Indications are that Japan is growing old at a faster pace than in any other nation. In 1993, people aged 65 years and over accounted for 13.5% of the nation's population, and in Nagano Prefecture the rate stood at 17.9%, far higher than the national average. In our district, Minamisaku, it was 22.0%, greater than the prefectural average. As aging goes on at a rapid clip, the number of the bed-ridden is on the upswing.
The Saku Central Hospital has instituted a system of home-visit health care since 1988 with the Department of Internal Medicine playing a pivotal role. The Department of Dentistry and Oral Surgery has also commenced a home-visit dental care program since 1990
The patients to whom home-visit care is delivered have a variety of basic diseases. The attention has focused on their treatment. In many cases, their indifference to oral hygiene was responsible for the ailments. Since the mouth is an inlet for bacteria and other pathogenic microorganisms, it is important to keep the mouth clean so as to prevent the deterioration of basic diseases. That biting may be done with dentures and other prosthetic devices suggests a feasibility of improving quality of life and working for a better health? Because some reports argue that chewing stimulates the brain, thus helpful in preventing senile psychosis, and because eating is one of the pleasures for the bedridden, the role played by us, dentists, is large. Here we report the present status of home-visit dental care delivered by our department from 1990 to 1995

Objective: The objective of the present study was to clarify the relationship between factors having an influence on obesity improvement programs and psychosocial factors from a more comprehensive point of view.
Methods: We studied a total of 43 subjects with a body mass index (BMI) of 25 kg/m2 or higher who wished to take part in an obesity improvement program and agreed to participate in the study. We conducted an obesity improvement program based on behavior change theories for three months and evaluated physical composition, mental health, social support, stress-coping and the like before intervention and immediately after completion of the program.
Results: The average weight showed a significant decrease from 69.0 } 8.8 kg to 65.7 } 8.7 kg before and after intervention (p<0.001), respectively. It was also shown that the presence or absence of chronic diseases, social support from a spouse and the decrease of avoidance stress coping were related to weight loss.
Conclusion: The findings suggest that it will be further necessary to continue working on the need to enhance awareness about stress with a view to preventing occurrence of rebound after the end of weight loss programs and acquisition coping techniques, apart from the cooperation of attending doctors, strengthening of social support from family and friends and managing stress for the duration of the program.

In order to carry out mass examination for detection of stomach ailments effectively and improve screening accuracy, the Nagano Prefectural Welfare Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives, with its mass gastric examination committee as a driving force, has made every endeavor in close collaboration with Federation-affiliated hospitals.
The ratio of those receiving detailed examination to the total number of those who have undergone mass screenings, and the detection ratio of gastric cancer cases, especially those in early stages, have increased steadily over the past years.
This is due in the main to untiring effort exerted by public health nurses and other persons concerned with health problems.
However, the results of X-ray examination made on the basis of the diagnostic standards prepared by the Federation show that there is much need of improving examiners' ability to read mass miniature radiographs correctly.

Indications are that Japan is growing old at a faster pace than in any other nation. In 1993, people aged 65 years and over accounted for 13.5% of the nation's population, and in Nagano Prefecture the rate stood at 17.9%, far higher than the national average. In our district, Minamisaku, it was 22.0%, greater than the prefectural average. As aging goes on at a rapid clip, the number of the bed-ridden is on the upswing. The Saku Central Hospital has instituted a system of home-visit health care since 1988 with the Department of Internal Medicine playing a pivotal role. The Department of Dentistry and Oral Surgery has also commenced a home-visit dental care program since 1990 The patients to whom home-visit care is delivered have a variety of basic diseases. The attention has focused on their treatment. In many cases, their indifference to oral hygiene was responsible for the ailments. Since the mouth is an inlet for bacteria and other pathogenic microorganisms, it is important to keep the mouth clean so as to prevent the deterioration of basic diseases. That biting may be done with dentures and other prosthetic devices suggests a feasibility of improving quality of life and working for a better health? Because some reports argue that chewing stimulates the brain, thus helpful in preventing senile psychosis, and because eating is one of the pleasures for the bedridden, the role played by us, dentists, is large. Here we report the present status of home-visit dental care delivered by our department from 1990 to 1995