OBJECTIVEWhether brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV), a noninvasive marker for arterial stiffness, is a useful predictive maker for cardiovascular events in subjects with diabetes is not established. In the present cohort study, we evaluated the benefit of baPWV for the prediction of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in subjects with diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODSA total of 4,272 outpatients with diabetes were enrolled in the Kyushu Prevention Study of Atherosclerosis. Of these, 3,628 subjects, excluding those with an ankle-brachial index of <0.9, were prospectively followed for 3.2 6 2.2 years. The baPWV at baseline was classified by recursive partitioning (RP) for each end point. We plotted the Kaplan-Meier curves for high-and low-baPWV groups, which were designated based on the cutoff points, and calculated Cox proportional hazards models. RESULTSThe elevation of baPWV quartiles was significantly correlated to the incidence of coronary artery events, cerebrovascular events, and all-cause mortality. RP revealed baPWVs of 14 and 24 m/s as statistically adequate cutoff points for cardiovascular events and mortality, respectively. High-baPWV classes showed significantly low event-free ratios in Kaplan-Meier curves for all end points and remained independent risks for all-cause mortality and cerebrovascular events, but not for coronary artery events after adjustments for age, sex, BMI, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, smoking, and hemoglobin A 1c by Cox proportional hazards models. CONCLUSIONSThis large-scale cohort study provided evidence that high baPWV is a useful independent predictor of mortality and cardiovascular morbidity in subjects with diabetes.

To increase staff nurses' affective commitment to their hospital, we suggest that hospital administrators equip nurse managers with intellectual stimulation skills.

Type C and equality of the diameters of two daughter arteries, together with high AP ratios, seem to be morphological factors that associate with aneurysmal rupture.

Since the atomic bomb explosions in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, high incidences of leukemia, thyroid cancer and other tumors have been reported as atomic bomb-induced tumors. We investigated the incidence of meningioma among Hiroshima atomic bomb survivors. Sixty-eight patients surgically treated for meningioma who had been within 2.0 km of the hypocenter of the explosion were identified. Six hundred and seven non-exposed patients with meningioma were also studied. Treatment dates were from 1975 to 1992. The incidences of meningioma among 68 subjects within 2.0 km and 607 non-exposed patients were 8.7 and 3.0 cases per 10(5) persons per year, respectively. The incidences of meningioma among the survivors of Hiroshima in 5-year intervals since 1975 were 5.3, 7.4, 10.1, and 14.9, respectively. The incidences of meningioma classified by distances from the hypocenter of 1.5-2.0 km, 1.0-1.5 km and less than 1.0 km were 6.3, 7.6 and 20.0, respectively. The incidences of meningioma classified by doses to the brain of 0-0.099 Sv, 0.1-0.99 Sv and more than 1.0 Sv were 7.7, 9.2 and 18.2, respectively. The incidence of meningioma among Hiroshima atomic bomb survivors has increased since 1975. There was a significant correlation between the incidence and the dose of radiation to the brain. The present findings strongly suggest that meningioma is one of the tumors induced by atomic bombing in Hiroshima.