Global Epidemiology of Gallstones in the 21st Century: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Gallstones are common and associated with substantial health and economic burden. We aimed to comprehensively evaluate the prevalence and incidence of gallstones in the 21st century. METHODS: We systematically searched PubMed and Embase to identify studies reporting the prevalence and/or incidence of gallstones between January 1, 2000, and November 18, 2023. Pooled prevalence and incidence were calculated using DerSimonian and Laird's random-effects model. We performed subgroup analyses and meta-regression based on age, sex, geographic location, population setting, and modality of detection to examine sources of heterogeneity. RESULTS: Based on 115 studies with 32,610,568 participants, the pooled prevalence of gallstones was 6.1% (95% CI, 5.6-6.5). Prevalence was higher in females vs males (7.6% vs 5.4%), in South America vs Asia (11.2% vs 5.1%), in upper-middle-income countries vs high-income countries (8.9% vs 4.0%), and with advancing age. On sensitivity analysis of population-based studies, the prevalence of gallstones was 5.5% (95% CI, 4.1-7.4; n = 44 studies), and when limiting subgroup analysis to imaging-based detection modalities, the prevalence was 6.7% (95% CI, 6.1-7.3; n = 101 studies). Prevalence has been stable over the past 20 years. Based on 12 studies, the incidence of gallstones was 0.47 per 100 person-years (95% CI, 0.37-0.51), without differences between males and females, and with increasing incidence in more recent studies. CONCLUSIONS: Globally, 6% of the population have gallstones, with higher rates in females and in South America. The incidence of gallstones may be increasing. Our findings call for prioritizing research on the prevention of gallstones.

Impacts of local soil and vehicle NOx emissions on ground-level NO2 concentrations on a university campus in the city of Shenyang, China.

Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is a ubiquitous atmospheric pollutant, and fossil fuel combustion is generally considered its predominant source in and around urban areas. As the total nitrogen deposition is high over here, soil NOx emissions from urban green space might also be an important local source of ground-level NO2. In this study, Willems badge samplers were employed to monitor the spatial and seasonal variations of 2-week mean atmospheric NO2 concentrations at a height of 1.7 m on an urban campus in Northeast China from November 2020 to December 2021. We found considerable small-scale spatial variations of ground-level NO2 concentrations on the campus during the growing season, with local soil NOx emissions as the main driver. According to its linear correlation with green space coverage, the increment in ground-level NO2 concentration was partitioned into two components, with one ascribed to the local soil source (referred to as NO2-Isoil) and the other the local vehicle source (NO2-Ivehicle). NO2-Isoil generally reached a maximum (as high as 25.6 µg/m3) during early spring, while its ratio to the background value generally reached a maximum (could be >1) during late spring and could reach 0.52 to 0.92 during summer. Therefore, soil NOx emissions were an important source of ground-level NO2 on the campus, with the contribution even higher than those of other anthropogenic sources during late spring. Even with light traffic on the campus, NO2-Ivehicle could reach 0.48 times the background value at a site with high frequencies of warm starts.

Flavonol glycoside complanatoside A requires FOXO/DAF-16, NRF2/SKN-1, and HSF-1 to improve stress resistances and extend the life span of Caenorhabditis elegans.

Aging is associated with the increased risk of most age-related diseases in humans. Complanatoside A (CA) is a flavonoid compound isolated from the herbal medicine Semen Astragali Complanati. CA was reported to have potential anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative activities. In this study, we investigated whether CA could increase the stress resistance capability and life span of Caenorhabditis elegans. Our results showed that CA could extend the longevity of C. elegans in a dosage-dependent manner, while 50 µM of CA has the best effect and increased the life span of C. elegans by about 16.87%. CA also improved the physiological functions in aging worms, such as enhanced locomotor capacity, and reduced the accumulation of the aging pigment. CA could also reduce the accumulation of toxic proteins (α-synuclein and ß-amyloid) and delay the onset of neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, in models of C. elegans. Further investigation has revealed that CA requires DAF-16/FOXO, SKN-1, and HSF-1 to extend the life span of C. elegans. CA could increase the antioxidation and detoxification activities regulated by transcription factor SKN-1 and the heat resistance by activating HSF-1 that mediated the expression of the chaperone heat shock proteins. Our results suggest that CA is a potential antiaging agent worth further research for its pharmacological mechanism and development for pharmaceutical applications.

Trigonelline Extends the Lifespan of C. Elegans and Delays the Progression of Age-Related Diseases by Activating AMPK, DAF-16, and HSF-1.

Trigonelline is the main alkaloid with bioactivity presented in fenugreek, which was used in traditional medicine in Asian countries for centuries. It is reported that trigonelline has anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, and anti-pathogenic effects. We are wondering whether trigonelline have anti-aging effect. We found that 50 µM of trigonelline had the best anti-aging activity and could prolong the lifespan of Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) by about 17.9%. Trigonelline can enhance the oxidative, heat, and pathogenic stress resistance of C. elegans. Trigonelline could also delay the development of neurodegenerative diseases, such as AD, PD, and HD, in models of C. elegans. Trigonelline could not prolong the lifespan of long-lived worms with loss-of-function mutations in genes regulating energy and nutrition, such as clk-1, isp-1, eat-2, and rsks-1. Trigonelline requires daf-16, hsf-1, and aak-2 to extend the lifespan of C. elegans. Trigonelline can also up-regulate the expression of daf-16 and hsf-1 targeted downstream genes, such as sod-3, gst-4, hsp-16.1, and hsp-12.6. Our results can be the basis for developing trigonelline-rich products with health benefits, as well as for further research on the pharmacological usage of trigonelline.