Arterial stiffness is associated with new-onset chronic kidney disease.

Background: A potential independent association between arterial stiffness (AS) and the development of new-onset chronic kidney disease (CKD) has not been thoroughly examined. Patients and methods: A total of 6929 participants were collected from the Kailuan study. All participants were free of CKD at the baseline. The participants were divided into four groups based on their brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) values. Cox regression models were used to analyze the relationship between baPWV values and the risk of new-onset CKD. Results: Over the course of a 10.06-year follow-up period, a total of 962 cases of new-onset CKD were documented. Cox proportional hazards analyses showed that a higher baPWV quartile was linked to an increased risk of new-onset CKD. Conclusions: Brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity has a strong correlation with the development of new-onset CKD. Therefore, baPWV can be considered an innovative indicator for predicting the occurrence of new-onset CKD.

Prediction of Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events by Triglyceride Glucose Index in Predominantly Male Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic and chronic autoimmune disease that is characterized by persistent joint inflammation. RA patients experience a considerably increased risk of cardiovascular-related morbidity and mortality. The current study investigated the association between triglyceride glucose (TyG) index and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) in a predominantly male cohort of RA patients. Methods: A total of 1613 RA patients (81.53% male) were selected from the Kailuan study. The TyG index was calculated as the logarithmic product of fasting blood triglyceride and fasting blood glucose divided by two. MACEs were defined as the composite of non-fatal myocardial infarctions and non-fatal strokes. Cox proportional hazards analysis was performed to study the association between the TyG index and MACEs. Results: A total of 59 MACEs occurred during the median follow-up time of 5.32 years. Following adjustment for age and gender, analysis by multivariable Cox proportional hazards (model 1) showed that an elevated TyG index was associated with an increased risk of MACEs (quartile 2, hazard ratio (HR): 2.741, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.220-6.157, p = 0.015; quartile 4, HR: 2.521, 95% CI: 1.074-5.917, p = 0.034). After adjustment for other variables, Cox proportional hazards analysis (model 2) showed that an elevated TyG index was independently associated with an increased risk of MACEs (quartile 2, HR: 2.348, 95% CI: 1.009-5.465, p = 0.048). In addition, subgroup analysis showed a higher TyG index was significantly linked to an increased risk of MACEs in patients aged more than 65 years (quartile 2, HR: 6.048, 95% CI: 1.311-27.908, p = 0.021; quartile 4, HR: 12.074, 95% CI: 1.438-101.358, p = 0.022). Conclusions: The TyG index was associated with an increased risk of MACEs in a predominantly male cohort of RA patients. This index may be helpful for the prediction of MACEs in male patients with RA. Clinical Trial Registration: Registration number in the Chinese clinical trial registry: ChiCTR-TNRC-11001489.

Triglyceride-Glucose Index Predicts Major Adverse Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Events in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation.

This study aimed to explore the relationship between the trajectory of the triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index and the occurrence of major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF).This prospective study included 1979 patients with AF, who were initially selected from the Kailuan study. Patients of AF were split into four groups according to the value of TyG index. The clinical endpoint was MACCE, including myocardial infarction and ischemic stroke. Cox proportional hazard models were employed to examine the hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for MACCE in various trajectory groups.The mean age of all patients with AF was 67.65 ± 11.15 years, and 1752 (88.53%) were male. Over a median follow-up duration of 5.31 years, in total 227 MACCE were recorded. MACCE cumulative incidence in Quartile 4 (26.96%) was significantly higher than those in other quartiles (P = 0.023). Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis showed that a higher TyG index (Quartile 4) was significantly and positively linked to MACCE in patients with AF (P = 0.023, HR: 2.103; 95% CI: 1.107-3.994).The evaluated TyG index is significantly associated with an increased risk of MACCE in patients with AF.

Patients with Atrial Fibrillation are Unlikely to Benefit from Aspirin Monotherapy.

Background: Aspirin (ASA), the mainstay antiplatelet treatment in patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD), has been received by a considerable number of AF patients. This study sought to examine the association between ASA monotherapy and the risk of major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). Methods: A total of 850 patients with AF were identified from a community-based Kailuan study. All patients were assigned to two groups according to their medicine history: an aspirin therapy group (ASA group) (n = 174), and a non-aspirin therapy group (non-ASA group) (n = 676). The clinical endpoints are MACCE, including myocardial infarction (MI), ischemic stroke (IS), and hemorrhagic stroke (HS). Incidence curves for MACCE were plotted using the Kaplan-Meier method, and the Log rank test was used to assess the differences in incidence rates. The hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for MACCE were analyzed using Cox proportional-hazards analysis regression models. Results: During the 7.2-year follow-up, 30 MACCE occurred in the ASA group, and 101 in the non-ASA group, with a cumulative incidence of 19.88% vs 17.27%, P = 0.511; 3 cases of MI occurred in the ASA group, and 18 cases in the non-ASA group, with a cumulative incidence of 1.78% vs 2.90%, P = 0.305. Twenty-seven cases of IS occurred in the ASA group, and 84 cases in the non-ASA group, with a cumulative incidence of 1.78% vs 2.90%, P = 0.305. Eight cases of HS occurred in the ASA group, and 13 cases in the non-ASA group, with a cumulative incidence of 5.01% vs 2.34%, P = 0.045. Multivariate regression analysis showed that ASA therapy was not associated with MACCE (HR: 1.130, 95% CI: 0.747-1.710, P = 0.562). In addition, ASA therapy was not associated with IS (HR: 1.309, 95% CI: 0.843-2.034, P = 0.231). However, ASA therapy was significantly associated with HS (HR: 2.563, 95% CI: 1.024-6.418, P = 0.044). Conclusion: ASA monotherapy is not associated with a lower risk of ischemic events, while significantly associated with a higher risk of bleeding events. Patients with AF are unlikely to benefit from aspirin monotherapy.

Association of the triglyceride-glucose index with early-onset atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease events and all-cause mortality: a prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: The association between the triglyceride glucose (TyG) index and the risk of early-onset atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) events or all-cause mortality in young and middle-aged people is not fully elucidated. METHODS: The present study included 64,489 young and middle-aged people who participated in the 2006 Kailuan Study physical examination. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards models and restricted cubic spline curves were used to assess the association of TyG index with early-onset ASCVD events and all-cause mortality. RESULTS: During a median of 11-year follow-up, 1984 (3.08%) participants experienced at least one ASCVD event and 1,392 (2.16%) participants experienced all-cause death. A higher TyG index was significantly associated with a higher risk of early-onset ASCVD events (HR: 1.61, 95% CI 1.38-1.89) and all-cause mortality (HR: 1.39, 95% CI 1.17-1.65), respectively. For each unit increase in TyG index, the risk of early-onset ASCVD events increased by 20%. In addition, there was a non-linear association between the TyG index and early-onset ASCVD events (P for non-linear < 0.01), and a linear association between TyG index and all-cause mortality (P for non-linear = 0.476). CONCLUSIONS: A higher TyG index is significantly associated with an increased incidence of early-onset ASCVD events and all-cause mortality in a young and middle-aged population from North China.

Triglyceride-glucose index predicts major adverse cardiovascular events in patients with chronic kidney disease.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index has been regarded as a reliable surrogate marker of insulin resistance for predicting cardiovascular outcomes. The current study aimed to explore the associations between TyG index with major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). METHODS/PATIENTS: 13,517 patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) from the Kailuan study were included. Patients were divided into quartiles according to the TyG index. The outcomes were MACE, including acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and ischemic stroke (IS). The association between TyG index and the risk of MACE was analyzed by Cox regression models. RESULTS: During 13.87-year follow-up, a total 1356 MACEs occurred. Multivariable Cox proportional-hazards analyses showed that a higher TyG index quartile was associated with an elevated risk of MACE. CONCLUSIONS: TyG index is significantly related to MACE in patients with CKD. TyG index can be regarded as a novel predictor of MACE for patients with CKD.

Atrial fibrillation increases the risk of new-onset myocardial infarction amongst working-age population: a propensity-matched study.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the association between atrial fibrillation (AF) and new-onset myocardial infarction (MI) among a working-age population in an industrial city of North China. METHODS: In total 77,670 participants aged under 60 years were selected for this cohort study. Participants were divided into an AF group (n = 121) and a non-AF group (n = 74,565) based on their medical histories. Thereafter, 121 participants from the AF group were propensity-matched with 363 participants from the non-AF group. All participants were followed up from June 2006 to December 2020; new-onset MI was regarded as the endpoint of this study. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis models were designed to analyze the correlation between AF and new-onset MI. RESULTS: During the 14-year follow-up, eight cases of new-onset MI were documented in the AF group, while five cases were documented in the non-AF group. The cumulative incidence of new-onset MI in the AF group (7.40%) was markedly higher than in the non-AF group (1.41%; p < 0.001). Atrial fibrillation was associated with an increased risk of new-onset MI in both univariate analysis (hazard ratio: 5.202, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.700-15.913) and multivariable-adjusted analysis (hazard ratio: 5.335, 95% CI: 1.683-16.910). CONCLUSION: Atrial fibrillation increased the risk of new-onset MI amongst working-age individuals in an industrial city of North China.

Atrial fibrillation is an independent risk factor for new-onset myocardial infarction: a prospective study.

BACKGROUND: Atrial fibrillation (AF) and myocardial infarction (MI) share common cardiovascular risk factors, therefore coexistence of AF and MI is very common, in addition, both AF and MI aggravate and exacerbate each other through multiple pathological processes. The aim of this study is to investigate whether AF increases the risk of new-onset MI. METHODS: In total 171,086 participants from an industrial city in North China were selected and enrolled in this prospective cohort study, participants were divided into the AF group or the non-AF group according to their medical history. 1542 participants from the AF group were propensity-matched with 4626 participants from the non-AF group. All the participants were followed up every 2 years from June 2006 to December 2020, the median follow-up was 14.25 years and the endpoint of this study was new-onset MI. The association between AF and new-onset MI was analysed by using both univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis. RESULTS: New-onset MI was documented in 56 cases from the AF group and 98 cases from the non-AF group, respectively, the cumulative incidence of new-onset MI in the AF group (3.73%) was significantly higher than that in the non-AF group (2.23%) (p < 0.01). In a univariate analysis, AF was associated with an increased risk of new-onset MI (hazard ratio: 1.73, 95% confidence interval: 1.24-2.40), in two multivariable-adjusted analyses, AF was still associated with an increased risk of new-onset MI (hazard ratio: 1.78, 95% confidence interval, 1.28-2.47). CONCLUSIONS: AF is an independent risk factor for new-onset MI in an industrial population of North China.

The effects of tocotrienol supplementation on lipid profile: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: Tocotrienol supplementation has been emerged as a potent candidate for the treatment of dyslipidemia. In the present study, a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials was performed with the aim of examining the effects of tocotrienol supplementation on the lipid profile. METHODS: Four databases (Scopus, PubMed/Medline, Web of Science and Embase) were used to accomplish the literature search up to November 2019. Clinical trials encompassing the impact of tocotrienol supplementation on lipid profile were extracted regardless of clinical condition, with studies included involving only adults patients. RESULTS: A total of 15 articles with 20 arms were eligible and included in the meta-analysis to estimate the pooled effect size. Overall results showed a significant effect of tocotrienol supplementation on increasing high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels (weight mean difference (WMD): 0.146 mmol/L, I2 = 85.9%) and a non-significant influence on total cholesterol (TC) (WMD: 0.010 mmol/L, I2 = 64.5%), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) (WMD: 0.095 mmol/L, I2 = 87.4%), and triglycerides (TG) (WMD: -0.112 mmol/L, I2 = 67.4%) levels. Increment in HDL-C levels was significant greater for the tocotrienol dosage ≥ 200 mg/d (WMD: 0.202 mmol/L) and ≤8 weeks (WMD: 0.278 mmol/L). Moreover, studies that investigated tocotrienol dose ≥200 mg had no heterogeneity, while showing a significant decrease in TG levels (WMD: -0.177 mmol/L). CONCLUSION: The present meta-analysis demonstrated that supplementing with tocotrienols does not decrease the concentrations of LDL-C, TC and TG. However, tocotrienol supplementation was considered a candidate for increasing HDL-C levels.