Association of alcohol consumption with all-cause mortality, new-onset stroke, and coronary heart disease in patients with abnormal glucose metabolism-Findings from a 10-year follow-up of the REACTION study.

BACKGROUND: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and diabetic complications threaten human health seriously. Healthy lifestyles can lower the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and long-term complications. However, the relationship between alcohol consumption and CVD mortality is still controversial, and there is a lack of evidence from large-scale longitudinal studies in the Chinese population. Based on the REACTION study (Risk Evaluation of Cancers in Chinese Diabetic Individuals: A Longitudinal Study), this paper explores the association between alcohol consumption and all-cause mortality, stroke, and coronary heart disease (CHD) in patients with abnormal glucose metabolism during a 10-year follow-up period to provide evidence for lifestyle counselling for these patients. METHODS: First, baseline data were collected from the REACTION study cohort in Changchun, Jilin Province, China, in 2011-2012. A questionnaire survey was performed among patients with abnormal glucose metabolism aged over 40 years. The frequency of their alcohol intake, the type of alcohol, and the amount of alcohol consumed daily were surveyed. Physical and biochemical examinations were also performed. Then, through the Primary Public Health Service System of Jilin Province, we collected outcomes during the 10-year follow-up up to October 1, 2021, including all-cause mortality, stroke, and CHD. Next, we conducted logistic regression to analyze the relationship between baseline alcohol consumption and 10-year outcomes, and risk ratio (RR) and 95% CI were calculated by adjusting for different clinical indicators. A p value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: A total of 4855 patients with T2DM and prediabetes (35.2% men and 64.8% women) were included in the baseline analysis. Outcomes of 3521 patients during the 10-year follow-up were obtained, including 227 deaths, 296 new-onset strokes and 445 new-onset CHD. Occasional drinking (less than once a week) was associated with a reduced 10-year all-cause mortality, with an RR of 0.511 (95% CI [0.266, 0.982]) after adjustment for age, gender, medical history, and lifestyles and an RR of 0.50 (95% CI [0.252, 0.993]) in a fully adjusted model including additional biochemical indicators. In addition, heavy alcohol consumption (≥30 g/day for men and ≥15 g/day for women) was significantly associated with an increased incidence of stroke, with an RR of 2.503 (95% CI [1.138, 5.506]) after the adjustment for age, gender, medical history, lifestyles, and biochemical indicators. No significant association was found between alcohol consumption and new-onset CHD. CONCLUSIONS: For patients with abnormal glucose metabolism, occasional drinking (less than once a week) reduces the risk of all-cause mortality, while heavy alcohol consumption (≥30 g/day for men and ≥15 g/day for women) significantly increases the risk of new-onset stroke. They should avoid heavy alcohol intake, but light alcohol consumption or occasional drinking is acceptable. Additionally, it is crucial to control blood glucose and blood pressure and keep performing physical activities.

The Alterations in and the Role of the Th17/Treg Balance in Metabolic Diseases.

Chronic inflammation plays an important role in the development of metabolic diseases. These include obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease. The proinflammatory environment maintained by the innate immunity, including macrophages and related cytokines, can be influenced by adaptive immunity. The function of T helper 17 (Th17) and regulatory T (Treg) cells in this process has attracted attention. The Th17/Treg balance is regulated by inflammatory cytokines and various metabolic factors, including those associated with cellular energy metabolism. The possible underlying mechanisms include metabolism-related signaling pathways and epigenetic regulation. Several studies conducted on human and animal models have shown marked differences in and the important roles of Th17/Treg in chronic inflammation associated with obesity and metabolic diseases. Moreover, Th17/Treg seems to be a bridge linking the gut microbiota to host metabolic disorders. In this review, we have provided an overview of the alterations in and the functions of the Th17/Treg balance in metabolic diseases and its role in regulating immune response-related glucose and lipid metabolism.

Grip Strength and the Risk of Cognitive Decline and Dementia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Longitudinal Cohort Studies.

Purpose: Loss of grip strength and cognitive impairment are prevalent in the elderly, and they may share the pathogenesis in common. Several original studies have investigated the association between them, but the results remained controversial. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we aimed to quantitatively determine the relationship between baseline grip strength and the risk of cognitive impairment and provide evidence for clinical work. Methods: We performed a systematic review using PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane, and Web of Science up to March 23, 2020, and focused on the association between baseline grip strength and onset of cognitive impairment. Next, we conducted a meta-analysis using a hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) as effect measures. Heterogeneity between the studies was examined using I 2 and p-value. Sensitivity analyses and subgroup analyses were also performed, and publication bias was assessed by Begg's and Egger's tests. Results: Fifteen studies were included in this systematic review. After sensitivity analyses, poorer grip strength was associated with more risk of cognitive decline and dementia (HR = 1.99, 95%CI: 1.71-2.32; HR = 1.54, 95%CI: 1.32-1.79, respectively). Furthermore, subgroup analysis indicated that people with poorer strength had more risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and non-AD dementia (HR = 1.41, 95%CI: 1.09-1.81; HR = 1.45, 95%CI: 1.10-1.91, respectively). Conclusions: Lower grip strength is associated with more risk of onset of cognitive decline and dementia despite of subtype of dementia. We should be alert for the individuals with poor grip strength and identify cognitive dysfunction early.

Risk Assessment of Sarcopenia in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Using Data Mining Methods.

Purpose: Sarcopenia is a geriatric syndrome, and it is closely related to the prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Until now, the diagnosis of sarcopenia requires Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA) scanning. This study aims to make risk assessment of sarcopenia with support vector machine (SVM) and random forest (RF) when DXA is not available. Methods: Firstly, we recruited 132 patients aged over 65 and diagnosed with T2DM in Changchun, China. Clinical data were collected for predicting sarcopenia. Secondly, we selected 3, 5, and 7 features out of over 40 features of patient's data with backward selection, respectively, to train SVM and RF classification models and regression models. Finally, to evaluate the performance of the models, we performed leave one out and 5-fold cross validation. Results: When training the model with 5 features, the sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value (NPV) and positive predictive value (PPV) were favorable, and it was better than the models trained with 3 features and 7 features. Area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) were over 0.7, and the mean AUC of SVM models was higher than that of RF. Conclusions: Using SVM and RF to make risk assessment of sarcopenia in the elderly is an option in clinical setting. Only 5 features are needed to input into the software to run the algorithm for a primary assessment. It cannot replace DXA to diagnose sarcopenia, but is a good tool to evaluate sarcopenia.

A cross-sectional study: Associations between sarcopenia and clinical characteristics of patients with type 2 diabetes.

Sarcopenia is a geriatric syndrome and it impairs physical function. Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are at a higher risk of sarcopenia. The purpose of this study is to explore characteristics of general information and metabolic factors of sarcopenia in patients with T2DM in the northeast of China, and provide information for the prevention and treatment of sarcopenia in clinical practice.Patients with T2DM aged ≥65 were recruited in Changchun from March 2017 to February 2018. Questionnaires of general information, physical examination, laboratory and imaging examination were conducted. The patients were assigned into sarcopenia group and non-sarcopenia group according to the diagnostic criteria proposed by Asian working group for sarcopenia (AWGS), and the differences between 2 groups were analyzed.A total of 132 participants were included in this study, of which, 38 (28.8%) were diagnosed with sarcopenia. 94 (71.2%) were with no sarcopenia. Logistic regression analysis showed that age (OR: 1.182, 95%CI: 1.038-1.346), trunk fat mass (TFM) (OR: 1.499, 95%CI: 1.146-1.960) and free thyroxine (FT4) (OR: 1.342, 95%CI: 1.102-1.635) were independent risk factors for sarcopenia. BMI (body mass index) (OR: 0.365, 95%CI: 0.236-0.661), exercise (OR: 0.016, 95%CI: 0.001-0.169), female (OR: 0.000, 95%CI: 0.00-0.012), metformin (OR: 0.159, 95%CI: 0.026-0.967) and TSM (trunk skeletal muscle mass) (OR: 0.395, 95%CI: 0.236-0.661) were protective factors for sarcopenia.Sarcopenia in patients with T2DM is associated with increased age, increased TFM and increased FT4 level. Regular exercise, female, metformin administrations, high BMI and increased TSM are associated with lower risk of sarcopenia.

Surgicel application in intracranial hemorrhage surgery contributed to giant-cell granuloma in a patient with hypertension: case report and review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: Surgicel is an oxidized cellulose preparation that is widely applied in neurosurgery due to its hemostatic effect and good tissue compatibility. Tumor-like lesions induced by Surgicel application in cerebral surgery have been rarely reported, especially for intracranial hemorrhage debridement surgery in patients with hypertension. CASE PRESENTATION: This case report describes a rare case in which Surgicel application led to a foreign body reaction, contributing to the development of an intracranial giant-cell granuloma. A 49-year-old female hypertensive patient was diagnosed with intracranial hemorrhage. She was treated with debridement surgery that employed Surgicel application. Although a satisfactory hemostatic effect was achieved, the patient was diagnosed with epilepsy 6 months later. Subsequent magnetic resonance imaging revealed an intracranial space-occupying lesion. After undergoing en bloc resection of the lesion, the patient was diagnosed with a Surgicel-related intracranial giant-cell granuloma by histopathology. CONCLUSIONS: Application of Surgicel during intracranial hemorrhage debridement surgery may be associated with a risk of granuloma development due to formation of a tumor-like space-occupying lesion in the surgery bed. Even a low risk of tumor development implies a need for caution when applying Surgicel, especially when solely used to achieve a hemostatic effect.