Message

Message from the director

Katsuyuki Miura, MD, PhD, FAHA
Director, NCD Epidemiology Research Center,
Shiga University of Medical Science

The Importance of Epidemiologic Research and its Current Status in Japan

Epidemiologic research is essential for understanding the causes of diseases and identifying prevention and treatment strategies. Furthermore, the increased incidence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and dementia, represent the most serious health problems not only in Japan but also around the world, including developing countries. Hence, further promotion of epidemiologic research and training of specialists for NCD prevention are greatly needed.

In epidemiology, observation of large groups of subjects over a long period of time is required. In Europe and the United States, large capital investments have been made available to maintain the foundation for research. However, such a foundation for epidemiologic research in Japan and Asia lags far behind. As the most advanced Asian nation in this field, experience and technology for epidemiologic research cultivated in Japan are needed. Findings from Japan, the world's fastest aging society, are relevant around the world.

Epidemiologic Research on NCDs Conducted by SUMS

To date, Shiga University of Medical Science (SUMS) has played a central role in epidemiologic research on NCDs in Japan. It has served as the administrative headquarters for various national projects, such as NIPPON DATA, a long-term follow-up study of 20,000 people from the national health and nutrition survey, and EPOCH-JAPAN, a collaborative cohort study with 200,000 participants. It also has played an important role as the center for international collaborations in epidemiologic research, connecting Europe, the United States, and Asia through INTERMAP, an international collaborative study on nutrition and blood pressure, ERA-JUMP, and the Asia Pacific Cohort Research Collaboration (APCSC).

In addition, the Shiga Epidemiological Study of Subclinical Atherosclerosis (SESSA) and the Takashima Study have involved local residents. The registry of all cardiovascular disease events in Shiga prefecture has begun in 2011 as the Shiga Cardiovascular Disease Registry. These are all valuable large-scale Japanese studies that manage biological samples and electronic data over the long term.

The Mission of the NCD Epidemiology Research Center (NERC)

Construction of a general research center to serve as Japan’s first epidemiologic research base was included in the 2014 facility maintenance budget of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan. The purpose of the NERC is to promote leading-edge epidemiologic research on NCDs and international collaborative epidemiologic research, in order to improve the state of preventive medicine and public health in Japan and around the world.”