RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between uric acid and metabolic syndrome (MetS) in elderly women. METHODS: A total of 468 women aged ≥60 years participating in a health examination were enrolled. The association between uric acid and MetS and its individual variables was evaluated by univariate and multivariate logistic regression models. RESULTS: A dose-response relationship was observed for the prevalence of MetS and uric acid quartiles. Subjects in the second, third and fourth quartile of uric acid had a 2.23-fold, 2.25-fold and 4.41-fold increased risk, respectively, of MetS than those in the first uric acid quartile (p for trend <0.001). Furthermore, each 1 mg/dl increment of serum uric acid level had a 1.38-fold increased risk of MetS (OR 1.38; 95% CI, 1.14-1.69; p=0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Our present study demonstrated that elevated uric acid was positively associated with the prevalence of MetS in elderly women. Further random control trials are needed to elucidate the effectiveness of treatment of hyperuricaemia in reducing the incidence of MetS in elderly women.
RESUMO
The aim of the present study was to compare the health outcomes of catheter ablation therapy against those of antiarrhythmic drugs (AADs) in the management of atrial fibrillation (AF). The effects of catheter ablation and AADs on a number of parameters were compared, including AF recurrence, all-cause mortality, stroke/transient ischemic attack (TIA) and quality of life (QoL). A systematic literature search of PubMed, Embase and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials was conducted to obtain relevant randomized controlled trials. The relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of AF recurrence, all-cause mortality and stroke/TIA between catheter ablation and AADs were subsequently calculated. Weighted mean differences (WMDs) and 95% CIs were used to evaluate the QoL between the two therapy groups. In total, 11 randomized trials, which included 1,763 AF patients, were eligible for the meta-analysis. Overall, the results indicated that catheter ablation produces superior outcomes compared with AADs in reducing AF recurrence (RR, 0.47; 95% CI, 0.38-0.58; P<0.001) and improving the QoL (physical component summary: WMD, 2.23; 95% CI, 0.24-4.21; P=0.03; mental component summary: WMD, 2.69; 95% CI, 0.04-5.35; P=0.05). However, no statistically significant difference was identified between the two groups with regard to the incidence of all-cause mortality (RR, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.37-2.06; P=0.76) and stroke/TIA (RR, 1.83; 95% CI, 0.73-4.55; P=0.20). In summary, catheter ablation was demonstrated to markedly reduce AF recurrence and improve QoL when compared with AAD therapy. However, the incidence rates of all-cause mortality and stroke/TIA were comparable between catheter ablation and AAD therapy.
RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: Many investigations have studied the associations between matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) C1562T polymorphisms and coronary artery disease (CAD). However, the conclusions of these studies were inconsistent. Therefore, this study was aimed at clarifying the association between MMP-9 C1562T polymorphisms and CAD in a large-scale meta-analysis. METHODS: The PubMed and Embase databases were retrieved to collect all publications on the association between MMP-9 C1562T polymorphisms and CAD. Then the odd ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) for C1562T TT+TC versus CC genotype between CAD and the control groups were evaluated. Subgroup analysis was also performed according to different races. The meta-analysis was performed by Stata 10.0. RESULTS: Sixteen case-control studies were included in our meta-analysis, involving 11032 CAD patients and 4628 non-CAD controls. Compared with C allele carriers, East Asian T allele carriers TT+TC had a significantly higher risk of CAD (OR=1.43; 95% CI: 1.03-1.99; P=0.031); however, there were no significant associations in Western populations (OR=1.06; 95% CI: 0.96-1.18; P=0.240) or West Asians (OR=1.13; 95% CI: 0.75-1.70; P=0.565). When further analyzing the association between C1562T polymorphisms and myocardial infarction (MI, the most serious type of CAD), the risk of TT+TC genotype versus CC genotype for MI was significantly higher for the overall (OR=1.21; 95% CI: 1.04-1.40; P=0.012) and for East Asians (OR=1.58; 95% CI: 1.26-1.97; P=0.000) but not in Western populations (OR=1.12; 95% CI: 0.99-1.26; P=0.078). CONCLUSIONS: Our meta-analysis suggested an obvious ethnic difference in the association between MMP-9 C1562T polymorphisms and CAD. MMP-9 C1562T polymorphism was significantly related to CAD in East Asians. However, no significant associations were observed in either West Asians or Western populations.