Leisure-time physical activity and the incidence of atrial fibrillation in senior adults: a prospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: Whether physical activity could reduce the risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) remains unclear. This study was to investigate the relationship of leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) with AF incidence among Chinese older adults. METHODS: A total of 3253 participants aged ≥60 years from the Guangzhou Heart Study were successfully followed between March 2018 and September 2019. LTPA was assessed using a modified Global Physical Activity Questionnaire. AF was ascertained by 12-lead electrocardiograms, 24-hour single-lead Holter and clinical examination. The Cox proportional hazards model was used to the estimate hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) after adjustment for confounders, and the population-attributable fraction (PAF) was estimated. RESULTS: A total of 76 (2.34%) new-onset cases of AF were identified during a median of 31.13 months of follow-up. After adjustment for confounders, subjects who had LTPA at least 10.0 metabolic equivalent (MET)-hours/week had a 55% lower risk of developing AF (HR: 0.45, 95%CI: 0.25-0.81), and at least 20 MET-hours/week reduced the risk by 45% (HR: 0.55, 95%CI: 0.34-0.92). At least 11% (PAF: 11%, 95%CI: 0%-20%) or 14% (PAF: 14%, 95%CI: 0%-26%) of AF cases could be avoided, respectively, if the subjects do LTPA at least 10 MET-hours/week or 20 MET-hours/week. A significant exposure-response trend was also observed between LTPA and AF risk (Plinear-trend = 0.002). For a specific LTPA, doing housework was associated with a 43% reduced risk, while engaging in ball games was associated with an increased risk. CONCLUSION: This prospective cohort study indicated that a higher LTPA volume was associated with a lower AF risk in Chinese older adults.

Association of adiposity with risk of obstructive sleep apnea: a population-based study.

BACKGROUND: Obesity is a crucial risk factor for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), but the association between adiposity deposition and OSA risk has not reached a consistent conclusion. This study sought to reveal the association of multiple adiposity indicators with OSA risk. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 9,733 participants aged 35-74 years, recruited from an ongoing population-based cohort. OSA was assessed by the Berlin Questionnaire. Six adiposity indicators, including neck circumference (NC), body fat percentage (BF%), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), visceral adiposity index (VAI), lipid accumulation product (LAP), and resting metabolic rate (RMR), were selected. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to examine the association of adiposity indicators with OSA risk. RESULTS: One thousand six hundred twenty-six participants (16.71%) were classified into the OSA group. NC, BF%, WHR, VAI, LAP, and RMR were all positively associated with the risk of OSA after adjusting for confounders, regardless of age, sex, and history of dyslipidemia. Every 1-unit increment of NC, BF%, and VAI was associated with a 13%, 9%, and 14% increased risk of OSA, respectively; every 0.01-unit increment of WHR was associated with a 3% increased risk of OSA; every 10-unit increment of LAP and RMR was associated with 2% and 4% increased risk of OSA, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: NC, BF%, WHR, VAI, LAP, and RMR were all independently and positively associated with OSA risk, regardless of age, sex, history of dyslipidemia, and menopausal status. Application of these new indicators could help to more comprehensively reflect and predict the risk of OSA in the general population.

Serum osteoprotegerin measurement for early diagnosis of chronic kidney disease-mineral and bone disorder.

AIM: Chronic kidney disease-mineral and bone disorder (CKD-MBD) has been proposed to be the replacement of renal osteodystrophy by the Organization of Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes since 2005 because the mineral disorder is not confined to the skeleton in CKD. Accordingly, laboratory and imaging tests have been emphasized for the clinical assessment of patients with CKD besides renal biopsy. The objective of the current study was to investigate whether osteoprotegerin (OPG) could be made a useful biomarker for early diagnosis of CKD-MBD. METHODS: Sixty pre-dialysis patients with CKD 1-5 were enrolled in this study. The serum calcium, phosphorus, blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, alkaline phosphatase, Osteocalcin, Calcitonin, intact parathyroid hormone and OPG were measured. Bone mineral densities of the lumbar spine (L2-L4), femoral neck, Ward's triangle and trochanter were measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. RESULTS: Among all measured serum bone metabolism indexes, the changing of serum OPG level happened at the earliest time (CKD 3) and its correlation coefficient with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was also the highest (r = -0.601, P = 0.001). In the multivariable analysis that included sex, age and eGFR as controlling factors, the serum OPG correlated with the bone mineral density (BMD) of Ward's triangle (r = -0.390, P = 0.041). CONCLUSION: Serum OPG may be a useful biomarker for early diagnosis of CKD-MBD.

Diabetes mellitus and prostate cancer risk in Asian countries: a meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is widely considered to be associated with risk of cancer, but studies investigating the association between DM and prostate cancer in Asian countries have reported inconsistent findings. We examined this association by conducting a detailed meta-analysis of studies published on the subject. METHODS: Cohort or case-control studies were identified by searching Pubmed, Embase and Wanfang databases through May 30, 2012. Pooled relative risk (RR) with its corresponding 95% confidence interval (95% CI) were calculated using the random-effects model. Subgroup analyses were performed by the study type. RESULTS: Finally, we identified 7 studies (four cohort studies and three case-control studies) with a total of 1,751,274 subjects from Asians. DM was associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer in Asians (unadjusted RR= 2.82, 95% CI 1.73-4.58, P < 0.001; adjusted RR= 1.31, 95% CI 1.12-1.54, P = 0.001). Subgroup analyses by study design further confirmed an obvious association. CONCLUSION: Findings from this meta-analysis strongly support that diabetes is associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer in Asians.