Effects of uric acid on ischemic diseases, stratified by lipid levels: a drug-target, nonlinear Mendelian randomization study.

Although uric acid-lowering agents such as xanthine oxidase inhibitors have potential cardioprotective effects, studies on their use in preventing cardiovascular diseases are lacking. We investigated the genetically proxied effects of reducing uric acid on ischemic cardiovascular diseases in a lipid-level-stratified population. We performed drug-target Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses using UK Biobank data to select genetic instruments within a uric acid-lowering gene, xanthine dehydrogenase (XDH), and construct genetic scores. For nonlinear MR analyses, individuals were stratified by lipid level. Outcomes included acute myocardial infarction (AMI), ischemic heart disease, cerebral infarction, transient cerebral ischemic attack, overall ischemic disease, and gout. We included 474,983 non-gout individuals with XDH-associated single-nucleotide polymorphisms. The XDH-variant-induced uric acid reduction was associated with reduced risk of gout (odds ratio [OR], 0.85; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.78-0.93; P < 0.001), cerebral infarction (OR, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.75-0.98; P = 0.023), AMI (OR, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.66-0.94; P = 0.010) in individuals with triglycerides ≥ 188.00 mg/dL, and cerebral infarction in individuals with low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) ≤ 112.30 mg/dL (OR, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.61-0.96; P = 0.020) or LDL-C of 136.90-157.40 mg/dL (OR, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.49-0.92; P = 0.012). XDH-variant-induced uric acid reduction lowers the risk of gout, AMI for individuals with high triglycerides, and cerebral infarction except for individuals with high LDL-C, highlighting the potential heterogeneity in the protective effects of xanthine oxidase inhibitors for treating AMI and cerebral infarction depending on the lipid profiles.

A systematic review on papers that study on Single Nucleotide Polymorphism that affects coronavirus 2019 severity.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2 has become the most threatening issue to all populations around the world. It is, directly and indirectly, affecting all of us and thus, is an emerging topic dealt in global health. To avoid the infection, various studies have been done and are still ongoing. COVID-19 cases are reported all over the globe, and among the millions of cases, genetic similarity may be seen. The genetical common features seen within confirmed cases may help outline the tendency of infection and degree severity of the disease. Here, we reviewed multiple papers on SNPs related to SARS-CoV-2 infection and analyzed their results. METHODS: The PubMed databases were searched for papers discussing SNPs associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection and severity. Clinical studies with human patients and statistically showing the relevance of the SNP with virus infection were included. Quality Assessment of all papers was done with Newcastle Ottawa Scale. RESULTS: In the analysis, 21 full-text literature out of 2956 screened titles and abstracts, including 63,496 cases, were included. All were human-based clinical studies, some based on certain regions gathered patient data and some based on big databases obtained online. ACE2, TMPRSS2, and IFITM3 are the genes mentioned most frequently that are related to SARS-CoV-2 infection. 20 out of 21 studies mentioned one or more of those genes. The relevant genes according to SNPs were also analyzed. rs12252-C, rs143936283, rs2285666, rs41303171, and rs35803318 are the SNPs that were mentioned at least twice in two different studies. CONCLUSIONS: We found that ACE2, TMPRSS2, and IFITM3 are the major genes that are involved in SARS-CoV-2 infection. The mentioned SNPs were all related to one or more of the above-mentioned genes. There were discussions on certain SNPs that increased the infection and severity to certain groups more than the others. However, as there is limited follow-up and data due to a shortage of time history of the disease, studies may be limited.

Association of the Risk of Osteoarthritis and Hypertension in the Korean Adult Population Aged 40-59 in Pre- and Postmenopausal Women: Using Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2012-2016 Data.

PURPOSE: Previous studies reported the relation of osteoarthritis (OA) and hypertension (HTN) mostly in postmenopausal women. This study aimed to identify the association between OA and HTN in pre- and postmenopausal women. METHODS: We used data of 4,627 middle-aged (40-59 years) women from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) from 2012 to 2016. Chi-square and t-test compared the characteristics of the participants. Binomial logistic regression was used to identify an association between OA and HTN under controlling covariates such as age, tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption, and obesity. RESULTS: There were 1,859 participants with non-OA and menopause, 104 with OA and nonmenopause, and 375 with OA and menopause, respectively. The number of women with OA and HTN was 129. OA was significantly associated with HTN diagnosis in postmenopausal women under controlling covariates (odds ratio: 1.408, 95% CI: 1.092-1.815, p=0.008). However, this relationship was weakened in premenopausal women (odds ratio: 1.651, 95% CI: 0.950-2.869, p=0.075). CONCLUSION: In conclusion, women with HTN showed a distinct association with OA than the normotensives, and this relationship was more apparent among postmenopausal women. Further research is needed for a preventive approach.

Analysis of Association of Occupational Physical Activity, Leisure-Time Physical Activity, and Sedentary Lifestyle with Hypertension according to the Adherence with Aerobic Activity in Women Using Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2016-2017 Data.

PURPOSE: We investigated the association between occupational physical activity, leisure-time physical activity, and sedentary lifestyle with hypertension by adherence with aerobic exercise in middle-aged and elderly women. METHODS: A cross-sectional analysis was performed using Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES), a nationally representative data between 2016 and 2017. A total of 4,241 women aged 40 years or older were included. Hypertension diagnosed by physician and exercise status was asked by questionnaires. RESULTS: Mean age of the participants was 58.4 (±11.4, range: 40∼80 years). There were 1,681 (39.6%) women in the aerobic activity adherence group. In the logistic regression analysis with adjustment for confounding factors, frequency of occupational physical activity (OPA) level (OR 1.931; p=0.048, in ≤4 per week group), walking frequency (OR 0.436; p=0.048, in ≤4 per week group), walking frequency (OR 0.436; p=0.048, in ≤4 per week group), walking frequency (OR 0.436; p=0.048, in ≤4 per week group), walking frequency (OR 0.436. CONCLUSIONS: In the aerobic activity adherence group, further research is needed to identify the influence of occupational physical activity. In the aerobic activity nonadherence group, decreasing sitting hours and increasing endurance exercise may be helpful.

Association between Relative Handgrip Strength and Osteoporosis in Older Women: The Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2014-2018.

BACKGROUND: While handgrip strength is associated with osteoporosis (OS) in the older population and muscle weakness is related to a reduction in bone mineral density, no study has yet assessed the association between relative hand grip strength (RHGS) and OS in the older Korean population. This study assessed the associations between RHGS and OS in Korean older women aged over 60 years. METHODS: We used data of 4,179 older women from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) from 2014 to 2018. We applied binomial logistic regression to identify an association between RHGS and OS while controlling for other covariates such as age; socioeconomic status; smoking behavior; alcohol consumption, laboratory test results; and the prevalence of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, thyroid disease, and obesity. RESULTS: RHGS was significantly associated with OS of the left hand in older Korean women. RHGS levels 2 and 4 of the left hand showed an inverse association with the prevalence of OS in female participants aged 60-69 years (odds ratio [OR]=0.637; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.452-0.898; p=0.010; and OR=0.496; 95% CI, 0.258-0.956; p=0.036, respectively) but not in those aged over 70 years and in the right hand. CONCLUSION: OS was significantly associated with left-hand RHGS in 60-69-year-old women, and the OS risks decreased by approximately 36.3% and 50.4% in women with RHGS levels 2 and 4, respectively. RHGS may be used to predict OS in pre-clinical settings such as public health care institutes.