Experiencing Stress During COVID-19: A Computational Analysis of Stressors and Emotional Responses to Stress.

This study aims to unveil how COVID-19 affected the experience of stress by focusing on the stressors. Using computational analysis based on a newly developed stressor identification model, we compared the experience of stress expressed by Korean Twitter users before and during the pandemic in terms of (1) the stressors as the source of stress and (2) emotion as the manifestation of stress. Both tweet-level (N = 202,556) and user-level (N = 24,803) analyses revealed that social factors are prevalent sources of stress both before and during the pandemic. Moreover, social stressors increased the most during the pandemic. While stress from social stressors was manifested mainly as sadness before the pandemic, anger became the predominant emotional manifestation during the pandemic. Public health policies and educators should consider social stressors as the predominant source of stress during the pandemic and seek ways to prepare the public better for such threats.

Ginsenoside Rg3 prevents INS-1 cell death from intermittent high glucose stress.

BACKGROUND: Ginsenoside Rg3 has been proposed to mediate anti-diabetic effects, but their direct effect on pancreatic ß cell viability and mechanisms are not clearly understood. Recent studies suggest that intermittent high glucose (IHG) could be more harmful to pancreatic ß cells than sustained high glucose. There are few reports about the effect of the ginsenosideRg3 to ß cell apoptosis and proliferation against IHG. METHODS: INS-1 cells were treated with alternative glucose concentration with or without ginsenoside Rg3. Cell apoptosis and viability were detected by Annexin V staining and MTT assay. The activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) was analyzed by Western blotting using specific antibodies. Quantification of secreted insulin protein was measured using rat/mouse Insulin ELISA kits. Bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) staining and florescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis was performed to compare cell proliferation. RESULT: INS-1 cell viability was decreased under IHG and increased with Rg3 treatment.Rg3 significantly reduced the apoptotic INS-1 cells against IHG. The quantification of secreted insulin concentration was increased with Rg3. Rg3 increased INS-1 cell proliferation. ERK and p38 MAPK pathways reduced by IHG were activated by the ginsenoside Rg3. CONCLUSION: Ginsenoside Rg3 protected INS-1 cell death from IHG with reducing apoptosis and increasing proliferation.

Obesity, metabolic abnormality, and knee osteoarthritis: a cross-sectional study in Korean women.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to analyze the association between knee osteoarthritis and four body size phenotypes defined by the presence or absence of metabolic abnormality and obesity. MEHODS: This was a cross-sectional study using data from 1,549 female participants of the Fifth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Knee osteoarthritis was defined as a Kellgren-Lawrence grade of ≥ 2. Metabolically abnormal state was defined as presence of more than one abnormality among five metabolic risk factors. Obesity was defined using body mass index. Participants were grouped into one of the four body size phenotypes: metabolically healthy normal weight (MHNW), metabolically abnormal but normal weight (MANW), metabolically healthy obesity (MHO), and metabolically abnormal obesity (MAO). RESULTS: The distribution of each body size phenotype was as follows: MHNW 54.7%, MANW 30.7%, MHO 4.3%, and MAO 10.3%. Prevalence of symptomatic knee osteoarthritis was higher in MANW than in MHNW, and in MAO than in MHO. In multivariable analysis, the association between symptomatic knee osteoarthritis and the body size phenotypes was as follows (OR [95% CI]): MHNW 1.00 (reference), MANW 1.54 (1.15-2.07), MHO 1.61 (0.83-3.13), and MAO 3.47 (2.35-5.14). CONCLUSIONS: Obesity showed closest association with knee osteoarthritis when accompanied by metabolic abnormality.

Knee osteoarthritis is associated with increased prevalence of vertebral fractures despite high systemic bone mineral density: a cross-sectional study in an Asian population.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between radiographic knee osteoarthritis and vertebral fractures (VFs) in an Asian population. METHODS: This cross-sectional study involved data from 1,829 participants of the Fifth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Radiographic knee osteoarthritis was defined as Kellgren-Lawrence (KL) grades ≥ 2. Prevalent VF was defined as a loss of ≥ 4 cm of height from the peak height. BMD was measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, in the lumbar spine and femoral neck. RESULTS: In both sexes, the prevalence of VFs increased with age, and was higher in the knee osteoarthritis group than in the control group (in men 13.2 % in osteoarthritis group and 7.9 % in control group; in women 27.7 % in osteoarthritis group and 14.7 % in control group). Age-adjusted BMD at the lumbar spine and femoral neck was significantly higher in the knee osteoarthritis group. In multivariable analysis, KL grade 4 was significantly associated with vertebral fractures in men. In women, there was a significant trend for a positive association between KL grades and vertebral fractures. CONCLUSIONS: Despite high systemic BMD, knee osteoarthritis was positively associated with VFs. These results suggest that bone quality, and consequently bone strength, may be decreased at the systemic level in knee osteoarthritis.

Sarcopenic obesity is more closely associated with knee osteoarthritis than is nonsarcopenic obesity: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: Sarcopenic obesity is a body composition category in which obesity is accompanied by low skeletal muscle mass, offsetting the increase in body weight caused by increased adipose tissue. The purpose of this study was to analyze the association between knee osteoarthritis (OA) and 4 different categories of body composition: normal, sarcopenic nonobesity, nonsarcopenic obesity, and sarcopenic obesity. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study using the data from 2,893 participants in the Fifth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Radiographic knee OA was defined as a Kellgren/Lawrence grade of ≥2. Appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASM) and whole-body fat mass were measured using dual x-ray absorptiometry. Sarcopenia was defined as a skeletal muscle mass index (ASM/body weight [%]) below -2SD of the value in sex-matched young reference groups. Nonsarcopenic obesity was defined as a body mass index (BMI) ≥27.5 kg/m(2) . RESULTS: The prevalence of each body composition category was as follows: 83.5% normal, 4.3% sarcopenic nonobesity, 9.2% nonsarcopenic obesity, and 3.0% sarcopenic obesity. Compared with nonsarcopenic obesity participants, participants with sarcopenic obesity were significantly older, had lower ASM, higher whole-body fat mass, and higher waist circumference. However, there was no significant difference in body weight or BMI. In multivariate analysis, sarcopenic obesity was more closely associated with radiographic knee OA (OR 3.51 [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 2.15-5.75]) than was nonsarcopenic obesity (OR 2.38 [95% CI 1.80-3.15]). Sarcopenic nonobesity showed no significant association with knee OA. CONCLUSION: Sarcopenic obesity was more closely associated with knee OA than was nonsarcopenic obesity, although both groups had equivalent body weight. This finding supports the importance of the systemic metabolic effect of obesity in knee OA.

Increase of INS-1 cell apoptosis under glucose fluctuation and the involvement of FOXO-SIRT pathway.

AIMS: Variations of blood glucose level have been reported to be more harmful than sustained high glucose, but the effects on pancreatic ß-cells have not yet been clarified. FOXO transcription factors are important for cell fate. We tried to clarify the effect of glucose variability on INS-1 cells, and the potential mechanisms related with FOXO-SIRT pathway. METHODS: INS-1 cells were exposed to control, SHG (sustained high glucose) or IHG (intermittent high glucose) alternating every 12 h for 5 days. RESULTS: INS-1 cells in SHG showed lower apoptosis and higher GSIS than IHG. Deacetylated FOXO and binding with SIRT were higher in SHG than IHG. Administration of PI3K inhibitor and/or SIRT inhibitor increased apoptosis and decreased Mn-SOD and Bcl-2 in SHG. CONCLUSIONS: [corrected] IHG was more harmful to INS-1 cells than SHG. The degree of phosphorylation and acetylation of FOXO transcription factors were different between SHG and IHG, which might be one mechanism of increased INS-1 cell apoptosis in IHG.