Our previous studies on mortality and cancer incidence showed a change in disease pattern among Japanese Brazilian in Sao Paulo, Brazil from that among Japanese in Japan. To clarify the cause of this change, a cross-sectional study was conducted for evaluating lifestyle and healthrelated factors among a representative sample of Japanese residents in Sao Paulo. The results obtained were compared with those from a cross-sectional study in five areas of Japan in which the similar protocol had been used.
A questionnaire on lifestyle, anthropometric and blood pressure measurements, and blood and urine collections was administered to 411 randomly selected Japanese firstand second-generation residents aged 40 to 69 years in the city of Sao Paulo. A total of 251 (61%) subjects, 118 men and 133 women, 90 firstand 161 second-generation, participated in the study. Smoking and drinking habit, anthropometric measures and blood pressure level, and serum biochemical parameters were examined according to sex and age group. The level of total cholesterol, triglycerides and uric acid in sera, body weight and body mass index, and both systolic and diastolic blood pressures revealed a significantly higher value when compared with five Japanese groups in Japan, while serum HDL cholesterol and the percentage of smokers and drinkers were lower.
These differences of lifestyle and health-related factors were discussed in relation to ischemic heart and cerebrovascular diseases and some types of cancer.
J Epidemiol, 1994; 4 : 37-46.
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