Aya Sugiyama

Effect of increasing respiratory rate on airway resistance and reactance in COPD patients

Airway resistance and reactance measured by forced oscillometry have been used to measure the severity of airway obstruction in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. The aims of this study were to assess the effects of tachypnoea on airway resistance and reactance and to correlate these with the severity of dyspnoea. We also evaluated the effects of short‐acting β2‐agonist (SABA) on these measurements.

Predicting future blood supply and demand in Japan with a Markov model: application to the sex- and age-specific probability of blood donation

Simulation studies were performed to predict the future supply and demand for blood donations, and future shortfalls.

Reduced prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen positivity among pregnant women born after the national implementation of immunoprophylaxis for babies born to hepatitis B virus-carrier mothers in Japan

We aimed to estimate hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) positivity among birth year‐stratified pregnant women in Hiroshima, Japan, and compare prevalence rates between women born before and after implementation of a national immunoprophylactic vaccination program for babies born to hepatitis B virus (HBV) carrier mothers in Japan.

Natural course of persistent hepatitis B virus infection in hepatitis B e antigen-positive and hepatitis B e antigen-negative cohorts in Japan based on the Markov model: YAMASAKI et al.

This population‐based study examined the natural course of hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)‐positive or HBeAg‐negative persistent hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, adjusted by age and liver disease states using a Markov model. Using 12 417 person‐years data (n = 862), annual transition probabilities were estimated, and age‐adjusted cumulative incidence and natural history of persistent HBV infection were simulated in both sexes of groups 1 (HBeAg‐negative status with HBV DNA level <4.0 log IU/mL at entry) and 2 (persistent HBeAg‐positive status throughout the study). In group 1, 15.26% of 30‐years old men with chronic hepatitis (CH) were expected to remain in the same state at age 65 years, 28.32% subsided into an hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)‐negative state, and 13.20% developed hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The expectations for 40‐years old men in group 1 were 21.43%, 19.86%, and 15.04%, respectively. The expectations for 30 years women in group 1 were 30.57%, 21.15%, and 4.08%, respectively. These results suggest that HBeAg positivity caused a higher risk of HCC onset in persistent HBV infection after adjustments for age, sex, and liver disease state. HCC was likely to develop, but unlikely to subside into HBsAg clearance, remaining in a CH state with aging, regardless of HBeAg state. Furthermore, both HCC development and HBsAg clearance occurred more frequently in men than in women, irrespective of HBeAg status.

Incidence and risk factors of colorectal cancer based on 56 324 health checkups: A 7-year retrospective cohort study

Although mortality rates of colorectal cancer (CRC) have been increasing in Japan, its screening rates remain stagnant at 19.2% among Japanese population aged > 40 years in 2014. To evaluate the importance of CRC screening by fecal occult blood test (FOBT), this study estimated the incidence of FOBT‐positivity and CRC by sex–age stratification and clarified the risk factors for CRC.

Cost-effectiveness analyses of anti-hepatitis C virus treatments using quality of life scoring among patients with chronic liver disease in Hiroshima prefecture, Japan: Cost-effectiveness of anti-HCV treatment

We estimated the cost‐effectiveness of direct‐acting antiviral treatment (DAA) compared to triple therapy (simeprevir, pegylated interferon‐α [Peg‐IFN], and ribavirin [RBV]) (scenario 1), Peg‐IFN + RBV (scenario 2), and non‐antiviral therapy (scenario 3).

Pilot study for hepatitis virus screening among employees and effective approach to encourage screened positive employees to receive medical care in Japan

Countermeasures against hepatitis B and C virus (HBV, HCV) infection at work sites in Japan have not yet been implemented. This study aimed to determine the status of viral hepatitis infection among employees in Japan.

High prevalence of hepatitis B infections in Burkina Faso (1996–2017): a systematic review with meta-analysis of epidemiological studies

BackgroundHepatitis B virus (HBV) infection was long considered an important public health concern in Burkina Faso and still represents a major cause of liver cancer and cirrhosis in the active population. To counter the problem, a national strategic plan was developed and adopted in July 2017 to coordinate viral hepatitis elimination’s efforts. However evidence to support its implementation remains scanty and scattered. The main purpose of this study was to summarize available information from per-reviewed articles published over the last two decades to accurately estimate the prevalence of HBV infection in Burkina Faso.MethodsWe conducted a systematic search with meta-analysis of scientific articles using Science-Direct, Web-of-Science, PubMed/Medline, and Google Scholar. We systematically assessed all relevant publications that measured the prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen and which were published between 1996 and 2017. We estimated the national HBV prevalence and its 95% confident interval. We subsequently adjusted the meta-analysis to possible sources of heterogeneity.ResultsWe retrieved and analyzed a total of 22 full text papers including 99,672 participants. The overall prevalence was 11.21%. The prevalence after adjustment were 9.41%, 11.11%, 11.73% and 12.61% in the general population, pregnant women, blood donors and HIV-positive persons respectively. The prevalence was higher before implementation of HBV universal vaccination and decreased from 12.80% between 1996 and 2001 to 11.11% between 2012 and 2017. The prevalence was also higher in rural area 17.35% than urban area 11.11%. The western regions were more affected with 12.69% than the central regions 10.57%. The prevalence was 14.66% in the boucle of Mouhoun region and 14.59 in the center-west region. Aggregate data were not available for the other regions.ConclusionsHBV has clearly an important burden in Burkina Faso as described by its high prevalence and this problem significantly challenges the national health care system. There is an urgent need for effective public health interventions to eliminate the problem. However, higher quality data are needed to produce reliable epidemiological estimates that will guide control efforts towards the achievement of the national strategic plan’s goals.