Simplifying coronary artery disease risk stratification: development and validation of a questionnaire-based alternative comparable to clinical risk tools.

Background: Coronary artery disease (CAD) comprises one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality both in the European population and globally. All established clinical risk stratification scores and models require blood lipids and physical measurements. The latest reports of the European Commission suggest that attracting health professionals to collect these data can be challenging, both from a logistic and cost perspective, which limits the usefulness of established models and makes them unsuitable for population-wide screening in resource-limited settings, i.

Skin autofluorescence and cause-specific mortality in a population-based cohort.

We aimed to assess the association of SAF with cardiovascular mortality in the general population and the possible association between SAF with other disease-specific mortality rates. We evaluated 77,143 participants without known diabetes or cardiovascular disease. The cause of death was ascertained by the municipality database.

Association between skin autofluorescence and coronary calcification in the general population.

Objective: To address the relationship between tissue accumulation of advanced glycation end-products, assessed by skin autofluorescence (SAF), and subclinical atherosclerosis quantified with coronary artery calcium score (CACS) in the general Dutch population.

Methods: A total of 3,839 participants of the LifeLines Cohort Study without diabetes or cardiovascular disease were included in this cross-sectional evaluation. They underwent SAF measurement and cardiac computed tomography to measure CACS.

A Brief Overview of the Diagnosis and Treatment of Cobalamin (B12) Deficiency.

Background: An increasing number of adult individuals are at risk of vitamin B12 deficiency, either from reduced nutritional intake or impaired gastrointestinal B12 absorption.

Objective: This study aims to review the current best practices for the diagnosis and treatment of individuals with vitamin B12 deficiency.

Methods: A narrative literature review of the diagnosis and treatment of vitamin B12 deficiency.

Creating a Framework for Treating Autoimmune Gastritis-The Case for Replacing Lost Acid.

Autoimmune gastritis (AIG) is characterized by the destruction of gastric parietal cells, resulting in hypochlorhydria and eventual achlorhydria, as oxyntic glands in the corpus are destroyed and become atrophic. The permanent loss of gastric acid has many impacts-both theoretical and documented. The most concerning of these are hypergastrinemia and increased N-nitroso compounds, both of which increase the risk of gastric cancers.

A Digitally Enabled Combined Lifestyle Intervention for Weight Loss: Pilot Study in a Dutch General Population Cohort.

Background: Overweight and obesity rates among the general population of the Netherlands keep increasing. Combined lifestyle interventions (CLIs) focused on physical activity, nutrition, sleep, and stress management can be effective in reducing weight and improving health behaviors. Currently available CLIs for weight loss (CLI-WLs) in the Netherlands consist of face-to-face and community-based sessions, which face scalability challenges.

Effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals and their interactions with genetic risk scores on cardiometabolic traits.

Ubiquitous non-persistent endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) have inconsistent associations with cardiometabolic traits. Additionally, large-scale genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have yielded many genetic risk variants for cardiometabolic traits and diseases. This study aimed to investigate the associations between a wide range of EDC exposures (parabens, bisphenols, and phthalates) and 14 cardiometabolic traits and whether these are moderated by their respective genetic risk scores (GRSs).

Differences in lipid and blood pressure measurements between individuals with type 1 diabetes and the general population: a cross-sectional study.

Objectives: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a precarious complication of type 1 diabetes (T1D). Alongside glycaemic control, lipid and blood pressure (BP) management are essential for the prevention of CVD. However, age-specific differences in lipid and BP between individuals with T1D and the general population are relatively unknown.

Hypothyroidism, comorbidity and health-related quality of life: a population-based study.

Hypothyroidism is associated with a decreased health-related quality of life (HRQoL). We hypothesized that individuals with hypothyroidism (defined as use of thyroid hormone (TH)) and especially those having an impaired HRQoL are characterized by a high prevalence of comorbid disorders and that the impact of hypothyroidism and comorbidity on HRQoL is synergistic. Presence of comorbidity was based on data obtained using structured questionnaires, physical examination, biochemical measurements and verified medication use.

Efficacy and safety of metformin during pregnancy: an update.

During the last decades, gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) prevalence has been on the rise. While insulin remains the gold standard treatment for GDM, metformin use during pregnancy is controversial. This review aimed to comprehensively assess the available data on the efficacy and safety of metformin during pregnancy, both for the mother and the offspring.

[Subtyping of type 2 diabetes: an approach towards personalized treatment].

Several research groups have attempted to describe the heterogeneity of type 2 diabetes by creating specific subtypes. A Swedish study evaluating subtypes of type 2 diabetes soon after diagnosis has proposed the existence of 5 clusters. Subtyping can lead to a better understanding of the underlying pathophysiology, better prediction of the development of diabetes-related complications, and a personalized approach towards lifestyle interventions and prescription of glucose-lowering medication.

The necessity of incorporating non-genetic risk factors into polygenic risk score models.

The growing public interest in genetic risk scores for various health conditions can be harnessed to inspire preventive health action. However, current commercially available genetic risk scores can be deceiving as they do not consider other, easily attainable risk factors, such as sex, BMI, age, smoking habits, parental disease status and physical activity. Recent scientific literature shows that adding these factors can improve PGS based predictions significantly.

Urinary concentrations of bisphenols and parabens and their association with attention, hyperactivity and impulsivity at adolescence.

Background: Neurobehavioural disorder diagnoses have been increasing over the last decades, leading to heightened interest in the aetiological factors involved. Endocrine disrupting chemicals, such as parabens and bisphenols, have been suggested as one of those factors. It is unknown whether exposure during adolescence may affect neurobehavioural development.

Once-Weekly Semaglutide Use in Type 2 Diabetes: Real-World Data from the SURE Netherlands Observational Study.

Introduction: SURE Netherlands (NCT03929679) evaluated the use of once-weekly (OW) semaglutide, a glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA), in routine clinical care for individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2D).

Methods: Adults (age ≥ 18 years) with T2D were enrolled into the single-arm study. The primary endpoint was change from baseline to end of study (EOS;  approx.

Genome-wide association study identifies novel loci associated with skin autofluorescence in individuals without diabetes.

Background: Skin autofluorescence (SAF) is a non-invasive measure reflecting accumulation of advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs) in the skin. Higher SAF levels are associated with an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. An earlier genome-wide association study (GWAS) revealed a strong association between NAT2 variants and SAF.

A non-invasive risk score including skin autofluorescence predicts diabetes risk in the general population.

Increased skin autofluorescence (SAF) predicts the development of diabetes-related complications and cardiovascular disease. We assessed the performance of a simple model which includes SAF to identify individuals at high risk for undiagnosed and incident type 2 diabetes, in 58,377 participants in the Lifelines Cohort Study without known diabetes. Newly-diagnosed diabetes was defined as fasting blood glucose ≥ 7.