The Study
Generational and regional differences in trends of mortality from ischemic heart disease in Japan from 1969 to 1992.
This study looked at how many people died of heart disease in different parts of Japan over many years. It noticed that in big cities like Tokyo, the number of deaths didn’t drop as fast as in other places, but it doesn’t say why. It just shows a pattern, not a reason.
Analysis score
Maximum 44 for a cross-sectional study.
Where the score came from
In Japan, heart disease deaths were going down everywhere, but in Tokyo and Osaka, the drop slowed down a lot after 1979 — especially for young men.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 526 / 100
Quality score
Snapshots of a population at a single point in time, or descriptions of small groups. Can identify correlations and prevalence, but cannot determine cause and effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes — this means young men in big cities were dying of heart disease at nearly twice the rate of young men elsewhere in Japan, and their death rates weren't improving like elsewhere.
- 2In 1991–1992, young men (30–49) in Tokyo/Osaka had 9.4 heart disease deaths per 100,000 people, while elsewhere in Japan it was 5.4 per 100,000.
- 3The yearly drop in deaths for these men was only 0.05% in Tokyo/Osaka.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
American journal of epidemiology
Year
2001
Authors
A. Okayama, H. Ueshima, M. Marmot, P. Elliott, S. Choudhury, Y. Kita
Related Content
Claims (4)
The number of people dying from ischemic heart disease has dropped by 44% since 1990.
Between 1991 and 1992, men aged 30 to 49 in Tokyo and Osaka died from ischemic heart disease at a rate of 9.4 per 100,000, while men in the rest of Japan died at a rate of 5.4 per 100,000.
From 1979 to 1992, the rate at which deaths from ischemic heart disease decreased each year among men aged 30–49 in Tokyo and Osaka was 0.05%, which was the same as the rate of decline for all age groups in the rest of Japan.
From 1979 to 1992, the rate at which deaths from ischemic heart disease decreased slowed down in Tokyo and Osaka compared to the previous decade, but did not decrease at all in other parts of Japan.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.