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Insulin and its secretagogues are essential for some patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) to maintain good glycemic control (GC), but severe hypoglycemia (SH) is a concern. This network meta-analysis aimed to find optimal glucose-lowering drug treatment regimens in terms of GC and SH in T2D patients. MEDLINE and EMBASE were used to identify trials that compared two or more treatments including insulins and/or sulfonylurea or glinides and that examined both GC and SH. Treatment hierarchy was expressed as the surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA) probabilities. We identified 137 eligible trials comprising 42 treatments. The use of insulins and non-insulin glucose-lowering agents except for sulfonylurea or glinide had a higher SUCRA than insulins only for hemoglobin A1c (A1C) (p = 0.01) changes and achievement of A1C

The analysis of intraocular pressure by age using a mega database showed a consistent age-related intraocular pressure decrease.To clarify the association between age and intraocular pressure (IOP), the IOP value by age was assessed using a large IOP database.This cross-sectional study was conducted among 103 health checkup institutions registered to the Japan Society of Ningen Dock, and included participants who underwent annual health checkups between April 2014 and March 2015. The inclusion criteria were as follows: complete data for IOP in eyes, body mass index, waist circumference, blood pressure, hemoglobin A1c, and a self-administered health questionnaire. A total of 655,818 participants were enrolled. The mean age was 51.5±10.5 years (range, 20-96 y), and 40.1% were women. IOP was measured using a noncontact tonometer. Multiple linear regression analysis was conducted to explore factors associated with IOP, including age, and analyses stratified by age group:40, 40-69, and ≥70 years.A consistent negative association between IOP and age [β=-0.353 (95% confidence interval: -0.360--0.346)] was observed. In the age groups of40 and ≥70 years, the age-related IOP decline was more pronounced [β=-0.502 (95% CI: -0.566 to -0.439); β=-0.674 (95% CI: -0.753 to -0.595)], with it being 14.21±2.95 and 11.18±2.52 mm Hg in the 20-24 and 90-96 year age groups, respectively. The middle-aged (aged 40-69 y) population showed gradual decline [β=-0.313 (95% CI: -0.323 to -0.303)].Age was strongly and negatively associated with IOP. The magnitude of IOP decline across lifespans was ∼3 mmHg. Age-related decreases in IOP were nonlinear and phasic.

We developed a new Physical Score (PS) consisting of comprehensive physical fitness indicators and elucidated the association between the resultant PS and metabolic diseases, i.e., diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, fatty liver, and metabolic syndrome (MetS), among Japanese. Analyzed were 49,850 persons (30,039 men) aged 30 to 69 y who underwent physical fitness tests. Principal component analysis was performed on the correlation matrix of the physical fitness test results (relative grip strength, single-leg balance with eyes closed, and forward bending) according to sex and age. We defined the PS as the first principal component score. A formula was developed for various age groups comprised of men and women from 30 to 69 years of age from which the PS for each age and sex was calculated. The PS for both men and women was normally distributed with a value of 0 ± 1.15-1.16. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the risk of metabolic diseases increased approximately 1.1-1.6 times per each 1-point reduction in the PS. The association between PS and MetS was particularly strong in that a 1-point reduction in the PS increased the risk of MetS by 1.54 times (95% confidence interval 1.46 to 1.62) in men and by 1.21 times (1.15 to 1.28) in women. The association between a lower PS and disease risk was stronger in younger men for fatty liver and in older men for MetS. Conversely, in women, the association between a lower PS and disease risk was stronger in older women for fatty liver and in younger women for MetS. For diabetes, hypertension, and dyslipidemia, the change in the impact of PS reductions across age groups was small. The PS is a useful and simple non-invasive tool for screening Japanese people for metabolic diseases.

Muscle strength, balance, and flexibility has been associated with the development of type 2 diabetes and atherosclerosis, but little is known whether the physical score (PS) , which integrates these physical fitness indices, can predict future metabolic diseases. We investigated the longitudinal relationship between baseline and changes in PS and future prediabetes and MetS. Analyzed were 5620 men aged 30 to 69 y without MetS who underwent physical fitness tests. Principal component analysis was performed on the correlation matrix of the physical fitness test results according to age. PS was defined as the first principal component score. Associations between PS values at the start of observation (year 0) , change in the PS one year later (year 1) and the onset of prediabetes and MetS at the end of observation (years 4 or 5) were examined by Cox hazard regression analysis. The same analysis was performed for the 3812 men without prediabetes at baseline. No significant difference was found for the development of prediabetes, but a significant difference was found for development of MetS. The hazard ratio for the development of MetS was 1.30 (1.18,1.44) for every 1 decrease in the PS in year 0 and 1.35 (1.13,1.60) for every 1 decrease in the change in PS from year 0 to year 1. PS was a simple and non-invasive indicator to predict MetS. Disclosure T. Sato: None. K. Fujihara: None. M. Yamamoto: None. M. Kitazawa: None. H. Ishiguro: None. T. Osawa: None. H. Sone: Research Support; Astellas Pharma Inc., Eisai Co., Ltd., Kyowa Kirin Co., Ltd., Novo Nordisk, Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Taisho Pharmaceutical Holdings Co., Ltd., Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited.

Insulin and its secretagogues are essential for some patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) to maintain glycemic control (GC) . However, these drugs are inevitably accompanied by hypoglycemia. Avoiding severe hypoglycemia (SH) is essential considering its poor prognosis. This network meta-analysis aimed to find optimal hypoglycemic treatment regimens for T2D in terms of GC and SH. MEDLINE and EMBASE were used to identify trials comparing 2 or more treatments including insulins and/or SU/glinide and included both GC and SH in study outcomes. Treatment hierarchy was summarized as the surface under cumulative ranking probabilities (SUCRA) . There were 137 eligible trials from which 36 treatments were identified. Insulin plus (+) non-insulin drugs except for SU/glinide (others) had a higher SUCRA for changes in hemoglobin A1c (A1C) compared with only insulins (68.2±5.6% vs. 39.9±6.6%; P=0.01) although the difference in the SUCRA for SH was not significant (P=0.59) . Compared with only insulins, SU/glinide + others had a lower SUCRA for SH (42.4±5.8% vs. 58.5±3.4%, P=0.05) and comparable SUCRA for A1C change (P=1.00) . Cluster analysis indicated that premixed insulin + glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (Mix-ins+GLP1) consistently belonged to the high-efficacy group for A1C change and achievement of A1C Disclosure S.Kodama: None. K.Kato: None. K.Watanabe: None. H.Sone: Research Support; Astellas Pharma Inc., Eisai Co., Ltd., Kyowa Kirin Co., Ltd., Novo Nordisk, Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Taisho Pharmaceutical Holdings Co., Ltd., Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited. T.Sato: None. M.H.Yamada: None. M.Yamamoto: None. Y.Matsubayashi: None. H.Ishiguro: None. M.Iwanaga: None. K.Fujihara: None. T.Yamada: None.

ObjectivesIt has been hypothesised that smoking intensity may be related to occupational stress. This study aimed to investigate whether stress, including problems with superiors or co-workers, is a driver of smoking.DesignCross-sectional study.Setting and participants59 355 employees (34 865 men and 24 490 women) across multiple occupations who completed a self-reported questionnaire-based occupational stress survey between April 2016 and March 2017 in Niigata Prefecture.Main outcome measuresStress scores for the Brief Job Stress Questionnaire subscales summed up after assigning high points for high stress and converted to Z-scores based on the mean of all participants. Heavy smokers (HS) smoked ≥15 cigarettes/day and light smokers (LS) smoked ResultsThe main subscale items that were significantly associated with smoking status in both genders included ‘physical burden’, ‘irritation’ and ‘physical symptoms’. In the analysis that included smoking intensity, the stress score for ‘co-workers’ support’ was significantly lower for LS men than NS men (NS 0.091±0.98, LS −0.027±1.00, HS 0.033±0.99), and was significantly higher for HS women than NS women (NS −0.091±1.00, LS −0.080±1.05, HS 0.079±1.03). However, the stress score for ‘co-workers’ support’ was low among LS women aged ≤39 years in the manufacturing industry.ConclusionsIt was speculated that LS men and some LS women gained ‘co-workers’ support’ using smoking as a communication tool while reducing the degree of smoking. The existence of such ‘social smokers’ suggested that to promote smoking cessation, measures are essential to improve the communication between workers in addition to implementing smoking restrictions in the workplace.

Background Lifestyle modification is recommended for subjects with trace proteinuria during health checkups. However, whether overall healthy lifestyle reduces the incidence of trace/positive proteinuria or rapid decline in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) is not clarified. Methods A total of 451 534 people (277 494 men and 174 040 women) ages 20–79 years with negative proteinuria were included. The number of three healthy lifestyle factors (LFs) was assessed: noncurrent smoking, healthy eating habits (late dinner, snacking and skipping breakfast Results The incidence of trace/positive proteinuria and rapid eGFR decline decreased with an increasing number of healthy LFs as follows: odds ratios (ORs) for trace proteinuria, 0.91 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.86–0.96], 0.82 (0.78–0.87) and 0.72 (0.68–0.77); ORs for positive proteinuria, 0.76 (95% CI 0.67–0.86), 0.56 (0.50–0.63) and 0.46 (0.40–0.53); and ORs for an eGFR decline ≥20%, 0.93 (95% CI 0.82–1.05), 0.90 (0.79–1.02) and 0.81 (0.70–0.93) for those with one, two and three healthy LFs compared with those with none of the three healthy LFs, respectively. Overall, subjects with a healthy lifestyle showed 28, 54 and 19% reduced risk of developing trace proteinuria, positive proteinuria and eGFR decline ≥20%, respectively, compared with those with an unhealthy lifestyle after 2 years. This association was similarly observed even among subjects without hypertension (HT) or diabetes mellitus (DM). Conclusions Subjects with an overall healthy lifestyle showed a lower incidence of trace/positive proteinuria by dipstick test and rapid eGFR decline over 2 years in a nationwide general population. Thus lifestyle modification should be recommended for subjects with trace proteinuria during health checkups, even for subjects without HT or DM.

Background: To examine the association between muscular and performance fitness (MPF) and the incidence of glaucoma. Methods: A total of 27,051 glaucoma-free participants aged 20–87 years underwent physical fitness tests between April 2001 and March 2002. The MPF index was calculated using an age- and sex-specific summed z-score from grip strength, vertical jump, single-leg balance, forward bending, and whole-body reaction time. The participants were divided into quartiles according to the MPF index and each physical fitness test. Participants were followed up for the development of glaucoma, which was defined based on physician-diagnosed glaucoma at an annual health examination between April 2002 and March 2008. Hazard ratios for the incidence of glaucoma were estimated using Cox proportional hazards models. Results: During follow-up, 303 participants developed glaucoma. Compared with the lowest MPF index group, hazard ratio (95% confidence interval) of developing glaucoma was 0.64 (0.46–0.89) for the highest MPF index group (P for trend = .001). Vertical jump and whole-body reaction time were associated with incident glaucoma (P for trend = .01 and Conclusion: Higher MPF is associated with lower incidence of glaucoma.

Background This study was aimed to precisely estimate the prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and anti-hepatitis C virus antibody (anti-HCV) stratified by sex and birth year in Japan. Methods Three large-scaled cohorts: first-time blood donors, periodic health check-up, and comprehensive health check-up with lifestyle education (Ningen dock) were used for pooled prevalence of HBsAg and anti-HCV using meta-regression. Results Trends of birth year-specific prevalence of HBsAg and anti-HCV among the three cohorts were similar to one another, while birth year-specific pooled prevalence of HBsAg peaked in the 1941-1950 birth cohort. Prevalence of anti-HCV showed a decreasing trend by birth year. Conclusion We could estimate the pooled prevalence of HBsAg and anti-HCV based on nationwide data. The results can be used as reference data for various countermeasures for hepatitis eradication.

Recently, an increasing number of cohort studies have suggested using machine learning (ML) to predict type 2 diabetes mellitus. However, its predictive ability remains inconclusive. This meta-analysis evaluated the current ability of ML algorithms for predicting incident type 2 diabetes mellitus.We systematically searched longitudinal studies published from 1 January 1950 to 17 May 2020 using MEDLINE and EMBASE. Included studies had to compare ML's classification with the actual incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus, and present data on the number of true positives, false positives, true negatives and false negatives. The dataset for these four values was pooled with a hierarchical summary receiver operating characteristic and a bivariate random effects model.There were 12 eligible studies. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio and negative likelihood ratio were 0.81 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.67-0.90), 0.82 [95% CI 0.74-0.88], 4.55 [95% CI 3.07-6.75] and 0.23 [95% CI 0.13-0.42], respectively. The area under the summarized receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.88 (95% CI 0.85-0.91).Current ML algorithms have sufficient ability to help clinicians determine whether individuals will develop type 2 diabetes mellitus in the future. However, persons should be cautious before changing their attitude toward future diabetes risk after learning the result of the diabetes prediction test using ML algorithms.

Previous cohort study reported that high physical activity was associated with a low risk of self-reported hearing loss in women. However, no studies have examined the association between physical activity and the development of hearing loss as measured using an objective assessment of hearing loss in men and women. Here, we used cohort data to examine the association between leisure-time physical activity and incidence of objectively assessed hearing loss in men and women. Participants included 27 537 Japanese adults aged 20-80 years without hearing loss, who completed a self-administered physical activity questionnaire between April 2001 and March 2002. The participants were followed up for the development of hearing loss as measured by audiometry between April 2002 and March 2008. During follow-up, 3691 participants developed hearing loss. Compared with the none physical activity group, multivariable adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) for developing hearing loss were 0.93 (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.86-1.01) and 0.87 (0.81-0.95) for the medium (

Aims Diabetes is recognized as the leading cause of chronic kidney disease (CKD); however, the association of prediabetes with CKD remains unclear, in particular, the independent effect of prediabetes on proteinuria or estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) has not been evaluated. This study aimed to investigate the associations of prediabetes with the proteinuria development and with eGFR decline separately in the Japanese general population without CKD. Methods Participants who underwent health checkups in 2014 and had adequate data after 2 years were retrospectively analyzed. A total of 405,487 participants without CKD (eGFR, ≥60 ml min-1 1.73 m-2 , with negative or trace urinary protein) at baseline, were categorized according to fasting plasma glucose as having diabetes [≥126 mg/dl (7.0 mmol/l)], prediabetes [100-125 mg/dl (5.6-6.9 mmol/l)] or normal glucose level [˂100 mg/dl (5.6 mmol/l)]. Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the effects of prediabetes (vs. normal glucose level) on the proteinuria development (urinary protein of ≥1+) and eGFR decline (˂60 ml min-1 1.73 m-2 ) after 2 years. Results After 2 years, 7,037 participants (1.7%) developed proteinuria alone, 19,015 (4.7%) presented eGFR decline alone, and 636 (0.2%) showed both proteinuria and eGFR decline. Compared to normal glucose level and adjusting for prognostic factors, prediabetes was independently associated with the proteinuria development [odds ratio (OR) 1.233; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.170-1.301], whereas prediabetes was not associated with eGFR decline (OR 0.981; 95% CI 0.947-1.017). Conclusions Prediabetes is associated with the proteinuria development but not with eGFR decline in the general population.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the prevalence and outcomes of asymptomatic coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients with the first episode of ischemic stroke. METHODS Patients admitted to our hospital between November 2001 and January 2009 for the episode of an acute ischemic stroke/transient ischemic attack were included. Stress-Tl-201 scintigraphy was performed and followed by coronary angiography (CAG). The prevalence and risks for asymptomatic CAD, and long-term outcomes were studied. RESULTS Of 1309 patients, only 15 (1.1%) patients presented with a history of CAD. Excluding 406 patients because of severity, systemic infection, early transfer to another hospital, or a refusal to participate, myocardial scintigraphy was performed in 903 patients (mean age, 72 ± 10 years, male 63.9%), and myocardial ischemia was diagnosed in 214 patients (23.7%). Of these patients, 76 patients underwent CAG, and showed significant stenosis (>75%) of a coronary artery in 61 (80.3%) patients. The risk factors for positive scintigraphy findings and CAG were high-grade premature complexes via Holter monitoring (P < .0001), enlarged left ventricle (P = .0051) and wall motion abnormalities (P = .0014) observed on echocardiography, and carotid artery stenosis observed in magnetic resonance angiography imaging (P < .0001). During the follow-up periods of 83 ± 47 months and of 91 ± 47 months, 17.2% of scintigraphy-positive and 2.8% of scintigraphy-negative patients developed episodes of myocardial ischemia, respectively (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS Symptomatic CAD was rare in Japanese patients with the first episode of ischemic stroke, but asymptomatic CAD was identified by stress Tl-201 myocardial scintigraphy in one-quarter of the patients. Positive scintigraphy was associated with asymptomatic CAD and future cardiac events.

Machine learning (ML) methods receive increasing attention for diabetes risk assessment. This meta-analysis quantitatively assessed the predictive ability of ML algorithms for incident T2DM. Electronic literature searches were done using MEDLINE and EMBASE for longitudinal studies whereby an index test was a model constructed by ML algorithms for predicting incident T2DM. Reference standard was a blood test or physicians’ diagnosis confirming T2DM. The model was restricted to algorithms that required the aid of ML (e.g., neural network, support vector machine, etc.). The 2x2 contingency data (i.e., true-positive, false-positive, false-negative, and true-negative) were pooled with a hierarchical summary receiver operating characteristic model. Pooled sensitivity and specificity (95% confidence interval (CI)) of 8 eligible studies were 0.70 (0.66-0.74) and 0.78 (0.69-0.85), respectively. (Figure) Positive likelihood ratio (PLR) calculated as sensitivity/(1-specificity) and negative likelihood ratio (NLR) calculated as (1-sensitivity)/specificity were 3.25 (95%CI, 2.25-4.58) and 0.38 (95% CI, 0.34-0.43), respectively. We conclude that existing prediction models are not yet satisfactory considering that PLR>5 moderately increases the probability of a disease given a positive test and NLR Disclosure S. Kodama: None. T. Sato: None. M. Yamamoto: None. H. Ishiguro: None. M. Iwanaga: None. K. Fujihara: None. T. Yamada: None. K. Kato: None. H. Sone: Research Support; Self; Kyowa Hakko Kirin Co., Ltd., Novartis AG, Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Taisho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Takeda Pharmaceutical Co.

Declining healthy life expectancy due to functional disability is relevant and urgent not only because of its association with decreased quality of life but also for its enormous socioeconomic impact. Thus, we analyzed a population-based retrospective cohort study including 9,673 community dwelling Japanese adults (4,420, men) aged 39-98 years in 2012-2017. Functional disability was defined as a condition meeting Japan’s new long-term care insurance certification requirements for the need of assistance in the activities of daily living whether by caregivers or assistive devices. Cox proportional hazards regression model identified variables related to functional disability. Median follow-up was 3.7 years. During the study period, 165 disabilities occurred in the overall study population. Multivariate analysis showed that diabetes (hazard ratio [HR] 1.74 (95% CI: 1.12-2.68)), no physical activity habit (HR 1.83 (1.27-2.65)), and low BMI category (18.5 kg/m2 >) (HR 1.63 (1.02-2.63)) presented increased risks for disability. The prevalence ratio of 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 conditions (diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and physical activity habits) was 12.8%, 40.0%, 32.6%, 12.9 and 1.7%, respectively. HR for disability increased with the number of risk factors (HR of individuals with 1, 2, 3 and 4 conditions, 1.34 (0.71-2.52), 1.95 (1.04-3.63), 2.11 (1.07-4.15), and 3.96 (1.59-9.99) vs. individuals with none of those conditions as a ref.). HR for disability among diabetes patients with and without a physical activity habit was 1.68 (0.70-4.04) and 3.19 (1.79-5.70), respectively, compared to individuals without diabetes with a physical activity habit. This shows that the combination of diabetes and lack of habitual physical activity is predictive of functional disability in Japanese. Habitual physical activity attenuates the risk of functional disability in patients with diabetes. Disclosure K. Fujihara: None. M.H. Yamada: None. Y. Matsubayashi: None. M. Kitazawa: None. M. Kaneko: None. M. Yamamoto: None. Y. Yaguchi: None. T. Yahiro: None. S. Kodama: None. K. Kato: None. H. Sone: Research Support; Self; Kyowa Hakko Kirin Co., Ltd., Novartis AG, Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Taisho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Funding Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (18K17897)

Background: Grip strength reflects systemic muscle strength and mass and is reportedly associated with various metabolic variables. However, its prognostic association with dyslipidemia is unknown. We examined the association of grip strength and other physical fitness markers with the incidence of dyslipidemia among Japanese adults. Methods: A total of 16,149 Japanese (6,208 women) individuals aged 20–92 years who underwent a physical fitness test between April 2001 and March 2002 were included in this cohort study. Grip strength, vertical jump, single-leg balance with eyes closed, forward bending, and whole-body reaction time were evaluated at baseline. Dyslipidemia was annually determined based on fasting serum lipid profiles and self-reported dyslipidemia from April 2001 to March 2008. Results: During the follow-up period, 4,458 (44.9%) men and 2,461 (39.6%) women developed dyslipidemia. A higher relative grip strength (grip strength/body mass index) was associated with a lower incidence of dyslipidemia among both men and women (P for trend

Background Several cross-sectional studies have linked higher physical fitness with better hearing sensitivity but have not established a causal relation; none have used a prospective design that is less susceptible to bias. We used a prospective cohort study to investigate the association between muscular and performance fitness and the incidence of hearing loss. Methods A total of 21,907 participants without hearing loss received physical fitness assessments between April 2001 and March 2002. Muscular and performance fitness index, an age- and sex-specific summed z-score based on grip strength, vertical jump height, single-leg balance, forward bending, and whole-body reaction time was calculated. Participants were classified into quartiles according to the muscular and performance fitness index and each physical fitness test. They were followed up for the development of hearing loss, assessed by pure-tone audiometry at annual health examinations between April 2002 and March 2008. Hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals for hearing loss incidence were estimated using Cox proportional hazards regression models. Results During follow-up, 2765 participants developed hearing loss. The hazard ratios (95% confidence intervals) for developing hearing loss across the muscular and performance fitness index quartiles (lowest to highest) were 1.00 (reference), 0.88 (0.79-0.97), 0.83 (0.75-0.93), and 0.79 (0.71-0.88) (Ptrend Conclusion Higher muscular and performance fitness is associated with a lower incidence of hearing loss.

A high level of physical fitness, especially cardiorespiratory fitness, is associated with lower incidence of hypertension. However, the relationship between flexibility, which is a component of physical fitness, and the incidence of hypertension is unknown. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between flexibility and the incidence of hypertension in a cohort study. A total of 22,972 (14,805 men and 8167 women; median age 49 years) normotensive participants were included in this study. Between April 2001 and March 2002, flexibility (standing forward bending) was measured using a standing trunk flexion meter. The participants were divided into quartiles of flexibility by sex and age group. Hypertension was defined as systolic blood pressure ≥ 140 mm Hg, diastolic blood pressure ≥ 90 mm Hg, or a self-reported history of previously diagnosed hypertension or current medication for hypertension at a health examination between April 2002 and March 2008. Hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for the incidence of hypertension were estimated using Cox proportional hazards models after adjusting for age, sex, body mass index, exercise habits, smoking status, and drinking status. During 102,948 person years of follow-up (median 5.6 years), 4235 participants developed hypertension. Compared with the lowest flexibility (quartile 1), hazard ratios and 95% CI were 0.96 (0.88 - 1.04) for quartile 2, 0.94 (0.86 - 1.03) for quartile 3, and 0.83 (0.76 - 0.91) for quartile 4. A high level of flexibility was associated with lower incidence of hypertension, independent of other confounding factors.

Summary Background & aims High intake of fruit and vegetables is recommended for cardiovascular health. However, there have been persistent beliefs that fruits having high concentrations of fructose elevate the level of triglycerides (TG) in blood unlike vegetables. This meta-analysis aims to clarify the relationship between fruit intake and TG or hypertriglyceridemia. Methods Electronic literature searches were conducted for observational studies that investigated the relationship between fruit intake and hypertriglyceridemia or intervention studies that investigated the effect of increasing fruit intake on TG. Each effect size was pooled with an inverse-variance method. Results Five cross-sectional studies and only 2 intervention studies were eligible. The pooled odds ratio (OR) (95% confidence interval (CI)) of the 5 cross-sectional studies for the highest vs. the lowest fruit intake category was 0.79 (0.72–0.87). In these studies, the pooled OR for the highest vs. the lowest vegetable intake category was not significant (OR = 0.92; 95% CI, (0.82–1.03)). A linear dose–response association was observed between increases in fruit intake and ORs for hypertriglyceridemia; the OR (95% CI) for an incrementally increased intake of fruit by 1 serving/day was 0.91 (0.84–0.98). Conclusion This meta-analysis suggests that high intake of fruit but not vegetables is inversely associated with hypertriglyceridemia. More trials are needed to clarify whether increasing fruit intake would reduce the level of TG and/or incident hypertriglyceridemia.

Background Bariatric surgery leads to a higher remission rate for type 2 diabetes mellitus than non-surgical treatment. However, it remains unsolved which surgical procedure is the most efficacious. This network meta-analysis aimed to rank surgical procedures in terms of diabetes remission. Methods and findings We electronically searched for randomized controlled trials in which at least one surgical treatment was included among multiple arms and the diabetes remission rate was included in study outcomes. A random-effects network meta-analysis was performed within a frequentist framework. The hierarchy of treatments was expressed as the surface under the cumulative ranking curve value. Results of the analysis of 25 eligible randomized controlled trials that covered non-surgical treatments and eight surgical procedures (biliopancreatic diversion [BPD], BPD with duodenal switch, Roux-en Y gastric bypass, mini gastric bypass [mini-GBP], laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding, laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy, greater curvature plication and duodenal-jejunal bypass) showed that BPD and mini-GBP had the highest surface under the cumulative ranking curve values among the eight surgical treatments. Conclusion Current network meta-analysis indicated that BPD or mini-GBP achieved higher diabetes remission rates than the other procedures. However, the result needs to be interpreted with caution considering that these procedures were in the minority of bariatric surgeries.

BACKGROUND Erythropoietin (EPO) has antiapoptotic and tissue-protective effects, but previous clinical studies using high-dose EPO have not shown cardioprotective effects, probably because of platelet activation and a lack of knowledge regarding the optimal dose. In contrast, a small pilot study using low-dose EPO has shown improvement in left ventricular function without adverse cardiovascular events.Methods and Results:We performed a multicenter (25 hospitals), prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-finding study to clarify the efficacy and safety of low-dose EPO in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) under the Evaluation System of Investigational Medical Care of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of Japan. In total, 198 STEMI patients with low left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF

Many epidemiological studies have assessed the genetic risk of having undiagnosed or of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) using several single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) based on findings of genome-wide association studies (GWAS). However, the quantitative association of cumulative risk alleles (RAs) of such SNPs with T2DM risk has been unclear. The aim of this meta-analysis is to review the strength of the association between cumulative RAs and T2DM risk. Systematic literature searches were conducted for cross-sectional or longitudinal studies that examined odds ratios (ORs) for T2DM in relation to genetic profiles. Logarithm of the estimated OR (log OR) of T2DM for 1 increment in RAs carried (1-ΔRA) in each study was pooled using a random-effects model. There were 46 eligible studies that included 74,880 cases among 249,365 participants. In 32 studies with a cross-sectional design, the pooled OR for T2DM morbidity for 1-ΔRA was 1.16 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.13–1.19). In 15 studies that had a longitudinal design, the OR for incident T2DM was 1.10 (95% CI, 1.08–1.13). There was large heterogeneity in the magnitude of log OR (P < 0.001 for both cross-sectional studies and longitudinal studies). The top 10 commonly used genes significantly explained the variance in the log OR (P = 0.04 for cross-sectional studies; P = 0.006 for longitudinal studies). The current meta-analysis indicated that carrying 1-ΔRA in T2DM-associated SNPs was associated with a modest risk of prevalent or incident T2DM, although the heterogeneity in the used genes among studies requires us to interpret the results with caution.

Objective This study aimed to examine the impact of obesity, as defined by body mass index (BMI), and a metabolically unhealthy phenotype on the development of coronary artery disease (CAD) according to glucose tolerance status. Methods This population-based retrospective cohort study included 123,746 Japanese men aged 18–72years (normal glucose tolerance: 72,047; prediabetes: 39,633; diabetes: 12,066). Obesity was defined as a BMI≥25kg/m 2 . Metabolically unhealthy individuals were defined as those with one or more of the following conditions: hypertension, hypertriglyceridaemia and/or low HDL cholesterol. A Cox proportional hazards regression model identified variables related to CAD incidence. Results The prevalences of obese subjects with normal glucose tolerance, prediabetes and diabetes were 21%, 34% and 53%, whereas those for metabolically unhealthy people were 43%, 60% and 79%, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that a metabolically unhealthy phenotype increases hazard ratios (HRs) for CAD compared with a metabolically healthy phenotype, regardless of glucose tolerance status (normal glucose tolerance: 1.98, 95% CI: 1.32–2.95; prediabetes: 2.91, 95% CI: 1.85–4.55; diabetes: 1.90, 95% CI: 1.18–3.06). HRs for CAD among metabolically unhealthy non-obese diabetes patients and obese diabetes patients with a metabolically unhealthy status were 6.14 (95% CI: 3.94–9.56) and 7.86 (95% CI: 5.21–11.9), respectively, compared with non-obese subjects with normal glucose tolerance and without a metabolically unhealthy status. Conclusion A metabolically unhealthy state can associate with CAD independently of obesity across all glucose tolerance stages. Clinicians may need to consider those with at least one or more conditions indicating a metabolically unhealthy state as being at high risk for CAD regardless of glucose tolerance status.

Aims To examine the impact of glucose tolerance status on the development of coronary artery disease (CAD) in working-age men in Japan. Methods This population-based retrospective cohort study included 111,621 men aged 31–60 years [63,558 with normal glucose tolerance (NGT); 37,126 with prediabetes; 10,937 with diabetes]. The Cox proportional-hazards regression model was used to identify variables related to the incidence of CAD. Results Multivariate analysis showed that, compared with NGT, diabetes increased the risk of CAD by 17.3 times (95% CI: 6.36–47.0) at ages 31–40 years, by 2.74 times (95% CI: 1.85–4.05) at ages 41–50 years and by 2.47 times (95% CI: 1.69–3.59) at ages 51–60 years. The HRs for CAD in men with diabetes aged 31–40 equaled that of men with NGT aged 51–60 [18.2 (7.15–46.4) and 19.4 (8.28–45.4), respectively]. Conclusion The impact of diabetes on CAD was markedly greater in men aged 31–40 years compared with those aged 41–60 years.

Aims/Introduction The present meta-analysis aimed to clarify the association of unstable bodyweight with the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus, an association that has been controversial among longitudinal studies., Materials and Methods An electronic literature search using EMBASE and MEDLINE was followed up to 31 August 2016. The relative risks (RRs) of type 2 diabetes mellitus in individuals with unstable bodyweight were pooled using the inverse variance method., Results Eight studies were eligible for the meta-analysis. The median duration of measurements of weight change and follow-up years for ascertaining type 2 diabetes mellitus were 13.5 and 9.4 years, respectively. The pooled RR for the least vs most stable category was 1.33 (95% confidence interval 1.12–1.57). Between-study heterogeneity was statistically significant (P = 0.048). Whether type 2 diabetes mellitus was ascertained by blood testing explained 66.0% of the variance in the logarithm of RR (P = 0.02). In three studies in which blood testing was carried out, type 2 diabetes mellitus risk was not significant (RR 1.06, 95% confidence interval 0.91–1.25). Furthermore, publication bias that inflated type 2 diabetes mellitus risk was statistically detected by Egger's test (P = 0.09)., Conclusions Unstable bodyweight might be modestly associated with the elevated risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus; although serious biases, such as diagnostic suspicion bias and publication bias, made it difficult to assess this association.

Objectives. Several serum biomarkers have been reported to increase in periodontitis patients as possible mediators linking periodontal inflammation to systemic diseases. However, the relationship between periodontitis and urine biomarkers is still unclear. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate potential urine biomarkers of periodontitis in a Japanese population.Materials and Methods. This study included 108 male subjects, and microbiological and clinical parameters were evaluated as a periodontitis marker. The correlation between nine urine biomarkers (typically used to diagnose kidney disease) and periodontal parameters was analyzed. Based on the findings,β2-microglobulin (β2-MG) and neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) were selected for comparison and multivariate regression analysis, and the Kruskal–Wallis test followed by Bonferroni correction was used to identify differences in their concentrations between the three periodontitis groups (severe, moderate, and no/mild periodontitis).Results.β2-MG and NGAL exhibited a significant correlation with clinical parameters of periodontitis. The prevalence of clinical parameters such as bleeding on probing and number of sites with probing depth (PD) ≥ 6 mm were greater in theβ2-MG high group (≥300 μg/g creatinine) than in the normal group (P=0.017and 0.019, respectively). Multivariate regression analysis indicated that the number of sites with PD ≥ 6 mm was independently associated with urineβ2-MG. Moreover, the number of sites with the clinical attachment level (CAL) ≥ 6 mm was greater in the NGAL high group (highest quartile) (P=0.041). Multivariate regression analysis showed that the number of sites with CAL ≥ 6 mm was associated independently with urine NGAL. Finally,β2-MG was significantly higher in the severe periodontitis subjects compared to the no/mild periodontitis subjects.Conclusion. The significant association between urineβ2-MG or NGAL and periodontitis was revealed. These biomarkers can potentially be used to screen for or diagnose periodontitis. This trial is registered with the UMIN Clinical Trials RegistryUMIN000013485.

ObjectiveDeclining healthy life expectancy due to functional disability is relevant and urgent because of its association with decreased quality of life and also for its enormous socioeconomic impact. The aim of this study is to examine the impact of diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia and physical activity habits on functional disability among community-dwelling Japanese adults.Research design and methodsThis is a population-based retrospective cohort study including 9673 people aged 39–98 years in Japan (4420, men). Functional disability was defined as a condition meeting Japan’s new long-term care insurance certification requirements for the need of assistance in the activities of daily living whether by caregivers or assistive devices. Cox proportional-hazards regression model identified variables related to functional disability.ResultsMedian follow-up was 3.7 years. During the study period, 165 disabilities occurred in the overall study population. Multivariate analysis showed that diabetes (HR 1.74 (95% CI 1.12 to 2.68)) and no physical activity habit (HR 1.83 (1.27 to 2.65)) presented increased risks for disability. HR for disability increased with the number of risk factors (HR of individuals with four conditions, 3.96 (1.59 to 9.99) vs individuals with none of those conditions as a reference). HR for disability among patients with diabetes with and without a physical activity habit was 1.68 (0.70 to 4.04) and 3.19 (1.79 to 5.70), respectively, compared with individuals without diabetes with a physical activity habit.ConclusionsThe combination of diabetes and lack of habitual physical activity is predictive of functional disability in Japanese. Habitual physical activity attenuates the risk of functional disability in patients with diabetes.

Background Efficacy of programs for patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) that have promoted family members to help with patients’ self-care activities has been largely inconsistent. This meta-analysis aims to assess the effect of family-oriented diabetes programs for glycemic control (GC). Methods Electronic literature searches were conducted for clinical trials with a parallel design wherein there were two groups according to whether family members were included (intervention group) or not included (control group) and changes in glycohemoglobin A1C (A1C) were assessed as a study outcome. Each effect size (i.e. difference in A1C change between the intervention and control group) was pooled with a random-effects model. Results There were 31 eligible trials consisting of 1466 and 1415 patients in the intervention and control groups, respectively. Pooled A1C change [95% confidence interval (CI)] was −0.45% (−0.64% to −0.26%). Limiting analyses to 21 trials targeted at patients with type 1 DM or 9 trials targeted at patients with type 2 DM, the pooled A1C changes (95% CI) were −0.35% (−0.55% to −0.14%) and −0.71% (−1.09% to −0.33%), respectively. Conclusion This meta-analysis suggests that focusing on the family as well as the individual patient in self-management diabetes programs to improve the performance of self-care activities of patients with DM is effective in terms of proper GC.

Although control of multiple risk factors is essential to prevent CAD in persons with and without DM, longitudinal studies are scarce that directly and quantitatively compared effects of such control in DM and non-DM. Thus, we investigated effects on subsequent CAD of the number of controlled risk factors among blood pressure, LDL cholesterol and HbA1c using a nationwide claim-based database (median follow-up 4.8 y) in Japan. Targets were based on ADA and Japanese guidelines. Of 207,029 non-DM persons, 42.8% and 37.9% were at target for 1 and 2 factors, respectively. Of 13,471 persons with DM, 39.5%, 32.1%, and 10.0% were at target for 1, 2, and 3 factors, respectively. Multivariate Cox analysis showed reduced CAD risk with increased numbers of risk factor targets reached in DM compared to non-DM (Table, upper). However, in DM, although fulfillment of the target for only 1 risk factor significantly elevated the hazard ratio (HR) (i.e., 1.98 (1.28-3.07)) to non-significance (i.e., 1.03 (0.68-1.66)), no further significant HR reduction below reference (i.e., non-DM with no target achieved) was found (Table, lower). These findings show that composite control of modifiable risk factors has a larger effect in DM compared to non-DM, but the effect was not sufficient to bring CAD risk in DM below that for non-DM persons with none of 3 risk factors being at target based on current target levels. Disclosure K. Fujihara: None. Y. Matsubayashi: None. M. Kitazawa: None. M. Yamamoto: None. T. Osawa: None. M. Kaneko: None. N. Yamanaka: None. H. Seida: None. K. Kato: None. S. Kodama: None. H. Sone: Research Support; Self; Novo Nordisk Inc., Eli Lilly and Company, MSD K.K., Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Taisho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Takeda Development Center Asia, Pte. Ltd., Daiichi Sankyo Company, Limited, Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Kyowa Hakko Kirin Co., Ltd., Sanofi, Kowa Pharmaceuticals America, Inc., Eisai Inc..

Although the importance of support of patients by family members is emphasized for diabetes care, evidence of achieving adequate glycemic control (GC) through instructing family members to help in self-management care of diabetes patients has not been established. This meta-analysis assessed the effect of family-oriented diabetes programs on GC. The pooled A1C change shown in 31 studies that were retrieved from systematic literature searches for clinical trials presenting data on the net effect of family education on the reduction in glycohemoglobin A1C (A1C) (i.e., difference in A1C change between intervention groups involving family members and that not involving family members [control group]) was -0.45% (PP Disclosure S. Kodama: None. K. Fujihara: None. H. Ishiguro: Research Support; Self; MSD K.K., Sanofi K.K., Eli Lilly and Company. C. Horikawa: None. Y. Yachi: None. M. Ishizawa: None. S. Matsunaga: None. S. Tanaka: None. K. Kato: None. H. Sone: Research Support; Self; Novo Nordisk Inc., Eli Lilly and Company, MSD K.K., Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Taisho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Takeda Development Center Asia, Pte. Ltd., Daiichi Sankyo Company, Limited, Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Kyowa Hakko Kirin Co., Ltd., Sanofi, Kowa Pharmaceuticals America, Inc., Eisai Inc..