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Aims Apelin is one of adipokines that plays a pivotal role in energy metabolism, insulin sensitivity and vascular integrity. A definite genetic variant of apelin gene ( APLN ), rs3115757, was recently introduced to potentially influence apelin expression in adipocytes. The aim of our study was to explore the sights of a potential association of this functional variant with obesity traits, insulin resistance indices as well as type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) prevalence. Methods Genotype screening for rs3115757 variant in 151 Egyptian female samples was conducted. Fasting levels of serum insulin and lipid profile, in addition to plasma glucose were measured. Cochran–Armitage trend test was used to decide the risk allele and evaluate the association between the candidate variant and obesity using a case-control design. Results The homozygous G risk allele carriers showed higher values of body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference ( P = 0.001,0.02, respectively) as compared to CC or CG genotypes. As for GG genotype carriers, the risk of developing morbid obesity in lean subjects, (BMI < 25), is twelve times the risk in subjects carrying other genotypes (OR = 12.09, 95% CI: 1.4, 104.8, P = 0.024). On the other hand, GG carriers are shown to be more resistant to insulin. Significantly after correction for BMI and age effects, GG genotype carriers showed 14% and 41% increment in insulin level and resistance (OR = 1.14, 95% CI: 1.06, 1.23, P = 0.001), (OR = 1.42, 95% CI: 1.19, 1.70, P < 0.001), respectively. Conclusion These results suggest a prospective role mediated by this variant in mounting obesity disorders and as significant as insulin resistance complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: The recent definitions of the metabolic syndrome (MS) recognize the need for ethnic and region-specific waist circumference (WC) cut-offs that identify people with abdominal obesity. We tested WC as a diagnostic tool to identify people with visceral adiposity in Hispanics from the Latin America region.Methods: We used the area of visceral adipose tissue (VAT) ≥ 100 cm² at the level between the 4th and 5th lumbar vertebrae in abdominal CT scans as a marker of visceral adiposity and established the optimal WC threshold for men and women by means of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves.Results: 179 men and 278 women from Mexico, El Salvador, Venezuela, Colombia and Paraguay were included. The ROC curves were highly discriminative of excess VAT for men and women (area under the curve 0.9 and 0.8 respectively) and the WC threshold was identified at 94 cm for men and between 90 and 92 cm for women.Conclusion: In men the WC cutoff was equal to that proposed for europids and suggested for US adults who may have strong genetic contribution to insulin resistance such as Hispanics. In women the threshold was significantly higher than previously proposed for South and Central Americans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Sarcopenia measured as appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASM), and central obesity measured as visceral fat area (VFA) may act synergistically to influence metabolic syndrome and atherosclerosis. However, several previous studies reported that metabolic risk is higher in non-sarcopenic obesity groups than in sarcopenic obesity groups because of the close relationship between muscle mass and body fat. We investigated the association of the ASM to VFA ratio, which we have termed the muscle-to-fat ratio (MFR), with metabolic syndrome and arterial stiffness.Methods: This study was performed in 526 apparently healthy adults enrolled in the Korean Sarcopenic Obesity Study, an ongoing prospective observational cohort study. ASM was evaluated with dual energy X-ray absorptiometry and VFA with computed tomography. Arterial stiffness was measured using brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV).Results: MFR was significantly associated with waist circumference, blood pressure, lipid profiles, glucose and baPWV. By multiple logistic regression analysis, the odds ratio for metabolic syndrome was 5.43 (lowest versus highest tertile of MFR, 95% confidence interval, 2.56-13.34). Multiple stepwise regression analysis showed that MFR was an independent determinant of baPWV (R²=0.57).Conclusions: MFR, a new index of sarcopenic obesity, showed an independent negative association with metabolic syndrome and arterial stiffness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Aims: The CIDEA gene is involved in energy metabolism and a non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), V115F (G/T), is a risk factor for obesity in Swedish subjects and metabolic syndrome (MetS) in Japanese subjects. However, the risk allele was a G in Swedish subjects and a T in Japanese subjects. The present study investigated the association between this SNP and MetS in a Chinese population. Methods: Three hundred and fifty-one subjects evaluated at the Cardiac Clinic in Xuanwu Hospital for MetS risks were recruited. Anthropometric measurements, blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, and blood lipid levels were determined in addition to the polymorphism. Results: The proportion of subjects with MetS was significantly higher based on genotype, in the order: GG

Abstract: Attempts to explain the associations among metabolic syndrome (MetS) features using factor analysis to identify unobserved potential causes have resulted in inconsistent findings. We examined whether an unobserved categorical factor explains the associations among MetS features using latent class analysis. A cross-sectional analysis of 499 non-diabetic Japanese-Americans who underwent measurements of fasting blood, waist circumference (WC) and CT-measured intra-abdominal fat (IAF) area was conducted. MetS components were defined by IDF criteria. IAF and fasting serum insulin (FI) were dichotomized at the 75th percentile. Latent two- and three-class models were fit that included hypertension, dyslipidemia, hyperglycemia, and either WC, IAF, or FI for a total of six models. A three-class latent model fit the data well, while a two-class model did not. In the three-class model, one latent class was strongly associated with all MetS components, while another was associated with hyperglycemia and hypertension only. IAF was associated with only one latent class. Latent class analysis supports the presence of an unobserved factor linked to the co-occurrence of MetS features. One class of this factor was associated with hypertension and hyperglycemia but not central adiposity or FI, suggesting another pathway for observed MetS features. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Moderate alcohol consumption is known to be associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality. However, few studies reported that long-term alcohol drinking may increase the prevalence of central obesity, and cardiovascular disease. We examined the association between metabolic syndrome, nutritional factors and alcohol intake amount in Korean male rural population. We performed a cross-sectional analysis on data from Korean Rural Genomic Cohort (KRGC) study. We used multiple logistic regression analysis to estimate the adjusted odds ratio of metabolic syndrome according to alcohol intake amount categories (never, 0–16g/day, 16–40g/day, and >40g/day). The age adjusted odds ratio for the prevalence of metabolic syndrome was significantly increased in the quartile with the highest alcohol consumption compared to the non-alcohol drinking group (1.33; C.I., 1.11–1.59). These results were similar in the high energy intake group, but not in the low energy intake group. Waist circumference, blood pressure, and serum triglyceride levels were significantly higher in the quartile with the highest alcohol consumption compared to the non-alcohol drinking group. These results suggest that large alcohol consumption is associated with metabolic syndrome and may be a modifiable risk factor of metabolic syndrome especially in subjects with high calorie intake. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: To assess the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome disease cluster in the Hong Kong Chinese population we applied the US National Cholesterol Education Programme Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP ATP III) guidelines. This was present if ≥3 of the following conditions were present: Hypertension (≥130/85mmHg); fasting plasma glucose was ≥6.1mmol/L; fasting plasma triglycerides ≥1.69mmol/L; fasting HDL-cholesterol <1.04 or <1.29mmol in males and females, respectively; or subjects were receiving treatment for their condition; waist circumference >88 or 102cm (Asian WHO criteria ≥80 or 90cm) in females and males, respectively. A total of 16.7% (17.1 (95%CI 15.7–18.5)% age and gender-adjusted) of the 2893 subjects had the metabolic syndrome. The prevalence of having at least 2, 3, 4 or 5 components was 34.5, 16.7, 6.4 and 1.4%, respectively. The prevalence increased from 3.1% in those aged 25–29 years to 41.0% in those aged over 70 years. Using the 2001 Census, 880,499 Hong Kong residents would have the metabolic syndrome. If the WHO recommended waist circumference for Asians is used, the age and gender-adjusted prevalence is significantly higher at 21.2% (21.9 (95%CI 20.4–23.4)%). In summary, the high prevalence of the metabolic syndrome in adult Hong Kong Chinese, particularly in the elderly, forewarns a rapidly increasing problem in Mainland China, and other Asian populations, which may have overwhelming public health ramifications. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]