Relationship between metabolic syndrome and intake of ultra-processed foods in Korean adults: based on 6th and 7th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2013-2018).

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Metabolic syndrome is closely associated with lifestyle factors, including diet and nutritional intake. Modern trends show a shift in food consumption from healthy home-cooked meals to processed and instant foods. Therefore, this study analyzed the association between ultra-processed food intake and the development of metabolic syndrome in Korean adults based on the data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) 2013-2018. SUBJECTS/METHODS: The subjects of this study were 17,414 adults aged 19-80 years who participated in the 6th-7th KNHANES. Processed food was classified into four categories, NOVA1 to NOVA4, using 24-h recall data. The higher the NOVA category, the more processed the food. Statistical analysis was conducted using logistic regression to investigate the prevalence of metabolic syndrome according to the consumption of ultra-processed foods. RESULTS: Among the diagnostic criteria for metabolic syndrome, hypertension (odds ratio [OR], 0.72; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.62-0.85; Q4 vs. Q1, P-trend < 0.001) and high triglycerides (OR, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.72-0.94; Q4 vs. Q1, P-trend < 0.001) showed a correlation with the percentages of energy consumed from ultra-processed foods. The OR for metabolic syndrome, according to the percentages of energy consumed from ultra-processed foods, is shown only for men. The OR showed that the percentages of energy consumed from ultra-processed foods were associated with increased metabolic syndrome. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that consumption of ultra-processed foods raises the risk of metabolic syndrome especially among men. To prevent metabolic syndrome, it is necessary to prepare appropriate dietary guidelines for Korean adults.

Changes in DNA methylation after 6-week exercise training in colorectal cancer survivors: A preliminary study.

AIM: Behavioral interventions such as exercise may induce epigenetic changes. Only few studies investigated the effects of exercise on epigenetic alterations in colorectal cancer survivors. The aim of this study was to explore the changes of genome-wide DNA methylation after 6-week exercise training in colorectal cancer survivors. METHODS: This preliminary study used a subset of data from a randomized controlled trial in 15 colorectal cancer survivors. Participants were randomized either to the 6-week exercise group or control group. The exercise intervention consisted of a weekly, group-based, supervised resistance exercise program and a home-based same resistance exercise plus walking six times per week. Blood samples were collected at baseline and after the intervention and data from eight subjects were analyzed for genome-wide DNA methylation on 865,918 CpG sites. RESULTS: Compared to the control group, the exercise group shows notable methylation changes in 756 CpG sites (22.7-25.2%). Gene ontology and disease annotation analysis showed that the genes targeting 81 CpG sites in promoter region with significant group-difference were linked in biological process such as immune response and transcription and related to metabolic and immune diseases. Also, hypermethylation on genes related to disease prevention seemed to be inhibited in the exercise group compared to the control group, indicating a likelihood of transcriptional activity of these genes. CONCLUSION: We found a preliminary evidence of the positive effects of exercise intervention on epigenetic markers in colorectal cancer survivors. Larger scale randomized controlled trials are warranted to further investigate our findings.

Handgrip Strength as a Predictor of All-Cause Mortality in Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease Undergoing Dialysis: A Meta-Analysis of Prospective Cohort Studies.

The aim of this study was to conduct a meta-analysis of the association between handgrip strength (HGS) and all-cause mortality in patients with chronic kidney disease undergoing dialysis. We evaluated eligible studies by searching PubMed and EMBASE databases up to December 2, 2018. A total of 9 prospective cohort studies were included in this meta-analysis. When we compared patients with low HGS to those with high HGS, the summary risk ratio of all-cause mortality was 1.88 (95% confidence interval 1.51-2.33; P < .001). In addition, the summary risk ratio of all-cause mortality associated with a 1-kg unit increase in HGS was 0.95 (95% confidence interval 0.93-0.97; P < .001). This quantitative synthesis showed that low HGS was associated with increased risk of all-cause mortality in patients with chronic kidney disease undergoing dialysis. Our study suggests that HGS may be a simple and useful predictor of prognosis in this patient population.