PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

M Minowa

Publications and source records attributed to M Minowa.

87 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1987

Geographical distribution of cerebrovascular disease mortality and food intakes in Japan.

The present study focuses on an analysis of the relationship between cerebrovascular disease mortality and food intake. For this purpose, standardized mortality ratios(SMRs) from cerebrovascular disease were calculated for 3341 basic administrative units (wards, cities, towns and villages) between 1969 and 1978 in Japan. The major nutrient intakes and 30 selected food items were obtained from the 1974-1974 Ministry of Health and Welfare, National Nutrition Surveys in 1040 randomly sampled census tracts in 600 areas (18% of the nation). Our analysis demonstrates that the geographical pattern of cerebrovascular disease SMRs in Japan vary from higher in East Japan to lower in the West, and higher in the less urbanized areas, and lower in the more urban ones. Foods positively associated with cerebrovascular disease were rice and other starchy foods, pork, algae (seaweed), and salty foods such as miso (soybean paste), pickled vegetables, soy sauce and salted fish. All of these foods, with the exception of pork, are part of the traditional Japanese diet. On the contrary, mortality was negatively associated with intakes of wheat, butter and margarine, beef and eggs, items considered to be representative of a European diet. Using a stepwise multiple regression analysis, miso and salted fish were selected as positive, and beef and eggs as negative correlates of cerebrovascular disease mortality. According to these results, it is suggested that these four foods are useful as negative and positive indicators of improvement in dietary intakes as related to the reduction in the occurrence of cerebrovascular disease.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Preventive effect of HB vaccination against liver cancer: an estimation by simulation.

In order to analyze the rapidly rising male mortality rate from liver cancer and to estimate the preventive effect of large-scale hepatitis B vaccination, we calculated the future number of deaths from liver cancer and cases of hepatitis B-related liver cancer by the linear/curved regression technique and the simulation method. Published statistics and research data were utilized for the calculation. The results of the calculation showed: 1) the increase in number of deaths from liver cancer for males would continue at the same rate as today, 2) this increase in number of deaths from liver cancer was caused by factor(s) not related to hepatitis B infection, 3) the ratio of hepatitis B virus horizontal infection to vertical infection has been sharply decreasing since the 1970s. The effect of the decrease of hepatitis B virus horizontal infection on the prevention of liver cancer is expected to be larger and to appear at an earlier stage than the effect of large-scale hepatitis B vaccination in Japan.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1985

Mortality rates for farmers and fishermen in Japan compared with England and Wales.

Life tables for all causes of death for farmers and fishermen in Japan have been compared with those for England and Wales. Considering all causes of death, there are no occupational differences between farmers and fishermen in Japan. On the other hand, there are large occupational differences indicating that fishermen are worse off than farmers in England and Wales. Standardized mortality ratios (SMR) for each disease in terms of occupation have also been compared in the two countries. The SMRs for leading causes of death in Japan, such as cerebrovascular disease, are significantly lower for fishermen than for farmers in Japan. On the contrary, SMRs for leading causes of death in England and Wales, such as ischemic heart disease and lung cancer, are significantly higher for fishermen than for farmers in England and Wales. However the SMRs for ischemic heart disease and lung cancer are significantly higher for fishermen than for farmers in both countries.

Actuarial Analysis↗
PubMed1985

Indoor infection in a modern building.

Outbreaks of tuberculosis (TB), which are of a type rarely experienced in the past, have recently increased in Japan. An example of such an outbreak, which occurred in a modern building with fixed sash windows, will be described. The occurrence of four TB cases, which had been found during the period between May 1979 and June 1980 among company employees working in the same building in downtown Tokyo, motivated the conduct of epidemiological and environmental surveys on this episode. The first case, a 36-year-old male with a positive smear and cavities in both lungs, was considered to have been in an infectious state for about one year before his admission to a TB hospital in June 1979. Follow-up investigation of 99 contacts until March 1982 revealed the occurrence of 16 secondary cases. The secondary attack rate was highest among those working on the same floor of the building as this first case, but no case was found among employees of another company that occupied this building. The desks of secondary cases were aggregated near and around that of the first case. Although this building had central air-conditioning, ventilation was often closed for energy conservation purposes. This resulted in the increase of carbon dioxide concentration in the air up to a level of more than 1,000 ppm during working hours and to as high as 2,000 ppm when the ventilation was closed. It was thus concluded that the indoor infection of TB in this episode was attributable to the insufficient ventilation in the building.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Stroke mortality and proportional expenditure on selected food items in Japanese communities.

Proportional food expenditure was calculated from the 1959 National Survey of Family Income and Expenditures and 843 municipalities were trichotomized according to the relative expenditure of various food items. Sex specific standardized mortality ratio (SMR) of stroke (1969-83) was calculated for each trichotomized food expenditure subgroup and compared. Results indicated that Western style diet such as expenditure of meat, milk and egg and bread had negative association with SMR. The expenditure of meat showed a negative association with SMR in all the three rice expenditure subgroups, but that of milk and egg in the low rice expenditure subgroup only. Consumption of constituents of the traditional Japanese diet, such as rice and other cereals, certain seasonings, salted and dried fish showed a positive association with SMR. Alcoholic beverages and cakes also showed a positive association. The secular trend of declining stroke mortality was parallel to the increase in the consumption of milk, meat, fish, eggs, soybeans, oil and fats and to the decrease in rice consumption. These findings were in accordance with the generally held view in Japan that moderate intake of animal protein was protective against stroke.

Cerebrovascular Disorders↗
PubMed1982

Relationship of diet to the incidence of esophageal and stomach cancer in Japan.

The food intake of households in 1,040 census tracts sampled in 1974, 1975, and 1976 for the nationwide nutrition survey of the Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare, and the standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) of stomach and esophageal cancers from 1969 to 1974 for the cities, towns, and villages of the nutrition survey areas, were linked and their relationship was observed statistically by correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis. The results obtained are summarized as follows: 1. The food items positively related to the SMR for stomach cancer were wheat, pickled vegetables, and beef, while tofu (soybean curd) was negatively related. 2. Foods positively related to esophageal cancer were wheat, pork, and dried or salted fish. 3. Pickled vegetables and dried or salted fish contain a high percentage of salt (NaCl), and thus the positive relationship of these foods to both stomach and esophageal cancers suggests a relationship between salt and these diseases.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Recent results of health examinations on the general population in cadmium-polluted and control areas in Japan.

Health examinations by a revised method aimed at detecting renal tubular dysfunctions more effectively were conducted on the general population aged 50 years and over in cadmium-polluted areas (1826 persons) and control areas (1611 persons) in four prefectures in Japan in 1976. Although detailed analysis of the data is not yet completed, some of the results obtained are described here. The prevalence of glucosuria and low molecular weight proteinuria, frequency of decreased % TRP, and cadmium concentrations in urine are higher in the cadmium-polluted areas than in the controls. Clinically diagnosed cases with tubular dysfunctions seem to follow the same trend as above, though these cases are very few in number and they are limited to the advanced age group. When cadmium concentration in rice is taken as an index, a dose-response relationship is not necessarity explicit in the observations by prefecture. However, suggestive data are obtained in the observation by district in one cadmium-polluted area.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Smoking prevalence and attitudes toward smoking among Japanese physicians.

CONTEXT: The World Health Organization has advocated that physicians should not smoke cigarettes and surveys on this issue should be conducted among medical professionals. However, no nationally representative surveys of smoking among physicians in Japan have been reported. OBJECTIVES: To estimate the nationwide prevalence of smoking and determine the attitudes toward smoking among Japanese physicians. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Descriptive study in which anonymous questionnaires were mailed to 4500 randomly selected physician members of the Japan Medical Association in the year 2000, which represents 63% of all Japanese physicians; 3771 (84%) respondents were included in the analysis. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Smoking prevalence among physicians, history of smoking, and attitudes toward smoking. RESULTS: The prevalence of cigarette smoking among physicians was 27.1% for men and 6.8% for women, about half the age-adjusted prevalences among the general Japanese population. Smoking prevalence was higher among male physicians in Japan than those in the United States (3%-10%) and the United Kingdom (4%-5%). Smoking prevalence differed by age, with the highest prevalence among male past smokers aged 70 years or older (51.8%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 47.4%-56.2%). Among male current smokers, the highest rates were for those aged 40 to 49 years (31%; 95% CI, 27.5%-34.5%); rates for female past smokers were highest among those aged 50 to 59 years (10.7%; 95% CI, 6.6%-14.8%) and for female current smokers were highest among those aged 70 years or older (8.2%; 95% CI, 4.8%-11.6%). Nonsmoking physicians had more unfavorable views toward smoking and were more active in encouraging patients not to smoke than those physicians who smoked. CONCLUSION: Smoking cessation programs should be introduced among Japanese physicians to reduce the number of smoking physicians. Also, a continuing education program should be instituted to motivate physicians about their role in society.

Adult↗