TY - JOUR
T1 - Markers of health status in an HTLV-I-positive cohort
AU - Ho, Gloria Y.F.
AU - Nelson, Kenrad
AU - Nomura, Abraham M.Y.
AU - Polk, B. Frank
AU - Blattner, William A.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported in part by contract NO1 CP-EB-51023-21 and grant RO1-CA-33644 from the National Cancer Institute.
PY - 1992/12/1
Y1 - 1992/12/1
N2 - The health effects of chronic human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) infection were examined in a cohort of Japanese men who had emigrated from Okinawa, Japan, and had been participants in a prospective study in Hawaii since 1965. In the present follow-up study carried out in 1987-1988, various health indicators were measured in the subjects, whose mean age was 72.5 years. Participation rates were lower in the HTLV-I seropositives than in the seronegatives (46.7% vs. 76.0%) in the ≥75-year age group. Lack of participation was significantly correlated with a high HTLV-I antibody titer. Among the participants, seropositive subjects were significantly more likely than the seronegatives to have lymphocytopenia (32.7% vs. 17.7%) and mild anemia (25.5% vs. 14.1%) after adjustment for age and socioeconomic status. The seropositives also had a higher frequency of acupuncture therapy (age-adjusted odds ratios were 2.1 and 4.2 for 1-5 treatments and ≥6 treatments, respectively). Proportions of subjects who had been hospitalized at least twice were higher among the seropositives in the oldest age groups, 70-74 years and ≥75 years, but not in those aged 65-69 years. Although specific disease conditions were not identified in this study, hematologic data, treatment histories, and the correlation between participation status and HTLV-I antibody titers suggest that chronic HTLV-I infection may be associated with as yet undefined adverse health effects, particularly in older age groups. Am J Epidemiol 1992; 136: 1349-57.
AB - The health effects of chronic human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) infection were examined in a cohort of Japanese men who had emigrated from Okinawa, Japan, and had been participants in a prospective study in Hawaii since 1965. In the present follow-up study carried out in 1987-1988, various health indicators were measured in the subjects, whose mean age was 72.5 years. Participation rates were lower in the HTLV-I seropositives than in the seronegatives (46.7% vs. 76.0%) in the ≥75-year age group. Lack of participation was significantly correlated with a high HTLV-I antibody titer. Among the participants, seropositive subjects were significantly more likely than the seronegatives to have lymphocytopenia (32.7% vs. 17.7%) and mild anemia (25.5% vs. 14.1%) after adjustment for age and socioeconomic status. The seropositives also had a higher frequency of acupuncture therapy (age-adjusted odds ratios were 2.1 and 4.2 for 1-5 treatments and ≥6 treatments, respectively). Proportions of subjects who had been hospitalized at least twice were higher among the seropositives in the oldest age groups, 70-74 years and ≥75 years, but not in those aged 65-69 years. Although specific disease conditions were not identified in this study, hematologic data, treatment histories, and the correlation between participation status and HTLV-I antibody titers suggest that chronic HTLV-I infection may be associated with as yet undefined adverse health effects, particularly in older age groups. Am J Epidemiol 1992; 136: 1349-57.
KW - Acupuncture
KW - HTLV-I
KW - Lymphocytes
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U2 - 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a116447
DO - 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a116447
M3 - Article
C2 - 1488961
AN - SCOPUS:0027077541
SN - 0002-9262
VL - 136
SP - 1349
EP - 1357
JO - American Journal of Epidemiology
JF - American Journal of Epidemiology
IS - 11
ER -