[Blood Levels of Proprotein Convertase Subtilisin/Kexin Type 9 (PCSK9) in Men from Different Population Groups and Its Relation to Unfavorable Long-Term Prognosis].

AIM: of the study was to investigate blood levels of proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) in men from different population subgroups, their associations with cardiovascular risk factors and with unfavorable 7-years long-term prognosis. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study included three subgroups of men from a population sample of residents of Novosibirsk, 44-73 years old, not receiving lipid-lowering drugs: subgroup of population proper (183 men), subgroup with hypercholesterolemia (46 men), and subgroup with hypocholesterolemia (18 men). Blood level of PCSK9 was determined by ELISA using the test-systems "Human Proprotein Convertase 9/PCSK9 Immunoassay". Study endpoints (myocardial infarction, cardiovascular death) were registered during 7 years after baseline examination of subgroups using the data of the Registers of myocardial infarction and cardiovascular mortality. RESULTS: Distribution of PCSK9 protein in subgroups with hyper- and hypocholesterolemia was normal. In the subgroup of population proper it was abnormal with leftward shift. PCSK9 protein concentration in the subgroup with hypercholesterolemia was 1.2 times higher than in the population subgroup. PCSK9 protein level correlated significantly with blood levels of total cholesterol (CH), low density lipoprotein (LDL) CH, and glucose. Only 15% of PCSK9 variability was due to the influence of other factors (R Square=0.155, p<0.001). Factors with significant influence on blood level of PCSK9 protein were levels of high density lipoprotein CH (=0.238, p=0.023), triglycerides (=0.253, p=0.049) and LDL CH (=0.751, p=0.009). Multivariate regression analysis revealed significant independent association of PCSK9 protein levels with cardiovascular death during period of registration (7-years) (p=0.048, OR=1.01). This result indicates that in men increase of blood level of PCSK9 protein by 1ng/ml independently of other parameters increases relative risk of cardiovascular death during following 7 years by 1%.

[Symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux and quality of life: population study].

AIM: To study prevalence of symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux (GER) in a free living population and to evaluate quality of life (QOL) in this disease. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The gastroenterological symptoms and QOL were studied in a representative sample of adult population of 495 males and 548 females aged 45-70 years using a validated questionnaire, SF-36 questionnaire. RESULTS: GER symptoms were seen in 17.0% responders, with the same frequency in men and women, in responders of different age. QOL was worse in responders with GER by 2 scales of SF-36 questionnaire: in males--"general well-being" and "viability", in females--"general well-being" and "physical functioning". In persons who had visited a doctor QOL was lower by all 8 scales than in those who had GER symptoms but had not visited a doctor. GER prevalence in Russia is similar to that in the West Europe and USA. QOL in GER patients is not low but worse in those who seek medical advice.

[The epidemiology of ischemic heart disease in men and women 25 to 54 in relation to their levels of physical activity]. / Epidemiologiia ishemicheskoi bolezni serdtsa u muzhchin i zhenshchin 25-54 let v zavisimosti ot urovnia fizicheskoi aktivnosti.

A one-stage populational study of a random representative sample of the nonorganized community of Novosibirsk was carried out within the framework of the WHO CINDI and MONICA projects. There were 1235 men and 1113 women aged 25-54 years. The prevalence of coronary heart disease and the main risk factors was studied in quartiles of energy losses distribution during occupational physical activity (OPA) and physical activity at leisure (PAL). The men demonstrated a nonlinear relationship between the prevalence of the painless form of CHD and the level of OPA, which manifested in a considerable increase of the incidence of that CHD form in the 2nd and 4th quartiles of OPA (Friedman's criterion S = 69, p < 0.003). The women showed a nonlinear relationship between CHD prevalence on the whole and the level of OPA, characterized by a noticeable increase of the incidence of the above-indicated form of CHD in the 2nd and 4th quartiles of OPA (S = 62, p < 0.02). Besides, the women demonstrated an increase in the incidence of CHD on the whole in the 4th quartile of PAL (S = 69, p < 0.003).