2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

Health and medical measures as well as investigations in Akita prefecture, the forgotten Japanese heaviest cadmium-polluted area

Research Project

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Project/Area Number	16H05261
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
Allocation Type	Single-year Grants
Section	一般
Research Field	Hygiene and public health
Research Institution	Kitasato University
Principal Investigator	Horiguchi Hyogo 北里大学, 医学部, 教授 (90254002)
Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha)	中嶋克行女子栄養大学, 付置研究所, 客員教授 (10444051) 姫野誠一郎徳島文理大学, 薬学部, 教授 (20181117) 松川岳久順天堂大学, 医学部, 助教 (60453586) 小松田敦秋田大学, 医学系研究科, 准教授 (70272044) 千葉百子順天堂大学, 医学部, 客員教授 (80095819)
Project Period (FY)	2016-04-01 – 2019-03-31
Keywords	カドミウム / 腎尿細管機能障害 / 米 / 秋田県 / イタイイタイ病 / 湛水管理
Outline of Final Research Achievements	In cadmium (Cd)-polluted areas in Akita prefecture, health examinations for local residents in each hamlet and hospital-based screening for Cd nephropathy for patients with renal dysfunction were prosecuted. The residents in many hamlets, most of them were farmers who had consumed self-harvested rice, showed high Cd accumulation in bodies even today. Although the adverse effects of Cd on renal tubular function were not clearly recognized on the whole, there were some aged patients with Cd nephropathy. Through hospital-based screening, a patient with Cd nephropathy who was suspected to suffer from itai-itai disease was detected. These results indicate the potential existence of such patients in the Cd-polluted areas in Akita prefecture, suggesting that it is necessary to observe for Cd effects of the residents continuously.
Free Research Field	重金属の毒性学
Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements	本研究により、環境省から公表されている農用地土壌汚染対策地域からCd汚染地域である可能性が高いにも拘らずCdに係る住民健康調査がほとんど実施されて来なかった秋田県の当該地域の実態を初めて明らかにし、患者に対しては適切な医療を提供するための道を開くことができた。また、当該地域で広く実施されている米中Cd濃度を軽減するための湛水管理は安全で有効であることも示すことができた。そして、これらの結果は当該地域の農業従事者が今後も適切に湛水管理を実施することへの動機付けになり、さらには一般国民への安全な米の供給にもつながると考えられる。