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The aim of this study was to explore the impact of Agent Orange exposure for prostate cancer with a comparison of the prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels between a hotspot and a non-sprayed area.The study was conducted in Phu Cat district (hotspot) and Kim Bang district (non-sprayed), with a total of 101 men in the hotspot and 97 men in the non-sprayed area older than 50 years of age. About 5 mL of whole blood and a health status questionnaire were collected from each subject in August 2009-2011.The mean age of the subjects in the hotspot (68.0 years old) was significantly higher than that of those in the non-sprayed area (65.0 years old). No significant difference was found between the hotspot area (0.93 ng/mL) and the non-sprayed area (0.95 ng/mL) in terms of PSA levels. Likewise, this was not statistically significant after adjusting for age. The prevalence of high PSA levels (3 ng/mL) did not differ significantly between the hotspot (14 men; 13.9 %) and non-sprayed area (9 men; 9.3 %). No significant difference was found between the hotspot area and the non-sprayed area in terms of occupation (farmer and others). In control subjects, no significant difference was found between the PSA levels in subjects exposed to Agent Orange and non-exposed subjects. Likewise, no significant difference was found between the PSA levels of combatants and civilians.The PSA levels were not significantly different between the hotspot and the non-sprayed area.

Nearly 40 years after Agent Orange was last sprayed, we conducted a cross-sectional study to evaluate the impact of dioxin exposure on salivary hormones in Vietnamese primiparae. Our previous studies found higher levels of salivary cortisol and cortisone in one of the most highly dioxin-contaminated areas, known as a “hot-spot”, than in a non-exposed area. As a result, we suggested that further research with a larger number of participants would be needed to confirm whether dioxin affects steroid hormone levels in Vietnamese primiparae. The concentration of steroid hormones in saliva was determined by liquid chromatography (electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry), whereas the concentrations of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and dibenzofurans (PCDFs) in breast milk were determined by gas chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry, for a sample of the population from a “hot-spot” (n = 16) and a non-exposed area (n = 10). All subjects were aged between 20 and 30 years and had children aged between 4 and 16 weeks. The mean toxic equivalence of PCDDs, PCDFs and PCDDs + PCDFs in breast milk in the hot-spot area was found to be significantly higher than in the non-exposed area (p

The American–Vietnam War ended over 35 years ago, but dioxins still remain in human tissue and Vietnam’s environment. The main objective of this study was to assess the correlation between dioxin concentration in soil, sediment and breast milk in one of the areas sprayed with herbicide, namely Cam Chinh commune, Quang Tri province, using a geographic information system (GIS). The concentration of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) in soil, sediment and breast milk samples was determined and the data analyzed using the geostatistical log-normal Kriging algorithm. The mean dioxin levels in soil and breast milk in the sprayed area were significantly higher than those in the non-sprayed area. The distribution pattern of PCDDs and PCDFs in soil was different, and there were no significant correlations between the estimated dioxin levels in soil obtained by the Kriging method and those in breast milk. The possibility remains that another exposure route, such as exposure to herbicides used during the Vietnam War, might affect dioxin levels in breast milk, although more soil data are needed to make more reliable geographical estimations.

Maternal exposure to dioxins [polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and dibenzofurans (DFs)] during pregnancy is known to affect infant growth and neurodevelopment in humans and animals. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between newborn size and the concentration of dioxin isomers in breast milk and to subsequently evaluate the potential toxicity of each dioxin isomer among mothers living in sea coast areas who are at a high risk of contamination due to a high consumption of fish.A total of 75 milk samples were obtained within 1 month of delivery from Japanese mothers living in the coastal areas of the Japan Sea. The relationships between the levels of seven dioxins and ten furan isomers in maternal breast milk, measured by high-resolution-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, and the birth size of newborns, which is related to fetal growth, were investigated after adjustment for confounding factors.The concentrations of 1,2,3,6,7,8-HxCDD (hexachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin), 2,3,4,7,8-PeCDF (pentachlorodibenzofuran), 2,3,4,6,7,8-HxCDF, and three dioxin toxic equivalent (TEQ) levels (PCDDs-TEQ, PCDFs-TEQ, and total-TEQ) in maternal breast milk were inversely correlated to newborn length even after adjustment for gestational weeks, infant sex, and maternal age and height. These isomers were abundant among the 17 isomers tested and reflected the TEQ levels. Only 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (2,3,7,8-TCDD), the most toxic isomer, was negatively correlated with newborn head circumference, even after adjustment for gestational weeks, infant birth weight, and other confounding factors.Based on our results, fetal growth may be influenced by maternal total exposure to dioxins, but only exposure to 2,3,7,8-TCDD would appear to possibly affect fetal head size during pregnancy.

To clarify the methodological issues for the High-risk and population Strategy for Occupational Health Promotion Study (HIPOP-OHP study), which is a 4-year non-randomized control trial, an interim assessment of male participants was performed 3 years after the baseline survey.We had approximately 2,500 and 4,000 participants in the intervention and control groups, respectively. The population measures and prevalence of risk factors at each year, and between the baseline and 4th examinations were compared between the two groups. The personal trends of returning participants who were in the study at the 1(st) and 4(th) examinations were also evaluated.During the 3 years, an increase in serum HDL cholesterol (2.7 mg/dl), and a reduction in the prevalence of hypertriglycemia detected with fasting blood samples (3.6%) and current smokers (5.4%) were observed in the intervention group. The mean HDL cholesterol level was significantly higher in the intervention group than in the control group at the 4th examination, reversed from the baseline survey. The serum non-HDL cholesterol level was significantly increased only in the control group. There was also a significant increase in the prevalence of hypertriglycemia nad high plasma glucose detected with fasting blood samples in the control group. The return participation rate after 3 years was 72.2% for the intervention group and 74.9% for the control group. The above-mentioned changes for risk factors were mainly due to returning participants at each examination.These interventional methods may be effective in improving overall cardiovascular risk factors in the population. However, the low return participation rate will dilute the effect of the intervention.

The INTERMAP Study is an international cooperative study on the relationship between macro- and micro-nutrient intakes and blood pressure. The present study-ancillary to INTERMAP-is to evaluate validity of the INTERMAP Tables of Food Composition in Japan (ITJ) formulated by modifying the Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan (STJ), including factoring in changes in weight and nutrient composition of individual foods due to cooking.With chemical analytical values of 96 meals prepared in two university hospitals in Japan as the "gold standard", validity of calculated values based on the ITJ was examined for six major components (energy, protein, lipid, carbohydrate, sodium, potassium) by comparison of mean values, correlation, and linear regression analysis.Although both the ITJ-based and STJ-based calculated values for all six components were significantly higher than the analytical values, differences from the analytical values were generally less marked for the ITJ-based values than for the STJ-based values. The STJ-based values were significantly higher than the ITJ-based values for protein and potassium. Analytical values showed slightly stronger correlations with the ITJ-based calculated values (r=0.876 for total energy, r=0.789 for lipid, r=0.832 for potassium) than with the STJ-based calculated values, except for carbohydrates.The ITJ was considered to have greater validity than the STJ. To obtain more accaurate data in nutritional surveys, food composition tables in which changes in nutrient compositions due to cooking methods are taken into consideration should be used.

Hypertension is one of the major risk factors for cardiovascular disease, the prevention of which is acknowledged to be critically important. Human beings are the only animal species which consume large quantities of salt, and their consumption has increased with the advancement of civilization. Many observational and interventional epidemiologic studies have demonstrated that a high intake of salt results in elevation of blood pressure, and that a salt-reduced diet induces blood pressure reduction in patients with hypertension as well as in individuals with normal blood pressure. Reduced salt intake, blood pressure reduction, and a remarkable decrease in mortality due to stroke in Japan are important examples of this effect. A decrease in the mean blood pressure in an entire population can contribute significantly to decreased incidence of cardiovascular diseases. A population-based strategy for preventing hypertension, including a salt-reduced diet, is therefore desirable. Proposed measures include public health education by the mass media, reduced salt content in processed foods, salt reduction in foods served by schools or organizations and at restaurants, and labeling of salt content. Further studies are needed of population-wide salt reduction methods, and the effectiveness of such methods.

All residents aged 40 years or more in Oyabe City, Toyama Prefecture, Japan were involved in an annual medical check-up between 1987 and 1988. The cohort was followed and death certificates from cancers were confirmed prospectively. During follow-up to December 31 st, 1994, 100 deaths (28 gastric, 17 lung and 55 other cancers) from cancers occurred, and these subjects were included in this study as the case group. Subjects in the control group, matched for gender and age with the cases, were selected randomly from participants whose serum samples had been stocked during annual medical check-up. The concentration of serum thiocyanate in all (79.8 μmol/l), gastric (86.7 μmol/l) and lung (90.0 μmol/l) cancer patients were significantly higher than that of relevant controls (64.3 μmol/l, 59.0 μmol/l and 61.0 μmol/l, respectively; and p

To clarify the effect of environmental cadmium (Cd) exposure on the life prognosis of inhabitants living in a Cd-polluted area, the standardized mortality ratio (SMR) according to cause of death in urinary β 2-microglobulin (β2-MG)-positive subjects (≥1000 μg/gCr) was compared to that of the Japanese general population and β2-MG-negative subjects (β 1000 μg/gCr).The SMR for all causes of death of both sexes was higher than that of the Japanese general population and β 2-MG-negative subjects. Among women, the SMR for malignant neoplasms was higher than that of β 2-MG-negative subjects. For cardiovascular disease and cerebrovascular disease, especially heart failure and cerebral infarction, SMRs were significantly higher in both sexes. The SMR for renal diseases was significantly high in the men and tended to be high in the women.These results suggest that the prognosis of urinary β 2-MG-positive subjects with Cd-induced renal tubular dysfunction is unfavorable, with higher mortality rates due to renal diseases, cerebral infarction and heart failure contributing to this. Although the increase of the mortality rate was slight, Cd might affect cancer mortality in women.