The Impact of Educational Status on the Occurrence of Colonic Diverticula: Insights from an Austrian Cohort Study.

OBJECTIVE: Education often reflects socioeconomic status. Research indicates that lower socioeconomic status may increase the risk of diverticulosis, and according to data from the USA, diverticular disease is a significant and costly health problem. Our study explores the link between educational level and colonic diverticula occurrence. SUBJECT AND METHODS: We conducted a cohort study on 5,532 asymptomatic Austrian patients who underwent colonoscopy, categorizing them by education level using the updated Generalized International Standard Classification of Education (GISCED). Logistic regression models, adjusting for age, gender, metabolic syndrome, diet, and activity, were used to determine the association between education and diverticulosis. RESULTS: Overall, 39% of the patients had low educational status, while 53% had medium, and 8% had high educational status. Colon diverticula were less frequent in patients with medium (OR 0.73) and high (aOR 0.62) educational status. Medium educational level remained associated with lower rates of diverticulosis after adjustment for age and sex (aOR 0.85) and further metabolic syndrome, dietary habits, and physical activity (aOR 0.84). In higher education status, this phenomenon was only seen by trend. CONCLUSION: Low education correlated with higher colon diverticula risk, while medium education showed lower rates even after adjustments. This trend persisted at higher education levels, highlighting the potential for strategies for cost reduction tailored to socioeconomic conditions.

Determinants of hyperglucagonemia in pediatric non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Objective: Over the years, non-alcoholic fatty liver (NAFLD) disease has progressed to become the most frequent chronic liver disease in children and adolescents. The full pathology is not yet known, but disease progression leads to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Risk factors included hypercaloric diet, obesity, insulin resistance and genetics. Hyperglucagonemia appears to be a pathophysiological consequence of hepatic steatosis, thus, the hypothesis of the study is that hepatic fat accumulation leads to increased insulin resistance and impaired glucagon metabolism leading to hyperglucagonemia in pediatric NAFLD. Methods: 132 children and adolescents between 10 and 18 years, with varying degrees of obesity, were included in the study. Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) average liver fat was determined, and patients were stratified as NAFLD (>5% liver fat content) and non-NAFLD (<5%). All patients underwent a standardized oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). Additionally, anthropometric parameters (height, weight, BMI, waist circumference, hip circumference) such as lab data including lipid profile (triglycerides, HDL, LDL), liver function parameters (ALT, AST), uric acid, glucose metabolism (fasting insulin and glucagon, HbA1c, glucose 120 min) and indices evaluating insulin resistance (HIRI, SPISE, HOMA-IR, WBISI) were measured. Results: Children and adolescents with NAFLD had significantly higher fasting glucagon values compared to the non-NAFLD cohort (p=0.0079). In the NAFLD cohort univariate analysis of fasting glucagon was associated with BMI-SDS (p<0.01), visceral adipose tissue volume (VAT) (p<0.001), average liver fat content (p<0.001), fasting insulin concentration (p<0.001), triglycerides (p<0.001) and HDL (p=0.034). This correlation equally applied to all insulin indices HOMA-IR, WBISI, HIRI (all p<0.001) and SPISE (p<0.002). Multivariate analysis (R² adjusted 0.509) for the same subgroup identified HIRI (p=0.003) and VAT volume (p=0.017) as the best predictors for hyperglucagonemia. Average liver fat content is predictive in pediatric overweight and obesity but not NAFLD. Conclusions: Children and adolescents with NAFLD have significantly higher fasting plasma glucagon values, which were best predicted by hepatic insulin resistance and visceral adipose tissue, but not average liver fat content.

Cardiovascular Risk Assessment by SCORE2 Predicts Risk for Colorectal Neoplasia and Tumor-Related Mortality.

Objectives: The European Society of Cardiology endorsed SCORE2 to assess cardiovascular risk. The aim of this observational, retrospective study was to assess whether SCORE2 is associated with colorectal neoplasia in an asymptomatic screening population. Further, we evaluated if SCORE2 predicts tumor-related mortality. Methods: We included 3408 asymptomatic patients who underwent a screening colonoscopy. We calculated SCORE2 for each participant and stratified patients according to their predicted 10-year risk of cardiovascular disease: SCORE2 0−4.9%, SCORE2 5−9.9%, and SCORE2 ≥ 10%. We assessed the association between SCORE2 as a continuous variable, the presence of colorectal neoplasia using multilevel logistic regression, and SCORE2 and mortality using Cox regression. Results: In total, 1537 patients had a SCORE2 of 0−4.9%, 1235 a SCORE2 of 5−9.9%, and 636 a SCORE2 ≥ 10%. The respective rates of colorectal neoplasia were 20%, 37%, and 44%. SCORE2 was associated with the presence of any (OR 1.11 95%CI 1.09−1.12; p < 0.001) and advanced colorectal neoplasia (OR 1.06 95%CI 1.08−1.13; p < 0.001) in univariate analysis. After multivariable adjustment (age, sex, family history, and metabolic syndrome) a higher SCORE2 remained associated with higher odds for any (aOR 1.04 95%CI 1.02−1.06; p = 0.001) and advanced (aOR 1.06 95%CI 1.03−1.10; p < 0.001) colorectal neoplasia. SCORE2 was associated with both all-cause (HR 1.11 95%CI 1.09−1.14; p < 0.001) and tumor-related mortality (HR 1.10 95%CI 1.05−1.14; p < 0.001). Conclusions: We found that SCORE2 is associated with the presence of colorectal neoplasia. Clinicians could kill two birds with one stone calculating SCORE2. In patients with a high SCORE2, screening colonoscopy aside from cardiovascular risk mitigation could improve outcomes.