The development and initial psychometric evaluation of a Japanese version of the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II (HPLP II) is described. The 52-item instrument was translated into Japaneseand was found to be culturally relevant and reliable in a pilot study. The Japanese version was then administered to adiverse but predominantly Japanese group of 337 subjects residing in northern Japan. The Japanese versionof the HPLP II was evaluated using factor analysis and reliability measurement. Six factors similar to those isolated previously during psychometric assessment of the English language version were extracted. Those six dimensions comprise the HPLP II subscales of: 1. Health responsibility, 2. Spiritual growth, 3. Physical activity, 4. Interpersonal relations, 5. Nutrition, and 6. Stress management. The alpha reliability coefficient for the total scale was 0.94 and the 2-week retest reliability was 0.91; the alpha coefficients for the subscales ranged from 0.70 to 0.87. The Japanese language version of the HPLP II appears to have sufficient validity and reliability for use by researchers who wish to describe the health-promoting components of lifestyle among the Japanese population and to explore differences and similarities in the health-promoting lifestyle of Japanese and American subjects or those of other ethnic groups. Further evaluations of measurement with different populations appears warranted. This instrument will enable researchers to investigate patterns and determinants of health-promoting lifestyle, as well as the effects of interventions to alter the lifestyle.

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Objectives-To find whether concentrations of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) in serum increased in workers at municipal incinerators that burn continuously. Methods-30 Workers employed at three municipal waste incineration plants (incinerator workers) and 30 control workers were studied. The incinerator workers had worn dust masks or airline masks during the periodic repair work inside the incinerators. Previous job, dietary habit, smoking habit, distance from residence to the incineration plant, and body weight and height were obtained from a questionnaire

Noise-induced hearing loss in relation to vibration-induced white finger in chain-saw workers. by Miyakita T, Miura H, Futatsuka M This article in PubMed: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3576142Scand J Work Environ Health 13 (1987) 32-36 Noise-induced hearing loss in relation to vibration-induced white finger in chain-saw workers by Takashi Miyakita, PhD,' Hajime Miura, MD,' Makoto Futatsuka, MD2 MIYAKITA T, MIURA H, FUT ATSUKA M. Noise-induced hearing loss in relation to vibration-induced white finger in chain-saw workers. Scand J Work Environ Health 13 (1987) 32-36. From the viewpoint of the etiologies of noise-induced permanent threshold shift (NIPTS) and vibration-induced white finger (VWF), the association between VWF and hearing loss was examined among 499 chain-saw workers who underwent a compulsory health examination for vibration syndrome. They were classified by age, duration of noise and vibration exposure, and the severity of VWF. The severity of VWF was evaluated according to the following criteria: (i) no prior history; (ii) VWF history, but symptoms had disappeared; (iii) VWF present but appearing rarely; (iv) frequent appearance of VWF (more than 20 times per winter season). In three age groups (ie, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69 years) with 5-9 years of exposure, the chainsaw workers with VWF had a significantly greater hearing loss at higher frequencies than those without VWF. However, in the 10-to l4-year exposure groups, a significant difference was not found between the VWF and non-VWF groups, except that the 50-to 59-year age groups showed a significant difference in mean age. It was suggested that interindividual differences in susceptibility to noise and vibration may be the reason for the synergistic effects of noise and vibration.

This experimental study was designed to determine whether a combination of noise and vibration produced more pronounced changes in temporary shifts of finger skin temperature and temporary threshold shift (TTS) of hearing than those resulting from exposure to either stress alone. Nineteen healthy subjects were exposed to six different combinations of vibration, noise, and handle holding by using a chain saw for a pre-determined time. The mean value of normalised finger skin temperature decreased much more when the subjects operated a chain saw at high speed (exposure 1) than when they operated the chain saw with the noise isolated by double hearing protection (exposure 2). In five of the 14 subjects significantly larger TTS values at 4 kHz were observed in the former condition (exposure 1) compared with the values obtained when they stood beside someone else operating a chain saw (exposure 3). The results of this study suggest that noise may play a part in inducing the constriction of the peripheral vessels seen with local exposure to vibration, and that hand-arm vibration may produce an additive effect on the noise induced TTS.