Health conditions and mortality in the Japan Collaborative Cohort Study for Evaluation of Cancer (JACC).

General health conditions were examined for their influence on mortality in the Japan Collaborative Cohort. Constipation was found to be associated with total death and cerebrovascular disease (CVD). Increased risk was also the case for excessive sleeping and napping and elevated susceptibility to colds and expectoration. Eczema increased the risk of liver cancer. In contrast, exercise proved protective against all causes of death, some cancers, ischemic heart disease (IHD) and CVD. Spending a long time watching TV, as expected, had the opposite effect. A positive attitude towards screening was also linked with lower risk of most chronic diseases.

Associations between serum C-reactive protein (CRP) levels and polymorphisms of CRP, interleukin 1B, and tumor necrosis factor genes among Japanese health checkup examinees.

C-reactive protein (CRP) is a sensitive marker of acute inflammation, which is associated with risk of cardiovascular and other chronic diseases. Some CRP polymorphisms are reported to affect the basal and stimulated CRP levels. Thus we conducted a population-based cross-sectional study to examine the associations of CRP levels with CRP C1444T polymorphism and two cytokine polymorphisms (IL-1B C-31T and TNF-A T-1031C), according to sex, age, smoking, alcohol, and BMI, in a total of 489 Japanese health checkup examinees (156 males and 333 females). Serum CRP levels were measured by high sensitivity latex-enhanced nephelometry. CRP C1444T, IL-1B C-31T and TNF-A T-1031C genotypes were genotyped by PCR-CTPP (polymerase chain reaction with confronting two-pair primers). Males, aged, smokers, and those with high BMI had a higher CRP on average. All genotype frequencies among the 489 subjects were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. No significant associations of serum CRP levels with the genotypes of CRP C1444T and IL-1B C-31T were observed. TNF-A -1031CC polymorphism was significantly associated with high CRP values. For the females, those aged 61-69 years, never smokers, non-drinkers, or those with body mass index 24 or less, the association was remarkable. Since the biological mechanism is not clear, further investigations are required to confirm the association.

A population-based follow-up study on mortality from cancer or cardiovascular disease and serum carotenoids, retinol and tocopherols in Japanese inhabitants.

OBJECTIVE: Observational epidemiologic studies have shown that a high intake of dietary and high serum levels of carotenoids are associated with a reduced risk of mortality from cancer and cardiovascular disease. To investigate whether high serum levels of carotenoids can reduce mortality rates, a population-based follow-up study was conducted among Japanese inhabitants. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Three thousand two hundred and fifty-four subjects (1,260 males and 1,994 females) aged from 39 to 85 years who had attended health check-up programs from 1989 to 1995 were recruited from the Japanese population. Serum levels of carotenoids, retinol and tocopherols were separately determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. Hazard ratios for serum values of carotenoids, retinol and tocopherols were estimated by Cox's proportional hazard model after adjusting for sex, age, and other confounding factors. RESULTS: During the 11.7-year follow-up period, 140 deaths (86 males and 54 females) from cancer of all sites were identified among the cohort subjects, including 41 from lung , 17 from stomach , 16 from colorectal and 12 from liver cancer, as well as 89 deaths from cardiovascular disease, including 45 from heart disease and 37 from stroke. High serum values of carotenoids including xanthophylls were apparently associated with low hazard ratios for mortality rates of cancer of all sites or of cardiovascular disease. High serum values of beta-carotene, total carotene, provitamin A and total carotenoid for colorectal cancer or stroke also appeared to be related to low hazard ratios. Those of retinol and tocopherols were not associated with any reduction in risk of mortality from cancer or cardiovascular disease. CONCLUSIONS: Our follow-up study demonstrated that a typical Japanese diet related to elevating serum levels of carotenoids with provitamin A activity may significantly reduce risk of mortality from cancer of certain sites or cardiovascular disease, especially colorectal cancer or stroke, while high serum levels of some xanthophylls, retinol and tocopherols do not.

Cancer mortality and serum levels of carotenoids, retinol, and tocopherol: a population-based follow-up study of inhabitants of a rural area of Japan.

A total of 3,182 subjects (1,239 males and 1,943 females) aged from 39y to 79y, were recruited from the inhabitants of a rural area in Japan who participated in health check-up programs from 1988 to 1995. During the 10.5 year follow-up, 287 deaths (175 males and 112 females) from all causes, 134 (81 males and 53 females) from cancer of all sites, 31 from lung cancer, 21 from colorectal cancer, 20 from stomach cancer, and 62 from other cancers, were identified among the cohort subjects. Fasting serum samples were taken at the time of the health check-ups, and serum levels of carotenoids, retinol and tocopherols were separately determined by HPLC. Statistical analyses were performed using Cox's proportional hazard model after adjusting for sex, age, and other confounding factors. High serum levels of alpha- and beta- carotenes and lycopene were found to marginally significantly or significantly reduce the risk for mortality rates of cancer of all sites and of colorectal cancers. High serum levels of beta-cryptoxanthin also showed an inversely relation with the risk of mortality from lung and stomach cancers, but this was not statistically significant. High intake of green-yellow vegetables contributing to serum levels of alpha- and beta- carotenes, as well as lycopene, may reduce the risk of cancer mortality, especially from colorectal cancer, in rural Japanese.

Relationship between obesity and serum markers of oxidative stress and inflammation in Japanese.

The present study was conducted to assess the relationship between obesity and serum levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), carotenoids, oxidized LDL (oxLDL), oxidized LDL antibodies (oLAB), and leptin in Japanese residents. The subjects were 158 males and 158 females aged 40-79 years, and living in Hokkaido, Japan, who attended a health examination screening. Serum levels of CRP, oxLDL, oLAB, and leptin were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and serum carotenoid levels were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Body mass index (BMI) was calculated as body weight (kg) divided by height (m) squared and obesity was defined as BMI of 25 or more (kg/m2). Serum levels of CRP and leptin were significantly higher in the obese group than in their non-obese counterparts in both genders. Serum levels of beta-carotene and beta-cryptoxanthin were lower in the obese individuals, especially in females. While values for oxLDL and oLAB did not significantly vary. BMI was positively correlated with log-transformed serum levels of CRP and leptin in both genders (males: r=0.231, p<0.05; females: r=0.305, p<0.001). In females, moreover, BMI was negatively correlated with log-transformed serum levels of beta-carotene, zeaxanthin/lutein, and beta-cryptoxanthin (r=-0.244, p<0.01; r=-0.200, p<0.05; r=-0.207, p<0.01, respectively). Significantly higher odds ratios (ORs) for high serum levels of CRP (males: OR=2.12; females: OR=3.96) and leptin (males: OR=3.83; females: OR=9.07) were observed in obese versus non-obese men and women, after adjusting for various confounding factors. Significantly lower adjusted odds ratios for high serum levels of alpha- and beta-carotenes (males: OR=0.23, 0.33; females: OR=0.35, 0.39, respectively) were also observed in the obese as compared to the non-obese group. In conclusion, obesity is highly associated with states of oxidative stress and low-grade inflammation in Japanese residents, suggesting that these latter might play an important role in the association between a high BMI and certain cancers as well as coronary heart disease (CHD).