Relationship between the Appearance of Symptoms and Hospital Visits in Childhood Based on Japanese Statistical Data.

BACKGROUND: Childhood health problems affect healthy growth. This study aimed to assess the symptoms and diseases requiring hospital visits commonly found in children in Japan and analyze their effects on health status. METHODS: Anonymized data on 1315 children aged 6-14 years were obtained from a national survey questionnaire. The survey items addressed symptoms, disease names, and hospital visits. Associations between symptoms and other factors were examined by means of a contingency table analysis and logistic regression. RESULTS: The proportions of responses for health status were compared for each question item; significant differences were found in age group (p < 0.01), subjective symptoms (p < 0.01), hospital visits (p < 0.01), and lifestyle (p < 0.01). The proportion of responses indicating "poor" perceived health status was high among those with subjective symptoms (4.8%) and hospital visits (4.7%). From the logistic regression, significant odds ratios were found for subjective symptoms (2.10, 95% confidence interval (C.I.) 1.15-3.83) and age group (1.98, 95% C.I. 1.05-3.72). CONCLUSION: Among measures to improve quality of life from childhood, comprehensive health guidance that emphasizes understanding symptoms and includes age and living conditions is important.

Association between Drinking Habits and Oral Symptoms: A Cross-Sectional Study Based on Japanese National Statistical Data.

AIM: The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between drinking habits and subjective symptoms of the oral cavity based on Japanese national statistical data. METHODS: The subjects were 8,698 respondents of the Japan National Livelihood Survey 2013, in their 30s to 60s. The association between drinking habits and each survey item was investigated by contingency table analysis and binary logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: The proportion of people with drinking habits was 55.3% among men and 20.3% among women, and the proportion of men with drinking habits above the age of 40 years was high. Contingency table analysis indicated an association between drinking habits and the following items in men: subjective symptoms (p < 0.01), chewing difficulty (p < 0.05), subjective impression of health (p < 0.01), smoking habit (p < 0.01), and income level (p < 0.01). Analysis indicated an association between drinking habits and hospital visits (p < 0.01) and smoking habits (p < 0.01) in women. When comparing the response rates of symptoms and presence of disease stratified according to drinking habits, inflammatory and sensory system symptoms were common in those who had drinking habits, as were diabetes and gout. Binomial logistic regression analysis with drinking habit as the objective variable indicated statistically significant odds ratios for smoking habit (2.13; 95% CI: 1.65-2.75), difficulty in chewing (1.63; 95% CI: 1.01-2.62), and working hours (1.50; 95% CI: 1.10-2.04). This study identified a correlation between drinking habits and masticatory disorders, suggesting that the effects of drinking as a risk factor for dental diseases should be examined in greater detail in the future.

Thermographic assessment of facial temperature in patients undergoing orthognathic surgery.

This study was conducted to assess the usefulness of thermography for quantifying facial temperature before and after orthognathic surgery and intermaxillary fixation, and the effects of these orthognathic procedures on facial temperature. Facial thermograms of 10 patients who underwent bilateral sagittal split ramus osteotomy (SSRO, one-jaw group) and another 10 patients who underwent Le Fort I osteotomy and bilateral SSRO (two-jaw group) were taken 1 day before orthognathic surgery (T1) and at release of intermaxillary fixation 7 days later (T2). Two thermograms taken 30 s (TG1) and 3 min (TG2) after the start of recording at T1 and T2 were used. A square (26 × 26 pixels) was marked on each thermogram and the mean facial temperature for each square was measured. Three-way analysis of variance was used for statistical comparisons. Facial temperatures were significantly higher at T2 than at T1 on TG1 and TG2, and were significantly higher on TG2 than on TG1 at T1 and T2. The two-jaw group had a significantly higher facial temperature than the one-jaw group. Thermography was useful for quantitative assessment of facial temperature in patients undergoing orthognathic surgery. Changes in facial temperature were due predominantly to inflammation after surgery, rather than to sarcopenia.

Differential susceptibility to hydrogen sulfide-induced apoptosis between PHLDA1-overexpressing oral cancer cell lines and oral keratinocytes: role of PHLDA1 as an apoptosis suppressor.

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is a novel gasotransmitter that plays multiple biological roles in various body systems. In addition to its endogenous production, H2S is produced by bacteria colonizing digestive organs, including the oral cavity. H2S was previously shown to enhance pro-apoptotic effects in cancer cell lines, although the mechanisms involved remain unclear. To properly assess the anti-cancer effects of H2S, however, investigations of apoptotic effects in normal cells are also necessary. The aims of this study were (1) to compare the susceptibility to H2S-induced apoptosis between the oral cancer cell line Ca9-22 and oral keratinocytes that were derived from healthy gingiva, and (2) to identify candidate genes involved in the induction of apoptosis by H2S. The susceptibility to H2S-induced apoptosis in Ca9-22 cells was significantly higher than that in keratinocytes. H2S exposure in Ca9-22 cells, but not keratinocytes, enhanced the expression of pleckstrin homology-like domain, family A, member 1 (PHLDA1), which was identified through a differential display method. In addition, PHLDA1 expression increased during actinomycin D-induced apoptosis in Ca9-22 cells. Knockdown of PHLDA1 expression by small interfering RNA in Ca9-22 cells led to expression of active caspase 3, thus indicating apoptosis induction. The tongue cancer cell line SCC-25, which expresses PHLDA1 at a high level, showed similar effects. Our data indicate that H2S is an anti-cancer compound that may contribute to the low incidence of oral cancer. Furthermore, we demonstrated the role of PHLDA1 as an apoptosis suppressor.

Oral malodorous compound inhibits osteoblast proliferation.

BACKGROUND: Oral malodorous compounds including hydrogen sulfide (H2S) are causative agents of periodontitis because the toxicities are similar to that of cyanate. Previous studies demonstrated that volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs) were highly toxic to periodontal tissues, causing a large reduction in the amount of collagen in human gingival fibroblasts and extracellular matrix as well as, for example, apoptosis, immunologic responses, and matrix metalloproteinase production. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of H2S on the proliferation of osteoblasts and a signaling transduction pathway through the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK). METHODS: Normal human osteoblasts (NHOst) and murine osteoblasts (cell line MC3T3-E1) were incubated with H2S. Cell proliferation was assessed by measuring [3H]thymidine incorporation. The effects of H2S on the signal transduction pathways, the MAPK cascade, that control cell proliferation were evaluated in NHOst by determining extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)1/2 and p38 phosphorylation with a Western blot analysis. RESULTS: After incubating NHOst with H2S for 24 hours, [3H]thymidine incorporation into the DNA significantly decreased dose-dependently with H(2)S. At a concentration of 100 ng/ml H2S, [3H]thymidine incorporation decreased 79% compared to the control. Similar results were obtained from MC3T3-E1. The phosphorylation of ERK1/2 and p38 was increased by H2S at 10 minutes after starting the treatment and then decreased time dependently. The activation of ERK1/2 and p38 induced by H2S was inhibited by the specific inhibitor of MAPK/ERK kinase ([MEK]; U0126) or p38 (SB203580). CONCLUSION: H2S inhibited the proliferation of human osteoblastic cells through the MAPK pathway.

Effect of green tea on volatile sulfur compounds in mouth air.

Many food products are claimed to be effective in controlling halitosis. Halitosis is caused mainly by volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs) such as H(2)S and CH(3)SH produced in the oral cavity. Oral microorganisms degrade proteinaceous substrates to cysteine and methionine, which are then converted to VSCs. Most treatments for halitosis focus on controlling the number of microorganisms in the oral cavity. Since tea polyphenols have been shown to have antimicrobial and deodorant effects, we have investigated whether green tea powder reduces VSCs in mouth air, and compared its effectiveness with that of other foods which are claimed to control halitosis. Immediately after administering the products, green tea showed the largest reduction in concentration of both H(2)S and CH(3)SH gases, especially CH(3)SH which also demonstrated a better correlation with odor strength than H(2)S; however, no reduction was observed at 1, 2 and 3 h after administration. Chewing gum, mints and parsley-seed oil product did not reduce the concentration of VSCs in mouth air at any time. Toothpaste, mints and green tea strongly inhibited VSCs production in a saliva-putrefaction system, but chewing gum and parsley-seed oil product could not inhibit saliva putrefaction. Toothpaste and green tea also demonstrated strong deodorant activities in vitro, but no significant deodorant activity of mints, chewing gum or parsley-seed oil product were observed. We concluded that green tea was very effective in reducing oral malodor temporarily because of its disinfectant and deodorant activities, whereas other foods were not effective.