The Fat-to-Lean Mass Ratio Is Associated with Hyperinsulinemia in Healthy Mexican Adolescents.

Objective: To evaluate whether the Fat-to-Lean Mass (FyM) ratio is associated to hyperinsulinemia in healthy adolescents.Methods: Apparently healthy adolescents aged 10 to 15 years that according to sex, age, and percentiles of body fat percent, were included and allocated into the groups with elevated (body fat percent ≥85 percentile) and normal total body fat (body fat percent <85 percentile). The FyM ratio was calculated as total lean mass (kg)/total body fat (kg) and hyperinsulinemia was defined by fasting insulin levels ≥20 µUI/mL.Results: A total of 1,299 adolescents, 665 (51.9%) girls and 634 (48.1%) boys, were enrolled and allocated into the groups with high (n = 439) and normal (n = 860) body fat. The FyM index remained significantly associated with hyperinsulinemia (OR 5.58; 95%CI: 1.54-28.10) after logistic regression analysis adjusted by sex, age, body-weight, body mass index, and waist circumference.Conclusion: The FyM index is highly associated to the presence of hyperinsulinemia in adolescents, emerging as a useful tool from anthropometric measurements for identify insulin abnormalities.

Lipoprotein(a) and Hyperinsulinemia in Healthy Normal-weight, Prepubertal Mexican Children.

Background. Given the numerous gaps in our knowledge about the biological interactions of lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)], we determined whether Lp(a) was associated with hyperinsulinemia in healthy normal-weight, prepubertal children.Methods. A total of 131 healthy normal-weight Mexican children aged 6 to 9 years at Tanner stage 1 who were born appropriate for gestational age were enrolled in a case-control study. Children with hyperinsulinemia were allocated into the case group (n = 32), and children with normal insulin levels were allocated into the control group (n = 99). Birth weight, age, and body mass index were matching criteria. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to compute the odds ratio (OR) between Lp(a) and both hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance. Furthermore, a multivariate linear regression analysis was performed to evaluate the association between Lp(a) and both insulin levels and HOMA-IR. Both models were adjusted by sex, age, birth weight, and body mass index.Results. The median (25-75 percentile) serum levels of Lp(a) [20.0 (13.7-29.6) versus 14.6 (10.6-26.7) mg/dL, p = .003] and insulin [24.5 (6.0-30) versus 7.9 (4.3-9.0) µU/L, p < .0005] were higher in the case group than in the control group. The logistic regression analysis showed that Lp(a) was associated with hyperinsulinemia (OR 5.86; 95%CI 2.5-13.6, p < .0005) and insulin resistance (OR 2.01; 95%CI 1.1-9.9, p = .004). In addition, the linear regression analysis showed a significant association between serum Lp(a) and insulin levels (ß 11.1; 95%CI 1.8-10.9, p < .0001) and the HOMA-IR index (ß 2.606; 95%CI 2.3-2.9, p < .0005).Conclusion. Lp(a) was associated with hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance in healthy normal-weight, prepubertal children.

The triglyceride and glucose index is a useful biomarker to recognize glucose disorders in apparently healthy children and adolescents.

It has been suggested that the triglyceride and glucose (TyG) index is an early indicator for type 2 diabetes (T2D) in adults. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate whether the TyG index is useful in the screening of glucose disorders (GD) in apparently healthy children and adolescents. Eligible participants were apparently healthy children and adolescents. Individuals with new diagnosis of GD were allocated into the study groups with impaired fasting glucose (IFG), impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), and T2D. Participants with normal glucose tolerance (NGT) were the control group. In total, 1872 children and adolescents were enrolled and allocated into the study groups. Diagnosis of NGT, IFG, IGT, and T2D was established in 1541 (82.3%), 256 (13.7%), 66 (3.5%), and 9 (0.4%) children, respectively. In girls, the best cutoff points of the TyG index for identifying IFG, IGT, and T2D were 4.51 (sensitivity 59.8%, specificity 59.8%), 4.55 (sensitivity 63.0%, specificity 64.3%), and 4.63 (sensitivity 75.0%, specificity 74.6%), respectively; and in boys were 4.52 (sensitivity 62.8%, specificity 64.2%), 4.54 (sensitivity 71.8%, specificity 65.1%), and 4.82 (sensitivity 91.0%, specificity 990.6%), respectively.Conclusion: Our results suggest that the TyG index may be a useful tool for screening GD in healthy children and adolescents.What is Known:• Prevalence of prediabetes and type 2 diabetes is increasing worldwide among young adults and adolescents.• Elevated fasting glucose and triglyceride concentrations have been recognized as independent risk factors for type 2 diabetes.What is New:• The TyG index exhibited highest sensitivity and specificity to detect impaired fasting glucose, impaired glucose tolerance, and type 2 diabetes.• The TyG index may be a useful tool for the screening of glucose disorders in apparently healthy children and adolescents.

The ratio potassium-to-magnesium intake and high blood pressure.

BACKGROUND: To analyse whether the weight ratio of potassium-to-magnesium intake is associated with incident high blood pressure, in otherwise healthy individuals. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 529 healthy individuals were enrolled in a cross-sectional study and allocated into following groups: group 1) potassium and magnesium intake within Recommended Dietary Allowance; group 2) magnesium intake as recommended and potassium intake below of recommended dietary allowance; group 3) potassium intake as recommended and magnesium intake below of recommended dietary allowance; and group 4) magnesium and potassium intake below recommended dietary allowance. Groups in study were matched by sodium and calcium intake. A "24 hours recall" questionnaire was used to register all intakes of food and drinks for two consecutive days. Multiple logistic regression analysis adjusted by sex, waist circumference, and triglycerides levels was used to compute the odds ratio between intakes of magnesium and potassium with the high blood pressure. RESULTS: High blood pressure was identified in 155 (29.3%) individuals. There were no statistical significant differences by obesity and overweight between the groups. As compared with individuals in the group 1, the potassium-to-magnesium ratio (odds ratio 0.88; 95%CI 0.85-0.93) but not the isolated magnesium and potassium intake per se, was inversely associated to high blood pressure in the subjects of group 4; individuals in the groups 2 and 3 showed no association. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that, in healthy individuals with magnesium and potassium intake below recommended dietary allowance, the high potassium-to-magnesium ratio is inversely associated with incident high blood pressure.

The triglycerides and glucose index is associated with elevated blood pressure in apparently healthy children and adolescents.

Prevalence of elevated blood pressure in pediatric population has been increasing worldwide. Thus, the aim of this study was to examine whether the triglycerides and glucose (TyG) index is associated with the presence of prehypertension or hypertension in children and adolescents. Apparently healthy children aged 6 to 15 years were enrolled in a population-based cross-sectional study. Participants were allocated into groups with normal blood pressure (NBP), prehypertension, and hypertension. Smoking, alcohol intake, pregnancy, previous diagnosis of diabetes, kidney, hepatic, or endocrine diseases were exclusion criteria. NBP was defined by systolic and/or diastolic blood pressure < 90th percentile, prehypertension by systolic and/or diastolic blood pressure ≥ 90th < 95th percentile, and hypertension by systolic and/or diastolic blood pressure ≥ 95th percentile, according to age, sex, and height percentiles. A total of 3589 children were enrolled, 1748 (49%) girls and 1841 (51%) boys, and allocated into groups with NBP (n = 2874), prehypertension (n = 271), and hypertension (n = 444). The multiple logistic regression analysis stratified by age and adjusted by the Z-score/SDS of body mass index and waist circumference showed that elevated TyG index was significantly associated with prehypertension (OR = 1.48; 95% CI: 1.08-2.05) and hypertension (OR = 1.63; 95% CI: 1.26-2.11).Conclusion: The results of the present study shows that the elevated TyG index is significantly associated with the presence of prehypertension and hypertension in children and adolescents. What is Known: • Prevalence of elevated blood pressure in children and adolescents has been increasing worldwide. • Insulin resistance plays a key role in the pathogenesis of hypertension. What is New: • The elevated TyG index is significantly associated with the presence of prehypertension in children aged 6-9 years and adolescents aged 10-15 years. • The elevated TyG index is significantly associated with the presence of hypertension in children aged 6-9 years and adolescents aged 10-15 years.

Adipocytokines and High Blood Pressure in Mexican Children.

Given that adipocytokines may play an important role in the pathophysiology of high blood pressure (HBP) and because related reports in children are scarce and controversial, we evaluated the relationship of leptin, resistin, tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-6, adiponectin, and interferon-γ with HBP. Materials and Methods. A total of 129 (53.8%) girls and 111 (46.2%) boys, with average ages of 10.8 ± 0.9 and 10.6 ± 1.0 years, respectively, were enrolled in a cross-sectional study. HBP was defined by systolic blood pressure (SBP) and/or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) between the 90th and 95th percentiles. A multivariate logistic regression backwards-stepwise analysis adjusted for body mass index, waist circumference, and triglyceride levels was performed to compute the association between adipocytokines and HBP. Results. Seventy-two (30.0%) participants showed HBP: 44 (61.1%) girls and 28 (38.9%) boys. Multivariate analysis showed that, irrespective of obesity, serum levels of adiponectin, but not those of other adipocytokines, are inversely associated with HBP (odds ratio 0.93; 95% CI 0.77 to 0.98, p = .04). Conclusions. Our results show that low serum adiponectin levels, but not those of other adipocytokines, are inversely associated with HBP; this association is independent of obesity.

Hypertriglyceridemia is associated with impaired fasting glucose in normal-weight children.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have suggested that elevated triglyceride levels may precede the appearance of glucose metabolic disturbances in adults; nonetheless, this hypothesis has not been tested in children. Hence, we evaluated whether hypertriglyceridemia is associated with impaired fasting glucose (IFG) in normal-weight children. METHODS: Normal-weight healthy children aged 7-15 years were enrolled in a population-based cross-sectional population study and allocated into groups with and without hypertriglyceridemia. Hypertriglyceridemia was defined by serum triglyceride levels ≥100 and ≥130 mg/dL for children aged 7-9 and 10-15 years, respectively, and IFG by fasting plasma glucose levels ≥100 and <126 mg/dL. RESULTS: A total of 1453 children with average age of 11.3 ± 2.4 years were enrolled in the study and allocated into the groups with (n = 172) and without (n = 1281) hypertriglyceridemia. In the overall population, the prevalence of hypertriglyceridemia and IFG was 11.8% and 11.2%, respectively. The logistic regression analysis adjusted by age, gender, BMI, waist circumference, and insulin levels showed that hypertriglyceridemia is associated with IFG in children aged 10-15 years (odds ratio (OR) = 1.67; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.02-2.77, p = 0.04) but not in those aged 7-9 years (OR = 1.48; 95% CI: 0.39-5.58, p = 0.55). CONCLUSION: Hypertriglyceridemia is associated with IFG in normal-weight children aged 10-15 years, but not in those aged 7-9 years.

The triglycerides and glucose index is associated with cardiovascular risk factors in normal-weight children and adolescents.

BackgroundGiven the usefulness of the product of triglycerides and glucose (TyG) to recognize individuals at high risk for developing cardiovascular events, the aim of this study was to determine whether the TyG index is associated with the presence of cardiovascular risk factors in apparently healthy normal-weight children and adolescents.MethodsApparently healthy children and adolescents with normal weight, aged 6-15 years, were enrolled in a population-based cross-sectional study. The children were allocated into groups with and without cardiovascular risk factors. Cardiovascular risk factors were considered as the occurrence of at least one of the following: elevated blood pressure, hypertriglyceridemia, low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), or hyperglycemia.ResultsA total of 2,117 children and adolescents were enrolled in the study; of them, 1,078 (50.9%) participants exhibited cardiovascular risk. The adjusted logistic regression analysis showed that elevated TyG index was significantly associated with hypertriglyceridemia (odds ratio (OR)=96.45, 95% confidence interval (CI): 48.44-192.04), low HDL-C (OR=2.07, 95% CI: 1.46-2.92), and hyperglycemia (OR=3.11, 95% CI: 2.05-4.72), but not with elevated blood pressure (OR=1.39, 95% CI: 0.89-2.16).ConclusionThe elevated TyG index is associated with the presence of cardiovascular risk factors in healthy normal-weight children and adolescents.

Effect of magnesium supplementation on lipid profile: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

PURPOSE: We performed a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in order to evaluate the effect of oral magnesium supplementation on lipid profile of both diabetic and non-diabetic individuals. METHODS: PubMed-Medline, SCOPUS, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases were searched (from inception to February 23, 2016) to identify RCTs evaluating the effect of magnesium on lipid concentrations. A random-effects model and generic inverse variance method were used for quantitative data synthesis. Sensitivity analysis was conducted using the leave-one-out method. A weighted random-effects meta-regression was performed to evaluate the impact of potential confounders on lipid concentrations. RESULTS: Magnesium treatment was not found to significantly affect plasma concentrations of any of the lipid indices including total cholesterol (WMD 0.03 mmol/L, 95% CI -0.11, 0.16, p = 0.671), LDL-C (WMD -0.01 mmol/L, 95% CI -0.13, 0.11, p = 0.903), HDL-C (WMD 0.03 mmol/L, 95% CI -0.003, 0.06, p = 0.076), and triglycerides concentrations (WMD -0.10 mmol/L, 95% CI -0.25, 0.04, p = 0.149). In a subgroup analysis comparing studies with and without diabetes, no difference was observed between subgroups in terms of changes in plasma total cholesterol (p = 0.924), LDL-C (p = 0.161), HDL-C (p = 0.822), and triglyceride (p = 0.162) concentrations. CONCLUSIONS: Results of the present meta-analysis indicated that magnesium supplementation showed no significant effects on the lipid profile of either diabetic or non-diabetic individuals.

Hyperuricemia is associated with the increase of insulin release in non-obese subjects with normal glucose tolerance.

AIM: To determine whether hyperuricemia is associated with the early phase and late phase of insulin release in apparently healthy non-obese subjects with normal glucose tolerance. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A population-based cross-sectional study was performed. Apparently healthy individuals aged 20 to 65 years were eligible to participate. Smoking, alcohol intake ≥30 g per day, obesity, glomerulopathies, hepatic disease, malignancy, cardiovascular disease, and medical treatment in the last 3 months, were exclusion criteria. Hyperuricemia was defined by fasting uric acid levels ≥6 mg/dL and ≥7 mg/dL for women and men, respectively. Insulin release was evaluated by estimating the early and late phases of insulin release. The association between hyperuricemia (independent variables) and insulin release (dependent variables) was estimated using multiple linear regression analysis. RESULTS: A total of 123 subjects, without significant differences in age (32.4 ± 12.8 and 34.7 ± 9.9 y), body mass index (25.3 ± 3.7 and 24.7 ± 3.0 kg/m2), and waist circumference (94.6 ± 9.7 and 90.2 ± 9.3 cm), were allocated into the groups with (n = 25) and without (n = 98) hyperuricemia. The linear regression model, adjusted by HOMA-IR and triglyceride levels, showed a significant association of hyperuricemia with both the early phase (B = 508.8; 95%CI 253.3-764.4, p<0.001) and late phase of insulin release (B = 35.0; 95%CI 8.7-61.3, p = 0.009). CONCLUSIONS: Hyperuricemia is associated with the increase of early and late phases of insulin release in apparently healthy non-obese subjects with normal glucose tolerance.

Low Serum Magnesium Levels and Its Association with High Blood Pressure in Children.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association of hypomagnesemia with prehypertension (preHTN) and hypertension in children. STUDY DESIGN: A total of 3954 apparently healthy Mexican children were enrolled in a cross-sectional study. Exclusion criteria were type 2 diabetes; hepatic, renal, or endocrine disease; impaired fasting glucose; chronic diarrhea; and intake of vitamins or magnesium supplements in the previous 6 months. preHTN was defined by systolic and/or diastolic blood pressure ≥90th to <95th percentile and hypertension by systolic and/or diastolic blood pressure ≥95th percentile, according to age, sex, and height percentile. Hypomagnesemia was defined by serum magnesium concentration <1.8 mg/dL (<0.74 mmol/L). To control for potential sources of bias related to age, participants were allocated into 2 groups, aged 6-10 years and 11-15 years. RESULTS: The prevalence of preHTN and hypertension was 12.2% and 6.4%, respectively, in children aged 6-10 years and 13.9% and 10.6% in those aged 11-15 years. Hypomagnesemia was identified in 59 children with preHTN (27.3%) and 52 (45.6%) with hypertension in the 6-10 year age group, and in 115 children with preHTN (36.0%) and 109 (49.6%) with hypertension in the 11-15 year age group. Adjusted multiple logistic regression analysis showed that in children in both age groups, hypomagnesemia was associated with both preHTN (6-10 years: OR, 2.18, P < .0005; 11-15 years: OR, 1.38, P = .018) and hypertension (6-10 years: OR, 4.87, P < .0005; 11-15 years: OR, 1.83, P = .0002). CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that serum magnesium level <1.8 mg/dL is significantly associated with preHTN and hypertension in apparently healthy children.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials on the effects of magnesium supplementation on insulin sensitivity and glucose control.

A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the effect of oral magnesium supplementation on insulin sensitivity and glucose control in both diabetic and non-diabetic individuals. PubMed-Medline, SCOPUS, Web of Science and Google Scholar databases were searched (from inception to November 25, 2015) to identify RCTs evaluating the effect of magnesium on insulin sensitivity and glucose control. A random-effects model and generic inverse variance method were used to compensate for the heterogeneity of studies. Publication bias, sensitivity analysis, and meta-regression assessments were conducted using standard methods. The impact of magnesium supplementation on plasma concentrations of glucose, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), insulin, and HOMA-IR index was assessed in 22, 14, 12 and 10 treatment arms, respectively. A significant effect of magnesium supplementation was observed on HOMA-IR index (WMD: -0.67, 95% CI: -1.20, -0.14, p=0.013) but not on plasma glucose (WMD: -0.20mmol/L, 95% CI: -0.45, 0.05, p=0.119), HbA1c (WMD: 0.018mmol/L, 95% CI: -0.10, 0.13, p=0.756), and insulin (WMD: -2.22mmol/L, 95% CI: -9.62, 5.17, p=0.556). A subgroup analysis comparing magnesium supplementation durations of <4 months versus ≥4 months, exhibited a significant difference for fasting glucose concentrations (p<0.001) and HOMA-IR (p=0.001) in favor of the latter subgroup. Magnesium supplementation for ≥4 months significantly improves the HOMA-IR index and fasting glucose, in both diabetic and non-diabetic subjects. The present findings suggest that magnesium may be a beneficial supplement in glucose metabolic disorders.

The product of triglycerides and glucose as biomarker for screening simple steatosis and NASH in asymptomatic women.

UNLABELLED:  Introduction and aim. Given that early identification of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is an important issue for primary prevention of hepatic disease, the objectives of this study were to evaluate the efficacy of the product of triglyceride and glucose levels (TyG) for screening simple steatosis and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) in asymptomatic women, and to compare its efficacy vs. other biomarkers for recognizing NAFLD. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Asymptomatic women aged 20 to 65 years were enrolled into a cross-sectional study. The optimal values of TyG, for screening simple steatosis and NASH were established on a Receiver Operating Characteristic scatter plot; the sensitivity, specificity, and likelihood ratios of TyG index were estimated versus liver biopsy. According sensitivity and specificity, the efficacy of TyG was compared versus the well-known clinical biomarkers for recognizing NAFLD. RESULTS: A total of 50 asymptomatic women were enrolled. The best cutoff point of TyG for screening simple steatosis was 4.58 (sensitivity 0.94, specificity 0.69); in addition, the best cutoff point of TyG index for screening NASH was 4.59 (sensitivity 0.87, specificity 0.69). The positive and negative likelihood ratios were 3.03 and 0.08 for simple steatosis, and 2.80 and 0.18 for NASH. As compared versus SteatoTest, NashTest, Fatty liver index, and Algorithm, the TyG showed to be the best test for screening. CONCLUSIONS: TyG has high sensitivity and low negative likelihood ratio; as compared with other clinical biomarkers, the TyG showed to be the best test for screening simple steatosis and NASH.

Risk of microalbuminuria in relatives of subjects with diabetic nephropathy: a predictive model based on multivariable dimensionality reduction approach.

AIM: To evaluate a predictive model of microalbuminuria by using anthropometric, clinical and genetic variables in relatives of subjects with diabetic nephropathy. METHODS: Eligible subjects, aged 18-63 years with body mass index<35 kg/m2, and first degree relatives of patients with type 2 diabetes and diabetic nephropathy were enrolled in a cross-sectional study. A total of 70 individuals with microalbuminuria were compared with 60 individuals without microalbuminuria. Based on a morning urinary sample, microalbuminuria was defined as albumin≥30<300 mg/dL. Genotyping of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) G-174C of IL6 (rs1800795), G-308A of TNF (rs1800629), and Pro12Ala of PPARγ2 (rs1801282) genes were determined. The multivariable dimensionality reduction analysis was performed using the software multifactor dimensionality reduction package. RESULTS: The multivariable dimensionality reduction analysis showed that obesity and SNP G-308A of TNF gene exhibited main effects with 1.10 and 1.98% of information gain (IG), respectively. The IL6 showed synergy (interaction) with HDL-c (IG 1.27%) and sex (IG 1.02%); also high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and triglycerides levels showed synergy (IG 1.08%). The consistency of the cross-validation for this model was 0.6836, with sensitivity and specificity of 0.58 and 0.76 (odds ratio 4.64; 95% CI 4.0-10.0, p<0.0001). CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that obesity and/or high blood pressure, in synergism with high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, is the main predictive risk factor of diabetic nephropathy in healthy subjects, relatives of patients with type 2 diabetes and diabetic nephropathy.

Relationship between elevated triglyceride levels with the increase of HOMA-IR and HOMA-ß in healthy children and adolescents with normal weight.

UNLABELLED: To test the hypothesis that mildly elevated triglyceride levels are associated with the increase of homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and ß-cell function (HOMA-ß) indices in healthy children and adolescents with normal weight, we conducted a cross-sectional population study. Based on fasting triglyceride levels, participants were allocated into groups with and without triglyceride levels ≥1.2 mmol/L. Normal weight was defined by body mass index between the 15th and 85th percentiles, for age and gender. Insulin resistance and insulin secretion were estimated using HOMA-IR and HOMA-ß indices. A total of 1660 children and adolescents were enrolled, of them 327 (19.7%) with mildly elevated triglycerides. The multivariate linear regression analysis showed that mildly elevated triglyceride levels in children were associated with HOMA-IR (ß = 0.214, p < 0.001), HOMA-ß (ß = 0.139, p = 0.001), systolic (ß = 0.094, p = 0.01), and diastolic blood pressure (ß = 0.102, p = 0.007), whereas in adolescents, HOMA-IR (ß = 0.267, p < 0.001) and HOMA-ß (ß = 0.154, p < 0.001), but not systolic (ß = 0.029, p = 0.38) and diastolic blood pressure (ß = 0.015, p = 0.642), showed association with mildly elevated triglycerides. CONCLUSION: Mildly elevated triglyceride levels are associated with increased HOMA-IR and HOMA-ß indices in healthy children and adolescents with normal weight.

The hypertriglyceridemia is associated with isolated impaired glucose tolerance in subjects without insulin resistance.

AIM OF THE STUDY: The objective of this study was to determine if hypertriglyceridemia is associated with isolated impaired glucose tolerance in subjects without insulin resistance. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 365 apparently healthy individuals aged 20-65 years were enrolled in a population-based cross-sectional study. Subjects were allocated into the groups with and without hypertriglyceridemia. Age, gender, body mass index, and waist circumference were matched criteria. Individuals with impaired fasting glucose, impaired fasting glucose+impaired glucose tolerance, diabetes, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance index ≥ 2.5, and/or chronic illnesses such as renal disease or malignancy were excluded. Hypertriglyceridemia was defined by triglycerides levels ≥ 150 mg/dL. Impaired glucose tolerance was defined by plasma glucose concentration 2-h post-load glucose ≥ 140 mg/dL <200 mg/dL. Subjects with impaired glucose tolerance were required to have fasting plasma glucose levels <100 mg/dL. Logistic regression analysis was used to compute the odds ratio between hypertriglyceridemia (independent variable) and impaired glucose tolerance (dependent variable). RESULTS: A total of 132 and 233 subjects were allocated into the groups with and without hypertriglyceridemia, respectively. The frequency of impaired glucose tolerance was 13.6% and 5.6% in the individuals with and without hypertriglyceridemia, p = 0.01. The logistic regression analysis adjusted by gender, blood pressure, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol showed that hypertriglyceridemia is significantly associated with impaired glucose tolerance (OR 2.34; 95% CI: 1.02-5.32, p = 0.04). CONCLUSION: Results of this study indicate that hypertriglyceridemia is independently associated with isolated impaired glucose tolerance in subjects without insulin resistance.

Low birthweight and elevated levels of lipoprotein(a) in prepubertal children.

AIM: To evaluate whether healthy prepubertal children with low birthweight (LBW) exhibited higher serum levels of lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)) than did those with normal birthweight (NBW). METHODS: A total of 350 healthy children aged 6 to 9 years and in Tanner stage 1 were enrolled in a community-based cross-sectional study. Family history of hypertension, diabetes or cardiovascular disease (CVD) in parents and grandparents; active smoking; a diagnosis of acute or chronic illness; and intake of vitamins or nutritional supplements were exclusion criteria. The cut-off point for Lp(a) was 0.79 µmol/L. RESULTS: LBW was identified in 51 (14.6%) children. In total, 42 (12.0%) children had elevated Lp(a) levels, with 25 (49.0%) and 17 (5.7%) in the LBW and NBW groups, respectively (P < 0.0005). None of the children had adverse cardiovascular outcomes. Average body mass index (BMI) (17.1 ± 3.3 and 18.8 ± 3.9, P = 0.001), glucose levels (4.5 ± 0.5 and 4.8 ± 0.4 mmol/L, P = 0.007), insulin levels (67.4 ± 45.1 and 86.1 ± 54.9 pmol/L, P = 0.02), and Lp(a) levels (0.52 ± 0.21 and 1.40 ± 0.49 µmol/L, P < 0.0005) were higher in the children with LBW than in the children with NBW. A multivariate analysis adjusted by age, sex, raw BMI, BMI standard deviation score and insulin level showed a significant association between LBW and elevated levels of Lp(a) (odds ratio 8.02, 95% confidence interval 7.3-21.3; P < 0.0005). CONCLUSIONS: LBW was shown to be strongly associated with elevated serum levels of Lp(a).

Insulin secretion is increased in non-diabetic subjects with fasting hypertriglyceridaemia.

BACKGROUND: The elevation of triglycerides is strongly linked with insulin resistance, but it has not been evaluated in relationship to insulin secretion. The aim of this study was to determine whether hypertriglyceridaemia is associated with abnormal insulin secretion. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out. Eligible subjects, apparently healthy men and non-pregnant women aged 20-65 years were recruited. According to the triglyceride levels, subjects were allocated in the groups with hypertriglyceridaemia and normotriglyceridaemia. Hypertriglyceridaemia was defined by serum triglyceride levels ≥150 mg/dL. Insulin secretion was evaluated by the first phase of insulin secretion (1st PIS) and the second phase of insulin secretion (2nd PIS). A regression linear analysis was performed to evaluate the association between hypertriglyceridaemia (independent variable) and the first and second phase insulin secretion (dependent variables). RESULTS: A total of 247 apparently healthy subjects were enrolled; 113 (45.7%) with hypertriglyceridaemia and 134 (54.3%) in the control group. The simple regression linear analysis showed a significant association between hypertriglyceridaemia and the 1st PIS [B = 207.0; 95% confidence interval (CI) 33.5-380.5, p = 0.02] and the 2nd PIS (B = 48.7; 95% CI 9.2-88.2, p = 0.01). A multiple regression linear analysis adjusted by age, sex, body mass index and waist circumference was performed showing that fasting hypertriglyceridaemia remained significantly associated with the 1st PIS (B = 184.3; 95% CI 13.0-355.7, p = 0.03) and the 2nd PIS (B = 43.1; 95% CI 4.2-81.9, p = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study show that hypertriglyceridaemia is associated with the increase of the 1st PIS and the 2nd PIS in apparently healthy subjects.