We examined the relationship between the change to a type A behavior pattern and the changes in systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) in subjects who work in T town communities.
A screening test was performed to determine which subjects had a type A behavior (Tagawa et al.). Between 1994 and 1995 there were 10 subjects in whom the pattern changed from type B2 to type A2 (Changed Group) and 11 subjects in whom the pattern stayed in type B2 (Unchanged Group).
The rate of change to type A score [(type A score in 1995-type A score in 1994)/type A score in 1994×100] was correlated with the rate of change in SBP [(SBP in 1995-SBP in 1994)/SBP in 1994] and DBP [(DBP in 1995-DBP in 1994)/DBP in 1994×100].
In the Changed Group, SBP and DBP levels in 1994 were significantly higher than those in 1995. However, in the Unchanged Group, there were no significant differences in SBP or DBP level between 1994 and 1995. Furthermore, there were no significant differences in SBP or DBP level between the Changed and Unchanged Groups in 1994 and 1995.
Our results suggest that type A behavior and blood pressure are closely related.

We investigated the relationship between obesity and lipids in elderly women in a rural area with primary hyperlipidemia after one year of follow-up. Thirty women aged 61 to 89 (mean age, 72.5 years) with primary hyperlipidemia were enrolled in this study. They were all given lipid-lowering dietary by a dietitian (s) and general physicians at the time of entry.
Total serum cholesterol (TCHO), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), blood pressure and body mass index (BMI) did not change significantly over the past one year however, triglyceride level (TG) significantly decreased during the period. BMI at the time of enrollment was not significantly correlated with the reduction rate of TCHO or HDL-C, but was significantly correlated with the reduction rate of TG.
Thus, BMI may be useful as a predictor of TG change when only dietary therapy is given to eldery suburban women.

To determine the relationships among silent brain infarction (SBI), bone mineral density and milk consumption in elderly women, we studied 26 senile female outpatients with SBI in comparison with 18 age-matched controls.
There was a significant difference between the two groups in diastolic blood pressure (p<0.05), and a significantly larger number of individuals in the SBI group had a history of hypertension than in the control group (p<0.005). Bone mineral density at the ultradistal end of the radius tended to be lower in the SBI group than in the control group (0.05These finding indicated a close correlation between SBI and milk consumption habits in elderly women.

OBJECTIVETeeth can serve as records of environmental exposure to heavy metals during their formation. We applied a new technology - synchrotron radiation microbeams (SRXRF) - for analysis of heavy metals in human permanent teeth in modern and historical samples.

METHODSEach tooth was cut in half. A longitudinal section 200 mum in thickness was subjected to the determination of the heavy metal content by SRXRF or conventional analytical methods (ICP-MS analysis or reduction-aeration atomic absorption spectrometry). The relative concentrations of Pb, Hg, Cu and Zn measured by SRXRF were translated in concentrations (in g of heavy metal/g of enamel) using calibration curves by the two analytical methods.

RESULTSConcentrations in teeth in the modern females (n = 5) were 1.2 +/- 0.5 mug/g (n = 5) for Pb; 1.7 +/- 0.2 ng/g for Hg; 0.9 +/- 1.1 mug/g for Cu; 150 +/- 24.6 mug/g for Zn. The levels of Pb were highest in the teeth samples obtained from the humans of the Edo era (1603-1868 AD: ) (0.5-4.0 mug/g, n = 4). No trend was observed in this study in the Hg content in teeth during 3,000 years. The concentrations of Cu were highest in teeth of two medieval craftsmen (57.0 and 220 mug/g). The levels of Zn were higher in modern subjects (P < 0.05) than those in the Jomon (~1000 BC: ) to Edo periods [113.2 +/- 27.4 (mug/g, n = 11)]. Reconstruction of developmental exposure history to lead in a famous court painter of the Edo period (18th century) revealed high levels of Pb (7.1-22.0 mug/g) in his childhood.

CONCLUSIONSSRXRF is useful a method for reconstructing human exposures in very long trends.