Prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus in a representative sample of Greek adults and its association with modifiable risk factors: results from the Hellenic National Nutrition and Health Survey

OBJECTIVE

Diabetes mellitus is a disease associated with many complications leading to premature death. The aim of this study was to estimate prevalence of type 2 diabetes (T2D), and the proportion of the population unaware of the condition, in association with modifiable risk factors.

STUDY DESIGN

Data from the Hellenic National Nutrition and Health Survey were used (n = 3773 adults, 40.8% men) and were obtained by trained personnel.

METHODS

Diabetes mellitus disease status was categorized as per the International Classification of Diseases codes (10th version). A subsample from the two main metropolitan areas was used to assess T2D and impaired fasting glucose (IFG) (n = 990; 38.2% men) from plasma analysis.

RESULTS

The prevalence of T2D in the population was 5.2% in total, reaching 13.7% in adults aged >60 years (no sex differences). IFG was observed in 27.3% of adults in the two metropolitan areas, and 40% were unaware of having T2D in this subsample. The likelihood of having T2D significantly increased with age and body weight, whereas it decreased with higher educational level and physical activity (P for all <0.001).

CONCLUSION

The high T2D prevalence in adults, especially among the older age-groups, suggests a major public health problem in Greece.

Association of meal and snack patterns with micronutrient intakes among Greek children and adolescents: data from the Hellenic National Nutrition and Health Survey

BACKGROUND

The present study aimed to examine how different meal and snack patterns are associated with micronutrient intakes and diet quality among a nationally representative sample of Greek children and adolescents aged 1-19 years from the cross-sectional Hellenic National Nutrition and Health Survey (n = 598).

METHODS

Meal and snack patterns were derived using 24-h dietary recalls. Mean adequacy ratio (MAR) was used as an overall measure of diet quality. Multiple linear regression adjusted for covariates was conducted to examine associations between eating patterns, nutrient intakes and MAR.

RESULTS

Four most frequently reported eating schemes were identified including breakfast (B), lunch (L), dinner (D) and two snacks (S) (20.9%); B, L, D and 1S (16.2%); B, L, D and 3S (10.8%); and B, L and D (7.9%). Based on these schemes, the daily consumption of all main meals from the majority of the sample was highlighted. In children and adolescents aged 4-19 years, increasing snack frequency was positively associated with intakes of vitamin D, vitamin K, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, folate, magnesium, copper and selenium. An inverse association was recorded for vitamin E, vitamin B₆ , calcium and iron. Among children aged 1-3 years, only niacin and copper were significantly associated with number of snacks, with the group of 'B-L-D-2S' presenting the highest intake. As for the overall diet quality, among all participants, there was no significant association of MAR with the type of meal and snack pattern, and thus the snack frequency.

CONCLUSIONS

Snacking behaviour is a common practice among children and adolescents. Modifying current snack foods with nutrient-rich choices could lead to an improvement of their diet's nutritional quality.

Humanised IgG1 antibody variants targeting membrane-bound carcinoembryonic antigen by antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity and phagocytosis

BACKGROUND

The effect of glycoengineering a membrane specific anti-carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) (this paper uses the original term CEA for the formally designated CEACAM5) antibody (PR1A3) on its ability to enhance killing of colorectal cancer (CRC) cell lines by human immune effector cells was assessed. In vivo efficacy of the antibody was also tested.

METHODS

The antibody was modified using EBNA cells cotransfected with beta-1,4-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase III and the humanised hPR1A3 antibody genes.

RESULTS

The resulting alteration of the Fc segment glycosylation pattern enhances the antibody's binding affinity to the FcgammaRIIIa receptor on human immune effector cells but does not alter the antibody's binding capacity. Antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) is inhibited in the presence of anti-FcgammaRIII blocking antibodies. This glycovariant of hPR1A3 enhances ADCC 10-fold relative to the parent unmodified antibody using either unfractionated peripheral blood mononuclear or natural killer (NK) cells and CEA-positive CRC cells as targets. NK cells are far more potent in eliciting ADCC than either freshly isolated monocytes or granulocytes. Flow cytometry and automated fluorescent microscopy have been used to show that both versions of hPR1A3 can induce antibody-dependent cellular phagocytosis (ADCP) by monocyte-derived macrophages. However, the glycovariant antibody did not mediate enhanced ADCP. This may be explained by the relatively low expression of FcgammaRIIIa on cultured macrophages. In vivo studies show the efficacy of glycoengineered humanised IgG1 PR1A3 in significantly improving survival in a CRC metastatic murine model.

CONCLUSION

The greatly enhanced in vitro ADCC activity of the glycoengineered version of hPR1A3 is likely to be clinically beneficial.