To elucidate the correlation between personal behavior patterns (PBPs) and depression, we made a survey of middle-ages and elderly residents in a certain town for mental health promotion and prevention of depression. We performed not only a univariate analysis but also a multivariate analysis to compare the strength of correlation between PBPs and depression by controlling the confounding factors of age and gender.
1) Univariate analysis
Univariate analysis revealed that the PBPs that were positively related to depression (i. e., in which odds ratio was significantly greater than 1) were sleeping insufficient hours (≤6 hours), taking poorly balanced diet, and skipping breakfast.
In males, the PBPs positively related to depression were having poorly balanced diet and sleeping insufficient hours, while in females they were insufficient sleeping hours, poorly balanced diet, and no breakfast.
2) Multivariate analysis
Multivariate analysis, used to control confounding factors, revealed that the PBPs positively related to depression (for which relative risk was singnificantly greater than 1) were insufficient sleeping hours and poorly balanced diet.
In males, poorly balanced diet was positively related to depression, while in females both insuffisient sleeping hours and poorly balanced diet were related to depression.

We studied the correlations between lifestyle (a set of health-related practices sleeping hours, working hours, breakfast, eating between meals, salt, smoking, drinking, exercise, balance in diet) and the sense of well-being using by Neugarten's Life Satisfaction Index (LSI). For this purpose, a survey was made of middle aged and elderly residents in a town.
Multivariate analysis to control the confounding factors of sex and gender revealed that the practices significantly related to the sense of well-being were diet, exercise and salt in take and that the health practices promoting LSI were balanced diet, regular exercise, restriction of salt and excessive drinking, but having poorly unbalanced diet and skipping breakfast deteriorated LSI.
In males the practices promoting LSI were regular exercise, balanced diet, working long, restriction of salt, intake and working long. Lack of sleep and skipping breakfast deteriorated LSI.
In females the practices promoting LSI were balanced diet, regular execise, restriction of salt, intake and drinking. But nutritionaly imbalanced diet and not eating between meals deteriorated LSI.
Better lifestyle was correlated with high LSI irrespective of sex and gender. These results reveal that healthy lifestyle promotes subjective well-being and suggest that the health practiced deter the age-associated decline in health and the deterioration of bodily functions that typically accompany aging.

The purspose of this study was to clarify the relationships between life events and acute stresses felt by rural inhabitants of middle and advanced age. For this purpose, we made a survey of 1, 528 residents aged 40-69 in a farming village, Chiba Prefecture, and inquired of them about 27 stress-producing life events over the past one year. The correlations were sought by multivariate analysis.
A logistic regression analysis using gender and age as covariates found that significant risk variables for acute stress were trouble with relative, trouble with boss, change in number of arguments with spouse, loan, injury/illness, change in social activities, death of spouse and change in health or behavior of family member among the sources of distress, and retirement, outstanding personal achievement and change in living conditions among the source of eustress.
In males, significant variables for acute stress were loan, injury/illness and trouble with boss as distresses, and homecoming and outstanding personal achievement as etistresses. In females, trouble with relatives, change in number of arguments with spouse, change in social activities, injury/illness, change in health or behavior of family member as distresses and change in living conditions as an eustress.
The present study suggested that risk variables fostering distress are trouble with other people and health problems of the subject or family member. But there were slight differences between men and women.

For the purpose of elucidating the life events which aggravate lifestyle as a totality of healthrelated factors we made a survey of lives of residents in a rural district, and analyzed the correlation between life events and lifestyle.
The results obtained by multivariate analysis were as follows.
1) The life events significantly related to lifestyle were husband-and-wife fight, separation, debts, homecoming, death of one's best friends, inconstancy, decrease in income and insolvency.
The life events that conduce to improved lifestyle were inconstancy, discharge from employment, home coming and so on, while separation, husband-and-wife fight and in solvency were among the life events that aggregate lifestyle.
2) In males, the life events significantly related to lifestyle were homecoming, decrease in income, husband-and-wife fight, marriage, death of one's best friends, inconstancy, discharge and pregnancy.
The life events that conduce to improved lifestyle were discharge, homecoming, inconstancy and pregnancy of his wife, while the life events that deteriorate lifestyle were separation and husband-and-wife fight.
In females, marriage and personal success were significantly related to lifestyle.
The life events that conduce to improved lifestyle were personal success, divorce and retirement, while the life events that adversely influence lifestyle were insolvency, death of spouse and husband-and-wife fight.

Fundscopically identified risk factors for cerebrovascular disease (CVD) and heart disease (HD) were prospectively studied in 2, 112 men and women aged 30-59 who initially had no history of either disease and who lived in the Nishi-izu district of Shizuoka Prefecture.
Baseline medical examinations of the retinal arteries were made in a sample of 2, 112 residents in Nishi-izu Machi and Kamo Mura in 1964-1966 who were followed up until 1985. During the follow-up period, 93 died from CVD and 64 from HD.
Using a case-control study in a cohort study design, fundoscopically identified risk variables (hypertensive or arteriosclerotic changes in ocular fundus: fundoscopic classification by Scheie) were compared between the 157 cases (93 CVD cases and 64 HD cases) at the last health examination before death and 314 control survivors matched for gender, age (±2 years), and residential district. Using the same design, the progression of risk variables for 5±1 years prior to the last examination was followed to identify factors associated with circulatory disease.
From conditional logistic regression analyses using findings of the retinal arteries at the last health examination, significant risk variables for CVD were found to be the narrowing of retinal arteries and increases in reflex, whereas risk variables for HD were arteriovenous crossing (concealment) and increase in reflex.
From the same multivariate analyses using the progression of findings, significant risk variables for CVD were the ingravescence of the narrowing of retinal arteries and progressive increases in reflex, whereas for HD the only risk variables was progressive increases in reflex.
The present study suggested that, in addition to the cross-sectional findings of retinal arteries on a given occasion, the progression of findings through serial health examinations yields useful information for controlling the health of residents.

Epithelial attachment via the basal lamina on the tooth surface provides an important structural defence mechanism against bacterial invasion in combating periodontal disease. However, when considering dental implants, strong epithelial attachment does not exist throughout the titanium-soft tissue interface, making soft tissues more susceptible to peri-implant disease. This study introduced a novel synthetic peptide (A10) to enhance epithelial attachment. A10 was identified from a bacterial peptide display library and synthesized. A10 and protease-activated receptor 4-activating peptide (PAR4-AP, positive control) were immobilized on commercially pure titanium. The peptide-treated titanium showed high epithelial cell migration ability during incubation in platelet-rich plasma. We confirmed the development of dense and expanded BL (stained by Ln5) with pericellular junctions (stained by ZO1) on the peptide-treated titanium surface. In an adhesion assay of epithelial cells on A10-treated titanium, PAR4-AP-treated titanium, bovine root and non-treated titanium, A10-treated titanium and PAR4-AP-treated titanium showed significantly stronger adhesion than non-treated titanium. PAR4-AP-treated titanium showed significantly higher inflammatory cytokine release than non-treated titanium. There was no significant difference in inflammatory cytokine release between A10-treated and non-treated titanium. These results indicated that A10 could induce the adhesion and migration of epithelial cells with low inflammatory cytokine release. This novel peptide has a potentially useful application that could improve clinical outcomes with titanium implants and abutments by reducing or preventing peri-implant disease.
Amino Acid Sequence ; Animals ; Benzeneacetamides ; chemical synthesis ; pharmacology ; Cattle ; Cell Adhesion ; drug effects ; Cell Movement ; drug effects ; Cells, Cultured ; Cytokines ; metabolism ; Dental Implants ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Epithelial Attachment ; drug effects ; Epithelial Cells ; cytology ; metabolism ; Microscopy, Confocal ; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning ; Piperidones ; chemical synthesis ; pharmacology ; Platelet-Rich Plasma ; Receptors, Thrombin ; Surface Properties ; Titanium ; chemistry

The aim of this study was to evaluate the biological efficacy of a unique perpendicular protrusion of type-I collagen (Col-I) from TiO
Animals ; Cell Adhesion ; Collagen Type I ; Mice ; NIH 3T3 Cells ; Nanotubes ; Surface Properties ; Titanium