OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate differences in physical function by bone mass category as assessed by speed of sound, and the association between bone mass and physical function in Japanese elderly women. METHODS: Participants (≥65 years, n = 954) were divided into the osteoporosis, osteopenia, and normal groups based on speed of sound values, and physical function parameters were compared among groups. In addition, the predictive ability of physical function for low bone mass was determined by area under the curve analysis. Data were collected in 4 cities in Nara, Japan, in 2007 or 2008. RESULTS: All physical functions were significantly lower in the osteoporotic group than in the normal group. Lower bone mass was associated with poor muscle strength and physical function after adjusting for age, height and weight. In addition, one-leg standing time and 10-m gait time were predictive of low bone mass (osteopenia and osteoporosis levels, respectively). Elderly women with low physical function, especially those with a short one-leg standing time, should be suspected of having decreased bone mass. CONCLUSIONS: Measurements of physical function can effectively identify elderly women with low bone mass at an early stage without the need for bone mass measurements. In particular, one-leg standing time and 10-m gait time were good predictors of low bone mass, and is easy to measure, low-cost, and can be self-measured. These findings will be helpful in the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis.
Aged* ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Bone Diseases, Metabolic ; Female ; Gait ; Humans ; Japan ; Muscle Strength ; Osteoporosis ; Ultrasonography*

OBJECTIVE: To assess the use of colony-stimulating factors (CSFs) in patients with ovarian cancer who receive adjuvant paclitaxel and carboplatin chemotherapy in clinical practice and to assess whether the frequency of CSF use differs among hospitals in Japan. METHODS: CSF use in patients with ovarian cancer who received first-line paclitaxel and carboplatin was analyzed retrospectively using data from the Japanese hospitalization payment system. RESULTS: A total of 1,050 patients at 104 hospitals were identified. The median age was 60 years (range, 22 to 88 years). Of these, 163 patients (15.5%) were diagnosed with neutropenia and 134 patients (12.8%) received CSFs. Among the patients who received CSFs, 125 (93%) received them for the treatment of neutropenia without fever and 1 received them for febrile neutropenia. In total, CSFs were administered for 272 cycles of chemotherapy. Among them, CSFs were used as treatment for neutropenia without fever in 259 cycles (95%), as prophylaxis (primary or secondary) in 12 cycles (4%), and as treatment for febrile neutropenia in 1 cycle. Among hospitals, a median of 4.0% of patients received CSFs with an interquartile range of 25% (Q1, 0%; Q3, 25%). A logistic random effects model showed that the variation in the proportion of patients receiving CSFs among the 104 hospitals was 2.0 (p<0.001), suggesting that the use of CSFs varied across hospitals. CONCLUSION: Most patients received CSFs for neutropenia without fever. Standardized and evidence-based use of CSFs is critically required among hospitals in Japan.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Carboplatin* ; Colony-Stimulating Factors* ; Drug Therapy ; Febrile Neutropenia ; Fever ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Japan* ; Neutropenia ; Ovarian Neoplasms* ; Paclitaxel* ; Retrospective Studies