Efficacy of Additional Intervention to the Specific Health Guidance in Japan: The Takahata GENKI Project

A tailored approach to individual risk factors for developing lifestyle-related diseases would help induce behavioral changes toward intervention acceptability. The addition of preventive healthcare programs to nationwide specific health guidance in Japan is adapted in a given region.

We conducted a prospective parallel-group comparison study on 195 eligible residents from Takahata, Japan, with a high risk of lifestyle-related diseases from 2014 to 2017 to examine whether such an intervention could improve the body mass index (BMI) and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR).

Of the 195 enrolled residents, 117 were assigned to the control group and 78 to the intervention group. They were ≤65 years old and had a BMI ≥25 kg/m² and an eGFR ≤90 mL/kg/1.73 m². We conducted certain interventions for each group, including additional blood testing, regular health guidance, and specific health guidance. After one year, neither BMI (intervention: 26.7 ± 2.17 kg/m² vs control: 27.3 ± 2.12 kg/m², p = 0.076) nor eGFR (intervention: 72.2 ± 11.1 mL/kg/1.73 m² vs control: 73.1 ± 10.5 mL/kg/1.73 m², p = 0.608) differed significantly between groups. However, after three years, the BMI in the intervention group (26.4 ± 2.05 kg/m²) was significantly reduced compared to that in the control group (27.4 ± 2.26 kg/m²; p = 0.005).

The additional interventions might have contributed to a reduction in metabolic syndrome.

This study was registered in the UMIN-Clinical Trials Registry (ID:000013581). More information: https://upload.umin.ac.jp/cgi-open-bin/ctr_e/ctr_view.cgi?recptno=R000015868. The registration date was 31/03/2014.