.97) for 1SD increment of vitamin A intake, 2.23 (1.01-4.91) for heavy drinking, 2.80 (1.21-6.46) for being underweight and 2.59 (1.01-6.61) for blood transfusion in males, and 1.04 (1.00-1.08) for 10 cigarette-year increase in smoking in females. Even when further adjusted for body mass index, these associations were still significant except for those who were underweight and had undergone blood transfusion in males. These findings may partly explain the excess mortality of the Japanese males with low serum TC.

A simple method to estimate populational 24-h urinary sodium and potassium excretion using a casual urine specimen

Tanaka Taichiro, Okamura T., Miura K., Kadowaki T., Ueshima H., Nakagawa H., Hashimoto T.

Journal of Human Hypertension 16 ( 2 ) 97 - 103 2002

ISSN 0950-9240

In order to estimate the salt and potassium intake in a population and to compare their annual trends, we developed a simple method to estimate population mean levels of 24-h urinary sodium (24HUNaV) and potassium (24HUKV) excretion from spot urine specimens collected at any time. Using 591 Japanese data items from the INTERSALT study as a gold standard, we developed formulas to estimate 24-h urinary creatinine (24HUCrV), 24HUNaV and 24HUKV using both spot and 24-h urine collection samples. To examine the accuracy of the formulas, we applied these equations to 513 external manual workers. The obtained formulas were as follows: (1) PRCr (mg/day) = -2.04 × age + 14.89 × weight (kg) + 16.14 × height (cm) - 2244.45; (2) estimated 24HUNaV (mEq/day) = 21.98 × XNa^0.392; (3) estimated 24HUKV (mEq/day) = 7.59 × XK^0.431; where PRCr = predicted value of 24HUCr, SUNa = Na concentration in the spot voiding urine, SUK = K concentration in the spot voiding urine, SUCr = creatinine concentration in the spot voiding urine, XNa (or XK) = SUNa (or SUK)/SUCr × PRCr. In the external group, there was a significant but small difference between the estimated and measured values in sodium (24.0 mmol/day) and potassium (3.8 mmol/day) excretion. In every quintile divided by the estimated 24HUNaV or 24HUKV, the measured values were parallel to the estimated values. In conclusion, although this method is not suitable for estimating individual Na and K excretion, these formulas are considered useful for estimating population mean levels of 24-h Na and K excretion, and are available for comparing different populations, as well as indicating annual trends of a particular population.

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Linoleic acid, other fatty acids, and the risk of stroke

Iso Hiroyasu, Sato Shinichi, Umemura Utako, Kudo Minako, Koike Kazuko, Kitamura Akihiko, Imano Hironori, Okamura Tomonori, Naito Yoshihiko, Shimamoto Takashi

Stroke 33 ( 8 ) 2086 - 2093 2002

ISSN 0039-2499

Background and Purpose - The role of serum fatty acids as a risk factor for stroke and stroke subtypes is largely unknown. Methods -A prospective nested case-control study of Japanese 40 to 85 years of age was conducted through the use of frozen serum samples from 7450 participants in cardiovascular risk surveys collected from 1984 to 1989 for 1 community and 1989 to 1992 for the other 2 communities. By the end of 1998, we identified 197 incident strokes whose subtypes were confirmed by imaging studies. Three controls per case were selected by matching for sex, age, community, year of serum storage, and fasting status. Results - Compared with controls, total (n=197), hemorrhagic (n=75), and ischemic (n=122) strokes had similar proportions of n3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, lower proportions of linoleic and arachidonic acids, and higher proportions of saturated and monosaturated acids, determined by gas chromatography. The multivariate odds ratios associated with a 1-SD increase in linoleic acid (5%) after adjustment for hypertension, diabetes, serum total cholesterol, and other cardiovascular risk factors were 0.72 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.59 to 0.89] for total stroke, 0.66 (95% CI, 0.49 to 0.88) for ischemic stroke, 0.63 (95% CI, 0.46 to 0.88) for lacunar infarction, and 0.81 (95% CI, 0.59 to 1.12) for hemorrhagic stroke. The respective odds ratios for saturated fatty acids (4%) were 1.13 (95% CI, 1.05 to 1.65), 1.35 (95% CI, 1.01 to 1.79), 1.44 (95% CI, 1.03 to 2.01), and 1.21 (95% CI, 0.82 to 1.80). Further adjustment for other fatty acids attenuated these relations, but the relation between linoleic acid and risk of ischemic stroke remained statistically significant. Conclusions - A higher intake of linoleic acid may protect against ischemic stroke, possibly through potential mechanisms of decreased blood pressure, reduced platelet aggregation, and enhanced deformability of erythrocyte cells.

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Genetic variation in aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 and the effect of alcohol consumption on cholesterol levels

Nakamura Yasuyuki, Amamoto Kenji, Tamaki Shinji, Okamura Tomonori, Tsujita Yasuyuki, Ueno Yoshiki, Kita Yoshikuni, Kinoshita Masahiko, Ueshima Hirotsugu

Atherosclerosis 164 ( 1 ) 171 - 177 2002

ISSN 0021-9150

Moderate drinkers with a defective alcohol dehydrogenase type 3 (ADH3) genotype have higher high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels and a decreased risk of coronary artery disease (CAD). We examined the interaction between the aldehyde dehydrogenase type 2 (ALDH2), alcohol intake, and HDL levels in 826 men and 1295 women in a rural town in Japan. The ALDH2 genotype of each subject was determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis. HDL was adjusted for the alcohol intake, age, body mass index, smoking status, total cholesterol, triglycerides and HbA1c levels. None of the subjects had a history or ECG suggestive of CAD. The proportions of ALDH2, *1/*1, *1/*2, and *2/*2 (defective homozygote) were 45.8, 46.0, and 8.2%, respectively, for men. Drinking more than two drinks daily was associated with lower HDL levels in men with the defective genotypes compared with men with a normal genotype (55.6±0.9 vs. 51.2±0.9 mg/dl, mean±S.E., P<0.0001). Also, drinking more than 0.5 drinks daily was not associated with beneficial effects on HDL levels in women with defective ALDH2 genotypes. Conclusions: Alcohol intake did not have beneficial effects on HDL levels in the defective ALDH2 genotype and may not protect against CAD in subjects with defective ALDH2 genotypes. © 2002 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

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Estimated relative and absolute risk for cardiovascular disease according to alcohol consumption increase in Japanese general population

Okamura T., Hayakawa T., Kadowaki T., Amamoto K., Kita Y., Okayama A., Ueshima H.

Nihon Arukoru Yakubutsu Igakkai zasshi = Japanese journal of alcohol studies & drug dependence 36 ( 6 ) 586 - 595 2001.12

ISSN 1341-8963

To calculate the estimated relative and absolute risks for cardiovascular diseases according to alcohol consumption increase, we performed a cross-sectional study of men aged 40-79 years using the data from the National Survey of Circulatory Disorders 1990 in Japan. First, we investigated the association between alcohol intake and two types of biochemical variables: serum lipids and blood pressure, by using analysis of variance. Then, concerning the subjects aged 40-59 years, linear regression analyses between alcohol intake and these biochemical markers were done to calculate regression coefficients adjusted for confounding factors. Finally, we substituted these regression coefficients for previously reported regression coefficients in Cox proportional hazard models to calculate relative and absolute risks for coronary heart disease and stroke. Alcohol intake positively correlated to systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC). However, there was no relation between alcohol intake and serum total cholesterol. Linear regression coefficients of SBP, DBP and HDLC were 2.25, 1.43, 2.70, respectively. We used two proportional hazard regression formulas of Japanese population: one for coronary disease (Circulation 89, 2533-39) and the other for stroke (NIPPON DATA80, a 14-year cohort study of randomly selected Japanese). The estimated relative risks of coronary heart disease and stroke were 0.89 and 1.06 for 1 "go" (23 g of ethanol) increment of alcohol intake. The results indicate that the mortality rates shift from 0.44 to 0.39 per 1,000 person-years for coronary heart disease and from 0.76 to 0.81 per 1,000 person-years for stroke in the representative Japanese population aged 40-59 years. The absolute risk of cardiovascular disease may be unchanged if we assume 23 g increment of ethanol intake in Japan because the risk reduction in coronary heart disease was nearly equal to the risk increment in stroke.

Serum triglycerides and risk of coronary heart disease among Japanese men and women

Iso Hiroyasu, Naito Yoshihiko, Sato Shinichi, Kitamura Akihiko, Okamura Tomonori, Sankai Tomoko, Shimamoto Takashi, Iida Minoru, Komachi Yoshio

American Journal of Epidemiology 153 ( 5 ) 490 - 499 2001.03

ISSN 0002-9262

To examine the relation of triglycerides with coronary heart disease among populations with low mean total cholesterol, the authors conducted a 15.5-year prospective study ending in 1997 of 11,068 Japanese aged 40-69 years (4,452 men and 6,616 women with mean total cholesterol = 4.73 mmol/liter and 5.03 mmol/liter, respectively), initially free of coronary heart disease or stroke. There were 236 coronary heart disease events comprising 133 myocardial infarctions, 68 angina pectoris events, and 44 sudden cardiac deaths. The coronary heart disease incidence was greater in a dose-response manner across increasing quartiles of nonfasting triglycerides for both sexes. The multivariate relative risk of coronary heart disease adjusting for coronary risk factors and time since last meal associated with a 1-mmol/liter increase in triglycerides was 1.29 (95% confidence interval (Cl): 1.09, 1.53; p = 0.004) for men and 1.42 (95% Cl: 1.15, 1.75; p = 0.001) for women. The trend was similar for myocardial infarction, angina pectoris, and sudden cardiac death. The relation of triglycerides with coronary heart disease was not influenced materially by total cholesterol levels or, in a subsample analysis (51% of total sample), by high density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. Nonfasting serum triglycerides predict the incidence of coronary heart disease among Japanese men and women who possess low mean values of total cholesterol. Further adjustment for high density lipoprotein cholesterol suggests an independent role of triglycerides on the coronary heart disease risk.

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Lipid disorder and atherosclerosis caused by smoking

Kadowaki T., Okamura T., Ueshima H.

Nippon rinsho. Japanese journal of clinical medicine 59 Suppl 3 214 - 219 2001

ISSN 0047-1852

A changing pattern of food frequency according to aging. A study in a rural cohort with 14-year follow-up

Iino M., Moriwake S., Okamura T., Sato S., Murayama M., Suzuki R., Terao A., Ishikawa Y., Kitamura A., Naito Y., Imano H., Nagano E., Nakagawa Y., Iida M.

[Nippon kōshū eisei zasshi] Japanese journal of public health 48 ( 1 ) 38 - 46 2001

ISSN 0546-1766

Plasma fibrinogen and coronary heart disease in urban japanese

Sato Shinichi, Nakamura Masakazu, Iida Minoru, Naito Yoshihiko, Kitamura Akihiko, Okamura Tomonori, Nakagawa Yuko, Imano Hironori, Kiyama Masahiko, Iso Hiroyasu, Shimamoto Takashi, Komachi Yoshio

American Journal of Epidemiology 152 ( 5 ) 420 - 423 2000.09

ISSN 0002-9262

There is little information on the relation of plasma fibrinogen concentration to the risk of coronary heart disease in Asians, including Japanese, whose plasma fibrinogen concentration has been reported to be low by Western standards. The authors conducted a prospective study with 4.8 years of follow-up of 11,977 men and women aged 21-89 years (mean value of fibrinogen = 267 mg/dl) living or working in Osaka, Japan, in 1990-1996 to examine the relation of plasma fibrinogen with the incidence of coronary heart disease (myocardial infarction and angina pectoris). Mean fibrinogen concentration was 293.6 mg/dl for men who developed coronary heart disease (n = 35) compared with 261.6 mg/dl for men free of coronary heart disease (n = 8,094; difference, p < 0.01), and 355.2 mg/dl for women who developed coronary heart disease (n = 6) compared with 276.8 mg/dl for women free of coronary heart disease (n = 3,842; difference, p < 0.01). With a Cox proportional hazards model to adjust for cardiovascular risk factors, the relative risk for the highest fibrinogen quartile (≥295 mg/dl) compared with the lowest (<228 mg/dl) was 4.8 (95% confidence interval: 1.4, 16.8, p = 0.01) for coronary heart disease, and 3.8 (95% confidence interval: 1.1, 13.4, p = 0.04) for myocardial infarction. Plasma fibrinogen is useful to predict the risk of coronary heart disease among urban Japanese, whose mean plasma fibrinogen is relatively low.

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Prospective study on alcohol intake and risk of subarachnoid hemorrhage among Japanese men and women

Sankai Tomoko, Iso Hiroyasu, Shimamoto Takashi, Kitamura Akihiko, Naito Yoshihiko, Sato Shinichi, Okamura Tomonori, Imano Hironori, Iida Minoru, Komachi Yoshio

Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research 24 ( 3 ) 386 - 389 2000.03

Research paper (scientific journal), Joint Work, Accepted, ISSN 0145-6008

Background: Few prospective data are available to evaluate potential risk factors of subarachnoid hemorrhage among the Japanese, although several prospective studies conducted in the United States and in Europe have shown a positive relationship between alcohol intake and the risk of subarachnoid hemorrhage. Methods: A 9.4 year follow-up study was conducted on 12,372 men and women age 40 to 69 years who had no history of stroke, in six communities in Japan. The incident cases of subarachnoid hemorrhage were confirmed with computed tomography findings and/or clinical findings. Alcohol intake and other cerebrovascular risk factors were measured at the baseline examination. A Cox proportional hazard analysis was used to estimate the relative risks and 95% confidence intervals of the incidence of subarachnoid hemorrhage. Results: During the follow-up assessment, 71 cases of subarachnoid hemorrhages occurred. For men, heavy drinking appeared to be an independent risk factor for subarachnoid hemorrhage; multivariate-adjusted relative risk was 4.3 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.1-16.8;p = 0.04). Among women, no excess risk was found for heavy drinking, probably due to the small number of heavy drinkers (n = 15). The combination of heavy drinking with smoking or hypertension increased the risk of subarachnoid hemorrhage substantially for men; the multivariate-adjusted relative risk was 6.0 (95% CI: 1.8-20.1;p = 0.004) for heavy drinking smokers and 13.0 (95% CI: 3.9-43.9; p < 0.001) for heavy drinking hypertensives. Conclusions: A reduction in alcohol intake, smoking cessation, and control of hypertension are important in preventing subarachnoid hemorrhage among Japanese men.

Validity and reliability of the japanese version of the selected anger expression scale and age, sex, occupation and regional differences in anger expression among Japanese

Ohira Tetsuya, Iso Hiroyasu, Tanigawa Takeshi, Sankai Tomoko, Imano Hironori, Okamura Tomonori, Kiyama Masahiko, Kitamura Akihiko, Nakagawa Yuko, Sato Shinichi, Naito Yoshihiko, Lida Minoru, Shimamoto Takashi

Journal of Epidemiology 10 ( 2 ) 118 - 123 2000

ISSN 0917-5040

To examine the reliability and construct validity of the Japanese version of the Anger Expression Scale among four Japanese communities, and to examine distributions of anger expression scores according to sex, age, occupation, and community, we performed a crosssectional study among 1,802 men and 3,229 women aged 20-70 in four geographic populations in 1995-97. We handed a self-administered questionnaire, which was selected from the Spielberger Anger Expression Scale, to the participants in the risk factor surveys and measured anger-in and anger-out as the anger expression scale. These scales had high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.97-0.98 for anger-out and 0.77-0.86 for angerin) and were of almost the same structure as the original. The Pearson correlation coefficients for the anger expression scale examined in 1995 and 1996 were 0.69 for anger-out and 0.57 for anger-in (both p<0.001). The mean scores of both anger-out and anger-in were inversely associated with age. The mean anger-out score was higher for men than for women (p<0.001), whereas the mean anger-in score did not vary significantly between the sexes. Furthermore, the mean scores of anger-out and anger-in varied among populations and occupational groups. The present study suggests that the Japanese version of the selected Anger Expression Scale is an acceptable scale for evaluatinq anger expression among Japanese.

Plasma level of homocysteine is correlated to extracranial carotid- artery atherosclerosis in non-hypertensive Japanese

Okamura Tomonori, Kitamura Akihiko, Moriyama Yuri, Imano Hironori, Sato Shinichi, Terao Atushi, Naito Yoshihiko, Nakagawa Yuko, Kiyama Masahiko, Tamura Yoshitaka, Iida Minoru, Suzuki Hideyoshi, Komachi Yoshio

Journal of Cardiovascular Risk 6 ( 6 ) 371 - 377 1999

Research paper (scientific journal), Joint Work, ISSN 1350-6277

Background: Results of some epidemiologic studies in Western countries have clarified that hyperhomocysteinemia is a plausible risk factor for atherosclerotic vascular disease, but its role in Japanese communities is not known. Design: A community-based cross-sectional design. Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study of 474 elderly men aged 60-74 years in two Japanese rural communities (Noichi in southwestern Japan and Ikawa in northeastern Japan). We examined the association between plasma concentrations of homocysteine and the maximum intima-media thickness (assessed by ultrasonography). Results: The prevalence of thickening was 10.7% for the lowest fertile of homocysteine level and 21.1% for the highest fertile. For the subjects without hypertension, the odds ratio for having carotid intima-media thickening was 5.8; it was significantly higher for the highest fertile of homocysteine level than it was for the lowest after adjusting for age, hypercholesterolemia, hypoalphalipoproteinemia, diabetes, and smoking by using a multiple logistic regression model. However, its correlation was not evident for those with hypertension. Conclusions: High levels of plasma homocysteine are correlated to extracranial carotid artery atherosclerosis in elderly men without hypertension in Japanese rural communities.

Cohort study on risk factors for subarachnoid hemorrhage among Japanese men and women

Sankai Tomoko, Iso Hiroyasu, Shimamoto Takashi, Kitamura Akihiko, Naito Yoshihiko, Sato Shinichi, Okamura Tomonori, Imano Hironori, Iida Minoru, Komachi Yoshio

Japanese Journal of Hygiene 53 ( 4 ) 587 - 595 1999

Research paper (scientific journal), Joint Work, Accepted, ISSN 0021-5082

Purpose: To examine the risk factors for subarachnoid hemorrhage, for few prospective data have been available on risk factors of subarachnoid hemorrhage among Japanese. Methods: A 9.4-year cohort study was conducted on 12,372 men and women, aged 40-69 years, free of history of stroke in six communities in Japan. Results: During the follow-up, seventy-one incidents of subarachnoid hemorrhage occurred. After adjusting for age, serum total cholesterol, body mass index, history of diabetes mellitus, blood pressure category and drinking category, current smokers had a significantly increased risk of subarachnoid hemorrhage compared with 'never-smokers': multivariate relative risk (RR) [95% confidence interval (95%CI)] = 3.1(1.4-6.9) for women, 1.5(0.4-5.3) for men and 2.7(1.3-5.5) for men and women. Hypertensives had a significantly increased risk of subarachnoid hemorrhage compared with normotensives: multivariate RR(95%CI) = 3.1(1.6-6.0) for women, 4.3(1.5- 12.0) for men and 3.4(2.0-5.9) for men and women. For men, heavy drinkers (>=69 g per day ethanol), had a significantly increased risk of subarachnoid hemorrhage compared with 'never-drinkers': multivariate RR(95%CI) = 4.3(1.1- 16.8). For women, the relationship between heavy drinking and risk was not examined due to the small number of heavy drinkers (n=13). Multivariate RR(95%CI) for men who smoked currently and drank heavily compared with men who did not smoke currently nor drink heavily was 6.0(1.8-20.1). Multivariate RR(95%CI) for hypertensive men who drank heavily compared with normotensive or borderline hypertensive men who did not drink heavily was 13.0(3.9-43.9). Multivariate RR(95%CI) for hypertensive men and women who smoked currently compared with normotensive or borderline hypertensive men and women who did not smoke currently was 6.1(1.3-28.7) for men and 6.3(1.4-28.0) for women. Furthermore, the combination of smoking, hypertension and heavy drinking raised the risk of subarachnoid hemorrhage substantially: multivariate RR(95%CI) = 17.5(3.4-90.2). Conclusion: Smoking and hypertension appeared to increase the risk of subarachnoid hemorrhage. For men, although the association of smoking with the risk of subarachnoid hemorrhage was weak compared with women, the combination of smoking, hypertension and heavy drinking increased the risk substantially. For women, smoking appeared to be an independent risk of subarachnoid hemorrhage, and the combination of smoking and hypertension increased the risk in additive fashion.

Factors relate to participation in medical checkups in a rural community an analysis including social network scores

Okamura T., Suzuki R., Nakagawa Y., Terao A., Sato S., Kitamura A., Naito Y., Imano H., Tamura Y., Iida M., Komachi Y.

[Nippon kōshū eisei zasshi] Japanese journal of public health 46 ( 8 ) 616 - 623 1999

Research paper (scientific journal), Joint Work, Accepted, ISSN 0546-1766

Since 1969, community-based stroke prevention programs have been conducted in N town, Kochi prefecture. To clarify factors related to participation in medical checkups including social networks, a cross-sectional questionnaire survey was performed on 6,704 residents aged 40 and over in N town in 1996. 1. Location of the workplace, types of medical insurance and interest in health were significantly associated with participation in medical checkups. 2. Participation in medical examinations provided at the workplace was significantly, inversely related with participation rates in community checkups in the group aged 40 to 59 years. 3. Low independence level in daily activities was inversely associated with participation rates for medical checkups in groups aged 60 years and older. 4. Visiting medical facilities was inversely associated with the participation rate for medical checkups in female groups. 5. The group with the highest social networks score (5 points) had the highest participation rate for medical checkups. After adjusting for other participation related factors, social networks scores had a significantly positive association with the participation rate for medical checkups provided by the Health Services for the Elderly Act.

The relation between platelet aggregation and constitutional and lifestyle variables in two Japanese communities

Imano H., Iso H., Tanigawa T., Sankai T., Ohira T., Kudo M., Shimamoto T., Sato S., Okamura T., Iida M.

[Nippon kōshū eisei zasshi] Japanese journal of public health 45 ( 6 ) 536 - 551 1998

Research paper (scientific journal), Joint Work, Accepted, ISSN 0546-1766

To investigate the contribution of the platelet aggregation in the development of cardiovascular diseases, we examined the relation of constitutional and lifestyle variables with platelet aggregation for a total of 306 males aged 50 to 70 in Ikawa town, Akita prefecture (n = 163) and Noichi town, Kochi prefecture (n = 143). The examination of platelet aggregation was completed within 3 hours of obtaining blood samples. We used ADP (Adenosine 5'-diphosphate) as an agonist and obtained PATI (the platelet aggregatory threshold index) by nephelometry. Platelet count, mean platelet volume, white blood cell count, serum fatty acid compositions were also examined and dietary intake of fish, seafood and soy bean foods were inquired using one-week dietary records. PATI indicated a logarithmic normal distribution in both Ikawa and Noichi. The mean of logarithmic transformed PATI (log PATI) was higher in Ikawa than in Noichi. Thus platelet aggregation was lower in Ikawa than in Noichi. According to multiple regression analysis, age, platelet count in platelet rich plasma, mean platelet volume in platelet rich plasma, and white blood cell count were inversely associated with log PATI. Serum arachidonic acid composition tended to be inversely related with log PATI. Serum n3-polyunsaturated fatty acid composition was positively related with log PATI, and log gamma-GTP tended to be positively associated with log PATI. Soy protein intake and cigarette smoking showed no consistent associations with log PATI. This cross-sectional study suggests that serum n3-polyunsaturated fatty acid, and gamma-GTP, as an index of alcohol intake, reduce platelet aggregation while age, white blood cell count, platelet count, mean platelet volume, and serum arachidonic acid raise platelet aggregation.

A low prevalence of coronary heart disease among subjects with increased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, including those with plasma cholesteryl ester transfer protein deficiency

Moriyama Yuri, Okamura Tomonori, Inazu Akihiro, Doi Mitsunori, Iso Hiroyasu, Mouri Yoshitaka, Ishikawa Yoshinori, Suzuki Hideyoshi, Iida Minoru, Koizumi Junji, Mabuchi Hiroshi, Komachi Yoshio

Preventive Medicine 27 ( 5 I ) 659 - 667 1998

Research paper (scientific journal), Joint Work, Accepted, ISSN 0091-7435

Background. Use of genetic analysis may improve the predictive value of risk factors for disease. A high plasma level of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol is a strong negative risk factor for coronary heart disease (CHD). Cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) deficiency causes increased levels of HDL cholesterol. However, recent studies suggest that CETP deficiency is a risk factor for CHD despite elevated HDL cholesterol levels. Methods. Plasma lipid levels, CHD prevalence, resting electrocardiograms, and common CETP gene mutations were analyzed cross-sectionally in a population of 19,044 male and 29,487 female Japanese subjects (ages 45-79 years). Results. High HDL cholesterol levels (serum HDL cholesterol ≤80 mg/dl, ≤95th percentile) were found in 6 and 5% of Japanese men and women, respectively. In the group with HDL cholesterol ≤80 mg/dl, common CETP gene mutations were identified in 23-24% of men and 31-49% of women. The prevalence of CHD in the group with high HDL cholesterol (≤80 mg/dl) was low among both men (1.0%) and women (1.3%). There was no difference in CHD prevalence between hyper- HDL-cholesterolemic subjects with and without CETP mutations. Conclusions. Subjects with very high HDL levels (HDL cholesterol ≤80 mg/dl) as well as mild-to-moderate HDL elevations (60-79 mg/dl) appear to be protected against CHD, whether or not they have CETP deficiency, a genetic cause of elevated HDL.

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Alcohol intake and premature coronary heart disease in urban Japanese men

Kitamura Akihiko, Iso Hiroyasu, Sankai Tomoko, Naito Yoshihiko, Sato Shinichi, Kiyama Masahiko, Okamura Tomonori, Nakagawa Yuko, Iida Minoru, Shimamoto Takashi, Komachi Yoshio

American Journal of Epidemiology 147 ( 1 ) 59 - 65 1998

Research paper (scientific journal), Joint Work, Accepted, ISSN 0002-9262

To examine the relation between alcohol intake and the incidence of coronary heart disease among Japanese, the authors analyzed data from a prospective study of 8,476 Japanese male employees, who were 40-59 years old at baseline (between 1975 and 1984) and worked for 13 urban companies in Osaka, Japan. These men were followed until the end of 1993, on average, an 8.8-year follow-up. Eighty-three coronary heart disease events (54 myocardial infarction, 32 angina pectoris) occurred during the employment period under study. Compared with the risk of coronary heart disease for never drinkers, the age-adjusted relative risk for those with an increased ethanol intake was lower, but the risk did not appear to be reduced further with the intake of ≤69 g of ethanol per day. The multivariate relative risk adjusted for age, serum total cholesterol, cigarette smoking, body mass index, left ventricular hypertrophy, and a history of diabetes mellitus was 0.83 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.24-2.86) in exdrinkers, 0.69 (95% CI 0.37-1.29) in drinkers of 1-22 g/day of ethanol, 0.55 (95% CI 0.29-1.05) in drinkers of 23-45 g/day, 0.41 (95% CI 0.19-0.88) in drinkers of 46-68 g/day, and 0.59 (95% CI 0.23- 1.51) in drinkers of ≤69 g/day. The inverse association with alcohol intake was similar between myocardial infarction and angina pectoris. Alcohol intake seemed to prevent the premature incidence of coronary heart disease among urban Japanese middle-aged men.

Survival and disability in stroke by stroke subtype based on computed tomographic findings in three rural Japanese communities

Sankai T., Iso H., Imano H., Ohira T., Tanigawa T., Shimamoto T., Kitamura A., Sato S., Naito Y., Kiyama M., Okamura T., Nakagawa Y., Iida M., Komachi Y.

[Nippon kōshū eisei zasshi] Japanese journal of public health 45 ( 6 ) 552 - 563 1998

Research paper (scientific journal), Joint Work, Accepted, ISSN 0546-1766

PURPOSE: We conducted an epidemiological study of survival and disability in stroke in three Japanese communities to seek community strategies for improvement in survival and disability. METHODS: A total of 297 first-ever strokes were identified between 1988 and 1992 in three rural communities (total population = 47,000) located in Akita and Ibaraki. We analyzed survival rates and activity of daily living by sex, age-group and stroke subtypes. Successful review of computed tomography (CT) for 84 percent of the strokes (249 out of 297) was possible and the data were used for subtype analyses. RESULTS: For all strokes (n = 297) survival rates were 85% for 30 day, 70% for one year, 62% for three year. The rates tended to be lower in women than in men. The rates were lowest in ages less than 60 at thirty day, and in ages 80 and older at the end of the first and third year. Intracerebral hemorrhage with ventricular rupture, subarachnoid hemorrhage and cortical cerebral infarction had lower survival rates than intracerebral hemorrhage without ventricular rupture and lacunar infarction. Based on Cox's proportional hazard model, risk ratio for death was 2.07 in ages 70-79, and 3.80 in ages 80 and older compared with ages 60-69. The risk ratio was 3.46 for intracerebral hemorrhage with ventricular rupture, 3.38 for subarachnoid hemorrhage and 2.46 for cortical cerebral infarction compared with lacunar infarction. The proportion of stroke survivors who need assistance from others in the first and third years tended to be higher in women than in men. The proportion was higher in older patients than in the younger, and higher for intracerebral hemorrhage with ventricular rupture and cortical cerebral infarction than in other subtypes of stroke. From logistic regression analysis, the odds ratio for disability in the first year was 6.55 for ages 80 and older compared with ages 60-69. The odds ratio was 5.61 for intracerebral hemorrhage with ventricular rupture, 4.53 for cortical cerebral infarction compared with lacunar infarction. In the third year the odds ratio was significant for ages 70-79, and decreased for intracerebral hemorrhage with ventricular rupture (odds ratio = 2.98), and increased for cortical cerebral infarction (odds ratio = 6.06). CONCLUSIONS: Survival and disability in stroke depended on age and stroke subtypes. Even after age adjustment, stroke subtypes with large cerebral involvement had worse prognosis than stroke subtypes. Community-based hypertension control programs are important to prevent any subtypes of stroke. Stroke subtypes as well as age should be taken into account to develop effective care and medical treatments for strokes.

Characteristics and outcome of stroke patients discharged from hospitals in an urban area of Japan

Kitamura A., Iida M., Nakagawa Y., Kiyama M., Sato S., Okamura T., Naito Y., Imano H., Yamane N., Ootsuka J., Yamamoto R., Matsumura K., Kijima H., Komachi Y.

[Nippon kōshū eisei zasshi] Japanese journal of public health 45 ( 8 ) 740 - 748 1998

Research paper (scientific journal), Joint Work, Accepted, ISSN 0546-1766

The purpose of this study was to obtain the overall characteristics and outcome in stroke patients in an urban area of Japan, in order to develop some strategies for a community-based care system for improvement of the prognosis and activities of daily life in stroke patients. The present study, based on 4 hospitals in Yao city in Osaka, showed results as follows: 1) The number of stroke patients discharged from 4 hospitals during a recent one year period was 377 (216 men and 161 women). 2) The proportion of patients who died was 27%. Of the living patients, the proportions of patients who had motor paralysis or speech disturbance at discharge were 54% and 27%, respectively. 3) The proportion of patients who were to return to their home was 77% for all living patients. The proportion of patients who were not able to walk by themselves, or needed assistance in at least one of the activities of daily life was 31% and 28%, respectively, for all living patients who were to return to their home. This study showed that stroke registry from major hospitals in an urban area is useful for obtaining the overall characteristics of stroke patients in the area and promote community-wide programs in the prevention and home care of stroke.

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