Relationship between the Number of Deaths Due to Renal Failure and Air Temperature Parameters in Hokkaido and Okinawa Prefectures, Japan.

Background: The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between the number of deaths due to renal failure and air temperature parameters in Hokkaido (the northernmost region) and Okinawa (the southernmost region) prefectures, Japan. Methods: Monthly data on the number of deaths due to renal failure between January 2008 and December 2016 and annual population data were collected from the Hokkaido and Okinawa official prefecture websites. Air temperature parameters were obtained from the Japan Meteorological Agency. The relationship between the number of deaths due to renal failure and air temperature parameters was evaluated by an ecological study. Results: The number of deaths due to renal failure (per 100,000 people/month) in Hokkaido and Okinawa were 2.28 ± 0.30 and 1.17 ± 0.31. In Hokkaido, the number of deaths due to renal failure negatively correlated with air temperature parameters in both sexes. The number of deaths due to renal failure was significantly higher in January than from June to September in all subjects. However, in Okinawa, no significant difference was observed among months. Conclusions: The present results suggest that the relationship between the number of deaths due to renal failure and air temperature parameters differs between Hokkaido and Okinawa.

Changes and Variations in Death Due to Senility in Japan.

OBJECTIVE: The proportion of elderly individuals (≥65 years old) in Japan has markedly increased. However, the definition of senility in Japan is controversial. The aim of the present study was to investigate changes and variations in the number of deaths due to senility in Japan. METHODS: Information on the number of deaths due to senility between 1995 and 2018 as well as other major causes of death was obtained from the Statistics Bureau of Japan official website. Changes and variations in the number of deaths due to senility were compared with other major causes of death in Japan. The relationships between the number of deaths due to senility and socioeconomic factors were also examined in an ecological study. RESULTS: The number of deaths due to senility was 35.7 ± 23.2/one hundred thousand people/year during the observation period and has continued to increase. A change point was identified in 2004 by a Jointpoint regression analysis. Variations in the number of deaths due to senility, which were evaluated by a coefficient of variation, were significantly greater than those due to other major causes of death, i.e., malignant neoplasm, heart diseases, cerebrovascular diseases, and pneumonia. The number of elderly individuals (≥65 years old) (%) and medical bills per elderly subject (≥75 years old) correlated with the number of deaths due to senility. CONCLUSION: The number of deaths due to senility has been increasing, particularly since 2004. However, variations in the number of deaths due to senility were observed among all prefectures in Japan.

Relationship between Air Temperature Parameters and the Number of Deaths Stratified by Cause in Gifu Prefecture, Japan.

OBJECTIVE: It is well known that air temperature is closely related to health outcomes. We investigated the relationship between air temperature parameters and the number of deaths stratified by cause in Gifu prefecture, Japan. METHODS: The number of deaths stratified by cause in Gifu prefecture Japan between January 2007 and December 2016 was obtained from the official homepage of Gifu prefecture, Japan. Air temperature parameters (℃), i.e., the mean air temperature, mean of the highest air temperature, mean of the lowest air temperature, the highest air temperature, and the lowest air temperature during the same period in Gifu city were also obtained from the Japan Meteorological Agency official home page. The relationship between air temperature parameters and the number of deaths was evaluated in an ecological study. RESULTS: The number of deaths due to heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, pneumonia, accidents, or renal failure in January (coldest winter season in Japan) was the highest among the months. Simple correlation analysis also demonstrated a significant and negative relationship between air temperature parameters and the number of deaths due to heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, senility, pneumonia, accidents, and renal failure. CONCLUSION: Lower air temperature may be associated with a higher number of deaths due to diseases in Gifu prefecture, Japan.

Expression of macrophage migration inhibitory factor in human breast cancer: association with nodal spread.

Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is known to exert pleiotropic functions including inhibition of macrophage migration, anchoring, and counteraction of the anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive activity of glucocorticoids. Ninety-three primary breast cancer tissues and 64 sera of primary breast cancer patients were analyzed for the expression of MIF. The clinico-pathological significance of MIF expression was evaluated. It was found that MIF was frequently over-expressed in primary breast cancer tissues. RT-PCR and western blotting analysis confirmed that wild-type MIF is expressed, and immunohistochemical analysis showed that MIF expression was localized at tumor cells as well as stromal cells, including tumor-associated macrophages. Intratumoral MIF protein concentrations detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) varied with a median value of 1821 ng/mg protein (range: 8 - 8126 ng/mg protein), and correlated inversely with nodal involvement (P = 0.039). No significant correlation was observed with other clinico-pathological factors including tumor size, menopausal status and hormone receptors. The circulating level of MIF protein ranged up to 105.7 ng/ml (median: 17.3 ng/ml), and it was also found to correlate inversely with the number of involved nodes (P = 0.02). A comparative study with other soluble inflammatory mediators showed that intratumoral levels of MIF were significantly associated with those of interleukin-1 beta, suggesting that interactions between tumor cells and tumor-associated macrophages play an important role in the up-regulation of MIF. The multifunctional inflammatory/immune mediator MIF was frequently expressed in primary breast cancer, and its expression level was inversely associated with nodal spread. Thus, MIF seems to play a role in tumor-stroma interactions of primary breast cancers, particularly those with a phenotype of node-negative or minimal nodal spread.