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Background: Asthma is associated with persistent airway inflammation, and numerous studies have investigated inflammatory markers causing asthma. However, the systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) is a novel inflammatory marker, with scarce research reporting on the correlation between SII and asthma and asthma-related events. Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between SII and asthma and asthma-related events (including whether asthma is still present, asthma flare-ups in the past year, and asthma duration) using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Methods: The study utilized data from NHANES 2009-2018 with asthma and asthma-related events as dependent variables and SII as an independent variable. Multifactor logistic regression was employed to assess the correlation between the independent and dependent variables. Smoothed curve-fitting and threshold effect analyses were also carried out to determine the presence of non-linear relationships. Subgroup analyses were then performed to identify sensitive populations. Results: In this study, we analyzed data from 40,664 participants to elucidate the association between SII and asthma and its related events. The study findings indicated a positive correlation between SII and asthma, with a relative risk increase of 0.03% for asthma incidence per one percentage point increase in SII (OR = 1.0003, 95% CI: 1.0002, 1.0004). For individuals still suffering from asthma, higher SII also indicated a positive correlation with ongoing asthma (OR = 1.0004, 95% CI: 1.0001, 1.0006). However, no statistically significant association was observed between SII and asthma exacerbations within the following year (OR = 1.0001, p > 0.05). When considering the duration of asthma, we observed a slight positive correlation with SII (ß = 0.0017, 95% CI: 0.0005, 0.0029). Additionally, a significant non-linear relationship between SII and asthma duration emerged at the threshold of 504.3 (ß = 0.0031, 95% CI: 0.0014-0.0048, p = 0.0003). Subgroup analysis revealed a stronger correlation between SII and asthma in male patients (OR = 1.0004, 95% CI: 1.0002-1.0006) and individuals aged 60 and above (OR = 1.0005, 95% CI: 1.0003-1.0007). No gender differences were observed for individuals still suffering from asthma. However, the positive correlation between SII and asthma was more pronounced in participants under 20 years old (OR = 1.0004 in Model 3, 95% CI: 1.0002-1.0006). Specific sensitive subgroups for asthma exacerbation recurrence within the past year were not identified. When considering asthma duration, we observed this association to be significant in male individuals (ß = 0.0031 in Model 3, 95% CI: 0.0014-0.0049) as well as individuals aged 20 to 39 (ß = 0.0023 in Model 3, 95% CI: 0.0005-0.0040). Conclusion: Our study concludes that SII is positively correlated with the persistence of asthma yet has limited predictive power for asthma recurrence. This highlights SII's potential as a tool for assessing asthma risk and formulating targeted management strategies.
RESUMO
Silymarin has been introduced fairly recently as a hepatoprotective agent. But its mechanisms of action still have not been well established. The aim of this study was to make alcoholic fatty liver model of rats in a short time and investigate silymarin's protective effects and possible mechanisms on alcoholic fatty liver for rats. The model of rat's alcoholic fatty liver was induced by intragastric infusion of ethanol and high-fat diet for six weeks. Histopathological changes were assessed by hematoxylin and eosin staining (HE). The activities of alanine transarninase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST), the levels of total bilirubin (TBIL), total cholesterol (TC) and triglyceride (TG) in serum were detected with routine laboratory methods using an autoanalyzer. The activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and the level of malondialdehyde (MDA) in liver homogenates were measured by spectrophotometry. The TG content in liver tissue was determined by spectrophotometry. The expression of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in the liver were analyzed by immunohistochemistry. Silymarin effectively protected liver from alcohol-induced injury as evidenced by improving histological damage situation, reducing ALT and AST activities and TBIL level in serum, increasing SOD and GPx activities and decreasing MDA content in liver homogenates and reducing TG content in liver tissue. Additionally, silymarin markedly downregulated the expression of NF-κB p65, ICAM-1 and IL-6 in liver tissue. In conclusion, Silymarin could protect against the liver injury caused by ethanol administration. The effect may be related to alleviating lipid peroxidation and inhibiting the expression of NF-κB.
