Search

Background: In many advanced countries other than Japan, the incidence and mortality rates of cervical cancer, which is mainly caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, are decreasing probably due to the high rate of HPV vaccination and cervical cancer screening. In Japan, these rates are on the rise owing to the stagnation of vaccination and low screening rate. To improve these situations, active promotion of HPV vaccination and screening is required. As a preliminary stage, we investigated perceptions regarding cervical cancer and HPV vaccines among Japanese men and women and examined the difference in perceptions by sex., Methods: This was a prospective cross-sectional questionnaire survey targeting Sojo University students and working adults. University students were targeted before learning about cervical cancer. Working adults were recruited on the basis of information from the Health Promotion of Health and Welfare Department of Kumamoto Prefectural Government in Japan and from companies via student organizations promoting cancer prevention. We surveyed respondents' knowledge and awareness about HPV vaccination and cervical cancer and performed logistic regression analysis to compare the results between men and women., Result: A total of 557 completed questionnaires (205 men and 352 women) were analyzed. Women had high levels of knowledge and awareness about HPV vaccination and cervical cancer compared with men. However, 70% of women surveyed had never been screened for cervical cancer., Conclusion: A total of 557 completed questionnaires (205 men and 352 women) were analyzed. Women had high levels of knowledge and awareness about HPV vaccination and cervical cancer compared with men. However, among surveyed women, the degree of knowledge and awareness was lower than that among women in other countries with established HPV vaccination programs. Furthermore, 70% of women surveyed had never been screened for cervical cancer.

Few previous reports have comprehensively screened all the anti-myocardial autoantibodies (AMCA) in relation to other clinical profiles in patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (IDC), so the present study used both immunohistochemistry (FITC) and immunoblotting (IB) for screening patients with IDC in order to characterize the clinical significance of AMCA. Sera were collected from 100 patients with IDC and age-matched 100 healthy control subjects (CTL). For FITC, an unfixed frozen section of human myocardium was used for the standard indirect immunofluorescence; for IB, total cardiac homogenates of the same myocardium were blotted to serum at 2 sets of dilution (1:200 and 1:10,000). The positive rates of AMCA detection for each method were as follows (IDC vs CTL); 39% vs 6% for FITC, 38% vs 4% for IB (1:200), and 10% vs 0% for IB (1:10,000). Fifty-nine patients with IDC and 8 CTL were positive for AMCA by either method, and 18 patients with IDC and 2 CTL were positive for AMCA by both methods. IB-positivity at 1:200 was an independent predictor by multiple logistic regression analysis of non-sustained ventricular tachycardias as well as left ventricular end-diastolic diameter and plasma norepinephrine concentration.

Between October 1981 and September 1989, 564 patients admitted to the Department of Psychiatry of the Hospital of Oita Medical University received antipsychotic treatment. Ten (1.8%) of these patients developed neuroleptic malignant syndrome. This incidence is significantly greater than that reported in a group of other studies (27/17,811, 0.2%). We compared the characteristics of this sample with known risk factors for neuroleptic malignant syndrome. It is possible that Japanese people are at an increased risk for developing neuroleptic malignant syndrome. Psychomotor excitement, refusal of food, a weight loss of greater than 1 kg per week and oral administration of haloperidol at 15 mg/day or above were found to be risk factors for developing the neuroleptic malignant syndrome.

In a national random-sample survey, the views of 1,069 practicing clinicians, including internists, surgeons and psychiatrists, on panic disorder were surveyed by using a series of questionnaires. In spite of a high rate of clinical experience and agreements on the symptoms among clinicians, the nature of this disorder, such as a common descriptive diagnosis, and the preferred treatment have not been agreed upon by the Japanese medical community. Furthermore, respondents were questioned as to the preferred treatment for panic disorder, but no treatment was regarded as critical by a majority of clinicians. It is concluded that because of the high potential patient population with panic disorder, clinical research that will provide more adequate diagnosis and treatment for this disorder is necessary in Japan.

A long-term prognosis and outcome study of elderly hypertensives (aged 60 years or over) was made based on the 20-year prospective population survey conducted in a Japanese rural community (Hisayama) and the results were compared with those for younger subjects (aged 40-59 years). The risk of cardiovascular mortality related to blood pressure level increased with the elevation of either systolic or diastolic pressure in both younger and elderly groups. Cardiovascular mortality increased markedly at a systolic pressure of greater than or equal to 160 mmHg, or a diastolic pressure of greater than or equal to 100 mmHg for those aged 40-59 years. There was no cut-off level for increased risk of cardiovascular mortality for either systolic or diastolic pressures for those aged 60 years or over. Stroke mortality was seven times higher in systolic, and 10 times higher in diastolic hypertensives than in normotensives (P less than 0.01) for the group aged 40-59 years. However, deaths due to stroke and heart disease were more frequently associated with borderline (relative risk 2.3 and 2.3, respectively; P less than 0.01), systolic (relative risk 3.2 and 3.7, respectively; P less than 0.01) and diastolic hypertension (relative risk 2.1 and 4.8, respectively; P less than 0.01), compared to normotension for those aged 60 years or over. Intracerebral hemorrhage and cerebral infarction occurred more frequently in diastolic hypertensives for both young (relative risk 9.8 and 4.8, respectively; P less than 0.01) and elderly subjects (relative risk 3.4 and 1.5, respectively; P less than 0.01) than in normotensives.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Major categorical diagnosis by International Classification of Diseases and type-specific diagnosis for cardiovascular diseases in death certificates were compared to the diagnosis made at autopsy in 864 consecutive autopsy cases aged 20 or over, among the Japanese residents in Hisayama town. Cerebral stroke was correctly diagnosed in 84%, malignant neoplasms in 78% and cardiac disease in 66%. Cerebral stroke and cardiac disease tended to be overdiagnosed, while malignant neoplasms were underdiagnosed. The validation of certified diagnosis was less reliable in the aged population, and in type-specific diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases. Cerebral hemorrhage with false negative or false positive diagnoses was usually classified into type unspecified stroke or different categories of cerebral stroke, while those misdiagnosed as cases of cerebral infarction frequently had no significant lesions in the autopsied brain. Finally, the relationship between the validation of diagnosis on the death certificates and the secular trend in cardiovascular disease in the Japanese vital statistics was discussed.

To elucidate the incidence of severe disability due to cerebral stroke and its related factors, prospective data of 1,621 Hisayama residents aged 40 and over were examined. Severe disability resulting from stroke was defined as patients who were unable to dress, take care of their toilet needs, and feed themselves without assistance, or who required a wheel chair for ambulation three months after the most recent episode. During 20 years of follow-up 255 stroke patients were observed among the sample population. The annual incidence of stroke per thousand was 9.8, and rate of severe disability was 2.8 for men and 6.4 and 2.0 for women, respectively. Of the 74 cases with severe disability, approximately 92% were attributed to cerebral infarction. Related factors to severe disability due to cerebral infarction were recurrent attacks, hypertension, changes in ocular fundi and diabetes mellitus among predispositions and quadriplegia or muscular contraction, and intelligent or mental disorders among inhibiting factors for functional recovery. Furthermore, in 59 autopsy cases with multiple cerebral infarctions, the frequency of disability increased as the number of infarcts increased. Hypertension and diabetes mellitus, as risk factors for cerebral infarction and factors inhibiting post-ictal functional recovery were discussed.

Long-term prognosis of borderline hypertensives was studied in a prospective population survey carried on since 1961 in the town of Hisayama, Japan. Five consecutive BP recordings on 1621 subjects aged 40 and over were obtained at entry, and the variability in BP between the first and fifth readings was taken into account when classifying the subject into categorical groups. Even with an estimated variability in BP in several measurements on one occasion, a large fluctuation in BP was observed in both the borderline hypertensives and the normotensives. Borderline hypertensives with a transient elevation in BP more frequently died from cardiovascular disease than did those without BP elevation, as estimated by the long-term cumulative mortality. However, there was no difference in the frequency of hypertension-related organ damage between these two groups at entry.

The incidence of intracerebral hemorrhage over 13 years is compared between two Hisayama cohorts. Among men aged 40 years or older, the annual incidence declined significantly from 3.1/1,000 in the early cohort (1961-1970) to 1.2/1,000 in the recent cohort (1974-1983). Massive ganglionic hemorrhage decreased, while small or medium-sized intracerebral hemorrhage increased in the recent cohort on pathologic or computed tomographic examination. These trends could be due to the reduced prevalence of hypertension in the Hisayama population. The association of serum total cholesterol with intracerebral hemorrhage is discussed based on the results during a 22-year follow-up period.

Blood pressures (BPs) were measured with standardized sphygmomanometers in 434 Japanese boys and girls living in the town of Hisayama. Simultaneously, data on pulse rate, weight and height were obtained. Out of the original 434 subjects, data were obtained repeatedly for 5 years in 280 subjects. BP levels were significantly correlated with weight in those aged 14-15 and also 19-20 years, but correlation coefficients were small. During the 5-year period, the mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP & DBP) increased significantly in both sexes, but the increments were greater in boys. Both SBP and DBP at 14-15 years of age were significantly correlated with data taken 5 years later for both sexes, and subjects with a higher initial BP (more than 90th percentile of the distribution) tended to have a higher BP after 5 years. SBPs after 5 years were independently correlated with initial SBP levels and changes in QI (D-QI) in both sexes. On the other hand, DBPs after 5 years were independently correlated with initial DBP levels and height for boys, and initial DBP levels and D-QI for girls.

To elucidate the relation of hematocrit (Hct) to the incidence of cerebral infarction, a prospective follow-up study of 16 years (1965-81) was performed in a general population sample of 1220 Hisayama residents aged 44 and over, of both sexes. Most of the subjects who died during the follow-up period were autopsied, the rate being 89.0%. Hct decreased with advancing age in men, but not in women. The average value for Hct was significantly lower in women than in men. According to the mean value +/- 1 SD of Hct, the subjects were grouped into 3, in each sex as follows: low (less than 35%), normal (35-45%) and high (greater than or equal to 45%) for men, and, low (less than 30%), normal (30-40%) and high (greater than or equal to 40%) for women. During the follow-up period, cerebral infarction occurred in 117 patients. The cumulative incidence of cerebral infarction in the low Hct group for men was the lowest, even after adjustments for age and blood pressure. Conversely, the incidence in the low Hct group of women was significantly higher than that in the normal Hct group and was consistently increased with time during 2-5 years of the follow-up. After the 6th year or later, however, the incidence was gradually but significantly increased in the high Hct group, compared with the normal Hct group. Since Hct levels were related with other variables such as serum total cholesterol, serum total protein, Quetelet index and prevalence of hypertension in both sexes, heavy alcohol consumption in men, and glucose intolerance in women, such variables were taken into account using Cox's proportional hazards regression model.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)