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Increased ventilation during exercise in polluted areas could trigger airway inflammation. We evaluated blood DNA methylation of the SOX2-promoter region in relation to exercise and PM2.5 in Taiwanese adults. Data of 948 participants aged 30&ndash, 70 years were retrieved from the Taiwan Biobank Database (2008&ndash, 2015) and the Air Quality Monitoring Database (2006&ndash, 2011). PM2.5 was positively associated with SOX2-promoter methylation (&beta, = 0.000216, p &lt, 0.0001). The interaction between PM2.5 and exercise on SOX2-promoter methylation was significant (p = 0.0146). After stratification by exercise habits, PM2.5 was positively associated with SOX2 methylation in only individuals who did regular exercise (&beta, = 0.0003490, 0.0001). After stratification by exercise habits and residential areas, SOX2-promoter methylation levels in those who lived in the southern area were higher for both the regular exercise (&beta, = 0.00272, p = 0.0172) and no regular exercise groups (&beta, = 0.002610 and p = 0.0162). SOX2-promoter methylation levels in those who lived in the northern area and did regular exercise were lower, &beta, = -0.00314 (p = 0.0036). In conclusion, PM2.5 was positively associated with SOX2-promoter methylation in participants who did regular exercise. Living in the southern area was positively associated with SOX2-promoter methylation regardless of exercise habits.

Background and objectives: High-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) is important for improving risk estimates of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. We investigated the effect of omnivore and diverse vegetarian diets in connection with exercise on HDL-C. Materials and Methods: Historical data of 9588 biobank participants (4025 exercisers and 5563 non-exercisers) aged 30&ndash, 70 years were categorized as omnivores (n = 8589), former vegetarians (n = 544), lacto-ovo vegetarians (n = 417), and strict vegetarians (n = 38). We used multiple linear regression for analyses. Results: HDL-C levels were higher in exercisers compared to non-exercisers. Compared with omnivores, strict vegetarians had decreased levels of HDL-C (&beta, = &minus, 5.705, p = 0.001) followed by lacto-ovo vegetarians (&beta, 3.900, p &lt, 0.001) and former vegetarians (&beta, 0.329, p = 0.475). The test for trend was significant (p &lt, 0.001). After categorization by exercise modalities, the &beta, value was &minus, 13.984 for strict vegetarians, &minus, 4.419 for lacto-ovo vegetarians, and &minus, 1.864 for former vegetarians, respectively (p &lt, 0.05). There was an interaction between diet and exercise (p = 0.009). Omnivores who exercised regularly had significantly higher HDL-C, whereas strict vegetarians who exercised regularly had significantly lower HDL-C. Conclusions: In summary, strict vegetarian diets in conjunction with regular exercise might not serve as healthful behaviors to be implemented in everyday life considering the negative impact on HDL-C.

The effects of genetic variants on the interaction between hyperlipidemia and sex have not been investigated among gout patients in Taiwan. Using Taiwan Biobank and the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD), we examined hyperlipidemia, sex, and their relationship with gout among Taiwanese adults with the human leukocyte antigen B (HLA-B) genetic variants. Hyperlipidemia was present in 1437 patients with gout. Sex and hyperlipidemia had significant associations on gout risk, with hyperlipidemia showing a relatively stronger effect. Gout was present in men, with an odds ratio (OR) of 1.945 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.568&ndash, 2.411) compared to women, and in hyperlipidemic (OR = 4.032, 95% CI: 3.581&ndash, 4.540) compared to non-hyperlipidemic patients. The interaction of sex and hyperlipidemia was significant for rs2523608 GG (p = 0.0402) and rs4713518 AA (p = 0.0003) genotypes. After stratification, hyperlipidemia remained a risk factor in women (OR = 4.735, 95% CI: 3.375&ndash, 6.643) and men (OR = 3.640, 95% CI: 2.916&ndash, 4.544) with rs2523608 GG genotype. The odds ratio in hyperlipidemic women and men with rs4713518 AA genotype was 7.454 (95% CI 5.103&ndash, 10.888) and 3.585 (95% CI 2.854&ndash, 4.503), respectively. Our study indicates that hyperlipidemia-sex interactions exist for gout risk in Taiwanese adults with rs2523608 GG and rs4713518 AA genotypes.