Chronic atrophic gastritis and Helicobacter pylori infection among Japanese Americans in Seattle.

Gastric cancer is still a major cause of mortality due to cancer worldwide. The most common type of gastric cancer is intestinal type carcinoma, which usually occurs in stomachs containing chronic atrophic gastritis. Individuals with chronic atrophic gastritis are considered to be at increased risk for developing intestinal type carcinoma of the stomach. To examine the association between chronic atrophic gastritis and other gastric cancer risk factors, a cross-sectional study was conducted using serum samples and questionnaire information collected from 776 persons of full Japanese ancestry in the greater Seattle area in 1994. The presence of chronic atrophic gastritis and Helicobacter pylori infection was determined by measurement of serum pepsinogen levels and H. pylori antibodies, respectively. Based on multiple logistic regression, the significant predictors of chronic atrophic gastritis were age over 50 years, H. pylori infection, and 20 years or more lived in Japan. Alcohol consumption, smoking, prior peptic ulcer, and history of gastric cancer in parents were not significantly associated with chronic atrophic gastritis. The results imply that H. pylori infection since earlier life and other unknown exposure factors in Japan might have played an important role in the development of chronic atrophic gastritis.

[A study of the association between the aortic pulse wave velocity and atherosclerotic risk factors among Japanese Americans in Seattle, U.S.A].

Cardiovascular disease prevention screening was conducted among 1389 Japanese Americans in Seattle, Washington, U.S.A. from 1989 to 1994. The association between atherosclerotic risk factors and the aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV), an indicator of atherosclerosis, was examined by using multiple logistic regression method. Based on a study in 1996 by Suzuki et al. on the association between PWV and atherosclerotic indicators, abnormally high PWV was defined as 8.0 m/sec. and over for those less than 60 years of age and 9.0 m/sec. and over for those 60 years of age and older Significant odds ratios to estimate the risk for the presence of abnormally high PWV were found in age >or= 60 years (4.31, p < 0.001), hypertension (2.00, p < 0.001), diabetes (5.65, p < 0.001), current drinker (0.44, p < 0.001), ex-drinker (0.49, p < 0.05), and ex-smoker (1.82, p < 0.01) among men. Women showed a similar association: age > or = 60 years (3.03, p < 0.001), hypertension (1.94, p < 0.01), diabetes (2.47, p < 0.05), TC/HDL-C >or= 4.5 (1.98, p < 0.001), current drinker (0.47, p < 0.001), and ex-drinker (0.45, p < 0.05). Our findings are almost identical to those from other studies showing the association between coronary heart disease and its risk factors. The question of whether PWV can be a predictor of atherosclerotic diseases, particularly coronary heart disease, remains to be answered by additional studies. However, PWV may serve as a simple and valuable indicator to estimate the extent and severity of asymptomatic atherosclerosis in the large artery.

Biological and lifestyle factors, and lipid and lipoprotein levels among Japanese Americans in Seattle and Japanese men in Japan.

BACKGROUND: It has been previously shown that Japanese Americans in Seattle have significantly higher cholesterol levels than native Japanese. The present study examines the association of biological and lifestyle factors with plasma lipid and lipoprotein levels among Japanese Americans (JA) and native Japanese (NJ) to determine if these associations are consistent between these high and low cholesterol populations. METHODS: Study samples consisted of 710 JA male and 728 JA female volunteers living in the Seattle area and a random sample of 3833 NJ male urban workers who participated in parallel cardiovascular disease screening and lifestyle surveys for 1989-1994. Multiple regression analysis was conducted to examine the association of lifestyle and biological factors with lipid and lipoprotein levels. RESULTS: Alcohol consumption was positively and linearly associated with high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels and negatively associated with both low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels and the ratio of total cholesterol (TC)/HDL-C (P < 0.05 to P < 0.001) among JA males and JA females and NJ males. Current smoking habit was observed to be negatively associated with HDL-C levels and positively with TC/HDL-C ratio and log TG levels (logarithmic transformation of triglyceride values) (P < 0.05 to P < 0.001) among all three groups. Body mass index (BMI) was negatively associated with HDL-C levels and positively associated with log TG and TC/HDL-C ratio among all three groups (P < 0.05 to P < 0.001). Moderate alcohol consumption was negatively associated with log TG levels among JA males and females (P < 0.05), whereas heavy alcohol consumption was positively associated with log TG levels in NJ males (P < 0.001). Smoking was positively associated with TC and LDL-C levels (P < 0.05) among JA males, whereas a negative association (P < 0.05) was observed in NJ males. CONCLUSION: Overall, the fitted models were consistent between JA males and females and NJ males with the exception of smoking on TC and LDL-C. The results suggest that moderate alcohol consumption favourably influences lipid profiles in both high and low cholesterol populations. The results also indicate that light alcohol consumption is associated with decreased triglyceride levels, whereas heavy alcohol consumption is associated with increased triglyceride levels.

Cholesterol levels among Japanese Americans and other populations: Seattle Nikkei Health Study.

The purpose of this study was to compare average cholesterol levels between Seattle based Japanese Americans and three other populations: U.S. population, native Japanese population and native Japanese urban workers. A total of 1,466 Japanese Americans (724 men and 742 women) participated in cardiovascular disease screening in the Seattle area during 1989 94. Data sources for comparisons are from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey for 1988-91, the results of the National Cardiovascular Disease Examination Survey in Japan for 1990, and cardiovascular disease screening conducted by the Epidemiological Arteriosclerosis Research Institute in Japan for 1989. Total cholesterol and triglyceride levels of Seattle Japanese American men and women were highest among the four populations. Among men, high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels for Seattle Japanese Americans and native Japanese were similar and fell between those of urban Japanese workers and the U.S. population. In women, the average HDL C levels were highest in the Japanese urban workers, second highest in Seattle Japanese Americans, and lowest in both the U.S. population and native Japanese population. These differences in lipid levels may be caused by both genetic and environmental factors, which are now under investigation.

Implications of air pollution effects on athletic performance.

Both controlled human studies and observational studies suggest that air pollution adversely affects athletic performance during both training and competition. The air pollution dosage during exercise is much higher than during rest because of a higher ventilatory rate and both nasal and oral breathing in the former case. For example, sulfur dioxide, which is a highly water-soluble gas, is almost entirely absorbed in the upper respiratory tract during nasal breathing. However, with oral pharyngeal breathing, the amount of sulfur dioxide that is absorbed is significantly less, and with exercise and oral pharyngeal breathing a significant decrease in upper airway absorption occurs, resulting in a significantly larger dosage of this pollutant being delivered to the tracheobronchial tree. Recently, several controlled human studies have shown that the combination of exercise and pollutant exposure (SO2 or O3) caused a marked bronchoconstriction and reduced ventilatory flow when compared to pollution exposure at rest. In a situation like the Olympic Games where milliseconds and millimeters often determine the success of athletes, air pollution can be an important factor in affecting their performance. This paper examines possible impacts of air pollution on athletic competition.

Long-term effect of vasectomy on coronary heart disease.

We investigated the association between coronary heart disease (CHD) and vasectomy in a population of 10,632 men who were under surveillance for multiple CHD risk factors during participation in a university-based exercise testing program. We conducted a mail survey with telephone follow-up to determine the vasectomy status of individuals in the population. Responses were obtained from 6,159 individuals. The 4.944 males on whom information was complete enough to be included in the multivariate analysis comprised the study population. Among the 1,383 (28 per cent) vasectomized males in the study populations, the interval from vasectomy to the time of the survey ranged from less than one year to 37 years with a mean duration of 15 years. Although increased relative risks for CHD were found to be associated with family history of CHD, high blood pressure and smoking in this population, the relative risk of CHD associated with vasectomy was not increased in general, nor was it increased when the vasectomized males were classified by time since vasectomy. Likewise, serum antisperm-antibody titers were not predictive of CHD among vasectomized men. These studies support the findings from previous investigations of populations with shorter average post-vasectomy experience in which vasectomy has been shown to be unassociated with altered risk of CHD in humans.

High barium levels in public drinking water and its association with elevated blood pressure.

A maximum contaminant level for barium in drinking water has been set at 1. mg/L. This study examines for the first time, whether there are significant differences in mean blood pressure levels between a high and a low barium community. A total of approximately 2,400 Illinois residents in West Dundee, with a mean barium drinking water level of 7.3 mmg/L, and in McHenry, with a mean barium level of 0.1 mg/L, were studied. All other drinking water constituents were nearly identical between the two communities, with the major difference being the level of barium ingested. No significant differences (P greater than .05) were found in blood pressures between the high and low barium communities. Adjustment for duration of exposure, home water softeners, and high blood pressure medication did not alter the findings. The data from this study suggest that elevated levels of barium in drinking water do not significantly elevate blood pressure levels in adult males or females. It is recommended that the drinking water standard of 1. mg/L be re-examined for other possible health effects.

Mortality study of workers employed at organochlorine pesticide manufacturing plants.

A retrospective cohort study was conducted to examine the mortality of workers employed in the manufacture of the chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides, chlordane, heptachlor, dichloro-diphenyl-trichloro-ethane (DDT) and aldrin/dieldrin/endrin. Four manufacturing plants were selected for study, and each cohort included all workers employed for at least six months prior to January 1964. The entire study group totaled approximately 2,100 individuals. Vital status ascertainment for these cohorts ranged from 90 to 97% complete; the cut-off date for follow-up was 31 December 1976. In general there were too few deaths in this study on which to draw any meaningful conclusions. The standardized mortality ratio (SMR) for all causes in each cohort was below the expected level (100) and ranged from 66 to 82, probably a reflection of the "healthy worker effect." For "all malignant neoplasms" the SMRs ranged from 68 to 91 and for respiratory cancer from 55 to 132. In the aldrin/dieldrin/endrin cohort observed deaths due to pneumonia and "other respiratory diseases" were significantly above the expected number of deaths. For several other specific cancer sites (stomach in plant 1, esophagus, rectum, liver and lymphatic/hematopoietic system in plant 3), the observed deaths were more than the expected number and should be examined in more detail. It is recommended that these cohorts be followed for several more years and the mortality patterns be reexamined.

Synthetic estimates of work loss disability for each state and the District of Columbia.

A method of synthetic estimation of health characteristics for local areas, devised by the National Center of Health Statistics, was evaluated in a recent study. In the method, local data on population are combined with national data on a given health characteristic to produce an indirect estimate of that characteristic. The health characteristic selected in the study was that of complete and partial work loss disability. Therefore, synthetic estimates of complete and partial work loss disability were calculated for each State by combining the estimated rates of such disability for the United States, specific to a set of demographic domains, with the data relating to the distribution of each State into this set of demographic domains. The synthetic estimates of complete and partial work loss disability for each State were then compared with the direct estimates available from the 1970 decennial census. For partial work loss disability, agreement between the synthetic and the direct estimates, as judged by the median percentage absolute difference, was fairly good; for complete work loss disability, agreement was rather poor. On the other hand, the correlation between the synthetic and the direct estimates was higher for complete work loss disability than for partial, partly because the synthetic estimates had a greater spread for complete work disability than for partial. The skewness of the distributions of the squared differences indicates that the evaluation based on median percentage absolute differences was more descriptive than the one based on mean square errors.