The Impact of Exercise on Improving Body Composition and PSA in High-Risk Prostate Cancer Patients on Androgen-Deprivation Therapy.

This prospective study investigated how exercise impacted chronological changes in anthropometrics, body composition, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level and prognostic nutrition index (PNI) in high-risk prostate cancer (PCa) patients on androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). The patients were divided into either the usual care or exercise group. All patients received measurements a week before ADT initiation, six- and twelve months after treatment. The exercise group received both aerobic and resistance training. The analysis was conducted using appropriate statistical methods. There were 45 males enrolled (age 67.4 ± 8 years and BMI 25.5 ± 3.6 kg/m2). Profound changes were observed at six months follow-up. The exercise group showed a significant increase in the trunk and leg lean mass, and a lesser loss of total and arm lean mass. A significant decrease in PSA was also observed among the exercise group. PNI and PSA were significantly associated with regional lean mass. Exercise can prevent loss or even increase lean mass in high-risk PCa, especially in the early stage of ADT treatment. Moreover, a strong bond between lean mass and PNI and PSA further underscores the importance of early and continuous exercise interventions.

Can Anthropometry and Body Composition Explain Physical Fitness Levels in School-Aged Children?

Physical fitness (PF) is closely related to various health outcomes and quality of life among children. However, the associations between anthropometry, body composition (BC), and PF are not fully elucidated. This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the associations between demographic metrics (age, sex), anthropometric measures (body mass index z-score (BMI z-score) waist/height ratio (WHtR)), BC parameters (body-fat percentage (BF%), muscle weight), and PF levels (800-m run, sit-and-reach, 1-min sit-ups, standing long jump) in school-aged children. Continuous variables were dichotomized by median splits. The results of 180 girls and 180 boys (mean age: 10.0 ± 0.7 years; mean BMI z-score: 0.366 ± 1.216) were analyzed. Multivariable linear regressions revealed that BF% (regression coefficient (B) = 3.4, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 2.5-4.3) was independently correlated with the 800-m run. Sex (B = 4.6, 95% CI = 3.0-6.3), age (B = 3.1, 95% CI = 1.9-4.3), and BMI z-score (B = -0.7, 95% CI = -1.4--0.1) were independently related to sit-and-reach. Age (B = 3.3, 95% CI = 2.0-4.7), BF% (B = -0.3, 95% CI = -0.4--0.2), and muscle weight (B = 0.7, 95% CI = 0.2-1.2) were independently associated with 1-min sit-ups. In addition to demography, anthropometry and BC provided additional information concerning some PF levels in school-aged children. Weight management and PF promotion should be addressed simultaneously in terms of preventive medicine and health promotion for children.

Elevated triglyceride-to-HDL cholesterol ratio is an indicator for insulin resistance in middle-aged and elderly Taiwanese population: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have reported that the triglyceride to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (TG/HDL-C) ratio could be a simple clinical indicator of insulin resistance (IR), but the results indicated that there were heterogeneities between different ethnicities. We aimed to investigate the association between TG/HDL-C and IR (as measured by homeostasis model assessment of IR [HOMA-IR]), and establish a clinical prediction rule for IR in middle-aged and elderly Taiwanese. METHODS: A total of 398 subjects were recruited, and each subject completed a questionnaire that included personal and medical history data, and underwent anthropometric measurement and blood sampling. IR was defined as HOMA-IR index value ≥2.0. Chi-squared test, independent two-sample t-test, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and multiple logistic regression were used to evaluate the association between IR and TG/HDL-C ratio. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was conducted to evaluate the ability of the developed clinical prediction rule to correctly discriminate between subjects of IR positive and IR negative groups. RESULTS: A significant association between IR and TG/HDL-C ratio was identified with a Pearson's correlation coefficient of 0.35 (p-value< 0.001). In multiple logistic regression, high BMI (OR = 1.23; 95% C.I. = 1.13-1.33), hypertension (OR = 1.90; 95% C.I. = 1.12-3.21), diabetes mellitus (OR = 5.44; 95% C.I. = 2.93-10.08) and high TG/HDL ratio (OR = 1.45; 95% C.I. = 1.23-1.72) were significantly associated with the risk of elevated HOMA-IR. The area under ROC curves for TG/HDL-C ratio was 0.729 and the optimal threshold value was 2.197 where the corresponding of sensitivity and specificity were 72.4 and 65.1%. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings showed that the elevated TG/HDL-C ratio was significantly associated with IR and could be used as an indicator of IR among the middle-aged and elderly population in Taiwan. It is clinically available, thus eliminating any additional costs. Future research is warranted to investigate the use of TG/HDL-C ratio combined with other risk factors for predicting IR under diverse ethnic backgrounds.

Arsenic methylation capacity and obesity are associated with insulin resistance in obese children and adolescents.

The goal of the present study was to compare the arsenic methylation capacities in elementary school and junior high school students in an area of Taiwan with low arsenic exposure, and explore the influence of both arsenic methylation capacity and obesity on insulin resistance in these children and adolescents using the HOMA-IR index. We recruited 303 elementary school students and 319 junior high school students in Taipei City from September 2007 to November 2011. Concentrations of inorganic arsenic (arsenite + arsenate), monomethylarsonic acid (MMA(V)) and dimethylarsinic acid (DMA(V)) were determined by a high-performance liquid chromatography-linked hydride generator and atomic absorption spectrometry. Insulin resistance was determined by HOMA-IR. Elementary school students had significantly lower inorganic arsenic percentage and a higher DMA(V) percentage than junior high school students. It seems that the former had better arsenic methylation capability than the latter. The HOMA-IR value was significantly and positively related to the sum of the urinary inorganic and methylated arsenic (TotalAs) concentrations and also the BMI Z score, with the regression coefficients (ß) being 0.058 (p < 0.001) and 0.001 (p = 0.027), respectively. The higher BMI values and higher TotalAs concentration were associated with higher HOMA-IR values in children and adolescents in Taiwan.