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It has been reported that anti-A and anti-B (ABO antibody) titers decrease with age, but little is known about the association between ABO antibody titers and physiologic/biochemical parameters such as body mass index (BMI), gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT), and total cholesterol (T-Cho). We investigated the present situation of ABO antibody titers among healthy blood donors in Japan and the physiologic/biochemical factors that may be associated with changes in ABO antibody titers. Plasma from 7450 Japanese blood donors was tested for ABO antibody titers using ABO reverse typing reagents by an automated microplate system; donor samples were classified into low, middle, and high titers according to the agglutination results obtained with diluted plasma samples. Multivariate regression analysis was performed to analyze the association between ABO antibody titers and age, gender, biochemical parameters (alanine transaminase [ALT], GGT, globulin, T-Cho, and glycosylated albumin [GA]), and BMI according to the ABO blood groups. A significant correlation between ABO antibody titers and age/gender, except for gender in anti-A of blood group B donors, was observed. BMI showed significant but negative correlations with anti-A and anti-B (β = −0.085 and −0.062, respectively; p< 0.01) in blood group O donors. In addition, significant but negative correlations between GGT and T-Cho with anti-B of blood group A donors (β = −0.055 and −0.047, respectively; p< 0.05) were observed. Although differences existed among the ABO blood groups, ABO antibody titers seem to be associated with physiologic and biochemical parameters of healthy individuals.

Objective: To examine the association between toothbrushing habits of 8-9 year-olds and maternal behaviours and attitudes towards oral health in a sample of Japanese population. Methods: Cross-sectional data on mothers' behaviours and attitudes towards oral health and children's toothbrushing habits were collected from 378 mother-child pairs by self-administered questionnaires. Logistic regression examined the association of children's daily brushing with fluoride toothpaste with family characteristics, mother's behaviour (toothbrushing frequency, use of interdental aids and supervision of children's toothbrushing), and mother's attitudes towards oral health (priority for toothbrushing and dental fear). Results: Children's favourable brushing habits were positively associated with child's gender (female) (OR 1.29; 95%CI: 1.09,1.53), child's order of birth (first) (OR 1.53; 95%CI: 1.05,2.23), maternal brushing habits (OR 2.42; 95%CI: 1.73,3.40), and maternal dental fear (OR 1.45; 95%CI: 1.10,1.90). None of the other examined factors were significantly associated with child toothbrushing behaviour. Conclusions: Maternal oral hygiene practice and attitude towards dentists appear to be important predictors of children's toothbrushing habits in this Japanese community sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]