Resting Metabolic Rate in Women with Endocrine and Osteoporotic Disorders in Relation to Nutritional Status, Diet and 25(OH)D Concentration

Quercetin improved hepatic circadian rhythm dysfunction in middle-aged mice fed with vitamin D-deficient diet

We aimed to determine whether quercetin is capable of improving circadian rhythm and metabolism disorder under vitamin D-deficient condition. Middle-aged mice were randomly divided into four groups, namely, control (CON), vitamin D-deficient diet (VDD), quercetin (Q), and quercetin intervention in vitamin D-deficient diet (VDQ), with a total of 12 weeks' intervention. Mice were sacrificed at zeitgeber time1 (ZT1) and ZT13 time points. At ZT1, circadian locomotor output cycle kaput (CLOCK) protein expression from VDD, Q, and VDQ groups; CRY1 from Q group; and CRY2 from VDD group were significantly lower compared to CON group. The mRNA expression of Sirt1, Bmal1, Clock, Cry1, and Cry2 in VDQ groups, also Bmal1, Clock, and Cry1 from Q group, were significantly decreased compared to CON group. At ZT13, compared to CON group, fasting insulin and homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) were higher in VDD group; BMAL1 was significantly increased, while CLOCK and CRY1 protein were significantly decreased from VDD group; CLOCK protein from VDQ group was significantly higher compared to CON, VDD, and Q groups, and also, BMAL1 protein expression from VDQ group was elevated compared to CON group. The mRNA expression of Bmal1, Clock, Per2, Cry1, and Cry2 in VDQ groups were significantly increased compared to CON groups. The mRNA expression of Bmal1 from VDQ group was decreased compared to both VDD and Q group. In conclusion, vitamin D-deficient diet resulted in a disordered liver circadian rhythm, and quercetin improved the hepatic circadian desynchronization. Quercetin supplementation might be effective for balancing circadian rhythm under vitamin D-deficient condition.

Assessment of Awareness and Knowledge about Osteoporosis in Relation to Health Prevention among Patients Treated in Osteoporosis Clinics

The increasing incidence of osteoporosis indicates that the disease is a serious public health problem, with about 200 million people being affected worldwide. The aims of this research are to assess the awareness and knowledge about osteoporosis in relation to risk factors, health condition, supplementation used, socio-demographic factors and other variables among osteoporosis patients. The study was conducted in 2016-2018 in osteoporosis clinics in Poland. The study involved 312 patients with a diagnosis of osteoporosis. In the diagnostic survey method, the authors' own questionnaire was used. The results indicate that the more frequent the symptoms associated with the disease, the lower the general self-assessment of the health condition of the respondents (rho = -0.682, p < 0.001). In addition, almost half of the respondents stated that their knowledge of osteoporosis is negligible. Moreover, the use of dietary supplements significantly differentiated respondents in terms of health self-assessed (p < 0.001), and it is noteworthy that users of dietary supplements assessed their health significantly better. We also saw a statistically significant relationship between the self-assessment of knowledge about osteoporosis and the use of dietary supplements (p < 0.001). Accordingly, significantly more respondents rating their knowledge as good or very good used dietary supplements. The conducted study demonstrates the need to educate patients and implement educational programs at central and provincial levels to improve patient knowledge concerning the disease. Supporting adaptation to chronic diseases and appropriate therapeutic management may contribute to improved osteoporosis treatment and enhanced patient quality of life.

Serum vitamin D levels and Sjogren's syndrome: bi-directional Mendelian randomization analysis

BACKGROUND

Based on the results of existing observational studies, it can be found that the association between serum vitamin D levels and the risk of Sjogren's syndrome (SS) in humans is still controversial. Based on this situation, this study aimed to assess the causal relationship between serum vitamin D levels and SS by using the Mendelian randomization (MR) approach.

METHODS

In this study, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) summary statistics on serum vitamin D levels [sample size = 417,580 (UK Biobank)] and SS [sample size = 416,757 (cases = 2495, controls = 414,262) (FinnGen)] were used. The bi-directional MR analysis was then used to assess possible causal relationships. The major analysis method of MR was performed using inverse-variance weighted (IVW), supplemented by MR-Egger and the weighted median approaches. In addition, sensitivity analyses were used to ensure the stability of the results, including Cochran's Q test, MR-PRESSO, MR-Egger intercept test, and the leave-one-out test.

RESULTS

The MR suggested that no significant causal effects of serum 25(OH)D levels on SS risks were observed [odds ratio (OR) = 0.9824; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.7130 to 1.3538; P = 0.9137]. Similarly, no evidence supported the causal effects of SS on serum vitamin D levels (β: 0.0076, 95% CI: - 0.0031 to 0.0183; P = 0.1640).

CONCLUSION

This study found no obvious evidence that serum vitamin D level is causally associated with SS risks or vice versa. We call for larger sample size studies to further unravel the potential causal relationship and the exact mechanism.