Aims: This 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 a Japanese ...community. Methods: A total of 3,080 participants without prior cardiovascular disease, aged 40 years or older, were followed up for 8 years. The participants were divided into the quartiles of serum sdLDL cholesterol levels. The risk estimates were computed using a Cox proportional hazards model. Results: During the follow-up period, 79 subjects developed CHD. Subjects in the highest quartile had a 5.41- fold (95% confidence interval, 2.12–13.82) higher risk of CHD than those in the lowest quartile after controlling for confounders. In the analysis classifying the participants into four groups according to the levels of serum sdLDL cholesterol and serum low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels, the risk of CHD almost doubled in subjects with sdLDL cholesterol of ≥ 32.9 mg/dL (median), regardless of serum LDL cholesterol levels, as compared with subjects with serum sdLDL cholesterol of <32.9 mg/dL and serum LDL cholesterol of <120.1 mg/dL (median). When serum sdLDL cholesterol levels were incorporated into a model with known cardiovascular risk factors, c-statistics was significantly increased (from 0.77 to 0.79; p=0.02), and the net reclassification improvement was also significant (0.40; p<0.001). Conclusions: The present findings suggest that the serum sdLDL cholesterol level is a relevant biomarker for the future development of CHD that offers benefit beyond the serum LDL cholesterol level and a possible therapeutic target to reduce the burden of CHD in a Japanese community.
Aim:To develop and validate a new risk prediction model for predicting the 10-year risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) in Japanese adults. Methods: A total of 2,454 participants ...aged 40–84 years without a history of cardiovascular disease (CVD) were prospectively followed up for 24 years. An incident ASCVD event was defined as the first occurrence of coronary heart disease or atherothrombotic brain infarction. A Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to construct the prediction model. In addition, a simplified scoring system was translated from the developed prediction model. The model performance was evaluated using Harrell’s C statistics, a calibration plot with the Greenwood-Nam-D’Agostino test, and a bootstrap validation procedure. Results: During a median of a 24-year follow-up, 270 participants experienced the first ASCVD event. The predictors of the ASCVD events in the multivariable Cox model included age, sex, systolic blood pressure, diabetes, serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, proteinuria, smoking habits, and regular exercise. The developed models exhibited good discrimination with negligible evidence of overfitting (Harrell’s C statistics: 0.786 for the multivariable model and 0.789 for the simplified score) and good calibrations (the Greenwood-Nam-D’Agostino test: P=0.29 for the multivariable model, 0.52 for the simplified score). Conclusion: We constructed a risk prediction model for the development of ASCVD in Japanese adults. This prediction model exhibits great potential as a tool for predicting the risk of ASCVD in clinical practice by enabling the identification of specific risk factors for ASCVD in individual patients.
Background: The prevalence of sarcopenia defined using the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia (AWGS) criteria in Asian communities has not been fully addressed. Moreover, few studies have addressed ...the influence of sarcopenia on mortality. Methods: A total of 1,371 and 1,597 residents aged 65 years or older participated in health surveys in 2012 and 2017. Sarcopenia was determined using the AWGS definition. Factors associated with the presence of sarcopenia were assessed using a logistic regression model in participants in the 2012 survey. Subjects in the 2012 survey were followed-up prospectively for a median of 4.3 years. Mortality risk for subjects with sarcopenia was examined using the Cox proportional hazards model. Results: The crude prevalence of sarcopenia was 7.4% and 6.6% in participants at the 2012 and 2017 surveys, respectively; there was no significant difference between surveys (P = 0.44). The prevalence of sarcopenia increased significantly with age in both sexes (both P for trend <0.001). Subjects with sarcopenia were more likely to exercise less regularly, to intake less total energy, and to exhibit a disability in activity of daily living than those without. The multivariable-adjusted hazard ratio for all-cause mortality was 2.20 (95% confidence interval, 1.25–3.85) in subjects with sarcopenia, compared to those without. Conclusions: Approximately 7% of older subjects had sarcopenia in a community-dwelling older Japanese population. Moreover, subjects with sarcopenia had an increased mortality risk. Our findings suggest that a public health strategy for sarcopenia is needed to extend healthy life expectancy.
Objectives
To clarify the effect of tooth loss on development of all‐cause dementia and its subtypes in an elderly Japanese population.
Design
Prospective cohort study.
Setting
The Hisayama Study, ...Japan.
Participants
Community‐dwelling Japanese adults without dementia aged 60 and older (N = 1,566) were followed for 5 years (2007–2012).
Measurements
Participants were classified into four categories according to baseline number of remaining teeth (≥20, 10–19, 1–9, 0). The risk estimates of the effect of tooth loss on the development of all‐cause dementia, Alzheimer's disease (AD), and vascular dementia (VaD) were computed using a Cox proportional hazards model.
Results
During follow‐up, 180 (11.5%) subjects developed all‐cause dementia; 127 (8.1%) had AD, and 42 (2.7%) had VaD. After adjusting for potential confounders, there was a tendency for the multivariable‐adjusted hazard ratio of all‐cause dementia to increase with decrease in number of remaining teeth (P for trend = .04). The risk of all‐cause dementia was 1.62 times as great in subjects with 10 to 19 teeth, 1.81 times as great in those with one to nine teeth, and 1.63 times as great in those with no teeth as in those with 20 teeth or more. An inverse association was observed between number of remaining teeth and risk of AD (P for trend = .08), but no such association was observed with risk of VaD (P for trend = .20).
Conclusion
Tooth loss is associated with an increased risk of all‐cause dementia and AD in the Japanese population.
Aims/hypothesis
Our aim was to compare the contributions of impaired beta cell function (IBF) and insulin resistance with the development of type 2 diabetes in a Japanese community.
Methods
A total ...of 2094 residents aged 40–79 years without diabetes underwent a health examination including a 75 g OGTT in 2007. Participants were divided into four groups according to the presence or absence of IBF (insulinogenic index/HOMA-IR ≤28.5) and insulin resistance (HOMA-IR ≥1.61) and were followed up for 7 years (2007–2014). Cox’s proportional hazards model was used to estimate HRs and 95% CIs for type 2 diabetes. The population attributable fractions (PAFs) due to IBF, insulin resistance, and their combination were calculated.
Results
At baseline, the prevalence of isolated IBF, isolated insulin resistance, and both IBF and insulin resistance were 5.4%, 24.1% and 9.5%, respectively. During the follow-up period, 272 participants developed type 2 diabetes. The multivariable-adjusted HRs (95% CI) and PAFs (95% CI) for type 2 diabetes were 6.3 (4.3, 9.2) and 13.3% (8.7, 17.7) in the participants with isolated IBF, 1.9 (1.3, 2.7) and 10.5% (4.0, 16.6) in those with isolated insulin resistance, and 8.0 (5.7, 11.4) and 29.3% (23.0, 35.1) in those with both IBF and insulin resistance, respectively, compared with the participants without either.
Conclusions/interpretation
The present study suggests that the combination of IBF and insulin resistance makes the main contribution to the development of type 2 diabetes in Japanese communities.
Graphical abstract
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.
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.
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.