Does addressing prediabetes help to improve population health?

Peer reviewe

Effect of school lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic on screen time among adolescents in Hungary: a longitudinal analysis

IntroductionStudies indicate that due to school lockdown during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, screen time increased more steeply than pre-pandemic years. The aim of our study was to examine changes in screen time and its components (screen time spent on videos, games, homework, and other activities) of adolescents affected by COVID-19 school closures compared to controls from pre-pandemic years and to assess the effect of family structure and family communication.MethodsTwo sets of ninth-grader boys and girls transitioning into 10th grade were included in the analysis. The ‘pre-COVID classes’ (controls) completed the baseline survey in February 2018 and the follow-up survey in March 2019. ‘COVID classes’ (cases) completed the baseline survey in February 2020 (1 month before the COVID-19-related school lockdowns) and the follow-up survey in March 2021. Linear mixed models stratified by sex were built to assess the change in screen time over one year adjusted for family structure and communication.ResultsOur study population consisted of 227 controls (128 girls, 99 boys) and 240 cases (118 girls, 122 boys). Without COVID-19, overall screen time did not change significantly for boys, but there was a decrease in screen time for gaming by 0.63 h, which was accompanied by an increase of 1.11 h in screen time for other activities (consisting mainly of social media and communication). Because of the pandemic, all components increased by 1.44–2.24 h in boys. Girls’ screen time and its components remained stable without school lockdown, while it increased for videos and homework by 1.66–2.10 h because of school lockdown. Living in a single-parent household was associated with higher, while better family communication resulted in lower screen time.DiscussionOur results indicate that COVID-19-related school lockdowns modified the age-specific increase in screen time for boys and girls as well. This trend, however, may be counterbalanced by improving communication between family members

Midlife type 2 diabetes and poor glycaemic control as risk factors for cognitive decline in early old age: a post-hoc analysis of the Whitehall II cohort study

Background: Type 2 diabetes increases the risk for dementia, but whether it affects cognition before old age is unclear. We investigated whether duration of diabetes in late midlife and poor glycaemic control were associated with accelerated cognitive decline. Methods: 5653 participants from the Whitehall II cohort study (median age 54·4 years [IQR 50·3-60·3] at first cognitive assessment), were classified into four groups: normoglycaemia, prediabetes, newly diagnosed diabetes, and known diabetes. Tests of memory, reasoning, phonemic and semantic fluency, and a global score that combined all cognitive tests, were assessed three times over 10 years (1997-99, 2002-04, and 2007-09). Mean HbA1c was used to assess glycaemic control during follow-up. Analyses were adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics, health-related behaviours, and chronic diseases. Findings: Compared with normoglycaemic participants, those with known diabetes had a 45% faster decline in memory (10 year difference in decline -0·13 SD, 95% CI -0·26 to -0·00; p=0·046), a 29% faster decline in reasoning (-0·10 SD, -0·19 to -0·01; p=0·026), and a 24% faster decline in the global cognitive score (-0·11 SD, -0·21 to -0·02; p=0·014). Participants with prediabetes or newly diagnosed diabetes had similar rates of decline to those with normoglycaemia. Poorer glycaemic control in participants with known diabetes was associated with a significantly faster decline in memory (-0·12 [-0·22 to -0·01]; p=0·034) and a decline in reasoning that approached significance (-0·07 [-0·15 to 0·00]; p=0·052). Interpretation: The risk of accelerated cognitive decline in middle-aged patients with type 2 diabetes is dependent on both disease duration and glycaemic control. Funding: US National Institutes of Health, UK Medical Research Council. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Trend of pregnancy outcomes in type 1 diabetes compared to control women: a register-based analysis in 1996-2018

INTRODUCTION: In 1989, the St Vincent declaration aimed to approximate pregnancy outcomes of diabetes to that of healthy pregnancies. We aimed to compare frequency and trends of outcomes of pregnancies affected by type 1 diabetes and controls in 1996-2018. METHODS: We used anonymized records of a mandatory nation-wide registry of all deliveries between gestational weeks 24 and 42 in Hungary. We included all singleton births (4,091 type 1 diabetes, 1,879,183 controls) between 1996 and 2018. We compared frequency and trends of pregnancy outcomes between type 1 diabetes and control pregnancies using hierarchical Poisson regression. RESULTS: The frequency of stillbirth, perinatal mortality, large for gestational age, caesarean section, admission to neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), and low Appearance, Pulse, Grimace, Activity, and Respiration (APGAR) score was 2-4 times higher in type 1 diabetes compared to controls, while the risk of congenital malformations was increased by 51% and SGA was decreased by 42% (all p<0.05). These observations remained significant after adjustment for confounders except for low APGAR scores. We found decreasing rate ratios comparing cases and controls over time for caesarean sections, low APGAR scores (p<0.05), and for NICU admissions (p=0.052) in adjusted models. The difference between cases and controls became non-significant after 2009. No linear trends were observed for the other outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Although we found that the rates of SGA, NICU care, and low APGAR score improved in pregnancies complicated by type 1 diabetes, the target of the St Vincent Declaration was only achieved for the occurrence of low APGAR scores

Decline in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentration: lipid-lowering drugs, diet, or physical activity? Evidence from the Whitehall II study

Objective To examine the association of lipid-lowering drugs, change in diet and physical activity with a decline in low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol in middle age.Design A prospective cohort study.Setting The Whitehall II study.Participants 4469 British civil servants (72% men) aged 39-62 years at baseline.Main Outcome Measure Change in LDL-cholesterol concentrations between the baseline (1991-3) and follow-up (2003-4).Results Mean LDL-cholesterol decreased from 4.38 to 3.52 mmol/l over a mean follow-up of 11.3 years. In a mutually adjusted model, a decline in LDL-cholesterol was greater among those who were taking lipid-lowering treatment at baseline (-1.14 mmol/l, n=34), or started treatment during the follow-up (-1.77 mmol/l, n=481) compared with untreated individuals (n=3954; p < 0.001); among those who improved their diet-especially the ratio of white to red meat consumption and the ratio of polyunsaturated to saturated fatty acids intake-(-0.07 mmol/l, n=717) compared with those with no change in diet (n=3071; p=0.03) and among those who increased physical activity (-0.10 mmol/l, n=601) compared with those with no change in physical activity (n=3312; p=0.005). Based on these estimates, successful implementation of lipid-lowering drug treatment for high-risk participants (n=858) and favourable changes in diet (n=3457) and physical activity (n=2190) among those with non-optimal lifestyles would reduce LDL-cholesterol by 0.90 to 1.07 mmol/l in the total cohort.Conclusions Both lipid-lowering pharmacotherapy and favourable changes in lifestyle independently reduced LDL-cholesterol levels in a cohort of middle-aged men and women, supporting the use of multifaceted intervention strategies for prevention

The effect of COVID-19 vaccination status on all-cause mortality in patients hospitalised with COVID-19 in Hungary during the delta wave of the pandemic

The high mortality of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is effectively reduced by vaccination. However, the effect of vaccination on mortality among hospitalised patients is under-researched. Thus, we investigated the effect of a full primary or an additional booster vaccination on in-hospital mortality among patients hospitalised with COVID-19 during the delta wave of the pandemic. This retrospective cohort included all patients (n = 430) admitted with COVID-19 at Semmelweis University Department of Medicine and Oncology in 01/OCT/2021–15/DEC/2021. Logistic regression models were built with COVID-19-associated in-hospital/30 day-mortality as outcome with hierarchical entry of predictors of vaccination, vaccination status, measures of disease severity, and chronic comorbidities. Deceased COVID-19 patients were older and presented more frequently with cardiac complications, chronic kidney disease, and active malignancy, as well as higher levels of inflammatory markers, serum creatinine, and lower albumin compared to surviving patients (all p < 0.05). However, the rates of vaccination were similar (52–55%) in both groups. Based on the fully adjusted model, there was a linear decrease of mortality from no/incomplete vaccination (ref) through full primary (OR 0.69, 95% CI: 0.39–1.23) to booster vaccination (OR 0.31, 95% CI 0.13–0.72, p = 0.006). Although unadjusted mortality was similar among vaccinated and unvaccinated patients, this was explained by differences in comorbidities and disease severity. In adjusted models, a full primary and especially a booster vaccination improved survival of patients hospitalised with COVID-19 during the delta wave of the pandemic. Our findings may improve the quality of patient provider discussions at the time of admission

Effect of secular trends on age-related trajectories of cardiovascular risk factors: the Whitehall II longitudinal study 1985-2009

BACKGROUND:: Secular trends in cardiovascular risk factors have been described, but few studies have examined simultaneously the effects of both ageing and secular trends within the same cohort. METHODS:: Development of cardiovascular risk factors over the past three decades was analysed using serial measurements from 10 308 participants aged from 35 to 80 years over 25 years of follow-up from five clinical examination phases of the Whitehall II study. Changes of body mass index, waist circumference, blood pressure and total and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol distribution characteristics were analysed with quantile regression models in the 57-61 age group. Age-related trajectories of risk factors were assessed by fitting mixed-effects models with adjustment for year of birth to reveal secular trends. RESULTS:: Average body mass index and waist circumference increased faster with age in women than in men, but the unfavourable secular trend was more marked in men. Distributions showed a fattening of the right tail in each consecutive phase, meaning a stronger increase in higher percentiles. Despite the higher obesity levels in younger birth cohorts, total cholesterol decreased markedly in the 57-61 age group along the entire distribution rather than in higher extremes only. CONCLUSION:: The past three decades brought strong and heterogeneous changes in cardiovascular risk factor distributions. Secular trends appear to modify age-related trajectories of cardiovascular risk factors, which may be a source of bias in longitudinal analyses

Neighbourhood socioeconomic disadvantage, risk factors, and diabetes from childhood to middle age in the Young Finns Study: a cohort study

Background Neighbourhood socioeconomic disadvantage has been linked to increased diabetes risk, but little is known about differences in risk factors in childhood and adulthood in those with high and low neighbourhood socioeconomic disadvantage, or about the association between long-term neighbourhood socioeconomic disadvantage and incidence of diabetes in adulthood. We used data from the prospective, population-based Young Finns Study to address these questions.Methods We did a nationwide population-based cohort study in Finland using data from The Young Finns Study, which included 3467 participants aged 6-18 years followed up for over 30 years via eight repeated biomedical examinations and linkage to electronic health records. Participants were also linked to national grid data on neighbourhood disadvantage via their residential address from age 6-48 years. We used these data to examine differences in ten risk factors (dietary habits, physical activity, daily smoking, body-mass index, systolic blood pressure, fasting HDL cholesterol, fasting triglycerides, fasting plasma glucose, fasting serum insulin, and homoeostasis model assessment insulin sensitivity) from childhood (6-21 years) to adulthood (22-48 years) among individuals with high (>= 0.5 SD above the national mean) and low (0.5 SD below the national mean) neighbourhood socioeconomic disadvantage, and the association of cumulative neighbourhood socioeconomic disadvantage with six cardiometabolic risk factors (obesity, high waist circumference, fatty liver, hypertension, carotid plaque, and left ventricle mass index) and diabetes by middle age (22-48 years). We used logistic and linear regression analyses to assess the effects of neighbourhood disadvantage on cardiometabolic and diabetes risk, controlling for potential confounders (age, sex, and individual socioeconomic disadvantage).Findings We included data for 3002 individuals with risk factor assessment in childhood and adulthood. Of whom, 2048 underwent a clinical examination during the last follow-up at age 33-48 years. Differences in risk factors by neighbourhood socioeconomic disadvantage at the beginning of follow-up were small, but large differences emerged over the follow-up. High neighbourhood socioeconomic disadvantage was characterised by decreased fruit and vegetable intake as early as age 6 years, decreased physical activity, and increased prevalence of daily smoking from adolescence (12 years) onwards, and decreased homoeostasis model assessment insulin sensitivity and increased fasting glucose and insulin concentration from early adulthood (27 years; all p<0.03). Individuals consistently exposed to high neighbourhood socioeconomic disadvantage were more likely to be obese (odds ratio [OR] 1.44, 95% CI 1.01-2.06), hypertensive (1.83, 1.14-2.93), have a fatty liver (1.73, 1.11-2.71), and diabetes (3.71, 1.77-7.75), compared with those who were consistently exposed to low neighbourhood socioeconomic disadvantage.Interpretation Living in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas can shape health in childhood and adulthood. Neighbourhood socioeconomic disadvantage is associated with differences in health risks across the life course, including detrimental lifestyle factors from childhood and adolescence onwards and worse glucose metabolism from early adulthood. By middle age, cumulative neighbourhood socioeconomic disadvantage is associated with increased cardiometabolic risk factors and increased incidence of diabetes. Copyright (C) The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd

Lifetime hypertension as a predictor of brain structure in older adults: cohort study with a 28-year follow-up.

BACKGROUND: Hypertension is associated with an increased risk of dementia and depression with uncertain longitudinal associations with brain structure. AIMS: To examine lifetime blood pressure as a predictor of brain structure in old age. METHOD: A total of 190 participants (mean age 69.3 years) from the Whitehall II study were screened for hypertension six times (1985-2013). In 2012-2013, participants had a 3T-magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain scan. Data from the MRI were analysed using automated and visual measures of global atrophy, hippocampal atrophy and white matter hyperintensities. RESULTS: Longitudinally, higher mean arterial pressure predicted increased automated white matter hyperintensities (P<0.002). Cross-sectionally, hypertensive participants had increased automated white matter hyperintensities and visually rated deep white matter hyperintensities. There was no significant association with global or hippocampal atrophy. CONCLUSIONS: Long-term exposure to high blood pressure predicts hyperintensities, particularly in deep white matter. The greatest changes are seen in those with severe forms of hypertension, suggesting a dose-response pattern

Determinants of Aortic Stiffness: 16-Year Follow-Up of the Whitehall II Study

Aortic stiffness is a strong predictor of cardiovascular disease endpoints. Cross-sectional studies have shown associations of various cardiovascular risk factors with aortic pulse wave velocity, a measure of aortic stiffness, but the long-term impact of these factors on aortic stiffness is unknown.In 3,769 men and women from the Whitehall II cohort, a wide range of traditional and novel cardiovascular risk factors were determined at baseline (1991-1993) and aortic pulse wave velocity was measured at follow-up (2007-2009). The prospective associations between each baseline risk factor and aortic pulse wave velocity at follow-up were assessed through sex stratified linear regression analysis adjusted for relevant confounders. Missing data on baseline determinants were imputed using the Multivariate Imputation by Chained Equations.Among men, the strongest predictors were waist circumference, waist-hip ratio, heart rate and interleukin 1 receptor antagonist, and among women, adiponectin, triglycerides, pulse pressure and waist-hip ratio. The impact of 10 centimeter increase in waist circumference on aortic pulse wave velocity was twice as large for men compared with women (men: 0.40 m/s (95%-CI: 0.24;0.56); women: 0.17 m/s (95%-CI: -0.01;0.35)), whereas the opposite was true for the impact of a two-fold increase in adiponectin (men: -0.30 m/s (95%-CI: -0.51;-0.10); women: 0.61 m/s (95%-CI: -0.86;-0.35)).In this large prospective study, central obesity was a strong predictor of aortic stiffness. Additionally, heart rate in men and adiponectin in women predicted aortic pulse wave velocity suggesting that strategies to prevent aortic stiffening should be focused differently by sex