Factors associated with self-reported number of teeth in a large national cohort of Thai adults

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Oral health in later life results from individual's lifelong accumulation of experiences at the personal, community and societal levels. There is little information relating the oral health outcomes to risk factors in Asian middle-income settings such as Thailand today.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Data derived from a cohort of 87,134 adults enrolled in Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University who completed self-administered questionnaires in 2005. Cohort members are aged between 15 and 87 years and resided throughout Thailand. This is a large study of self-reported number of teeth among Thai adults. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regressions were used to analyse factors associated with self-reported number of teeth.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>After adjusting for covariates, being female (OR = 1.28), older age (OR = 10.6), having low income (OR = 1.45), having lower education (OR = 1.33), and being a lifetime urban resident (OR = 1.37) were statistically associated (p < 0.0001) with having less than 20 teeth. In addition, daily soft drink consumptions (OR = 1.41), current regular smoking (OR = 1.39), a history of not being breastfed as a child (OR = 1.34), and mother's lack of education (OR = 1.20) contributed significantly to self-reported number of teeth in fully adjusted analyses.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This study addresses the gap in knowledge on factors associated with self-reported number of teeth. The promotion of healthy childhoods and adult lifestyles are important public health interventions to increase tooth retention in middle and older age.</p

Design and development of a peptide-based adiponectin receptor agonist for cancer treatment

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Adiponectin, a fat tissue-derived adipokine, exhibits beneficial effects against insulin resistance, cardiovascular disease, inflammatory conditions, and cancer. Circulating adiponectin levels are decreased in obese individuals, and this feature correlates with increased risk of developing several metabolic, immunological and neoplastic diseases. Thus, pharmacological replacement of adiponectin might prove clinically beneficial, especially for the obese patient population. At present, adiponectin-based therapeutics are not available, partly due to yet unclear structure/function relationships of the cytokine and difficulties in converting the full size adiponectin protein into a viable drug.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We aimed to generate adiponectin-based short peptide that can mimic adiponectin action and be suitable for preclinical and clinical development as a cancer therapeutic. Using a panel of 66 overlapping 10 amino acid-long peptides covering the entire adiponectin globular domain (residues 105-254), we identified the 149-166 region as the adiponectin active site. Three-dimensional modeling of the active site and functional screening of additional 330 peptide analogs covering this region resulted in the development of a lead peptidomimetic, ADP 355 (H-DAsn-Ile-Pro-Nva-Leu-Tyr-DSer-Phe-Ala-DSer-NH₂). In several adiponectin receptor-positive cancer cell lines, ADP 355 restricted proliferation in a dose-dependent manner at 100 nM-10 μM concentrations (exceeding the effects of 50 ng/mL globular adiponectin). Furthermore, ADP 355 modulated several key signaling pathways (AMPK, Akt, STAT3, ERK1/2) in an adiponectin-like manner. siRNA knockdown experiments suggested that ADP 355 effects can be transmitted through both adiponectin receptors, with a greater contribution of AdipoR1. <it>In vivo</it>, intraperitoneal administration of 1 mg/kg/day ADP 355 for 28 days suppressed the growth of orthotopic human breast cancer xenografts by ~31%. The peptide displayed excellent stability (at least 30 min) in mouse blood or serum and did not induce gross toxic effects at 5-50 mg/kg bolus doses in normal CBA/J mice.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>ADP 355 is a first-in-class adiponectin receptor agonist. Its biological activity, superior stability in biological fluids as well as acceptable toxicity profile indicate that the peptidomimetic represents a true lead compound for pharmaceutical development to replace low adiponectin levels in cancer and other malignancies.</p

High-level activities of daily living and disease-specific mortality during a 12-year follow-up of an octogenarian population

Yutaka Takata,1 Toshihiro Ansai,2 Inho Soh,2 Shuji Awano,2 Ikuo Nakamichi,1 Sumio Akifusa,3 Kenichi Goto,1 Akihiro Yoshida,2 Hiroki Fujii,1 Ritsuko Fujisawa,1 Kazuo Sonoki31Division of General Internal Medicine, 2Division of Community Oral Health Science, 3Department of Oral Health and Environment, School of Oral Health Science, Kyushu Dental University, Kitakyushu, JapanBackground: Little is known about the relationship between disease-specific mortality and high-level activities of daily living in the elderly. We examined whether mortality is associated with high-level activities of daily living in an octogenarian population.Methods: We conducted a population-based cross-sectional and prospective cohort study in 693 older persons aged 80 years and living in Japan&rsquo;s Fukuoka Prefecture. We then evaluated the association between 12-year disease-specific mortality and high-level functional capacity as measured by the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology Index of Competence, which is a standardized multidimensional 13-item instrument; items 1 through 5 are classified as instrumental self-maintenance activity, items 6 through 9 as intellectual activity, items 10 through 13 as social roles activity, and all 13 items together yield total functional capacity.Results: By the 12-year follow-up of the 693 participants, 413 had died, 242 survived, and 38 were unable to be located. Of the 413 who died, 105 died of cardiovascular disease, 73 of respiratory tract disease, 71 of cancer, and 39 of senility. Of the other 125 deaths, 59 were due to other diseases, and the cause of death for 66 participants is not known. The hazard ratio (HR) for all-cause mortality, adjusted for confounding factors with multivariate Cox analyses, fell by 6% (HR 0.937, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.899&ndash;0.978, P = 0.003) with each one-point increase in participants&rsquo; scores on the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology Index of total functional capacity. With one-point increases in instrumental self-maintenance activity and in intellectual activity, the HRs for all-cause mortality decreased by 14% (HR 0.856, 95% CI 0.787&ndash;0.930, P = 0.000) and 12% (HR 0.884, 95% CI 0.794&ndash;0.983, P = 0.023), respectively. Respiratory mortality with HR adjustment fell by 11% (HR 0.887, 95% CI 0.804&ndash;0.978, P = 0.016) and 24% (HR 0.760, 95% CI 0.627&ndash;0.922, P = 0.005) with one-point increases in the scores of total functional capacity and instrumental self-maintenance activity, respectively. Similarly, mortality due to senility fell by 16% (HR 0.838, 95% CI 0.743&ndash;0.946, P = 0.004), 29% (HR 0.707, 95% CI 0.564&ndash;0.886, P = 0.003), and 29% (HR 0.710, 95% CI 0.522&ndash;0.966, P = 0.029) with one-point increases in the scores of total functional capacity, instrumental self-maintenance activity, and intellectual activity, respectively.Conclusion: These findings suggest that high-level activities of daily living may be an independent predictor of mortality due to all causes, respiratory disease and senility in older persons.Keywords: older persons, community-dwelling, mortality, respiratory death, instrumental AD

Cognitive function and 10 year mortality in an 85 year-old community-dwelling population

Yutaka Takata,1 Toshihiro Ansai,2 Inho Soh,2 Shuji Awano,2 Ikuo Nakamichi,1 Sumio Akifusa,3 Kenichi Goto,1 Akihiro Yoshida,2 Hiroki Fujii,1 Ritsuko Fujisawa,1 Kazuo Sonoki31Division of General Internal Medicine, Kyushu Dental University, 2Division of Community Oral Health Development, Kyushu Dental University, 3Department of Oral Health and Environment, School of Oral Health Science, Kyushu Dental University, Kitakyushu, JapanAbstract: The relationship between mortality and impaired cognitive function has not been thoroughly investigated in a very elderly community-dwelling population, and little is known about the association of disease-specific mortality with Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) subscale scores. Here we evaluated these data in Japanese community-dwelling elderly. In 2003, 85 year-olds (n=207) were enrolled; 205 completed the MMSE for cognitive function and were followed-up for 10 years, during which time 120 participants died, 70 survived, and 17 were lost to follow-up. Thirty-eight deaths were due to cardiovascular disease, 22 to senility, 21 to respiratory disease, and 16 to cancer. All-cause mortality decreased by 4.3% with a 1-point increase in the global MMSE score without adjustment, and it decreased by 6.3% with adjustment for both sex and length of education. Cardiovascular mortality decreased by 7.6% and senility mortality decreased by 9.2% with a 1-point increase in the global MMSE score with adjustment for sex and education. No association was found between respiratory diseases or cancer mortality and global MMSE score. All-cause mortality also decreased with increases in MMSE subscale scores for time orientation, place orientation, delayed recall, naming objects, and listening and obeying. Cardiovascular mortality was also associated with the MMSE subscale of naming objects, and senility mortality was associated with the subscales of time orientation and place orientation. Thus, we found that impaired cognitive function determined by global MMSE score and some MMSE subscale scores were independent predictors of all-cause mortality or mortality due to cardiovascular disease or senility in 85 year-olds.Keywords: cognition, elderly, mortality, community-dwelling, MMS

Serum total cholesterol concentration and 10-year mortality in an 85-year-old population

Yutaka Takata,1 Toshihiro Ansai,2 Inho Soh,2 Shuji Awano,2 Ikuo Nakamichi,1 Sumio Akifusa,3 Kenichi Goto,1 Akihiro Yoshida,2 Hiroki Fujii,1 Ritsuko Fujisawa,1 Kazuo Sonoki3 1Division of General Internal Medicine, 2Division of Community Oral Health Development, 3Department of Oral Health and Environment, School of Oral Health Science, Kyushu Dental College, Kitakyushu, Japan Abstract: Little is known about the association between total cholesterol (TC) and all-cause mortality in the elderly (especially the very elderly). Here we examined the association between TC and all-cause mortality in 207 very elderly (85-year-old) participants. In 2003, we performed a baseline laboratory blood examination, and blood pressure (BP) and body mass index (BMI) measurements, and lifestyle questionnaires were completed by the participants. The participants were followed for the subsequent 10 years. As of 2013, of the 207 participants in 2003, 70 participants had survived, 120 individuals had died, and 17 were lost to follow up. The TC values were divided into high-TC (&ge;209 mg/dL), intermediate-TC (176&ndash;208 mg/dL), and low-TC (&le;175 mg/dL) categories. With the Kaplan&ndash;Meier method, we found that both the high-TC and intermediate-TC participants survived longer than the low-TC participants. The men with high TC survived longer than those with low TC, but no corresponding difference was found for the women. A multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression model, with adjustment for gender, smoking, alcohol intake, history of stroke or heart disease, serum albumin concentration, BMI, and systolic BP, revealed that the total mortality in the low-TC group was 1.7-fold higher than that in the high-TC group. Mortality, adjusted for the same factors, decreased 0.9% with each 1 mg/dL increase in the serum TC concentration and decreased 0.8% with each 1 mg/dL increase in the serum (low-density lipoprotein) LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C) concentration. Our results indicate an association between lower serum TC concentrations and increased all-cause mortality in a community-dwelling, very elderly population. Mortality decreased with the increases in both TC and LDL-C concentrations, after adjustment for various confounding factors. These findings suggest that low TC and low LDL-C may be independent predictors of high mortality in the very elderly. Keyword: community-dwelling, very elderly, LDL-cholesterol, gender difference, prospective cohor