The associations of resting metabolic rate with chronic conditions and weight loss.

The aim of this study was to examine the associations between baseline and changes in resting metabolic rate (RMR) with chronic condition(s) and weight loss (WL). Sex stratified analysis was undertaken on 393 adults from the Wharton Weight Management Clinics. The association between baseline RMR and WL was examined adjusting for age, BMI, ethnicity and treatment time. The association between changes in RMR (ΔRMR) and WL was also examined adjusting for baseline RMR and above covariates. Models were further adjusted for high glucose, triglycerides, blood pressure, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and low high-density lipoprotein (HDL). While men (6.0 ± 8.6 kg) and women (5.6 ± 8.3 kg) had significant WL throughout the intervention, their measured decreases in RMR (-48 ± 322 kcal and -5 ± 322 kcal, respectively) were non-significant (P > 0.05). Individuals with a high blood pressure had a higher baseline RMR and women with a high LDL had a lower baseline RMR than those without the chronic condition (P < 0.05). Regardless of sex, WL was not significantly associated with baseline RMR or ΔRMR (P > 0.05) in both models. Participants with a low baseline RMR do not appear to be at a disadvantage for WL. Further, WL can occur without decreases in RMR in populations with high levels of obesity and obesity-related comorbidities.

The association between obesity and self-reported sinus infection in non-smoking adults: a cross-sectional study.

The aim of this article was to examine the associations between having had a sinus infection (SI) and BMI and physical activity (PA), diet quality, stress and/or sleep. A total of 2915 adults from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2005-2006 were examined. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the association between having had an SI with BMI and PA, diet quality, stress or sleep. As these factors are known to influence one another, a fully adjusted model with PA, diet quality, stress and sleep was also constructed to examine their independent associations with having had an SI. Overall, 15.5 ± 1.2% of the population report having had an SI in the past year. In all models, individuals with obesity were approximately twice as likely to have had an SI compared to those of normal weight (P < 0.05). While PA and diet quality were not significantly associated with having had an SI (P > 0.05), individuals with stress and sleep troubles were also twice as likely to have had an SI (P < 0.05) independent of BMI. In the fully adjusted model, only the associations for BMI and sleep troubles remained significant (P < 0.05). Results from this study suggest that obesity and sleep troubles, but not PA, quality of diet and stress, are associated with having had an SI. As interactions exist between obesity, immune system factors and exposure to infectious disease(s), more research is necessary to understand the directionality of these relationships.

Estrogen disrupts chemokine-mediated chemokine release from mammary cells: implications for the interplay between estrogen and IP-10 in the regulation of mammary tumor formation.

Chemokines are pro-inflammatory cytokines that function to attract immune cells to the sites of tissue inflammation, injury or infection. We have formulated the hypothesis that release of one chemokine can serve, in a local paracrine or endocrine fashion, to induce the release of other chemokines from neighboring mammary cells. We set out to investigate whether specific chemokines could promote the release of other chemokine members from mammary cells, and whether estrogen could serve to disrupt the release of these chemokines from mammary cells. We found that treatment with the chemokine IP-10 resulted in significant increases in the amount of MIP-1alpha and MCP-1/JE released from murine mammary cells. Estrogen co-treatment significantly blocked the ability of IP-10 to trigger the release of MIP-1alpha and MCP-1/JE. Suppressive effects of estrogen were reversed upon co-treatment with 4-hydroxytamoxifen. Estrogen treatment significantly decreased expression of proteins corresponding to the chemokine receptors CXCR3 and CCR5 on mammary cells. Exposure of female mice to IP-10 in vivo significantly decreased the ability of estrogen to support the growth of CCL-51-based tumors in mammary tissue. Our results suggest that exposure of mammary tissue to estrogen may decrease the release of local chemokines from mammary cells, potentially increasing the risk of tumor growth through decreased immune surveillance. Ongoing studies are investigating the possible mechanisms through which IP-10 stimulates the release of chemokines from mammary cells, and how the action of IP-10 may serve to decrease mammary tumor formation.