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Background Resting heart rate (RHR) has been associated with risks of mortality and multiple chronic diseases. Previous studies, predominantly conducted in Europeans, have reported 91 independent variants associated with RHR and its genetic correlations with several cardiometabolic traits. Studies from East Asians are lacking. Methods We performed a GWAS for RHR in 87,701 participants aged 30-79 years from China Kadoorie Biobank (CKB). A linear mixed model was used under an additive model. Replication was conducted in 37,251 Chinese participants from CKB and UK Biobank. We conducted LD score regression to quantify genetic correlations across RHR and 11 cardiometabolic traits. Results Only 50 previously reported variants were replicated in CKB (=0.025). We identified ten novel loci associated with RHR (P <5 × 10-8), of which 50 candidate genes were prioritized. RHR showed significant genetic correlations with diastolic blood pressure (rg=0.258, P =5.71 × 10−10), mean arterial pressure (rg=0.225, P =3.08 × 10−8), systolic blood pressure (rg=0.170, P =4.92 × 10−5), plasma glucose (rg=0.197, P =0.003), total cholesterol (rg=0.287, P =0.012), and high-density lipoprotein (rg=0.246, P =0.030). Conclusions We identified ten novel loci associated with RHR in a large Asian cohort. The identified genetic correlations of RHR with blood pressure, glucose, and lipids indicate previously reported association of RHR with risk of all-cause death might be mediated via its correlations with cardiometabolic traits. Key messages Ten novel loci associated with RHR were identified in the Chinese population. RHR showed significant genetic correlations with blood pressure, glucose and lipids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A nationwide survey in China found that skin diseases are common among college students, with a prevalence rate of 60.1%. Acne was the most common skin disease, followed by eczema, androgenetic alopecia, chronic urticaria, and rosacea. The study estimated that the overall burden of skin disease was 667.0 years lived with disabilities (YLDs) per 100,000, with noncommunicable skin diseases accounting for the majority of the burden. The study emphasized the need for accurate data to inform policymakers and recommended prioritizing the prevention, screening, and management of noncommunicable skin diseases. [Extracted from the article]

Background: Pruritus is identified as an adverse drug reaction to arsenic trioxide, but the association of arsenic exposure with pruritus has not been investigated. Methods: A cross‐sectional study was conducted in Shimen, China. A Mendelian randomization analysis was conducted to confirm the causal relationship between genetically predicted percentages of monomethylated arsenic (MMA%) and dimethylated arsenic (DMA%) in urine with chronic pruritus in UK Biobank. A case–control study was then conducted to determine the biomarker for pruritus. Arsenite‐treated mice were used to confirm the biomarker, and von Frey test was used to induce scratching bouts. Last, a randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled trial was conducted to test the efficacy of naloxone in arsenic‐exposed patients with pruritus in Shimen. Results: Hair arsenic (μg/g) showed a dose–response relationship with the intensity of itch in 1079 participants, with odds ratios (OR) of 1.11 for moderate‐to‐severe itch (p = 0.012). The Mendelian randomization analysis confirmed the causal relationship, with ORs of 1.043 for MMA% (p = 0.029) and 0.904 for DMA% (p = 0.077) above versus under median. Serum β‐endorphin was identified as a significant biomarker for the intensity of itch (p < 0.001). Consistently, treatment with arsenite upregulated the level of β‐endorphin (p = 0.002) and induced scratching bouts (p < 0.001) in mice. The randomized controlled trial in 126 participants showed that treatment with sublingual naloxone significantly relieved the intensity of itch in arsenic‐exposed participants in 2 weeks (β = −0.98, p = 0.04). Conclusion: Arsenic exposure is associated with pruritus, and β‐endorphin serves as a biomarker of pruritus. Naloxone relieves pruritus in patients with arseniasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Higher prevalence of frailty and accelerated biological age with SMI than those without SMI. • In this cohort study with over 12 years of follow-up in the UK Biobank, biological aging was strongly and positively associated with the incidence risk of CMDs among people with SMI. • Findings highlight the important implications for concerning about the high incidence of CMDs comorbidities and intervention of aging in people with SMI and may reduce premature mortality and improve life expectancy. Cardiometabolic diseases (CMDs) comorbidities among people with severe mental illnesses (SMI) are associated with a high healthcare burden and premature mortality. This study aims to evaluate whether biological aging has an interaction with SMI on incident CMDs, and to examine the association of four biological aging indicators with CMDs incidence in this population. Data were sourced from the UK Biobank, a large prospective cohort study. Four indicators were used to assess biological aging including frailty phenotype, frailty index, KDM-biological age acceleration and phenotypic age acceleration. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to examine the associations. We observed higher prevalence of frailty and accelerated biological age with SMI than those without SMI. Further analysis found significant interaction effect of pre-frailty and SMI (P Pre-frail*SMI =0.005) as well as biological age acceleration and SMI (P Q3 (>P75)*SMI =0.038). 14.7 % of the participants with SMI developed CMDs during the follow-up. Compared with non-frail participants, those with frailty (frailty phenotype: HR=1.68, 95 % CI: 1.50, 1.88, P < 0.001; frailty index: HR=2.44, 95 % CI: 2.11–2.81, P < 0.001) and biological age acceleration (KDM-biological age acceleration (Q3): HR=1.91, 95 % CI: 1.74, 2.11, P < 0.001; phenotypic age acceleration (Q3): HR=2.07, 95 % CI: 1.86, 2.30, P < 0.001) had a significantly higher risk of CMDs in the adjusted model. A series of sensitivity analyses were conducted to illustrate the robustness of the findings. These findings highlight the important implications for concerning about the high incidence of CMDs comorbidities and intervention of aging in people with SMI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Active commuting is related to higher level of physical activity but more exposure to ambient air pollutants. Little is known about the relations of long-term active commuting with cardiovascular events, especially in developing countries with severe air pollution. Methods: The prospective China Kadoorie Biobank study enrolled over 0.5 million adults aged 30-79 years during 2004-08 from ten diverse areas across China. Cox regression yielded adjusted HRs and 95% CIs for incident cardiovascular events by active commuting time. Active commuting was defined as commuting by walking or cycling. Results: During a median follow-up of 9.6 years, there were 39,987 ischemic heart disease, 8,784 hemorrhagic stroke and 37,300 ischemic stroke events recorded among 487,197 participants without major chronic diseases at baseline. Compared with participants who reported noncommuting or non-active commuting, the multivariable-adjusted HRs (95%CIs) for ischemic heart disease were 0.96 (0.92, 1.00) for those who reported active commuting 1~29 min/day and 0.94 (0.90, 0.98) for ≥30 min/day, respectively; the respective HRs (95% CIs) were 0.87 (0.80, 0.95) and 0.88 (0.80, 0.96) for hemorrhagic stroke. After multivariable adjustment, active commuting was not associated with ischemic stroke. The associations between active commuting and cardiovascular diseases were independent of total physical activity level and were modified by sex, region, smoking status, and alcohol consumption. For ischemic heart disease, the inverse associations with active commuting were only observed among those aged less than sixty. For hemorrhagic stroke, the inverse associations with active commuting appeared to be somewhat greater among current regular smoker. Conclusions: Our data indicate that daily active commuting is related to a reduced risk of ischemic heart disease and hemorrhagic stroke, suggesting the health benefit of higher commuting physical activity level outweigh the risk due to air pollution exposures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]