The purpose of this paper was to study pulmonary haemodynamics in an elastase-induced emphysema model in awake rats (Group-EL, n = 9) in comparison with saline-treated controls (Group-C, n = 12). Four weeks before haemodynamic study, porcine pancreatic elastase and normal saline were intratracheally instilled in Group-EL and Group-C, respectively. Indwelling pulmonary artery and abdominal aortic catheters were positioned two days before the haemodynamic study. Breathing room air, mean pulmonary artery pressure (Ppa) tended to be higher in Group-EL than in Group-C, although the difference was not statistically significant. Systemic pressure, total systemic vascular resistance and cardiac index did not differ between groups. When exposed to 10% O2, Ppa and pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) of both groups rose significantly. The increase of Ppa, (but not PVR) in Group-EL during hypoxia was significantly higher than that in Group-C. The magnitude of hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction (HPV) tended to be larger in Group-EL than in Group-C. Right ventricles of Group-EL were more hypertrophic than those of Group-C, suggesting a period of higher pulmonary artery pressure than for Group-C. The present results imply that the pressor response of pulmonary vasculature to acute alveolar hypoxia is possibly enhanced in awake rats upon examination four weeks after elastase treatment.

This study aimed to clarify the relationship between the onset of low-density lipoprotein hypercholesterolemia (hyper-LDLemia), high-density lipoprotein hypocholesterolemia (hypo-HDLemia), and hyper-triglyceridemia (hyper-TGemia) and lifestyle/socio-psychological factors among Fukushima evacuation area residents after the Great East Japan Earthquake. Participants included 11,274 non-hyper-LDLemia, 16,581 non-hypo-HDLemia, and 12,653 non-hyper-TGemia cases in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2011. In FY2011, these participants underwent a health checkup and responded to a mental health and lifestyle survey. The onset of each disease was followed through FY2017. The evacuation experience was positively associated with the risk of hyper-LDLemia, hypo-HDLemia, or hyper-TGemia. Conversely, the middle high dietary diversity score was negatively associated with the onset of hyper-TGemia. Moreover, low sleep satisfaction was positively associated with hypo-HDLemia and hyper-TGemia. The “almost never” exercise habit was positively associated with hypo-HDLemia. Current smoking and audible nuclear power plant explosions were positively associated with the risk of hyper-TGemia. Drinking habits exhibited a negative association with the onset of hyper-LDLemia, hypo-HDLemia, and hyper-TGemia. The results of this study indicate the need for continuous improvement in lifestyle, as well as efforts to eliminate the impact of disasters to prevent the onset of dyslipidemia among disaster evacuees.

Objective: Residents who lived near the Fukushima Power Plant accident were forced to change their lifestyle after the 2011 accident. This study aimed to elucidate the association of resident lifestyle and psychological factors with onset of hepatobiliary enzyme abnormalities (HEA) after the accident. Methods: This longitudinal study included 15705 residents who underwent a comprehensive health check, as well as a mental health and lifestyle survey between June 2011 and March 2012. Follow-up surveys were conducted between June, 2012 and March 2018. Risk factors for new HEA onset were evaluated using the Cox proportional hazards model, moreover, population attributable risks for new HEA onset were calculated. Results: HEA developed in 29.7% of subjects. In addition to metabolic factors such as overweight, hyperglycemia, and hyperlipidemia; there were differences in alcohol intake, evacuation, unemployment, educational background, and psychological distress between subjects with and without HEA onset. After we adjusted for potential confounding factors, an association of being overweight, hypertension, and dyslipidemia, as well as alcohol consumption, evacuation, and psychological distress with increased risk of HEA onset was realized. Among these identified risk factors, evacuation accounted for the greatest share. Conclusions: Metabolic characteristics and disaster-related lifestyle aspects, including mental status, were risk factors for HAE onset after the Fukushima Power Plant accident.

Background: Large-scale disasters may increase cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk through psychological distress, disrupted healthcare access, and lifestyle changes, but existing CVD risk scores may not adequately capture disaster-related vulnerability.Methods: We analysed data from 23,452 participants aged 30–79 years in the Fukushima Health Management Survey after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident. Incident CVD, defined as stroke or myocardial infarction, was monitored during follow-up. LASSO logistic regression and XGBoost were used only as exploratory screening tools, and predictors selected by both approaches were incorporated into a Cox proportional hazards model to develop the Questionnaire-based Post-Disaster Cardiovascular Risk Score Incorporating Psychological Distress (Q-DISC). Performance was assessed using C-statistics, net reclassification improvement (NRI), integrated discrimination improvement (IDI), and calibration analyses.Findings: During a median follow-up of 8.0 years, 1,368 participants developed incident CVD. Psychological distress assessed using the Kessler-6 Psychological Distress Scale (K6) was selected by both screening approaches and was independently associated with incident CVD. Adding K6 improved discrimination, NRI, and IDI across established CVD risk models. In the test dataset, Q-DISC showed acceptable discrimination (C-statistic, 0.770 [95% CI 0.745–0.800]) and calibration, with performance comparable to established laboratory- and non-laboratory-based models.Interpretation: Psychological distress provided prognostic information beyond conventional cardiovascular risk factors after a large-scale disaster. Q-DISC may support preliminary questionnaire-based cardiovascular risk stratification when laboratory testing or physical measurements are unavailable. External validation and, if necessary, recalibration are required before clinical implementation.