Predictor of cognitive impairment: metabolic syndrome or circadian syndrome.

BACKGROUND: It was reported that metabolic syndrome increases the risk for cognitive impairment and circadian rhythm may influence cognition behavior. Identifying the potential risk factors is essential to screen individuals with neuronal dysfunction, neuronal loss, and cognitive decline and prevent cognitive impairment and dementia development. METHODS: We clarified participants by the presence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and circadian syndrome (CircS) and employed three multivariable Generalized Estimating Equation (GEE) models to control the potential confounding factors and estimate the ß values for cognitive function using as referents those had neither MetS nor CircS at baseline. The cognitive function consists of episodic memory and executive function was estimated via the modified Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (TICS) every two years until 2015. RESULTS: The mean age of the participants was 58.80 (8.93) years and 49.92% (male). The prevalence of MetS and CircS was 42.98% and 36.43%, respectively. 1,075 (11.00%) and 435 (4.45%) participants had either MetS or CircS alone and 3,124 (31.98%) had both CircS and MetS. Participants with both MetS and CircS compared with normal had a significantly decreased cognitive function score during the 4-years cohort (ß = -0.32, 95% CI: -0.63, -0.01) with the complete model, as well as among participants who suffered from CircS alone (ß = -0.82, 95% CI: -1.47, -0.16), while not among participants with MetS alone (ß = 0.13, 95% CI: -0.27, 0.53). Specifically, compared with the normal population a significantly lower score was discovered in the episodic memory (ß = -0.51, 95% CI: -0.95, -0.07), while slightly lower in executive function (ß = -0.33, 95% CI: -0.68, -0.01) among individuals with CircS alone. CONCLUSIONS: Individuals with CircS alone or both MetS and CircS have a high risk of cognitive impairment. The association was even stronger in participants with CircS alone than those with both MetS and CircS, suggesting CircS probably have a stronger association with cognitive functioning than MetS and could be a better predictor for cognitive impairment.

Intermittent Fasting: Potential Bridge of Obesity and Diabetes to Health?

Obesity has been an escalating worldwide health problem for decades, and it is likely a risk factor of prediabetes and diabetes. Correlated with obesity, the number of diabetic patients is also remarkable. A modest weight loss (5-10%) is critical to alleviate the risk of any other metabolic disease. Reduced energy intake has been an essential factor for weight loss reduction. As a new behavior intervention to lose weight, intermittent fasting (IF) attracts considerable attention and has become a popular strategy among young people. IF is a diet pattern that cycles between periods of fasting and eating on a regular schedule, involving various types, mainly Intermittent Energy Restriction and Time-Restricted Fasting. Accumulating evidence shows that short-term IF has a greatly positive effect in animal studies and contributes favorable benefits in human trials as well. Nevertheless, as an emerging, diverse, and relatively premature behavior intervention, there are still limited studies considering patients with obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus. It is also a controversial intervention for the treatment of metabolic disease and cancer. The risks and challenges appear consequently. Additionally, whether intermittent fasting can be applied to long-term clinical treatment, and whether it has side effects during the long-term period or not, demands more large-scale and long-term experiments.