The association between stair climbing and modifiable cardiovascular disease risk factors: the Suita Study.

BACKGROUND: Stair climbing is a readily available form of physical activity with potential cardiovascular benefits. This study aimed to investigate the association between stair climbing and numerous modifiable cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, we used data from 7282 Japanese people (30-84 years) residing in Suita City, Osaka. CVD risk factors and stair climbing frequency were assessed during the Suita Study health examination. Logistic regressions were used to calculate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) for CVD risk factors across stair climbing frequencies. RESULTS: After adjustment for age, sex, lifestyle, and medical conditions, stair climbing >60% of the time, compared to <20% of the time, was inversely associated with obesity, smoking, physical inactivity, and stress: ORs (95% CIs) = 0.63 (0.53, 0.75), 0.81 (0.69, 0.96), 0.48 (0.41, 0.55), and 0.67 (0.58, 0.78), respectively (p-trends < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Stair climbing was inversely associated with obesity, smoking, physical inactivity, and stress; suggesting a potential role for cardiovascular disease prevention.

The association between the estimated glomerular filtration rate and cognitive impairment: the Suita Study.

This cross-sectional study investigated the association between the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), a measure of chronic kidney disease (CKD), and cognitive impairment. We used data from 6215 Japanese individuals registered in the Suita Study. Cognitive impairment was defined as a Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score of ≤ 26. Logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) of cognitive impairment for eGFR 45-59.9 and < 45 mL/min/1.73 m2 (mild and moderate-to-severe eGFR reductions) compared to eGFR ≥ 60 mL/min/1.73 m2 (normal eGFR). The results showed that both mild and moderate-to-severe eGFR reductions were associated with cognitive impairment: ORs (95% CIs) = 1.49 (1.22-1.83) and 2.35 (1.69-3.26), respectively (p-trend < 0.001). Each increment of eGFR by 10 mL/min/1.73m2 was associated with 4.8% lower odds of cognitive impairment. In conclusion, eGFR reduction was associated with cognitive impairment. Managing CKD is essential for preventing cognitive impairment.

Development of new scores for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease using specific medical examination items: the Suita Study.

BACKGROUND: We previously developed risk models predicting stroke, coronary heart disease (CHD), and cardiovascular disease (CVD) among Japanese people from the Suita Study. Yet, applying these models at the national level was challenging because some of the included risk factors differed from those collected in the Japanese governmental health check-ups, such as Tokutei-Kenshin. We, therefore, conducted this study to develop new risk models for stroke, CHD, and atherosclerotic CVD (ASCVD), based on data from the Suita Study. The new models used traditional cardiovascular risk factors similar to those in the Japanese governmental health check-ups. METHODS: We included 7,413 participants, aged 30-84 years, initially free from stroke and CHD. All participants received baseline health examinations, including a questionnaire assessing their lifestyle and medical history, medical examination, and blood and urine analysis. The risk factors of stroke, CHD, and ASCVD (cerebral infarction or CHD) were determined using the multivariable-adjusted Cox regression. The models' performance was assessed using the C-statistics for discrimination and the Hosmer-Lemeshow for calibration. We also developed three simple scores (zero to 100) that could predict the 10-year incidence of stroke, CHD, and ASCVD. RESULTS: Within 110,428 person-years (median follow-up = 16.6 years), 410 stroke events, 288 CHD events, and 527 ASCVD events were diagnosed. Age, smoking, hypertension, and diabetes were associated with stroke, CHD, and ASCVD risk. Men and those with decreased high-density lipoproteins or increased low-density lipoproteins showed a higher risk of CHD and ASCVD. Urinary proteins were associated with an increased risk of stroke and ASCVD. The C-statistic values of the risk models were >0.750 and the p-values of goodness-of-fit were >0.30. The 10-year incidence of stroke, CVD, and ASCVD events was 3.8%, 3.5%, and 5.7% for scores 45-54, 10.3%, 11.8%, and 19.6% for scores 65-74, and 27.7%, 23.5%, and 60.5% for scores ≥85, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: We developed new Suita risk models for stroke, CHD, and ASCVD using variables similar to those in the Japanese governmental health check-ups. We also developed new risk scores to predict incident stroke, CHD, and ASCVD within 10 years.

Relationship between preference and gaze in modified food using eye tracker.

PURPOSE: The relation between preference and the gaze for the test foods under unconsciousness using the eye-tracking system was investigated. METHODS: Participants consisted of 37 healthy volunteers. Test foods were steamed rice 150g, grilled salmon approximately 45g and slice cooked squash 60g, all of which were served on a tray. Foods forms were regular food, chopped food, and blended food. After attached to the eye tracker, participants watched the each dish arranged in front of them freely for 10s. And they ate test foods freely within 10min. The gazing point was measured for 10s from the time when the food was ordered and just before the eating. Preference levels were interviewed. The number of gaze point fixations and the total gaze point fixation time of the viewpoint during 10s just before eating were analyzed. The analysis items were (1) the total number of gaze point fixations (2) the total gaze point fixation time (3) the amount of food intake and (4) the preference level details. RESULTS: For foods with higher preference levels, the number of gaze point fixations increased significantly and the total gaze point fixation time significantly increased. In both groups, maximum food intake was observed for food forms with a high preference level. Most of the participants' selected regular foods as their most preferred food form among the food forms. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggested that subjects gazed at regular food which had high preference level.

Retrospective tracking of young obese children back to birth in Japan: special attention to the relationship with parental obesity.

OBJECTIVE: Childhood obesity is tracked to adulthood at a high rate. However, longitudinal studies of obesity in early childhood remain limited. This study aimed at tracking young obese children back to birth in comparison with normal-weight children, and investigating the relationship with parental obesity. METHODS: A total of 2,678 (1,353 boys) young children attending kindergarten or nursery school in Nara Prefecture, Japan, were enrolled. The present heights and weights of children and parents were obtained by a questionnaire, and children's heights and weights at birth, 1.5, and 3.5 years were obtained from mother-child health notebooks. Using body mass index (BMI), child and parental obesity were defined as >=90th percentile based on the reference values for Japanese children and >=25 (kg/m²), respectively. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of obesity at birth was 10.2%, and decreased to 5.6% at 5 years. In the retrospective tracking, obese children at 5 years exhibited significantly higher weight Z-scores and BMI percentiles consistently from birth than in normal-weight children. The increased velocity of weight gain as judged by their Z-score during three periods; birth-1.5, 1.5-3.5, and 3.5-5 years were significantly associated with an increased risk for the obesity at 5 years of age. Only maternal obesity was found to be associated with daughters' obesity in the analysis of association of parents-children obesity. CONCLUSIONS: It is important to manage body weight from early infancy for reducing the occurrence of obesity at 5 years. Where there is maternal obesity, greater attention may be required, especially for daughters.

Development of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α inhibitors: effect of ortho-carborane substituents on HIF transcriptional activity under hypoxia.

A series of substituted ortho-carboranylphenoxyacetanilides were synthesized and evaluated for their ability to inhibit hypoxia-induced HIF-1 transcriptional activity using a cell-based reporter assay in HeLa cells expressing the HRE-dependent firefly luciferase reporter construct (HRE-Luc) and constitutively expressing CMV-driven Renilla luciferase reporter, and their ability to inhibit cell growth (GI(50)) using the MTT assay. Among the compounds synthesized, 1g and 1l showed significant inhibition of hypoxia-induced HIF-1 transcriptional activity (IC(50): 1.9 ± 0.4 and 1.4 ± 0.2 µM, respectively). Both compounds suppressed HIF-1α accumulation in a concentration-dependent manner. The porcine heart malate dehydrogenase (MDH) refolding assay revealed that compound 1l inhibited human Hsp60 chaperone activity (IC(50): 6.80 ± 0.25 µM) and this inhibition activity was higher than that of ETB (IC(50): 10.9 ± 0.63 µM).

Boron-containing phenoxyacetanilide derivatives as hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1alpha inhibitors.

A series of boron-containing phenoxyacetanilide derivatives 8a-f, 9a-f, 15, and 16 were synthesized as hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1alpha inhibitors. Among the compounds synthesized, carboranylphenoxyacetanilide 16 (GN26361) was found to be a potent inhibitor against HIF-1alpha accumulation under hypoxic conditions and inhibited the hypoxia-induced HIF-1 transcriptional activity in HeLa cells (IC50=0.74 microM). Compound 16 suppressed hypoxia-induced HIF-1alpha accumulation and vascular endothelial growth factor mRNA expression in a concentration-dependent manner without affecting the expression of HIF-1alpha mRNA.