Pinirhizobacter soli gen. nov., sp. nov., a novel low temperature resistant gammaproteobacterium in the family Rhodanobacteraceae isolated from rhizospheric soil of Larix gmelinii.

Three yellow-colored strains, NC2-4-308T, NC3-4-326 and NA3-4-109, were isolated from the rhizosphere soil of Larix gmelinii in Nanwenghe Nature Reserve, Great Khingan, China. These strains were oxidase- and catalase-positive and Gram-staining-negative. The cells were non-motile short rods that were aerobic and non-spore-forming. Growth occurred at pH values of 5.0-8.0 and at 0-4% (w/v) NaCl. The three strains were resistant to low temperature and grew at 2-35 °C. The principal fatty acids (> 5%) were summed feature 9, iso-C15:0, iso-C17:0 and anteiso-C15:0. The predominant quinone was ubiquinone-8. The polar lipids consisted of phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylcholine, two unidentified phospholipids, three unidentified lipids and three unidentified aminophospholipids. The DNA G + C content of the type species was 64.0 mol%. The 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities among the three strains are more than 99.9%, indicating they belong to the same species. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene, whole-genome sequences, the low ANI (74.2-75.5%) and dDDH (19.3-20.1%) hybridization values enabled differentiation of strains NC2-4-308T, NC3-4-326 and NA3-4-109 from the members of related genera. The combined data from the morphological, physiological, biochemical and chemotaxonomic tests indicate the three strains as a novel genus and a novel species in the family Rhodanobacteraceae. Therefore, we propose a novel genus with the name Pinirhizobacter soli gen. nov., sp. nov., for which the type strain is NC2-4-308T (= CFCC 14693T = KCTC 72394T).

Predominant frequency of HLA-B*27 in patients with ankylosing spondylitis in southeastern China.

OBJECTIVES: This study was to investigate the polymorphism and distribution of alleles of HLA-B*27 in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) in Han population of southeastern China. METHODS: A total of 89 peripheral blood samples from southeastern Chinese Han patients with AS that diagnosed according to Modified New York criteria were subtyped using the high-resolution PCR-SSP.Exon 2-3 of HLA-B*27 gene was amplified and sequenced to further confirm the HLA-B*27 subtype. RESULTS: The frequency of HLA-B*27 was 99.87% in AS patients. Three subtypes, HLA-B*2704, HLA-B*2705, and HLA-B*2706 were identified. The frequencies for these three alleles were HLA-B*2704 in 84/88 (95.46%), HLA-B*2705 in 3/88(3.41%), and HLA-B*2706 in 1/88 (1.13%) of the HLA-B*27 positive patients, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows that HLA-B*2704 has an overwhelming frequency in southeastern Chinese Han AS patients. A combined analysis including previous studies of HLA-B*27-subtype distributions in Chinese Han populations showed that HLA-B*2704 may originate from the southern Han and then migrate and spread to the northern areas, and HLA-B*2705 show the opposite result.

Habitats Are More Important Than Seasons in Shaping Soil Bacterial Communities on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.

Both habitats and seasons can determine the dynamics of microbial communities, but the relative importance of different habitats and seasonal changes in shaping the soil bacterial community structures on a small spatial scale in permafrost areas remains controversial. In this study, we explored the relative effect of four typical alpine meadow habitats (swamp wetland, swamp meadow, meadow and mature meadow) versus seasons on soil bacterial communities based on samples from the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau in four months (March, May, July and September). The results showed that habitats, rather than seasons explained more variation of soil bacterial composition and structure. Environmental cofactors explained the greatest proportion of bacterial variation observed and can help elucidate the driving force of seasonal changes and habitats on bacterial communities. Soil temperature played the most important role in shaping bacterial beta diversities, followed by soil total nitrogen and pH. A group of microbial biomarkers, used as indicators of different months, were identified using random forest modeling, and for which relative abundance was shaped by different environmental factors. Furthermore, seasonality in bacterial co-occurrence patterns was observed. The data showed that co-occurrence relationships changed over months. The inter-taxa connections in May and July were more pronounced than that in March and September. Bryobacter, a genus of subgroup_22 affiliated to Acidobacteria, and Pseudonocardia belonging to Actinobacteria were observed as the keystone taxa in different months in the network. These results demonstrate that the bacterial community was clustered according to the seasonal mechanism, whereas the co-occurrence relationships changed over months, which indicated complex bacterial dynamics in a permafrost grassland on the eastern edge of Qinghai-Tibetan.

Noviherbaspirillum aerium sp. nov., isolated from air.

A Gram-stain-negative, strictly aerobic, non-spore-forming, rod-shaped, motile with polar flagella and pale-orange bacterium, designated strain 122213-3T, was isolated from air, collected at the foot of the Xiangshan Mountain, located in Beijing, PR China. Optimal growth occurred at 28 °C, at pH 7 and in the presence of 0-1 % (w/v) NaCl. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that 122213-3T clustered with species of the genus Noviherbaspirillum and formed a distinct sublineage, showing highest similarities to Noviherbaspirillum malthae CC-AFH3T (96.88 %), Noviherbaspirillum massiliense JC206T (95.78 %) and Noviherbaspirillum aurantiacum SUEMI08T (95.78 %). The predominant cellular fatty acids were summed feature 3 (C16 : 1 ω6c and/or C16 : 1 ω7c), summed feature 8 (C18 : 1 ω7c and/or C18 : 1 ω6c) and C16 : 0. The predominant quinone was ubiquinone 8 (Q-8). The polar lipids comprised phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, unidentified phospholipid and two unidentified polar lipids. The polyamine pattern showed the presence of putrescine as the major polyamine, with minor amounts of 2-hydroxyputrescine. The DNA G+C content was 60.1 mol%. The phylogenetic analysis and physiological and biochemical data showed that strain 122213-3T should be classified as representing a novel species in the genus Noviherbaspirillum, for which the name Noviherbaspirillum aerium sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain of N. aerium is 122213-3T (=CFCC 14286T=LMG 30131T).

Novel heterozygous BPIFC variant in a Chinese pedigree with hereditary trichilemmal cysts.

BACKGROUND: Trichilemmal cysts (TCs) are common intradermal or subcutaneous cysts, which are commonly sporadic and rarely autosomal dominantly inherited. However, little is known about the disease-determining genes in families with TCs exhibiting Mendelian inheritance. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to identify the causative gene in a family with TCs. METHODS: Whole-exome sequencing was performed on a TCs family to identify the candidate gene. Sanger sequencing was conducted to validate the candidate variants and familial segregation. RESULTS: We identified the heterozygous variant c.3G>C (p.Met1?) within the BPIFC gene. Sanger sequencing confirmed the cosegregation of this variant with the TCs phenotype in the family by demonstrating the presence of the heterozygous variant in all the 12 affected and absence in all the seven unaffected individuals. This variant was found to be absent in dbSNP141, 1,000 Genomes database and 500 ethnicity matched controls. CONCLUSION: Our results imply that BPIFC is a causative gene in this Chinese family with hereditary TCs. Further studies should be performed to validate the role of BPIFC in the pathogenesis of this disease.

Habitat Selection and Genetic Structure of the Endangered Frog Species Odorrana wuchuanensis (Anura: Ranidae).

Understanding the habitat selection and population genetic structure of an endangered species can play important roles in its protection. The Wuchuan odorous frog (Odorrana wuchuanensis) is endemic to the karst regions of southwest China. This frog is currently listed as "Critically Endangered" by the IUCN, but little is known about its habitat selection and population genetics. In this study, we conducted analyses of habitat selection with occurrence/absence sites and environmental data, and assessed the genetic structure between north and south populations in Guizhou provinces in China using three mitochondrial markers. The results revealed that the probability of this frog occupying cave habitats increased with higher average humidity in July and higher lowest temperature in January, but was negatively related to precipitation in January. Analyses of F statistics combined with analyses of median-joining haplotype networks and the phylogenetic tree showed low genetic differentiation between the two populations of O. wuchuanensis. Considering the small population size and geographic isolation because of the complex karst terrains, we suggest careful management practices are needed to protect this species.

Effects of tanshinone IIA on the regulation of renal proximal tubular fibrosis.

The development of diabetes mellitus, along with its complications, is a chronic inflammatory response process. Chronic kidney diseases are characterized by renal fibrosis, and fibrosis is an important pathway for end­stage renal failure. According to previous studies, high glucose (HG) has been demonstrated to be the most important fibrogenesis­inducing agent. Tanshinone IIA is one of the main components isolated from Danshen (Salvia miltiorrhiza). Although tanshinone IIA has been widely used for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, the possible role of tanshinone IIA in fibrosis regulation remains to be elucidated and requires investigation. In the present study, renal proximal tubular epithelial cells (HK­2) were treated with HG (30 mM glucose) to determine whether tanshinone IIA (1, 10 and 50 µM) had an effect on the regulation of renal cellular fibrosis. The results demonstrated that 50 µM tanshinone IIA may exert optimal inhibitory effects on HG­induced Snail, fibronectin, vimentin and α­smooth muscle actin (α­SMA) expression in HK­2 cells after 48 h. Tanshinone IIA also reversed HG­induced morphological alterations in HK­2 cells and inhibited an HG­induced increase in fibronectin and α­SMA mRNA and protein and an HG­induced decrease in E­cadherin. Furthermore, tanshinone IIA suppressed an HG­induced increase in Snail, which is a transcription factor that can suppress E­cadherin expression. E­cadherin is a major component of adherens junctions and a characteristic of epithelial integrity. Tanshinone IIA reversed HG­induced increase in α­SMA and decrease in E­cadherin. These data suggest that tanshinone IIA has the potential to inhibit HG­induced renal tubular epithelial cell fibrosis possibly through the epithelial­myofibroblast transdifferentiation pathway. Therefore, tanshinone IIA may be considered a renoprotective agent for the treatment of renal fibrosis.

[The MicroRNA miR-205 inhibits epithelial-messenchymal transition in HK-2 cells by down-regulating ZEB1 and ZEB2 expressions].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the role of miR-205 in regulating epithelial-messenchymal transition (EMT) in proximal tubular cell line HK-2 cells and the underlying mechanism. METHODS: HK-2 cells transfected with miR-205 mimics or a scrambled control sequence were examined for miR-205 expressions and mRNA levels of ZEB1, E-cadherin, and α-SMA using real-time qPCR; the protein levels of ZEB1, ZEB2, E-cadherin, and α-SMA were detected with Western blotting. Immunohistochemistry was performed to examine the ectopic expression of ß-catenin and E-cadherin expression in the cells. RESULTS: The expression levels of ZEB1 and ZEB2 decreased significantly (P<0.01) while E-cadherin expression was up-regulated (P<0.01) in cells transfected with miR-205 mimics. Transfection with miR-205 mimics also markedly down-regulated the expression of α-SMA (P<0.01), a marker of mesenchymal cells that play an important role in EMT of HK-2 cells. The ectopic expression of ß-catenin was inhibited by miR-205 mimics in HK-2 cells. CONCLUSION: miR-205 inhibits EMT in HK-2 cells by down-regulating the expression levels of ZEB1 and ZEB2.

Sequence and analysis of the complete mitochondrial genome of the Wuchuan Odorous Frog Odorrana wuchuanensis (Anura: Ranidae).

The complete mitochondrial genome of the Wuchuan Odorous Frog was 18,256 bp in length including 13 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNA genes, 22 tRNA genes, and a control region and was similar to that of typical vertebrates. The base composition was 27.89% A, 29.00% C, 15.34% G, and 27.78% T. All genes were encoded on the H-strand except ND6 and eight tRNA genes (tRNAPro, tRNAGln, tRNAAla, tRNAAsn, tRNACys, tRNATyr, tRNASer, and tRNAGlu), which were encoded on the L-strand. The phylogenetic relationship of Anura based on complete mitochondrial genomes showed that O. wuchuanesis is closest to O. margaretae with strong support and the genetic distance between Ranidae, Dicroglossidae, and Rhacophoridae was closer than others.

Associations between age at menarche and menopause with cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and osteoporosis in Chinese women.

CONTEXT: Ages at menarche and menopause are associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD), diabetes, and osteoporosis in Caucasian women, but associations remain unexplored in Chinese women. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to assess associations between age at menarche and menopause with CVD, diabetes, and osteoporosis in Chinese women. DESIGN AND SETTING: A cross-sectional, population-based study was conducted in Fujian, China, from June 2011 to January 2012. PARTICIPANTS: Among 6242 women aged 21 to 92 years, 3304 postmenopausal women were enrolled, excluding premenopausal women (n = 2527), those with unreported ages at menarche and menopause (n = 138), those with unrecorded physical measurements (n = 203), and those with menarche age <8 years or >20 years (n = 70). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: An oral glucose tolerance test, a 12-lead resting electrocardiogram, and calcaneus quantitative ultrasound were performed. RESULTS: No significant associations were found between menarche age, diabetes, and osteoporosis (both P > .05); later menarche (>18 years) was significantly associated with lower CVD risk (odds ratio = 0.71, 95% confidence interval, 0.57-0.89; P = .002). Menopause age was not associated with diabetes; higher menopause age was associated with decreasing CVD risk (P for trend = .020) and earlier menopause (≤46 years) with significantly higher osteoporosis risk (odds ratio = 1.59, 95% confidence interval, 1.07-2.36; P = .023). CONCLUSIONS: In China, ages at menarche and menopause are not associated with diabetes. Later menarche and menopause are associated with decreasing CVD risk and earlier menopause with higher osteoporosis risk. Menarche and menopause history may help identify women with increased risk of developing CVD and osteoporosis.

Association study of genetic variants of 17 diabetes-related genes/loci and cardiovascular risk and diabetic nephropathy in the Chinese She population.

BACKGROUND: Genetic determinations are important in type 2 diabetes (T2DM) pathology. We investigated associations between genetic variants of 17 diabetes-related genes/loci, T2DM and diabetic complications in Chinese She subjects. METHODS: A comprehensive gene-based association study was conducted using 17 single nucleotide polymorphisms in Chinese She subjects with normal glucose tolerance (n = 1119), impaired glucose regulation (n = 1767), and T2DM (n = 443). We applied major abnormal Minnesota Code findings to predict cardiovascular risk and estimated glomerular filtration rate to assess kidney function. RESULTS: Nine variants in FTO rs8050136, WFS1 rs10010131, CDKN2A/B rs10811661, KCNJ11 rs5219, CDC123/CAMK1D rs12779790, JAZF1 rs864745, SLC30A8 rs13266634, CDKAL1 rs10946398, and HHEX/IDE rs5015480 were significantly associated with T2DM (P < 0.05). Single nucleotide polymorphisms in WFS1 rs10010131, CDKN2A/B rs10811661, CDC123/CAMK1D rs12779790, JAZF1 rs864745, FTO rs8050136, and HHEX/IDE rs5015480 were associated with T2DM and impaired glucose regulation. Risk alleles in WFS1 rs10010131, IGF2BP2 rs4402960, CDKAL1 rs10946398, FTO rs8050136, KCNQ1 rs2237897, and ADAMTS9 rs4607103 were significantly associated with decreased homeostatic model assessment (HOMA)-ß (P < 0.05). After adjusting for age, gender and body mass index, genetic variants JAZF1 rs864745, FTO rs8050136, and HHEX/IDE rs5015480 were significantly related to reduced estimated glomerular filtration rate (P < 0.05). Genetic variants in WFS1 rs10010131, CDKN2A/B rs10811661, CDC123/CAMID rs12779790, JAZF1 rs864745, FTO rs80501360, CDKAL1 rs10946398, and HHEX/IDE rs5015480 correlated with abnormal major Minnesota Code findings (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Variants in WFS1, CDKN2A/B, KCNJ11, CDC123/CAMK1D, JAZF1, SLC30A8, FTO, CDKAL1, and HHEX/IDE genes are significantly associated with T2DM in She Chinese subjects. JAZF1, FTO, CDKAL1, and HHEX/IDE are associated with diabetic nephropathy. WFS1, CDKN2A/B, CDC123/CAMK1D, JAZF1, FTO, CDKAL1, and HHEX/IDE are associated with cardiovascular risk.

Prevalence and risk factors associated with prehypertension and hypertension in the Chinese She population.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the prevalence and cardiovascular risk factors for prehypertension and hypertension in the She ethnic minority population of Fujian province in China. METHODS AND RESULTS: Between April 2009 and September 2009, 5,523 participants of She nationality aged between 20 and 80 years participated in this survey and 5,357 were eventually enrolled in analyses. The survey was carried out to assess blood pressure and cardiovascular risk factors. The prevalence of prehypertension and hypertension was 35.87 and 38.42%, respectively, in all participants. Only 26.63% of the subjects with hypertension were aware of their diagnosis. Multivariate logistic regression showed that age, gender, overweight/obesity, dyslipidemia and alcohol use were risk factors for prehypertension, and age, overweight/obesity, dyslipidemia, alcohol use, family history of hypertension and hyperuricemia were risk factors for hypertension. The clustering of 2 and ≥ 3 risk factors was in higher proportion for subjects with hypertension and prehypertension when compared with those with prehypertension and normotension, respectively. After adjusting for other confounding factors, multivariable logistic regression showed that the greater the number of clustering cardiovascular risk factors, the greater the odds ratios for prehypertension and hypertension are. CONCLUSION: Hypertension and prehypertension were common in the She population of Fujian province. Cardiovascular risk factors cluster during prehypertension and awareness of hypertension was minimal. Early lifestyle modifications could be advocated to prevent the transition from prehypertension to hypertension and cardiovascular disease.

Diabetes and its chronic complications in the She ethnic minority group of China.

OBJECTIVE: According to recent reports, the development of type 2 diabetes in China has soared at an alarming rate. However, most of the investigations were based on Han people, who account for the majority of people in China. Little is known about the prevalence of diabetes its chronic complications in the She people, who have their own traditional lifestyle and hereditable background, different from other Asian population. The present study investigated the prevalence of type 2 diabetes and associated risk factors in the adult population of She nationals. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A total of 5,385 participants entered into the analysis eventually, including 2,308 men and 3,077 women. An oral glucose tolerance test was performed in subjects without diagnosed diabetes. Liver function, cardiovascular risk (brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity, estimated glomerular filtration rate, and abnormal Minnesota codes findings), uric acid, and neuropathy were tested to assess the profiles of associated risks. RESULTS: In general, the self-reported diabetes rate was 9.5%. After age and sex standardization, the prevalence of diabetes was 6.1% (6.7% for men and 5.7% for women) in She Chinese people. In logistic regression models, age, family history of diabetes, alcohol use, total cholesterol, and triglycerides were all significantly associated with the risk of diabetes in this cross-sectional study (all P<0.05). In all, 47.4% had cardiovascular risks, 19.4% had liver dysfunction, and 6.2% had hyperuricemia. For women, compared with the first quartile, log-transformed homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance of the fourth quartile was significantly higher (P<0.05), and log-transformed homeostasis model assessment for ß cells was also higher in the second, third, and fourth quartiles (all P<0.05). The prevalences of polyneuropathy in impaired fasting glucose (IFG), impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), IFG/IGT, and diabetes mellitus (DM) were 16.1%, 13.1%, 18.6%, and 28.4% separately, which was higher than that in normal glucose tolerance. The prevalences of polyneuropathy in IFG/IGT and DM were higher than that in IGT. CONCLUSIONS: The present study revealed that a total of 6.1% She people suffered from type 2 diabetes, which was lower than the average level of China, but the standardized prevalence of prediabetes was higher, 20.6%. Early peripheral neuropathy screening should be performed in the prediabetes population. The Toronto Clinical Neuropathy Scoring System is convenient to assess diabetic polyneuropathy in clinical practice and should be tested regularly for people in prediabetes. Liver dysfunction, headache, and insomnia, appearing before type 2 diabetes, should be assessed regularly to avoid deterioration.

Genetic variations in CYP17A1, CACNB2 and PLEKHA7 are associated with blood pressure and/or hypertension in She ethnic minority of China.

OBJECTIVES: Two large-scale genome-wide association studies (GWAs) have identified multiple variants associated with blood pressure (BP) or hypertension. The present study was to investigate whether some variations were associated with BP traits and hypertension or even prehypertension in adult She ethnic minority of China. METHODS: The population of the present study comprised 4460 (1979 males and 2481 females, respectively) unrelated she ethnic minority based on a cross-sectional study from Ningde City in Fujian province of China. There were 1692 hypertensives, 1600 prehypertensives and 1168 normotensive controls, respectively. We genotyped 7 variants in CYP17A1, PLEKHA7, CACNB2, ATP2B1, TBX3-TBX5, CSK-ULK3 and SH2B3 reported by the previous GWAs on Europeans. All analyses were performed in an additive genetic model. RESULTS: As the minor allele of rs653178 in/near SH2B3 was very rare with the frequency of 0.018, we excluded this single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the further analyses. Of the other 6 loci, linear regression analyses revealed that rs11191548 in CYP17A1 and rs11014166 in CACNB2 were significantly associated with systolic BP (ß = -1.17, P = 0.002 and ß = -0.50, P = 0.006, respectively), while only SNP rs11191548 was significantly associated with diastolic BP (ß = -0.56, P=0.002) after adjusted by age, sex and BMI. Two variants in CACNB2 and PLEKHA7 were found to be significantly related to hypertension (odds ratios [OR] and (95% confidence interval [CI]): 0.79 (0.65-0.97) and 1.19 (1.01-1.41), respectively) in logistic regression analyses after adjusted by age, sex and BMI. In addition, we found that combined risk alleles of the 6 SNPs increased risk of hypertension in a stepwise fashion (P for trend < 0.001). However, none of the 6 SNPs was significantly associated with BMI or prehypertension status. While logistic analysis showed that subjects with cumulative risk alleles more than 9 had significantly higher risk for prehypertension (adjusted OR: 3.10, P < 0.001) compared with those with risk alleles less than 4. CONCLUSIONS: We replicated that variations in CYP17A1, CACNB2 and PLEKHA7 were related to BP traits and/or hypertension in She population. In addition, although we failed to observe single gene associated with prehypertension, we first found that conjoint effect of multiple risk alleles on BP might increase the risk of progressing to prehypertension.

Analysis of the prevalence and risk factors of hypertension in the She population in Fujian, China.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and epidemiological characteristics of hypertension in the Chinese She ethnic minority in Fujian province of China. After analyzing relevant risk factors of hypertension, we wanted to provide information for prevention and control of hypertension in this ethnic minority. METHODS: Using the stratified and cluster methods, we randomly selected 5,350 She subjects for a questionnaire survey. Their weight, height and blood pressure were measured. Hypertension was defined as a mean systolic blood pressure of ≥140 mm Hg or a diastolic blood pressure of ≥90 mm Hg, or use of antihypertensive medication. SPSS 13.0 software was used for database building and the χ(2) test for statistical analysis. RESULTS: The number of patients with hypertension was 1,931 (prevalence 36.09%) and 71.15% of them (1,374 patients) were undiagnosed. The prevalence of hypertension increased with age and was associated with education levels, occupation, body mass index, smoking, salt intake levels and a lack of health concepts. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of hypertension in the She has grown rapidly, which is closely correlated with lifestyle and lack of health education of hypertension. The prevention and control of hypertension in the She is imperative, and the promotion of health education on hypertension can be improved to enhance awareness, prevention, and control of hypertension.

Associations between cardiovascular risk, insulin resistance, beta-cell function and thyroid dysfunction: a cross-sectional study in She ethnic minority group of Fujian Province in China.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the associations between cardiovascular risk, insulin resistance (IR), ß-cell function and thyroid dysfunction in She ethnic minority group in China. METHODS: We enrolled 5080 participants of She ethnicity in this analysis eventually. We measured serum TSH and thyroid peroxidase antibody (TPOAb) concentrations, blood glucose and insulin levels in both fasting and 2-h postprandial states, serum lipid levels, blood pressure (BP), brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV), electrophysiological parameters, including T(peak)-T(end) interval (T(p-e)), QT interval and height of the R wave in lead aVL (RaVL), and anthropometric parameters. RESULTS: The total prevalence of thyroid dysfunction in this population is 12.1%. Hyperthyroid subjects had shorter T(p-e) interval and QT interval in electrocardiogram (ECG), while hypothyroid subjects had shorter T(p-e) interval and longer QT interval in ECG than euthyroid subjects. Neither hyperthyroid nor hypothyroid subjects showed significant difference in BP, pulse pressure, and baPWV compared with euthyroid subjects. RaVL was slightly higher in hyperthyroid subjects, though the difference did not reach statistical significance (P=0.08). Subjects with TSH<0.3  mIU/l had higher blood glucose, insulin, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), and ß-cell function (HOMA-ß), whereas subjects with TSH>10 mIU/l had lower insulin, HOMA-IR, and HOMA-ß than the reference group. There was a significant negative correlation, albeit weak, between TSH and HOMA-IR, HOMA-ß after adjustment for confounding factors. CONCLUSIONS: Hypothyroid subjects may carry higher cardiovascular risk than euthyroid subjects. Moreover, IR and ß-cell function are inversely correlated with TSH, which may be explained by the decreasing insulin-antagonistic effects of thyroid hormones along with increasing TSH.