Serum iodine concentration and its associations with thyroid function and dietary iodine in pregnant women in the southeast coast of China: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Iodine deficiency is a major public health problem in pregnant women. Serum iodine (SI) may represent a useful biomarker for iodine nutrition evaluation. We aimed to assess the relationship between serum iodine concentration (SIC) and urinary iodine concentration (UIC), dietary iodine, thyroid function, and thyroid diseases in pregnant women in the southeast coast of China, and to provide a normal reference range of SIC for pregnant women. Methods: A multistage random sampling method was used to select the study population. We collected urine and blood samples from pregnant women and determined UIC and SIC as well as thyroid function using Arsenic-Cerium Catalytic Spectrophotometry, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, and Beckman Coulter Access2 chemiluminescent immunoanalyzer and kit, respectively, and administered a questionnaire on dietary iodine intake in pregnant women. Results: There was a significant negative correlation between SI and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) (r = -0.141) and a significant positive correlation between SI and free triiodothyronine (FT3) (r = 0.106), free thyroxine (FT4) (r = 0.236), triiodothyronine (TT3) (r = 0.229), total thyroxine (TT4) (r = 0.433), and dietary iodine intake (r = 0.068). There was a significant difference in SI levels of pregnancy between the second (78.13 µg/L) and third trimester (75.37 µg/L) (p = 0.018). SI levels between inadequate intake (74.58 µg/L) and appropriate intake (77.92 µg/L) groups were statistically different (p = 0.036). Low SIC was a risk factor for the development of hypothyroxinemia (adjusted OR = 3.14, 95% confidence interval: 1.75-5.66). The reference range for SIC in normal pregnant women is 45.03-112.44 µg/L. Conclusion: SI may be a composite indicator of iodine nutritional status and thyroid function.

lncRNA polymorphism affects the prognosis of gastric cancer.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have found that lncRNA polymorphisms are associated with the prognosis of gastric cancer (GC), but the specific roles of many lncRNA polymorphism sites in gastric cancer are still unclear. Our study aims to deeply explore the relationship between genetic polymorphism of lncRNA and the prognosis of GC. METHODS: The genotypes of candidate SNP locus were detected by Sequenom Mass ARRAY SNP. We deeply analyzed the association of lncRNA polymorphisms with GC prognosis by univariate and multivariate Cox regression, stratified analysis, conjoint analysis, and log-rank test. RESULTS: We found that mutations at rs2579878 and rs10036719 loci reduced the risk of poor prognosis of GC. Stratified analysis showed that rs2795025, rs10036719, and rs12516079 polymorphisms were all associated with tumor prognosis. In addition, conjoint analyses showed that the interaction between these two polymorphic sites (rs2795025 and rs12516079) could increase the risk of poor prognosis. Multivariate analysis also found that the AG/AA genotype of rs10036719 and AG genotype of rs12516079 were independent prognostic factors. Moreover, the high expression of both CCDC26 and LINC02122 were shown to be associated with the poor survival status of GC patients. CONCLUSIONS: We find that the genetic polymorphism of lncRNA plays a role in the development of GC and is closely related to the survival time of patients. It could serve as a predictor of the prognosis of GC.

mGWAS identification of six novel single nucleotide polymorphism loci with strong correlation to gastric cancer.

BACKGROUND: Metabolite genome-wide association studies (mGWAS) are key for understanding the genetic regulation of metabolites in complex diseases including cancers. Although mGWAS has revealed hundreds of metabolomics quantitative trait loci (mQTLs) in the general population, data relating to gastric cancer (GC) are still incomplete. METHODS: We identified mQTLs associated with GC by analyzing genome-wide and metabolome-wide datasets generated from 233 GC patients and 233 healthy controls. RESULTS: Twenty-two metabolites were statistically different between GC cases and healthy controls, and all of them were associated with the risk of gastric cancer. mGWAS analyses further revealed that 9 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were significantly associated with 3 metabolites. Of these 9 SNPs, 6 loci were never reported in the previous mGWAS studies. Surprisingly, 4 of 9 SNPs were significantly enriched in genes involved in the T cell receptor signaling pathway. CONCLUSIONS: Our study unveiled several novel GC metabolite and genetic biomarkers, which may be implicated in the prevention and diagnosis of gastric cancer.

A case-control study of microRNA polymorphisms in gastric cancer screening by SNP chip combined with time of flight mass spectrometry.

Aims: To explore new SNP sites of miRNAs associated with gastric cancer, thereby providing valuable biomarkers to diagnose and screen gastric cancer. Materials & methods: A 1:1 case-control study was carried out. Microarrays were used to screen the SNP loci of miRNAs in the genomes of matched pairs of patients, 96 with gastric cancer and 96 healthy controls. For validation, mass spectrometry was used to classify miRNA SNP loci in 622 pairs of subjects. Results: rs7143252 was linked to a higher occurrence of gastric cancer. Conclusion: These results suggest that rs7143252 could be used as a specific biomarker to diagnose and screen gastric cancer.

The Interactive Effects between Particulate Matter and Heat Waves on Circulatory Mortality in Fuzhou, China.

The interactive effects between particulate matter (PM) and heat waves on circulatory mortality are under-researched in the context of global climate change. We aimed to investigate the interaction between heat waves and PM on circulatory mortality in Fuzhou, a city characterized by a humid subtropical climate and low level of air pollution in China. We collected data on deaths, pollutants, and meteorology in Fuzhou between January 2016 and December 2019. Generalized additive models were used to examine the effect of PM on circulatory mortality during the heat waves, and to explore the interaction between different PM levels and heat waves on the circulatory mortality. During heat waves, circulatory mortality was estimated to increase by 8.21% (95% confidence intervals (CI): 0.32-16.72) and 3.84% (95% CI: 0.28-7.54) per 10 µg/m3 increase of PM2.5 and PM10, respectively, compared to non-heat waves. Compared with low-level PM2.5 concentration on non-heat waves layer, the high level of PM2.5 concentration on heat waves layer has a significant effect on the cardiovascular mortality, and the effect value was 48.35% (95% CI: 6.37-106.89). Overall, we found some evidence to suggest that heat waves can significantly enhance the impact of PM on circulatory mortality.

Temporal cross-correlations between air pollutants and outpatient visits for respiratory and circulatory system diseases in Fuzhou, China.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have suggested that there is an association between air pollutants and circulatory and respiratory diseases; however, relatively few have analyzed the association between air pollutants and outpatient visits based on the mortality, hospitalization rates, etc., especially in areas with relatively good air quality. Therefore, we conducted this study to research the association between air pollutants and outpatient visits in Fuzhou, China. METHODS: We used a generalized linear Poisson model to study the association between air pollution and outpatient visits for respiratory and circulatory diseases from 2016 to 2018 in Fuzhou, China. RESULTS: In the single pollutant model, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) had a significant effect. For lag day 0 to lag day 5, the effect decreased with every 10 µg/L increase in NO2. The daily maximum 8-h mean ozone (O3-8h) and upper respiratory outpatient visits were positively associated during the cold period [lag2, excess risk (ER) (95% confidence interval (CI)): 1.68% (0.44-2.94%)], while O3-8h and respiratory disease were positively associated during the warm period [lag5, ER (95% CI): 1.10% (0.11-2.10%) and lag4, ER (95% CI): 1.02% (0.032-2.02%)]. Similarly, particulate matter (PM) with an average aerodynamic diameter of less than 10 µm (PM10) and lower respiratory diseases were positively associated during the warm period [lag0, ER (95% CI): 1.68% (0.44-2.94%)]. When the concentration of O3-8h was higher than 100 µg/L, there was a positive effect on circulatory [lag5, ER (95% CI): 2.83% (0.65-5.06%)], respiratory [lag5, ER (95% CI): 2.47% (0.85-4.11%)] and upper respiratory [lag5, ER (95% CI): 3.06% (1.38-4.77%)] outpatient visits. The variation in O3-8h changed slightly when we adjusted for other air pollutants, and after adjusting for O3-8h, the ERs of the other air pollutants changed slightly. After adjusting for PM with an average aerodynamic diameter of less than 2.5 µm (PM2.5), the ERs of the other air pollutants increased, and after adjusting for NO2, the ER of PM decreased. CONCLUSION: Exposure to ambient NO2, O3, PM2.5 and PM10 was associated with an increase in respiratory and circulatory system-related outpatient visits in Fuzhou, China.