Greater Abdominal Fat Accumulation Is Associated with Higher Metabolic Risk in Chinese than in White People: An Ethnicity Study

Introduction

Chinese are reported to have a higher percent body fat (%BF) and a higher percent trunk fat (%TF) than whites for a given body mass index (BMI). However, the associations of these ethnic differences in body composition with metabolic risks remain unknown.

Methods and Procedures

A total of 1 029 Chinese from Hangzhou, China, and 207 whites from New York, NY, USA, were recruited in the present study. Body composition was measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Analysis of covariance was used to assess the ethnic differences in fat, fat distribution, and metabolic risk factors.

Results

After adjusting for BMI, age, and height, Chinese men had an average of 3.9% more %BF and 12.1% more %TF than white men; Chinese women had an average of 2.3% more %BF and 11.8% more %TF than white women. Compared with whites, higher metabolic risks were detected in Chinese for a given BMI after adjusting for age and height. Further adjustment for %BF did not change these ethnic disparities. However, after adjusting for %TF, the ethnic differences decreased and become insignificant in triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and blood pressure (except for systolic blood pressure in men). For fasting plasma glucose, the ethnic differences persisted after adjustment for %BF, but decreased significantly from 0.910 to 0.686 mmol/L among men, and from 0.629 to 0.355 mmol/L among women, when the analyses were further controlled for %TF.

Discussion

Chinese have both higher %BF and %TF than white people for a given BMI. However, only %TF could in part account for the higher metabolic risk observed in Chinese men and women.     

A Lead ANRIL Polymorphism Is Associated with Elevated CRP Levels in Periodontitis: A Pilot Case-Control Study

Elevated high sensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP) is a marker for systemic inflammation and a risk marker for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ACVD), and has also been associated with periodontitis. Inter-individual variation for hsCRP in periodontitis has been shown. ANRIL is the strongest genetic susceptibility locus for both periodontitis and ACVD, and it is speculated that genetic variation in ANRIL may modulate inflammatory processes. Therefore, we explored the possible association between hsCRP plasma levels and a leading ANRIL single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in periodontitis patients and controls. 171 healthy subjects with North European descent (115 periodontitis and 56 controls) were included in this case-control study. hsCRP levels were determined and subjects were genotyped for the leading ANRIL SNP rs1333048. In a multivariate analysis, periodontitis, female gender, increasing BMI and homozygosity for the major allele (AA-genotype) of rs1333048 were significantly associated with elevated hsCRP plasma levels (p = 0.012, p = 0.004, p = 0.007 and p = 0.003, respectively). Periodontitis patients with rs1333048 AA-genotype showed higher levels of hsCRP than those carrying the minor C allele (median: 4.5 mg/L vs. 1.6 mg/L, p_adjusted = 0.007). This study is the first to show that, in addition to gender and BMI, also a leading SNP in ANRIL is explanatory for inter-individual variation in hsCRP levels in periodontitis patients of North European descent.     

Physical Warmth and Perceptual Focus: A Replication of IJzerman and Semin (2009)

With the changing of modal research practices in psychology, the grounded cognition perspective (sometimes categorized under the more popular term of “social priming”) has become heavily criticized. Specifically, LeBel and Campbell (2013) reported a failed replication of a study involving what some would call “social priming.” We sought to replicate a study from our own lab (IJzerman & Semin, 2009), to investigate the reproducibility of the reported effect that physical warmth leads to a greater focus on perceptual relations. We also improved our methods to reduce potential experimenter''s bias (cf. Doyen, Klein, Pichon, & Cleeremans, 2012). We successfully replicated the finding that a simple cue of physical warmth makes people more likely to adopt a relational focus.     

Organized Sport Participation Is Associated with Higher Levels of Overall Health-Related Physical Activity in Children (CHAMPS Study-DK)

Introduction

Many children fail to meet international guideline recommendations for health-related activity (≥60 minutes/day of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity [MVPA]), and intervention studies to date have reported negligible effects.

Objective

Explore the associations of organized leisure-time sport participation with overall physical activity levels and health-related physical activity guideline concordance.

Methods

This prospective cohort study was nested in the Childhood Health, Activity, and Motor Performance School Study Denmark. Study participants were a representative sample of 1124 primary school students. Organized leisure-time sport participation was reported via text messaging and physical activity was objectively measured over seven days with accelerometry. Associations between sport participation and physical activity level were explored with multilevel mixed-effects regression models and reported with beta coefficients (b) and adjusted odds ratios (aOR).

Results

Participants were 53% female, with mean(SD) age = 8.4(1.4) years. Boys were more active than girls (p<0.001), and physical activity levels and guideline concordance decreased with age (p<0.001). Soccer participation at any frequency was associated with greater overall MVPA (b[95% CI] = 0.66[0.20,1.13] to 2.44[1.44,3.44]). Depending on participation frequency, this equates to 5–20 minutes more MVPA on the average day and 3 to 15 fold increased odds of achieving recommended levels of health-related physical activity (aOR[95%CI] = 3.04[1.49,6.19] to 14.49[1.97,106.56]). Similar associations were identified among children playing handball at least twice per week. Relationships with other sports (gymnastics, basketball, volleyball) were inconsistent.

Conclusions

Many children, particularly girls and those in higher grade levels do not adhere to health-related physical activity recommendations. Organized leisure-time sport participation may be a viable strategy to increase overall health-related physical activity levels and international guideline concordance in children.     

Higher Caffeinated Coffee Intake Is Associated with Reduced Malignant Melanoma Risk: A Meta-Analysis Study

Background

Several epidemiological studies have determined the associations between coffee intake level and skin cancer risk; however, the results were not yet conclusive. Herein, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of the cohort and case-control studies for the association between coffee intake level and malignant melanoma (MM) risk.

Methods

Studies were identified through searching the PubMed and MEDLINE databases (to November, 2015). Study-specific risk estimates were pooled under the random-effects model.

Results

Two case-control studies (846 MM patients and 843 controls) and five cohort studies (including 844,246 participants and 5,737 MM cases) were identified. For caffeinated coffee, the pooled relative risk (RR) of MM was 0.81 [95% confidential interval (95% CI) = 0.68–0.97; P-value for Q-test = 0.003; I² = 63.5%] for those with highest versus lowest quantity of intake. In the dose-response analysis, the RR of MM was 0.955 (95% CI = 0.912–0.999) for per 1 cup/day increment of caffeinated coffee consumption and linearity dose-response association was found (P-value for nonlinearity = 0.326). Strikingly, no significant association was found between the decaffeinated coffee intake level and MM risk (pooled RR = 0.92, 95% CI = 0.81–1.05; P-value for Q-test = 0.967; I² = 0%; highest versus lowest quantity of intake).

Conclusions

This meta-analysis suggested that caffeinated coffee might have chemo-preventive effects against MM but not decaffeinated coffee. However, larger prospective studies and the intervention studies are warranted to confirm these findings.     

Body Mass Index Is Associated with Physical Performance in Suburb-Dwelling Older Chinese: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background

Physical performance is reported to have various beneficial effects on human health, especially in older individuals. Although such effects are associated with body mass index (BMI), the relationship between BMI and physical performance has not been clarified.

Design

We conducted a cross-sectional study of 966 suburb-dwelling Tianjin individuals aged ≥ 60 years (average age 67.5±6.02, men 435, women 531). Mobility, balance, and muscle strength were assessed by walking speed, timed up-and-go test (TUGT), and grip strength, respectively. The subjects were categorized into three groups based on BMI (kg/m²) as follows: normal weight, 18.5 ≤ BMI ≤ 23.9; overweight, 24.0 ≤ BMI ≤ 27.9; and obese, BMI ≥ 28.0.

Result

After adjusting for all other variables, relative grip strength decreased when BMI increased in both men and women (P for trend <0.001 and <0.001, respectively). BMI may be negatively associated with TUGT performance in the women only. There was no apparent association between walking speed and BMI in either sex, but after adjusting for age, walking speed was faster when BMI increased in women (P for trend= 0.0162).

Conclusion

This study suggests that in older individuals, higher BMI is associated with poor muscle strength in both sexes.     

Relationship between Trusting Behaviors and Psychometrics Associated with Social Network and Depression among Young Generation: A Pilot Study

Maladaptive social interaction and its related psychopathology have been highlighted in psychiatry especially among younger generations. In Japan, novel expressive forms of psychiatric phenomena such as “modern-type depression” and “hikikomori” (a syndrome of severe social withdrawal lasting for at least six months) have been reported especially among young people. Economic games such as the trust game have been utilized to evaluate real-world interpersonal relationships as a novel candidate for psychiatric evaluations. To investigate the relationship between trusting behaviors and various psychometric scales, we conducted a trust game experiment with eighty-one Japanese university students as a pilot study. Participants made a risky financial decision about whether to trust each of 40 photographed partners. Participants then answered a set of questionnaires with seven scales including the Lubben Social Network Scale (LSNS)-6 and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)-9. Consistent with previous research, male participants trusted partners more than female participants. Regression analysis revealed that LSNS-family (perceived support from family) for male participants, and item 8 of PHQ-9 (subjective agitation and/or retardation) for female participants were associated with participants’ trusting behaviors. Consistent with claims by social scientists, our data suggest that, for males, support from family was negatively associated with cooperative behavior toward non-family members. Females with higher subjective agitation (and/or retardation) gave less money toward males and high attractive females, but not toward low attractive females in interpersonal relationships. We believe that our data indicate the possible impact of economic games in psychiatric research and clinical practice, and validation in clinical samples including modern-type depression and hikikomori should be investigated.     

Hyperlipidemia Is Associated with Chronic Urticaria: A Population-Based Study

The etiology of chronic urticaria (CU) is diverse, with chronic infections and inflammation being reported as considerable contributing factors. Although the prevalence of metabolic syndrome was found to be significantly elevated in patients with CU, no one has specifically estimated the effects on CU following hyperlipidemia. This study aimed to examine the association between hyperlipidemia and CU using a population-based dataset in Taiwan. This study included 9798 adults with CU as cases and 9798 sex- and age-matched controls. These patients were examined for whether they had received a prior diagnosis of hyperlipidemia. We used conditional logistic regression analyses to calculate the odds ratio (OR) and its corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI) for having been previously diagnosed with hyperlipidemia between cases and controls. In total, 7066 (36.1%) patients had received a prior diagnosis of hyperlipidemia, including 4287 (43.8%) among CU cases and 2779 (28.4%) among controls. The conditional logistic regression revealed that the OR of prior hyperlipidemia for cases was 1.97 (95% CI: 1.85~2.09) compared to the controls. Furthermore, compared to patients without CU, patients with CU independently experienced a 1.65-fold (95% CI = 1.55~1.76; p<0.001) increased risk of having a prior hyperlipidemia diagnosis, after adjustments were made. We concluded that CU was associated with having received a prior diagnosis of hyperlipidemia.     

Age-Related Macular Degeneration Is Associated with Less Physical Activity among US Adults: Cross-Sectional Study

BackgroundWe have a limited understanding of the effects of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) on physical activity (PA), and we have no prevalence estimates of the daily movement patterns among Americans with AMD. Therefore, we examined the association between AMD and PA and provided estimates of the daily movement patterns of Americans with AMD.MethodsData from the 2005-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were used, including 1,656 adults (40-85 yrs). Retinal imaging was performed to classify individuals as no AMD, early AMD, or late AMD. Participants wore an ActiGraph 7164 accelerometer for 7 days to measure PA behavior.Results93.2% of participants with late AMD were in the least desirable group (not sufficiently active and having a negative light intensity-sedentary behavior balance). After adjustments (including age), participants with late AMD, as compared to those with no AMD, engaged in 50% less moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) (RR = 0.50; 95% CI: 0.28-0.90). When visual acuity was entered into the model along with the other covariates, the association between late AMD and MVPA was no longer significant (RR = 0.54; 95% CI: 0.29-1.01), suggesting that visual acuity may partially mediate this relationship.ConclusionsIndividuals with late AMD engage in very little moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Visually acuity, in part, explains the relationship between late AMD and PA.     

Physical and Social Environment Are Associated to Leisure Time Physical Activity in Adults of a Brazilian City: A Cross-Sectional Study

The physical activity practice is highlighted as a strategy to health promotion and to avoid chronic diseases. In addition to individual factors, environmental characteristics in which people live, may offer opportunities or barriers in adopting healthy habits and this is related to the physical activity (PA) practice among individuals. The aim of this study is to investigate the associations between neighborhood environment and leisure-time physical activity in adults. This is a cross-sectional study, developed using the database of Surveillance System for Risk and Protective Factors for Chronic Diseases by Telephone Survey (VIGITEL 2008/2010) of Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Individuals with the habit of practicing PA for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity PA or at least 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity PA throughout the week in leisure time were classified as active in leisure time. To characterize the built and social environment we used georeferenced data of public and private places for physical activity, population density, residential density, homicide rate and total income of the coverage area of the basic health units. The covered area of the basic health units was used as context unit. For data analysis, we used multilevel logistic regression. The study included 5779 adults, 58.77% female. There was variability of physical activity in leisure time between area covered by the basic health units (Median Odds ratio = 1.30). After adjusting for individual characteristics, the increase of density of private places for physical activity (Odds ratios—OR = 1.31; 95% confidence interval—95% CI: 1.15 to 1.48) and the smaller homicide rate (OR = 0.82; IC95%: 0.70 to 0.96) in the neighborhood increased physical activity in leisure time. The evidence of this study shows that neighborhood environment may influence the physical activity practice in leisure time and should be considered in future interventions and health promotion strategies.