PharmacoepidemiologyMedicine and Medical Science

M.D., Ph.D. Professor Koji Kawakami

We perform clinical epidemiology and pharmacoepidemiology studies in all clinical areas utilizing various large scale Japanese-based medical or health checkup databases. We conduct clinical research by turning various questions in medical practice (clinical questions) into researchable designs (research questions). The purpose of research projects is to identify the outcomes and safety of drug, surgery, medical device, and therapeutic regimen.

Lab Website

Research and Education

Under the mentorship of our faculty members who are well versed in clinical epidemiology and biostatistics, the graduate students conduct clinical research to solve clinical questions using various real-world medical data, and epidemiological research for preventive medicine using pregnancy health checkup data, infant health checkup data, and school health checkup data provided by the local municipalities.
We build and utilize the databases: electronic medical record DB (225 medical institutions, 24 million patients), maternal and infant health checkup data (45,000 patients), school health checkup data (1,60 municipalities, 350000 people). And we also utilize the databases: medical fee claims receipt DB (10 million patients), DPC (35 million patients), dispensing pharmacy DB (35 million prescriptions from 5 major companies), and so on.
The backgrounds of the graduate students and the faculty members who have been belonged to our laboratory are pediatrics, cardiology, respiratory medicine, diabetology, gastroenterology, endocrinology, nephrology, general medicine, rheumatology-immunology, oncology, gastroenterology surgery, anesthesiology, orthopedics, urology, obstetrics and gynecology, neurosurgery, otolaryngology/head and neck surgery, ophthalmology, emergency medicine, dentistry, pharmacists, nurses, pharmaceutical company employees, new graduates, and so on. They are composed of MD (70%), pharmacists (20%), and statisticians and other professionals (10%).
Our laboratory has produced 6 professors, 3 associate professors, and many leaders including a director of a large hospital and a director of a national center.

Before the orientation (April 2023)

(Left figure) Local municipalities participated in the school health check-up analyses program
(Right figure) Medical institutions participated in the electronic medical record analyses program

Recent Publications

  1. Noda M, Yoshida S, Kawakami C, Takeuchi M, Kawakami K, Ito S: Japan Environment and Children’s Study Group. Association of pre-pregnancy physical activity with obesity in offspring: The Japan Environment and Children’s Study (JECS). Obesity 2022; 30: 1851-1862. doi: 10.1002/oby.23516.
  2. Endo K, Mizuno K, Seki T, Joo WJ, Takeda C, Takeuchi M, Kawakami K: Intensive care unit versus high-dependency care unit admission on mortality in patients with septic shock: A retrospective cohort study using Japanese claims data. Journal of Intensive Care 2022; 10: 35. doi: 10.1186/s40560-022-00627-2.
  3. Masuda S, Fukasawa T, Takeuchi M, Fujibayashi S, Otsuki B, Murata K, Shimizu T, Matsuda S, Kawakami K: Reoperation rates of microendoscopic discectomy compared with conventional open lumbar discectomy: A large database study. Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research 2023; 481: 145-154. doi: 10.1097/CORR.0000000000002322.
  4. Takeda C, Yamashita Y, Takeuchi M, Yonekura H, Kawakami K, Dong L, Hamada M, Hirotsu A, Ono K, Fukuda K, Morimoto T, Kimura T, Mizota T: Incidence, clinical characteristics, and long-term prognosis of postoperative symptomatic venous thromboembolism: a retrospective cohort study. BMJ Open 2022; 12: e055090. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2021-055090.
  5. Yoshida S, Takeuchi M, Tanaka-Mizuno S, Mizuno K, Nakashima M, Fukasawa T, Kawakami K: Clinical epidemiology and pharmacoepidemiology studies with real-world databases. Proceeding of Japanese Academy of Science Ser. B, Physical and Biological Sciences 2022; 98: 517-528. doi: 10.2183/pjab.98.026.

Laboratory

Koji Kawakami, MD, PhD, Professor and Chair
Sachiko Tanaka, PhD, Professor
Satomi Yoshida, PhD, Associate Professor
Yoko M. Nakao, MD, PhD, Associate Professor
Megumi Yuno, MPP, PhD, Senior Lecturer
Kayoko Mizuno, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor
Atsushi Takayama, MD, MPH, PhD, Assistant Professor
Toshiki Fukasawa, MS, Assistant Professor
Shiho Koizumi, MPH, Assistant Professor

General contact: (Email) info@pe.sph.med.kyoto-u.ac.jp
URL:https://kupe.med.kyoto-u.ac.jp/

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