Biomedical subjects

Ikuo Nasu

Publications and source records attributed to Ikuo Nasu.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

[Active life expectancy for elderly Japanese by chewing ability].

OBJECTIVE: Panel interview surveys of nationally representative elderly people aged 65 years or above in Japan were conducted three times at 2-year intervals since 1999 (Nihon University Japanese Longitudinal Study of Aging) to estimate health expectancy for males and females separately according to their chewing ability. METHOD: Multistate life table methods were applied to estimate health expectancy. Three health states, namely, active, inactive and dead, were defined according to the ability to perform specified daily activities. Living respondents were considered to be in an "inactive state" if they responded "very difficult" or "unable" for performance of at least one ADL or IADL. Otherwise they were considered to be in an "active state". 4,323 sampled persons who responded to the baseline survey were included in the study. Based on estimated transition probabilities over the survey period between active and inactive states, and active and inactive states to death, both population- and status-based multistate life tables were constructed according to chewing ability. Those who could chew relatively hard foods at the baseline survey were classified as Group A and those who could chew only relatively soft foods were classified as Group B. RESULTS: The population-based multistate life tables indicated that at age 65, total life expectancy was 19.3/23.2 (males/females) years for Group A and 16.7/21.1 years for Group B. Active life expectancy was 16.8/18.6 years and 13.6/16.3 years, and inactive life expectancy was 2.4/4.6 years and 3.1/4.8 years for Groups A and B respectively. A statistically significant difference was observed between the two groups only in terms of active life expectancy. From status-based multistate life tables, similar patterns were observed for those whose status at the baseline was "active". CONCLUSION: These results suggest that maintenance or recovery of sufficient chewing ability for elderly people is related to a longer total life expectancy and even more strongly related to a longer active life expectancy.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed2005

[Interrelationship among factors associated with drinking behaviors in dental students].

We analyzed the Kurihama Alcoholism Screening Test (KAST), the Adolescent Alcohol Involvement Scale (AAIS), the Fagerstroem Tolerance Questionnaire (FTQ), the Tokyo University ALDH2-Phenotype Screening Test (TAST), results of ethanol patch tests, the presence or absence of a smoking habit, and gender by "Hayashi's quantification theory, type II" in 415 senior students (232 males and 183 females) of a dental college between 2000 and 2003, and evaluated their relationships. When drinking education is given to dental students, both the prevention of acute alcohol intoxication by chugging and the prevention of alcohol dependence in students with drinking behavior suggesting this tendency are necessary. For acute alcohol intoxication, attention can be aroused in students with positive ethanol patch tests. However, there is no definite instruction method for the prevention of alcohol dependence. Therefore, we analyzed the relationships among drinking, smoking, and constitution based on data obtained during the 4 years when the above 3 types of surveys were performed. Plotting of the results of analysis showed that the students can be classified by the ethanol patch test and TAST into those with "alcohol-sensitive" constitution and those with "alcohol-tolerant" constitution. Most problem drinkers were "alcohol-tolerant". KAST showed plotting along the constitution axis from "normal drinking group" to "problem drinking borderline group" but a change in the angle to an L shape at the transfer point from "problem drinking borderline group" to "problem drinking group", showing more serious states along the smoking axis. These results suggest that drinking behavior is first regulated by alcohol- sensitive or alcohol-tolerate constitution, and alcohol-tolerate students with a smoking habit have alcohol dependence tendency, and tend to show serious problem drinking. Improvement in the drinking habit is necessary in alcohol-tolerate students with a smoking habit so that they will not develop alcohol dependence.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

Association of natural tooth loss with genetic variation at the human matrix Gla protein locus in elderly women.

Natural tooth loss represents a major medical issue within the elderly population, since it impairs masticatory function critical for oral intake of essential nutrition. Contribution of genetic factors has been implicated in the determination of natural tooth loss; degree of reduction in number of natural teeth remaining intact (NTI) varies among individuals; thus, heterogeneity in NTI might reflect genetic variation within the population. One candidate gene, the matrix Gla protein gene (MGP), has been implicated in the pathogenesis of bone loss through a repression of bone/tooth formation. We have investigated a possible association between the CA repeat polymorphism at the human MGP gene locus and the NTI in 458 elderly Japanese women. In 916 chromosomes tested, ten alleles of the polymorphic nucleotide repeat were observed (designated A1-A10), among which five alleles were regarded as major alleles to be tested for the association. Twenty-seven women who possessed an A6 allele (164 bp) had significantly higher NTI than the remaining participants (n=431), who did not carry an allele of that size (mean: 10.0 teeth vs 5.6 teeth; P=0.007, Mann-Whitney test). An eight-year longitudinal follow-up study of NTI suggested that the genetic variations at the MGP locus did not affect the rate of tooth loss in the elderly period. These results suggest that genetic variation at the MGP gene locus is associated with some determinants for tooth loss in elderly women.

Aged↗

PubMed2002

[Relationship between ethanol patch test and problem drinkers among dental students].

In 2000 and 2001, we carried out a drinking habit survey and the Ethanol Patch Test on 232 fourth-year dental students (128 males, 104 females). The results were statistically analyzed. For the survey, the students were asked to fill out, anonymously, the forms of the Tokyo-University ALDH2-Phenotype Screening Test (TAST), the Kurihama Alcoholism Screening Test (KAST), and the Adolescent Alcohol Involvement Scale (AAIS). The results of the subsequent Ethanol Patch test were evaluated by the students themselves. The Patch test demonstrated that 44.5% of males and 49.0% of females were positive to the test or ALDH2 deficient, the rest having the marker substance. According to the TAST results, ALDH2-deficient or TAST-positive (alcohol-intolerant) subjects accounted for 48.4% of males and 51.9% of females, the rest being ALDH2-present or TAST-negative students. Among the Patch test-positive group, the ratio of problem drinkers according to the KAST was 8.8% in males and 2.0% in females. The corresponding figures for the test-negatives group were; 22.5% in males; 7.5% in females, being higher than those for the test-positive group. Among the test-positive group, the ratio of problem drinkers scoring at least 42 points on the AAIS stood at 19.3% in males, 7.8% in females and among the test-negative group, the corresponding figures were; 21.1% in males; 13.2% in females, the difference from those for the other group being relatively small. The results of the Ethanol Patch test were related to those of the TAST and KAST, but not to the AAIS. The correlation between the Patch test and KAST indicates that the test-negatives are prone to become alcohol-dependant. Though the results of the Patch test and those of the AAIS were not related, the findings show that some alcohol-intolerant university students are drinking excessively.

Adult↗