Discrepancies between general and central obesity in arterial stiffness: observational studies and Mendelian randomization study.

BACKGROUND: Obesity has been linked to arterial stiffness, while no consensus was reached on the association. We aimed to clarify the association of general and central obesity with arterial stiffness by combining observational studies and Mendelian randomization (MR) study. METHODS: Two cross-sectional studies were performed in UK Biobank and Fuqing Cohort, respectively. Two-sample MR study was conducted using summary data of GWASs from GIANT consortium and UK Biobank. General obesity and central obesity were measured using body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC), respectively. Arterial stiffness was measured by arterial stiffness index (ASI) in UK Biobank or branchial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) in Fuqing Cohort. RESULTS: Two observational studies found a consistent positive association of BMI and WC with arterial stiffness when adjusting for age, sex, education, smoking, alcohol drinking, physical activity, and LDL cholesterol. However, when additionally adjusting for metabolic traits (i.e., systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, blood glucose, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and WC or BMI), the association with BMI changed to be inverse. As compared to the lowest quintile group, the adjusted ORs across groups of second to fifth quintile were 0.93, 0.90, 0.83, and 0.72 in UK Biobank and 0.88, 0.65, 0.63, and 0.50 in Fuqing Cohort. In contrast, the positive relationship with WC remained stable with the adjusted ORs of 1.23, 1.46, 1.60, and 1.56 in UK Biobank and 1.35, 1.44, 1.77, and 1.64 in Fuqing Cohort. MR analyses provided supportive evidence of the negative association with BMI (OR = 0.97, 95%CI = 0.94-1.00) and the positive association with WC (OR = 1.14, 95%CI = 1.08-1.20). CONCLUSIONS: Observational and genetic analyses provide concordant results that central obesity is independently related to arterial stiffness, while the role of general obesity depends on metabolic status.

Terbinafine prevents colorectal cancer growth by inducing dNTP starvation and reducing immune suppression.

Existing evidence indicates that gut fungal dysbiosis might play a key role in the pathogenesis of colorectal cancer (CRC). We sought to explore whether reversing the fungal dysbiosis by terbinafine, an approved antifungal drug, might inhibit the development of CRC. A population-based study from Sweden identified a total of 185 patients who received terbinafine after their CRC diagnosis and found that they had a decreased risk of death (hazard ratio = 0.50) and metastasis (hazard ratio = 0.44) compared with patients without terbinafine administration. In multiple mouse models of CRC, administration of terbinafine decreased the fungal load, the fungus-induced myeloid-derived suppressor cell (MDSC) expansion, and the tumor burden. Fecal microbiota transplantation from mice without terbinafine treatment reversed MDSC infiltration and partially restored tumor proliferation. Mechanistically, terbinafine directly impaired tumor cell proliferation by reducing the ratio of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADP+) to reduced form of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH), suppressing the activity of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD), resulting in nucleotide synthesis disruption, deoxyribonucleotide (dNTP) starvation, and cell-cycle arrest. Collectively, terbinafine can inhibit CRC by reversing fungal dysbiosis, suppressing tumor cell proliferation, inhibiting fungus-induced MDSC infiltration, and restoring antitumor immune response.

Use of dipyridamole is associated with lower risk of lymphoid neoplasms: a propensity score-matched cohort study.

The anti-cancer potential of dipyridamole has been suggested from experiments, but evidence from population-based studies is still lacking. We aimed to explore if dipyridamole use was related to a lower risk of lymphoid neoplasms. We identified individuals with prescription of aspirin after diagnosis of ischaemic cerebrovascular disease since 2006 by linking several Swedish registers. In these aspirin users, those with dipyridamole prescription were further identified as the study group and patients without dipyridamole were randomly selected as reference group with 1:1 ratio using a propensity score-matching approach. After a median of 6·67 years of follow-up, a total of 46 patients with dipyridamole use developed lymphoid neoplasms with an incidence rate of 0·49 per 1 000 person-years, while the rate in the matched group was 0·74 per 1 000 person-years. As compared to non-users, dipyridamole users were associated with a significantly decreased risk of lymphoid neoplasms [hazard ratio (HR) = 0·65; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0·43-0·98]. Specifically, the reduced risk was observed for non-Hodgkin lymphomas (HR = 0·64; 95% CI = 0·42-0·94), especially B-cell lymphomas (HR = 0·56; 95% CI = 0·35-0·88). Dipyridamole use was related to a lower risk of lymphoid neoplasms, indicating a clinical potential of dipyridamole to be an adjunct anti-tumour agent against lymphoid neoplasms.

Autoimmune diseases and hematological malignancies: Exploring the underlying mechanisms from epidemiological evidence.

Autoimmune diseases are characterized by the irregular functioning of the immune system that leads to the loss of tolerance to self-antigens. The underlying nature of autoimmune diseases has led to speculation that the risk of malignancy might be higher or lower in patients with such diseases. However, the rarity and heterogeneity of both autoimmune diseases and malignancies is the main challenge for systematic exploration of associations between autoimmune diseases and cancer. The nationwide usages of electronic health records in Sweden and other countries has created longitudinal clinical datasets of large populations, which are ideal for quantifying the associations as well as possible guidance concerning the underlying mechanisms. In this report, we firstly summarize the population-based epidemiological association studies between autoimmune diseases and subsequent hematological malignancies using data derived mainly from Swedish nationwide data. These include over one million cancer cases and approximately 500,000 patients with medically diagnosed autoimmune disease. We further discuss the underlying mechanisms that contribute to the observed association between autoimmune diseases and hematological malignancies, including shared genetics, environmental factors, medical treatments of autoimmune diseases as well as dysregulated immune function.

Risk of somatic diseases in offspring of survivors with childhood or adolescent central nervous system tumor in Sweden.

With the improvement of treatments, a growing number of survivors with childhood or adolescent central nervous system (CNS) tumor are parenting their own children. We aimed to explore the risk of somatic diseases among children of these survivors compared to population controls. Children of survivors with CNS tumor below age of 20 were identified between 1973 and 2014 by combining the several Swedish registers. Five children without parental CNS tumor were matched randomly to generate the population comparisons. Relative risk (RR) and absolute excess risk (AER) were calculated for overall somatic diseases, and hazard ratio (HR) was calculated for specific type of somatic diseases. A total of 2231 somatic disease diagnoses were identified in children of survivors with a cumulative incidence rate of 94.77 per 1000 person-years, whereas the rate was 92.79 in matched comparisons thus resulting in an overall RR of 1.02 (95% CI = 0.98-1.07) and AER of 1.98 (95% CI = -2.06, 6.13). Specifically, five of 1364 children of survivors had CNS tumor with an incidence rate of 0.21 per 1000 person-year, whereas the rate was 0.04 in children of matched children, generating a HR of 4.91 (95% CI = 1.42-16.96). Children of male survivors were at a statistically increased risk of malignancy, as well as infectious and parasitic diseases. In conclusion, no significantly higher risk of overall somatic diseases was found in children of survivors with CNS tumor before the age of 20, but children with a paternal diagnosis of CNS tumor had significantly increased risk of malignancies and infectious and parasitic diseases.

Poor academic performance in offspring of survivors with childhood or adolescent central nervous system tumor in Sweden.

The number of children who were born after their parents were diagnosed with central nervous system (CNS) tumor is increasing, but it remains largely unknown regarding the academic performance of these children. We aimed to investigate whether children of survivors with childhood or adolescent CNS tumor were associated with poor academic performance. Children of survivors of CNS tumor were identified by combining the nationwide Swedish Cancer Register and the Multi-Generation Register, and those who have completed compulsory education in Sweden between 1989 and 2015 were included in our study. "Poor academic performance" was defined as a z-score of the academic performance below the 10th percentile. Conditional logistic regression and quantile regression were used to examine the association. A total of 655 children were born after their parental diagnosis of CNS tumor and they had 1.39 times higher risk of achieving poor academic performance as compared to the matched comparisons (95% CI = 1.10-1.76). The poor academic performance was even more pronounced in boys, among those with a paternal diagnosis of CNS tumor and those with a parental ependymoma. The observed association differed depending on preterm birth. In addition, the strength of the association declined with the increased quantiles of academic performance z-score. Our data suggest that parental CNS tumor affects the subsequent academic achievements among children born after the parental tumor.

Risk of being born preterm in offspring of survivors with childhood or adolescent central nervous system tumor in Sweden.

An increasing number of patients with central nervous system (CNS) tumor could survive to reproductive age. However, it is largely unknown whether the history of CNS tumor might affect pregnancy outcome. We aimed to explore the risk of being born preterm among children of CNS tumor survivors. By linking several nationwide registers in Sweden, we identified 1,369 children whose parents were childhood or adolescent CNS tumor survivors. Children whose parents did not have CNS tumor were matched randomly with a 5:1 ratio to generate the reference group. Conditional logistic regression was used to calculate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). The prevalence of preterm birth (PTB) was 6.9% among children of survivors with CNS tumor and 5.2% among the matched controls. Children of survivors had an increased risk of PTB (adjusted OR = 1.29, 95%CI 1.01-1.65) compared to the matched controls. This risk was increased specifically among offspring of those diagnosed in childhood (adjusted OR = 1.53, 95%CI 1.14-2.06) but not adolescence (adjusted OR = 0.89, 95%CI 0.56-1.41). For families with more than one child, the risk was slightly lower among the second child as compared to the first child. The risk was negatively associated with time interval between parental diagnosis and childbirth. Parental medulloblastoma and ependymoma were most strongly associated with a higher risk of PTB. Children of survivors with CNS tumor experienced an elevated risk of PTB. However, the risk diminishes gradually after parental diagnosis of CNS tumor. Offspring of childhood CNS tumor survivors and medulloblastoma or ependymoma survivors may have the highest risk of PTB.

Use of Phosphodiesterase 5 Inhibitors Is Associated With Lower Risk of Colorectal Cancer in Men With Benign Colorectal Neoplasms.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE5) inhibitors have been proposed to have chemopreventative effects on colorectal cancer (CRC), although data are needed from population-based studies. We performed a nationwide cohort study to investigate the association between the use of PDE5 inhibitors and the risk of CRC in men with benign colorectal neoplasms. METHODS: We identified men who received a diagnosis of benign colorectal neoplasm from July 2005 through March 2015 who were listed in the Swedish Hospital Discharge Register. We linked data with those from other national Swedish registers to obtain information about the prescription of PDE5 inhibitors and CRC diagnoses. Cox regression was used to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). RESULTS: A total of 4823 patients were prescribed PDE5 inhibitors during the study period; the incidence rate of CRC was 2.64 per 1000 person-years for men prescribed PDE5 inhibitors compared with 4.46 per 1000 person-years for men without a prescription. We found a significant negative association between PDE5 inhibitor use and risk of CRC (adjusted HR, 0.65; 95% CI, 0.49-0.85); the decreased risk of CRC was associated with an increased cumulative dose of PDE5 inhibitors (P = .003). PDE5 prescription was associated with greater reduction in risk of advanced-stage CRC (adjusted HR, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.37-1.00) than early-stage CRC (adjusted HR, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.50-0.98), but the difference was not significant. CONCLUSIONS: In a nationwide population-based study of men with a diagnosis of benign colorectal neoplasm in Sweden, we found evidence that use of PDE5 inhibitors is associated with a reduced risk of CRC. Further studies are needed to confirm the observed association.

Mortality patterns in long-term survivors of childhood or adolescent central nervous system tumour in Sweden.

PURPOSE: A growing number of young patients with central nervous system (CNS) tumour survived for more than five years. However, these long-term survivors might be at risk of multiple late effects thus leading to a higher risk of late mortality. We aimed to explore the risk of late mortality and the pattern of mortality among long-term survivors of childhood or adolescent CNS tumour. METHODS: We identified 5-year survivors with childhood or adolescent CNS tumour before age 20 years through the Swedish Cancer Registry. Five controls were randomly matched for each patient to generate the reference group. We retrieved information about death via Cause of Death Register. We calculated the absolute excess risk (AER) of death and the hazard ratio (HR) of death using Cox proportional hazard model. RESULTS: Long-term survivors with CNS tumour suffered a significant higher risk of overall mortality (HR 6.56, 95% CI 5.71-7.53; AER 5.89, 95% CI 5.03-6.87). The mortality rate declined with the increasing survival time, but it was still higher even after 30 years of follow-up. Malignant neoplasms contributed mostly to late mortality with an AER of 3.75 (95% CI 2.95-4.75). Female survivors, survivors diagnosed at a younger age and survivors with medulloblastoma were particularly strongly associated with a higher risk of death. CONCLUSIONS: Long-term survivors of childhood and adolescent CNS tumours are at a higher risk of late mortality, and the risk of death is affected by gender, age at diagnosis and types of CNS tumour.

Carbohydrate, dietary glycaemic index and glycaemic load, and colorectal cancer risk: a case-control study in China.

A carbohydrate-rich diet results in hyperglycaemia and hyperinsulinaemia; it may further induce the carcinogenesis of colorectal cancer. However, epidemiological evidence among Chinese population is quite limited. The aim of this study was to investigate total carbohydrate, non-fibre carbohydrate, total fibre, starch, dietary glycaemic index (GI) and glycaemic load (GL) in relation to colorectal cancer risk in Chinese population. A case-control study was conducted from July 2010 to April 2017, recruiting 1944 eligible colorectal cancer cases and 2027 age (5-year interval) and sex frequency-matched controls. Dietary information was collected by using a validated FFQ. The OR and 95 % CI of colorectal cancer risk were assessed by multivariable logistic regression models. There was no clear association between total carbohydrate intake and colorectal cancer risk. The adjusted OR was 0·85 (95 % CI 0·70, 1·03, P trend=0·08) comparing the highest with the lowest quartile. Total fibre was related to a 53 % reduction in colorectal cancer risk (adjusted ORquartile 4 v. 1 0·47; 95 % CI 0·39, 0·58). However, dietary GI was positively associated with colorectal cancer risk, with an adjusted ORquartile 4 v. 1 of 3·10 (95 % CI 2·51, 3·85). No significant association was found between the intakes of non-fibre carbohydrate, starch and dietary GL and colorectal cancer risk. This study indicated that dietary GI was positively associated with colorectal cancer risk, but no evidence supported that total carbohydrate, non-fibre carbohydrate, starch or high dietary GL intake were related to an increased risk of colorectal cancer in a Chinese population.

Glucosinolate and isothiocyanate intakes are inversely associated with breast cancer risk: a case-control study in China.

Although previous studies have investigated the association of cruciferous vegetable consumption with breast cancer risk, few studies focused on the association between bioactive components in cruciferous vegetables, glucosinolates (GSL) and isothiocyanates (ITC), and breast cancer risk. This study aimed to examine the association between consumption of cruciferous vegetables and breast cancer risk according to GSL and ITC contents in a Chinese population. A total of 1485 cases and 1506 controls were recruited into this case-control study from June 2007 to March 2017. Consumption of cruciferous vegetables was assessed using a validated FFQ. Dietary GSL and ITC were computed by using two food composition databases linking GSL and ITC contents in cruciferous vegetables with responses to the FFQ. The OR and 95 % CI were assessed by unconditional logistic regression after adjusting for the potential confounders. Significant inverse associations were found between consumption of cruciferous vegetables, GSL and ITC and breast cancer risk. The adjusted OR comparing the highest with the lowest quartile were 0·51 (95 % CI 0·41, 0·63) for cruciferous vegetables, 0·54 (95 % CI 0·44, 0·67) for GSL and 0·62 (95 % CI 0·50, 0·76) for ITC, respectively. These inverse associations were also observed in both premenopausal and postmenopausal women. Subgroup analysis by hormone receptor status found inverse associations between cruciferous vegetables, GSL and ITC and both hormone-receptor-positive or hormone-receptor-negative breast cancer. This study indicated that consumption of cruciferous vegetables, GSL and ITC was inversely associated with breast cancer risk among Chinese women.

Association between phytosterol intake and colorectal cancer risk: a case-control study.

A study in rodent models showed that phytosterols protected against colon carcinogenesis, probably by inhibiting dysregulated cell cycle progression and inducing cellular apoptosis. However, epidemiological studies on the relationship between phytosterols and colorectal cancer risk are quite limited. The aim of this study was to investigate dietary phytosterol intake in relation to colorectal cancer risk in the Chinese population. A case-control study was conducted from July 2010 to June 2016, recruiting 1802 eligible colorectal cancer cases plus 1813 age (5-year interval) and sex frequency-matched controls. Dietary information was collected by using a validated FFQ. The OR and 95 % CI of colorectal cancer risk were assessed by multivariable logistic regression models. A higher total intake of phytosterols was found to be associated with a 50 % reduction in colorectal cancer risk. After adjusting for various confounders, the OR of the highest quartile intake compared with the lowest quartile intake was 0·50 (95 % CI 0·41, 0·61, P trend<0·01) for total phytosterols. An inverse association was also found between the consumption of ß-sitosterol, campesterol, campestanol and colorectal cancer risk. However, stigmasterol intake was related to an increased risk of colorectal cancer. No statistically significant association was found between ß-sitostanol and colorectal cancer risk. Stratified analysis by sex showed that the positive association of stigmasterol intake with colorectal cancer risk was found only in women. These data indicated that the consumption of total phytosterols, ß-sitosterol, campesterol and campestanol is inversely associated with colorectal cancer risk in a Chinese population.

A higher Dietary Inflammatory Index score is associated with a higher risk of breast cancer among Chinese women: a case-control study.

Previous studies have investigated the association between dietary inflammatory potential and the development of cancer. For breast cancer the results have been equivocal. The present study aimed to investigate whether higher Dietary Inflammatory IndexTM (DII) scores were associated with increased risk of breast cancer among Chinese women. A total of 867 cases and 824 controls were recruited into the present case-control study from September 2011 to February 2016. DII scores were computed based on baseline dietary intake assessed by a validated 81-item FFQ. The OR and 95 % CI were assessed by multivariable logistic regression after adjusting for various potential confounders. DII scores in this study ranged from -5·87 (most anti-inflammatory score) to +5·71 (most proinflammatory score). A higher DII score was associated with a higher breast cancer risk (adjusted ORquartile 4 v. 1 2·28; 95 % CI 1·71, 3·03; adjusted ORcontinuous 1·40; 95 %CI 1·25, 1·39). In stratified analyses, positive associations also were observed except for underweight women or women with either oestrogen receptor+ or progesterone receptor+ status (but not both). Results from this study indicated that higher DII scores, corresponding to more proinflammatory diets, were positively associated with breast cancer risk among Chinese women.

Dietary choline and betaine intake, choline-metabolising genetic polymorphisms and breast cancer risk: a case-control study in China.

Choline and betaine are essential nutrients involved in one-carbon metabolism and have been hypothesised to affect breast cancer risk. Functional polymorphisms in genes encoding choline-related one-carbon metabolism enzymes, including phosphatidylethanolamine N-methyltransferase (PEMT), choline dehydrogenase (CHDH) and betaine-homocysteine methyltransferase (BHMT), have important roles in choline metabolism and may thus interact with dietary choline and betaine intake to modify breast cancer risk. This study aimed to investigate the interactive effect of polymorphisms in PEMT, BHMT and CHDH genes with choline/betaine intake on breast cancer risk among Chinese women. This hospital-based case-control study consecutively recruited 570 cases with histologically confirmed breast cancer and 576 age-matched (5-year interval) controls. Choline and betaine intakes were assessed by a validated FFQ, and genotyping was conducted for PEMT rs7946, CHDH rs9001 and BHMT rs3733890. OR and 95 % CI were estimated using unconditional logistic regression. Compared with the highest quartile of choline intake, the lowest intake quartile showed a significant increased risk of breast cancer. The SNP PEMT rs7946, CHDH rs9001 and BHMT rs3733890 had no overall association with breast cancer, but a significant risk reduction was observed among postmenopausal women with AA genotype of BHMT rs3733890 (OR 0·49; 95 % CI 0·25, 0·98). Significant interactions were observed between choline intake and SNP PEMT rs7946 (P interaction=0·029) and BHMT rs3733890 (P interaction=0·006) in relation to breast cancer risk. Our results suggest that SNP PEMT rs7946 and BHMT rs3733890 may interact with choline intake on breast cancer risk.

Flavonoid intake from vegetables and fruits is inversely associated with colorectal cancer risk: a case-control study in China.

Flavonoids may play an important role in the protective effects of vegetables, fruits and tea against colorectal cancer. However, associations between flavonoids and colorectal cancer risk are inconsistent, and a few studies have evaluated the effect of flavonoids from different dietary sources separately. This study aimed to evaluate associations of flavonoids intake from different dietary sources with colorectal cancer risk in a Chinese population. From July 2010 to December 2015, 1632 eligible colorectal cancer cases and 1632 frequency-matched controls (age and sex) completed in-person interviews. A validated FFQ was used to estimate dietary flavonoids intake. Multivariate logistical regression models were used to calculate the OR and 95 % CI of colorectal cancer risk after adjusting for various confounders. No significant association was found between total flavonoids and colorectal cancer risk, with an adjusted OR of 1·06 (95 % CI 0·85, 1·32) comparing the highest with the lowest quartile. Anthocyanidins, flavanones and flavones intakes from total diet were found to be inversely associated with colorectal cancer risk. Compared with the lowest quartile, the adjusted OR for the highest quartile were 0·80 (95 % CI 0·64, 1·00) for anthocyanidins, 0·28 (95 % CI 0·22, 0·36) for flavanones and 0·54 (95 % CI 0·43, 0·67) for flavones. All subclasses of flavonoids from vegetables and fruits were inversely associated with colorectal cancer. However, no significant association was found between tea flavonoids and colorectal cancer risk. These data indicate that specific flavonoids, specifically flavonoids from vegetables and fruits, may be linked with the reduced risk of colorectal cancer.

Mediators between body mass index and atrial fibrillation: a Mendelian randomization study.

Background: Although obesity is a recognized risk factor of atrial fibrillation (AF), the mechanisms are not fully understood. Objective: We aimed to identify the potential mediators between body mass index (BMI) and AF. Methods: We conducted a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis using publicly available summary-level data from genome-wide association studies. Univariable MR analyses were applied to identify potential mediators, and then the multivariable MR analyses were conducted to explore the mediated roles of circulating biomarkers, metabolic markers and comorbidities in the association between BMI and AF. Results: This MR study found a significant causal association between BMI and AF (OR = 1.41, 95% CI = 1.33-1.50; p < 0.001), which was attenuated to 1.21 (95% CI = 1.03-1.43) after being adjusted for leptin, in which 48.78% excess risk was mediated. After further adjustment for leptin and some cormorbidies, the association was attenuated to null (adjusted for leptin and sleep apnoea: OR=1.05, 95% CI = 0.85-1.30; adjusted for leptin and coronary heart disease: OR = 1.08, 95% CI = 0.90-1.30; adjusted for leptin and systolic blood pressure: OR = 1.11, 95% CI = 0.88-1.41), resulting in 87.80%, 80.49% and 73.17% excess risk being mediated, respectively. Conclusion: These results identified an important mediated role of leptin, particularly for individuals with sleep apnoea, coronary heart disease or hypertension, providing some clues for the underlying mechanisms behind the impact of obesity on AF risk.

Differential age-specific associations of LDL cholesterol and body mass index with coronary heart disease.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLc) and body mass index (BMI) are not always correlated and their relationship is probably dependent on age, indicating differential age-specific associations of these factors with health outcomes. We aim to discriminate the roles of LDLc and BMI in coronary heart disease (CHD) across different age groups. METHODS: This is a prospective cohort study of 368,274 participants aged 38-73 years and free of CHD at baseline. LDLc and BMI were measured at baseline, and incident CHD was the main outcome. Cox proportional hazards model and restricted cubic spline (RCS) regression were used to estimate hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) of exposure on CHD. RESULTS: After a mean of 12 years of follow-up, similar relationships of LDLc and BMI with CHD risk were observed in the overall population but in differential age-specific patterns. Across the age groups of <50, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64 and ≥ 65 years, the LDLc-CHD association diminished with the adjusted HRs decreasing from 1.35, 1.26, 1.19, 1.11 to 1.08; while no declining trend was found in BMI-CHD relationship with the adjusted HRs of 1.15, 1.11, 1.12, 1.13 and 1.15, respectively. The interaction and mediation between LDLc and BMI on CHD risk were more pronounced at young-age groups. LDLc-CHD but not BMI-CHD association was dependent on sex, metabolic syndrome and lipid-lowering drugs use. CONCLUSIONS: There were differential age-specific associations of LDLc and BMI with the risk of developing CHD, calling for future efforts to discriminate the age-different benefits from lipids management or weight control on the primary prevention for CHD.

Bi-directional association of body size and composition with heart failure: A Mendelian randomization study.

PURPOSE: The effect of obesity on the development of heart failure (HF) has received attention, and this study intends to further explore the bidirectional association between body size or composition and HF by using Mendelian Randomization (MR) approach. DESIGN: We performed a two-sample bidirectional MR study to investigate the association between body size or composition and the risk of HF using aggregated data from genome-wide association studies. Univariable MR analysis was used to investigate the causal relationship, and multivariable MR analysis was used to explore the mediating role of general and central obesity in the relationship between body size or composition and HF. RESULTS: This forward MR study found that body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist-hip ratio (WHR), fat mass (FM) and fat-free mass (FFM) were risk factors for the development of HF with the strength of causal association BMI > FM > WC > FFM > WHR. After adjusting for BMI, the observed associations between the remaining indicators and heart failure attenuated to null. After adjusting for WC, only BMI (OR = 1.59, 95%CI: 1.32-1.92, P = 9.53E-07) and FM (OR = 1.39, 95%CI: 1.20-1.62, P = 1.35E-0.5) kept significantly related to the risk of HF. Reverse MR analysis showed no association of changes in body size or composition with the onset of HF. CONCLUSION: The two-sample bidirectional MR study found that general obesity, measured by BMI, was an independent indicator of the development of HF, while other related indicators were associated with HF incidence dependent on BMI, besides, no association was observed between HF diagnosis and the body size or composites.

PDE5 inhibition mitigates heart failure in hyperlipidemia.

PDE5 inhibitors was reported to play a protective role in both regulating lipid metabolism and reducing heart failure (HF). This study aimed to clarify the effectiveness of PDE5 inhibitors against hyperlipidemia-related HF by combining evidence from population-based study and animal models. The nationwide cohort study found that post-diagnostic use of PDE5 inhibitors was associated with a significantly lower risk of HF compared with patients who used alprostadil, especially among individuals with hyperlipidemia (adjusted HR = 0.56, 95% CI = 0.40-0.78). In animal models, sildenafil significantly recovered the cardiac structure and function induced by AAB surgery, as well as reversed liver dysfunction and ameliorated hyperlipidemia induced by HFD via reducing the level of ALT, AST and serum lipids. Lipidomic analysis identified four lipid metabolites involved in sildenafil administration, including FA 16:3, LPC O-18:1, DG24:0_18:0 and SE28:1/20:4. This study revealed the protective effect of PDE5 inhibitors against HF in hyperlipidemia, indicating the potential of being repurposed as an adjuvant for HF prevention in patients with hyperlipidemia if these findings can be further confirmed in clinical trials.

The ratio of systolic and diastolic pressure is associated with carotid and femoral atherosclerosis.

Background: Although the impact of hypertension on carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and plaques has been well established, its association with femoral IMT and plaques has not been extensively examined. In addition, the role of the ratio of systolic and diastolic pressure (SDR) in the subclinical atherosclerosis (AS) risk remains unknown. We assessed the relationship between SDR and carotid and femoral AS in a general population. Methods: A total of 7,263 participants aged 35-74 years enrolled from January 2019 to June 2021 in a southeast region of China were included in a cross-sectional study. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP) were used to define SDR. Ultrasonography was applied to assess the AS, including thickened IMT (TIMT) and plaque in the carotid and femoral arteries. Logistic regression and restricted cubic spline (RCS) models were the main approaches. Results: The prevalence of TIMT, plaque, and AS were 17.3%, 12.4%, and 22.7% in the carotid artery; 15.2%, 10.7%, and 19.5% in the femoral artery; and 23.8%, 17.9% and 30.0% in either the carotid or femoral artery, respectively. Multivariable logistic regression analysis found a significant positive association between high-tertile SDR and the higher risk of overall TIMT (OR = 1.28, 95% CI = 1.10-1.49), plaques (OR = 1.36, 95%CI = 1.16-1.61), or AS (OR = 1.36, 95% CI = 1.17-1.57), especially in the carotid artery. RCS analysis further revealed the observed positive associations were linear. Further analyses showed that as compared to the low-tertile SDR and non-hypertension group, high-tertile SDR was associated with increased risks of overall and carotid TIMT, plaques, or AS in both groups with or without hypertension. Conclusions: SDR is related to a higher risk of subclinical AS, regardless of hypertension or not, suggesting that as a readily obtainable index, SDR can contribute to providing additional predictive value for AS.