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The study aimed to investigate frailty among elderly fitness club users by comparing them with the elderly local population. The subjects were 273 fitness club members aged 65 or above and 224 local residents. The methods used were questionnaire and evaluation of physical and oral function. The Mantel-Haenszel test was applied separately to the groups of younger senior citizens (65-74) and older senior citizens (75+) using sex as a stratifying factor, and binomial logistic regression analysis was applied to the all subjects and separately to the younger and older senior groups. The Mantel-Haenszel test for the senior citizens indicated that tendency to frailty and extent of deterioration in the ability to stand on one leg with the eyes open were significantly lower in fitness club members. The regression analysis showed that the extent of deterioration in the one-leg test was lower among fitness club members in all groups (odds ratio 0.329) and that older senior club members had a lower endency to frailty (odds ratio 0.325). As usership of fitness clubs among the elderly is increasing, these clubs would seem to have a major role in frailty prevention.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of an intervention for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) on COPD awareness in a regional city in Japan.Methods Self-administered questionnaires were completed by the residents of the city of Matsuura, Japan. Residents (?50 years) of the mainland in Matsuura were included in a COPD intervention project (mainland group), while residents of the islands district received no intervention due to geographical issues (island group). The rates of COPD awareness and accuracy of responses to the questions about COPD were compared between the two groups.Materials: The study included 5,891 residents 40 to 74 years of age of Matsuura in 2013. The mainland group comprised 4,419 subjects, and the island group 1,472 included subjects.Results: The overall response rate to the questionnaire was 24.6%, with similar response rates between the two groups. The rate of COPD awareness in the mainland group was 24.5%, which was significantly higher than that observed in the island group (11.8%) (p

Air pollution due to industrial waste and tobacco smoke is detrimental to pulmonary function. However, the combined effects of air pollution and smoking on pulmonary function have not been investigated. We examined the combined effect of air pollution of 40 years ago and concurrent smoking on the pulmonary function of officially acknowledged female victims in Japan, because females are more susceptible to the adverse effects of both irritants than males. The subjects comprised 655 female victims living in one of two areas with air pollution of 40 years ago and 572 females living in an area without air pollution. All victims have been prescribed standard respiratory medications. Pulmonary function was measured in 2000 for air-pollution groups (130 smokers and 525 non-smokers; mean age, 68.4 years) and during the period of 2004 to 2013 for non-air-pollution groups (113 smokers and 459 non-smokers; mean age, 69.0 years). The smokers included both current smokers and ex-smokers. The victims with a history of smoking had significantly lower forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1% predicted) (mean, 74%) and significantly lower FEV1/forced vital capacity (FVC) (mean, 70%) than the other groups (P < 0.001). Thus, smoking aggravates the pulmonary function in officially acknowledged female victims, despite the improved air pollution and the continuous medical care provided by the government. In conclusion, exposure to air pollution of 40 years ago and cigarette smoking are associated with reduced pulmonary function. These results highlight the importance of measures aimed at smoking cessation and limiting air pollution.

Objective To investigate whether chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) screening that combines screening with questionnaires and pulmonary function testing is a useful method for the early detection of COPD. Methods A total of 3,367 subjects over 50 years of age underwent COPD screening. Two thousand five hundred and seventy-two of these subjects underwent "Ningen Dock" (a Japanese-English term for annual health checkup) examinations, regularly-scheduled checkups or screenings in outpatient clinics. Of these subjects, 795 lived in one city and one town in Nagasaki Prefecture and exhibited a score of at least 5 points on the Eleven-item pre-interview questionnaire (11-Q). The prevalence of airflow limitation in each type of examination was calculated for each gender, and the odds ratios of airflow limitation with each type of examination were obtained using the subjects who underwent "Ningen Dock" examinations as the reference group. Results The COPD prevalence was 6.5% in the "Ningen Dock" group (7.9% men, 1.8% women), 5.8% in the regularly-scheduled checkup group (7.4% men, 4.1% women), 9.8% in the screening in outpatient clinics group (12.1% men, 7.2% women) and 22.3% in the COPD screening group (31.1% men, 8.1% women), with the COPD screening group showing the highest prevalence. The odds ratios of the COPD prevalence confirmed that COPD screening is more effective for identifying airflow limitation than other types of examinations. Conclusion Conducting COPD screening with questionnaires and pulmonary function testing among the general population is a useful examination method for the early detection and treatment of COPD.