Japanese Diet and Mortality, Disability, and Dementia: Evidence from the Ohsaki Cohort Study

Abstract

The Japanese dietary pattern has long been discussed as one of the factors behind the longevity of Japanese people. However, the health benefits of the Japanese dietary pattern have not been fully elucidated. We published the first report in the world regarding the relation between the Japanese dietary pattern and cardiovascular disease mortality in 2007 using cohort studies including Japanese residents of Ohsaki City, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. Since then, we have developed the Japanese Diet Index (JDI) that was based on previous findings to assess the degree of the Japanese dietary pattern and to advance the evidence on the health effects of the Japanese dietary pattern. So far, we have explored the associations between the JDI score (in quartiles) and various outcomes. For all-cause mortality, in comparison to Q1 (the lowest), the multivariable hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs) were 0.92 (0.85–1.00) for Q2, 0.91 (0.83–0.99) for Q3, and 0.91 (0.83–0.99) for Q4 (the highest). For functional disability, the multivariable HRs (95%CIs) were 0.94 (0.81–1.09) for Q2, 0.90 (0.77–1.05) for Q3, and 0.79 (0.68–0.92) for Q4. For dementia, the multivariable HRs (95%CIs) were 0.88 (0.74–1.05) for Q2, 0.87 (0.73–1.04) for Q3, 0.79 (0.66–0.95) for Q4. In addition, people with higher adherence to the Japanese dietary pattern also showed decreases in disability and dementia risks. The purpose of this article was to review all six papers, summarize the health effects of the Japanese dietary pattern, and discuss implications for future research.

Feasibility pilot study of a Japanese teaching kitchen program

“…The traditional Japanese diet has been known to be healthy ( 5 , 6 ). However, westernization of the Japanese diet and other lifestyle factors has led to a gradual increase in the Japanese population with obesity and obesity-related diseases since the 1960s ( 7 ).…”

Dietary Patterns and Healthy or Unhealthy Aging

“…The Japanese population included in the Seven Countries Study showed, together with the Mediterranean population, a reduced incident CVD and total mortality when compared with populations from the USA and Finland, results that have been confirmed in recent studies by Shirota et al [ 42 ]. Recent studies have also shown an inverse association of a higher adherence to the Japanese dietary pattern with a lower risk of disability and incident Alzheimer’s disease [ 43 ]. In summary, available evidence suggests that the traditional Japanese dietary pattern can be considered one of the determinants of the exceptional and healthy longevity observed in the Japanese population versus Western populations.…”

Traditional japanese diet score and the sustainable development goals by a global comparative ecological study

“…Kobayashi et al [ 11 ] reported from the Japan Public Health Center-based Prospective Study (JPHC) that the greater the diversity of foods, including fruit and soy consumed, the lower the total mortality and mortality from major diseases. Many studies have reported that rice, fish, and soy products are effective in preventing obesity [ 12 ], ischaemic heart disease [ 13 – 15 ], and other diseases [ 15 – 19 ]. A Japanese dietary pattern high in these foods may be beneficial for health.…”