Association Between Relative Quadriceps Strength and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Older Adults: The Yangpyeong Cohort of the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study.

BACKGROUND: To examine the independent and combined association between relative quadriceps strength and the prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in older adults. METHODS: Among 1441 Korean older adults aged ≥65 years (71 [4.7] y) recruited between 2007 and 2016, 1055 older adults with no history of myocardial infarction, stroke, or cancer were included in the analysis. Cases of T2DM were identified by self-reported physician diagnosis, use antihyperglycemic medication or insulin, or fasting blood glucose ≥126 mg/dL. Logistic regression was used to calculate the odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals of T2DM by quartiles of relative quadriceps strength. RESULTS: There were 162 T2DM cases (15%). Compared with the lowest quartile (weakest), the odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) of T2DM were 0.56 (0.34-0.90), 0.60 (0.37-0.96), and 0.47 (0.28-0.80) in the second, third, and fourth quartiles, respectively, after adjusting for possible confounders, including body mass index. In the joint analysis, compared with the "weak and overweight/obese" group, the odds (odds ratios [95% confidence intervals]) of T2DM was only lower in the "strong and normal weight" group (0.36 [0.22-0.60]) after adjusting for possible confounders. CONCLUSIONS: Greater relative quadriceps strength is associated with reduced odds of T2DM in older adults after adjusting for potential confounders including body mass index.

Associations between relative grip strength and type 2 diabetes mellitus: The Yangpyeong cohort of the Korean genome and epidemiology study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association between relative grip strength and the prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) independently and in combination with body mass index (BMI) in Korean adults. METHODS: The cross-sectional study includes 2,811 men and women (age 40 to 92 years old) with no history of heart disease, stroke, or cancer. Relative grip strength was measured by a handheld dynamometer and calculated by dividing absolute grip strength by body weight. Logistic regression analysis was used to calculate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of T2DM by sex-specific quintiles of relative grip strength. In a joint analysis, participants were classified into 4 groups: "weak (lowest 20% quintile one) and normal weight (BMI <25.0 kg/m2)", "weak and overweight/obese (BMI ≥25.0 kg/m2)", "strong (upper 80% four quintiles) and normal weight" or "strong and overweight/obese". RESULTS: Among the 2,811 participants, 371 were identified as having T2DM. Compared with the lowest quintile of relative grip strength (weakest), the ORs (95% CIs) of T2DM were 0.73 (0.53-1.02), 0.68 (0.48-0.97), 0.72 (0.50-1.03), and 0.48 (0.32-0.74) in upper quintiles two, three, four, and five, respectively, after adjusting for BMI and other potential confounders. In the joint analysis, compared with the "weak and overweight/obese" reference group, the odds of T2DM [ORs (95% CIs)] was lower in the "strong and overweight/obese" group [0.65 (0.46-0.92)] and the "strong and normal weight" group [0.49 (0.35-0.67)], after adjusting for potential confounders. CONCLUSION: In this cross-sectional study, greater relative grip strength was associated with a lower prevalence of T2DM independent of BMI in Korean adults. Additional prospective studies are needed to determine whether a causal association exists between relative grip strength and T2DM prevalence considering BMI.

Cadmium-induced ER stress and inflammation are mediated through C/EBP-DDIT3 signaling in human bronchial epithelial cells.

Cadmium (Cd), a major component of cigarette smoke, disrupts the normal functions of airway cells and can lead to the development of various pulmonary diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, the molecular mechanisms involved in Cd-induced pulmonary diseases are poorly understood. Here, we identified a cluster of genes that are altered in response to Cd exposure in human bronchial epithelial cells (BEAS-2B) and demonstrated that Cd-induced ER stress and inflammation are mediated via CCAAT-enhancer-binding proteins (C/EBP)-DNA-damaged-inducible transcript 3 (DDIT3) signaling in BEAS-2B cells. Cd treatment led to marked upregulation and downregulation of genes associated with the cell cycle, apoptosis, oxidative stress and inflammation as well as various signal transduction pathways. Gene set enrichment analysis revealed that Cd treatment stimulated the C/EBP signaling pathway and induced transcriptional activation of its downstream target genes, including DDIT3. Suppression of DDIT3 expression using specific small interfering RNA effectively alleviated Cd-induced ER stress and inflammatory responses in both BEAS-2B and normal primary normal human bronchial epithelial cells. Taken together, these data suggest that C/EBP signaling may have a pivotal role in the early induction of ER stress and inflammatory responses by Cd exposure and could be a molecular target for Cd-induced pulmonary disease.

Amylase level in extrahepatic bile duct in adult patients with choledochal cyst plus anomalous pancreatico-biliary ductal union.

AIM: To investigate the relationship between pancreatic amylase in bile duct and the clinico-pathological features in adult patients with choledochal cyst and anomalous pancreatico-biliary ductal union (APBDU). METHODS: From 39 patients who underwent surgery for choledochal cyst between March 1995 and March 2003, we selected 15 adult patients who had some symptoms and were radiologically diagnosed as APBDU, and their clinico-pathological features were subsequently evaluated retrospectively. However, we could not obtain biliary amylase in all the patients because of the surgeon's slip. Therefore, we measured the amylase level in gall bladder of 10 patients and in common bile duct of 11 patients. RESULTS: Levels of amylase in common bile duct and gall bladder ranged from 11,500 to 212,000 IU/L, and the younger the patients, the higher the biliary amylase level (r = -0.982, P<0.01). Pathologically, significant correlation was found between the size of choledochal cyst and the grade of inflammation (r = 0.798, P<0.01). And, significant correlation was found between the level of amylase in gall bladder and the grade of hyperplasia. On the other hand, there was no correlation to the age of symptomatic onset or inflammatory grade (r = 0.743, P<0.05). Level of lipase was elevated from 6,000 to 159,000 IU/L in bile duct and from 14,400 to 117,000 IU/L in the gall bladder; however, there was no significant correlation with age or clinico-pathological features. CONCLUSION: The results support the notion that amylase has a particular role in the onset of symptoms, and suggest that a large amount of biliary amylase induces early onset of symptom, thereby making early diagnosis possible.