Adiponectin Genotype, Blood Pressures, and Arterial Stiffness: The Cardiometabolic Risk in Chinese (CRC) Study.

The authors examined whether the adiponectin gene (ADIPOQ) variant was associated with blood pressure and arterial stiffness in Chinese adults. A genome-wide association study of the adiponectin variant rs864265 in the ADIPOQ gene was genotyped in a total of 2364 participants. After adjustment for sex, age, body mass index (BMI), fasting glucose, and lipids, participants carrying the T allele of rs864265 showed a greater increase in carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV) and systolic blood pressure (SBP). Further adjustment for blood pressure did not appreciably change the association with cfPWV. The authors found significant interactions between rs864265 and BMI, waist circumference, body fat percentage, and SBP in relation to cfPWV (P for interaction = .035, .001, .003, .013, respectively). The T allele of rs864265 was associated with high blood pressure and arterial stiffness. BMI, body fat percentage, waist circumference, and SBP might modify the effects of genetic polymorphism on arterial stiffness.

Regulation of hepatic carbohydrate metabolism by Selenium during diabetes.

In the present study, we have tried to unravel the role of Selenium supplementation in containing hyperglycemia by regulating enzymes activities involved in carbohydrate metabolism in liver of diabetic animals. Male wistar rats were divided into four groups: normal control, diabetic, Selenium treated control and Selenium treated diabetic group. Diabetes was induced in the animals by injecting alloxan intraperitoneally at a dose level of 150 mg/kg body weight. Selenium in the form of sodium selenite was supplemented to rats at a dose level of 1 PPM in drinking water, ad libitum for two time durations of 2 and 4 weeks. Animals were sacrificed and livers were excised for the analyses of enzymes involved in carbohydrate metabolism as well as the levels of glycogen. In-vitro (14)C-d glucose uptake and its turnover were also assessed in liver slices of all the treatment groups using radiorespirometry. Selenium supplementation to the diabetic rats normalized the enzyme activities of glucose-6-phosphatase, lactate dehydrogenase and glycogen phosphorylase as well as restored the glycogen levels to within the normal limits which were altered during diabetes. Interestingly, when Selenium was supplemented to diabetic rats, (14)C-d glucose uptake and its turnover showed a statistically significant increase in their values which however, were decreased in diabetic rats. In conclusion, Selenium mediates insulin-like role during diabetes by tending to normalize the altered activities of glucose metabolizing enzymes and also improves the glucose uptake and its metabolism by the liver.

Serum Uric Acid and Impaired Glucose Tolerance: The Cardiometabolic Risk in Chinese (CRC) Study.

Serum uric acid (SUA) elevation has been previously related to impaired fasting glucose and type 2 diabetes. The present study was comprehensive to examine the associations between SUA and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) in Chinese adults. For this purpose, data were collected from a community-based health examination survey conducted in Central China; 2-h glucose (OGTT) and SUA were measured in 1956 men and women. In multivariate models, SUA levels were significantly associated with an increasing trend of 2-h glucose (OGTT) (P for trend < 0.0001). The odds ratios (OR; 95 % CI) of IGT across increasing quartiles of SUA were 1.0, 1.354 (0.948-2.087), 1.337 (0.959-2.251), and 2.192 (1.407-3.416), after adjusting for age, sex, body mass index, waist circumference, fasting insulin, blood pressure, serum lipids, serum creatinine, and estimated glomerular filtration rate. (P for trend = 0.001). In addition, we found an additive pattern between SUA and triglyceride (TG; P = 0.038) or between SUA and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C; P = 0.041) in relation to IGT. SUA was related to IGT in the Chinese adults, independent of other conventional metabolic risk factors. TG and LDL-C might modify the associations.

Neck circumference and prehypertension: the cardiometabolic risk in Chinese study.

BACKGROUND: We have previously found that neck circumference was related to insulin resistance, a risk factor for hypertension in Chinese. Little is known about whether high neck circumference is associated with elevated blood pressure. METHOD: The study samples were from a community-based health examination survey in central China. In total, 1709 men and women with neck circumference measurement were included. We analysed the associations between neck circumference and the risk of prehypertension. RESULTS: Although neck circumference was strongly associated with SBP/DBP in a univariate analysis, it was no longer associated with SBP and the association was much weaker with DBP when the association was adjusted for BMI or waist circumference. Similarly, high neck circumference was significantly related to an increased risk of prehypertension [odds ratio 1.254; 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.171-1.343] in a univariate analysis, and the association became marginal in models further adjusting for BMI or waist. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that neck circumference as predictor for prehypertension is not obvious given the moderate improvement of disease prediction.

Synergistic effects of neck circumference and metabolic risk factors on insulin resistance: the Cardiometabolic Risk in Chinese (CRC) study.

OBJECTIVES: Recent studies have associated neck circumference (NC) with insulin resistance (IR). We examined whether such relation was modified by other metabolic risk factors. METHODS: The study samples were from a community-based health examination survey in central China. A total of 2588 apparently healthy Chinese men and women were included. RESULTS: Plasma levels of total cholesterol (TC), HDL-C, uric acid (UA) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were independently associated with NC after adjusted for age, sex, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC) and hip circumference (HC) (P = 0.009, 0.001, 0.015 and 0.015, respectively). We observed significant interactions of NC with triglyceride (TG) and UA (all the p for interaction = 0.001) in relation to HOMA-IR. It appeared that the associations between NC and HOMA-IR were more evident in those with higher UA or TG level. CONCLUSIONS: Our data indicate that in apparently healthy Chinese adults, there were synergistic effects of UA, TG and neck circumference on insulin resistance.

Serum gamma-glutamyltransferase is associated with impaired fasting glucose in Chinese adults: the Cardiometabolic Risk in Chinese (CRC) study.

Recently, several studies found raised serum γ-glutamyltransferase (GGT), and traditional marker of liver damage was associated with the risk of type 2 diabetes. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between GGT and impaired fasting glucose (IFG), and evaluate the modification effects of age, BMI, prehypertension, and lipids in a large sample of Chinese adults. The study samples are from a community-based health examination survey in China. The sample for our analysis included 7,309 participants. IFG was defined as FBG from 6.1 to 7.0 mmol/L. Serum GGT, lipids, blood pressure, and glucose were measured. The odds ratios (ORs, 95 % CI) of IFG across increasing quintiles of GGT were 1.00, 0.91 (0.49-1.72), 1.27 (0.68-2.38), 2.31 (1.29-4.15), and 2.42 (1.32-4.42) (P for trend < 0.0001), adjusting for age, sex, BMI, blood pressure, glucose, and lipids. We found significant interactions between age, BMI, and GGT on IFG risk. When the joint effects were examined, we found an additional effect of triglycerides (TG) and GGT levels on IFG. Our data indicate that serum GGT concentration was associated with the risk of IFG, and the association was modified by TG level.