Summary Background Low folate and raised homocysteine concentrations in blood are associated with poor cognitive performance in the general population. As part of the FACIT trial to assess the effect ...of folic acid on markers of atherosclerosis in men and women aged 50–70 years with raised plasma total homocysteine and normal serum vitamin B12 at screening, we report here the findings for the secondary endpoint: the effect of folic acid supplementation on cognitive performance. Methods Our randomised, double blind, placebo controlled study took place between November, 1999, and December, 2004, in the Netherlands. We randomly assigned 818 participants 800 μg daily oral folic acid or placebo for 3 years. The effect on cognitive performance was measured as the difference between the two groups in the 3-year change in performance for memory, sensorimotor speed, complex speed, information processing speed, and word fluency. Analysis was by intention-to-treat. This trial is registered with clinicaltrials.gov with trial number NCT00110604. Findings Serum folate concentrations increased by 576% (95% CI 539 to 614) and plasma total homocysteine concentrations decreased by 26% (24 to 28) in participants taking folic acid compared with those taking placebo. The 3-year change in memory (difference in Z scores 0·132, 95% CI 0·032 to 0·233), information processing speed (0·087, 0·016 to 0·158) and sensorimotor speed (0·064, −0·001 to 0·129) were significantly better in the folic acid group than in the placebo group. Interpretation Folic acid supplementation for 3 years significantly improved domains of cognitive function that tend to decline with age.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
Tuberculosis remains a major global health challenge, particularly in low-to-middle income countries such as China. At the same time, the country is facing a rapidly increasing diabetes incidence ...over the last 10 years. Diabetes aggravates the tuberculosis epidemic which poses a serious challenge in public health. In recent years, the high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency represents a global health problem, which is also associated with the risk of diabetes, and tuberculosis. Therefore, this review aims to provide an overall and updated understanding of the epidemiology of co-occurrence of tuberculosis and diabetes in China, and to elucidate the possible role of vitamin D deficiency. In conclusion, significant aggravation of the tuberculosis epidemic due to diabetes may exist in China for a relatively long period of time to come. Further, the double burden and its implications to public health in this country may be significantly influenced by the high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency. Bidirectional screening for tuberculosis and diabetes is recommended, and extra vitamin D may benefit especially in a situation of a heavy tuberculosis burden combined with prevalent vitamin D deficiency. Longitudinal studies to verify the role of vitamin D deficiency in the double burden, and trials on the effect of vitamin D supplementation are needed in the future.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Patients with type 2 diabetes (DM) have a higher risk of developing pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB); moreover, DM co-morbidity in PTB is associated with poor PTB treatment outcomes. Community based ...prevalence data on DM and prediabetes (pre-DM) among TB patients is lacking, particularly from the developing world. Therefore we conducted a prospective study to investigate the prevalence of DM and pre-DM and evaluated the risk factors for the presence of DM among newly detected PTB patients in rural areas of China.
In a prospective community based study carried out from 2010 to 2012, a representative sample of 6382 newly detected PTB patients from 7 TB clinics in Linyi were tested for DM. A population of 6674 non-TB controls from the same community was similarly tested as well. The prevalence of DM in TB patients (6.3%) was higher than that in non-TB controls (4.7%, p<0.05). PTB patients had a higher odds of DM than non-TB controls (adjusted OR 3.17, 95% CI 1.14-8.84). The prevalence of DM increased with age and was significantly higher in TB patients in the age categories above 30 years (p<0.05). Among TB patients, those with normal weight (BMI 18.5-23.9) had the lowest prevalence of DM (5.8%). Increasing age, family history of DM, positive sputum smear, cavity on chest X-ray and higher yearly income (≥10000 RMB yuan) were positively associated and frequent outdoor activity was negatively associated with DM in PTB patients.
The prevalence of DM in PTB patients was higher than in non-TB controls with a 3 fold higher adjusted odds ratio of having DM. Given the increasing DM prevalence and still high burden of TB in China, this association may represent a new public health challenge concerning the prevention and treatment of both diseases.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) patients often suffer from anorexia and poor nutrition, causing weight loss. The peptide hormones leptin and its counterpart ghrelin, acting in the regulation of food ...intake and fat utilization, play an important role in nutritional balance. This study aimed to investigate the association of blood concentrations of leptin, ghrelin and inflammatory cytokines with body mass index (BMI) in TB patients with and without type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).
BMI, biochemical parameters and plasma levels of leptin, ghrelin and inflammatory cytokines were measured before the start of treatment in 27 incident TB patients with T2DM, 21 TB patients and 23 healthy subjects enrolled in this study.
The levels of leptin were significantly higher in TB patients (35.2 ± 19.1 ng/ml) than TB+T2DM (12.6 ± 6.1 ng/ml) and control (16.1 ± 11.1 ng/ml) groups. The level of ghrelin was significantly lower in TB (119.9 ± 46.1 pg/ml) and non-significantly lower in TB+T2DM (127.7 ± 38.6 pg/ml) groups than control (191.6 ± 86.5 pg/ml) group. The levels of TNF-α were higher, while IFN-γ and IL-6 levels were lower in patients than in the control group. Leptin showed a negative correlation with BMI in TB (r=-0.622, p<0.05) and TB+T2DM (r= -0.654, p<0.05) groups, but a positive correlation with BMI in the control group (r=0.521, p<0.05). Contrary ghrelin showed a positive correlation with BMI in TB (r=0.695, p<0.05) and TB+T2DM (r= 0.199, p>0.05) groups, but negative correlation with BMI in the control (r=-0.693, p<0.05) group. Inflammatory cytokines were poorly correlated with BMI in this study. Only IFN-γ showed a significant negative correlation with BMI in the control group (r=-0.545, p<0.05).
This study may suggest that possible abnormalities in ghrelin and leptin regulation (high levels of leptin and low levels of ghrelin) may be associated with low BMI and may account for the poor nutrition associated with TB and TB+T2DM.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Background: Little is known about the effect of different types of dairy food products on the development of hypertension.
Objective: The objective was to determine whether the incidence of ...hypertension in older Dutch subjects is associated with intake of dairy products.
Design: We examined the relation between dairy intake and incident hypertension in 2245 participants of the Rotterdam Study aged ≥55 y with complete dietary and blood pressure data, who were free of hypertension at baseline (1990–1993). Blood pressure was reexamined in 1993–1995 and in 1997–1999. Hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% CIs for 2- and 6-y incidence of hypertension were obtained in quartiles of energy-adjusted dairy intake, with adjustment for age, sex, BMI, smoking, educational level, dietary factors, and intake of alcohol and total energy.
Results: Risk of hypertension after 2 y of follow-up (664 incident cases) was inversely associated with dairy product intake. After adjustment for confounders, HRs (95% CIs) were 1.00, 0.82 (0.67, 1.02), 0.67 (0.54, 0.84), and 0.76 (0.61, 0.95) in consecutive quartiles of total dairy product intake (P for trend = 0.008). Corresponding HRs for low-fat dairy products were 1.00, 0.75 (0.60, 0.92), 0.77 (0.63, 0.96), and 0.69 (0.56, 0.86) (P for trend = 0.003). Analysis of specific types of dairy products showed an inverse association with milk and milk products (P for trend = 0.07) and no association with high-fat dairy or cheese (P > 0.6). After 6 y of follow-up (984 incident cases), the associations with hypertension were attenuated to risk reductions of ≈20% for both total and low-fat dairy products between the extreme quartiles of intake (P for trend = 0.07 and 0.09, respectively).
Conclusion: Intake of low-fat dairy products may contribute to the prevention of hypertension at an older age.
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CMK, GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Background and Objectives: Diabetes mellitus (DM) leads to nearly 3-fold higher risk of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB), indicating an increasing challenge to public health in low-to-middle income ...countries. Till now, the risk factor is still uncertain. We carried out this study with the main purpose to identify the risk factors of having TB in DM patients. Methods and Study Design: A hospital-based matched case-control study was conducted in Qingdao, China from March, 2016 to January, 2018. Cases were DM patients with concurrent TB (DM-TB). Each case was matched with two controls, patients with DM only of similar age, sex and DM course. Cox regression of conditional logistic analysis was used to define the risk factors for having TB in DM, and then sensitivity analysis was carried out. Results: We identified 315 patients, including 105 cases and 210 controls. Smokers had a higher risk of having TB with a multivariable adjusted odds ratio (aOR) of 12.45 than non-smokers. Poor glycemic control (aOR=2.66), frequency of DM re-examination <1 time/year (aOR=3.39), as well as TB contact history was also independently related with higher risk, while BMI >=24 (aOR=0.42), education level >= college (aOR=0.11) showed a negative association. Conclusions: Poor glycemic control, smoking, low frequency of reexamination was associated with higher risk of having TB in DM, while overweight and obesity, high education levels showed a negative association. These findings provide clues to target DM populations prone to TB, which may be of help to halt the epidemic of TB in high burden countries.
We planned to determine the association of body mass index (BMI) with diabetes mellitus (DM) and impaired fasting glucose (IFG) in Chinese pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) patients.
3,505 newly-diagnosed ...PTB patients registered in PTB clinics in Linyi of China between September 2010 and March 2013 were enrolled. DM and IFG were identified based on fasting plasma glucose levels. ROC analysis was used to predict the ability of screening of BMI for DM and IFG in PTB patients.
Compared with 18.5-23.9 kg/m
, patients with DM and IFG had significantly increased trends when BMI ≥ 24.0 kg/m
, and aORs were 2.28 (95%CI 1.44-3.60) and 1.30 (95%CI 1.04-1.64), respectively. After adjustment for age, gender, and educational level, there was an increased odd in BMI ≥ 23.41 kg/m
for IFG, and a decreased odd in BMI < 19.82 kg/m
for DM (p < 0.05). The cut-offs of BMI for screening IFG and DM in PTB patients were 22.22 kg/m
(AUC 0.56) and 22.34 kg/m
(AUC 0.59).
In PTB patients, BMI is significantly associated with IFG and DM. However, the predictive power of BMI was not sufficient, so it may only be a limited screening tool for DM and IFG among PTB patients in China.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Vitamin D deficiency (VDD) is common in tuberculosis (TB) and may be implicated in the etiology of the disease and in its clinical course. The aim of this study was to investigate the association ...between leptin, inflammatory markers and VD status in TB patients, stratified for presence or absence of diabetes mellitus (DM). Two hundred ninety-nine TB patients were recruited from October 2015 to August 2016. Also, 91 normal controls were included. The information including socio-demographics, dietary intake and living habits was obtained by face-to-face interview. Serum concentrations of leptin and TNF-α, CRP and IL-6 were compared between TB patients with and without severe VDD (SVDD). Pearson’s correlation was used to analyze the association between TNF-α, leptin and 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D). A significantly higher prevalence of VDD and SVDD was observed in TB patients compared with normal controls (93.0% vs 70.3%, 65.9% vs 3.3% respectively). Concentration of leptin was significantly lower, while TNF-α higher in TB patients with SVDD compared to those without (p<0.05). After adjustment for confounders, leptin was positively associated with 25(OH)D (r=0.210, p=0.002) with similar correlation in TB patients with DM (r=0.240, p=0.020). A negative association between TNF-α and 25(OH)D was observed (r=−0.197, p=0.003), which was significant only in the subgroup without DM (r=−0.304, p=0.001). Our findings indicate that a higher VD status in TB patients may be related to higher immune activity and less serious tissue damage, and that this relation is different according to presence or absence of DM co-morbidity.
Background Weekly fish consumption has been related to a lower risk of fatal coronary heart disease (CHD) and incident stroke in populations with a low fish intake. This relation has mainly been ...attributed to n-3 fatty acids in fish, that is, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). It is at present unclear whether α -linolenic acid (ALA), a n-3 fatty acid from vegetable origin, could also be protective against cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). There is a need for food-based trials to establish the efficacy of low doses of n-3 fatty acids in CVD prevention. Objectives The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of an additional daily intake of 400 mg of EPA + DHA and 2 g of ALA on CVD morbidity and mortality in free-living subjects with a history of myocardial infarction. Design The multicenter Alpha Omega Trial is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial with a 2 × 2 factorial design. Between May 2002 and December 2006, we enrolled a total of 4,837 men and women aged 60 through 80 who experienced a myocardial infarction within 10 years before entering the study. Subjects were randomized to 1 of 4 margarine spreads that were enriched with EPA + DHA and/or ALA, or placebo. Compliance was monitored via tub counts and assessment of n-3 fatty acids in plasma. Subjects were observed for 40 months for the occurrence of fatal and nonfatal CVD. Results The cohort was on average 69 years old at the start of the study and comprised 22% women. Subjects had their (last) myocardial infarction approximately 4 years before enrolment. Mean body mass index was 27.7 kg/m2 , and 17% smoked. Average serum total and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol were 4.7 and 1.3 mmol/L, respectively, and 85% used statins. Mean blood pressure was 142/80 mm Hg, and most subjects were on antihypertensive medication (88%). Diabetes mellitus was reported by 17% of the subjects, and 7% reported a history of stroke. The overall mortality rate during the trial period was 23 per 1,000 person-years, with approximately 40% due to CVD. Current status Follow-up of the patients was completed in November 2009, and findings will be reported in the second part of 2010.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK