Recommendations of Lifestyle Modification According to a Survey of First-Year University Students.

BACKGROUND: We analyzed what kind of lifestyle modification first-year university students need based on the results of a health-consciousness survey conducted in first-year students immediately after they entered a university. METHODS: This population-based cross-sectional study used a "questionnaire survey on lifestyle and health for promoting health" conducted in Japan in 2015. From among an initial pool of 3,912 students, we excluded 314 due to insufficient data. The remaining 3,598 students (2,206 males and 1,392 females) were divided into four groups according to body mass index (BMI) based on Japan Society for the Study of Obesity "Guidelines for the management of obesity disease 2016": low (18.5 > BMI), less than standard (22.0 > BMI ≥ 18.5), standard or higher (25.0 > BMI ≥ 22.0) and obesity (BMI ≥ 25.0). RESULTS: Females had an ideal body image that was at a lower body weight regardless of their BMI. Males in the low BMI and obesity groups tended to be less aware of health issues. For each level of BMI, and in both males and females, the most frequent report of stress was "sometimes feel". The most frequent method for relieving stress was spending time with friends. Among males, those in the obesity group spent more time with "personal computers, televisions and games, etc." in a sitting position. When students were asked to rank which of their lifestyle habits needed the most improvement, "lack of exercise" was the highest, followed by "irregular schedule" and "dietary habits". In daily living behavior, a significant difference was observed for "exercise" among males, but not females. CONCLUSION: The attitudes of both males and females regarding the importance of physical activity and the necessity of efforts to improve health are presented. Health education for university students based on the attitudes may be useful for the prevention of lifestyle-related diseases for themselves in the future and before they become parents.

Role of prehypertension in the development of coronary atherosclerosis in Japan.

BACKGROUND: Hypertension is an important risk factor of coronary heart disease. A new guidelines for hypertension prevention and management in The Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure in the United States recommended lifestyle modification or medical treatment for subjects with prehypertension. However, whether prehypertension increases the risk of coronary atherosclerosis in the Japanese population is still unknown. METHODS: A cross-sectional study in a clinical setting was conducted. The subjects were 705 patients (417 males and 288 females) aged 30 years and older who underwent a first-time coronary angiography for suspected or known coronary heart disease at 5 major cardiology departments in the Fukuoka metropolitan area between September 1996 and August 1997. RESULTS: Compared to subjects with normal blood pressure, those with prehypertension had an increased risk of coronary atherosclerosis even after adjusting for other factors. CONCLUSION: Prehypertension may be an important clinical entity which requires treatment in the Japanese population.

Relation between type A behavior pattern and the extent of coronary atherosclerosis in Japanese women.

This study examined the relation of Type A behavior pattern and its components to angiographically documented coronary atherosclerosis in 198 Japanese women. A questionnaire-based interview elicited psychosocial and other factors. Type A behavior pattern was measured by 12 questions. Significant coronary stenosis was defined when a 75% or greater luminal narrowing occurred at one or more major coronary arteries or 50% or greater narrowing occurred at the left main artery. Gensini's score also was calculated. Logistic regression analysis was used to calculate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals with adjustment for traditional coronary risk factors and the presence of a job. Global Type A behavior pattern showed no material association with the severity of coronary atherosclerosis assessed by both Gensini's score and the presence of significant coronary stenosis. However, its subcomponents, enthusiasm and competitiveness, were positively related to the severity of coronary atherosclerosis, whereas self-confidence and perfectionism were negatively related. These findings suggest overall a null association between global Type A and coronary atherosclerosis as well as the presence of toxic or beneficial components of Type A behaviors in Japanese women.

Two cases of malignant hypertension with reversible diffuse leukoencephalopathy exhibiting a reversible nocturnal blood pressure "riser" pattern.

We report two cases of malignant hypertension with reversible diffuse leukoencephalopathy demonstrating a nocturnal blood pressure (BP) rising pattern ("riser" pattern). Case 1 was a 54-year-old man diagnosed with malignant hypertension who presented with diffuse leukoencephalopathy and nocturnal BP rise during the acute phase. These abnormal findings diminished after treatment of hypertension. Case 2 was a 50-year-old woman diagnosed with malignant hypertension in association with leukoencephalopathy, heart failure and acute renal failure. She also presented with a "riser" pattern during the acute phase. In contrast to case 1, the leukoencephalopathy and "riser" pattern in case 2 were not improved even after 1 month of treatment. Following intensive antihypertensive treatment, renal failure was improved in case 1, but renal failure was not improved after 1 month in case 2. In conclusion, a possible explanation of this phenomenon is that a causative volume overload due to renal dysfunction produced the temporal leukoencephalopathy-like brain edema and "riser" pattern in these cases.

Circadian variation of blood pressure and neurohumoral factors during the acute phase of stroke.

This study was to investigate the relationship between circadian blood pressure (BP) variation and circadian variation of neurohumoral factors during the acute phase of stroke. We studied 17 patients with cerebral infarction in 16 and cerebral hemorrhage in one. We performed 24-hour ambulatory BP monitoring and examined plasma renin activity (PRA), catecholamine, atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), endothelin 1 (ET1) and prothrombin fragment 1+2 (PT F1+2) and urinary catecholamine. Our result showed that the circadian variation of BP, neurohumoral and coagulation factors were diminished. There were significant relationships between BP levels and plasma BNP levels, nocturnal urinary adrenalines and ET1s. There were also significant relationships between night/day ratio of BP and plasma ET1 level. In conclusion the abnormal patterns of circadian BP rhythm were frequently observed during the acute phase of stroke. The cause of this abnormality may result from the diminished circadian rhythms of neurohumoral factors.