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Objective: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between serum vitamin D level and carotid intima-media thickness (C-IMT) in Chinese postmenopausal women. Methods: Nine hundred and twenty six Chinese postmenopausal women without carotid artery plaque or history of cardiovascular disease were selected for analysis. Measurements of serum 25 hydroxyvitamin D3 (25(OH)D3) concentration and C-IMT were made by electrochemiluminescence immunoassay and B-mode ultrasound, respectively. Trend analysis was conducted according to tertiles of C-IMT. Results: The median serum 25(OH)D3 level was 11.03 ng/mL, with an interquartile range of 8.22–14.70. A decreasing trend of serum 25(OH)D3 level was accompanied by increased C-IMT tertiles (P for trend = 0.001). Correlation analysis found an inverse relationship between serum 25(OH)D3 level and C-IMT (r = –0.113, P = 0.001). After adjustment for confounding factors, multiple regression analysis showed that serum 25(OH)D3 level independently and negatively associated with C-IMT (Standard β = –0.112, P < 0.001). Moreover, the inverse correlation of serum 25(OH)D3 with C-IMT was also found in a subgroup of women with normal glucose tolerance, blood pressure and body mass index, and without undergoing lipid-lowering therapy (standard β = –0.140, P = 0.018). Conclusions: Serum 25(OH)D3 level was inversely correlated with C-IMT in Chinese postmenopausal women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Elevated serum uric acid concentration is an independent risk factor and predictor of type 2 diabetes (T2D). Whether the uric acid-associated genes have an impact on T2D remains unclear. We aimed to investigate the effects of the uric acid-associated genes on the risk of T2D as well as glucose metabolism and insulin secretion. Method: We recruited 2,199 normal glucose tolerance subjects from the Shanghai Diabetes Study I and II and 2,999 T2D patients from the inpatient database of Shanghai Diabetes Institute. Fifteen single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) mapped in or near 11 loci (PDZK1, GCKR, LRP2, SLC2A9, ABCG2, LRRC16A, SLC17A1, SLC17A3, SLC22A11, SLC22A12 and SF1) were genotyped and serum biochemical parameters related to uric acid and T2D were determined. Results: SF1 rs606458 showed strong association to T2D in both males and females (p = 0.034 and 0.0008). In the males, LRRC16A was associated with 2-h insulin and insulin secretion (p = 0.009 and 0.009). SLC22A11 was correlated with HOMA-B and insulin secretion (p = 0.048 and 0.029). SLC2A9 rs3775948 was associated with 2-h glucose (p = 0.043). In the females, LRP2 rs2544390 and rs1333049 showed correlations with fasting insulin, HOMA-IR and insulin secretion (p = 0.028, 0.033 and 0.052 and p = 0.034, 0.047 and 0.038, respectively). SLC2A9 rs11722228 was correlated with 2-h glucose, 2-h insulin and insulin secretion (p = 0.024, 0.049 and 0.049, respectively). Conclusions: Our results indicated that the uric acid-associated genes have an impact on the risk of T2D, glucose metabolism and insulin secretion in a Chinese population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To investigate the impact of common variants of FNDC5 on type 2 diabetes and clinical traits related to glucose metabolism in a large Chinese population sample. Methods: Three tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms within the region of the FNDC5 gene were selected and genotyped in 6822 participants. Detailed clinical investigations and biochemistry measurements were carried out in all of the participants. Subjects without diabetes were classified into normal weight and overweight/obese subgroups according to body mass index (BMI). Results: None of the SNPs were associated with either the risk of type 2 diabetes in all of the participants or with any of the clinical quantitative traits in the controls with normal glucose regulation. Subgroup analysis showed that in controls with normal weight (BMI <25 kg/m2), the rs16835198 major allele G was significantly associated with fasting insulin levels, and that each additional copy of the allele resulted in a 0.0178 mU/L increment of the values (p = 0.046). Moreover, after adjusting for confounding variables, there were trends towards correlation of rs16835198 with HOMA-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) (p = 0.057) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels (p = 0.083). In overweight/obese subjects (BMI ≥25 Kg/m2), we noted rs16835198 showed trends towards association with fasting insulin (p = 0.057) and HOMA-IR levels (p = 0.091), both of which declined with additional copies of the major allele G. Moreover, rs16835198 was significantly associated with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels (p = 0.013), and HOMA-β cell function (p = 0.028) in the overweight/obese subjects. Finally, we observed a significant interaction between BMI-rs16835198 and fasting insulin levels in the control group (p = 0.003). Conclusions: Our data indicate that the effect of the common FNDC5 SNP rs16835198 on fasting insulin was significantly modified by BMI in the Chinese Han population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To assess the association of albuminuria and retinopathy with metabolic syndrome (MetS) and the related metabolic components defined by various criteria in Chinese community-based subjects. Methods: A total of 3240 Chinese subjects were recruited from urban communities and classified into subgroups with isolated or concomitant state of the two microvascular diseases. MetS was defined according to the standard of International Diabetes Federation, the National Cholesterol Education Program's Adult Treatment Panel III and Chinese Diabetes Society (CDS), separately. Albuminuria was defined as an elevated morning urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio. Retinopathy were identified with nonmydriatic retinal photographs according to the Diabetic Retinopathy Disease Severity Scale. Logistic regression was performed to analyze the contributive risk factors. Results: The subgroup of isolated retinopathy was the oldest (P<0.05), with higher blood pressure (P<0.001) and larger waist circumference (P<0.05). After adjusting for age, sex and other metabolic components, individuals with blood pressure over 130/85 mmHg were prone to have isolated albuminuria (OR: 1.51, P = 0.0001); while individuals with fasting plasma glucose over 5.6 mmol/L were in high risk of retinopathy concomitant with albuminria (OR: 3.04, P = 0.006). Larger waist circumference was a potential risk factors for isolated albuminuria and isolated retinopathy, though not significant after further adjustment of other metabolic components. The risk for albuminuria and retinopathy increased with the aggregation of three or more metabolic components. However, the MetS per se did not have synergic effect and only the MetS defined by CDS remained as a risk factor. Conclusions: Albuminuria and retinopathy were highly associated with accumulated metabolic abnormalities including sub-clinical elevated blood pressure and elevated fasting plasma glucose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The fibroblast growth factor 19 (FGF19) has been implicated in recent studies as a potential regulator of glucose and lipid metabolism, which may lead to atherosclerosis. Here, we investigated the association of FGF19 with the presence and severity of coronary artery disease (CAD) in a Chinese population. Methods: A total of 315 patients with suspected or established CAD, including 205 males and 110 postmenopausal females, were enrolled and assessed by coronary angiography. CAD severity was determined by the Gensini score. Serum FGF19 was measured by quantitative sandwich ELISA. Results: FGF19 levels were not significantly different between male and female patients (median [interquartile range], 143.40 [87.96–250.80] vs. 141.60 [87.13–226.32] pg/mL, P = 0.773). CAD patients had lower levels of FGF19 than those without CAD (128.20 [80.62–226.58] vs. 188.00 [105.10–284.70] pg/mL, P = 0.007). FGF19 was negatively correlated with 2hPG (r = –0.150, P = 0.008), FINS (r = –0.169, P = 0.004), HOMA-IR (r = –0.171, P = 0.004), and the Gensini score (r = –0.141, P = 0.012), but positively correlated with HDL-c (r = 0.116, P = 0.041) and adiponectin (r = 0.128, P = 0.024). Moreover, FGF19 was found to be independently correlated with 2hPG (β = –0.146, P = 0.022) and adiponectin (β = 0.154, P = 0.016). After adjusting for other CAD risk factors, FGF19 was demonstrated to be an independent factor for Gensini score (β = –0.140, P = 0.019) and the presence of CAD (β = –1.248, P = 0.036). Conclusions: Serum FGF19 is associated with the presence and severity of CAD in a Chinese population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]