A comprehensive health survey of 618 inhabitants from 1 to 90 years old was conducted in Kathmandu City and in a neighboring village. It included the measurements of height and weight, examinations of blood, feces, urine as well as clinical findings. It also covered the examinations of drinking water and the inquiries of the living conditions.
The anthropometric measurements revealed that Nepalese children are generally small in height for age and 4.2 per cent of them were malnourished. The symptoms relating to avitaminoses, such as xerosis of the skin, angular lesions of the lips, hypotrophic papillae of the tongue were not seldom seen.
Thyroid enlargements over the grade II of Shichijo's classification or grade I of Perez's were found in 9.2 per cent of males and 18.6 per cent of females.
Among clinical abnormal findings, infective eye diseases were most frequent, followed by skin and respiratory diseases. Anemia and iron deficiency were found in high rates among children under 10 years, the aged over 50 years and the females in child-bearing ages.
Parasite infestation rate was 92.8 per cent as a whole, trichuris trichiura (81.6 per cent) was the most prevalent, followed by ascaris lumbricoides (61.8 per cent) and hookworm (29.3 per cent). Cystes of entamoeba histolytica (5.5 per cent) and giardia lambria (12.8 per cent) were also found in apparently healthy persons.
No available residual chlorine was found in the city water of Kathmandu, though chlorination was carried out in the treatment plant, suggesting some defects in transmission system. In the village, water is supplied without treatment and was found contaminated by E. coli.

To identify life−related factors causing increased mortality, 2, 769 rural residents aged 29−77 were investigated through a self−administered questionnaire in 1990. Death certificates and migration information were inspected during the 4.5−year follow−up period. Age, obesity, life attitude, job, marital status, drinking and smoking habits, previous or current illness, and frequency of participation in health examinations were checked during the baseline survey. The person−year mortality rate was higher among irregular participants in health examinations than among regular participants both among males and females. From Cox’s multiple regression analysis, factors with a significantly high hazard ratio (HR) for mortality were irregular participation (HR=2.05), increase of age (HR=1.54, for 10 years), previous or current illness (HR=2.44), unemployment (HR=1.95), and living without a spouse (HR=2.61) for males; and for females they were having previous or current illness (HR=15.21) and living without a spouse (HR=2.94). Thus, irregular participation in health examinations, unemployment and aging showed a relationship with a higher mortality only in males. A previous or current illness and living without a spouse were related in both sexes.
participation ; Health ; Illness, NOS ; livin ; g <3>

A survey was carried out in a rural area in Thailand as a part of the study on the physical development and nutritional status of children of developing countries in Asia. Four hundred and sixty-three school children of both sexes, from 6 to 14 years of age, had anthropometric measurements and examinations of clinical signs related to nutritional deficiencies. Blood, urine and feces were also exaimined.
1) Thai children were remarkably smaller than Japanese and growth retardation was observed at 21.4% and 37.3% of those in age groups 6-9 and 10-14 years, respectively. And judging from the weight-for-height, about one-fourth of them were considered malnourished in varying degrees
2) Upper arm muscle circumference, calculated with upper arm circumference and subcutaneous skinfold of the same place, revealed that the development of muscle was obviously retarded.
3) Signs of hypovitaminoses such as xerosis of the skin, decreased patellar reflex, cheilosis, angular lesion were frequently observed.
4) Mean values of hemoglobin and serum iron concentrations were low in general and about 20% of the children were judged anemic according to the WHO criteria for nutritional anemias. Cholesterol values were also lower than those of Japanese and American children
5) The overall positive rate of intestinal parasites' eggs was 43.2% and hookworm eggs were most frequently observed, follwed by Giardia lambria
For the improvement of growth and nutritional status of Thai children, the preventive measures against parasitic and infectious diseases through improvement of environmental hygiene are essential as well as food supply.

OBJECTIVESTo clarify the characteristics of deep-sea water (DSW), we investigated the hematological, immunological and biochemical effects of DSW, specifically the so-called Japan Sea Proper Water (JSPW), samples of which we collected from the Japan Sea at a depth of about 300 meters.

METHODSFive groups of five mice each were orally administered,ad libitum for 12 weeks, one of the following: 1.2% DSW, 12% DSW, 1.2% surface-sea water (SSW), 12% SSW, or purified water (control)

RESULTSAmong these groups, no significant differences were observed in the average reduction of water intake, food consumption or body weight. The mean corpuscular volume, however, was significantly lower (p<0.05) in the 1.2% DSW group than in the control group. Moreover, serum immunoglobulin G and A values were significantly higher (p<0.05) in the 12% DSW and the 12% SSW groups, respectively, compared with the control group. In addition, the serum glucose value in the 12% DSW group was significantly higher (p<0.05) than in the control group

CONCLUSIONSThe findings of the present study suggested the presence of some toxic components in DSW. Before a final answer is reached about whether DSW, and specifically JSPW, is bad for human health, the pathophysiology of findings such as the decreased mean corpuscular volume, the higher immunoglobulin G value and the higher glucose value should be investigated.