The impact of oat structure and β-glucan on in vitro lipid digestion

Oat β-glucan has been shown to play a positive role in influencing lipid and cholesterol metabolism. However, the mechanisms behind these beneficial effects are not fully understood. The purpose of the current work was to investigate some of the possible mechanisms behind the cholesterol lowering effect of oat β-glucan, and how processing of oat modulates lipolysis. β-Glucan release, and the rate and extent of lipolysis measured in the presence of different sources of oat β-glucan, were investigated during gastrointestinal digestion. Only a fraction of the original β-glucan content was released during digestion. Oat flakes and flour appeared to have a more significant effect on lipolysis than purified β-glucan. These findings show that the positive action of β-glucan is likely to involve complex processes and interactions with the food matrix. This work also highlights the importance of considering the structure and physicochemical properties of foods, and not just the nutrient content

Context and culture associated with alcohol use amongst youth in major urban cities: A cross-country population based survey

Background: Alcohol consumption patterns are dependent upon culture and context. The aim of this study was to interview people aged 18–34 year old living in four cities in different regions of the world to explore differences in a range of alcohol measures to assist in determining culturally appropriate alcohol initiatives for this age group. Method: Multistage random sampling was consistent across the four cities (Ilorin (Nigeria), Wuhan (China), Montevideo (Uruguay) and Moscow (Russia)). The questionnaire was forward and back translated into relevant languages and face-to-face interviewing undertaken. The data were weighted to the population of each city. Uni-variable analysis (ever consumed, first time consumed, age when drunk for first time, number of days consumed, type consumed) and logistic regression modeling were undertaken. The final model for each city was adjusted for age, sex, marital status, highest education and employment status. In total 6235 interviews were undertaken (1391 in Ilorin, 1600 in Montevideo, 1604 in Moscow and 1640 in Wuhan). Results: Alcohol was consumed by 96.4% in Montevideo, 86.1% in Moscow, 53.4% in Wuhan and 33.3% in Ilorin. There was very little difference by gender except Ilorin males were more likely to consume alcohol than females. Alcohol was consumed on more days for Ilorin males; Wuhan females consumed alcohol on the least number of days; Ilorin had the most abstainers; Montevideo and Moscow the highest proportion of light drinkers; Ilorin and Montevideo the highest proportion of heavy drinkers. Differences by type of alcohol were also apparent. The final logistic regression model provided different models including higher alcohol consumption rates for males, 25–34 years of age, divorced/separated marital status and employed part time for Ilorin respondents; males and higher educated for Montevideo; males, 25 to 29 years of age and higher educated for Moscow; and 25–29 years of age, non-married and vocationally trained for those in Wuhan. Conclusion: Alcohol consumption in these four cities does not increase with age as found in most high income countries. The alcohol consumption patterns during this stage of the life cycle are important to assess so that high level, as well as country-specific, planning and interventions can be implemented

Work-Family Life Courses and Metabolic Markers in the MRC National Survey of Health and Development

The aim was to investigate whether the combined work-family life courses of British men and women were associated with differences in metabolic markers?waist circumference, blood pressure, high density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, and glycated haemoglobin?in mid-life. We used data from the Medical Research Council?s National Survey of Health and Development?the 1946 British birth cohort. Multi-channel sequence analysis was used to create a typology of eight work-family life course types combining information on work, partnerships and parenthood between ages 16?51. Linear regression tested associations between work-family types and metabolic outcomes at age 53 on multiply imputed data (20 imputations) of >2,400 participants. Compared with men with strong ties to employment and early transitions to family life, men who made later transitions to parenthood and maintained strong ties to paid work had smaller waist circumferences (-2.16cm, 95% CI: -3.73, -0.59), lower triglycerides (9.78% lower, 95% CI: 0.81, 17.94) and lower blood pressure (systolic: -4.03mmHg, 95% CI: -6.93, -1.13; diastolic: -2.34mmHg, 95% CI: -4.15, -0.53). Married men and women who didn?t have children had increased high density lipoprotein cholesterol (7.23% higher, 95% CI: 0.68, 14.21) and lower waist circumferences (-4.67cm, 95% CI: -8.37, -0.97), respectively. For men later transitions to parenthood combined with strong ties to paid work were linked to reduced metabolic risk in mid-life. Fewer differences between work-family types and metabolic markers were seen for women

New genetic loci implicated in fasting glucose homeostasis and their impact on type 2 diabetes risk.

Levels of circulating glucose are tightly regulated. To identify new loci influencing glycemic traits, we performed meta-analyses of 21 genome-wide association studies informative for fasting glucose, fasting insulin and indices of beta-cell function (HOMA-B) and insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) in up to 46,186 nondiabetic participants. Follow-up of 25 loci in up to 76,558 additional subjects identified 16 loci associated with fasting glucose and HOMA-B and two loci associated with fasting insulin and HOMA-IR. These include nine loci newly associated with fasting glucose (in or near ADCY5, MADD, ADRA2A, CRY2, FADS1, GLIS3, SLC2A2, PROX1 and C2CD4B) and one influencing fasting insulin and HOMA-IR (near IGF1). We also demonstrated association of ADCY5, PROX1, GCK, GCKR and DGKB-TMEM195 with type 2 diabetes. Within these loci, likely biological candidate genes influence signal transduction, cell proliferation, development, glucose-sensing and circadian regulation. Our results demonstrate that genetic studies of glycemic traits can identify type 2 diabetes risk loci, as well as loci containing gene variants that are associated with a modest elevation in glucose levels but are not associated with overt diabetes

First nationwide survey on cardiovascular risk factors in Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg (ORISCAV-LUX)

BACKGROUND: The ORISCAV-LUX study is the first baseline survey of an on-going cardiovascular health monitoring programme in Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg. The main objectives of the present manuscript were 1) to describe the study design and conduct, and 2) to present the salient outcomes of the study, in particular the prevalence of the potentially modifiable and treatable cardiovascular disease risk factors in the adult population residing in Luxembourg. METHOD: ORISCAV-LUX is a cross-sectional study based on a random sample of 4496 subjects, stratified by gender, age categories and district, drawn from the national insurance registry of 18-69 years aged Luxembourg residents, assuming a response rate of 30% and a proportion of 5% of institutionalized subjects in each stratum. The cardiovascular health status was assessed by means of a self-administered questionnaire, clinical and anthropometric measures, as well as by blood, urine and hair examinations. The potentially modifiable and treatable risk factors studied included smoking, hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus, and obesity. Both univariate and multivariate statistical analyses used weighted methods to account for the stratified sampling scheme. RESULTS: A total of 1432 subjects took part in the survey, yielding a participation rate of 32.2%. This figure is higher than the minimal sample size of 1285 subjects as estimated by power calculation. The most predominant cardiovascular risk factors were dyslipidemia (69.9%), hypertension (34.5%), smoking (22.3%), and obesity (20.9%), while diabetes amounted 4.4%. All prevalence rates increased with age (except smoking) with marked gender differences (except diabetes). There was a significant difference in the prevalence of hypertension and of lipid disorders by geographic region of birth. The proportion of subjects cumulating two or more cardiovascular risk factors increased remarkably with age and was more predominant in men than in women (P<0.0001). Only 14.7% of men and 23.1% of women were free of any cardiovascular risk factor. High prevalence of non-treated CVRF, notably for hypertension and dyslipidemia, were observed in the study population. CONCLUSION: The population-based ORISCAV-LUX survey revealed a high prevalence of potentially modifiable and treatable cardiovascular risk factors among apparently healthy subjects; significant gender and age-specific differences were seen not only for single but also for combined risk factors. From a public health perspective, these preliminary findings stress the urgent need for early routine health examinations, preventive interventions and lifestyle behavioural changes, even in young asymptomatic adults, to decrease cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in Luxembourg

Relationships of low serum vitamin D3 with anthropometry and markers of the metabolic syndrome and diabetes in overweight and obesity

Low serum 25 hydroxyvitamin D3 (vitamin D3) is known to perturb cellular function in many tissues, including the endocrine pancreas, which are involved in obesity and type II diabetes mellitus (TIIDM). Vitamin D3 insufficiency has been linked to obesity, whether obesity is assessed by body mass index (BMI) or waist circumference (waist). Central obesity, using waist as the surrogate, is associated with the metabolic syndrome (MetSyn), insulin resistance, TIIDM and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD). We tested how vitamin D3 was related to measures of fat mass, MetSyn markers, haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) and MetSyn in a cross-sectional sample of 250 overweight and obese adults of different ethnicities. There were modest inverse associations of vitamin D3 with body weight (weight) (r = -0.21, p = 0.0009), BMI (r = -0.18, p = 0.005), waist (r = -0.14, p = 0.03), [but not body fat % (r = -0.08, p = 0.24)], and HbA1c (r = -0.16, p = 0.01). Multivariable regression carried out separately for BMI and waist showed a decrease of 0.74 nmol/L (p = 0.002) in vitamin D3 per 1 kg/m2 increase in BMI and a decrease of 0.29 nmol/L (p = 0.01) per 1 cm increase in waist, with each explaining approximately 3% of the variation in vitamin D3 over and above gender, age, ethnicity and season