Effects of excessive ethanol consumption on the diagnosis of the metabolic syndrome using its clinical diagnostic criteria.

OBJECTS: Various morbid conditions constituting the metabolic syndrome could be also caused by excessive ethanol consumption. Thus, it is conceivable that excessive ethanol consumption may affect the diagnosis of the metabolic syndrome using its current diagnostic criteria. Here, we investigated this. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study involving 2,130 Japanese man subjects aged 20 to 65 was performed. RESULTS: The rate of subjects judged to have metabolic syndrome using its diagnostic criteria for Japanese was 15.7%. However, the prevalence was significantly higher in excessive drinkers who consume more than 20 grams of ethanol per day (n=473, 22.0%) than average drinkers (n=1,657, 13.9%, chi2=18.0, p<0.0001). The rate of subjects who satisfied each component of the criteria of the metabolic syndrome, namely that of an excessive waist circumference, hypertension, dyslipidemia, or hyperglycemia was significantly higher in the former than in the latter, respectively. When subjects with a waist circumferences of 85 cm or more were selectively studied, the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome was still higher in excessive drinkers (39.2%) than in average drinkers (32.4%, chi2=4.0, p=0.049), whereas the waist circumference was not significantly different between the two groups. CONCLUSION: Excessive ethanol consumption is associated with an increased prevalence of the metabolic syndrome following the current clinical diagnostic criteria. Excessive ethanol consumption could simply be a factor worsening the metabolic syndrome. However, we must be aware of another possibility that excessive ethanol consumption increases the number of subjects regarded as the metabolic syndrome via mechanisms differing from visceral fat accumulation.

An Epidemiological Study on Hookworm Infection in Remote Rural Areas of Miyazaki Prefecture / 日本農村医学会雑誌

Parsitological surveys were conducted to study the recent trend of hookworm infection in remote rural areas of Miyazaki Prefecture, south Japan. Kate's thich smear and test-tube filter paper culture techniques were performed on 837 fecal samples collected from four villages. Prevalence rate of hookworm infection was 13.0% average and that of other intestinal helminths was less than 2.0%. In these districts <I>Ancylostoma duodenale</I> was predominant and species ratio with <I>Necator americanus</I> was 81: 27. Mixed infecttion was few as compared with past record. Prevalence rate and age distribution of <I>N. americanus</I> infection showed a considerable difference between sexes and especially the infection rate was higher in women than man, also the carriers ratio with man was 8: 1. As to the geographical distribution of both species in a village there was a certain tendency of single species infection in a unit of small community.<BR>However, prevalence of hookworm infection in these communities showed a considerable distinction with one another.