Thirdly, using alternative models, the predictions are improved so that the local Japanese value set achieves MAE in the order of 0.01.

Those who emphasize future rewards (time-patient preference) and those who give more importance to rewards that are certain (higher risk-aversion) were significantly more likely to continue to abstain from smoking.

COPD imposes a high economic burden on the Japanese healthcare system. Health policy makers should direct urgent attention to increasing prevention, early diagnosis, and appropriate treatment of COPD.

Determinants of smoking cessation vary among levels of nicotine dependency. Therefore, how and what information is provided needs to be carefully considered when counselling smokers to help them to quit.

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This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of intervention (specifically, intervention by telephone and mails, known as 'tele-care') relative to self-help as a weight-loss method. The question of whether there is a correlation between changes in two preference parameters--time discounting (i.e. impatience) and risk aversion--and the level of commitment was examined. The study, spanning a period of 24 weeks in 2006-2007, comprised 118 participants, each of whom was randomly assigned to either the tele-care or the self-help group. A public-health nurse provided support through telephone and mail communications to the tele-care group, aiming to reduce their calorie intake and increase exercise via this intervention. There was a significant decrease in the body weight of the participants of the tele-care group from the baseline; however, there were no significant differences in the weight loss, median time discounting or risk aversion between the two groups. The subsequent analysis for weight loss with changes in time and risk parameters revealed a significant difference in the weight loss in the time-discounting-loss and risk-aversion-gain groups. From the results of the multiple regression analysis, the time discounting was noted to be associated with age, initial BMI and marital status among men, and risk aversion was associated with age and job status among women. There is a possibility that a decrease in time discounting and increase in risk aversion might correlate with the weight loss or effectiveness of commitment in this trial. This study suggests that time discounting and risk aversion may be useful in anti-obesity efforts, since they are accurate criteria of behavioural patterns associated with weight problems.

We made a bibliographic search for Japanese and non-Japanese literature on tuberculosis control programs to study the current public health policies for tuberculosis control in Japan especially in regard to cost-effectiveness. Then, we compared the Japanese strategies for tuberculosis control with those in other countries including the United States, and those recommended by World Health Organization (WHO). The current trend of tuberculosis incidence in the Japanese community demonstrates major differences from the situation that had prompted installation of tuberculosis control measures several decades ago. The tuberculosis control measures should be targeted to the elderly people (over 65 years old) because of the following three aspects. (1) A continuing decline of tuberculosis in the young Japanese population, particularly children who might attain benefits from BCG immunization; (2) The enhancement of the prevalence among the elderly people who are not covered by a uniform national surveillance strategy; (3) Cost-ineffectiveness of Mass Miniature Radiography (MMR) being used as a means to screen for tuberculosis. The cost-effectiveness issue must be considered more seriously, and the WHO recommendations especially in regard with the DOTS (directly-observed treatment, short course) strategy need to be incorporated more effectively into the national program since the incidence of drug resistant tuberculosis in Japan has been recently increasing. Finally, we propose to limit BCG immunization further and to discontinue annual MMR in the young population, and instead to develop effective strategies of both active and passive case finding in the elderly through public and community health services.