Race- and sex-specific association between alcohol consumption and hypertension in 22 cohort studies: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The alcohol-hypertension relation has been well documented, but whether women have protective effect or race and type of beverage consumed affect the association remain unclear. To quantify the relation between total or beverage-specific alcohol consumption and incident hypertension by considering the effect of sex and race. METHODS AND RESULTS: Articles were identified in PubMed and Embase databases with no restriction on publication date. Pooled relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated by random effects models. Restricted cubic splines were used to model the dose-response association. This study involved 22 articles (31 studies) and included 414,477 participants. The hypertension risk was different among liquor, wine, and beer at 5.1-10 g/d of ethanol consumption (P-across subgroups = 0.002). The hypertension risk differed between men (RR: 1.14, 95% CI: 1.07, 1.20) and women (RR: 0.98, 95% CI: 0.89, 1.06) at 10 g/d (P-across subgroups = 0.005). We found a linear alcohol-hypertension association among white (P-linearity = 0.017), black people (P-linearity = 0.035), and Asians (P-linearity<0.001). With 10 g/d increment of consumption, the RRs for hypertension were 1.06 (95% CI: 1.04, 1.08), 1.14 (95% CI: 1.01, 1.28), and 1.06 (95% CI: 1.01, 1.10) for Asians, black, and white people, respectively. CONCLUSION: Sex modifies the alcohol-hypertension association at low level of alcohol consumption and we did not find evidence of a protective effect of alcohol consumption among women. Black people may have higher hypertension risk than Asians and white people at the same ethanol consumption.

Birth weight and risk of type 2 diabetes: A dose-response meta-analysis of cohort studies.

The association between birth weight and type 2 diabetes mellitus has been debated for several decades. The objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to quantitatively clarify the association between birth weight and risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus based on cohort studies. We searched PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase databases for cohort study articles on the association between birth weight and risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus published up to 1 March 2018. Random effects of generalized least square regression models were used to estimate relative risk (RR). Restricted cubic splines were conducted to model the dose-response relationship. We included 21 studies (19 articles) involving 1 041 879 individuals and 35 699 cases of type 2 diabetes mellitus, with follow-up ranged from 6 to 47 years. We identified significant decreasing trend for the highest versus lowest category of birth weight for the association with type 2 diabetes mellitus risk: The risk was reduced by 35% (RR, 0.65; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.53-0.81) and by 12% (RR 0.88; 95% CI, 0.85-0.91) per 500-g increment in birth weight. Our results showed a dose-response relationship between birth weight and diabetes risk, which was nonlinear (Pnonlinearity  < 0.001) and L-shaped. With increasing birth weight (<5000 g), the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus decreased substantially. The association between birth weight and type 2 diabetes mellitus was curvilinear and L-shaped.

The association between fasting plasma glucose and all-cause and cause-specific mortality by gender: The rural Chinese cohort study.

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the association between fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and mortality by gender. METHODS: A total of 17 248 eligible participants from a rural Chinese prospective cohort population were included. The same questionnaire interview and anthropometric and laboratory measurements were performed at both baseline (2007-2008) and follow-up (2013-2014). Participants were classified according to baseline FPG and diabetic status by sex. Restricted cubic splines and Cox proportional-hazards regression models, estimating hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI), were used to assess the FPG-mortality relation. RESULTS: During the 6-year follow-up, 618 men and 489 women died. The FPG-mortality relation was J shaped for both sexes. For men, risk of all-cause and noncardiovascular disease (CVD)/noncancer mortality was greater with low fasting glucose (LFG) than with normal fasting glucose (adjusted HR [aHR] 1.60; 95% CI, 1.05-2.43; and aHR 2.16; 95% CI, 1.15-4.05). Men with diabetes mellitus (DM) showed increased risk of all-cause (aHR 2.04; 95% CI, 1.60-2.60), CVD (aHR 1.98; 95% CI, 1.36-2.89), and non-CVD/noncancer mortality (aHR 2.62; 95% CI, 1.76-3.91). Men with impaired fasting glucose (IFG) had borderline risk of CVD mortality (aHR 1.34; 95% CI, 1.00-1.79). Women with LFG had increased risk of non-CVD/noncancer mortality (aHR 2.27; 95% CI, 1.04-4.95), and women with DM had increased risk of all-cause (aHR 1.73; 95% CI, 1.35-2.23), CVD (aHR 1.76; 95% CI, 1.24-2.50), and non-CVD/noncancer mortality (aHR 1.97; 95% CI, 1.27-3.08). CONCLUSIONS: LFG is positively associated with all-cause mortality risk in rural Chinese men but not in women.

Adult height and risk of death from all-cause, cardiovascular, and cancer-specific disease: The Rural Chinese Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: We aimed to evaluate the sex-specific association of height and all-cause and cause-specific mortality in rural Chinese adults. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 17,263 participants (10,448 women) ≥18 years old were randomly enrolled during 2007-2008 and followed up during 2013-2014. Sex-specific hazard ratios (HRs) for the height-mortality association, assessed in quintiles or 5 cm increments, were calculated by Cox proportional-hazards models. For both men and women, tall participants showed a baseline prevalence of high levels of socioeconomic factors including income and education but low systolic blood pressure and total cholesterol level. During a median of 6.01 years of follow-up, 620 men (in 39,993.45 person-years) and 490 women (in 61,590.10 person-years) died. With increasing height, the risk of all-cause mortality decreased in a curvilinear trend after adjustment for baseline age, socioeconomic and behavioral factors, and anthropometric and laboratory measurements. For men, height was inversely associated with all-cause mortality (HR per 5 cm increase: 0.89, 95% CI: 0.83-0.96) and cardiovascular mortality (HR per 5 cm increase: 0.81, 95% CI: 0.72-0.91). For women, height was inversely associated with all-cause mortality (HR per 5 cm increase: 0.88, 95% CI: 0.81-0.96) and other mortality (HR per 5 cm increase: 0.82, 95% CI: 0.71-0.96). CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrated a sex-specific inverse effect of height on mortality from different major causes in rural Chinese adults.

Identification of an obesity index for predicting metabolic syndrome by gender: the rural Chinese cohort study.

BACKGROUND: To compare the accuracy of different obesity indexes, including waist circumference (WC), weight-to-height ratio (WHtR), body mass index (BMI), and lipid accumulation product (LAP), in predicting metabolic syndrome (MetS) and to estimate the optimal cutoffs of these indexes in a rural Chinese adult population. METHODS: This prospective cohort involved 8468 participants who were followed up for 6 years. MetS was defined by the International Diabetes Federation, American Heart Association, and National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute criteria. The power of the 4 indexes for predicting MetS was estimated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis and optimal cutoffs were determined by the maximum of Youden's index. RESULTS: As compared with WHtR, BMI, and LAP, WC had the largest area under the ROC curve (AUC) for predicting MetS after adjusting for age, smoking, drinking, physical activity, and education level. The AUCs (95% CIs) for WC, WHtR, BMI, and LAP for men and women were 0.862 (0.851-0.873) and 0.806 (0.794-0.817), 0.832 (0.820-0.843) and 0.789 (0.777-0.801), 0.824 (0.812-0.835) and 0.790 (0.778-0.802), and 0.798 (0.785-0.810) and 0.771 (0.759-0.784), respectively. The optimal cutoffs of WC for men and women were 83.30 and 76.80 cm. Those of WHtR, BMI, and LAP were approximately 0.51 and 0.50, 23.90 and 23.00 kg/m2, and 19.23 and 20.48 cm.mmol/L, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: WC as a preferred index over WHtR, BMI, and LAP for predicting MetS in rural Chinese adults of both genders; the optimal cutoffs for men and women were 83.30 and 76.80 cm.

Separable and error-free reversible data hiding in encrypted image with high payload.

This paper proposes a separable reversible data-hiding scheme in encrypted image which offers high payload and error-free data extraction. The cover image is partitioned into nonoverlapping blocks and multigranularity encryption is applied to obtain the encrypted image. The data hider preprocesses the encrypted image and randomly selects two basic pixels in each block to estimate the block smoothness and indicate peak points. Additional data are embedded into blocks in the sorted order of block smoothness by using local histogram shifting under the guidance of the peak points. At the receiver side, image decryption and data extraction are separable and can be free to choose. Compared to previous approaches, the proposed method is simpler in calculation while offering better performance: larger payload, better embedding quality, and error-free data extraction, as well as image recovery.

Predictive value of serum uric acid levels on mortality in acute coronary syndrome patients with chronic kidney disease after drug-eluting stent implantation.

OBJECTIVES: Despite optimal treatments, prognosis in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) remains poor. Elevated serum uric acid (SUA) levels may predict worse outcomes in these patients. The objective was to assess the predictive value of SUA levels on mortality in ACS patients with CKD after drug-eluting stent (DES) implantation. METHODS: We retrospectively assessed ACS patients with CKD who underwent successful DES implantation between January 2007 and December 2009. Patients were followed up from January to March 2012. CKD was defined as an estimated glomerular filtration rate <60 ml/min/1.73 m(2). We assessed the association between SUA levels and mortality. RESULTS: A total of 1,132 patients were included. The mean age was 67.7 years. During a mean follow-up of 38.5 months, 145 patients died: 50 from cardiac diseases, 28 from cerebral diseases, 14 from renal diseases and 53 from other causes. After adjustment for confounders, SUA levels increased the risk of all-cause, cerebral and other-cause mortality. Adjusted hazard ratios for quartiles 3 and 4 versus quartile 1 of SUA were: all-cause, 1.66 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.08-2.78] and 1.99 (95% CI 1.21-3.23); cerebral, 2.24 (95% CI 0.43-11.7) and 5.89 (95% CI 1.30-26.6); and other causes, 2.81 (95% CI 1.17-6.78) and 3.89 (95% CI 1.63-9.29), respectively. SUA levels had no impact on cardiac and renal mortality rates. CONCLUSIONS: High SUA levels are associated with all-cause, cerebral and other-cause mortality rates in ACS patients with CKD after DES implantation. Future research is needed to determine if lowering SUA levels will decrease mortality in these patients.

[Theoretical analysis of the residual amplitude modulation of frequency modulation strong absorption spectroscopy].

The application of frequency modulation (FM) spectroscopy technology in the trace gas detection is greatly restricted by the residual amplitude modulation (RAM) which induced by the birefringence of the electro-optic modulator (EOM) and the misaligned linear polarization direction of laser to the EOM. Based on the interaction between the laser field and crystal, a line-shape expression of the FM spectroscopy with RAM is obtained. The angle between the polarization direction of input light and the principle axis of EOM, theta, the phase difference between the two principle axes of electro-optic crystal, delta phi, and the modulation index FM, beta, are the major factors to influence the lineshape. The larger theta and larger delta phi are, the stronger distortion of the lineshape is. Meanwhile a DC offset exists in the FM dispersion spectroscopy which is influenced by theta and delta phi. Finally a servo control of theta and delta phi is suggested to reduce the RAM. These phenomenon and the analysis of the lineshape provide a necessary technical support for the fiber components based FM spectroscopy.

Prediction model and assessment of probability of incident hypertension: the Rural Chinese Cohort Study.

We aimed to develop a hypertension risk-prediction model among rural Chinese people. We included data for 9034 participants aged 18-70 years without baseline hypertension, diabetes, myocardial infarction, stroke, or heart failure in a rural Chinese cohort. The sample was randomly divided into a training set (60%) and testing set (40%). We used shrinkage estimates by the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator method in fitting a logistic model to explore the possibility of predicting the risk of hypertension in the training set. On multivariable analysis, age, parental hypertension, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), and age by BMI were significant predictors of hypertension. After bootstrap validation, the corrected C-index, calibration intercept, and calibration slope were 0.7932, -0.0041, and 0.9938, respectively for the training set. Our model also had good discrimination (C-index, 0.7914 [95% CI 0.773-0.809]) and calibration (Hosmer-Lemeshow χ2 = 14.366, P = 0.073) for the testing set. Nomograms and score-based models were used to favor the clinical implementation and workability of the risk model. According to the risk score based on these factors, the cumulative risk for hypertension was <20% for 57.62% of participants, 20-40% risk for 27.24%, 40-60% for 12.19%, and >60% for 2.96% during the 6-year follow-up. The score-based area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for the present model and the Framingham risk-score model were similar (P = 0.282). The hypertension risk-prediction system we developed provides convenient approaches to identify individuals at high risk of hypertension.

Resting heart rate and its dynamic change and the risk of hypertension: The Rural Chinese Cohort Study.

The sex- and age-specific relation in the association of resting heart rate (RHR) and its change and risk of hypertension remains unclear. We prospectively estimated the incidence of hypertension among 9969 nonhypertensive adults participating in The Rural Chinese Cohort Study. Self-reported questionnaires and anthropometric and laboratory measurements were collected at baseline (2007-2008) and follow-up (2013-2014). The modified Poisson regression model was used to calculate relative risk (RR) values and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for incident hypertension associated with RHR and its dynamic change. During follow-up (median, 6.01 years), 797 (20.28%) men, and 1178 (19.51%) women developed hypertension. Risk of hypertension was increased for women with the highest versus lowest RHR tertile after adjusting for confounding factors (RR: 1.19 [95%CI: 1.04-1.36]) and was associated with increased RHR for women with young age (RR per 10-beat/min RHR increase, 1.25 [95%CI: 1.09-1.43]), middle age (1.06 [0.99-1.14]), and older age (1.11 [1.01-1.23]). Risk of developing hypertension was significantly higher (RR: 1.22 [95%CI: 1.04-1.42]) in women with high RHR (≥80-beat/min) throughout the study period than those with normal RHR (<80-beat/min). No significant association of RHR and hypertension was found in men. RHR is an independent predictor of hypertension in rural Chinese women. Persistently high RHR is associated with increased hypertension risk in women. The dose-response association between RHR and hypertension could be affected by sex and age status.

Association of triglycerides to high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol ratio with risk of incident hypertension.

The triglyceride to high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (TG/HDL-C) ratio is considered a simple surrogate of insulin resistance. The aim of this study was to explore the association of the TG/HDL-C ratio with the risk of incident hypertension and whether the TG/HDL-C ratio mediates the obesity-incident hypertension association. The study analyzed 9679 participants from a rural Chinese population. Demographic and anthropometric and laboratory data were collected at baseline (2007-2008) and follow-up (2013-2014) examinations. A multivariate logistic regression model was used to analyze the association of the TG/HDL-C ratio with incident hypertension, estimating odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Mediation analysis was performed to examine the contribution of the TG/HDL-C ratio to obesity-related incident hypertension. During a median follow-up of 6.00 years, hypertension developed in 1880/9679 participants (19.42%). The risk of incident hypertension was higher in the highest TG/HDL-C ratio quartile than in the lowest quartile (OR = 1.21, 95% CI = 1.02-1.42). Subgroup analyses showed that the risk of incident hypertension was increased by 30%, 36%, and 33% among women, participants < 60 years old and those with prehypertension at baseline, respectively. The TG/HDL-C ratio partially mediated the obesity-incident hypertension association (indirect effect: OR = 1.04, 95% CI: 1.01-1.07; direct effect: OR = 1.36, 95% CI: 1.16-1.62). The TG/HDL-C ratio may be a risk factor for incident hypertension, especially in women, participants < 60 years old and those with prehypertension. The TG/HDL-C ratio may also play a mediating role in obesity-related incident hypertension.

Adiposity and insulin resistance as mediators between age at menarche and type 2 diabetes mellitus.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore the association between age at menarche and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and whether the association is mediated by adiposity and insulin resistance (IR) in rural Chinese women. METHODS: This cross-sectional study analyzed data for 7,460 women (median age 56 y) from a rural Chinese area from 2013 to 2014. Data were collected by standardized interviews and anthropometric and laboratory measurements. Adiposity was measured by body mass index (BMI), and IR was measured by the homeostasis model assessment of IR (HOMA-IR) index. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence limits (CLs) for the association between age at menarche and T2DM. Mediation analysis was performed to explore the contribution of BMI and HOMA-IR to the association between age at menarche and T2DM. RESULTS: Among 7,460 women, 840 (11.26%) had T2DM. After adjusting for potential confounding factors, the odds of T2DM with the latest age at menarche 18 years or older versus 13 years was reduced (OR = 0.65, 95% CL: 0.47, 0.91), and age at menarche was negatively associated with T2DM (per additional year of menarche, OR = 0.95, 95% CL: 0.91, 0.99). BMI and HOMA-IR completely mediated the association between age at menarche and T2DM (total indirect effect: OR = 0.973, 95% CL: 0.961, 0.986; direct effect: OR = 0.974, 95% CL: 0.930, 1.021). CONCLUSIONS: Late menarche may be negatively associated with T2DM. The potential mechanism is adiposity and IR completely mediating the association between age at menarche and T2DM.

Age and sex differences in the association between sleep duration and general and abdominal obesity at 6-year follow-up: the rural Chinese cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: The association between sleep duration and general and abdominal obesity in adults, especially in the rural Chinese population, remains unclear. Therefore, we conducted this study to evaluate the association between sleep duration and general and abdominal obesity in rural Chinese adults. METHODS: We included 12,446 adults aged 18-75 years old who completed a baseline examination during 2007-2008 and follow-up during 2013-2014. We prospectively investigated the sleep-obesity association over an average of six-year follow-up. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to assess the probability of new-onset general and abdominal obesity, estimating odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). RESULTS: As compared with sleep duration 6.5-7.5 h, short sleep duration (<6.5 h) was significantly associated with increased probability of abdominal obesity in men (OR = 1.60, 95% CI: 1.05-2.45) after controlling for multiple covariates. A similar association was found in men aged >60 years but not in women or in men ≤60 years. We found no significant association between sleep duration and general obesity. The results were consistent when restricting the analysis to participants without cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus or cancer at baseline. CONCLUSIONS: Short sleep duration was significantly associated with abdominal obesity in rural Chinese adults, and the association varied by sex and age.

Dose-response association between the triglycerides: High-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio and type 2 diabetes mellitus risk: The rural Chinese cohort study and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: High triglyceride (TG) and low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels are traditional risk factors for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). This study evaluated the dose-response relationship between the TG/HDL-C ratio and T2DM risk. METHODS: The study included 11 946 adults without baseline diabetes from the Rural Chinese Cohort Study. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to investigate the association between the TG/HDL-C ratio and T2DM. The dose-response relationship was evaluated by restricted cubic spline analysis. In addition, pooled odds ratios (OR) were calculated with a random-effects model in a meta-analysis including the present study and another three eligible articles. RESULTS: During 2007-14, 618 patients with T2DM were identified (9.68/1000 person-years). People in the highest TG/HDL-C ratio quartile had a higher T2DM risk than those in the lowest quartile (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 2.11, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.55-2.86); however, the association between the TG/HDL-C ratio and T2DM was stronger in females than males (aHR 1.27 [95% CI 1.16-1.39; and 1.19 [95% CI 1.04-1.37], respectively). In body mass index-specific analysis, the association was stronger in normal weight than overweight/obese people. The dose-response meta-analysis showed that a 1-unit increment in the TG/HDL-C ratio increased the T2DM risk by 28% (95% CI 20%-36%), with a positive linear relationship (Plinear = 0.326). CONCLUSIONS: The TG/HDL-C ratio was an independent risk factor of T2DM, especially in females, and linearly increased the risk of T2DM; thus, it may be a useful indicator to identify future T2DM.

Association of hypertriglyceridemic waist-to-height ratio and its dynamic status with incident hypertension: the Rural Chinese Cohort Study.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to evaluate whether hypertriglyceridemic waist-to-height ratio (HWHtR) and its dynamic status was associated with hypertension (HTN). METHODS: We examined data for 10 312 nonhypertensive participants aged at least 18 years from the Rural Chinese Cohort Study at the baseline examination who were followed until 2014 with a median follow-up of 6 years. HWHtR was defined by combined triglyceride level and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR). Multiple logistic regression models were used to examine the probability of incident HTN according to HWHtR and its transformation, estimating odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). RESULTS: A total of 127 men and 225 women with high triglyceride level and high WHtR (HTHWH) had incident HTN during follow-up. After adjusting for potential confounders, the probability of HTN was increased with HTHWH for men [OR 1.49 (95% CI 1.01-2.20)] but this association was not significant for women [1.21 (0.88-1.66)]. The results of the sensitivity analyses were robust for men and women. The ORs were generally consistent on subgroup analysis by age,BMI, SBP and DBP for men. As compared with persistent normal triglyceride level and normal WHtR (NTNWH), the transformation from baseline NTNWH to follow-up HTHWH was associated with increased probability of HTN for men [OR 4.16 (95% CI 2.21-7.84)]. However, for women, the association of changed HWHtR from baseline to follow-up with probability of HTN was not significant for almost all transformation groups. CONCLUSION: HWHtR and its dynamic status was associated with incident HTN for rural Chinese men. From this cohort study, HWHtR may be an indicator for interventions aiming to reduce HTN among these men.

Association of age at menopause and type 2 diabetes: A systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of cohort studies.

AIMS: Early age at menopause has been associated with increased incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), but the quantitative association between age at menopause and T2DM was unclear. We performed a meta-analysis to assess the dose-response association between age at menopause and T2DM. METHODS: PubMed, Embase and Web of Science were searched up to January 5, 2019 for cohort studies that evaluated the association of age at menopause and risk of T2DM. Relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were pooled by using the random-effects models. Restricted cubic spline model was used to evaluate the liner or nonlinear relation. RESULTS: We identified 6 studies for the meta-analysis (267,284 women and 19,654 cases of T2DM). The pooled RR was 0.64 (95% CI 0.44-0.94) comparing the latest with the earliest category of age at menopause. The risk of T2DM was reduced by 10% (RR=0.90, 95% CI, 0.84-0.98) with each 5-year increment in age at menopause. We found an inverse linear association between age at menopause and T2DM. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that later age at menopause was associated with lower risk of T2DM.

In Situ Monitoring of MicroRNA Replacement Efficacy and Accurate Imaging-Guided Cancer Therapy through Light-Up Inter-Polyelectrolyte Nanocomplexes.

Replacement of downregulated tumor-suppressive microRNA (Ts-miRNA) is recognized as an alternative approach for tumor gene therapy. However, in situ monitoring of miRNA replacement efficacy in a real-time manner via noninvasive imaging is continually challenging. Here, glutathione (GSH)-activated light-up peptide-polysaccharide-inter-polyelectrolyte nanocomplexes are established through self-assembly of carboxymethyl dextran with disulfide-bridged ("S-S") oligoarginine peptide (S-Arg4), in which microRNA-34a (miR-34a) and indocyanine green (ICG) are simultaneously embedded and the nanocomplexes are subsequently stabilized by intermolecular cross-linking. Upon confinement within the robust nanocomplexes, the near-infrared fluorescence (NIRF) of ICG is considerably quenched ("off") due to the aggregation-caused quenching effect. However, after intracellular delivery, the disulfide bond in S-Arg4 can be cleaved by intracellular GSH, which leads to the dissociation of nanocomplexes and triggers the simultaneous release of miR-34a and ICG. The NIRF of ICG is concomitantly activated through dequenching of the aggregated ICG. Very interestingly, a good correlation between time-dependent increase in NIRF intensity and miR-34a replacement efficacy is found in nanocomplexes-treated tumor cells and tumor tissues through either intratumoral or intravenous injections. Systemic nanocomplexes-mediated miR-34a replacement significantly suppresses the growth of HepG-2- and MDA-MB-231-derived tumor xenografts, and provides a pronounced survival benefit in these animal models.

Age at menarche and risk of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: The evidence between age at menarche and mortality risk is controversial. We aimed to quantify the dose-response association of age at menarche and risk of all-cause and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality based on cohort studies. METHODS: PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Scopus databases were searched up to March 15, 2018 for relevant articles. Random-effects models and restricted cubic splines were used for this meta-analysis. RESULTS: Twelve cohort studies, with 79,363 deaths and 2,341,769 participants, met the inclusion criteria. With each 1-year increase in menarche age, the relative risk (RR) was reduced for all-cause mortality (RR: 0.977, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.970-0.984), CVD mortality (RR: 0.993, 95% CI: 0.975-1.011), ischemic heart disease (IHD) mortality (RR: 0.969, 95% CI: 0.947-0.993), and stroke mortality (RR: 0.983, 95% CI: 0.954-1.012). We found a nonlinear dose-response association (Pnonlinearity = 0.001) between age at menarche and all-cause mortality, with the lowest risk observed at menarche age 15 years (RR: 0.849 95% CI: 0.800-0.901), but no evidence of a nonlinear association between menarche age and CVD mortality (Pnonlinearity = 0.543), IHD mortality (Pnonlinearity = 0.310), or stroke mortality (Pnonlinearity = 0.824). CONCLUSIONS: Age at menarche is inversely associated with all-cause and IHD mortality.

Body mass index and risk of all-cause mortality with normoglycemia, impaired fasting glucose and prevalent diabetes: results from the Rural Chinese Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Previous evidence of an association between body mass index (BMI) and mortality in patients with diabetes was inconsistent. The BMI-mortality association with normal fasting glucose (NFG), impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and prevalent diabetes is still unclear in the Chinese population. METHODS: We analysed data for 17 252 adults from the Rural Chinese Cohort Study during 2007-2008 and followed for mortality during 2013-2014. Participants were classified with NFG, IFG and diabetes according to baseline measurement values of fasting glucose and self-reported diabetes. Multivariable Cox proportional hazard models were used to calculate HRs and 95% CIs across BMI categories by glycemic status. RESULTS: During the 6-year follow-up, 1109 participants died (563/10 181 with NFG, 349/5572 with IFG and 197/1499 with diabetes). The BMI-mortality association was curvilinear, with low BMI (even in normal range) associated with increased mortality regardless of glycemic status. In adjusted Cox models, risk of mortality showed a decreasing trend with BMI≤18 kg/m2, 18

Association of long-term dynamic change in body weight and incident hypertension: The Rural Chinese Cohort Study.

OBJECTIVES: The association of long-term dynamic change in body weight and incident hypertension among general Chinese adults is still unknown. The aim of this study was to evaluate the hypertension risk in a large prospective study of rural Chinese adult using relative weight gain or loss. METHODS: A total of 10 149 nonhypertensive Chinese adults 18 to 75 y of age completed a questionnaire interview and anthropometric and laboratory measurements at both baseline (2007-2008) and follow-up (2013-2014). Participants were divided into five categories based on relative weight change. Logistic regression analysis was used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for hypertension risk by categories of weight change. RESULTS: During 6 y of follow-up, about one-third of the participants retained a stable weight (33.3%) or gained >6% (32.7%). Only 7.9% lost >6% weight. For every 1% increase in relative body weight, systolic and diastolic blood pressures increased 0.27 and 0.22 mm Hg, respectively. Risk for hypertension was reduced and increased with weight loss >6% (OR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.61-0.99) and gain >6% (OR, 2.08; 95% CI, 1.79-2.42), respectively, compared with weight loss or gain ≤3%. With baseline prehypertension, compared with maintaining a stable weight, weight loss >6% reduced the risk for hypertension (OR, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.54-0.95). With baseline overweight, compared with maintaining the overweight status during follow-up, changing to normal weight reduced the risk for hypertension (OR, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.49-0.92), but changing to general obesity increased the risk (OR, 1.73; 95% CI, 1.35-2.22). CONCLUSIONS: Long-term excessive weight gain is positively associated with increased risk for incident hypertension. Losing weight by lifestyle modification could be helpful for the primary prevention of hypertension in the general rural Chinese population.