Mass screening for heart disease of school children in Saga city: 7-year follow up study.

1. At the initial screening, 6.11% of elementary school children and 6.28% of junior high school students were picked up for the second screening. At the second screening, 0.49% of elementary school children and 0.85% of junior high school students were referred to the final screening. The pick-up ratio was significantly higher in junior high school children. The ratio of children needing medical management was also significantly higher for junior high school students (2.96%) than for elementary school children (2.26%). 2. The reexamination system was useful for management of a group of children with minimal findings of ECG at minimal cost and effort and without giving rise to unnecessary anxiety for the children and their families. 3. In order to manage children from elementary school to junior high school without any risk, it is essential to establish more sophisticated systems of managing patient-records, such as computer managing systems. 4. In order to increase the reliability of questionnaires, it is necessary to explain the significance of the mass screening system for the prevention of cardiac accidents, to refine the questions and to give more easily understood instructions.