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IntroductionWaist circumference (WC) and fasting plasma glucose (FPG) have been demonstrated as risk factors for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Evidence is limited regarding the association of the combination of WC and FPG (WyG) with the risk of T2DM. The primary aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between WyG and T2DM.Research design and methodsThe current study was a population-based cohort study using data from the NAGALA database. Participants were divided into tertiles based on WyG. Cox proportional hazard regression model was applied to identify the association of WyG with T2DM.ResultsDuring a median follow-up of 6.19 years in the normoglycemia group and 5.58 years in the prediabetes group, respectively, 88 and 285 individuals in the two groups received a diagnosis of T2DM. After full adjustment, risk of T2DM increased in step-wise fashion with increasing tertiles of WyG. For a per-SD increase in WyG, the hazard ratios for T2DM were 3.05 (95% CI 2.64 - 3.51) in all populations, 1.94 (95% CI 1.46 - 2.58) in the normoglycemia group and 1.63 (95% CI 1.40 - 1.90) in the prediabetes group. The interaction between WyG and fatty liver on T2DM was statistically significant in the prediabetes group (P for interaction = 0.034).ConclusionsElevated WyG was independently associated with incident T2DM in Japan. Baseline WyG help identify individuals at high risk of T2DM and implement effective preventive measures.

The expanding geriatric population, whose predisposition toward disabling morbidities and age-related diseases (ARD) is well-documented, has become a paramount social issue, exerting an onerous burden on both the healthcare industry and wider society. ARD manifest as the progressive deterioration of bodily tissues and organs, eventually resulting in the failure of these vital components. At present, no efficacious measures exist to hinder the onset of ARD. Copper, an essential trace element, is involved in a wide range of physiological processes across different cell types. In recent research, a novel variant of copper-dependent cell death, termed cuproptosis, has been identified. This mode of cellular demise stands apart from previously recognized types of cell death. Cuproptosis occurs when copper binds with acyl-CoA synthetase in the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, resulting in protein aggregation and protein toxicity stress, ultimately leading to cell death. In this paper, we provide a concise overview of the current understanding concerning the metabolism of copper, copper-related diseases, the hallmarks of copper toxicity, and the mechanisms that regulate copper toxicity. Additionally, we discuss the implications of cuproptosis mutations in the development of ARD, as well as the potential for targeting cuproptosis as a treatment for ARD.

Abstract Background Previous studies have declared that baseline lymphocyte count is associated with COVID-19-related death. However, whether dynamic lymphocyte change over time affects prognosis in COVID-19 patients is unknown. This study aims to investigate the significance of lymphocyte count during the progression of the disease in COVID-19 patients. Methods The retrospective cohort study recruited COVID-19 patients at the First People’s Hospital of Jiangxia District in Wuhan from January 7, 2020, to February 28, 2020. The demographics, medical histories, results of the blood routine test, and patients’ outcomes were collected. We utilized a generalized additive mixed model to compare trends in lymphocyte count over time among survivors and non-survivors, with an adjustment for potential confounders. The statistical analysis used R software and EmpowerStats. Significance was determined at a P-value of less than 0.05 (two-sided). Results A total of 532 patients were included in the study. Overall, there were 29/532 in-hospital deaths (5.45%). Lymphocytes declined over time in the non-survivor group and increased in the survivor group in the first 10 days of hospitalization. Within 10 days after admission, lymphocyte count increased in the survivor group and decreased in the non-survivor group. The difference in lymphocyte counts between survivors and non-survivors increased by an average of 0.0732 × 109/L daily. After adjusting for several covariables, the increasing value remained at 0.0731 × 109/L per day. Conclusion In the early stage, lymphocyte count can dynamically reflect the pathophysiological changes in COVID-19 patients. An early decrease in lymphocyte count is associated with mortality in COVID-19 patients.

BackgroundBody mass index (BMI) and fasting plasma glucose (FPG) are known risk factors for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), but data on the prospective association of the combination of BMI and FPG with T2DM are limited. This study sought to characterize the association of the combination of BMI and FPG (ByG) with T2DM.MethodsThe current study used the NAGALA database. We categorized participants by tertiles of ByG. The association of ByG with T2DM was expressed with hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) after adjustment for potential risk factors.ResultsDuring a median follow-up of 6.19 years in the normoglycemia cohort and 5.58 years in the prediabetes cohort, the incidence of T2DM was 0.75% and 7.79%, respectively. Following multivariable adjustments, there were stepwise increases in T2DM with increasing tertiles of ByG. After a similar multivariable adjustment, the risk of T2DM was 2.57 (95% CI 2.26 - 2.92), 1.97 (95% CI 1.53 - 2.54) and 1.50 (95% CI 1.30 - 1.74) for a per-SD change in ByG in all populations, the normoglycemia cohort and the prediabetes cohort, respectively.ConclusionByG was associated with an increased risk of T2DM in Japan. The result reinforced the importance of the combination of BMI and FPG in assessing T2DM risk.

This study aims to examine whether and how gender diversity on corporate boards is associated with voluntary nonfinancial disclosures, particularly water disclosures. This study uses corporate water information disclosure data from Chinese listed firms between 2010 and 2018 to conduct regression analyses to examine the association between female directors and water information disclosure. Empirical results show that female directors have a significantly positive association with corporate water information disclosure. Additionally, internal industry water sensitivity of firms moderates this significant relationship. This study determined that female directors can promote not only water disclosure but also positive corporate water performance, reflecting the consistency of words and deeds of female directors in voluntary nonfinancial disclosures.

BackgroundSeveral studies have verified that a high baseline TG/HDL-C ratio is a risk factor for incident type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). However, for low baseline TG/HDL-C levels, the findings were inconsistent with ours. In addition, the association between baseline TG/HDL-C ratio and the risk of incident T2DM in Japanese men with normal glycemic levels is unclear. As a result, our study further investigated the relationship between baseline TG/HDL-C and the risk of incident T2DM in Japanese men with normal glycemic levels.MethodsThis was a secondary longitudinal cohort study. We selected 7,684 male participants between 2004 and 2015 from the NAGALA database. A standardized Cox regression model and two piecewise Cox regression models were used to explore the relationship between the baseline high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (TG/HDL-C) and incident T2DM.ResultsDuring a median follow-up of 2,282 days, 162 men developed incident T2DM. In the adjusted model, the baseline TG/HDL-C ratio was strongly associated with the risk of incident T2DM, and no dose-dependent positive association was observed between the baseline TG/HDL-C ratio and incidence of T2DM throughout the baseline TG/HDL-C quartiles. Two-piecewise linear regression analysis showed a U-shaped association between baseline TG/HDL-C ratio and incidence of incident T2DM. A baseline TG/HDL-C ratio below 1.188 was negatively associated with incident T2DM (H.R. = 0.105, 95% CI = 0.025, 0.451; P = 0.002). In contrast, a baseline TG/HDL-C ratio >1.188 was positively associated with incident T2DM (H.R. = 1.248, 95% CI = 1.113, 1.399; P

BackgroundDiabetes has become a global public health problem. Obesity has been established as a risk factor for diabetes. However, it remains unclear which of the obesity indicators (BMI, WC, WhtR, ABSI, BRI, LAP, VAI) is more appropriate for monitoring diabetes. Therefore, the objective of this investigation is to compare the strength of the association of these indicators and diabetes and reveal the relationship between LAP and diabetes.Methods15,252 people took part in this research. LAP was quartered and COX proportional risk model was applied to explore the relationship between LAP and new-onset diabetes. Smooth curve fitting was employed to investigate the non-linear link between LAP and diabetes mellitus. Finally, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the predictive ability of the aforementioned indicators for diabetes.ResultsAfter adjusting for confounding factors, multiple linear regression analysis showed that each unit increase in LAP was associated with a 76.8% increase in the risk of developing diabetes (HR=1.768, 95% CI: 1.139 to 2.746, P=0.011). In addition, LAP predicted new-onset diabetes better than other indicators, and the AUC was the largest [HR: 0.713, 95% CI: 0.6806-0.7454, P

BackgroundIt has been proved that triglyceride glucose-body mass index (TyG-BMI) is a readily available and clinically significant indicator of insulin resistance (IR). Nevertheless, the association between TyG-BMI and incident Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) remains uncertain. This study aimed to study the relationship between TyG-BMI and T2DM and explore the predictive characteristics of TyG-BMI.MethodsOur study was conducted as a longitudinal cohort study. 8,430 men and 7,034 women were enrolled and analyzed. They were both non-diabetic subjects with normal glycemic levels. Follow-up lasted for 13 years, from 1994 to 2016. To make the number of TyG-BMI in each group similar, the subjects were divided into four groups with 3866 subjects in each group.ResultsDuring the 13-year follow-up period, 373 subjects were diagnosed with incident T2DM. Our multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that TyG-BMI was an independent predictor of incident T2DM. In addition, our research identified four specific groups, young people (18-44 years old), women, the non-hypertensive population and non-drinkers were at significantly higher risk of developing TyG-BMI-related diabetes (P-interaction< 0.05). The best threshold TyG-BMI for predicting incident T2DM was 197.2987 (area under the curve 0.7738).ConclusionsOur longitudinal cohort study demonstrated the positive correlation between baseline TyG-BMI and risk of incident T2DM in Japanese with normal glycemic levels, and this risk was significantly higher in the young people, women, the non-hypertensive population and non-drinkers.

BackgroundLow-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) is the primary target of lipid-lowering therapy on the management of hypercholesterolemia in the United States and European guidelines, while apolipoprotein B (apoB) is the secondary target. The objective was to determine if elevated levels of apoB is superior to LDL-C in assessing residual risk of coronary atherosclerotic heart disease and severity of coronary atherosclerosis in participants with statin treatment.MethodsThis study included 131 participants with statin treatment. The generalized linear model and relative risk regression (generalized linear Poisson model with robust error variance) were used to analyze the association of the levels of apoB and LDL-C with the severity of coronary atherosclerosis and residual risk of coronary atherosclerotic heart disease.ResultsCategorizing apoB and LDL-C based on tertiles, higher levels of apoB were significantly associated with the severity of coronary atherosclerosis (Ptrend = 0.012), whereas no such associations were found for elevated levels of LDL-C (Ptrend = 0.585). After multivariate adjustment, higher levels of apoB were significantly associated with residual risk of coronary atherosclerotic heart disease. When compared with low-level apoB (≤0.66 g/L), the multivariate adjusted RR and 95% CI of intermediate-level apoB (0.67–0.89 g/L) and high-level apoB (≥0.90 g/L) were 1.16 (1.01, 1.33) and 1.31 (1.08, 1.60), respectively (Ptrend = 0.011). There was a 45% increased residual risk of coronary atherosclerotic heart disease per unit increment in natural log-transformed apoB (Ptrend 0.05).ConclusionsElevated apoB are superior in assessing the residual risk of coronary atherosclerotic heart disease and severity of coronary atherosclerosis in participants with statin treatment.

Abstract Background Dyslipidaemia and male sex are associated with gallbladder polyp (GBP) formation. However, the potential relation between the non-high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol-to-high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (non-HDL-c/HDL-c) ratio and GBPs in men is unclear. Methods A total of 1866 eligible subjects were selected for this retrospective cohort study from Wuhan Union Hospital between April 1, 2013, and November 30, 2014. Clinical and laboratory data of subjects were collected. Patients with GBPs or cholecystectomy at baseline, with missing data for baseline lipid profiles, following abdominal ultrasonography or taking lipid-lowering drugs were excluded. The patients were divided into five groups based on their non-HDL-c/HDL-c ratios, and descriptive analyses of the baseline data were performed. A Cox proportional hazards model was applied to estimate the relationship between the non-HDL-c/HDL-c ratio and GBPs. Results After a median follow-up of 1 year, 7.34% (n = 137) of the subjects developed GBPs. Compared with subjects without GBPs, those who developed GBPs after follow-up had significantly higher triglyceride (TG) levels and non-HDL-c/HDL-c ratios. The prevalence of GBPs showed a linearity increment with age, peaked in the 30–39 years group, 40–49 years group and 50–59 years group, and then declined slightly. The results of univariate analysis showed that the non-HDL-c/HDL-c ratio (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.29, 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.05–1.60, P = 0.0159) was positively correlated with GBPs. In the fully adjusted Cox regression model, the HRs were 2.24 for quintile 2 (95% CI: 1.13–4.44, P = 0.0203), 1.50 for quintile 3 (95% CI: 0.73–3.10, P = 0.269), 2.52 for quintile 4 (95% CI: 1.26–5.01, P = 0.0087) and 2.13 for quintile 5 (95% CI: 1.04–4.37, P = 0.0397). No interaction was found among the subgroups. Conclusions A higher non-HDL-c/HDL-c ratio is independently related to a higher risk of GBP formation in Chinese men. Further research is needed to investigate whether this association exists in different regions and races.

Abstract Background The associations between maternal exposure to ambient PM2.5 during pregnancy and the risk of premature rupture of membranes (PROM) and preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM) are controversial. And no relevant study has been conducted in Asia. This study aimed to determine the association between maternal exposure to ambient PM2.5 during pregnancy and the risk of (P)PROM. Methods A cohort study including all singleton births in a hospital located in Central China from January 2015 through December 2017 was conducted. Multivariable logistic regression models, stratified analysis, generalized additive model, and two-piece-wise linear regression were conducted to evaluate how exposure to ambient PM2.5 during pregnancy is associated with the risks of PROM and PPROM. Results A total of 4364 participants were included in the final analysis, where 11.71 and 2.34% of births were complicated by PROM and PPROM, respectively. The level of PM2.5 exhibited a degree of seasonal variation, and its median concentrations were 63.7, 59.3, 55.8, and 61.8 μg/m3 for the first trimester, second trimester, third trimester, and the whole duration of pregnancy, respectively. After adjustment for potential confounders, PROM was positively associated with PM2.5 exposure (per 10 μg/m3) [Odds Ratio (OR) = 1.14, 95% Confidence Interval (CI), 1.02–1.26 for the first trimester; OR = 1.09, 95% CI, 1.00–1.18 for the second trimester; OR = 1.13, 95% CI, 1.03–1.24 for the third trimester; OR = 1.35, 95% CI, 1.12–1.63 for the whole pregnancy]. PPROM had positive relationship with PM2.5 exposure (per 10 μg/m3) (OR = 1.17, 95% CI, 0.94–1.45 for first trimester; OR = 1.11, 95% CI, 0.92–1.33 for second trimester; OR = 1.19, 95% CI, 0.99–1.44 for third trimester; OR = 1.53, 95% CI, 1.03–2.27 for the whole pregnancy) Positive trends between the acute exposure window (mean concentration of PM2.5 in the last week and day of pregnancy) and risks of PROM and PPROM were also observed. Conclusions Exposure to ambient PM2.5 during pregnancy was associated with the risk of PROM and PPROM.

Abstract Background The nonHDLc/HDLc ratio (in which nonHDLc is defined as total cholesterol minus HDLc) is positively associated with multiple dyslipidemia-related disorders. This study aimed to determine whether the nonHDLc/HDLc ratio is an independent predictor of new-onset NAFLD (non-alcoholic fatty liver disease) in Chinese population. Methods A perspective cohort study consisting of 3374 Chinese adults without liver diseases or metabolic disturbances was performed. Anthropometric parameters and data of metabolic and plasma lipid profile were collected. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional analyses were carried out to evaluate the association of the nonHDLc/HDLc ratio with incident NAFLD. ROC curve analysis was preformed to compare the predictive value between the nonHDLc/HDLc and the nonHDLc for NAFLD. Results Two thousand seven hundred seventeen participants were included in the final analysis. During a median follow-up period of 1.6 years, 264 participants (9.71%) developed NAFLD. After adjustment for potential confounders, a high nonHDLc/HDLc ratio (highest tertile) was associated with elevated risk of NAFLD (HR = 2.66; 95% CI, 1.13–6.24; P = 0.025 in female and HR = 2.11; 95% CI, 1.15–3.90; P = 0.016 in male). A nonlinear relationship was observed when the nonHDLc/HDLc ratio was ≤3.5. AUC values for nonHDLc/HDLc ratios (0.717 in female and 0.682 in male) were significantly higher than nonHDLc (0.675 in female and 0.653 in male) (P = 0.049 in female and P = 0.037 in male). In addition, the optimal cut-off value of nonHDLc/HDLc ratio for detection of NAFLD was 2.4 in female and 2.3 in male. Conclusions The nonHDLc/HDLc ratio is an independent predictor of NAFLD and a stronger predictor than nonHDLc in Chinese population, which might be expected to better guide early identification of individuals at risk of NAFLD.

Abstract Background The coexistence of congenital left ventricular aneurysm and abnormal cardiac trabeculation with gene mutation has not been reported previously. Here, we report a case of coexisting congenital left ventricular aneurysm and prominent left ventricular trabeculation in a patient with LIM domain binding 3 gene mutation. Case presentation A 30-year-old Asian man showed paroxysmal sinus tachycardia and Q waves in an electrocardiogram health check. There were no specific findings in physical examinations and serological tests. A coronary-computed tomography angiography check showed normal coronary artery and no coronary stenosis. Both left ventricle contrast echocardiography and cardiac magnetic resonance showed rare patterns of a combination of an apical aneurysm-like out-pouching structure with a wide connection to the left ventricle and prominent left ventricular trabecular meshwork. High-throughput sequencing examinations showed a novel mutation in the LDB3 gene (c.C793>T; p.Arg265Cys). Conclusions Our finding indicates that the phenotypic expression of two heart conditions, congenital left ventricular aneurysm and prominent left ventricular trabeculation, although rare, can occur simultaneously with LDB3 gene mutation. Congenital left ventricular aneurysm and prominent left ventricular trabeculation may share the same genetic background.