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Volume 59 (2004)
- Issue 4 Pages 383-
- Issue 3 Pages 301-
- Issue 1 Pages 5-
Volume 59, Issue 3
Displaying 1-7 of 7 articles from this issue
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Sadanobu KAGAMIMORI2004 Volume 59 Issue 3 Pages 301-310
Published: July 15, 2004
Released on J-STAGE: February 17, 2009
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSThis article was derived from my memorial talk given when receiving the prize of the Japanese Society for Hygiene at their academic congress. The reader could review my research on health and welfare promotion made by introducing new conceptual health policy based on the approach of social medicine. Through my experience in different research work, the importance of social factors in the etiology of health during childhood, adulthood and old age was discussed. In addition, it was revealed that social factors not only influence the population's health status but also constitute the context within which organized efforts can be made to promote health.
For the elderly, the annual health check, stroke patient registration, and insurance for care and spousal bereavement; for adults, the Karoshi and occupational health; and for children, air pollution-atopy predisposition and lifestyles were highlighted as social medicine-related issues. The research on mostly longitudinal population studies showed that health status, including the life expectancy and the prevalence of disability and chronic disorders, are related to one's marital status, social support, psychosocial working conditions and environmental factors as well as to lifestyles such as physical activity and hours of work and sleep at entry. More attention should be directed to independent factors' effects on health, separate from those of adverse health habits and bio-medical situations, under the health and welfare promotion strategy.View full abstractDownload PDF (1823K) -
Masayoshi ICHIBA2004 Volume 59 Issue 3 Pages 311-316
Published: July 15, 2004
Released on J-STAGE: February 17, 2009
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSEnvironmental carcinogens are enzymatically activated to form intermediates that can react with cellular DNA and form DNA adducts. Several kind of carcinogens bind to several sites of DNA. The measurement of WBC DNA adducts is a useful indicator for environmental carcinogen exposure monitoring. The 32P-Postlabeling method is a most popular and very sensitive method for DNA adduct analysis. We can analyze 1 adduct/108 nucleotides. In this review, I show some data of DNA adduct analysis for PAH exposure. These results demonstrated that inter-individual variation was very large. There were some confounding factors, such as metabolism or repair variations. I also showed some limitations of DNA adduct analysis. The method of adduct analysis is very complicated with several steps. We need to improve the accuracy. Do the data from WBC explain the target organ, such as the lung or liver? Almost all previous studies have been cross-sectional. We need a large-sized cohort study to evaluate whether adducts are a predictor of cancer. DNA adducts should be an important factor in gene-environment interaction.View full abstractDownload PDF (1071K) -
Verification and Suggestions from a Metallothionein-I/II Null Mouse Model StudyMasahiko SATOH2004 Volume 59 Issue 3 Pages 317-325
Published: July 15, 2004
Released on J-STAGE: February 17, 2009
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSIn many research groups including our laboratory, metallothionein (MT)-I/II null mice have been used to clarify the biological function and physiological role of MT. Recent studies with MT-I/II null mice concerning the role of MT in the toxicity and distribution of metal, oxidative stress and chemical carcinogenesis were reviewed. Some reports, including our findings, showed that MT-I/II null mice have an increased sensitivity to harmful metals such as cadmium, mercury, zinc and arsenic. Moreover, it was clarified using MT-I/II null mice that MT plays a major role in the retention of cadmium, mercury and zinc in target tissues. MT-I/II null mice were found to be much more sensitive than wild-type mice to the toxicity caused by free radical-inducing factors, which include paraquat, acetaminophen, ethanol, X-ray, ultraviolet B, carbon tetrachloride, cisplatin, doxorubicin, cerulein and streptozotocin. In addition, MT-I/II null mice were highly susceptible to skin carcinogenesis induced by 7, 12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene and bladder carcinogenesis caused by N-butyl-N-(4-hydroxybutyl) nitrosamine. These results suggest that MT is an important protective factor against metal toxicity, oxidative stress and chemical carcinogenesis.View full abstractDownload PDF (1555K) -
Takashi UMEDA, Shigeyuki NAKAJI, Yousuke YAMAMOTO, Masaru TANABE, Arat ...2004 Volume 59 Issue 3 Pages 326-334
Published: July 15, 2004
Released on J-STAGE: February 17, 2009
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSObjective: In order to study the gender-related effects of weight reduction on the physical condition of male and female college judoists during weight reduction periods, we examined changes in anthropometric, nutritional intake and biochemical parameters in 43 male and female college judoists 20 days (pre-weight reduction) before and one day (post-weight reduction) before the game.
Methods: Subjects were divided into two groups. Thirty subjects (22 males, 8 females) who required weight reduction were defined as the weight reduction (WR) group, and the remaining 13 subjects (5 males, 8 females) were defined as the non-reduction (non-WR) group.
Results: In both WR groups, anthropometric parameters and nutritional intake significantly decreased after weight reduction compared to the pre-values. The change ratios of nutritional intake during the weight reduction period in the female WR group were higher than those in the male WR group. Serum lipids and electrolytes significantly decreased after the weight reduction compared to the pre-values in both WR groups. In the female WR group, Cr and UA significantly increased after the weight reduction compared to the pre-values. Although it was not significant, Ht increased after the weight reduction compared to the pre-values only in the female WR group. TP, Cr, UA, BUN, CK, LDH and IgA significantly increased after the weight reduction compared to the pre-values in the male WR group. In contrast, in both non-WR groups, these parameters did not change significantly during the research period.
Conclusions: Our findings suggest that nutritional exhaustion and dehydration may be the major effects brought about by energy and fluid restriction in female college judoists during a weight reduction period. On the other hand, in male college judoists undergoing weight reduction, the data suggest that muscle damage and myogenic protein catabolism may be caused chiefly by exercise. These differences may be due to the difference in the method of weight reduction for the different genders, namely, mainly exercise in males and mainly energy and fluid restriction in females.View full abstractDownload PDF (1407K) -
A Reductase Inhibitor Therapy for the Secondary Prevention of Coronary Heart DiseaseShinichi SATO, Yasuyuki MATSUSHITA, Tohru KOBAYASHI, Nobuhisa AWATA, [ ...2004 Volume 59 Issue 3 Pages 335-341
Published: July 15, 2004
Released on J-STAGE: February 17, 2009
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSObjective: The pharmacoeconomics of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitor (pravastatin) therapy were evaluated using data from an open-labeled, randomized, controlled trial (PCS: Prevention of Coronary Sclerosis study) with a two-year follow-up period.
Methods: Patients with a serum total cholesterol concentration of between 180 and 219mg/dL at baseline were randomly assigned to two groups: the pravastatin group (n=54) and the group that did not receive cholesterol-lowering drugs (no-pravastatin group, n=66). A cost-minimization analysis and a cost-effectiveness analysis were then performed from the perspective of a health insurance company, using insurance information obtained from the subjects. In the cost-minimization analysis, the expected costs associated with percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) and the pravastatin prescription were compared; the total medication costs between the two groups were also compared. In the cost-effectiveness analysis, the estimated savings per event-free year were calculated.
Results: The median cost of a PTCA procedure was \1, 323, 492. The expected insurance cost for two years was \182, 532 per patient in the pravastatin group and \224, 444 per patient in the no-pravastatin group. The cost-minimization analysis showed that the cost of healthcare for the no-pravastatin group was higher than that for the pravastatin group. The mean total cost of medication was \729, 849 per patient in the pravastatin group and \989, 606 per patient in the no-pravastatin group. The cost-effectiveness ratio for coronary heart disease was \2, 766, 994.
Conclusion: Pravastatin therapy in normocholesterolemic patients with coronary sclerosis seems to have an excellent pharmacoeconomic profile.View full abstractDownload PDF (1182K) -
An Investigation Based on Vital StatisticsYukiko MINE, Akira BABAZONO2004 Volume 59 Issue 3 Pages 342-348
Published: July 15, 2004
Released on J-STAGE: February 17, 2009
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSObjective: This study investigated whether regional differences in perinatal mortality rates are related to distances to medical resources for perinatal care, such as the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
Methods: Using the census for Japan in 2000, all municipalities in Japan were classified into four groups based on population size: municipalities of 1, 000, 000 people or more (Group 1), municipalities between 350, 000 and 1, 000, 000 people (Group 2), municipalities between 10, 000 and 350, 000 people (Group 3), and municipalities of less than 10, 000 people (Group 4). Then, using the vital statistics, perinatal mortality rates for all groups were calculated. In addition, setting the perinatal mortality rate in Group 1 as a referent, we calculated the differences in the rates to detect regional differences in perinatal mortality in Japan. Finally, we compared the distances between the municipality center and the closest NICU among the four groups by one-way ANOVA.
Results: The perinatal mortality rates of Groups 1, 2, 3 and 4 were 5.38, 5.58, 5.88 and 6.31, respectively. The perinatal mortality rate ratios (95% CI) were 1.04(0.96-1.12), 1.09(1.03-1.16), and 1.17(1.05-1.31), respectively. The perinatal mortality rate differences (95% CI) were 0.20(-0.24-0.64), 0.50(0.15-0.84), and 0.93(0.23-1.62), respectively. The distances (95% CI) between the center of the municipalities and the closest NICU for Groups 1, 2, 3 and 4 were 2.61(1.56-3.66)km, 4.23(2.74-5.72)km, 20.79(17.68-23.90)km and 38.07(31.65-44.48)km, respectively. All of the differences among the groups were significant (p<0.001), except for the difference between Group 1 and Group 2.
Conclusion: There are regional differences in perinatal mortality rates in Japan. This study suggests that the difference is associated with the uneven distribution of NICUs.View full abstractDownload PDF (1245K) -
2004 Volume 59 Issue 3 Pages e1
Published: 2004
Released on J-STAGE: February 17, 2009
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSDownload PDF (24K)
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