Association between Life's Essential 8 and Infertility as Well as the Mediating Effects of Oxidative Stress and Inflammatory Factors Among U.S. Women Aged 18-45 Years.

Management of cardiovascular disease in pregnancy is important, yet the association between cardiovascular health and infertility is rarely reported. In this study, we aimed to explore the association between Life's Essential 8 (LE8), a novel cardiovascular health (CVH) measure, and infertility, and to investigate potential mediating mechanisms. This study investigated cross-sectional data from the 2013-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. LE8 score (ranging from 0 to 100) was calculated as the unweighted average of eight CVH metrics. The association between LE8 and infertility was explored through weighted multiple logistic regression. Restricted cubic splines were used to explore nonlinear correlation. In addition, mediation analysis was conducted to investigate the role of oxidative stress and inflammatory markers systematically. After strict exclusion criteria, 1703 American women aged 18-45 years were included. After full adjustment, the LE8 score showed a negative correlation with infertility [per 1 SD increase, OR = 0.675, 95% CI: 0.553-0.824], with a linear dose-response relationship (non-linear P = 0.122). Similar linear negative correlations were found between health factor scores and infertility, with higher body mass index and glucose scores having a significantly lower risk of infertility. Stratified analyses showed a stronger inversed relationship between LE8 and infertility in younger populations. Moreover, mediation analysis revealed that uric acid concentration and lymphocyte count mediated the effect of LE8 on infertility (P < 0.05). LE8 and its subscale scores were linearly and negatively associated with infertility, which may be mediated in part through uric acid and lymphocyte count. Focusing on weight management and glycemic control can effectively reduce the risk of infertility.

Single and mixed effects of multiple volatile organic compounds exposure on hematological parameters in the U.S. adult population.

BACKGROUND: Most research exploring the correlation between volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and hematological parameters have focused on single VOCs. Our study aimed to explore the single and combined effects of VOCs on hematological parameters through three statistical models. METHODS: Data from 4 cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) were used in this study. The correlations between single exposure to 16 VOCs and hematological parameters in the general population were assessed by weighted multiple linear regression. Weighted quantile sum (WQS) and Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) models were used to explore the relationship between the combined important VOCs selected by the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) and hematological parameters, as well as the effects of smoking status on them. RESULTS: A total of 4089 adults were included in the study. We found that a variety of VOCs were significantly associated with hematological parameters. Among them, N-acetyl-S-(benzyl)-l-cysteine (BMA) was significantly negatively correlated with white blood cell (WBC), red blood cell (RBC), lymphocyte, and neutrophil counts. N-acetyl-S-(3-hydroxypropyl-1-methyl)-l-cysteine (HPMMA) was significantly positively correlated with WBC, monocyte, lymphocyte, and neutrophil counts. In the WQS analysis, the WQS index of the VOCs mixtures was positively correlated with WBC (ß: 0.031; P < 0.001), monocyte (0.023; P = 0.021), and neutrophil (0.040; P = 0.001) counts, while negatively associated with RBC (-0.013; P < 0.001) counts. The BKMR model revealed that combined exposure to VOCs levels ≥70th percentile was significantly associated with lower RBC counts, and BMA was identified as the dominant contributor. Smoking significantly influenced the relationship between VOCs and hematological parameters. CONCLUSIONS: Our study indicated the effects of single and overall VOCs exposure on hematological parameters and suggested the hematotoxicity as well as pro-inflammatory effects of VOCs, which had strong public health implications for reducing the potential health hazards of VOCs exposure to the hematologic system.

Association between frailty and chronic constipation and chronic diarrhea among American older adults: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

BACKGROUND: This study was to explore the relationship between chronic constipation, chronic diarrhea, and frailty in older Americans. METHODS: This cross-sectional study selected a total of 4241 community-dwelling individuals aged 60 years and older from the 2005-2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Frailty was measured using a 49-item frailty index, and a frailty index > 0.21 was defined as a frail status. Chronic constipation and chronic diarrhea were defined as the "usual or most common type of stool" by the Bristol Stool Form Scale (BSFS) Types 1 and 2 and BSFS Types 6 and 7, respectively. Weighted logistic regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between gut health and frailty status. Restricted cubic spline (RCS) curves were built to assess the association between frailty index and stool frequency. RESULTS: Frailty status was associated with higher odds of constipation in an unadjusted model; however, after further adjusting for confounding variables, the relationship between frailty status and constipation was not statistically significant. We discovered a positive correlation between the frailty status and diarrhea after adjustment for all variables. The frailty index showed a U-shaped relationship with stool frequency, and the frailty index was the smallest at a frequency of 10 stools/week. CONCLUSION: Negative associations were observed between frailty status and chronic constipation and diarrhea among older adults. Older adults who have a bowel movement frequency of about 10 times per week are the least frail. Future studies are warranted to confirm the causal relationship in this association.

Higher oxidative balance scores are associated with lower nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and not with fibrosis in US adults.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Little research have focused on the relationship between systemic oxidative stress status and NAFLD and fibrosis. The Oxidative Balance Score (OBS) is employed to evaluate whole-body lifestyle and diet exposures related to oxidative stress, with higher OBS scores implying exposure to more antioxidants. This study aimed to explore whether OBS is correlated with NAFLD and NAFLD-related fibrosis. METHODS AND RESULTS: 12,223 participants from NHANES 2003-2018 were enrolled in this study. NAFLD was defined as USFLI ≥30 and liver fibrosis was determined as FIB-4 ≥ 2.67. OBS was scored by 20 lifestyle and dietary factors. Weighted logistic regression and restricted cubic splines were used to assess the association between OBS and NAFLD and fibrosis. The prevalence of NAFLD was 29.67%. There was a significant negative correlation between OBS, dietary OBS, lifestyle OBS and NAFLD and no correlation with NAFLD-related fibrosis. Compared to the lowest quartile, the adjusted ORs for the highest quartile of OBS, lifestyle OBS, dietary OBS and NAFLD were 0.55(95%CI:0.35,0.85), 0.12(95%CI:0.08,0.16), 0.70(95%CI:0.52,0.94) respectively. In stratified analyses, lifestyle OBS was negatively associated with NAFLD across gender, dietary OBS was only negatively correlated with NAFLD in men, and any OBS was not observed to be relevant to NAFLD-related fibrosis. CONCLUSIONS: OBS was negatively associated with NAFLD, but not with NAFLD-related fibrosis. The findings underline the significance of adhering to an antioxidant lifestyle and diet, which can help prevent NAFLD but seems to be ineffective in preventing fibrosis in individuals with NAFLD.

Association between depression and oxidative balance score: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2005-2018.

BACKGROUND: Few studies have investigated the relationship between systemic oxidative stress status and depression. The oxidative balance score (OBS) was used to assess systemic oxidative stress status, with higher OBS scores implying exposure to more antioxidants. This study aimed to explore whether OBS is associated with depression. METHODS: 18,761 subjects from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2005 to 2018 were selected. Depression was diagnosed by the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9, score ≥ 10). OBS was scored by 20 dietary and lifestyle factors. Weighted logistic regression and restricted cubic splines (RCS) were used to assess the association between OBS and depression. RESULTS: The prevalence of depression was 8.42 %. There was a significant negative nonlinear relationship between OBS, dietary OBS, lifestyle OBS and depression (p for nonlinear < 0.05). Compared to the lowest quartile of OBS, the adjusted ORs for the highest quartile of OBS, dietary OBS, and lifestyle OBS and depression were 0.290 (95 % CI: 0.193-0.434), 0.500(95 % CI: 0.380-0.658), 0.403(95 % CI: 0.299-0.545) respectively, and all P for trend < 0.001. In stratified analyses, three OBS were negatively associated with the odds of depression across sex groups (all P for trend < 0.05), and the OR was smaller in the female group than in the male group. LIMITATIONS: Cross-sectional data and absence of drug considerations. CONCLUSIONS: OBS was strongly negatively associated with depression, especially in females. The findings underline the significance of adhering to an antioxidant diet and lifestyle, which helps prevent depression and appears to be of greater benefit to women.