Aim: The present study aims to investigate the association between serum small dense low-density lipoprotein (sdLDL) cholesterol level and the development of coronary heart disease (CHD) in subjects ...at high cardiovascular risk. Methods: A total of 3,080 participants without prior cardiovascular disease (CVD), aged ≥ 40 years, were followed up for a median of 8.3 years, which were divided into two groups, those with serum sdLDL cholesterol levels of ＜35 mg/dL or ≥ 35 mg/dL. Then, subjects were stratified by the status of diabetes, CVD-related comorbidities (defined as the presence of diabetes, chronic kidney disease, or peripheral artery disease), and the CVD risk assessment according to the Japan Atherosclerosis Society Guidelines. The hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were computed using a Cox proportional hazards model. Results: During the follow-up, 79 subjects developed CHD. The risk for incident CHD was higher in subjects with serum sdLDL cholesterol of ≥ 35 mg/dL than those with sdLDL cholesterol of ＜35 mg/dL (HR 2.09, 95%CI 1.26–3.45) after adjusting for traditional risk factors. In the subgroup analyses, the multivariable-adjusted HR for incident CHD increased significantly in those with serum sdLDL cholesterol of ≥ 35 mg/dL among subjects with diabetes (HR 2.76, 95%CI 1.09–7.01), subjects with CVD-related comorbidities (HR 2.60, 95%CI 1.21–5.58), and high-risk category defined as the presence of CVD-related comorbidities or a Suita score of ≥ 56 points (HR 1.93, 95%CI 1.02–3.65). Conclusions: Elevated serum sdLDL cholesterol was associated with the development of CHD even in subjects at high cardiovascular risk.
Aim: Secular trends in the risk of recurrent stroke have been reported in several epidemiological studies worldwide, but this issue has not been investigated in general Japanese populations. We ...examined the trends in the 5-year risk of recurrent stroke over a half century using community-based prospective data in Japan.Methods: We established 4 cohort studies in 1961, 1974, 1988, and 2002. To examine the risk of recurrent stroke, participants who developed stroke during a 10-year follow-up period in each cohort were followed-up for 5 years from the date of first onset. A total of 154 (first sub-cohort: 1961-1971), 144 (second sub-cohort: 1974-1984), 172 (third sub-cohort: 1988-1998), and 146 (fourth sub-cohort: 2002-2012) participants from each cohort were enrolled in the present study. The 5-year cumulative risk of recurrent stroke was compared among the sub-cohorts using the Kaplan-Meier method and the age- and sex-adjusted Cox proportional hazards model.Results: The risks of recurrent stroke after any stroke and ischemic stroke decreased significantly from the first to the third sub-cohort, but they did not clearly change from the third to the fourth sub-cohort. The risk of recurrent stroke after hemorrhagic stroke decreased mainly from the first to the second sub-cohort and there was no apparent decrease from the second to the fourth sub-cohort. These trends were substantially unchanged after adjusting for age and sex.Conclusions: In the Japanese community, the risk of recurrent stroke decreased mainly from the 1960s to 1990s, but there was no apparent decrease in recent years.
Background:Growing evidence suggests that high serum uric acid (SUA) levels are causally related to increased risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD). However, few studies have investigated the ...influence of elevated SUA levels on the incidence of kidney dysfunction and albuminuria separately in community-based populations.Methods and Results:A total of 2,059 community-dwelling Japanese subjects aged ≥40 years without CKD were followed for 5 years. CKD was defined as kidney dysfunction (estimated glomerular filtration rate <60 ml/min/1.73 m2) or albuminuria (urine albumin-creatinine ratio ≥30 mg/g). The odds ratio (OR) for the development of CKD was estimated according to quartiles of SUA (≤4.0, 4.1–4.9, 5.0–5.8, and ≥5.9 mg/dl). During the follow-up, 396 subjects developed CKD, of whom 125 had kidney dysfunction and 312 had albuminuria. The multivariable-adjusted risk of developing CKD increased with higher SUA levels (OR 1.00 reference for ≤4.0, 1.21 95% confidence interval, 0.84–1.74 for 4.1–4.9, 1.47 1.01–2.17 for 5.0–5.8, and 2.10 1.37–3.23 for SUA ≥5.9 mg/dl, respectively). Similarly, there were positive associations between SUA level and the adjusted risk of developing kidney dysfunction (OR 1.00 reference, 2.30 1.10–4.82, 2.81 1.34–5.88, and 3.73 1.65–8.44) and albuminuria (1.00 reference, 1.12 0.76–1.65, 1.35 0.90–2.03, and 1.81 1.14–2.87, respectively).Conclusions:Higher SUA levels were a significant risk factor for the development of both kidney dysfunction and albuminuria in a general Japanese population. (Circ J 2016; 80: 1857–1862)
Background: The association between decline in handgrip strength from midlife to late life and dementia is unclear. Methods: Japanese community-dwellers without dementia aged 60 to 79 years (ie, ...individuals in late life; mean age, 68 years) were followed for 24 years (1988–2012) (n = 1,055); 835 of them had participated in a health examination in 1973–1974 (mean age, 53 years), and these earlier data were used for the midlife analysis. Using a Cox proportional hazards model, we estimated the risk conferred by a decline in handgrip strength over a 15-year period (1973–74 to 1988) from midlife to late life on the development of total dementia, Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and vascular dementia (VaD) over the late-life follow-up period from 1988 to 2012. Results: During the follow-up, 368 subjects experienced total dementia. The age- and sex-adjusted incidence of total dementia increased significantly with greater decline in handgrip strength (increased or unchanged handgrip strength ≥+0% 25.1, mildly decreased −14 to −1% 28.4, and severely decreased ≤−15% 38.9 per 1,000 person-years). A greater decline in handgrip strength was significantly associated with higher risk of total dementia after adjusting for potential confounding factors; subjects with severely decreased handgrip strength had 1.51-fold (95% confidence interval, 1.14–1.99, P < 0.01) increased risk of total dementia compared to those with increased or unchanged handgrip strength. Similar significant findings were observed for AD, but not for VaD. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that a greater decline in handgrip strength from midlife to late life is an important indicator for late-life onset of dementia.
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FFLJ, NUK, ODKLJ, UL, UM, UPUK
Understanding the electrochemical reactions at the interface between a Si anode and a solid sulfide electrolyte is essential in improving the cycle stabilities of Si anodes in all-solid-state ...batteries (ASSBs). Highly dense Si films with very low roughnesses of <1 nm were fabricated at room temperature via cathodic arc plasma deposition, which led to the formation of a Si/sulfide electrolyte model interface. Li (de)alloying through the model interface hardly occurred during the first cycle, whereas it proceeded stably in subsequent cycles. Hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and neutron reflectometry directly revealed that the reduction or oxidation of the interfacial component or Li3PS4 electrolyte occurred during the first cycle. Consequently, an interfacial layer with a thickness of 13 nm and primarily composed of Li2S, SiS2, and P2S5 glasses was formed during the first cycle. The interfacial layer acted as a Li-conductive, electron-insulating solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) that provided reversible (de)lithiation. Our model interface directly demonstrates the electrochemical reaction processes at the Si/Li3PS4 interface and provides insights into the structures and electrochemical properties of SEIs to activate the (de)lithiation of Si anodes using a sulfide electrolyte.
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IJS, KILJ, NUK, PNG, UL, UM
Abstract
Changes in the interfacial structures of the amorphous silicon (a-Si) anode/organic electrolyte interfaces in lithium-ion batteries were investigated using highly dense a-Si films fabricated ...by cathodic arc plasma deposition as a model electrode. Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray reflectivity revealed that the Si films were grown in an amorphous state with an atomically flat surface. The a-Si films exhibited lithium alloying and de-alloying reactions, with a large irreversible capacity during the first cycle. The irreversible capacity was derived from the formation of a solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) along with an incompletely de-alloyed Li-Si phase, as confirmed by ex situ TEM and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy observations. The discharge and charge capacities of the Si films gradually decreased in the subsequent cycles, despite the fact that no further SEI formation or cracking of the Si layer occurred. Scanning electron microscopy observations combined with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy revealed the miniaturization of the a-Si film in the surface region to generate domains measuring less than a few hundred nanometers. These results suggest that delamination and miniaturization of the a-Si nanodomains from the electrode surface are partly responsible for degradation of the a-Si anode.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OBVAL, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Aim: We investigated the influence of weight change on concurrent changes in predicted cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk and individual CVD risk factors over time. Methods: A total of 2,140 ...community-dwellers aged 40–74 years participated in both 2002 and 2007 health examinations. Obesity was defined as body mass index ≥ 25 kg/m2. Weight trajectories were classified as: “stable obese” (obese at both examinations), “obese to nonobese” (obese in 2002 but nonobese in 2007), “nonobese to obese” (nonobese in 2002 but obese in 2007), or “stable nonobese” (nonobese at both examinations). We compared changes in the model-predicted risk for CVD and individual CVD risk factors across weight-change categories. Results: The predicted risk for CVD increased during 5 years in all groups; the increment in the predicted risk for CVD was smallest in the obese to nonobese participants and steepest in the nonobese to obese subjects. Compared with the stable obese participants, the obese to nonobese participants had greater favorable changes in waist circumferences, blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose, serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, serum triglycerides, and liver enzymes. For all these parameters, opposite trends were observed when comparing the nonobese to obese participants with the stable nonobese group. Conclusions: We demonstrated the favorable association of losing weight in obese people and avoiding excessive weight gain in nonobese people with global risk of future CVD and individual CVD risk factors in a real-world setting. The findings could improve behavioral lifestyle interventions that provide information on the health consequences of weight change at health checkups.
Background: The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to describe the patterns and levels of sedentary time and physical activity (PA) in a general Japanese population. Methods: A total of 1,740 ...community-dwelling Japanese adults aged ≥40 years participated in this study. Sedentary time and PA were assessed for 7 consecutive days using a tri-axial accelerometer. Daily patterns and levels of sedentary time and PA were calculated by sex, age group (40–64, 65–74, and ≥75 years), and body mass index (BMI; <25 and ≥25 kg/m2). Results: Participants spent half of their waking time being sedentary, 32.7% of which was accumulated in prolonged bouts ≥30 minutes, versus only 54.4 minutes/day (7% of waking time) as moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) (11.8 minutes/day in bouts ≥10 minutes). In addition to total sedentary time, men had longer prolonged sedentary bouts and fewer breaks per sedentary hour than women. Similar trends were observed in participants aged ≥75 years and those with a higher BMI (≥25 kg/m2) compared to those with a younger age and lower BMI. Moreover, participants aged ≥75 years and those with a higher BMI accumulated fewer MVPA minutes in bouts ≥10 minutes. Only 34.8% of the population met the recommended level of ≥150 minutes/week MVPA in bouts ≥10 minutes. Conclusion: Japanese adults accumulated a large proportion of total sedentary time in prolonged bouts but few minutes in sustained bouts of MVPA, and few of them met the current PA guideline.
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FFLJ, NUK, ODKLJ, UL, UM, UPUK
Aim: Circulating omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids may to contribute to cardiovascular health at the population level. Over a decade, we investigated changes in the serum ...eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) to arachidonic acid (AA) ratio, and in serum concentrations of the individual fatty acids, in a Japanese community. Methods: Community surveys took place in 2002–2003 and 2012–2013 in a rural area of Japan. The community surveys included 3,194 and 3,220 community dwellers aged ≥ 40 years who did not take EPA medication in 2002–2003 and 2012–2013, respectively. Fatty acid fractionations in serum were measured using a gas chromatography method. Changes in the serum EPA/AA ratio over time were examined using linear mixed models.Results: Overall, the average serum EPA/AA ratio decreased over the 10 years. A decreasing trend in the serum EPA/AA ratio occurred in all age groups except participants aged ≥ 80 years, with larger decreases in the younger age groups. A similar decline in serum EPA/AA ratio occurred in participants with and those without lipid-lowering therapy. Serum EPA concentrations were slightly increased in the whole population but remained stable or even decreased in participants aged 40–69. In contrast, the average serum AA concentrations increased in all age groups.Conclusion: In a Japanese community, the serum EPA/AA ratio decreased over 10 years at the population level, especially in middle-aged participants.
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