Genetic variants in triglyceride metabolism genes among individuals with hypertriglyceridemia in Colombia.

Background: The genetic substrate of severe hypertriglyceridemia (sHTG) in Latin America is insufficiently understood.

Objective: To identify genetic variants in genes related to triglyceride (TG) metabolism among adults with sHTG from Colombia.

Methods: In individuals with plasma TG≥880 mg/dL at least once in their lifetime, we amplified and sequenced all exons and intron/exon boundaries of the genes LPL, APOC2, APOA5, GPIHBP1 and LMF1.

External validation and comparison of six cardiovascular risk prediction models in the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE)-Colombia study.

Aims: To external validate the SCORE2, AHA/ACC Pooled Cohort Equation (PCE), Framingham Risk Score (FRS), Non-Laboratory INTERHEART Risk Score (NL-IHRS), Globorisk-LAC, and WHO prediction models and compare their discrimination and calibration capacity.

Methods: Validation in individuals aged 40-69 years with at least 10 years follow-up and without baseline use of statins or cardiovascular diseases from the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology prospective cohort study (PURE)-Colombia. For discrimination, the C-statistic, and Receiver Operating Characteristic curves with the integrated area under the curve (AUCi) were used and compared.

Sex Differences in Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factor Prevalence, Morbidity, and Mortality in Colombia: Findings from the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) Study.

Background: Controversies exist on whether the presence of cardiovascular risk factors and their association with major cardiovascular events (MACE) is different between men and women. Most of the evidence comes from high-income countries, hindering extrapolation of sociocultural and demographic factors of other regions.

Objective: To evaluate sex differences in the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors and the incidence of MACE and diabetes in Colombian adults.

A Randomized Trial of Lipid Metabolism Modulation with Fenofibrate for Acute Coronavirus Disease 2019.

Background Abnormal cellular lipid metabolism appears to underlie SARS-CoV-2 cytotoxicity and may involve inhibition of peroxisome proliferator activated receptor alpha (PPARα). Fenofibrate, a PPAR-α activator, modulates cellular lipid metabolism. Fenofibric acid has also been shown to affect the dimerization of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2, the cellular receptor for SARS-CoV-2.

Insulin Resistance Markers to Detect Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in a Male Hispanic Population.

Background: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the leading causes of chronic liver disease and is closely associated with cardiometabolic disorders, being insulin resistance (IR) the common pathogenic mechanism. The triglycerides/glucose (TyG) index and triglycerides/HDL-c (TG/HDL) ratio are markers correlated with IR. We compared the capacity of these two indexes, alongside IR, to detect NAFLD.

Personal and household PM and black carbon exposure measures and respiratory symptoms in 8 low- and middle-income countries.

Background: Household air pollution (HAP) from cooking with solid fuels has been associated with adverse respiratory effects, but most studies use surveys of fuel use to define HAP exposure, rather than on actual air pollution exposure measurements.

Objective: To examine associations between household and personal fine particulate matter (PM) and black carbon (BC) measures and respiratory symptoms.

Methods: As part of the Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiology Air Pollution study, we analyzed 48-h household and personal PM and BC measurements for 870 individuals using different cooking fuels from 62 communities in 8 countries (Bangladesh, Chile, China, Colombia, India, Pakistan, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe).

Ethnic Differences in the Prevalence of Hypertension in Colombia: Association With Education Level.

Background: A higher prevalence of hypertension is reported among Afro-descendants compared with other ethnic groups in high-income countries; however, there is a paucity of information in low- and medium-income countries.

Methods: We evaluated 3,745 adults from 3 ethnic groups (552 White, 2,746 Mestizos, 447 Afro-descendants) enrolled in the prospective population-based cohort study (PURE)-Colombia. We assessed associations between anthropometric, socioeconomic, behavioral factors, and hypertension.

Measuring and predicting personal and household Black Carbon levels from 88 communities in eight countries.

Black Carbon (BC) is an important component of household air pollution (HAP) in low- and middle- income countries (LMICs), but levels and drivers of exposure are poorly understood. As part of the Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiological (PURE) study, we analyzed 48-hour BC measurements for 1187 individual and 2242 household samples from 88 communities in 8 LMICs (Bangladesh, Chile, China, Colombia, India, Pakistan, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe). Light absorbance (10 m) of collected PM filters, a proxy for BC concentrations, was calculated via an image-based reflectance method.

Variations between women and men in risk factors, treatments, cardiovascular disease incidence, and death in 27 high-income, middle-income, and low-income countries (PURE): a prospective cohort study.

Background: Some studies, mainly from high-income countries (HICs), report that women receive less care (investigations and treatments) for cardiovascular disease than do men and might have a higher risk of death. However, very few studies systematically report risk factors, use of primary or secondary prevention medications, incidence of cardiovascular disease, or death in populations drawn from the community. Given that most cardiovascular disease occurs in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs), there is a need for comprehensive information comparing treatments and outcomes between women and men in HICs, middle-income countries, and low-income countries from community-based population studies.

Plasma Levels of Myonectin But Not Myostatin or Fibroblast-Derived Growth Factor 21 Are Associated with Insulin Resistance in Adult Humans without Diabetes Mellitus.

Background: Myokines are a group of protein mediators produced by skeletal muscle under stress or physical exertion. Even though their discovery and effects in cell culture and animal models of disease have elicited great enthusiasm, very little is known about their role in human metabolism. We assessed whether plasma concentrations of three known myokines [myonectin, myostatin, and fibroblast-derived growth factor 21 (FGF-21)] would be associated with direct and indirect indicators of insulin resistance (IR) in individuals who did not have a diagnosis of diabetes.

The Phospholipid Linoleoylglycerophosphocholine as a Biomarker of Directly Measured Insulin Resistance.

Background: Plasma concentrations of some lysophospholipids correlate with metabolic alterations in humans, but their potential as biomarkers of insulin resistance (IR) is insufficiently known. We aimed to explore the association between plasma linoleoylglycerophosphocholine (LGPC) and objective measures of IR in adults with different metabolic profiles.

Methods: We studied 62 men and women, ages 30 to 69 years, (29% normal weight, 59% overweight, 12% obese).