Predictive value of fasting blood glucose and TG/HDL-C ratio in non-diabetic patients with COVID-19

Objective: To investigate the predictive values of fasting blood glucose and triglyceride/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (TG/HDL-C) in non-diabetic patients with COVID-19. Methods: A total of 39 non-diabetic patients with COVID-19 admitted to the Fourth Hospital of Xi'an from December 2021 to January 2022 were included. And 34 health examination subjects from the Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University were matched as health control according to their propensity score. The clinical characteristics and laboratory test results between groups were compared, and the predictive value of fasting glucose and TG/HDL-C in non-diabetic COVID-19 patients was analyzed by logistic regression and receiver operating curve (ROC). Results: COVID-19 patients were either mild (30 cases) or common type (9 cases) with mild symptoms and good clinical prognosis. The median age was 29.0 (20.0, 49.0) years, 24 (61.5%) were males. Fasting blood glucose (4.30+or-0.47 mmol/L) and HDL-C [1.07 (0.86, 1.30) mmol/L] levels in COVID-19 patients were significantly lower than healthy controls [5.15+or-0.70 mmol/L, 2.24 (1.77, 3.05) mmol/L], the differences were statistically significant (t=6.277, P < 0.001;Z=6.026, P < 0.001). However, low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) [2.40 (1.81, 2.91) mmol/L] and TG/HDL-C [0.91 (0.54, 1.52)] in COVID-19 patients were significantly increased compared to healthy controls [1.11 (0.99, 1.30) mmol/L, 0.54 (0.33, 0.90)], and the differences were statistically significant (Z=-6.271, -2.801, all P < 0.005). Logistic regression analysis showed that fasting blood glucose on admission could be an independent protective factor (OR:0.020, 95% CI: 0.003 ~ 0.150) and elevated TG/HDL-C be a risk factor (OR:4.802, 95% CI: 1.249 ~ 18.460) for COVID-19 infection among non-diabetic populations. The ROC curve showed that fasting blood glucose and TG/HDL-C were good at predicting the risk of COVID-19, and the area under the curve (AUC) were 0.871 and 0.708, respectively, and was 0.895 when combined. Conclusion: Decreased fasting blood glucose and elevated TG/HDL-C would be risk factors for COVID-19 infection in the non-diabetic population, and both have good predictive value for the incidence of COVID-19.

The Association of Restrained Eating and Overeating during COVID-19: A Cross-Lagged Model.

Widespread overeating has been found during the 2019 coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The present study investigated whether pre-pandemic restrained eating (RE) predicted overeating during the pandemic, and further explored the behavioral (mortality threat, negative affect) mechanisms underlying this association. An eight-month longitudinal survey was conducted with a large sample of 616 undergraduates from Southwest university. From September 2019 to April 2020, three measurements were conducted. RE was tested before the pandemic (T1), and data of mortality threat, negative affect, and overeating were collected at the middle (T2) and end of (T3) the COVID-19 crisis in China. The correlation results showed that baseline RE was positively associated with mortality threat, negative affect, and overeating at T2 and T3. Moreover, negative affect and mortality threat were positively correlated with overeating. Results from longitudinal mediation showed that baseline RE would positively predict T3 overeating through T2 negative affect, but not T2 mortality threat. This study supports and extends the counterregulatory eating hypothesis that RE positively predicts future overeating, especially through negative emotions. These findings further reveal the core psychological mechanism underlying this positive RE-overeating relation in the context of COVID-19, indicating that the individuals with higher RE could not cope with negative affect adequately, contributing to more overeating.

Sex difference in neural substrates underlying the association between trait self-control and overeating in the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, people are at risk of developing disordered eating behaviors. The present study utilized resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine how trait self-control and its neural mechanisms predict overeating tendencies in young adults during the pandemic. Data on trait self-control, the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF), and resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) were collected before COVID-19 (September 2019, T1), and data on overeating were collected during COVID-19 (February 2020, T2). Whole-brain regression analyses (N = 538) revealed that higher trait self-control was associated with higher ALFF in the right dorsolateral and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC, VLPFC) and the left anterior insula, and lower ALFF in the left fusiform gyrus and precuneus. With the DLPFC, fusiform gyrus and precuneus as seed regions, trait selfcontrol was associated with decreased connectivity of the orbitofrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, temporal pole, and insula, and increased connectivity between the right VLPFC and anterior cerebellum. Longitudinal mediation models showed that trait self-control (T1) negatively predicted overeating (T2), and the mediating effects of the fusiform gyrus, DLPFC, and VLPFC were moderated by sex. The present study reveals that the brain networks for trait self-control are mainly involved in cognitive and executive control and incentive and emotional processing, demonstrating the longitudinal benefits of trait self-control in alleviating disordered eating behaviors during the pandemic. Sex differences in the neural substrates underlie this association. These finding may have implications of the interventions for behavioral maladjustment.