Changes in serum total cholesterol levels over 18 years in a cohort of men and women: The Nijmegen Cohort Study

Identification of a Chromosome 1 Substitution Line B6-Chr1BLD as a Novel Hyperlipidemia Model via Phenotyping Screening

Hyperlipidemia is a chronic disease that seriously affects human health. Due to the fact that traditional animal models cannot fully mimic hyperlipidemia in humans, new animal models are urgently needed for basic drug research on hyperlipidemia. Previous studies have demonstrated that the genomic diversity of the wild mice chromosome 1 substitution lines was significantly different from that of laboratory mice, suggesting that it might be accompanied by phenotypic diversity. We first screened the blood lipid-related phenotype of chromosome 1 substitution lines. We found that the male HFD-fed B6-Chr1BLD mice showed more severe hyperlipidemia-related phenotypes in body weight, lipid metabolism and liver lesions. By RNA sequencing and whole-genome sequencing results of B6-Chr1BLD, we found that several differentially expressed single nucleotide polymorphism enriched genes were associated with lipid metabolism-related pathways. Lipid metabolism-related genes, mainly including Aida, Soat1, Scly and Ildr2, might play an initial and upstream role in the abnormal metabolic phenotype of male B6-Chr1BLD mice. Taken together, male B6-Chr1BLD mice could serve as a novel, polygenic interaction-based hyperlipidemia model. This study could provide a novel animal model for accurate clinical diagnosis and precise medicine of hyperlipidemia.

The prevalence change of hyperlipidemia and hyperglycemia and the effectiveness of yearly physical examinations: an eight-year study in Southwest China

Background

The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence changes of hyperlipidemia and hyperglycemia from 2009 to 2016 and the effectiveness of yearly physical examinations to hyperlipidemia and hyperglycemia prevention in Chengdu.

Methods

A total of 794 residents (499 males) who have undergone annual health check-ups for 8 consecutive years (from 2009 to 2016) in Chengdu, a city in southwest China were selected as the follow-up group, 7226 residents in 2009 and 75,068 residents in 2016 who underwent health examinations in the same hospital were chosen to be the contemporary control group. The concentration of fasting serum triglyceride(TG), total cholesterol(TC), low density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and glucose were measured and compared among these groups.

Results

There was a clear rise in the prevalence of hypercholesterolemia and hyperglycemia from 2009 to 2016 (p < 0.05). The follow-up group didn’t show difference in levels of serum lipids and glucose compared with the general population after an 8-years’ consecutive physical examination (p > 0.05), the follow-up cohort in the 8th year exhibited significant increases in serum total cholesterol and glucose compared with the 1st year (p < 0.05).

Conclusion

The prevalence of hypercholesterolemia and hyperglycemia were increased significantly from 2009 to 2016. Annual physical examination didn’t show a positive effect in the prevention of hypercholesterolemia and hyperglycemia. Health education should be improved to ensure the fulfillment of the preventive objective of yearly physical examination.

Weight gain, metabolic disturbances, and physical health care in a Brazilian sample of outpatients with schizophrenia

BACKGROUND

In the last few decades, a large number of studies have produced compelling evidence that patients with schizophrenia are at increased risk for developing several medical conditions and diseases, including obesity, metabolic disturbances, and cardiovascular diseases. Several protocols have been designed with the aim of reducing such risk.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate current physical health status in a population of outpatients with schizophrenia.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted in our outpatient clinic, selecting subjects who met DSM-IV diagnosis criteria for schizophrenia. Data were collected regarding clinical characteristics, lifestyle, medication in use, and biometric and laboratory parameters.

RESULTS

A total of 261 patients were included. We found a high prevalence of elevated body mass index (BMI . 25) (70%), dyslipidemia (73.2%), and metabolic syndrome (28.7%). Patients' ages were associated with worsened lipid profiles, but other variables, such as disorder duration or type of antipsychotic in use, were not associated with any metabolic disturbance. Despite the increased prevalence of these conditions, only a small portion of the sample was under regular medical treatment.

CONCLUSION

Outpatients with schizophrenia show signs of poor physical health conditions. These findings reinforce the need for an intensive and appropriate approach to assure that these patients receive adequate clinical referral and treatment.

Lipids, menopause, and early atherosclerosis in Study of Women's Health Across the Nation Heart women

OBJECTIVE

The risk of cardiovascular disease increases after menopause. Recent evidence suggests that it is possible for high-density lipoprotein (HDL) to become proatherogenic or dysfunctional in certain situations. Our objective was to evaluate whether the relationship of HDL cholesterol (HDL-C) to subclinical cardiovascular disease differed across the menopausal transition, which would provide insight for this increased risk.

METHODS

Aortic calcification (AC), coronary artery calcification (CAC), carotid plaque, and intima media thickness (IMT) were measured in an ancillary study of the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation. Women not using hormone therapy were stratified into premenopausal or early perimenopausal (Pre/EP, n=316) and late perimenopausal or postmenopausal (LP/Post, n=224).

RESULTS

The inverse relationship of HDL-C to subclinical atherosclerosis measures among Pre/EP women was weaker or reversed among LP/Post women, adjusted for age, site, race, systolic blood pressure, glucose, body mass index, smoking, menopause status, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Specifically, multivariable modeling demonstrated an inverse association between HDL-C level and AC and IMT among Pre/EP women; however, the protective effect of HDL-C for AC, left main CAC, carotid plaque, and IMT was not seen in LP/Post women. In a small subset (n=53), LP/Post women had more total and small HDL particles, higher triglyceride levels, and more total low-density lipoprotein particles compared with Pre/EP women (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

These results suggest that the protective effect of HDL may be diminished as women transition in menopause. Future studies should examine whether this may be due to changes in HDL size, functionality, or related changes in other lipids or lipoproteins.

Age-Related Changes in Biomarkers: Longitudinal Data from a Population-Based Sample

Identifying how biological parameters change with age can provide insights into the physiological determinants of disease, and ultimately, death. Most prior studies of age-related change in biomarkers are based on cross-sectional data, small or selective samples, or a limited number of biomarkers. We use data from a nationally-representative longitudinal sample of 639 Taiwanese aged 54 and older in 2000 to assess changes over a six-year period in a wide range of biomarkers. Markers that increased most with age were glycoslyated hemoglobin, interleukin-6, and norepinephrine. Markers that decreased most with age were diastolic blood pressure and creatinine clearance. For example, glycoslyated hemoglobin increased by 8-13%, on average, over this six-year period. Several standard clinical risk factors exhibited little evidence of age-related change. Further research is needed to determine whether the observed variation between individuals in biomarker changes represents differences in underlying physiological function that are predictive of future health and survival.

An ELISA for apolipoprotein M reveals a strong correlation to total cholesterol in human plasma

Apolipoprotein M (apoM) is a 188 amino acid, 25 kDa protein belonging to the lipocalin protein superfamily. Although predominantly associated with high density lipoprotein, apoM is found in all major lipoprotein classes. To facilitate clinical studies of apoM, we have developed a sandwich ELISA for the measurement of apoM in human plasma. This method has been used to investigate normal apoM variation and to establish reference values for healthy individuals through the measurement of 598 samples from the Nordic Reference Interval Project Bio-bank and Database (NOBIDA) biobank. For women 18-49 years old, the reference interval for apoM was 0.58-1.18 micromol/l, whereas for women 50+ years and for men, the reference range was 0.61-1.30 micromol/l. Correlation studies of apoM with 26 common clinical chemical analytes from the NOBIDA database revealed a marked positive correlation with plasma total cholesterol (r = 0.52) and LDL and HDL cholesterol (r = 0.43 and 0.36, respectively). There was no statistically significant correlation with HDL/total cholesterol ratio or body mass index. In conclusion, a sandwich ELISA for the measurement of apoM in human plasma shows that apoM concentration is strongly correlated to total cholesterol in healthy individuals.

Body Mass Index and Coronary Heart Disease Risk Score: The Tromsø Study, 1979 to 2001

PURPOSE

The purpose of the study is to examine the association between longitudinal change in body mass index (BMI) and change in coronary heart disease (CHD) risk score by using the Framingham risk score equation.

METHODS

A general adult population in the municipality of Tromsø, Norway, was invited to four consecutive examinations in 1979 to 1980, 1986 to 1987, 1994 to 1995, and 2001. A total of 10,214 men and women aged 20 to 61 years at baseline attended at least three times. Associations were examined by using fixed-effects regression methods for longitudinal data.

RESULTS

We observed a significant association between BMI change and risk score change in all baseline age groups. The association was significantly strengthened by age in women, but not men. A BMI increase of 3 kg/m(2) in subjects aged 40 to 49 years was associated with risk score increases of 0.45 points (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.29-0.62) in men and 0.66 points (95% CI, 0.52-0.80) in women.

CONCLUSIONS

The well-known increase in body weight is associated with adverse CHD risk in both men and women.

Change in serum lipids and body mass index by age, sex, and smoking status: the Tromsø study 1986-1995

PURPOSE

The steady increase in body weight is becoming a major health problem in western societies. How body weight increase influences established disease risk factors is the focus of our study.

METHODS

We assessed the association between 8-year change in body weight and serum lipids in a population-based study comprising 15,624 men and women aged 20 to 61 years at baseline in 1986. Comparisons between different strata of age, sex, initial weight, and categories of smoking status change were also addressed.

RESULTS

Significant associations between body mass index (BMI) change and change in high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, total cholesterol, and triglycerides were observed in all 10-year age groups both in men and women. The weakest associations were observed in persons older than 50 years of age and the associations were also weaker in women than in men. In quartile groups of baseline BMI, a significant linear trend was observed for HDL cholesterol in men and for total cholesterol in both men and women. The associations were less adverse for persons in a higher quartile group of baseline BMI. The association between BMI change and serum lipid change was strongest for persons who were consistent smokers or non-smokers at each survey.

CONCLUSIONS

We conclude that an increase in BMI has been shown to be associated with adverse changes in serum lipids. The associations were weaker in women than in men.

[Levels of serum cholesterol in a catalan population. Evolution over a 6- year period (1994-1996)]

OBJECTIVE

To study the evolution of the serum levels of cholesterol in a population over 6 years. Design. cross-sectional observational study.Setting. Primary and specialist care in the county of Osona (Barcelona).

PARTICIPANTS

Study of those patients attending for health consultations in the county, whether at primary or hospital level, and who had their cholesterol level determined.

MAIN MEASUREMENTS

The levels of serum cholesterol of the 7882 patients studied during September to December 1994 was compared with those of the 10 319 patients analysed during the same months of 1999.

RESULTS

The mean levels of cholesterol increased steadily in both sexes with age, up to the fifth or sixth decade of life, at which point a slow descent started. Cholesterolaemia was higher in men than in women in the third and fourth decades of life; but from this age on, mean levels are higher in women than in men. Cholesterol levels in both sexes were higher in the 1999 period studied than in 1994. During 1999, 52.7% of men and 52.3% of women had serum cholesterol levels above 200 mg/dL, whereas in 1994 these figures were 49.1% and 49.2%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Mean levels of serum cholesterol in the population under study are high and increased between the two sampling years. Preventive and hygiene-diet measures need to be fomented among the general population in order to improve control of cholesterolaemia.