Background
Previous studies reported that exposure to dioxins was associated with an increased risk of various diseases in general populations.
Objectives
The aim of this study was to examine the ...association between levels of dioxins in blood and allergic and other diseases.
Methods
We conducted a cross-sectional study on 1,063 men and 1,201 women (aged 15–76 years), who were living throughout Japan and not occupationally exposed to dioxins, during 2002–2010. In fasting blood samples, polychlorinated dibenzo-
p
-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), and dioxin-like PCBs (DL-PCBs) were analyzed by isotope dilution high-resolution gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. We obtained information on life style and self-reported history of diseases using a questionnaire. Blood pressure, blood levels of hemoglobin A1c, and serum lipids were also measured. Multiple logistic regression models were used to analyze the association between dioxin levels in blood and various diseases.
Results
Toxic equivalents of PCDDs/PCDFs and total dioxins showed significant inverse dose–response relationships with atopic dermatitis, after adjustments for potential confounders. The highest quartile for total dioxins had an adjusted odds ratio of 0.26 (95 % confidence interval 0.08–0.70) compared to the reference group (first quartile). The odds ratios for hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, gout in men, and gynecologic diseases in women significantly increased with increasing toxic equivalents of PCDDs/PCDFs, DL-PCBs, and total dioxins in blood.
Conclusions
The present findings suggest that background exposure to dioxins was associated with reduced risk of atopic dermatitis. The results also support the idea that low-level exposure to dioxins is associated with an increased risk of diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia.
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a rapidly growing, worldwide public health problem. Recent advances in genome-wide-association studies (GWAS) revealed several genetic loci associated with renal ...function traits worldwide.
We investigated the association of genetic factors with the levels of serum creatinine (SCr) and the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) in Japanese population-based cohorts analyzing the GWAS imputed data with 11,221 subjects and 12,617,569 variants, and replicated the findings with the 148,829 hospital-based Japanese subjects.
In the discovery phase, 28 variants within 4 loci (chromosome chr 2 with 8 variants including rs3770636 in the LDL receptor related protein 2 gene locus, on chr 5 with 2 variants including rs270184, chr 17 with 15 variants including rs3785837 in the BCAS3 gene locus, and chr 18 with 3 variants including rs74183647 in the nuclear factor of -activated T-cells 1 gene locus) reached the suggestive level of p < 1 × 10-6 in association with eGFR and SCr, and 2 variants on chr 4 (including rs78351985 in the microsomal triglyceride transfer protein gene locus) fulfilled the suggestive level in association with the risk of CKD. In the replication phase, 25 variants within 3 loci (chr 2 with 7 variants, chr 17 with 15 variants and chr 18 with 3 variants) in association with eGFR and SCr, and 2 variants on chr 4 associated with the risk of CKD became nominally statistically significant after Bonferroni correction, among which 15 variants on chr 17 and 3 variants on chr 18 reached genome-wide significance of p < 5 × 10-8 in the combined study meta-analysis. The associations of the loci on chr 2 and 18 with eGFR and SCr as well as that on chr 4 with CKD risk have not been previously reported in the Japanese and East Asian populations.
Although the present GWAS of renal function traits included the largest sample of Japanese participants to date, we did not identify novel loci for renal traits. However, we identified the novel associations of the genetic loci on chr 2, 4, and 18 with renal function traits in the Japanese population, suggesting these are transethnic loci. Further investigations of these associations are expected to further validate our findings for the potential establishment of personalized prevention of renal disease in the Japanese and East Asian populations.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the associations between dietary factors and sleep-wake regularity in the Japanese population. We analyzed 1368 eligible subjects (931 men and 437 women) ...aged 35-69 years who had participated in the baseline survey of a cohort study in Tokushima Prefecture, Japan. Information on individual lifestyle characteristics, including dietary habits and sleep-wake regularity, was obtained by a self-administrated questionnaire. Logistic regression analyses were performed to evaluate adjusted associations of the intake energy ratios of macronutrients, as well as intake frequency, and the amount of staple foods with sleep-wake regularity. The lowest quartile of protein intake as well as the highest quartile of carbohydrates showed significantly higher multivariable-adjusted odds ratios of 2.1 (95% confidence interval, 1.3-3.3) and 2.1 (1.3-3.5), respectively, for poor sleep-wake regularity compared with the respective second quartile that is thought to be moderate intake. Regarding intake of staple foods, low weekly intake frequency at breakfast (<5 times/week), the lowest intake amount (<1 bowl or slice/roll) at breakfast, and the highest intake amount (>=2 bowls or slices/ rolls) at lunch and dinner exhibited significantly high adjusted odds ratios for poor sleep-wake regularity. Additionally adjusting for sleep duration, these results did not substantially alter. Our results suggested that low intake energy ratio of proteins and high intake energy ratio of carbohydrates, skipping intake of the staple foods at breakfast, and excessive intake amount of the staple foods at lunch and dinner may be associated with poor sleep-wake regularity.
Highlights • This is a cross-sectional study among 35–69-year-old Japanese individuals. • We examined BMAL genotype–environment (obesity) interactions in type 2 diabetes. • BMAL2 rs7958822 genotype ...is associated with type 2 diabetes in obese men and women. • An interaction between BMAL2 rs7958822 genotype and obesity was observed in men.
Gene-gene interactions in the reverse cholesterol transport system for high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) are poorly understood. The present study observed gene-gene combination effect and ...interactions between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in ABCA1, APOA1, SR-B1, and CETP in serum HDL-C from a cross-sectional study in the Japanese population.
The study population comprised 1,535 men and 1,515 women aged 35-69 years who were enrolled in the Japan Multi-Institutional Collaborative Cohort (J-MICC) Study. We selected 13 SNPs in the ABCA1, APOA1, CETP, and SR-B1 genes in the reverse cholesterol transport system. The effects of genetic and environmental factors were assessed using general linear and logistic regression models after adjusting for age, sex, and region.
Alcohol consumption and daily activity were positively associated with HDL-C levels, whereas smoking had a negative relationship. The T allele of CETP, rs3764261, was correlated with higher HDL-C levels and had the highest coefficient (2.93 mg/dL/allele) among the 13 SNPs, which was statistically significant after applying the Bonferroni correction (p<0.001). Gene-gene combination analysis revealed that CETP rs3764261 was associated with high HDL-C levels with any combination of SNPs from ABCA1, APOA1, and SR-B1, although no gene-gene interaction was apparent. An increasing trend for serum HDL-C was also observed with an increasing number of alleles (p<0.001).
The present study identified a multiplier effect from a polymorphism in CETP with ABCA1, APOA1, and SR-B1, as well as a dose-dependence according to the number of alleles present.
Renal hypouricemia (RHUC) is characterized by a low serum uric acid (SUA) level and high fractional excretion of uric acid (FE
). Further studies on FE
in hypouricemic individuals are needed for a ...more accurate diagnosis of RHUC.
In 30,685 Japanese health-examination participants, we genotyped the two most common nonfunctional variants of
(NFV-
), W258X (rs121907892) and R90H (rs121907896), in 1040 hypouricemic individuals (SUA ≤ 3.0 mg/dL) and 2240 individuals with FE
data. The effects of NFV-
on FE
and SUA were also investigated using linear and multiple regression analyses.
Frequency of hypouricemic individuals (SUA ≤ 3.0 mg/dL) was 0.97% (male) and 6.94% (female) among 30,685 participants. High frequencies of those having at least one allele of NFV-
were observed in 1040 hypouricemic individuals. Furthermore, NFV-
significantly increased FE
and decreased SUA, enabling FE
and SUA levels to be estimated. Conversely, FE
and SUA data of hypouricemic individuals are revealed to be useful to predict the number of NFV-
.
Our findings reveal that specific patterns of FE
and SUA data assist with predicting the number of nonfunctional variants of causative genes for RHUC, and can also be useful for practical diagnosis of RHUC even before genetic tests.
Aim : Accumulating evidence reveals that sedentary behavior is associated with mortality and cardiometabolic disease ; however, there are potential age and sex differences in sedentary behavior and ...health outcomes that have not been adequately addressed. This study aimed to determine the association of sedentary behavior with cardiometabolic diseases such as hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus, and its risk factors in a large Japanese population according to age and sex. Methods : Using data from the Japan Multi-Institutional Collaborative Cohort Study obtained from baseline surveys, data of 62,754 participants (27,930 males, 34,824 females) were analyzed. This study uses a cross-sectional design and self-administered questionnaires to evaluate sedentary time and anamnesis. For the logistic regression analysis, sedentary time <5 h/day was used as the reference and then adjusted for age, research areas, leisure-time metabolic equivalents, and alcohol and smoking status. From the analysis of anthropometric and blood examinations, 35,973 participants (17,109 males, 18,864 females) were analyzed. Results : For hypertension and diabetes, sedentary time was associated with a significantly higher proportion of male participants. Both sexes were associated with a significantly higher proportion of participants with dyslipidemia. Participants who had longer sedentary time tended to have increased levels of blood pressure, triglycerides, and non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and decreased levels of HDL-C, especially in the 60-69 years group. Conclusions : Independent of leisure-time physical activity, sedentary time was associated with cardiometabolic diseases in a large Japanese population classified by age and sex. Our findings indicate that regularly interrupting and replacing sedentary time may contribute to better physical health-related quality of life.
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