Bone metabolism markers are associated with neck circumference in adult Arab women.

Summary: The study aimed to determine whether neck circumference is associated with bone metabolism markers among adult Arab women and found modest but significant associations with bone resorption markers, suggesting that neck circumference, a surrogate measure of upper subcutaneous fat, influences bone turnover expression among adult females. Introduction: Body fat distribution is associated with decreased bone resorption and neck circumference (NC), a surrogate measure for upper body fat, has never been tested as a marker that can reflect bone turnover. This is the first study aimed to analyze the associations between NC and several bone biomarkers among adult Saudi women. Methods: This cross-sectional study included a total of 265 middle-aged Saudi women [86 non-obese (mean age 52.7 ± 8.1; mean BMI 26.9 ± 2.3) and 179 obese (mean age 50.6 ± 7.5; mean BMI 35.7 ± 4.5)] recruited from primary care centers in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Anthropometrics included BMI, NC, waist and hip circumferences, total body fat percentage (%), and blood pressure. Biochemical parameters included glucose and lipid profile which were measured routinely. Serum levels of 25(OH) D, parathyroid hormone, RANKl, sclerostin, C-terminal telopeptide of collagen I (CTX-I), Dkk1, IL1β, osteoprotegerin, osteopontin, and osteocalcin were measured using commercially available assays. Results: In all groups, NC was inversely associated with PTH (R = − 0.22; p < 0.05) and positively associated with osteoprotegerin (R=0.20; p < 0.05) even after adjustments for age and BMI. Using all anthropometric indices as independent variables showed that only NC explained the variance perceived in CTX-I (p = 0.049). In the non-obese, waist-hip ratio (WHR) was significantly associated with sclerostin (R = 0.40; p < 0.05) and body fat was significantly associated with osteopontin (R=0.42; p<0.05). Conclusion: NC is modestly but significantly associated with bone biomarkers, particularly the bone resorption markers, among adult Arab women. The present findings highlight the importance of NC as measure of upper body subcutaneous fat in influencing bone biomarker expression in adult females

IGF and IGFBP as an index for discrimination between Vitamin D supplementation responders and nonresponders in overweight Saudi subjects

Vitamin D deficiency is common in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Therefore, it is significant to recognize which biochemical markers modulate serum 25 hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) in response to vitamin D supplementation in such a population. Our aim was to study the correlation of insulin-like growth factor (IGF) and insulin growth factor binding protein (IGFBP) with serum 25(OH)D in response to vitamin D supplementation in a Saudi population. A total of 199 (89 males/110 females) vitamin D deficient subjects (25 (OH)D level &lt;50 nmol/L), aged 40.4 ± 11.4 years, were given vitamin D supplements (50,000 IU/mL every week) for the first 2 months, then twice a month for 2 months, followed by daily 1000 IU in the last 2 months. Fasting blood samples were taken at baseline and 6 months after the final dose of vitamin D. Serum 25(OH)D, IGF-1 and IGF-2, and IGFBPs 2-5 were measured. Vitamin D response was computed for all subjects as the difference in levels of serum 25(OH)D concentration at the end of 6 months compared to baseline. After intervention, serum 25(OH)D concentration significantly increased from 35.6 nmol/L (26.6-43.5) to 61.8 nmol/L (54.8-73.3) in responder subjects (P &lt; .01) and from 35.1 nmol/L (21.2-58.2) to 38.3 nmol/L (25.5-48.3) in nonresponders (P = .13). Subjects with lower baseline serum IGF-II, IGFBP-2, and IGF-1/IGFBP-3 ratio are more sensitive to acute vitamin D status changes. IGF1 and IGF-1/IGFBP-3 ratio significantly increased in all subjects after 6 months (P = .01). Changes in 25(OH)D was significantly associated with changes in IGFBP-2 and IGF-1/IGFBP-3 ratio in responders only. This study proposes that changes in circulating IGF-I and IGFBP-3 are modulated by vitamin D supplementation and can be taken into consideration in investigations involving vitamin D correction. Moreover, increase in serum 25(OH)D and IGF-I/IGFBP-3 molar ratio are more sensitive markers for the response to vitamin D supplementation in Saudi population. © 2018 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc

Vitamin D supplementation is associated with increased glutathione peroxidase-1 levels in arab adults with prediabetes

Vitamin D supplementation may be used to lower oxidative stress. This interventional study aimed to investigate the effects of vitamin D supplementation on glutathione peroxidase 1 (GPx1) levels and other parameters in Arab adults with prediabetes. A total of 203 Saudi adults with prediabetes and vitamin D deficiency [intervention group, N = 146 (53 males and 93 females); control group, N = 57 (25 males and 32 females)] were included in this non-randomized, six-month intervention study. The intervention group received 50,000 international units (IU) cholecalciferol tablets once a week for two months, then twice a month for the next two months, followed by 1000 IU daily for the last two months. The control group received no supplementation. Serum 25(OH)D, lipid profile, glucose, C-reactive protein (CRP) and GPx1 were measured at baseline and after six months. Post-intervention, GPx1 concentrations increased significantly in the intervention group [17.3 (11.5\u201359.0) vs 26.7 (11.4\u201359.9) p &lt; 0.01] while no changes were observed in the control group (p = 0.15). This significant increase in 25(OH)D and GPx1 levels persisted after adjusting for age and BMI. Stratification according to sex revealed that this favourable increase in GPx1 was true only for males (p = 0.002). In all groups, baseline GPx1 was inversely correlated with low density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol (r = 120.26, p &lt; 0.01) and body mass index (BMI) (r = 120.20, p &lt; 0.05), while positively correlated with age (r = 0.18, p &lt; 0.05) and systolic blood pressure (r = 0.19, p &lt; 0.05). In conclusion, vitamin D supplementation favourably enhanced GPx1 levels in adult Arabs with prediabetes, particularly in males

Coexistence of pre-sarcopenia and metabolic syndrome in Arab men

Objective: The present single-center observational study determined the prevalence and coexistence of sarcopenia, presarcopenia, and metabolic syndrome (MetS) among apparently healthy Arab men and whether having both conditions present a unique cardiometabolic profile that is distinct than having the conditions separately. Methods: A total of 471 out of 530 Arab men aged 20–77 years old were included after screening for the presence of presarcopenia (ALM/ht2 < 7.26 kg/m2), sarcopenia (presence of both low muscle mass and low function), and MetS. MetS screening was done using the definition by the NCEP-ATP III. Based on the screening results, the participants were classified as control (normal) group (N = 328), MetS only (N = 73), pre-sarcopenia only (N = 64), and MetS + pre-sarcopenia (N = 6). Results: Pre-sarcopenia without MetS was observed in 64 participants (13.6%), while MetS without pre-sarcopenia was observed in 73 participants (15.5%). MetS + pre-sarcopenia was observed only in 6 participants (1.3%). None of the participants had sarcopenia. Age- and BMI-adjusted comparisons showed that those with MetS + pre-sarcopenia had the highest diastolic blood pressure and triglyceride levels as compared to all groups (p values < 0.001). MetS + pre-sarcopenia group also had the highest levels of glucose and the lowest lean arms–legs/BMI ratio than control and pre-sarcopenia groups (p values < 0.001 and 0.005, respectively). Conclusion: The prevalence of pre-sarcopenia + MetS is low among young adult Arab men, but shows a unique cardiometabolic profile that is worse than those having only one of the conditions. Further investigations should be done among Arab women and the elderly