The ZJU index is associated with the risk of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome in Chinese middle-aged and older people: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: The ZJU index, a novel calculation that combines body mass index, triglycerides, fasting blood glucose and the ratio of alanine aminotransferase to aspartate aminotransferase, is a closely related measure of obesity and insulin resistance. Studies of the ZJU index in relation to obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) have not been reported. This study assessed the correlation between the ZJU values and OSAS risk. METHODS: A total of 2,130 participants who underwent polysomnographic monitoring were included in the study. The participants' basic information and laboratory biochemical indicators were collected, and the ZJU index was computed. The ZJU index was divided into quartiles. The correlation between the different ZJU index levels and OSAS risk was assessed using logistic regression. Drew a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) relationship curve, with prediction efficacy judged by the area under the curve (AUC), and found the optimum cut-off point for ZJU index to predict OSAS. Relative risks were presented as odds ratios (OR). The range of OR values is expressed in the form of 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). RESULTS: The number of patients diagnosed with OSAS increased progressively with increasing ZJU index (T1: 9.4%; T2: 20.6%; T3: 28.3%; T4: 41.7%; P < 0.001). The additional confounders were adjusted by the logistic regression models, the study revealed an independent correlation between ZJU index and OSAS. (P < 0.001). The OSAS risk was notably higher at the highest ZJU index levels. (OR = 2.046 [95% CI: 1.057 to 3.964]). The ROC curve for the ZJU index showed an AUC of 0.64 (P < 0.001) for males and 0.75 (P < 0.001) for females, with a specificity of 64% and 55% and a sensitivity of 60% and 92% for males and females, respectively, with the optimum cut-off values of 36.568 and 34.722, respectively. CONCLUSION: A high ZJU index was significantly associated with an increasing risk of OSAS. The ZJU is expected to be a meaningful index for detecting OSAS in the general population.

Association of fat-to-muscle ratio with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: a single-centre retrospective study.

OBJECTIVES: Sarcopenia is a known risk factor for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Studies evaluating the association between the fat-to-muscle ratio (FMR) and NAFLD are limited. Therefore, the aim of our study was to investigate the association between FMR and NAFLD. DESIGN: A retrospective study was conducted on individuals who underwent health examination at Wuhan Union Hospital between January 2020 and November 2021. Clinical data were collected from electronic medical records. SETTING: Wuhan Union Hospital, Wuhan, China. PARTICIPANTS: 1592 participants aged ≥40 years who underwent body composition analysis and liver ultrasonography were retrospectively reviewed. OUTCOME MEASURES: Liver ultrasonography was used to assess liver steatosis, and the fibrosis-4 index was used to calculate the risk scores for liver fibrosis. The 10-year atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk prediction model was used to calculate ASCVD risk scores. RESULTS: The FMR was significantly higher in individuals with NAFLD than in those without NAFLD (p<0.001). The prevalence of NAFLD gradually increased from FMR tertile 1 (reference) to tertile 2 (OR=1.49, 95% CI 1.13 to 1.97) and tertile 3 (OR=2.85, 95% CI 2.08 to 3.90). In addition, patients with NAFLD in FMR tertile 3 had a significantly higher risk of liver fibrosis (OR=4.48, 95% CI 2.12 to 9.50) and ASCVD (OR=4.63, 95% CI 2.62 to 8.19) than those in FMR tertile 1 after adjustment for multiple confounders. CONCLUSION: In this study, we found a significant association between FMR and NAFLD. A higher FMR indicates a higher risk of NAFLD in the study population and a higher risk of liver fibrosis and ASCVD in NAFLD patients.

Association of hyperuricemia combined with sarcopenia on ASCVD risk.

BACKGROUND: Hyperuricemia and sarcopenia are both strongly linked to an increased risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), and this study was designed to look into the interactive effects of hyperuricemia on ASCVD risk. METHODS: This study collected information from patients (N = 2647) who underwent health check-ups at the Health Care Building of Wuhan Union Hospital between January 2019 and December 2020. Skeletal muscle mass was measured using bioelectrical impedance methods. The Asian Working Group on Sarcopenia diagnostic criteria were used to classify patients with sarcopenia. ASCVD risk was calculated using the Framingham Heart Study, and ASCVD risk ≥ 20% was considered high risk ASCVD. IBM SPSS 25.0 and GraphPad prism 8.0 software were used for data analysis and graphing. RESULTS: The prevalence of hyperuricemia and sarcopenia was 23.57% and 15.34%, respectively. The occurrence of cardiovascular risk factors such as obesity, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease, and low HDL-Cemia was significantly higher in subjects with hyperuricemia combined with sarcopenia (OR = 1.734, 3.064, 1.61, 8.77 and 1.691 respectively, p < 0.05); Hyperuricemia and high-risk ASCVD were independently associated (OR = 1.355, 95% CI = 1.000-1.838, p = 0.04). Although there was no significant association between sarcopenia and high-risk ASCVD after controlling for confounders (OR = 1.274, 95% CI = 0.828-1.959, p = 0.271), sarcopenia combined with hyperuricemia significantly increased high-risk ASCVD (OR = 3.229, 95% CI 1.544-6.751, p = 0.002). CONCLUSION: Hyperuricemia is independently associated with high-risk ASCVD; Sarcopenia and high-risk ASCVD did not show an independent relationship, but there was a synergistic effect of the two on ASCVD risk, which may imply that managing both hyperuricemia and sarcopenia may have a greater cardiovascular benefit.

Combining Fat-to-Muscle Ratio and Alanine Aminotransferase/Aspartate Aminotransferase Ratio in the Prediction of Cardiometabolic Risk: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Purpose: Altered body composition and liver enzymes are known to be related to cardiometabolic risk. Our study aimed to evaluate the association between fat-to-muscle ratio (FMR), alanine aminotransferase/aspartate aminotransferase (ALT/AST) ratio and cardiometabolic risk. Methods: In total, 1557 participants aged ≥40 years were included. A bioelectrical impedance analyzer (BIA) was used to measure fat mass and muscle mass. We created a cardiometabolic risk score with one point for each cardiometabolic risk factor, including elevated triglycerides (TGs), decreased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), elevated blood pressure (BP), and abnormal blood glucose, yielding a score of 0-4 for each participant (≥2 for high-risk and <2 for low-risk). Logistic regression analyses were used to analyze the relationship between FMR, ALT/AST ratio and cardiometabolic risk. Results: FMR and ALT/AST ratio were significantly higher in the high-risk group than in the low-risk group (P<0.001). FMR and ALT/AST ratio were both positively correlated with a higher cardiometabolic risk score and the presence of each cardiometabolic risk factor. In subgroup analyses categorized according to FMR and ALT/AST ratio cutoffs, the high-FMR/high-ALT/AST group had the highest cardiometabolic risk (OR=8.51; 95% CI 4.46-16.25 in women and OR=5.09; 95% CI 3.39-7.65 in men) after adjusting for confounders. Conclusion: FMR and ALT/AST ratio were positively associated with cardiometabolic risk. Combining these two indicators improved the prediction of cardiometabolic risk.

Correlation Analysis between Uric Acid and Metabolic Syndrome in the Chinese Elderly Population: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Currently, both metabolic syndrome and hyperuricaemia have attracted extensive attention in public health. The correlation between uric acid and metabolic syndrome is controversial. Research on the relationship between uric acid and metabolic syndrome in community-dwelling elderly people is relatively lacking. The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between uric acid and metabolic syndrome in the community-dwelling elderly people. Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: We collected the physical examination data of 1,267 elderly people in Gutian community in Wuhan and used SPSS IBM 25.0 for data analysis. Correlation and logistic regression analyses were performed, and ROC curves were drawn. Results: The uric acid level of the nonmetabolic syndrome group was lower than that of the metabolic syndrome group (337.31 vs. 381.91 µmol/L; P < 0.05). Uric acid was positively correlated with systolic blood pressure (r = 0.177, P < 0.001), diastolic blood pressure (r = 0.135, P < 0.001), body mass index (r = 0.234, P < 0.001), waist circumference (r = 0.283, P < 0.001), and triglycerides (r = 0.217, P < 0.05). High-density lipoprotein cholesterol (r = -0.268, P < 0.001) showed the opposite trend. Logistic regression analysis results suggested that uric acid is a risk factor for metabolic syndrome. The result is described as exp (B) and 95% CI (1.003 [1.001, 1.005]). Based on the receiver operating characteristic curve, we found that the area under the curve of uric acid to diagnose metabolic syndrome was 0.64 (sensitivity: 79.3%, specificity: 45.1%). Conclusion: We observed an association between uric acid levels and metabolic syndrome in the elderly Chinese population. The best threshold value for uric acid in predicting metabolic syndrome diagnosis was 314.5 µmol/l.

High TG/HDL ratio suggests a higher risk of metabolic syndrome among an elderly Chinese population: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the relationship between triglyceride/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (TG/HDL-C) ratio and metabolic syndrome in the elderly population of China, and to determine the best critical value of TG/HDL-C in higher risk of metabolic syndrome in this population. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Our study was conducted in a community physical examination centre in Wuhan, China between 1 January 2016 and 31 December 2016. PARTICIPANTS: The physical examination data from 1267 elderly people (aged over 65 years) in the community were analysed in this study. The average age of the study participants was 71.64±5.605 years. PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Correlation between the TG/HDL-C ratio and metabolic syndrome; the optimum cut-off of the TG/HDL-C ratio for the prediction of metabolic syndrome. RESULTS: The TG/HDL-C ratio showed a significant positive correlation with metabolic syndrome (r=0.420, p<0.001) in the elderly Chinese population. Binary logistic regression analysis showed that the TG/HDL-C ratio was an independent risk factor for metabolic syndrome (OR=3.07 (95% CI: 2.402 to 3.924), p<0.001) after adjusting for blood pressure, blood glucose, age, sex and body mass index. The receiver operating characteristic curves of TG/HDL-C ratio and metabolic syndrome showed that in the elderly population, a TG/HDL-C ratio of 1.49 can be used as the critical value for a higher risk of metabolic syndrome. At this value, the specificity and sensitivity of the measure were optimal (80.8% and 72.4%, respectively). CONCLUSION: In this study, we found a significant correlation between TG/HDL-C ratio and metabolic syndrome. And high TG/HDL ratio suggests a higher risk of metabolic syndrome among an elderly Chinese population.

Teneligliptin prevents doxorubicin-induced inflammation and apoptosis in H9c2 cells.

Doxorubicin is a common chemotherapy treatment with numerous negative ramifications of use such as nephropathy and radiation-induced cardiotoxicity. Doxorubicin has been shown to cause overexpression of proinflammatory cytokines including MCP-1 and IL-1ß via activation of the NF-κB pathway. Furthermore, apoptosis marked by dysregulation of the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio and oxidative stress and the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) are also exacerbated by doxorubicin administration. Teneligliptin is part of the wider dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitor family which has until recently been almost exclusively used to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus. DPP-4 inhibitors such as teneligliptin control the overexpression of glucagon-like peptidase 1 (GLP-1) which has the downstream effects of general insulin resistance and high blood sugar levels. Our findings indicate a significant protective effect of teneligliptin against the aftereffects of doxorubicin as a chemotherapy treatment. This protective effect includes but is not limited to the reduction of inflammation and the mitigation of dysregulated apoptosis, as evidenced by reduced expression of IL-1ß and MCP-1, inhibition of NF-κB activation, and improvement of the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio. The aim of the present study was to establish teneligliptin as a potentially useful agent for the treatment of radiation-induced cardiotoxicity, and our findings support this notion.