Search

Background Limited data suggest that household air pollution from cooking and heating with solid fuel (i.e. coal and biomass) stoves may contribute to the development of hypertension and vascular damage. Methods Using mixed-effects regression models, we investigated the associations of household air pollution with blood pressure (BP) and vascular function in 753 adults (ages 40–79 years) from 3 diverse provinces in China. We conducted repeated measures of participants' household fuel use, personal exposure to fine particulate air pollution (PM2.5), BP, brachial–femoral pulse wave velocity (bfPWV), and augmentation index. Ultrasound images of the carotid arteries were obtained to assess intima–media thickness (CIMT) and plaques. Covariate information on sociodemographics, health behaviors, 24-h urinary sodium, and blood lipids was also obtained. Results Average estimated yearly personal exposure to PM2.5 was 97.5 µg/m3 (SD: 79.2; range: 3.5–1241), and 65% of participants cooked with solid fuel. In multivariable models, current solid fuel use was associated with higher systolic (2.4 mm Hg, 95% CI: −0.4, 4.9) and diastolic BP (1.4 mm Hg, 95% CI: −0.1, 3.0) and greater total area of plaques (1.7 mm2, 95% CI: −6.5, 9.8) compared with exclusive use of electricity or gas stoves. A 1 − ln(µg/m3) increase in PM2.5 exposure was associated with higher systolic (1.5 mm Hg, 95% CI: 0.2, 2.7) and diastolic BP (1.0 mm Hg, 95% CI: 0.4, 1.7) and with greater CIMT (0.02 mm, 95% CI: 0.00, 0.04) and total area of plaques (4.7 mm2, 95% CI: −2.0, 11.5). We did not find associations with arterial stiffness, except for a lower bfPWV (−1.5 m/s, 95% CI: −3.0, −0.0) among users of solid fuel heaters. Conclusions These findings add to limited evidence that household air pollution is associated with higher BP and with greater CIMT and total plaque area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background The lipid-lowering treatment goal attainment rate is lower for women than for men among Chinese patients, but the reasons for this disparity have not been fully explored yet. Objectives To elucidate the potential factors and the significance of their contributions towards the observed discrepancy in lipid-lowering treatment goal attainment rates between Chinese women and men. Methods We used data from 1808 patients from 21 tertiary and 6 secondary hospitals in China who received and maintained statin therapy treatment for at least 2 months. Lipid-lowering treatment goal attainment was defined as low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL- C) reaching the treatment targets recommended by the Chinese Guidelines on Prevention and Control of Dyslipidemia in Adults. Logistic Regression was used to explore possible factors associated with gender disparity in goal attainment rates, and to what extent each factor contributes. Results A total of 674 women and 1134 men were enrolled in the study. Women had a significantly lower LDL-C goal attainment rate than that of men (46.0% vs 53.8%, P = 0.002), particularly in high and very high CVD risk groups. Among high and very high risk patients, approximately 35%, 7%, 5%, and 5% of gender disparity in LDL-C goal attainment rate was attributable to the gender difference in baseline LDL-C level, cardiovascular co-morbidities and associated risk factors, socioeconomic status, and the dosage of statin treatment, respectively. Approximately 50% of the gender disparity remained unexplained by these factors. Conclusions Although nearly half of the gender disparity in lipid-lowering treatment goal attainment rate can be explained by the gender differences in baseline lipid level, socioeconomic status, cardiovascular co-morbidities and associated risk factors, and the dosage of statin in high and very high CVD risk patients, the other half of the gender disparity remains unexplained and requires further study to fully understand what other factors are at play.

Abstract Background Little is known about the impact of severity of hypertension on the association of genes with high blood pressure, which may cause the inconsistently reported associations of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ coactivator-1α (PGC-1α) gene with blood pressure. Methods A cardiovascular epidemiology survey and genotyping were performed in a population-based sample of 1642 apparently healthy residents (648 men and 994 women aged 35–91 years). Results After adjusting for age, sex, body mass index, and antihypertensive medication, G482S and +2962A/G polymorphisms were significantly associated with systolic blood pressures in hypertension patients with medication use (p = 0.023 and 0.022 for G482S and +2962A/G respectively) but not in all participants, normotensives, and patients with no medication use. Multivariable logistic models showed that the two polymorphisms were significantly associated with severe hypertension (SBP ≥ 160 mm Hg or DBP ≥ 100 mm Hg regardless of medication use), with an OR of 0.6(95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.4–0.98) for S482S vs. G482G and an OR of 1.9(95% CI: 1.2–3.0) for +2962G/G vs. +2962A/A, but not with regular hypertension (SBP ≥ 140 mm Hg or DBP ≥ 90 mm Hg or current use of antihypertensive medications), with an OR of 0.9(95% CI: 0.7–1.2) for S482S vs. G482G and an OR of 0.9(95% CI: 0.7–1.4) for +2962G/G vs. +2962A/A. Haplotype combination analyses showed a significant synthetic effect (OR of severe hypertension for persons with G482X and +2962G/G = 2.6, 95%CI: 1.5–4.4, with reference to persons with S482S and +2962A/X). Conclusion In this study, we found that G482S and +2962A/G polymorphisms of PGC-1α gene were only significantly associated with severe hypertension defined by occasional clinic blood pressure measurements. This finding suggested severe hypertension rather than regular hypertension should be used as the outcome in studies on association of genes with blood pressure or hypertension, in order to have a better power.

Objective: To explore the relationship between lipid metabolism molecules in plasma and carotid atherosclerotic plaques, traditional cardiovascular risk factors and possible dietary related factors., Methods: Firstly, among 1 312 community people from those who participated in a 10-year follow-up study of subclinical atherosclerosis cohort in Shijingshan District, Beijing, 85 individuals with 2 or more carotid soft plaques or mixed plaques and 89 healthy individuals without plaques were selected according to the inclusive and the exclusive criteria (< 70 years, not having clinical cardiovascular disease and other diseases, etc.). Secondly, 10 cases and 10 controls were randomly selected in the above 85 and 89 individuals respectively. Carotid plaques were detected using GE Vivid i Ultrasound Machine with 8L detector. Lipid metabolism molecules were detected by high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. The detection indexes included 113 lipid metabolism molecules. Traditional cardiovascular risk factors were collected by unified standard questionnaires, and dietary related factors were collected by main dietary frequency and weight scale. The difference of lipid metabolism molecules between the case group and the control group was analyzed by Wilcoxin rank test. In the control group, the Spearman correlation method was used to analyze the correlation between statistically significant lipid metabolism molecules and traditional cardiovascular risk factors and dietary factors., Results: Among the 113 lipid metabolism molecules, 53 lipid metabolism molecules were detected. C24:0 sphingomyelin (SM), C22:0/ C24:0 ceramide molecules, C18:0 phosphoethanolamine (PE) molecules, and C18:0/C18:2 (Cis) phosphatidylcholine (PC) were significantly higher in the carotid atherosclerotic plaque group than in the control group. The correlation analysis showed that C24:0 SM was significantly positively correlated with low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C, r =0.636, P < 0.05), C18:2 (Cis) PC (DLPC) was significantly positively correlated with systolic pressure ( r =0.733, P < 0.05), C18:0 PE was significantly positively correlated with high sensitivity C-response protein ( r =0.782, P < 0.01), C22:0, C24:0 ceramide and C18:0 PE were negatively correlated with vegetable intake ( r =-0.679, P < 0.05; r =-0.711, P < 0.05; r =-0.808, P < 0.01), C24:0 ceramide was also negatively correlated with beans food intake ( r =-0.736, P < 0.05) in the control group., Conclusions: The increase of plasma C24:0 SM, C22:0, C24:0 ceramide, C18:0 PE, C18:2 (Cis) PC (DLPC), C18:0 PC (DSPC) may be new risk factors for human atherosclerotic plaques. These molecules may be related to blood lipid, blood pressure or inflammatory level and the intake of vegetables and soy products, but the nature of the association needs to be verified in a larger sample population.

Objective: Depression is a common mental illness with a high prevalence rate and is a significant contributor to the global burden of diseases. Various factors are associated with depression, and its etiology is complex. Instead of focusing on single-factor effects, this study aimed to explore a combination of high-risk factor sets for depression among adult community residents., Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey in Shenzhen, China, from January 2021 to March 2021. A simple sampling method was used to enroll participants. A total of 1,965 adult residents completed the survey and were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised Short Scale for Chinese (EPQ-RSC), and the Psychosocial Stress Survey for Groups (PSSG). The fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis method was used to explore the high-risk factor sets for depression among adult community residents., Results: The prevalence of depression among the surveyed adult residents in Shenzhen was 6.36%. The mean scores of PHQ-9 were higher among women and unmarried residents. The combination of low extroversion (e) and high neuroticism (N) in personality traits, along with high scores for life events (V), negative emotional responses to events (G), positive emotional responses to events (O), and positive coping styles to events (I) (denoted as e * N * V * G * O * I) constituted a high-risk factor set for depression. The overall consistency was 0.843, and the overall coverage was 0.330., Conclusion: Our study suggested that stressful life events together with personality traits including neuroticism and introversion serve as crucial factors for depression among adult community residents, regardless of the coping strategies they adopt. This study provides data for developing comprehensive interventions such as regulating neuroticism and introversion levels and reducing stressors to prevent the occurrence of depression among adult community residents., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Yang, Yu, Zhang, Wei, Xie and Wang.)

Background: Healthy diet is essential for cardiovascular disease risk management, but its effects among Chinese patients, whose diets differ from Western diets, remain largely unknown., Methods: In this multicenter, patient- and outcome assessor-blind, randomized controlled feeding trial, 265 Chinese adults with baseline systolic blood pressure 130 to 159 mmHg were randomly assigned into Chinese heart-healthy (CHH) diet or usual diet for a 28-d intervention after a 7-d run-in period on usual diet. Blood lipids and glucose were measured from overnight fasting blood samples before and after the intervention. Ten-year cardiovascular disease risk was estimated using models previously developed and validated in Chinese. The changes in secondary outcomes of serum total cholesterol (TC), blood glucose, and 10-y cardiovascular disease risk over the intervention period were compared between intervention groups, adjusting for center, among participants with baseline and follow-up blood samples available. Sensitivity analyses were done with further adjustment for baseline values and covariables; missing data imputed; and among per-protocol population., Results: Among 256 eligible participants (130 on CHH diet, 126 on control diet), 42% had hypercholesterolemia and 15% had diabetes at baseline. In the control group, TC and 10-y cardiovascular disease risk decreased after the intervention by 0.16 mmol/L and 0.91%, respectively, but blood glucose increased by 0.25 mmol/L. Compared with usual diet, the CHH diet lowered TC (-0.14 mmol/L, P = 0.017) and 10-y cardiovascular disease risk (-1.24%, P = 0.001) further. No effect on blood glucose was found. All sensitivity analyses confirmed the results on TC and 10-y cardiovascular disease risk, and analysis with multiple variables adjusted showed a borderline significant effect on blood glucose (-0.17 mmol/L, P = 0.051). The differences in intake of nutrients and food groups between intervention groups explained the results., Conclusions: The CHH diet reduced TC and 10-y cardiovascular disease risk and was likely to reduce blood glucose among Chinese adults with mild hypertension. Further studies with longer terms are warranted. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT03882645., (Copyright © 2023 American Society for Nutrition. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)