The purposes of this study were to examine the loss of bone mineral density (BMD) with increasing age and to investigate the relationship between the BMD and body composition. Cross-sectional measurements of total body and regional (head, arms, legs, trunk, ribs, pelvis and spine) BMD and body composition were made in 112 Japanese healthy women, aged 20 to 87 years, by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) . The mean peak BMD for the trunk, ribs, and pelvis was observed at the age of 40-49 years, in the arms and spine at the age of 30-39 years, and in the head, legs, and total body at the age of 20-29 years. The loss of spine BMD appears to begin prior to BMD loss in other regions and the rate of bone loss as a function of aging was readily apparent. Appendicular bone loss did not occur until age 49 yr, accelerated from ages 50 to 69 yr, and then decelerated somewhat after age 70 yr. In this cross-sectional analysis, we found cumulative loss of BMD from peak to 80-89 yr of age was 31.2% for the spine, 25.0% for the total body, and 21.5% for the ribs. To examine the relationship between the BMD and body composition, multiple regression analysis was performed with total body and regional BMD as the dependent variable and fat-free mass (FFM) and fat mass as the independent variable. From this analysis, the results indicated that FFM was a significant predictor of total body and regional BMD but did not evaluate the effects of exercise or other potential variables that might affect BMD. In conclusion, our findings indicate that spine bone loss begins prior to the loss of compact bone, and the rate of bone loss in the spine due to aging was greater than that of other specific regions. Secondly, FFM and fat mass are related to total and regional BMD in Japanese women with the strongest relationship being FFM.

BACKGROUND: Oral food challenge (OFC) tests are conducted in both specialized institutions and general hospitals. We aimed to compare the severity of the conditions of the patients between these 2 types of institutions in order to consider the role of such institutions in society. OBJECTIVE: We evaluated the results of OFC tests for hen's egg, cow's milk, and wheat that were conducted in a specialized institution (Aichi Children's Health and Medical Center [ACHMC], n = 835) and in 4 general hospitals (n = 327) in Aichi prefecture, Japan. METHODS: The symptoms provoked were scored using the total score (TS) of the Anaphylaxis Scoring Aichi scoring system in combination with the total ingested protein dose (Pro) before the appearance of allergic symptoms. RESULTS: The total ingested dose of the challenge-positive patients in ACHMC was significantly less than that in the general hospitals (p < 0.01). The median TS of the provoked symptoms in ACHMC and the general hospitals did not differ to a statistically significant extent in the hen's egg or cow's milk challenges; however, the median TS in ACHMC was significantly lower than that in the general hospitals for the wheat challenge (p = 0.02). The median TS/Pro values in ACHMC were almost identical to the upper 25% of the TS/Pro values in the general hospitals, suggesting that the specialized institution usually managed more severe patients. CONCLUSION: The specialized institution performed OFC tests at a lower threshold dose, but provoked similar TSs to the general hospitals. This evaluation may help in optimizing the distribution of patients to general hospitals and specialized institutions.
Anaphylaxis ; Child Health ; Hospitals, General ; Hospitals, Special ; Humans ; Japan ; Milk ; Ovum ; Severity of Illness Index ; Triticum