Association between equol and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in Japanese women in their 50s and 60s.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Equol is a metabolite of soy isoflavone and has estrogenic activity. The incidence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) increases after menopause in women, which is thought to result in a decrease in estrogen. This study aimed to evaluate the association between equol and NAFLD. METHODS: We evaluated 1185 women aged 50-69 years who underwent health check-ups at four health centers in Fukushima, Japan. Equol producers were defined by a urinary equol concentration of 1.0 µM or more. In addition to comparison between equol producers and non-producers, the association between equol and NAFLD was estimated using logistic regression analysis adjusting for fast walking and eating habits. RESULTS: Of the 1185 participants, 345 (29.1%) women were equol producers. The proportions of women who had NAFLD (34.8% vs 45.2%) were significantly lower in the equol-producing group than in the non-producing group. Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that equol production was significantly associated with NAFLD (odds ratio = 0.66, 95% confidence interval: 0.51-0.86). CONCLUSIONS: Equol production was significantly associated with NAFLD in women in their 50s and 60s.

Association between equol production and metabolic syndrome in Japanese women in their 50s-60s.

OBJECTIVE: Equol is an active metabolite of soy isoflavone. As a phytoestrogen, equol has the potential to prevent metabolic disorders such as hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia, and obesity. This study aimed to determine the association between equol production and metabolic syndrome (METS) in postmenopausal women. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 1,345 women aged 50 to 69 years who underwent health checkups from February 2018 to November 2021 at four health centers in Fukushima, Japan. Equol producers were defined as those with a urinary equol concentration of 1.0 µM or more. METS was defined based on Japanese diagnostic criteria including abdominal obesity, atherogenic dyslipidemia, elevated blood pressure, and glucose intolerance. The association between equol production and METS was estimated by logistic regression analysis, with adjustments for age, exercise, physical activity, and fast walking. RESULTS: Of the 1,345 women, 378 (28.1%) were equol producers. The proportion of women who had METS (6.6% vs 10.9%) was significantly lower in the equol-producing group than in the nonproducing group. Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that equol production was significantly associated with METS (odds ratio, 0.60; 95% CI, 0.38-0.95). CONCLUSIONS: Equol production was associated with a lower prevalence of METS among women aged 50 to 69 years.

Effects of sleep quality on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: a cross-sectional survey.

BACKGROUND: The effects of sleep quality on the risk of developing non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) remain uncertain. The purpose of this study was to clarify the association between sleep quality and NAFLD. METHODS: The data of 4828 participants who underwent health check-ups at four hospitals were analysed. Sleep quality was evaluated by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), which comprised seven elements scored from 0 to 3. The global PSQI score and the score for each element were compared between NAFLD and non-NAFLD groups separately by sex. Logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the association between NAFLD and each PSQI score. RESULTS: In both men and women, the mean PSQI score for sleep medication use was significantly higher in non-NAFLD than in NAFLD. With regard to sleep medication use in men, the OR (95% CI) for NAFLD was lower with a score of 3 (OR 0.60, 95% CI 0.38-0.95) than with a score of 0 on multivariate logistic regression analysis adjusted for age, smoking habits and physical activity. The OR for NAFLD based on daytime dysfunction was also higher with a score of 3 than with a score of 0 in both men (OR 2.82, 95% CI 1.39-5.75) and women (OR 2.08, 95% CI 1.10-3.92). After adjustment for body mass index, the sleep latency scores in men and daytime dysfunction in women were associated with NAFLD. CONCLUSION: Sleep quality was associated with NAFLD, and there were sex differences.

Serum amyloid A (SAA) concentration varies among rheumatoid arthritis patients estimated by SAA/CRP ratio.

BACKGROUND: C reactive protein (CRP) and serum amyloid A (SAA) are similarly sensitive indicators of inflammation, but discrepancies are recognized in several disease conditions. SAA levels are generally higher and vary more among individuals. The significance of the SAA/CRP ratio was evaluated in the estimation of SAA. METHODS: Sera of out-patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and healthy subjects were measured for CRP and SAA cross-sectionally and longitudinally by a highly sensitive latex agglutination turbidimetric immunoassay. The results were classified into four groups according to the CRP concentration, and the SAA/CRP ratios were calculated and evaluated. RESULTS: In the cross-sectional study, CRP and SAA were shown to correlate significantly in sera of patients with RA, but not in healthy subjects. The SAA/CRP ratios were wide RA patients and tended to decrease in the range and mean values were observed depending on the concentration of CRP. In the longitudinal study, variations of the ratio among individuals were wide, but smaller and similar within individuals. The difference in magnitude of the ratios is due to the difference in SAA concentration. CONCLUSION: Variations of SAA/CRP ratios were affected by SAA concentrations. The ratio should be checked in the evaluation of SAA.