Search

Introduction Myocardial infarction (MI), a potentially fatal cardiovascular condition, develops when the blood flow through the coronary arteries is diminished due to various factors, leading to inadequate oxygen supply to [...], BACKGROUND: Unraveling gene--environment interaction can provide a novel insight into early disease prevention. Nevertheless, current understanding of the interplay between genetic predisposition and air pollution in relation to myocardial infarction (MI) risk remains limited. Furthermore, the potential long-term influence of air pollutants on MI incidence risk warrants more conclusive evidence in a community population. OBJECTIVE: We investigated interactions between genetic predisposition and exposure to air pollutants on MI incidence. METHODS: This study incorporated a sample of 456,354 UK Biobank participants and annual mean air pollution ([PM.sub.2.5], [PM.sub.10], [NO.sub.2], and [NO.sub.x]) from the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (2006-2021). The Cox proportional hazards model was employed to explore MI incidence after chronic air pollutants exposure. By quantifying genetic risk through the calculation of polygenic risk score (PRS), this study further examined the interactions between genetic risk and exposure to air pollutants in the development of MI on both additive and multiplicative scales. RESULTS: Among 456,354 participants, 9,114 incident MI events were observed during a median follow-up of 12.08 y. Chronic exposure to air pollutants was linked with an increased risk of MI occurrence. Specifically, the hazard ratios (per interquartile range) were 1.12 (95% CI: 1.10, 1.13) for [PM.sub.2.5], 1.20 (95% CI: 1.19, 1.22) for [PM.sub.10], 1.13 (95% CI: 1.12, 1.15) for [NO.sub.2], and 1.12 (95% CI: 1.11, 1.13) for [NO.sub.x]. In terms of the joint effects, participants with high PRS and high level of air pollution exposure exhibited the greatest risk of MI among all study participants ( ~ 255% to 324%). Remarkably, both multiplicative and additive interactions were detected in the ambient air pollutants exposure and genetic risk on the incidence of MI. DISCUSSION: There were interactions between exposure to ambient air pollutants and genetic susceptibility on the risk of MI onset. Moreover, the joint effects of these two exposures were greater than the effect of each factor alone. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP14291

BackgroundWearable devices have attracted much attention from the market in recent years for their fitness monitoring and other health-related metrics; however, the accuracy of fitness tracking results still plays a major role in health promotion. ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of a host of latest wearable devices in measuring fitness-related indicators under various seminatural activities. MethodsA total of 44 healthy subjects were recruited, and each subject was asked to simultaneously wear 6 devices (Apple Watch 2, Samsung Gear S3, Jawbone Up3, Fitbit Surge, Huawei Talk Band B3, and Xiaomi Mi Band 2) and 2 smartphone apps (Dongdong and Ledongli) to measure five major health indicators (heart rate, number of steps, distance, energy consumption, and sleep duration) under various activity states (resting, walking, running, cycling, and sleeping), which were then compared with the gold standard (manual measurements of the heart rate, number of steps, distance, and sleep, and energy consumption through oxygen consumption) and calculated to determine their respective mean absolute percentage errors (MAPEs). ResultsWearable devices had a rather high measurement accuracy with respect to heart rate, number of steps, distance, and sleep duration, with a MAPE of approximately 0.10, whereas poor measurement accuracy was observed for energy consumption (calories), indicated by a MAPE of up to 0.44. The measurements varied for the same indicator measured by different fitness trackers. The variation in measurement of the number of steps was the highest (Apple Watch 2: 0.42; Dongdong: 0.01), whereas it was the lowest for heart rate (Samsung Gear S3: 0.34; Xiaomi Mi Band 2: 0.12). Measurements differed insignificantly for the same indicator measured under different states of activity; the MAPE of distance and energy measurements were in the range of 0.08 to 0.17 and 0.41 to 0.48, respectively. Overall, the Samsung Gear S3 performed the best for the measurement of heart rate under the resting state (MAPE of 0.04), whereas Dongdong performed the best for the measurement of the number of steps under the walking state (MAPE of 0.01). Fitbit Surge performed the best for distance measurement under the cycling state (MAPE of 0.04), and Huawei Talk Band B3 performed the best for energy consumption measurement under the walking state (MAPE of 0.17). ConclusionsAt present, mainstream devices are able to reliably measure heart rate, number of steps, distance, and sleep duration, which can be used as effective health evaluation indicators, but the measurement accuracy of energy consumption is still inadequate. Fitness trackers of different brands vary with regard to measurement of indicators and are all affected by the activity state, which indicates that manufacturers of fitness trackers need to improve their algorithms for different activity states.

Background An accelerated epidemiological transition, spurred by economic development and urbanization, has led to a rapid transformation of the disease spectrum. However, this transition has resulted in a divergent change in the burden of infectious diseases between urban and rural areas. The objective of our study was to evaluate the long-term urban-rural disparities in infectious diseases among children, adolescents, and youths in China, while also examining the specific diseases driving these disparities. Methods and findings This observational study examined data on 43 notifiable infectious diseases from 8,442,956 cases from individuals aged 4 to 24 years, with 4,487,043 cases in urban areas and 3,955,913 in rural areas. The data from 2013 to 2021 were obtained from China's Notifiable Infectious Disease Surveillance System. The 43 infectious diseases were categorized into 7 categories: vaccine-preventable, bacterial, gastrointestinal and enterovirus, sexually transmitted and bloodborne, vectorborne, zoonotic, and quarantinable diseases. The calculation of infectious disease incidence was stratified by urban and rural areas. We used the index of incidence rate ratio (IRR), calculated by dividing the urban incidence rate by the rural incidence rate for each disease category, to assess the urban-rural disparity. During the nine-year study period, most notifiable infectious diseases in both urban and rural areas exhibited either a decreased or stable pattern. However, a significant and progressively widening urban-rural disparity in notifiable infectious diseases was observed. Children, adolescents, and youths in urban areas experienced a higher average yearly incidence compared to their rural counterparts, with rates of 439 per 100,000 compared to 211 per 100,000, respectively (IRR: 2.078, 95% CI [2.075, 2.081]; p < 0.001). From 2013 to 2021, this disparity was primarily driven by higher incidences of pertussis (IRR: 1.782, 95% CI [1.705, 1.862]; p < 0.001) and seasonal influenza (IRR: 3.213, 95% CI [3.205, 3.220]; p < 0.001) among vaccine-preventable diseases, tuberculosis (IRR: 1.011, 95% CI [1.006, 1.015]; p < 0.001), and scarlet fever (IRR: 2.942, 95% CI [2.918, 2.966]; p < 0.001) among bacterial diseases, infectious diarrhea (IRR: 1.932, 95% CI [1.924, 1.939]; p < 0.001), and hand, foot, and mouth disease (IRR: 2.501, 95% CI [2.491, 2.510]; p < 0.001) among gastrointestinal and enterovirus diseases, dengue (IRR: 11.952, 95% CI [11.313, 12.628]; p < 0.001) among vectorborne diseases, and 4 sexually transmitted and bloodborne diseases (syphilis: IRR 1.743, 95% CI [1.731, 1.755], p < 0.001; gonorrhea: IRR 2.658, 95% CI [2.635, 2.682], p < 0.001; HIV/AIDS: IRR 2.269, 95% CI [2.239, 2.299], p < 0.001; hepatitis C: IRR 1.540, 95% CI [1.506, 1.575], p < 0.001), but was partially offset by lower incidences of most zoonotic and quarantinable diseases in urban areas (for example, brucellosis among zoonotic: IRR 0.516, 95% CI [0.498, 0.534], p < 0.001; hemorrhagic fever among quarantinable: IRR 0.930, 95% CI [0.881, 0.981], p = 0.008). Additionally, the overall urban-rural disparity was particularly pronounced in the middle (IRR: 1.704, 95% CI [1.699, 1.708]; p < 0.001) and northeastern regions (IRR: 1.713, 95% CI [1.700, 1.726]; p < 0.001) of China. A primary limitation of our study is that the incidence was calculated based on annual average population data without accounting for population mobility. Conclusions A significant urban-rural disparity in notifiable infectious diseases among children, adolescents, and youths was evident from our study. The burden in urban areas exceeded that in rural areas by more than 2-fold, and this gap appears to be widening, particularly influenced by tuberculosis, scarlet fever, infectious diarrhea, and typhus. These findings underscore the urgent need for interventions to mitigate infectious diseases and address the growing urban-rural disparity., Author(s): Li Chen 1, Yi Xing 1, Yi Zhang 1, Junqing Xie 2, Binbin Su 3, Jianuo Jiang 1, Mengjie Geng 4, Xiang Ren 4, Tongjun Guo 1, Wen Yuan [...]

ObjectivesConcern has been raised in the rheumatology community regarding recent regulatory warnings that HCQ used in the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic could cause acute psychiatric events. We aimed to study whether there is risk of incident depression, suicidal ideation or psychosis associated with HCQ as used for RA.MethodsWe performed a new-user cohort study using claims and electronic medical records from 10 sources and 3 countries (Germany, UK and USA). RA patients ≥18 years of age and initiating HCQ were compared with those initiating SSZ (active comparator) and followed up in the short (30 days) and long term (on treatment). Study outcomes included depression, suicide/suicidal ideation and hospitalization for psychosis. Propensity score stratification and calibration using negative control outcomes were used to address confounding. Cox models were fitted to estimate database-specific calibrated hazard ratios (HRs), with estimates pooled where I2

Background: Benzene affects human health through environmental exposure in addition to occupational contact. However, few studies have examined the associations between long-term exposure to low concentrations of ambient benzene and mortality risks in nonoccupational settings. Methods: This prospective cohort study consists of 393,042 participants without stroke, myocardial infarction, or cancer at baseline from the UK Biobank. Annual average concentrations of benzene for each year during follow-up were measured using air dispersion models. The main outcomes were all-cause mortality and mortality from specific causes. Cox proportional-hazards models with time-varying exposure measurements were used to estimate the hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for mortality risks. Restricted cubic spline models were used to estimate exposure–response relationships. Measurements and Main Results: With each interquartile range increase in the average annual concentration of benzene, the adjusted hazard ratios of mortality risk from all causes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and respiratory disease were 1.26 (95% CI, 1.24–1.27), 1.24 (95% CI, 1.21–1.28), 1.27 (95% CI, 1.25–1.29), and 1.25 (95% CI, 1.20–1.30), respectively. The monotonically increasing exposure–response curves showed no threshold and plateau within the observed concentration range. Furthermore, the effect of benzene exposure on mortality persisted across different subgroups and was somewhat stronger in younger and White people (P for interaction < 0.05). Conclusions: Long-term exposure to low concentrations of ambient benzene significantly increases mortality risk in the general population. Ambient benzene represents a potential threat to public health, and further investigations are needed to support timely pollution regulation and health protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]