Journal of Epidemiology
Online ISSN : 1349-9092
Print ISSN : 0917-5040
ISSN-L : 0917-5040
Volume 9, Issue 3
Displaying 1-8 of 8 articles from this issue
  • Tomotaka Sobue, Hideaki Tsukuma, Akira Oshima, Keiichiro Genka, Hirozo ...
    1999 Volume 9 Issue 3 Pages 134-142
    Published: 1999
    Released on J-STAGE: November 30, 2007
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    We investigated lung cancer incidence by histologic type using the data from population-based cancer registries in high- risk (Osaka and Okinawa) and low-risk (Saku Nagano) areas. Since the proportion of cases with histologic types identified was not sufficiently high, sex- and age- specific incidence rates by histologic type were estimated assuming that the distribution of histologic types was the same across the same sex and age groups regardless of reporting status. Compared to Saku in Nagano Prefecture, the cumulative risk of lung cancer incidence rates in Osaka and Okinawa were 1.3 and 1.5 times higher for males and 1.3 and 1.2 times higher for females, respectively. When divided by histologic type, male adenocarcinoma and small cell carcinoma were 1.6-2.1 times higher in Osaka and Okinawa, while squamous cell carcinoma was 1.6 times higher only in Okinawa compared to Saku Nagano. In females, squamous cell carcinoma and small cell carcinoma were 2.5-3.3 times higher in Osaka and Okinawa compared to Saku Nagano, while adenocarcinoma was almost equal in the 3 areas. These results indicate that the pattern of incidence of lung cancer by histologic type may differ between high- and low- risk areas. J Epidemiol, 1999 ; 9 : 134-142
    Download PDF (594K)
  • Takeo Nakayama, Tetsuji Yokoyama, Nobuo Yoshiike, Takayoshi Ichimura, ...
    1999 Volume 9 Issue 3 Pages 143-145
    Published: 1999
    Released on J-STAGE: November 30, 2007
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Cigarette-derived toxic substances are inhaled along with the nicotine that is absorbed to satisfy the smoker's physical demand. Therefore, serum cotinine, a metabolite of nicotine, may be considered to be an indirect marker of absorption of the other toxic substances from smoking. However, few studies have examined factors related to serum cotinine concentrations in natural settings. The authors, therefore, have studied relations among patterns of smoking behavior and serum cotinine concentrations of community residents. Subjects were 60 smoking men living in the town of Yamasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. Number of daily cigarettes, depth of inhalation, hours from the last cigarette smoked and the total nicotine tolerance score were significantly, while neither nicotine-yields nor butt length of a discarded cigarette was correlated with serum cotinine concentrations. Multiple regression analysis confirmed that depth of inhalation and hours from the last cigarette smoked were independently significant. This finding suggests that attention only to self-reported daily number of cigarettes smoked may not be sufficient to detect smokers who are actually at high risk. Healthcare workers should also pay attention to smokers' patterns of smoking, particularly depth of inhalation. J Epidemiol, 1999 ; 9 : 143-145
    Download PDF (223K)
  • Dae-Sung Kim, Moo-Song Lee, Dong-Hyun Kim, Jong-Myon Bae, Myung-Hee Sh ...
    1999 Volume 9 Issue 3 Pages 146-154
    Published: 1999
    Released on J-STAGE: November 30, 2007
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Since the completeness of case ascertainment is directly related to the validity of a study, the evaluation of completeness is an essential feature of a cohort study. To estimate the completeness of cancer case ascertainment during a three year period (Jan. 1, 1993, to Dec. 31, 1995) in which the Seoul Male Cohort was followed up, we applied capture-recapture method. Data were obtained from the cancer registries, medical records and death certificates, with cases identified from each source numbering 103, 105, and 38, respectively. After eliminating duplicate cases, the total number was 141, and by using a log-linear model, the number of cases not detected by any of the three data sources was estimated to be 16. For all cancers, the estimated completeness of follow-up was 89.9%. J Epidemiol, 1999 ; 9 : 146-154
    Download PDF (547K)
  • Mohammod M. Islam, Hiroshi Horibe, Fumio Kobayashi
    1999 Volume 9 Issue 3 Pages 155-162
    Published: 1999
    Released on J-STAGE: November 30, 2007
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Prevalence of diabetes mellitus in Japan was investigated through studying the published reports from 1964 to 1992 by searching the electronic data base and some leading Japanese journals following certain inclusion criteria. Out of total 74 retrieved reports, 14 were found eligible for review, some containing data of multiple community and / or periods and were converted into total of 40 reports following a predetermined criteria. Review analysis of only the prevalence of diabetes was done paying much attention to age range, survey methodology and response rate. Oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was done in 19 (47.5%) with and in 21 (52.5%) reports without initial urine and / or blood sugar screening. OGTT was done using 75, 50, or 100 grams glucose following either Japan Diabetes Society or WHO criteria. The recent prevalence was estimated ranging from 9.6-11.9% in both sexes of 40 years or over, 4.2-13.1 % in men and 2.6-12.9% in women. The higher prevalences were found in and around 1990 and the lower values in and around 1970. Regression analysis shows the upward trend of the prevalence of diabetes 2.2% in men (p<0.01), 1.6% in women (p< 0.01) by 10 years. J Epidemiol, 1999 ; 9 : 155-162
    Download PDF (555K)
  • Longjian Liu, Sohel R Choudhury, Akira Okayama, Takehito Hayakawa, Yos ...
    1999 Volume 9 Issue 3 Pages 163-174
    Published: 1999
    Released on J-STAGE: November 30, 2007
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Few studies have attempted to investigate the changes in body mass index (BMI) and its relationship to other cardiovascular factors in Asian populations, including Japanese. Data from two national cross-sectional surveys on circulatory disorders in 1980 and 1990 in Japan were used in this study. The sample consisted of 10, 556 participants in the 1980 survey and 8, 385 in the 1990 survey, aged*30 years. The results show that after adjusting for age, smoking, alcohol consumption (ALC) and daily life physical activity (PA), mean BMI increased 0.49 kg/m2 (95% confidence interval: 0.34-0.65) in men aged 30-59 and 0.61 kg/m2 (0.37-0.86) in those aged >_ 60 from 1980 to 1990. In women, however, mean BMI decreased 0.24 kg /M2 (-0.39 0.09) in those aged 30-59 and increased 0.38 kg/m2 (0.12-0.64) in those aged*60. BMI was significantly associated with hypertension, diabetes and hypercholesterolaemia. In both genders, cu-smokers had lower mean BMI than never smokers, while among the cu-smokers, mean BMI was positively associated with the number of cigarettes smoked per day. In men, BMI was positively associated with ALC and negatively associated with PA, while in women, BMI was negatively associated with ALC and positively associated with PA. The results suggest that BMI has significantly increased in men and in elderly women. BMI, even in the Japanese population who are characterized by relative low BMI, is significantly associated with several cardiovascular risk factors. J Epidemiol, 1999 ; 9 : 163-174
    Download PDF (776K)
  • Shinsuke Morio, Kenji Soda, Kazuo Tajima, Hor Bun Leng, Katsuhiro Kita ...
    1999 Volume 9 Issue 3 Pages 175-182
    Published: 1999
    Released on J-STAGE: November 30, 2007
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Objective: This study surveyed the sexual behaviour of commercial sex workers and their clients in an attempt to identify factors of transmission of STDs (including HIV/AIDS) and to control their epidemics in Cambodia and South-East Asia.
    Design: Cross-sectional study.
    Setting: Trained questioners asked items of the questionnaires to each objective subject in December 1996. Data were analysed to show the descriptive status by risk group of each person.
    Participants: 200 direct commercial sex workers, 220 indirect commercial sex workers, and 211 clients in Phnom Penh.
    Results: Prostitution was widely accepted by both young males and females, and this was an easy way for young girls to obtain money. Although commercial sex workers and clients were knowledgeable about prevention methods against STDs, they seldom used condoms. Some commercial sex workers had been infected with STDs many times, and many of them incompletely treated the diseases by themselves. Social support from governmental and non- governmental organisation was poor.
    Conclusions: It is very important to support both commercial sex workers in practicing preventive methods against STDs and also visiting physicians when they notice symptoms of STDs. It is strongly recommended that not only governmental but also non-governmental organisations should be more active in this area. J Epidemiol, 1999 ; 9 : 175-182
    Download PDF (568K)
  • Kazushi Okamoto, Yoshiyuki Ohno, Rokuro Horisawa, Kenji Wakai, Akiko T ...
    1999 Volume 9 Issue 3 Pages 183-189
    Published: 1999
    Released on J-STAGE: November 30, 2007
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    We examined agreement between the subjects' self- and partner-reports of such epidemiological information as medical and family history, smoking and drinking habit and physical activity. Information was obtained by a self-administered questionnaire which was completed by 224 workers (subjects) and by their partners in 1997. Agreement was assessed by calculating kappa statistic, intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), and per cent agreement. Per cent agreement ranged from a low of 76.2 for general life stress to a high of 98.0 for angina/myocardial infarction and diabetes mellitus as present illness. Kappa values ranged from a low of 0.34 for general life stress to a high of 0.86 for smoking habit. Compared to subjects, their partners tended to report lower level of both exposures (continuous variables) and presence (dichotomous variables). The average kappa was 0.64 for wife-surrogates, whereas 0.53 for husband-surrogates. Overall, our finding suggested that partners could provide acceptable information for the concrete and directly-observable variables (e.g. such present illness as hypertension which required daily medication, or smoking /drinking habit itself), but not so for detailed/subjective variables (e.g. number of cigarettes smoked per day or general life stress). J Epidemiol, 1999 ; 9 : 183-189
    Download PDF (479K)
  • Satoshi Sasaki, Minatsu Kobayashi, Shoichiro Tsugane
    1999 Volume 9 Issue 3 Pages 190-207
    Published: 1999
    Released on J-STAGE: November 30, 2007
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    We examined agreement between the subjects' self- and partner-reports of such epidemiological information as medical and family history, smoking and drinking habit and physical activity. Information was obtained by a self-administered questionnaire which was completed by 224 workers (subjects) and by their partners in 1997. Agreement was assessed by calculating kappa statistic, intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), and per cent agreement. Per cent agreement ranged from a low of 76.2 for general life stress to a high of 98.0 for angina/myocardial infarction and diabetes mellitus as present illness. Kappa values ranged from a low of 0.34 for general life stress to a high of 0.86 for smoking habit. Compared to subjects, their partners tended to report lower level of both exposures (continuous variables) and presence (dichotomous variables). The average kappa was 0.64 for wife-surrogates, whereas 0.53 for husband-surrogates. Overall, our finding suggested that partners could provide acceptable information for the concrete and directly-observable variables (e.g. such present illness as hypertension which required daily medication, or smoking /drinking habit itself), but not so for detailed/subjective variables (e.g. number of cigarettes smoked per day or general life stress). J Epidemiol, 1999 ; 9 : 183-189
    Download PDF (1245K)
feedback
Top