The food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) has been used throughout the world for epidemiological purposes. Because dietary habits vary greatly, the FFQ must be tailored for use with specific ...populations. The usefulness of FFQs in Japan was assessed by reviewing questionnaires developed and validated in that country.
A literature search was conducted to identify articles on the development and/or validation of FFQs for Japanese populations. For each FFQ identified, validation studies were used to abstract its characteristics and information. The correlation coefficients between diet records (DRs) and FFQ estimates and those between the same FFQs completed twice were used to evaluate validity and reproducibility, respectively, of the questionnaires.
Twenty-one eligible FFQs were identified. They were found to be reasonably valid and reproducible. The median of correlation coefficients between DRs and FFQs ranged from 0.31 to 0.56 for target nutrients, and that between the same FFQs completed twice within a period of 9 months to 1 year ranged from 0.50 to 0.72. Relatively poor validity was found for FFQ estimates on consumption of potatoes, seaweed, sodium, niacin, and polyunsaturated fatty acids. For the purpose of analysis, FFQs were divided into long FFQs (97 or more food items) and short FFQs (<70 items); the former had slightly higher validity.
FFQs are useful for assessing dietary intake in Japan, although careful consideration is required for the food groups and nutrients for which FFQs had low validity.
A nationwide survey of 4325 dialysis facilities was conducted at the end of 2013, among which 4268 (98.7%) responded. The number of new dialysis patients was 38 095 in 2013. Since 2008, the number of ...new dialysis patients has remained almost the same without any marked increase or decrease. The number of dialysis patients who died in 2013 was 30 751. The dialysis patient population has been growing every year in Japan; it was 314 438 at the end of 2013. The number of dialysis patients per million at the end of 2013 was 2470. The crude death rate of dialysis patients in 2013 was 9.8%. The mean age of new dialysis patients was 68.7 years and the mean age of the entire dialysis patient population was 67.2 years. The most common primary cause of renal failure among new dialysis patients was diabetic nephropathy (43.8%). The actual number of new dialysis patients with diabetic nephropathy has almost been unchanged for the last few years. Diabetic nephropathy was also the most common primary disease among the entire dialysis patient population (37.6%), followed by chronic glomerulonephritis (32.4%). The percentage of dialysis patients with diabetic nephropathy has been increasing continuously, whereas the percentage of dialysis patients with chronic glomerulonephritis has been decreasing. The number of patients who underwent hemodiafiltration (HDF) at the end of 2013 was 31 371, a marked increase from that in 2012. This number is more than twice that at the end of 2011 and approximately 1.5 times the number at the end of 2012. In particular, the number of patients who underwent online HDF increased approximately fivefold over the last 2 years. Among 151 426 dialysis patients with primary causes of renal failure other than diabetic nephropathy, 10.8% had a history of diabetes. Among those with a history of diabetes, 26.8% used glycoalbumin as an indicator of blood glucose level; and 33.0 and 27.6% were administered insulin and dipeptidyl peptidase (DPP)–4 inhibitor, respectively, as a medication of diabetes. The facility survey showed that 9392 patients underwent peritoneal dialysis (PD). The patient survey revealed that 1920 of these PD patients also underwent another dialysis method using extracorporeal circulation, such as hemodialysis (HD) or HDF. The number of patients who underwent HD at home at the end of 2013 was 461, a marked increase from that at the end of 2012 (393).
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Abstract
We examined whether secondhand smoke exposure during childhood was associated with cancer mortality in adulthood among never smokers. In the Japan Collaborative Cohort Study for Evaluation ...of Cancer Risk, we analyzed data from 45,722 Japanese lifetime nonsmokers aged 40–79 years with no history of cancer at baseline (1988–1990) who had completed a lifestyle questionnaire, including information on the number of family members who had smoked at home during their childhood (0, 1, 2, or ≥3 family members). A Cox proportional hazards model and competing-risks regression were used to calculate multivariable hazard ratios and subdistribution hazard ratios with 95% confidence intervals for overall and site-specific cancer mortality according to the number of family members who smoked during the participant’s childhood, after adjusting for potentially confounding factors. During a median follow-up period of 19.2 years, a total of 2,356 cancer deaths were documented. Secondhand smoke exposure was positively associated with the risk of mortality from pancreatic cancer in adulthood; the multivariable hazard ratio for having 3 or more family members who smoked (as compared with none) was 2.32 (95% confidence interval: 1.14, 4.72). Associations were not evident for total cancer risk or risk of other types of smoking-related cancer. In this study, secondhand smoke exposure during childhood was associated with an increased risk of pancreatic cancer mortality in adulthood.
The overwhelming majority of participants in current genetic studies are of European ancestry. To elucidate disease biology in the East Asian population, we conducted a genome-wide association study ...(GWAS) with 212,453 Japanese individuals across 42 diseases. We detected 320 independent signals in 276 loci for 27 diseases, with 25 novel loci (P < 9.58 × 10
). East Asian-specific missense variants were identified as candidate causal variants for three novel loci, and we successfully replicated two of them by analyzing independent Japanese cohorts; p.R220W of ATG16L2 (associated with coronary artery disease) and p.V326A of POT1 (associated with lung cancer). We further investigated enrichment of heritability within 2,868 annotations of genome-wide transcription factor occupancy, and identified 378 significant enrichments across nine diseases (false discovery rate < 0.05) (for example, NKX3-1 for prostate cancer). This large-scale GWAS in a Japanese population provides insights into the etiology of complex diseases and highlights the importance of performing GWAS in non-European populations.
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FZAB, GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Systematic evaluation of the association between secondhand smoke exposure and lung cancer in Japan has yet to be conducted. Here, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of the ...relationship between secondhand smoke and lung cancer in Japanese non-smokers.
Relevant studies were collected from the MEDLINE and Ichushi Web databases using a combination of search terms and Medical Subject Headings. Eligible studies were identified, and relative risks or odds ratios were extracted to calculate pooled risk estimates. This procedure was performed independently by at least two authors. Stratified analyses were carried out according to study design, publication year, and whether or not potential confounding variables were accounted for. The presence of publication bias was assessed via funnel plots.
We identified four cohort studies and five case-control studies. Quantitative synthesis was conducted only for secondhand smoke exposure in the home during adulthood. Of the 12 populations included in meta-analysis, positive secondhand smoke exposure-lung cancer associations were observed in 11, whereas an inverse association was found in the remaining 1. The pooled relative risk of lung cancer associated with secondhand smoke exposure was 1.28 (95% confidence interval: 1.10-1.48). We found no evidence of publication bias, and a significant association remained even when potentially missing studies were included (pooled relative risk: 1.26; 95% confidence interval: 1.09-1.46). The results were stable across different subgroup analyses, including by study design, publication year, and when adjusting for confounding variables.
Secondhand smoke exposure in the home during adulthood results in a statistically significant increase in the risk of lung cancer.
The coverage technique using absorbable mesh was first described in a European guideline published in 2015 as a preventive method for the recurrence of spontaneous pneumothorax. We performed a ...meta-analysis based on a literature search of primary studies that compared the postoperative recurrence rate of primary spontaneous pneumothorax between the use and nonuse of polyglycolic acid sheet coverage. Two reviewers independently selected and evaluated the quality of the relevant studies. The risk ratio in each study was calculated in a random-effect meta-analysis. Statistical heterogeneity among the included studies was quantitatively evaluated using the I
index, and publication bias was assessed using a funnel plot. A total of 19 retrospective cohort studies were analyzed: 1524 patients who underwent wedge resection alone (the control group) and 1579 who received additional sheet coverage. Polyglycolic acid sheet coverage was associated with a lower recurrence rate than that in the control group (risk ratio: 0.27, 95% confidence interval 0.20-0.37, P < 0.001; I
0%). The funnel plot suggested possible publication bias. The covering technique reduced the recurrence rate of pneumothorax after thoracoscopic surgery to one-fourth.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Few studies have reported the association between the Japanese diet as food score and mortality. This study aimed to investigate adherence to the Japanese food score associated with all-cause, CVD ...and cancer mortality. A total of 58,767 (23,162 men and 35,605 women) Japanese participants aged 40-79 years, who enrolled in the Japan Collaborative Cohort Study between 1988 and 1990, were included. The Japanese food score was derived from the components of seven food groups (beans and bean products, fresh fishes, vegetables, Japanese pickles, fungi, seaweeds and fruits) based on the FFQ. The total score ranged from 0 to 7, and participants were divided into five categories based on scores (0-2, 3, 4, 5 and 6-7). Hazard ratios (HR) and 95 % CI for all-cause, CVD and cancer mortality based on sex were estimated using Cox proportional models. During the follow-up period until 2009, 11 692 participants with all-cause, 3408 with CVD and 4247 with cancer died. The multivariable HR in the 6-7 and 0-2 Japanese food score groups were 0·93 (95 % CI 0·86, 1·01) in men and 0·82 (95 % CI 0·75, 0·90) in women for all-cause mortality and 0·89 (95 % CI 0·76, 1·04) in men and 0·66 (95 % CI 0·56, 0·77) in women for CVD mortality. Our findings suggest that adherence to the Japanese food score consisting of food combinations characterised by a Japanese diet may help in preventing all-cause and CVD mortality, especially in women.
Primary prevention of premature death is a public health concern worldwide. Circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) have been described as potential diagnostic biomarkers for diseases as cancer and ...cardiovascular disease (CVD). This case-cohort study aimed to investigate the potential relationship between circulating miRNAs and the risk of premature death. A total of 39,242 subjects provided baseline serum samples in 1988-1990. Of these, 345 subjects who died of intrinsic disease (< 65 years old) and for which measurable samples were available were included in this study. We randomly selected a sub-cohort of 879 subjects. Circulatring miR-21, miR-29a, and miR-126 were determined using qRT-PCR. Conditional logistic regression models were used to analyse the data with respect to stratified miRNA levels. Multivariable logistic regression revealed that subjects with high circulating miR-21 and miR-29a individual levels had a significantly higher risk of total death, cancer death, and CVD death than those with medium miR-21 and miR-29a individual levels. Conversely, subjects with low circulating miR-126 levels had a significantly higher risk of total death than those with medium levels. This suggests that circulating miRNAs are associated with the risk of premature death from cancer and CVD, identifying them as potential biomarkers for early detection of high-risk individuals.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
To understand the genetics of type 2 diabetes in people of Japanese ancestry, we conducted A meta-analysis of four genome-wide association studies (GWAS; 36,614 cases and 155,150 controls of Japanese ...ancestry). We identified 88 type 2 diabetes-associated loci (P < 5.0 × 10
) with 115 independent signals (P < 5.0 × 10
), of which 28 loci with 30 signals were novel. Twenty-eight missense variants were in linkage disequilibrium (r
> 0.6) with the lead variants. Among the 28 missense variants, three previously unreported variants had distinct minor allele frequency (MAF) spectra between people of Japanese and European ancestry (MAF
> 0.05 versus MAF
< 0.01), including missense variants in genes related to pancreatic acinar cells (GP2) and insulin secretion (GLP1R). Transethnic comparisons of the molecular pathways identified from the GWAS results highlight both ethnically shared and heterogeneous effects of a series of pathways on type 2 diabetes (for example, monogenic diabetes and beta cells).
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Abstract
Primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) is the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide for which 15 disease-associated loci had been discovered. Among them, only 5 loci have been ...associated with POAG in Asians. We carried out a genome-wide association study and a replication study that included a total of 7378 POAG cases and 36 385 controls from a Japanese population. After combining the genome-wide association study and the two replication sets, we identified 11 POAG-associated loci, including 4 known (CDKN2B-AS1, ABCA1, SIX6 and AFAP1) and 7 novel loci (FNDC3B, ANKRD55-MAP3K1, LMX1B, LHPP, HMGA2, MEIS2 and LOXL1) at a genome-wide significance level (P < 5.0×10−8), bringing the total number of POAG-susceptibility loci to 22. The 7 novel variants were subsequently evaluated in a multiethnic population comprising non-Japanese East Asians (1008 cases, 591 controls), Europeans (5008 cases, 35 472 controls) and Africans (2341 cases, 2037 controls). The candidate genes located within the new loci were related to ocular development (LMX1B, HMGA2 and MAP3K1) and glaucoma-related phenotypes (FNDC3B, LMX1B and LOXL1). Pathway analysis suggested epidermal growth factor receptor signaling might be involved in POAG pathogenesis. Genetic correlation analysis revealed the relationships between POAG and systemic diseases, including type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. These results improve our understanding of the genetic factors that affect the risk of developing POAG and provide new insight into the genetic architecture of POAG in Asians.
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