Association between whole blood essential trace elements and cognitive function in older adults.

BACKGROUND: Essential trace elements (ETEs) are essential nutrients for keeping the nervous system functioning. Associations between ETEs and cognitive function are still inconclusive and limited. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to investigate the individual and joint associations between ETEs and cognitive function among older adults. METHODS: A population (N = 2181) at an average age≥ 65 from Yiwu cohort in China was available for this study. Whole blood chromium (Cr), selenium (Se), manganese (Mn), and copper (Cu) concentrations were measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Cognitive function was assessed using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), consisting of five specific cognitive domains: orientation, registry, attention and calculation, recall, and language and praxis. Linear regression, restricted cubic spline (RCS) analysis, and Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) were used to analyze the individual and joint associations between ETEs and cognitive function. RESULTS: The association between Cr and MMSE score presented an inverted-U shape (Q3 versus Q1: ß = 0.774, 95 % CI: 0.297, 1.250; Q4 versus Q1: ß = 0.481, 95 % CI: 0.006, 0.956); and Cr was especially associated with the registry, recall, and language and praxis. Per IQR (36.32 µg/L) increase of Se was positively associated with the MMSE score (ß = 0.497, 95 % CI: 0.277, 0.717) and all five cognitive domains. The BKMR showed that the dose-response association between Se and cognitive function increased initially and then decreased with increasing Se concentration when fixed the other ETEs in median. ETEs mixture was positively associated with cognitive function, and Se (posterior inclusion probabilities, PIPs = 0.915) was the most important contributor within the ETEs mixture. CONCLUSIONS: The nonlinear association between Cr and cognitive function suggested further exploration of an appropriate concentration range for ETEs. A positive association between mixed ETEs and cognitive function is a reminder that their joint association should be considered. Further prospective studies or intervention studies are warranted to validate our findings in the future.

Association of sleep quality with myopia based on different genetic risk levels.

AIM: To analyse the association of sleep quality with myopia under different genetic risk (GR) levels. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey of students aged 9-14y in Wenzhou, China, was conducted. Refraction without cycloplegia and ocular parameters were measured. Sleep quality was assessed with the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Seventeen single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were replicated by association analysis and used to compute the GR score (GRS). Possible confounders were assessed by a questionnaire that collected information about the children and their parents. Generalized linear models were used to analyse the sleep quality, the GR, and their interaction effects on the risk of myopia. RESULTS: Out of 1354 children included in this study, 353 (26.07%) had sleep disturbances. The GRS ranged from 4.49 to 12.89 with a mean of 7.74±1.23, and the participants were divided into a low GR group, a moderate GR group and a high GR group according to the GRS quartile. In the generalized linear model, the children with sleep disturbances and high GR had a higher risk of myopia than those without sleep disturbances and with low GR (OR=1.59, 95%CI: 1.12-2.25; OR=1.88, 95%CI: 1.23-2.88, respectively). Compared to those with low GR and SDs, children with high GR with or without SDs had a higher risk of myopia (OR=4.88, 95%CI: 2.03-11.71; OR=1.70, 95%CI: 1.06-2.72, respectively). CONCLUSION: The prevalence of sleep disturbances in elementary school students in Wenzhou was 26.07%. There is a significant interaction between sleep disturbances and a high GR of myopia, suggesting that a high GR of myopia may increase children's sensitivity to sleep disturbances. This study indicates that children with a high GR of myopia need to achieve adequate sleep duration and excellent sleep quality.

Relationship between mental health status and vision-related quality of life in the students with moderate and high myopia / 预防医学

Objective@#To understand the relationship between mental health status and vision-related quality of life( VRQL ) of students with moderate and high myopia, and to provide basis for the optimization of VRQL.@*Methods@#Using convenient sampling method, the 8-18 years old students with moderate and high myopia were selected from Sichuan, Chongqing and Zhejiang. The mental health status and VRQL of students with moderate and high myopia were evaluated with Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and Quality of Life Scale for Ametropia. The multiple linear regression model was used to analyze the influencing factors for VRQL.@*Results@# A total of 360 questionnaires were sent out and 354 were effectively recovered, with an effective rate of 98.33%. There were 116 ( 32.77% ) boys and 238 ( 67.23% ) girls; the median age was 16.65 years old. There were 211 ( 59.60% ) cases of moderate myopia and 143 (40.40%) cases of high myopia.There were 141 ( 39.83% ) found to be anxious and 176 ( 49.72% ) depressed. The median score of Quality of Life Scale for Ametropia was 64. The results of multiple linear regression analysis showed that sex ( β＇= -0.179 ), diopter ( β＇= 0.208 ), eyesight with glasses ( β＇= -0.229 ) and anxiety ( β＇= 0.439 ) were influencing factors for VRQL.@*Conclusion@#The mental health problems of the students with medium and high myopia are prominent; anxiety has a significant impact on the VRQL of the students.

Energy Metabolism Disorder as a Contributing Factor of Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Comparative Proteomic and Metabolomic Study.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), the different metabolites were screened in synovial fluid by metabolomics. METHODS: Synovial fluid from 25 RA patients and 10 normal subjects were analyzed by GC/TOF MS analysis so as to give a broad overview of synovial fluid metabolites. The metabolic profiles of RA patients and normal subjects were compared using multivariate statistical analysis. Different proteins were verified by qPCR and western blot. Different metabolites were verified by colorimetric assay kit in 25 inactive RA patients, 25 active RA patients and 20 normal subjects. The influence of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α pathway on catabolism was detected by HIF-1α knockdown. RESULTS: A subset of 58 metabolites was identified, in which the concentrations of 7 metabolites related to energy metabolism were significantly different as shown by importance in the projection (VIP) (VIP ≥ 1) and Student's t-test (p<0.05). In the 7 metabolites, the concentration of glucose was decreased, and the concentration of lactic acid was increased in the synovial fluid of RA patients than normal subjects verified by colorimetric assay Kit. Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) analysis shows that the concentration of glucose and lactic acid in synovial fluid could be used as dependable biomarkers for the diagnosis of active RA, provided an AUC of 0.906 and 0.922. Sensitivity and specificity, which were determined by cut-off points, reached 84% and 96% in sensitivity and 95% and 85% in specificity, respectively. The verification of different proteins identified in our previous proteomic study shows that the enzymes of anaerobic catabolism were up-regulated (PFKP and LDHA), and the enzymes of aerobic oxidation and fatty acid oxidation were down-regulated (CS, DLST, PGD, ACSL4, ACADVL and HADHA) in RA patients. The expression of HIF-1α and the enzymes of aerobic oxidation and fatty acid oxidation were decreased and the enzymes of anaerobic catabolism were increased in FLS cells after HIF-1α knockdown. CONCLUSION: It was found that enhanced anaerobic catabolism and reduced aerobic oxidation regulated by HIF pathway are newly recognized factors contributing to the progression of RA, and low glucose and high lactic acid concentration in synovial fluid may be the potential biomarker of RA.