Journal of Epidemiology
Online ISSN : 1349-9092
Print ISSN : 0917-5040
ISSN-L : 0917-5040
Volume 10, Issue 6
Displaying 1-9 of 9 articles from this issue
  • Tamiko Iwasaki, Toshio Miyake, Sumio Ohshima, Shin'ichi Kudo, Takesumi ...
    2000 Volume 10 Issue 6 Pages 362-365
    Published: 2000
    Released on J-STAGE: November 30, 2007
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    To obtain the underlying causes of death in individuals of a cohort (male only), the items of date of birth, date of death and address code at the time of death were linked between the data of resident cards and the death tapes of National Vital Statistics supplied by the Ministry of Health and Welfare. As a result, the persons who have the same information for above mentioned three items between the resident cards and the death tapes accounted for 97.4%. If the persons who had the same information for three items except one item were considered to be identical, they accounted for 99.4%. It would be concluded that underlying cause of death can be obtained by record linkage of death tapes of National Vital Statistics with three informations in residence cards, dates of birth, dates of death and address codes at the time of death, even without names of the individual in the death tapes. The matched rate would be high enough for epidemiological studies. J Epidemiol, 2000 ; 10 : 362-365
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  • Tatsuya Takeshita, Kanehisa Morimoto, Naohito Yamaguchi, Shaw Watanabe ...
    2000 Volume 10 Issue 6 Pages 366-371
    Published: 2000
    Released on J-STAGE: November 30, 2007
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Alcohol drinking as well as cigarette smoking has been associated with development of colorectal polyps. Asians such as Japanese, Chinese and Korean have high frequency of genetic polymorphism in low Km aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH2) gene which greatly regulates alcohol intake. In the present study, we investigated associations of this polymorphism and lifestyles with colorectal polyps in self-defense forces personnels in Japan. All subjects received colonoscopy at a retirement health examination. The ALDH2 genotype was determined using polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism method. Frequency of the ALDH2 genotype was not different between those with colorectal polyps (n=69) and those without the polyps (n=131). Smoking was associated with development of colorectal polyps (OR=4.7, 95% confidence interval= 1.9-11.5) in the ALDH2 proficient genotype. The association appeared to be enhanced by drinking alcohol since a synergistic effect of smoking and alcohol drinking (>_60 ml/day) was indicated (OR=9.9, 95% confidence interval=2.9-34.1) by logistic regression analysis. In the ALDH2 deficient genotype, however, we could not evaluate interactions of smoking and alcohol drinking on colorectal polyp development because of the small sample size of heavy alcohol drinkers. The genotype analysis would be useful in evaluating effects of environmental factors on outcomes for each genetically defined subpopulation.
    J Epidemiol, 2000 ; 10 : 366-371
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  • Yosikazu Nakamura, Hiroshi Yanagawa, Kensuke Harada, Hirohisa Kato, To ...
    2000 Volume 10 Issue 6 Pages 372-375
    Published: 2000
    Released on J-STAGE: November 30, 2007
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Objective. To clarify whether patients with Kawasaki disease have a higher death rate than the age-matched healthy population after the disease occurrence.
    Study design. Between July 1982 and December 1992, 52 collaborating hospitals collected data on all patients having a new definite diagnosis of Kawasaki disease. Patients were followed until December 31, 1997, or death. The expected number of deaths was calculated from Japanese vital statistics data and compared with the observed number.
    Results. Of 6576 patients enrolled, 25 (19 males and 6 females) died. The standardized mortality ratio (SMR) was 1.35. In spite of the high SMRs during acute phase, the mortality rate was not high after the acute phase for all patients. Although the SMR after the acute phase was 0.76 for those without cardiac sequelae, 6 males (no females) with cardiac sequelae died during this period and the SMR for the male group with cardiac sequelae was 2.77.
    Conclusion. The mortality rate among males with cardiac sequelae due to Kawasaki disease was 2.8 times as high as in general population, whereas mortality rates for females with the sequelae and both males and females without sequelae were not elevated.
    J Epidemiol, 2000 ; 10 : 372-375
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  • Aya Goto, Seiji Yasumura, Akira Fukao
    2000 Volume 10 Issue 6 Pages 376-382
    Published: 2000
    Released on J-STAGE: November 30, 2007
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    We have designed a survey to investigate factors related to unintended pregnancy using a newly devised questionnaire. This pilot study was conducted to examine the feasibility of the study and the test-retest reliability and the validity of the questionnaire. Samples were 107 cervical and breast cancer screening participants aged 35-49 year-old in 1999 in Yamagata, Japan. The same questionnaires were mailed twice to examine the test-retest reliability. Women's medical records for cancer screening were used to examine the validity of the questionnaire. Ninety-six women agreed to participate in the study and 89.6% of them responded to the first survey. The agreements between two surveys were substantial to perfect for the nominal and ordinal data, and for the continuous data, the standard deviations (SDs) were less than 1 and the correlation coefficients were over 0.6. The comparison between medical record and questionnaire derived data showed perfect agreements for reproductive items except age at last birth (SD: 0.71, correlation coefficient: 0.97), and fair agreements for drinking and smoking habits. Obtaining information on unintended pregnancy by questionnaire is feasible, and the test-retest reliability and the validity of the questionnaire are satisfactory. Currently we are conducting a survey with a larger sample. J Epidemiol, 2000 ; 10 : 376-382
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  • Minoru Takakura, Seizo Sakihara
    2000 Volume 10 Issue 6 Pages 383-391
    Published: 2000
    Released on J-STAGE: November 30, 2007
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    To determine psychosocial factors associated both with depressive symptoms and with gender differences in depressive symptoms among junior high school students, we conducted self- administered questionnaires using a sample of 2, 660 students of 13 public junior high schools in Okinawa, Japan.
    Depressive symptomatology was measured by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). The psychosocial variables examined were life stresses, social support, health practices, self-esteem, and locus of control. Depressive symptoms were positively associated with life stresses and negatively associated with health practices, social support, self-esteem, and internal locus of control. In addition, female students were likely to report more depressive symptoms, life stresses, and low self- esteem and poor health practices. After controlling for the psychosocial variables differed by gender, gender differences in depressive symptoms were eliminated.
    In conclusion, for depressive symptoms of junior high school students, life stresses might be risk factors, but positive health practices, social support, high self-esteem, and internal locus of control might be protective factors. Gender differences in depressive symptoms could be explained by the females' elevation on these psychosocial variables.
    J Epidemiol, 2000 ; 10 : 383-391
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  • Hideo Tanaka, Masaki Shinjo, Hideaki Tsukuma, Yoshikazu Kawazuma, Sane ...
    2000 Volume 10 Issue 6 Pages 392-398
    Published: 2000
    Released on J-STAGE: November 30, 2007
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Okinawa is located in a subtropical area and is well-known for low mortality due to ischemic heart disease (IHD) and cerebrovascular disease (CVD). However, the factors that contribute to these low mortality rates remain unclear. We examined the seasonal variation in the mortality due to IHD and CVD among Okinawa and Osaka residents, aged 45 to 84 years, between 1992 and 1996. In addition, we studied if there was a relationship between the monthly mortality rate from IHD or CVD and the monthly mean daily air temperature in Naha City and Osaka City. Data on the monthly mean daily air temperature was obtained from the meteorological stations in Naha City and Osaka City. Our results showed that there were inverse correlations between the monthly mean daily temperature in a city and each of the monthly mortality from IHD in Okinawa (r=-0.794, p<0.01), the monthly mortality from CVD in Okinawa (r=-0.837, p<0.001), and the monthly mortality from CVD in Osaka (r=-0.954, p<0.001). In Osaka, the monthly mortality rate from IHD was at or near its minimum value when the mean daily temperature was approximately 25°C(in September), and it increased in a linear fashion as the mean monthly temperature fell (r=-0.975, p<0.001). The difference between the monthly mortality from IHD or CVD among the Okinawa and the Osaka residents increased in the winter season in comparison with that in the other seasons, with the exception for IHD in July and in August. These findings indicate that the lower mortality from IHD and CVD in Okinawa is affected, at least in part, by Okinawa's warm winter. J Epidemiol, 2000 ; 10 : 392-398
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  • Yosikazu Nakamura, Izumi Oki, Shinichi Tanihara, Toshiyuki Ojima, Hiro ...
    2000 Volume 10 Issue 6 Pages 399-402
    Published: 2000
    Released on J-STAGE: November 30, 2007
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    A case-control study was conducted to reveal the relative risk of cadaveric dura mater graft transplantation for Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Fifty-two cases with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease that were reported to the surveillance of the disease, and 102 age- and sex-matched hospital controls were selected. Information on family history, occupations, and medical history was collected. Eight cases and no control had a history of cadaveric dura mater graft transplantation. Surgical operations without the dura mater graft, blood transfusion, and acupuncture did not elevate the risk. J Epidemiol, 2000 ; 10 : 399-402
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  • Masako Tomita, Shouichi Mizuno, Hisashi Yamanaka, Yutaka Hosoda, Koush ...
    2000 Volume 10 Issue 6 Pages 403-409
    Published: 2000
    Released on J-STAGE: November 30, 2007
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    A positive association between hyperuricemia and cardiovascular disease has been reported, but no study has evidenced yet the precise role of serum uric acid in the development of cardiovascular disease.
    In addition, no epidemiological studies have so far documented a decreased risk of cancer among people with hyperuricemia, even though the antioxidant action of uric acid has recently been stressed to inhibit DNA damage. The present prospective cohort study investigates the relationship between hyperuricemia and health hazards in a Japanese working population.
    The subjects were 49, 413 Japanese male railroad workers, aged 25-60 years at enrollment. Serum uric acid and other baseline data were provided by annual health-survey records from 1975 to 1982. The vital status of the subjects was traced until the end of 1985 for those who remained alive.
    During an average 5.4-year study period, 984 deaths were recorded. Those with serum uric acid over 8.5mg/dl showed elevated relative risks (RRs) of death in all causes ( RR 1.62, p<0.01), coronary heart disease (RR 1.52), stroke ( RR 2.33, p<0.01), hepatic disease ( RR 3.58, p<0.01), and renal failure ( RR 8.52, p<0.01), as compared with those with serum uric acid levels of 5.0- 6.4mg/dI. The RR of death in all causes still remains statistically significant when adjusted by age and serum total cholesterol (2.00, p<0.01), age and alcohol intake (1.85, p<0.001), age and smoking (1.69, p<0.001), age and gout treatment (1.61, p<0.05), and also age and BMI (1.50, p< 0.05). On the other hand, the RR of all causes decreased but was still above 1.0 when adjusted by age and blood glucose (1.62), age and systolic blood pressure (1.32), age and GOT (1.23), and also age and history of cardiovascular disease (1.17).
    These results showed that hyperuricemia has a strong association with the RRs of death in all causes, coronary heart disease, stroke, hepatic disease and renal failure, and indicated that serum uric acid seems to be a considerable risk factor for reduced life expectancy.
    J Epidemiol, 2000 ; 10 : 403-409
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  • Kishor Man, Bidya Shrestha
    2000 Volume 10 Issue 6 Pages 410-413
    Published: 2000
    Released on J-STAGE: November 30, 2007
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Sera from 478 healthy Nepalese male population, inhabiting various districts of five developmentt regions. of. Nepall were collected from October 1996 to March 1997 and examined for the presence of HBsAg by third generation ELISA and Latex agglutination test in the laboratory of Central Department of Microbiology, Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur. The surface antigen was detected by ELISA in 4.0% (19/478) of subjects studied. However, different results were obtained in Latex agglutination test. The correlation between the results obtained from these two different tests is statistically significant (x2=85.11, P<0.05). The results obtained from ELISA showed the probability of Nepal to fall in WHO category of intermediate endemicity zone for hepatitis B infection. The percent positivity of HBsAg was found to increase steadily from Eastern (2%) to Far Western (6.2%) development regions. Among the districts studied, Kailali district gave characteristically high prevalence followed by Rukum and Kaski. Other, districts representing for the prevalence are Sankhuwasabha, Jhapa, Ramechhap, Sarlahi, Dhanusa, Baglung, Gulmi, Palpa and Dang. None of the samples represented from Kathmandu valley were positive for HBsAg.
    The age groups of 16-20 years and 36-40 years were found to be associated with the hepatitis B infection. Furthermore, various percent prevalence of the infection were encountered from 16 to 40 years subjects and a single case was also observed from 63 years old man. All the samples recorded positive for HBsAg from ELISA were assayed for the amount of ALT as a liver function test. Where, 15.8% (3/19) of the infected subjects had impaired liver function, hence it showed that, the subjects with high ALT to be the possible carrier of the HBV. Conversely, the remaining 84.2% (16/19) of the total HBsAg positive subjects were concluded to have the infection either at incubation or at prodrome period. J Epidemiol, 2000 ; 10 : 410-413
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