Journal of Epidemiology
Online ISSN : 1349-9092
Print ISSN : 0917-5040
ISSN-L : 0917-5040
Volume 26, Issue 11
Displaying 1-6 of 6 articles from this issue
Original Article
  • Yusuke Matsuyama, Jun Aida, Katsuhiko Taura, Kazunari Kimoto, Yuichi A ...
    2016 Volume 26 Issue 11 Pages 563-571
    Published: November 05, 2016
    Released on J-STAGE: November 05, 2016
    Advance online publication: April 23, 2016
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Supplementary material
    Background: Dental caries inequalities still severely burden individuals’ and society’s health, even in countries where fluoride toothpastes are widely used and the incidence of dental caries has been decreasing. School-based fluoride mouth-rinse (S-FMR) programs, a population strategy for dental caries prevention, might decrease dental caries inequalities. This study investigated the association between S-FMR and decreasing dental caries prevalence and caries-related inequalities in 12-year-olds by Japanese prefecture.
    Methods: We conducted an ecological study using multi-year prefecture-level aggregated data of children born between 1994 and 2000 in all 47 Japanese prefectures. Using two-level linear regression analyses (birth year nested within prefecture), the association between S-FMR utilization in each prefecture and 12-year-olds’ decayed, missing, or filled permanent teeth (DMFT), which indicates dental caries experience in their permanent teeth, were examined. Variables that could explain DMFT inequalities between prefectures, such as dental caries experience at age 3 years, dentist density, and prefectural socioeconomic circumstances, were also considered.
    Results: High S-FMR utilization was significantly associated with low DMFT at age 12 (coefficient −0.011; 95% confidence interval, −0.018 to −0.005). S-FMR utilization explained 25.2% of the DMFT variance between prefectures after considering other variables. Interaction between S-FMR and dental caries experience at age 3 years showed that S-FMR was significantly more effective in prefectures where the 3-year-olds had high levels of dental caries experience.
    Conclusions: S-FMR, administered to children of all socioeconomic statuses, was associated with lower DMFT. Utilization of S-FMR reduced dental caries inequalities via proportionate universalism.
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  • Yukako Tatsumi, Aya Higashiyama, Yoshimi Kubota, Daisuke Sugiyama, Yok ...
    2016 Volume 26 Issue 11 Pages 572-578
    Published: November 05, 2016
    Released on J-STAGE: November 05, 2016
    Advance online publication: April 23, 2016
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Supplementary material
    Background: Although underweight young women are targets for interventions to prevent low bone mineral density (BMD), the relationship between change in body mass index (BMI) from youth to older age and BMD has not been widely investigated in community dwellers.
    Methods: In 749 healthy Japanese women aged 40–74 years, BMD was measured by quantitative ultrasound and anthropometric measurements, and BMI was calculated from body weight and height. The BMI of participants at age 20 years was estimated by self-reported body weight and their present height. They were classified into four groups according to the presence of underweight (BMI <18.5 kg/m2) at 20 and/or at present. Logistic regression models were used to estimate multivariate-adjusted odds ratios (ORs) of the presence of underweight at 20 and/or at present for osteopenia (BMD T score <−1 standard deviations) compared with participants with BMI ≥18.5 kg/m2 both at 20 and at present.
    Results: The participants who were underweight both at 20 and at present had a higher OR for osteopenia compared with those with BMI ≥18.5 kg/m2 at 20 and at present (OR 3.94; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.97–7.89). Those underweight only at present also had significantly increased OR of developing osteopenia (OR 2.95; 95% CI, 1.67–5.24). The OR of those underweight only at 20 was 0.87 (95% CI, 0.51–1.48).
    Conclusions: Current underweight was associated with increased risk for osteopenia among Japanese women, especially in those who were underweight both at 20 and at present. To prevent low BMD in the future, maintaining appropriate body weight might be effective for young underweight women.
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  • Fukuaki Lee Kinoshita, Yuri Ito, Tomio Nakayama
    2016 Volume 26 Issue 11 Pages 579-586
    Published: November 05, 2016
    Released on J-STAGE: November 05, 2016
    Advance online publication: April 30, 2016
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Supplementary material
    Background: Monitoring trends in lung cancer incidence and mortality is important for the evaluation of cancer control activities. We investigated recent trends in age-standardized incidence rates by histological type of lung cancer in Osaka, Japan.
    Methods: Cancer incidence data for 1975–2008 were obtained from the Osaka Cancer Registry. Lung cancer mortality data with population data in Osaka during 1975–2012 were obtained from vital statistics. We examined trends in age-standardized incidence and mortality rates for all histological types and age-standardized incidence rates by histological type and age group using a joinpoint regression model.
    Results: The age-standardized incidence rate of lung cancer levelled off or slightly increased from 1975–2008, with an annual percentage change of 0.3% (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.1%–0.4%) for males and 1.1% (95% CI, 0.9%–1.3%) for females, and the mortality rate decreased by 0.9% (95% CI, 1.2%–0.7%) for males and 0.5% (95% CI, 0.8%–0.3%) for females. The incidence rates of squamous cell carcinoma (SQC) and small cell carcinoma (SMC) significantly decreased for both genders, whereas that of adenocarcinoma (ADC) significantly increased among almost all age groups in both genders.
    Conclusions: The incidence rates of SQC and SMC decreased with the decline in smoking prevalence, which probably explains the change in trends in the incidence rates of lung cancer from the mid-1980s. However, the reason for the increase in ADC remains unclear. Therefore, trends in incidence rates of lung cancer should be carefully monitored, especially for ADC, and the associations between ADC and its possible risk factors should be studied.
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  • Yan Sheng, Fan He, Jun-Fen Lin, Wei Shen, Yin-Wei Qiu
    2016 Volume 26 Issue 11 Pages 587-592
    Published: November 05, 2016
    Released on J-STAGE: November 05, 2016
    Advance online publication: May 14, 2016
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Background: The antioxidant properties of tea extracts are considered to be effective in protecting against cataracts. However, there is still insufficient epidemiological knowledge about the protective effects of different types of tea on age-related cataracts.
    Methods: The data was derived from the Zhejiang Major Public Health Surveillance (ZJMPHS) Program on health and related factors in the elderly. The relationships between consumption of different types of tea and risk of age-related cataracts were assessed after adjusting for related covariates.
    Results: The prevalence of age-related cataracts in this study population was 4.4% (409/9343). After adjustment for potential confounders, tea drinking was associated with reduced risk of age-related cataracts (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 0.65; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.47–0.91). Compared to nondrinkers, green tea drinkers had a significantly reduced risk of cataracts (adjusted OR 0.58; 95% CI, 0.40–0.85). Average tea consumption of 14–27 cups (adjusted OR 0.55; 95% CI, 0.33–0.93) and over 28 cups (adjusted OR 0.58; 95% CI, 0.34–0.99) per week had a protective effect against cataracts in comparison to no consumption. In addition, ingesting a moderate concentration of tea significantly decreased the risk of cataract compared to no consumption (adjusted OR 0.43; 95% CI, 0.27–0.71).
    Conclusions: Tea ingestion was associated with reduced risk of age-related cataracts. In light of these findings, we suggest that reasonable tea consumption (ie, favoring green tea and consuming an average of over 500 mL per day at moderate concentration) should offer protection against age-related cataracts.
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  • Takahiro Nakamura, Masahiro Hashizume, Kayo Ueda, Atsushi Shimizu, Aya ...
    2016 Volume 26 Issue 11 Pages 593-601
    Published: November 05, 2016
    Released on J-STAGE: November 05, 2016
    Advance online publication: May 14, 2016
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Supplementary material
    Background: The adverse health effects of Asian dust (AD) on the respiratory system of children are unclear. We hypothesized that AD events may lead to increased visits by children to emergency medical centers due to bronchial asthma and respiratory diseases, including bronchial asthma.
    Methods: We used anonymized data on children receiving primary emergency treatment at Nagasaki Municipal Primary Emergency Medical Center, Japan between March 2010 and September 2013. We used Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) data to assess AD exposure and performed time-stratified case-crossover analyses to examine the association between AD exposure and emergency department visits. The main analysis was done with data collected from March through May each year.
    Results: The total number of emergency department visits during the study period was 756 for bronchial asthma and 5421 for respiratory diseases, and the number of “AD days” was 47. In school children, AD events at lag day 3 and lag day 4 were associated with increased emergency department visits due to bronchial asthma, with odds ratios of 1.837 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.212–2.786) and 1.829 (95% CI, 1.179–2.806), respectively. AD events were significantly associated with respiratory diseases among preschool children at lag day 0, lag day 1, and lag day 2, with odds ratios of 1.244 (95% CI, 1.128–1.373), 1.314 (95% CI, 1.189–1.452), and 1.273 (95% CI, 1.152–1.408), respectively. These associations were also significant when the results were adjusted for meteorological variables and other air pollutants.
    Conclusions: The study findings suggested that AD exposure increases emergency department visits by children.
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  • Lei Yang, Pekka Martikainen, Karri Silventoinen
    2016 Volume 26 Issue 11 Pages 602-609
    Published: November 05, 2016
    Released on J-STAGE: November 05, 2016
    Advance online publication: April 30, 2016
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Supplementary material
    Background: The relationship between socio-economic status and health among elderly people has been well studied, but less is known about how spousal or offspring’s education affects mortality, especially in non-Western countries. We investigated these associations using a large sample of Chinese elderly.
    Methods: The data came from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS) from the years 2005 to 2011 (n = 15 355, aged 65–105 years at baseline; 5046 died in 2008, and 2224 died in 2011). Educational attainment, occupational status, and household income per capita were used as indicators of socio-economic status. Spousal and offspring’s education were added into the final models. The Cox proportional hazards model was used to study mortality risk by gender.
    Results: Adjusted for age, highly educated males and females had, on average, 29% and 37% lower mortality risk, respectively, than those with a lower education. Particularly among men, this effect was observed among those whose children had intermediate education only. A higher household income was also associated with lower mortality risk among the elderly. Male elderly living with a well-educated spouse (HR 0.79; 95% CI, 0.64–0.99) had a lower mortality risk than those living with a low-educated spouse.
    Conclusions: Both the socio-economic status of the individual and the educational level of a co-resident spouse or child are associated with mortality risk in elderly people. The socio-economic position of family members plays an important role in producing health inequality among elderly people.
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