Incidence of abnormalities in laboratory tests found in surveillance of adults over 40 years of age.

National health check-up systems have been used for 5 years in Japan for adults who are over 40 years of age. As part of a national project, Osaka prefecture is also conducting a program for health check-up testing and cancer screening for this age group. This surveillance revealed that incidence of obesity, hypertension, cholesterolemia, albuminuria, or abnormal ECG was high. Analysis of surveillance results should contribute to understanding the present status and recent trends in diseases in the aged. With continuation of this surveillance for a number of years, trends in life-style related diseases in Japan should be detectable.