Serum Creatine Phosphokinase Levels of Rural and Urban Subjects in Japan

• Published in: Nihon Rōnen Igakkai zasshi Vol. 20; no. 6; pp. 469 - 475
• Main Authors: Mandai, Takashi, Yano, Atsuo, Baba, Shunroku, Arita, Kazuhiro, Tabuchi, Yoshikatu, Adachi, Shichiro, Kayamori, Yuzo, Takeshima, Tadashi, Ozawa, Hideki, Ito, Keiichi, Ikeda, Masao
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese
• Published: Japan The Japan Geriatrics Society 01.11.1983
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Child; Creatine Kinase - blood; Female; Humans; Japan; Life Style; Male; Mass Screening; mass screening examination; Middle Aged; physical labor; Rural Population; serum creatine phosphokinase; Urban Population; Japan
• ISSN: 0300-9173
• DOI: 10.3143/geriatrics.20.469

Subject groups whose life styles are markedly different were investigated to evaluate the effect of physical activity on serum creatine phosphokinase (CPK) levels. The subjects consist of three groups. The first group are 4310 rural subjects in Kochi, whose main industry is forestry. The second group are 3283 urban subjects with various occupations from Osaka. The third group are 460 Osaka textile workers. The first and second groups received mass screening examinations for four years, the third group for two years. The mean serum CPK levels of the rural group were found to be significantly higher than the two urban groups. When the rural group was further divided into three subgroups (subjects living in moderately developed districts, agricultural districts, and forestry districts) it was found that the mean serum CPK levels of the subjects living in the forestry district showed the highest values. These results indicate that the more strenuous the subject's work, the higher the serum CPK level. There were no significant changes in either individual or group serum CPK levesl over the four years of the study. It was also noted that the mean serum CPK levels of subjects receiving antihypertensive drugs were not significantly different from those of subjects without antihypertensive medication. The degree of physical labor seems to play an important and continuous effect on serum CPK levels.