Nihon Koshu Eisei Zasshi(JAPANESE JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH)
Online ISSN : 2187-8986
Print ISSN : 0546-1766
ISSN-L : 0546-1766
Volume 54, Issue 1
Displaying 1-5 of 5 articles from this issue
Original article
  • Akiko OHTA, Masaki NAGAI, Motoko NISHINA, Satomi SHIBAZAKI, Hideki ISH ...
    2007 Volume 54 Issue 1 Pages 3-14
    Published: 2007
    Released on J-STAGE: July 03, 2014
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Objective We examined a clinical database for patients receiving financial aid for treatment to elucidate age at onset of intractable disease.
    Methods Data were obtained from the clinical database of patients receiving financial aid for treatment in 2003. Age at onset of disease was calculated by subtracting the year of birth from the year of onset as registered in the database. Percentiles for age at onset and peak onset age were evaluated for each intractable disease.
    Results Peak onset ages for primary immune-deficiency syndrome, subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, lysosomal diseases, epidermolysis bullosa and neurofibromatosis I and II were under 20 years. Peak onset ages for aortitis syndrome, systemic lupus erythematosus, Behcet's disease, adrenoleukodystrophy, multiple sclerosis, ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease were between 20 and 50. Distributions of age at onset for aplastic anemia, idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, myasthenia gravis, moyamoya disease and sarcoidosis were bimodal. Peak onset age for many other diseases were ≧40 years.
    Conclusions Using a clinical database for patients receiving financial aid for treatment, the distribution of ages at onset and peak onset ages could be systematically clarified for individual intractable diseases. Our study provides new information on the natural history of disease development.
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Public health report
  • Naoko HARADA, Hisataka SAKAKIBARA
    2007 Volume 54 Issue 1 Pages 15-24
    Published: 2007
    Released on J-STAGE: July 03, 2014
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Objective Well-rounded training, composed of resistance training, aerobic training and flexibility exercise, has been shown to be beneficial for increasing the physical strength of the elderly. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a trial of community-based well-rounded training on women inhabitants to strengthen leg muscles.
    Methods The subjects were the women aged 65 to 74 years living in E city, Gifu prefecture in Japan, who gave informed consent for participation in a community-based well-rounded training class in 2003 or 2004 (n=24), while others taking part in a recreation class for the aged served as the controls (n=15). The training class was performed once a week for 12 weeks, while the recreation class was conducted every two weeks for 12 weeks. Self-reported questionnaire surveys of health status and examinations of physical characteristics and physical fitness were conducted before the beginning of each class and after the end of the 12-week class.
    Results In the training class, the replies to the following items of questionnaires were significantly improved: “Are you confident in your present physical strength? (P<0.01),” “How long can you walk at your ease? (P<0.05)” and “How many times do you go out usually? (P<0.05).” On the other hand, there were no significant changes in the recreation class. Regarding physical fitness, both subjects and controls had significant improvements in a 10 meter-walking test, a body reaction time test and a 30-sec chair-stand test. In addition, training class attendees showed an increase in forward bending ability, an index of flexibility (P<0.01), and the cross-sectional area of femoral region muscles measured by computer tomography (P<0.05).
    Conclusion The present trial in a community suggested that well-rounded training has some beneficial effects to increase or maintain the physical strength of the leg muscles and the flexibility of bending among inhabitants aged 65-74. Community-based well-rounded training programs for the aged will assume greater importance with the rapid increase in aging populations.
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Research note
  • Shumpei TAKEDA
    2007 Volume 54 Issue 1 Pages 25-31
    Published: 2007
    Released on J-STAGE: July 03, 2014
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Objective To derive values for life expectancy and healthy life expectancy (number of years people are expected to live without certification as being in need of long-term care) for Japanese at 65 years of age across 47 Prefectures in Japan, based on both national death statistics and long-term care insurance data, and to analyze their relationships with the standardized mortality ratio (SMR) for the elderly aged 65 years and more.
    Method Life expectancy was calculated using Chiang's method and healthy life expectancy using Sullivan's method. The number of years of living with long-term care needed (duration of care need) was determined by subtracting the healthy life expectancy from life expectancy. The SMR was calculated in comparison with that for the nation set at 1. The relationships between the indices were analyzed based on the Spearman rank-order correlation coefficient.
    Results (1) Among the 47 prefectures, healthy life expectancy at 65 years of age in 2004 for males was the longest in Nagano Prefecture (16.72 years) and the shortest in Aomori Prefecture (14.32 years). For females, it was the longest in Yamanashi Prefecture (19.18 years) and the shortest in Osaka Prefecture (16.47 years).
     (2) Healthy life expectancy for males and females positively correlated with life expectancy, and negatively correlated with the duration of care need and SMR. Life expectancy negatively correlated with SMR for males and females, and, for females, it positively correlated with the duration of care need as well.
    Conclusion (1) Among the 47 prefectures, healthy life expectancy at 65 years of age in 2004 was the longest in Nagano Prefecture and the shortest in Aomori Prefecture. For females, it was the longest in Yamanashi Prefecture and the shortest in Osaka Prefecture.
     (2) For males and females, lowering the mortality rate as well as the prevalence of ill health with long-term care need is important for extending healthy life expectancy. For females, long life expectancy is associated with a long duration of care needed.
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  • Akiko OHTA, Masaki NAGAI, Motoko NISHINA, Satomi SHIBAZAKI, Hideki ISH ...
    2007 Volume 54 Issue 1 Pages 32-42
    Published: 2007
    Released on J-STAGE: July 03, 2014
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
  • Hunkyung KIM, Takao SUZUKI, Hideyo YOSHIDA, Yuko YOSHIDA, Miho SUGIURA ...
    2007 Volume 54 Issue 1 Pages 43-52
    Published: 2007
    Released on J-STAGE: July 03, 2014
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Objective The present study was performed to comprehensively investigate the prevalence of multiple symptoms of the geriatric syndrome, characteristics and related factors in urban community-dwelling elderly women.
    Methods Among 669 women aged 70 years and above living in 5 areas of Itabashi-ku, who attended the Otassha Kenshin (comprehensive health check for the elderly) in November 2004 and gave consent to participate in this study, 668 had no missing data and their interview and physical fitness data were analyzed. The criteria for the geriatric syndrome were: (1) functional decline: a score of 10 points or below for the 13 items of the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology (TMIG) index of competence; (2) falls: “have fallen” once or more in the last year; and (3) urinary incontinence: frequency of urine leakage of “1 to 3 times in a month” in daily life. The interview and physical fitness data were compared between healthy persons, persons with one symptom and persons with multiple symptoms. Multiple logistic regression models were used to analyse related factors.
    Results The prevalence of multiple geriatric syndromes was 15.3%; comprising 2.2% with “functional decline+falls”, 6.0% with “functional decline+urinary incontinence”, 5.1% with “falls+urinary incontinence”, and 2.0% with “functional decline+falls+urinary incontinence”. The group reporting multiple symptoms had poor self-rated health, had a high percentage currently taking three or more medications, had a fear of falling and had a significantly (P<0.05) higher likelihood of a history of stroke and urinary disease. In addition, the group with multiple symptoms were older, and had significantly (P<0.05) poorer results for grip strength, usual walking speed, maximum walking speed, functional reach, knee extension strength, and one leg standing time with eyes open. Within this group, the “functional decline+falls” subgroup had the lowest level of physical fitness. Analysis of factors related to the presence (1) or absence (0) of multiple symptoms identified fear of falling and usual walking speed as two significant variables.
    Conclusion This study showed that: (1) physical fitness is significantly lower in the group with multiple symptoms of the geriatric syndrome compared with healthy persons, and was the lowest in the subgroup with “functional decline+falls”; and (2) fear of falling and usual walking speed were two factors related to multiple geriatric syndromes. These results suggest directions for future intervention strategies.
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