Background: There is uncertainty surrounding the causal relationship between serum uric acid and hypertension. The aim was to investigate the association between serum uric acid and prevalence of hypertension in a general population of Japanese.Methods: This was a population-based cross-sectional study using health check-up data of the residents of the Iki City, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. A total of 7,484 participants aged 30 years or older were included in this study. Serum uric acid was classified into four groups: group 1 (< 357 µmol/L (< 6 mg/dL)), group 2 (357 -415 µmol/L (6 -6.9 mg/dL)), group 3 (416 -475 µmol/L (7 -7.9 mg/dL)) and group 4 (≥ 476 µmol/L (≥ 8 mg/dL)). Hypertension was defined as blood pressure (BP) levels of ≥ 140/90 mm Hg or use of BP lowering medications.Results: Hypertension was observed among 3,467 participants (prevalence 46.3%). The prevalence of hypertension increased with elevation of serum uric acid levels: 42.8% in group 1, 55.0% in group 2, 57.6% in group 3 and 59.8% in group 4 (P < 0.001 for trend). This association was significant even after adjustment for other risk factors including age, sex, current smoking, current alcohol intake, obesity, diabetes, dyslipidemia, estimated glomerular filtration rate and proteinuria: odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) were 1.50 (1.28 -1.77) for group 2, 1.58 (1.25 -1.99) for group 3 and 1.89 (1.36 -2.64) for group 4 compared with the reference group of group 1 (P < 0.001 for trend).Conclusions: Serum uric acid was clearly associated with prevalence of hypertension in a general population of Japanese.

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Purpose: To clarify the current state of ethics review in nursing programs at universities and discuss the ideal state of ethics review for nursing research.Methods: Self-administered questionnaires were distributed by postal mail to full-time faculty members at schools of nursing in all regions of Japan. e faculty members selected were those who had thorough knowledge of ethics review in nursing research.Results: Out of 89 faculty members of schools of nursing that responded to the questionnaires (44.5% response rate), two faculty members indicated that their school did not have an ethics review board; therefore, data on 87 schools were analyzed. Ethics review boards that were managed by a nursing college, school of nursing, or department of nursing all had a small number of committee members, many of whom were quali ed with a nursing specialty. Most of the schools had an o cial ethics code. Forty-six schools (52.9%) had a budget for an ethics committee, 28 schools (32.2%) had a review system that continues even a er a study has started, and 11 schools (12.6%)provided new committee members with a training course. Expedited reviews were performed at 50 schools (57.5%).Conclusions: e present ndings demonstrate the importance of the following considerations in ethics review in nursing research: organizing an interdisciplinary ethics committee with a pluralistic perspective; introducing an appropriate expedited review system and allocating a budget to reduce the burden on members; monitoring the progress of applicants research; and improving each member s ethics quali cations.

Background: In Japan, few studies have examined how patients with COPD engage in preventive behaviours against respiratory infections and how this is associated with COPD exacerbation. The aim of this research was to clarify how knowledge about respiratory infection is associated with preventive behaviours and the prevention of exacerbation in patients with COPD. Methods: Subjects were patients who visited the Department of Respiratory Medicine in three medical facilities, including a university hospital. We conducted a cross-sectional study of 61 patients diagnosed with COPD. Covariance structured analysis was conducted using SPSS version 24.0, Amos 9.0. This research was approved by the Clinical Research Support Committee, Fukuoka University. Findings: 68 of the subjects were male (82.9%) and 14 female (17.1%). 56 (68.3%) were 70 years old and older. BMI of 14 subjects (17.0%) was below 18.0 kg/m 2 and eight (9.8%) were using home oxygen therapy. A latent variable, "knowledge", was associated with "preventive behaviour". There was no association between "preventive behaviour" and "the number of respiratory infection", yet, the "number of hospitalisations" for pneumonia and other diseases was low among those who had "knowledge". Goodness