ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the relationship between alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels and metabolic syndrome (MS) in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 26527 subjects who received medical health checkup in our hospital from January 2005 to July 2007 were enrolled in the study. The diagnosis of fatty liver was based on ultrasound imaging. MS was defined according to the criteria of the Adult Treatment Panel III. ALT, triglyceride (TG), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c), fasting plasma glucose (FPG), height, weight, waist circumference (WC), systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were measured in each subject to analyze the relationship between MS and ALT activity.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>(1) The prevalence of NAFLD in men (30.94%) was significantly higher than that in women (15.65%); (2) The incidence of MS in NAFLD (33.83%) was significantly greater than that in non-NAFLD (10.62%); (3) Of the 6470 subjects with NAFLD, in the age-adjusted partial correlation analysis, there were statistically significant correlations between the ALT levels and most metabolic risk factors in each sex (P<0.01), except that ALT levels had no correlation with HDL-c in women. Moreover, in the multiple stepwise regression analysis, SBP lost its significance, and WC, body mass index (BMI), age, DBP, TG and FPG were independently associated with ALT levels in both sexes (P<0.05). HDL-c remained significant and was independently related to ALT levels in men; (4) ALT levels were significantly higher in subjects with MS compared to those without MS (P<0.001). Mean ALT levels increased with the number of MS components in each sex (P<0.05 for trend).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>We found a strong relationship between ALT levels and MS in NAFLD and revealed that the cluster of MS components might be the predictor for ALT elevations.</p>
Subject(s)
Adult , Aged , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Age Distribution , Alanine Transaminase , Metabolism , Alcohols , China , Epidemiology , Fatty Liver , Blood , Epidemiology , Incidence , Metabolic Syndrome , Blood , Epidemiology , Prevalence , Sex DistributionABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To compare the efficacy of a short messaging service (SMS) text messaging and phone reminder to improve attendance rates at a health promotion center.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 1 859 participants who had scheduled appointments in the health promotion center of our hospital from April 2007 to May 2007 were enrolled in the study and randomly assigned into 3 groups: control (no reminder) group, SMS text messaging reminder group and telephone reminder group. Attendance rates and costs of interventions were collected.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>A total of 1848 participants were eligible for analysis. Attendance rates of control, SMS and telephone groups were 80.5%, 87.5% and 88.3%, respectively. The attendance rates were significantly higher in SMS and telephone groups than that in the control group, with odds ratio 1.698, 95% confidence interval 1.224 to 2.316, P=0.001 in the SMS group, and odds ratio 1.829, 95% confidence interval 1.333 to 2.509, P<0.001 in the telephone group. However, there was no difference between the SMS group and the telephone group (P=0.670). The cost effectiveness analysis showed that the cost per attendance for the SMS group (0.31 Yuan) was significantly lower than that for the telephone group (0.48 Yuan).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>SMS and telephone are effective reminders for improving attendance rate at a health promotion center. SMS reminder may be more cost-effective compared with the telephone reminder.</p>
Subject(s)
Adult , Aged , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Health Promotion , Patient Compliance , Reminder Systems , TelephoneABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the relationship between metabolic syndrome and hyperuricemia.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 2 374 subjects who received health examination in our hospital from Jan. 2004 to Dec. 2006 were enrolled in our study. Hyperuricemia is defined as >or=7 mg/dl (in men) or >or=6.0 mg/dl (in women). Metabolic syndrome was defined using AHA/NHLBI (American Heart Association/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) criteria.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>(1) The overall prevalence of hyperuricemia was 13.10%. The condition was more common in men than in women (19.07% vs 3.42%). (2) Among men, uric acid concentration is statistically significantly positively correlated with waist circumference, blood pressure, and triglyceride. Uric acid is negatively correlated with serum high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C). Uric acid concentration is most strongly correlated with serum triglyceride (r=0.379) and waist circumference (r=0.297). Among women, statistically significant positive correlations were noted for the serum uric acid concentrations with waist circumference, triglyceride and fasting plasma glucose. Serum triglyceride (r=0.329) and waist circumference (r=0.234) are most strongly correlated with uric acid concentrations. (3) Men with hyperuricemia had a 1.634-fold increased risk of metabolic syndrome as compared with those without hyperuricemia [odds ratio (OR)=1.634, P=0.000]. Women with hyperuricemia had a 1.626-fold increased risk of metabolic syndrome (OR=1.626, P=0.000) as compared with those without hyperuricemia.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Hyperuricemia is prevalent among Chinese population. Additionally, serum uric acid is positively associated with metabolic syndrome.</p>