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Obesity and exercise are important elements associated with lifestyle-related diseases, and studies suggested that these factors may also be related to periodontitis. This study investigates the relationship between obesity and physical fitness and periodontitis.One thousand, one hundred and sixty Japanese subjects, aged 20 to 77 years, who participated in health examinations at Fukuoka Health Promotion Center were analyzed. Periodontal conditions were evaluated using the Community Periodontal Index (CPI), and subjects withor =3 sextants of CPI code 3 or 4 were defined as having severe periodontitis. We used the body mass index (BMI) and percentage of body fat as indicators of obesity and estimated the maximal oxygen consumption (VO(2max)) during exercise as an indicator of physical fitness. We divided these variables into quintiles. We examined the single effect and interactions of the obesity index and VO(2max) on severe periodontitis.The lowest quintile in BMI and the highest quintile in VO(2max) were inversely associated with severe periodontitis, singly, in multivariate logistic regression analyses. Subjects with the combined lowest quintile in BMI and the highest quintile in VO(2max) had a significantly lower risk of severe periodontitis compared to subjects with other combined quintiles in BMI and in VO(2max) (odds ratio: 0.17; 95% confidence interval: 0.05 to 0.55).This study suggests that obesity and physical fitness may have some interactive effect on periodontal health status.

To measure whole body fat accurately, the dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) is widely utilized. Simultaneously, bone mineral density (BMD) of the whole body can also be measured. BMD is one of important information to diagnose osteoporosis. However, it is not established to use whole body BMD for this diagnosis. It is recommended that lumbar and/or hip BMD should be used for diagnosing osteoporosis by the guideline for prevention and treatment of osteoporosis. Although it is possible to measure whole body BMD and lumbar and/or hip BMD separately at the same visit, it is inevitable to expose patients to more X-ray. Therefore, an aim of this study is to elucidate the relationship between whole body BMD and lumbar BMD to find the cut off point of whole body BMD for screening of osteoporosis. Two hundred and thirty six Japanese adult females were ascertained to this study. Whole body BMD and lumbar BMD of each subject were measured with the use of Delphi W (Hologic, USA). One hundred and sixty five subjects were judged as possible osteoporosis (less than 80% of young adult mean (YAM) of lumbar BMD and/or definite fracture of lumbar vertebras). The cut off point of whole body BMD for screening possible osteoporosis was estimated by receiver operated characteristic (ROS) analysis. The cut off point of whole body BMD was 84% of YAM, equivalent to 80% of YAM of lumbar BMD, with the following sensitivity and specificity (0.84 and 0.79, respectively), indicating that whole body BMD could be used for screening osteoporosis.

Background Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is known to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. C-reactive protein (CRP) has been reported to be elevated in subjects with MetS. However, which component of MetS contributes mostly to the elevation has not been studied in detail. Methods We studied 628 apparently healthy Japanese subjects (men 262, women 366, age 19–85 years). Body mass index, waist circumference (WC), blood pressure, lipids, glucose, insulin and CRP were measured. MetS was defined according to the National Cholesterol Education Program's Adult Treatment Panel III report. Results In partial correlation analysis, WC showed the strongest correlation with CRP among the variables related to MetS. CRP increased as the number of MetS components increased. The mean CRP value adjusted for demographic variables was higher in subjects with MetS than those without MetS, and further adjustments with variables related to MetS revealed that the significant difference between the two groups disappeared only when further adjustment was made for WC. In multiple linear regression analysis, the independent variable that most strongly explained the CRP level was WC, which was followed by HDL-cholesterol. Finally, comparison of the CRP levels in groups stratified by abdominal obesity and the number of MetS components revealed that those with abdominal obesity tended to show higher CRP levels compared with those without abdominal obesity regardless of the number of MetS components other than WC. Conclusions Subjects with MetS showed higher levels of CRP and the main determinant of the CRP elevation was WC.

Although dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) has been widely used for measuring body composition, discrepancies have been reported to exist among results obtained from different instruments. In the course of longitudinal studies lasting for many years, old instruments may be required to be replaced with new ones, necessitating comparison and validation between the values obtained by the old and new instruments. We compared the data obtained by the two fan-beam DXA instruments, QDR-2000 (Hologic, Waltham, MA) and Delphi (Hologic). Body composition was first measured by the Hologic QDR-2000 and next by the Delphi W within 30 days in 99 healthy subjects. Whole-body fat mass (FM), percentage of FM, arm FM, and leg FM measured by the Hologic QDR-2000 were significantly larger than those measured by the Delphi W. Lean tissue mass (LTM), bone mineral content, and bone mineral density of the whole body, trunk FM, arm LTM, and leg LTM measured by the QDR-2000 were significantly smaller than those measured by the Delphi W. After converting the QDR-2000 values by equations developed by multiple regression analysis, they were not significantly different from the corresponding Delphi values. Measurements by the QDR-2000 and the Delphi W were not interchangeable and the conversion equations reduced the discrepancy to a level that enabled direct comparison of the data obtained by the two instruments. However, cautious interpretation is necessary when the conversion equations are applied to other instruments even of the same type or when evaluating data of individual subjects.

To clarify the content of support for healthy aging, we analyzed age-related changes in functional capacity and factors affecting the maintenance based on a health status survey in elderly people, and also evaluated the results of a survey on functional capacity, living habits, and health in leaders in elderly people's clubs.A questionnaire survey was carried out with (1) 1,000 randomly selected elderly subjects agedor = 65 years and (2) 122 leaders in elderly people's clubs to evaluate functional capacity according to The Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology Index of Competence, feeling of happiness according to the morale scale established by Lawton, living habits, and health. Factors affecting functional capacity were identified by stepwise multiple longistic regression analysis. In addition, the elderly people's club leader group and an age- and sex-matched control group were compared.1) Functional capacity decreased with age, this being more marked in the females than in the males. In particular, Instrumental Activities of Daily Living markedly decreased in the females at late ages. 2) Stepwise multiple logistic regression analysis revealed the following positive and negative factors associated with the maintenance of a high functional capacity (functional capacity scoreor = 12). The positive factors were: 1. hobbies, 2. living with the spouse, 3. habitual exercise, 4. positive acceptance of aging, 5. psychological stability, 6. diets with consideration of nutritional balance, 7. busy life, and 8. talking with friends and acquaintances once a week or more. The negative factors were: 1. belonging to a higher age groups, 2. living alone, and 3. smoking. 3) In the elderly people's club leader group, the age-related decline was gradual, and functional capacity was maintained at later ages. The group leaders typically 1. had hobbies, 2. went out almost everyday, 3. exercised almost every day, 4. talked with friends and relatives almost every day, 5. had active roles, 6. were busy, and 7. considered themselves to be healthy more frequently than the control group. The leader group also showed 8. a higher total morale scale score and 9. a higher score for positive acceptance of aging as a subscale than the control group.Our results suggest that nutrition balance, habitual exercise, hobbies, social roles, frequent contacts with others, positive acceptance of aging, and psychological stability are important for maintaining functional capacity in the maintenance of functional capacity. Early preventive measures are necessary to combat decline in functional capacity, particularly regarding Instrumental Activities of Daily Living, in females at later ages.

We examined 1) the relationship between the magnitudes of reflex forearm vasoconstriction during lower body negative pressure (LBNP) at -10 mmHg and ages in 59 subjects whose ages ranged from 24 to 77 years old, and 2) the slopes of the regression lines relating changes in forearm vascular resistance and those in central venous pressure in the three age-groups; those younger than 35 years old (n = 15), those between 35 and 55 years old (n = 12) and those older than 55 years old (n = 12). Forearm blood flow was measured using a strain gauge plethysmograph and forearm vascular resistance was calculated from forearm blood flow and mean blood pressure. There was a significant negative correlation (r = -0.512, p less than 0.01) between age and the magnitude of reflex forearm vasoconstriction during LBNP at -10 mmHg. The slope of the regression line in the old age-group was less (p less than 0.05) than that in the young or middle age-group. Forearm vascular responses to the cold pressor test did not differ among the three age-groups. These results suggest that cardiac receptor control of forearm vascular resistance decreases with aging in humans.