Senior Recital, Binyan Xu, piano

VCU DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC SENIOR RECITAL Binyan Xu, piano Tuesday, November 24 at 4:00 p.m. Sonia Vlahcevic Concert Hall W. E. Singleton Center for the Performing Art

Interaction of serum vitamin B12 and folate with MTHFR genotypes on risk of ischemic stroke

ObjectiveWe evaluated the interaction of serum folate and vitamin B12 with methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T genotypes on the risk of first ischemic stroke and on the efficacy of folic acid treatment in prevention of first ischemic stroke.MethodsA total of 20,702 hypertensive adults were randomized to a double-blind treatment of daily enalapril 10 mg and folic acid 0.8 mg or enalapril 10 mg alone. Participants were followed up every 3 months.ResultsMedian values of folate and B12 concentrations at baseline were 8.1 ng/mL and 280.2 pmol/L, respectively. Over a median of 4.5 years, among those not receiving folic acid, participants with baseline serum B12 or serum folate above the median had a significantly lower risk of first ischemic stroke (hazard ratio [HR], 0.74; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.57-0.96), especially in those with MTHFR 677 CC genotype (wild-type) (HR, 0.49; 95% CI, 0.31-0.78). Folic acid treatment significantly reduced the risk of first ischemic stroke in participants with both folate and B12 below the median (2.3% in enalapril-folic acid group vs 3.6% in enalapril-only group; HR, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.46-0.86), particularly in MTHFR 677 CC carriers (1.6% vs 4.9%; HR, 0.24; 95% CI, 0.11-0.55). However, TT homozygotes responded better with both folate and B12 levels above the median (HR, 0.28; 95% CI, 0.10-0.75).ConclusionsThe risk of first ischemic stroke was significantly higher in hypertensive patients with low levels of both folate and B12. Effect of folic acid treatment was greatest in patients with low folate and B12 with the CC genotype, and with high folate and B12 with the TT genotype

Association of sleep behavior with depression: a cross-sectional study in northwestern China

BackgroundThis study aimed to examine the association between sleep duration, sleep problems, and depression in Northwest China.MethodDepression was diagnosed at the hospital and self-reported by the participants in the baseline survey. Sleep duration and problems, including difficulty initiating and maintaining sleep, early morning awakening, daytime dysfunction, use of sleeping pills or drugs, and any sleep problems, were obtained by a self-reported questionnaire. Logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for exploring the association between sleep duration, sleep problems, and depression, adjusting for demographic and socioeconomic characteristics and health behaviors. The association between depression and sleep duration was also evaluated continuously with restricted cubic spline curves based on logistic models.Results36,515 adults from Regional Ethnic Cohort Study in Northwest China were included. About 24.04% of participants reported short sleep duration (<7 h), and 15.64% reported long sleep duration (≥9 h). Compared with standard sleep duration (7–9 h), short sleep duration was associated with a higher risk of depression (OR: 1.69, 95%CI: 1.26–2.27, p = 0.001). Self-reported sleep problems were also related to four times depression risk increased (OR: 4.02, 95%CI: 3.03–5.35, p < 0.001) compared with no sleep problems. In addition, a nonlinear relationship was found between sleep duration and depression after adjusting covariates (p = 0.043).ConclusionSleep duration and sleep problems are associated with depression. Enough sleep time and healthy sleep habits in life course might be a practical health promotion approach to reduce depression risk in Northwest Chinese adults. A further study from cohort study is needed to verify the temporal association

Egg consumption associated with all-cause mortality in rural China: A 14-year follow-up study

Background: Dietary recommendations regarding egg intake remain controversial topic for public health. We hypothesized that there was a positive association between egg consumption and all-cause mortality. Methods: To test this hypothesis, we enrolled 9885 adults from a community-based cohort in Anhui Province, China during 2003-05. Egg consumption was assessed by food questionnaire. Stratified analyses were performed for age, sex, body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, smoking, drinking and laboratory tests. Results: After an average follow-up of 14.1 years, 9444 participants were included for analysis. A total of 814 deaths were recorded. Participants\u27 BMI and lipid profile had no significantly difference between three egg consumption groups. BMI was 21.6±2.7 of the whole population, especially BMI\u3e24 was only 17.3%. A bivariate association of egg consumption \u3e6/week with increased all-cause mortality was observed compared with ≤6/week (RR: 1.35, 95% CI: 1.05, 1.73, P = 0.018). A significant interaction was observed for BMI ≥ 21.2 kg/m2 vs. BMI\u3c21.2 kg/m2 (P for interaction: 0.001). No other significant interactions were found. Conclusions: In this study, consuming \u3e6 eggs/week increased risk of all-cause mortality, even among lean participants, especially who with BMI ≥ 21.2 kg/m2. Eggs are an easily accessible and constitute an affordable food source in underdeveloped regions. Consuming \u3c6 eggs/week may be the most suitable intake mode

Achieving blood pressure control targets in hypertensive patients of rural China - A pilot randomized trial

Background: This study aimed to test the feasibility and titration methods used to achieve specific blood pressure (BP) control targets in hypertensive patients of rural China. Methods: A randomized, controlled, open-label trial was conducted in Rongcheng, China. We enrolled 105 hypertensive participants aged over 60 years, and who had no history of stroke or cardiovascular disease. The patients were randomly assigned to one of three systolic-BP target groups: standard: 140 to \u3c 150 mmHg; moderately intensive: 130 to \u3c 140 mmHg; and intensive: \u3c 130 mmHg. The patients were followed for 6 months. Discussion: The optimal target for systolic blood pressure (SBP) lowering is still uncertain worldwide and such information is critically needed, especially in China. However, in China the rates of awareness, treatment and control are only 46.9%, 40.7%, and 15.3%, respectively. It is challenging to achieve BP control in the real world and it is very important to develop population-specific BP-control protocols that fully consider the population\u27s characteristics, such as age, sex, socio-economic status, compliance with medication, education level, and lifestyle. This randomized trial showed the feasibility and safety of the titration protocol to achieve desirable SBP targets (\u3c 150, \u3c 140, and \u3c 130 mmHg) in a sample of rural, Chinese hypertensive patients. The three BP target groups had similar baseline characteristics. After 6 months of treatment, the mean SBP measured at an office visit was 137.2 mmHg, 131.1 mmHg, and 124.2 mmHg, respectively, in the three groups. Home BP and central aortic BP measurements were also obtained. At 6 months, home BP measurements (2 h after drug administration) showed a mean SBP of 130.9 mmHg in the standard group, 124.9 mmHg in the moderately intensive group, and 119.7 mmHg in the intensive group. No serious adverse events were recorded over the 6-month study period. Rates of adverse events, including dry cough, palpitations, and arthralgia, were low and showed no significant differences between the three groups. This trial provided real-world experience and laid the foundation for a future, large-scale, BP target study. Trial registration: Feasibility Study of the Intensive Systolic Blood Pressure Control; ClinicalTrials.gov, ID: NCT02817503. Registered retrospectively on 29 June 2016

Tracking Blood Glucose and Predicting Prediabetes in Chinese Children and Adolescents: A Prospective Twin Study

We examined the tracking of blood glucose, the development of prediabetes, and estimated their genetic contributions in a prospective, healthy, rural Chinese twin cohort. This report includes 1,766 subjects (998 males, 768 females) aged 6–21 years at baseline who completed a 6-year follow-up study. Oral glucose tolerance test was performed for all subjects at both baseline and follow-up. We found that subjects with low fasting plasma glucose (FPG) or 2 h post-load glucose (PG) levels at baseline tended to remain at the low level at follow-up. Subjects in the top tertile of baseline plasma glucose tended to have a higher risk of developing prediabetes at follow-up compared to the low tertile: in males, 37.6% vs. 27.6% for FPG and 37.2% vs. 25.7% for 2hPG, respectively; in females, 31.0% vs. 15.4% for FPG and 28.9% vs. 15.1% for 2 h PG, respectively. Genetic factors explained 43% and 41% of the variance of FPG, and 72% and 47% for impaired fasting glucose for males and females, respectively; environmental factors substantially contribute to 2hPG status and impaired glucose tolerance. In conclusion, in this cohort of healthy rural Chinese children and adolescents, we demonstrated that both FPG and 2hPG tracked well and was a strong predictor of prediabetes. The high proportion of children with top tertile of blood glucose progressed to prediabetes, and the incidence of prediabetes has a male predominance. Genetic factors play more important role in fasting than postload status, most of which was explained by unique environmental factors

A guideline for economic evaluations of vaccines and immunization programs in China.

This study aimed to develop a consensus framework for economic evaluations of vaccines as a national guideline in China. Some unique and important aspects were particularly emphasized. Nineteen Chinese experts in the field of health economics and immunization decision-making were nominated to select and discuss relevant aspects of vaccine economic evaluations in China. A workshop attended by external experts was held to summarize unique and important aspects and formulate consensus recommendations. There were ten unique and/or important aspects identified for economic evaluations of vaccines in China, including study perspectives, comparator strategies, analysis types, model choices, costing approaches, utility measures, discounting, uncertainty, equity, and evaluation purposes. Background information and expert recommendations were provided for each aspect. Economic evaluations of vaccines should play an important role in China's immunization policy-making. This guideline can help improve the quality of economic evaluations as a good practice consensus

Association of folic acid dosage with circulating unmetabolized folic acid in Chinese adults with H-type hypertension: a multicenter, double-blind, randomized controlled trial

BackgroundThere is growing concern regarding elevated levels of circulating unmetabolized folic acid (UMFA) due to excessive intake of folic acid (FA). However, no randomized clinical trial has been conducted to examine the FA-UMFA dose-response relationship.ObjectiveThis study aimed to investigate the FA-UMFA dose-response relationship in Chinese adults with hypertension and elevated homocysteine (H-type hypertension), a population with clear clinical indication for FA treatment.MethodsThe data for this study were derived from a randomized, double-blind, multicenter clinical trial of 8 FA dosages on efficacy of homocysteine (Hcy) lowering. The parent trial had three 3 stages: screening period (2–10 days), run-in period (0–2 weeks, baseline visit), and double-blind treatment period (8 weeks) with follow-up visits at the end of the 2nd, 4th, 6th, and 8th weeks of treatment. Participants were randomly assigned to 8 treatment groups corresponding to FA dosages of 0, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 1.2, 1.6, 2.0 mg to 2.4 mg.ResultsThis study included 1,567 Chinese adults aged ≥45 years with H-type hypertension. There was a positive but non-linear association between FA supplementation and UMFA levels in the dosage range of 0 mg to 2.4 mg. In the regression analysis, the coefficients for the linear and quadratic terms of FA dosage were both statistically significant (P < 0.001). Notably, the slope for UMFA was greater for FA dosages >0.8 mg (ß = 11.21, 95% CI: 8.97, 13.45) compared to FA dosages ≤0.8 mg (ß = 2.94, 95% CI: 2.59, 3.29). Furthermore, FA dosages higher than 0.8 mg did not confer additional benefits in terms of increasing 5-methyl tetrahydrofolic acid (5-MTHF, active form of folate) or reducing homocysteine (Hcy).ConclusionIn Chinese adults with H-type hypertension, this study showed a positive, non-linear, dosage-response relationship between FA supplementation ranging from 0 to 2.4 mg and circulating UMFA levels. It revealed that 0.8 mg FA is an optimal dosage in terms of balancing efficacy (increasing 5-MTHF and lowering Hcy) while minimizing undesirable elevation of UMFA.Clinical trial registrationhttps://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03472508?term=NCT03472508&draw=2&rank=1, identifier NCT03472508