Kazuko Nin

Comparison of DSM-IV versus proposed DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for eating disorders in a Japanese sample.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to compare the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition (DSM-IV) and the proposed Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition (DSM-5) diagnostic criteria in terms of the number of cases of eating disorder not otherwise specified (EDNOS) and to see which diagnostic system can effectively capture variance in psychiatric symptoms in a Japanese sample. METHOD One thousand and twenty-nine women with an eating disorder (ED) participated in this study. Assessment methods included structured clinical interviews and administration of the Eating Attitudes Test and the Eating Disorder Inventory. RESULTS Relaxing the diagnostic criteria for anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa and recognizing binge ED decreased the proportion of EDNOS (from 45.1% to 26.1%). The DSM-5 categorization of patients was better able to capture variance in psychopathology scales. CONCLUSIONS The proposed revisions to EDs in the DSM-5 partially reduced reliance on EDNOS. The DSM-5 may differentiate ED groups more effectively than the DSM-IV.

Eating disorder symptoms among Japanese female students in 1982, 1992 and 2002

To study transcultural differences in eating disorders, we examined eating disorder symptoms and point prevalence of eating disorders among Japanese female students in 1982, 1992 and 2002. In 1982, 1992 and 2002, a total of 10,499 Japanese female students, aged 16-23 years, were asked to complete a self-administered questionnaire. Diagnosis of an eating disorder was made on the basis of DSM-IV criteria. On almost all measures, there were significant increases of a disordered attitude about fear of gaining weight, body perception disturbance and problematic eating behaviors over time. The point prevalence of anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and eating disorder not otherwise specified significantly increased over time. These results suggest that the prevalence of eating disorder symptoms and the point prevalence of eating disorders were increasing among Japanese female students in 2002. Changing socio-cultural factors in Japan may explain the dramatic increase of eating disorders over time.

Smoking and adipose tissue inflammation suppress leptin expression in Japanese obese males: potential mechanism of resistance to weight loss among Japanese obese smokers

BackgroundThe effect of smoking on leptin regulation is controversial. Smoking may induce low-grade inflammation. Recent series of studies indicated the critical role of macrophage migration in the establishment of adipose tissue inflammation. In this study, we aimed to see the effects of smoking and inflammation on leptin regulation both at cellular and epidemiological levels.MethodsWe compared the concentration of inflammatory markers and serum leptin levels among Japanese male subjects. Additionally, leptin and intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM) -1 gene expression was assessed in adipocytes co-cultured with or without macrophages in the presence or absence of nicotine and/or lipopolysaccharide (LPS).ResultsIn subjects with BMI below 25 kg/m2, both WBC counts and soluble-ICAM-1 levels are significantly higher in smokers than in non-smokers. However, leptin concentration did not differ according to smoking status. However, in subjects with BMI over 25 kg/m2, smokers exhibited significantly lower serum leptin level as well as higher WBC counts and s-ICAM-1 concentration as compared with non-smokers. Leptin gene expression was markedly suppressed in adipocytes co-cultured with macrophages than in adipocyte culture alone. Furthermore, nicotine further suppressed leptin gene expression. ICAM-1 gene expression was markedly up-regulated in adipocytes co-cultured with macrophages when stimulated with LPS.ConclusionsAdipose tissue inflammation appears to down-regulate leptin expression in adipose tissues. Nicotine further suppresses leptin expression. Thus, both smoking and inflammation may diminish leptin effect in obese subjects. Therefore, obese, but not normal weight, smokers might be more resistant to weight loss than non-smokers.

Circulating TNF receptor 2 is associated with the development of chronic kidney disease in non-obese Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes

AIMS Chronic low-grade inflammation and/or obesity are suggested to induce chronic kidney disease (CKD) in patients with type 2 diabetes. This cross-sectional study was performed to investigate the relationship between inflammatory biomarkers and CKD in non-obese patients with type 2 diabetes. METHODS 106 non-obese Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes were recruited for the measurement of GFR, TNF, HMW adiponectin, leptin, hsCRP and some variables including urinary albumin. BMI, serum creatinine, and urinary albumin levels were 22.2 ± 0.2 kg/m(2) (17.1-24.9 kg/m(2)), 0.76 ± 0.02 mg/dl (0.39-1.38 mg/dl), 40.4 ± 4.3mg/gCr (1.6-195.0mg/gCr), respectively. They were stratified into two groups based on the value of eGFR: low eGFR (eGFR<60 ml/min/1.73 m(2)) and normal eGFR (eGFR>60 ml/min/1.73 m(2)). Logistic regression analysis was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS Whereas univariate logistic regression analysis showed that gender, diabetes duration, triglyceride, HDL cholesterol, uric acid, urinary albumin, and soluble TNF receptors (sTNF-R1, sTNF-R2) are associated with the development of stage 3 CKD, multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that sTNF-R2 (Odds ratio 1.003, 95% confidence interval 1.000 to 1.005, P=0.030) showed significant associations with the development of stage 3 CKD. CONCLUSIONS Circulating TNF receptor 2 is an independent risk factor for CKD in non-obese Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes.

Characteristics of Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder in a Cohort of Adult Patients

OBJECTIVE To assess and compare clinical symptoms and psychometric analysis of adult patients with avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) with those with anorexia nervosa (AN). METHOD We completed a retrospective review of adult patients with a feeding and eating disorder assessed between 1990 and 2005 that qualified for a diagnosis of ARFID. Patients with ARFID were compared with those with AN, with respect to the demographics, clinical symptoms and psychometric analysis. RESULTS Using the criteria of the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, 95 (9.2%) of 1029 patients with a feeding and eating disorder met the criteria for ARFID. All patients with ARFID were women. The ARFID group had a significantly shorter duration of illness, lower rates of hospital admission history and less severe psychopathology than the AN group. CONCLUSIONS Adult patients with ARFID in this study were clinically distinct from those with AN and somewhat different from paediatric patients with ARFID in previous studies. Copyright

The inflammation–lipocalin 2 axis may contribute to the development of chronic kidney disease

BACKGROUND Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is an important risk factor for coronary heart disease, and previous studies indicated the involvement of low-grade inflammation in the pathogenesis of CKD. METHODS The study was designed to (i) identify and confirm genes and their products upregulated in mesangial cells cocultured with endotoxin-stimulated macrophages and (ii) determine the clinical relevance of genes and proteins upregulated in mesangial cells under inflammatory conditions by an epidemiological approach. RESULTS DNA microarray analysis revealed upregulated expression of many genes and their products including several cytokines and chemokines, as well as the inflammatory marker, lipocalin 2 gene. The gene expression and protein upregulation of lipocalin 2 were synergistically affected by endotoxin and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α stimulation. In human studies, lipocalin 2 level was significantly associated with creatinine (r = 0.419, P < 0.001) and negatively associated with eGFR (r = -0.365, P < 0.001). Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed a significant association between lipocalin 2 and soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor 2 (sTNF-R2), eGFR and uric acid in general subjects attending regular annual medical check-up (n = 420). When subjects with diabetes were excluded from the analysis, lipocalin 2 remained associated with sTNF-R2, eGFR and uric acid. CONCLUSIONS Since an activated TNF system, as demonstrated by elevated sTNF-R2, and elevated uric acid were recently implicated in an elevated CKD risk, we conclude that inflammation could play an important role in the pathogenesis of CKD, and that lipocalin 2 is a potential universal marker for impaired kidney function. Furthermore, the results obtained by the current microarray analysis could improve the understanding of gene profiles associated with the pathophysiology of CKD under inflammatory conditions.

Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE‐Q): Norms for Undergraduate Japanese Women

The aim of the present study was to provide normative data for the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q) among undergraduate Japanese women and to compare these data to norms obtained from previous studies. Undergraduate Japanese women (n = 289), aged 18-24 years, were administered the EDE-Q. The mean global score in the present study was 1.55 (SD = 1.03). Japanese women reported significantly higher scores of shape concern and weight concern in spite of lower body mass index but a significantly lower score of restraint, compared with women in other normative studies. There were significant differences with respect to the occurrence of some specific eating disorder behaviours between Japanese women and women in the previous studies. Differences in normative data for the EDE-Q between young Japanese women and young women in the previous studies suggest that there may be certain cultural differences in eating disorder psychopathology.

Typical and atypical anorexia nervosa in a Japanese sample

OBJECTIVE We examined the existence of nonfat-phobic anorexia nervosa (NFP-AN) and fat-phobic AN, with no evidence of distortions related to body shape and weight (AN-NED), in a Japanese sample and studied eating disorder pathology and psychopathology in NFP-AN and AN-NED. METHOD The study participants were 200 (52.2%) women with typical AN, 86 (22.5%) women with NFP-AN, and 97 (25.3%) women with AN-NED. Diagnosis of the three types of AN was made by structured clinical interviews. The Eating Attitudes Test (EAT) and the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI) were administered to all the participants. RESULTS There were significant differences among the three groups in terms of duration of illness, maximum and minimum BMIs and AN subtypes. There was no transition from the NFP-AN and AN-NED groups to the typical AN group during the 2- to 7-year follow-up period. There were significant differences among the three groups in scores of the EAT, the EDI total, and all the subscales of the EDI. DISCUSSION Besides typical AN, there were two types of atypical AN in terms of fat phobia and body image disturbance in this Japanese sample. The findings of the current study suggest that there may be significant differences among the three groups in terms of eating disorder pathology and psychopathology.

Comparison of DSM-IV diagnostic criteria versus the Broad Categories for the Diagnosis of Eating Disorders scheme in a Japanese sample

The purposes of this study were to compare DSM-IV diagnostic criteria and the Broad Categories for the Diagnosis of Eating Disorders (BCD-ED) scheme in terms of the number of cases of Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (EDNOS) and to test which diagnostic tool better captures the variance of psychiatric symptoms in a Japanese sample. One thousand and twenty-nine women with an eating disorder (ED) participated in this study. Assessment methods included structured clinical interviews and administration of the Eating Attitudes Test and the Eating Disorder Inventory. The BCD-ED scheme dramatically decreased the proportion of DSM-IV EDNOS from 45.1% to 1.5%. However, the categorization of patients with the BCD-ED scheme was less able to capture the variance in psychopathology scales than the DSM-IV, suggesting that the BCD-ED scheme may differentiate ED groups less effectively than the DSM-IV. These results suggest that the BCD-ED scheme may have the potential to eliminate the use of DSM-IV EDNOS, but it may have problems capturing the variance of psychiatric symptoms.

Clinical presentation and outcome of avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder in a Japanese sample

We conducted a study of the clinical presentation and outcome in patients with avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID), aged 15-40years, and compared this group to an anorexia nervosa (AN) group in a Japanese sample. A retrospective chart review was completed on 245 patients with feeding and eating disorders (FEDs), analyzing prevalence, clinical presentation, psychopathological properties, and outcomes. Using the DSM-5 criteria, 27 (11.0%) out of the 245 patients with a FED met the criteria for ARFID at entry. All patients with ARFID were women. In terms of eating disorder symptoms, all patients with ARFID had restrictive eating related to emotional problems and/or gastrointestinal symptoms. However, none of the ARFID patients reported food avoidance related to sensory characteristics or functional dysphagia. Additionally, none of them exhibited binge eating or purging behaviors, and none of them reported excessive exercise. The ARFID group had a significantly shorter duration of illness, lower rates of admission history, and less severe psychopathology than the AN group. The ARFID group reported significantly better outcome results than the AN group. These results suggest that patients with ARFID in this study were clinically distinct from those with AN and somewhat different from pediatric patients with ARFID in previous studies.