Journal of Epidemiology
Online ISSN : 1349-9092
Print ISSN : 0917-5040
ISSN-L : 0917-5040
Original Article
Body Mass Index and Mortality in a Middle-aged Japanese Cohort
Rumiko HayashiMotoki IwasakiTetsuya OtaniNaren WangHiroko MiyazakiSasazawa YoshiakiShigenobu AokiHiroshi KoyamaShosuke Suzuki
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JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

2005 Volume 15 Issue 3 Pages 70-77

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Abstract

BACKGROUND: The relative risk of mortality in low and high body mass index (BMI) categories in various ethnic groups remains a controversial subject.
METHODS: To examine the relationship between BMI and mortality, a population-based prospective cohort study was conducted in two areas of Gunma Prefecture, Japan, in 1993. A total of 5,554 men and 5,827 women aged 40-69 years completed a self-administered questionnaire and were followed up until the year 2000. The hazard ratios (HRs) were estimated by the Cox proportional hazards model for different BMI classes.
RESULTS: During the seven year follow-up period, 329 men and 147 women died. As compared with those in the reference BMI category (22.0-24.9 kg/m2), men and women in the lowest BMI category (<18.5 kg/m2) had a HR (95% confidence interval [CI]) of death from all-causes of 2.66 (1.59-4.46) and 3.14 (1.38-7.13), respectively, and women in the highest BMI category (28.0+ kg/m2) had a HR of death of 3.25 (1.48-7.15), after adjusting for all possible confounding factors including smoking and after excluding deaths occurring during the first three years of follow-up.
CONCLUSION: In this prospective study of a Japanese cohort consisting of subjects ranging in age from 40 to 69 years, the curve depicting the relationship between BMI and all-cause mortality was Lshaped in men and U-shaped in women.
J Epidemiol 2005; 15: 70-77.

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© 2005 by Japan Epidemiological Association
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