Statin use and risk of developing diabetes: results from the Diabetes Prevention Program

Objective Several clinical trials of cardiovascular disease prevention with statins have reported increased risk of type 2 diabetes (T2DM) with statin therapy. However, participants in these studies were at relatively low risk for diabetes. Further, diabetes was often based on self-report and was not the primary outcome. It is unknown whether statins similarly modify diabetes risk in higher risk populations. Research design and methods During the Diabetes Prevention Program Outcomes Study (n=3234), the long-term follow-up to a randomized clinical trial of interventions to prevent T2DM, incident diabetes was assessed by annual 75 g oral glucose tolerance testing and semiannual fasting glucose. Lipid profile was measured annually, with statin treatment determined by a participant’s own physician outside of the protocol. Statin use was assessed at baseline and semiannual visits. Results At 10 years, the cumulative incidence of statin initiation prior to diabetes diagnosis was 33%–37% among the randomized treatment groups (p=0.36). Statin use was associated with greater diabetes risk irrespective of treatment group, with pooled HR (95% CI) for incident diabetes of 1.36 (1.17 to 1.58). This risk was not materially altered by adjustment for baseline diabetes risk factors and potential confounders related to indications for statin therapy. Conclusions In this population at high risk for diabetes, we observed significantly higher rates of diabetes with statin therapy in all three treatment groups. Confounding by indication for statin use does not appear to explain this relationship. The effect of statins to increase diabetes risk appears to extend to populations at high risk for diabetes. Trial registration number NCT00038727; Results

The prevention of type 2 diabetes

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) affects more than 7% of adults in the US and leads to substantial personal and economic burden. In prediabetic states insulin secretion and action—potential targets of preventive interventions—are impaired. In trials lifestyle modification (i.e. weight loss and exercise) has proven effective in preventing incident T2DM in high-risk groups, although weight loss has the greatest effect. Various medications (e.g. metformin, thiazolidinediones and acarbose) can also prevent or delay T2DM. Whether diabetes-prevention strategies also ultimately prevent the development of diabetic vascular complications is unknown, but cardiovascular risk factors are favorably affected. Preventive strategies that can be implemented in routine clinical settings have been developed and evaluated. Widespread application has, however, been limited by local financial considerations, even though cost-effectiveness might be achieved at the population level

Biomarkers and Noncalcified Coronary Artery Plaque Progression in Older Men Treated With Testosterone.

ObjectiveRecent results from the Cardiovascular Trial of the Testosterone Trials showed that testosterone treatment of older men with low testosterone was associated with greater progression of noncalcified plaque (NCP). We evaluated the effect of anthropometric measures and cardiovascular biomarkers on plaque progression in individuals in the Testosterone Trial.MethodsThe Cardiovascular part of the trial included 170 men aged 65 years or older with low testosterone. Participants received testosterone gel or placebo gel for 12 months. The primary outcome was change in NCP volume from baseline to 12 months, as determined by coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA). We assayed several markers of cardiovascular risk and analyzed each marker individually in a model as predictive variables and change in NCP as the dependent variable.ResultsOf 170 enrollees, 138 (73 testosterone, 65 placebo) completed the study and were available for the primary analysis. Of 10 markers evaluated, none showed a significant association with the change in NCP volume, but a significant interaction between treatment assignment and waist-hip ratio (WHR) (P = 0.0014) indicated that this variable impacted the testosterone effect on NCP volume. The statistical model indicated that for every 0.1 change in the WHR, the testosterone-induced 12-month change in NCP volume increased by 26.96 mm3 (95% confidence interval, 7.72-46.20).ConclusionAmong older men with low testosterone treated for 1 year, greater WHR was associated with greater NCP progression, as measured by CCTA. Other biomarkers and anthropometric measures did not show statistically significant association with plaque progression

Prevalence of Microvascular and Macrovascular Disease in the Glycemia Reduction Approaches in Diabetes - A Comparative Effectiveness (GRADE) Study Cohort

Aims: The Glycemia Reduction Approaches in Diabetes - A Comparative Effectiveness (GRADE) trial is a randomized clinical trial comparing glycemic effects of four diabetes medications added to metformin in type 2 diabetes (T2D). Microvascular and macrovascular diseases are secondary outcomes. We evaluated the prevalence and risk factor relationships for microvascular and macrovascular complications in the GRADE cohort at study entry. Methods: Complication prevalence and risk factors were analyzed based on data from screening in all consenting participants meeting GRADE eligibility. Logistic regression and Z-statistics were used to assess risk factor relationships with complications. Results: We enrolled 5047 T2D participants [mean age 57 years; 36% female; mean known T2D duration 4 years (all < 10 years); mean HbA1c 8.0% (∼64 mmol/mol) at screening]. Urinary albumin/creatinine ratio (ACR) ≥ 30 mg/gram was present in 15.9% participants; peripheral neuropathy (by Michigan Neuropathy Screening Instrument) in 21.5%; cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy by electrocardiography-derived indices in 9.7%; self-reported retinopathy in 1.0%. Myocardial infarction ascertained by self-report or electrocardiogram was present in 7.3%, and self-reported history of stroke in 2.0%. Conclusions: In the GRADE cohort with < 10 years of T2D and a mean HbA1c of 8.0%, diabetes complications were present in a substantial fraction of participants, more so than might otherwise have been expected

Standards recommendations for the Earth BioGenome Project

A global international initiative, such as the Earth BioGenome Project (EBP), requires both agreement and coordination on standards to ensure that the collective effort generates rapid progress toward its goals. To this end, the EBP initiated five technical standards committees comprising volunteer members from the global genomics scientific community: Sample Collection and Processing, Sequencing and Assembly, Annotation, Analysis, and IT and Informatics. The current versions of the resulting standards documents are available on the EBP website, with the recognition that opportunities, technologies, and challenges may improve or change in the future, requiring flexibility for the EBP to meet its goals. Here, we describe some highlights from the proposed standards, and areas where additional challenges will need to be met

A meta-analysis of previous falls and subsequent fracture risk in cohort studies

NC Harvey acknowledges funding from the UK Medical Research Council (MC_PC_21003; MC_PC_21001). The WHI program is funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through 75N92021D00001, 75N92021D00002, 75N92021D00003, 75N92021D00004, and 75N92021D00005. Funding for the MrOS USA study comes from the National Institute on Aging (NIA), the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), and NIH Roadmap for Medical Research under the following grant numbers: U01 AG027810, U01 AG042124, U01 AG042139, U01 AG042140, U01 AG042143, U01 AG042145, U01 AG042168, U01 AR066160, and UL1 TR000128. Funding for the SOF study comes from the National Institute on Aging (NIA), and the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), supported by grants (AG05407, AR35582, AG05394, AR35584, and AR35583). Funding for the Health ABC study was from the Intramural research program at the National Institute on Aging under the following contract numbers: NO1-AG-6–2101, NO1-AG-6–2103, and NO1-AG-6–2106.Peer reviewedPostprin

The Evolutionary Dynamics of the Lion Panthera leo Revealed by Host and Viral Population Genomics

The lion Panthera leo is one of the world's most charismatic carnivores and is one of Africa's key predators. Here, we used a large dataset from 357 lions comprehending 1.13 megabases of sequence data and genotypes from 22 microsatellite loci to characterize its recent evolutionary history. Patterns of molecular genetic variation in multiple maternal (mtDNA), paternal (Y-chromosome), and biparental nuclear (nDNA) genetic markers were compared with patterns of sequence and subtype variation of the lion feline immunodeficiency virus (FIVPle), a lentivirus analogous to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). In spite of the ability of lions to disperse long distances, patterns of lion genetic diversity suggest substantial population subdivision (mtDNA ΦST = 0.92; nDNA FST = 0.18), and reduced gene flow, which, along with large differences in sero-prevalence of six distinct FIVPle subtypes among lion populations, refute the hypothesis that African lions consist of a single panmictic population. Our results suggest that extant lion populations derive from several Pleistocene refugia in East and Southern Africa (∼324,000–169,000 years ago), which expanded during the Late Pleistocene (∼100,000 years ago) into Central and North Africa and into Asia. During the Pleistocene/Holocene transition (∼14,000–7,000 years), another expansion occurred from southern refugia northwards towards East Africa, causing population interbreeding. In particular, lion and FIVPle variation affirms that the large, well-studied lion population occupying the greater Serengeti Ecosystem is derived from three distinct populations that admixed recently

Neurologic Involvement in Children and Adolescents Hospitalized in the United States for COVID-19 or Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome

This article is made available for unrestricted research re-use and secondary analysis in any form or by any means with acknowledgement of the original source. These permissions are granted for the duration of the World Health Organization (WHO) declaration of COVID-19 as a global pandemic.Importance Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) affects the nervous system in adult patients. The spectrum of neurologic involvement in children and adolescents is unclear. Objective To understand the range and severity of neurologic involvement among children and adolescents associated with COVID-19. Setting, Design, and Participants Case series of patients (age <21 years) hospitalized between March 15, 2020, and December 15, 2020, with positive severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 test result (reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and/or antibody) at 61 US hospitals in the Overcoming COVID-19 public health registry, including 616 (36%) meeting criteria for multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children. Patients with neurologic involvement had acute neurologic signs, symptoms, or diseases on presentation or during hospitalization. Life-threatening involvement was adjudicated by experts based on clinical and/or neuroradiologic features. Exposures Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Main Outcomes and Measures Type and severity of neurologic involvement, laboratory and imaging data, and outcomes (death or survival with new neurologic deficits) at hospital discharge. Results Of 1695 patients (909 [54%] male; median [interquartile range] age, 9.1 [2.4-15.3] years), 365 (22%) from 52 sites had documented neurologic involvement. Patients with neurologic involvement were more likely to have underlying neurologic disorders (81 of 365 [22%]) compared with those without (113 of 1330 [8%]), but a similar number were previously healthy (195 [53%] vs 723 [54%]) and met criteria for multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (126 [35%] vs 490 [37%]). Among those with neurologic involvement, 322 (88%) had transient symptoms and survived, and 43 (12%) developed life-threatening conditions clinically adjudicated to be associated with COVID-19, including severe encephalopathy (n = 15; 5 with splenial lesions), stroke (n = 12), central nervous system infection/demyelination (n = 8), Guillain-Barré syndrome/variants (n = 4), and acute fulminant cerebral edema (n = 4). Compared with those without life-threatening conditions (n = 322), those with life-threatening neurologic conditions had higher neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratios (median, 12.2 vs 4.4) and higher reported frequency of D-dimer greater than 3 μg/mL fibrinogen equivalent units (21 [49%] vs 72 [22%]). Of 43 patients who developed COVID-19–related life-threatening neurologic involvement, 17 survivors (40%) had new neurologic deficits at hospital discharge, and 11 patients (26%) died. Conclusions and Relevance In this study, many children and adolescents hospitalized for COVID-19 or multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children had neurologic involvement, mostly transient symptoms. A range of life-threatening and fatal neurologic conditions associated with COVID-19 infrequently occurred. Effects on long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes are unknown