Yoshito Momose

Adiponectin levels associated with the development of hypertension: a prospective study.

Adiponectin is a recently discovered protein that seems to be exclusively secreted by adipocytes and is the most abundant adipose tissue–derived protein. While some recent studies have demonstrated an association between adiponectin levels and hypertension, these studies were cross-sectional in design, and the results have been inconsistent. Therefore we performed a prospective study to elucidate the role of adiponectin in the development of hypertension. The results of this study showed that serum adiponectin levels were significantly lower in hypertensive subjects than in normotensive subjects. Moreover, in logistic regression analysis, the subjects in the lowest quartile had a 3.72-fold higher risk than those in the highest quartile. Even after adjusting for potential confounding factors, this association was found to be significant. Low serum adiponectin levels were found to be independently associated with a higher risk for the development of hypertension. Our results therefore suggest that hypoadiponectinemia is a novel predictor of hypertension.

Evaluating measles surveillance: comparison of sentinel surveillance, mandatory notification, and data from health insurance claims

Inadequate notification is a recognized problem of measles surveillance systems in many countries, and it should be monitored using multiple data sources. We compared data from three different surveillance sources in 2007: (1) the sentinel surveillance system mandated by the Act on Prevention of Infectious Diseases and Medical Care for Patients Suffering Infectious Diseases, (2) the mandatory notification system run by the Aichi prefectural government, and (3) health insurance claims (HICs) submitted to corporate health insurance societies. For each dataset, we examined the number of measles cases by month, within multiple age groups, and in two categories of diagnostic test groups. We found that the sentinel surveillance system underestimated the number of adult measles cases. We also found that HIC data, rather than mandatory notification data, were more likely to come from individuals who had undergone laboratory tests to confirm their measles diagnosis. Thus, HIC data may provide a supplementary and readily available measles surveillance data source.

Is heat shock protein 60 associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus

AIMS HSP60 plays a protective role against heat, oxidative injury and ultraviolet. Recently, animal and clinical studies have suggested that HSP60 plays a role in various diseases. However, few epidemiological studies have demonstrated an association between HSP60 levels and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Therefore, an epidemiological study was conducted to examine the association of HSP60 with type 2 diabetes mellitus. METHODS This study included 83 type 2 diabetes mellitus patients and 161 controls that were recruited from male employees who received annual health check-ups between 2005 and 2007. The serum HSP60 levels were measured using the ELISA method. RESULTS Because the HSP60 levels were not detectable (<3.125 ng/mL) in 48.0% of the study subjects, HSP60 levels were divided into two categories (detectable or undetectable). A logistic regression analysis showed that the subjects in the undetectable had a 2.03 times higher risk of diabetes mellitus than those in the detectable after adjustment for age, BMI and rate of hypertension medication. CONCLUSIONS This study was the first epidemiological study to demonstrate an association between type 2 diabetes mellitus and HSP60, thus suggesting that HSP60 may play an important role in the type 2 diabetes mellitus pathology.

Reasons for smoking cessation attempts among Japanese male smokers vary by nicotine dependence level: a cross-sectional study after the 2010 tobacco tax increase

Objectives To examine the association between smoking cessation attempts during the previous 12 months, motivators to quit smoking and nicotine dependence levels among current male smokers after Japans massive 2010 tobacco tax increase. Design Cross-sectional study. Setting A self-reported questionnaire about smoking habits, nicotine dependence levels and factors identified as motivators to quit smoking was administered to 9378 employees working at a company located in Fukuoka Prefecture in Japan (as of 1 October 2011). Participants A total of 2251 male current smokers 20–69 years old. Primary and secondary outcome measures Nicotine dependence level assessed by Fagerström Test for Cigarette Dependence (FTCD), smoking cessation attempts during the previous 12 months and motivators for smoking cessation. Results The proportion of current smokers who had attempted to quit smoking within the previous 12 months was 40.6%. Nicotine dependence level of current smokers was negatively associated with cessation attempts during the previous 12 months. Motivators for smoking cessation differed by nicotine dependence levels. ‘The rise in cigarette prices since October 2010’ as a smoking cessation motivator increased significantly at the medium nicotine dependence level (OR 1.44, 95% CI 1.09 to 1.90); however, this association was not statistically significant for individuals with high nicotine dependence (OR 1.24, 95% CI 0.80 to 1.92). ‘Feeling unhealthy’ was significantly negatively associated for medium (OR 0.42, 95% CI 0.27 to 0.65) and high (OR 0.31, 95% CI 0.14 to 0.71) nicotine dependence levels. Trend associations assessed by assigning ordinal numbers to total FTCD score for those two motivators were statistically significant. Conclusions The efficacy of smoking cessation strategies can be improved by considering the target groups nicotine dependence level. For smokers with medium and high nicotine dependence levels, more effective strategies aimed at encouraging smoking cessation, such as policy interventions including increasing tobacco taxes, are needed.

Gender differences in the occurrence of nonfatalagricultural injuries among farmers in Fukuoka, Japan.

Background: The lack of information regarding nonfatal agricultural injuries has been recognized as an obstacle for effective injury prevention. The aim of this study was to describe gender differences in the pattern of nonfatal agricultural injuries between the years 2008 and 2009. Methods: Farmers’ compensation injury claims were utilized to determine the mechanisms involved (machinery, non-machinery, and traffic), types of accident, sources of injury, kinds of injury, body parts affected place of injury, work being performed at the time of injury, and length of hospitalization. Agricultural injuries were identified using the International Classification of External Causes of Injury (ICECI). The Statistical Analysis System (SAS) software was used for all statistical analyses. Study variables were compared using the Mantel-Haenszel chi-square test. Results: A total of 2,729 (1,921 males) farmers’ compensation injury claims were analyzed. There were approximately 9 times as many nonfatal agricultural machinery injuries in males compared with females. The most common machinery injuries were cuts resulting from a rotary blade (31%) for males and injuries caused by being struck by a machine (24%) for females in the 65–89 years of age group. The male:female ratio of non-machinery injuries averaged 2:1 (actual numbers of 1,293 and 676, respectively), but the percentage was higher for females (83.7%) than males (67.3%). For both males and females in the 65–89 years of age group, the main source of non-machinery injuries was slopes, the main type of accident was falling/slipping, the leading kind of injury was fracture, and the main work being performed was harvesting. Female farmers had a greater risk of prolonged hospitalization (more than 30 days) compared with males (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Gender is an important factor to consider in the interpretation of nonfatal agricultural injuries. A greater number of males had machinery injuries than females; however, a higher percentage of females had non-machinery injuries than males. Further research will be needed to understand the role of differential job tasks within agriculture in explaining the difference in risk.

The Relationship between the White Blood Cell Count and Cigarette Smoking among Japanese Males

The Relationship between the White Blood Cell Count and Cigarette Smoking among Japanese Males: Yoshito Momose, et al. Department of Hygiene and Preventive Medicine, School of Medicine, Fukuoka University—The cross‐sectional data for 1,155 men aged 20‐59 years obtained during annual health checkups in 1993 were used to study factors related to the WBC count. Current smokers have a WBC count averaging IQ‐15 percent higher than those of both ex‐smokers and those who never smoked. The current number of cigarettes smoked per day and the Brinkman index were also positively related to the WBC count after adjusting for such risk factors as the BMI, diastolic blood pressure, and HDL‐C level by means of a covariance analysis. We thus confirmed that an elevated WBC count is independently associated with the amount and duration of cigarette smoking among Japanese males.

Serum leptin levels and their association with several factors related to arteriosclerosis among medical students in Japan.

The association between serum leptin levels and several factors related to arteriosclerosis were studied in subjects who were Japanese medical students taking no medications. The group was comprised of 75 males and 35 females. The age distribution in males was 21.4 to 29.8 years (median age, 24.0 years) and in females was 21.3 to 29.9 years (median age, 22.9 years). Statistical analyses were performed using the Wilcoxon rank sum test and Spearman correlation. Median levels of serum leptin were 3.3 ng/ml in males and 7.6 ng/ml in females. The largest correlation observed was widi percent body fat irrespective of sex [males; r=0.775, p<0.001, females; r=0.553, p<0.001]. However, body mass index (BMI) was similarly well correlated with serum leptin [r=0.631, p<0.001] in males but not in females [r=0.305, p=0.075]. A negative correlation was observed between high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and leptin in both sexes [males; r=-0.298, p<0.01, females; r=-0.363, p<0.05] .respectively. Percent body fat, BMI, diastolic blood pressure, apolipoprotein B, and HDL-C were the most significant factors in males. Percentage of body fat and HDL-C were the most important factors in females.

Relations of Health Practices and Serum Lipids among Farmers and Non-Farmars in Japan, 1982-1986.

九州北部に住む農村住民 (20-74才) の男女639名の健康診査データを用いて, 血清総コレステロール (TC) およびHDLコレステロール (HDL) のレベルと年次的変動, 生活習慣との関係を, 農業従事者 (農)・非農業従事者 (非農) に分けて検討した。1982年には, 農に多量飲酒者および多量喫煙者がやや多く, 運動しない人は非農にやや多い傾向がみられた。肥満はやや特異な結果を示し, 農・非農ともに女より男の方が肥満者が多かった。TC, HDLレベルおよび生活習慣は全国レベルと大差なく, 農・非農別の比較では, TCは非農が, HDLは逆に農がやや高値を示した。4年後の変化では, TCは明らかな上昇 (P<0.01) を認めたが, HDLレベルの上昇はわずかだった。肥満傾向はかなり増大したが, 他の飲酒, 喫煙, 運動習慣は僅かな変化がみられたにすぎない。生活習慣の変化とTC, HDLの変化との関係を多変量解析により検討した結果, 肥満は男女, 農・非農を通じてTCと正の関連を示したが, その他の生活習慣は一定の関連を示さなかった。HDLとの関連は, 飲酒と正の相関, 喫煙および肥満と負の相関の傾向がほぼ認められたが, 運動習慣では明確な傾向はみられなかった。以上のことから, 農業従事者・非農業従事者間における生活習慣と血清脂質との関係は大差なく, その生活態様には本質的な差はなくなってきたことを示していると考えられる。

Studies on the establishment of primary health care in Yasu-machi of Fukuoka prefecture. Surveys of health consciousness, attitude about treatment, health status and the medical expenses of national health insurance.

われわれは, 昭和57年から福岡県夜須町住民の健康管理の一端をにない, 保健活動を実施してきた。今回は, 農村におけるプライマリ・ヘルスケアを確立させるための基礎的調査を実施した。はじめに, 地域住民の健康意識, 受療行動などを知るために, 20才から74才まで1,259名について, 留置法によるアンケート調査を実施して, 住民のヘルス・ニーズを分析した。次に三並校区の一般住民 (20才以上) 498名について, 全員に心電図, 眼底検査を含む循環器検診を実施して, その健康状態を把握した。第3には, 傷病状況, 特に医療費の実態を知る目的で, 全町の国民健康保健診療明細を全部調査した (昭和57年26,103件, 昭和58年27,437件)。かくて老人保健法前後の医療費の変化ならびに家族構成, 配偶者有無と医療費の関係などを社会医学的に分析した。以上3調査により, 農村におけるプライマリ・ヘルスケアの施策を進めるうえで役に立つ基礎資料を提供することができた。