Publications by authors named "Marleen M J Van Greevenbroek"
Objective: Type D (Distressed) personality combines negative affectivity (NA) and social inhibition (SI) and is associated with an increased risk of cardiometabolic diseases. Here, we examined the association of Type D traits with 230 (predominantly) lipid metabolites and metabolite ratios.
Methods: Four Dutch cohorts were included, comprising 10,834 individuals.
Context: Glucose excursions in persons with diabetes may drive chronic inflammation. Methylglyoxal (MGO) is formed from glucose, is elevated in persons with diabetes, and is a potent glycating agent linked with inflammation.
Objective: We investigated whether glucose excursions are associated with low-grade inflammation and whether MGO mediates this association.
Aim: Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a common chronic disease that disproportionally affects groups with a low socioeconomic position (SEP). This study aimed to examine associations between childhood SEP and incident T2D, independent of adult SEP.
Methods: Longitudinal data from The Maastricht Study were used (N=6,727, 55.
Background: Epidemiological and toxicological studies indicate that increased exposure to air pollutants can lead to neurodegenerative diseases. To further confirm this relationship, we evaluated the association between exposure to ambient air pollutants and corneal nerve measures as a surrogate for neurodegeneration, using corneal confocal microscopy.
Methods: We used population-based observational cross-sectional data from The Maastricht Study including N = 3635 participants (mean age 59.
Article Synopsis
- - The study investigates how life-course exposure to risk and protective factors affects brain structure and cognition, using data from The Maastricht Study of 4,881 middle-aged individuals.
- - Brain-age gap (BAG) is calculated by comparing individuals' actual age to their predicted brain age based on neuroimaging, with a larger BAG indicating accelerated brain aging and poorer cognitive function.
- - Results indicate that higher dementia risk, measured by a lifestyle score, is linked to a greater BAG and reduced cognitive abilities, emphasizing the importance of lifestyle factors on brain health.
Article Synopsis
- - Kidney failure impacts physical performance, and individuals with early stages of chronic kidney disease (CKD) experience reductions in physical capacity, although previous evidence is limited.
- - A study involving 7,396 participants found that lower estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and higher levels of urinary albumin associated with poorer performance across various physical tests, including shorter distances in a 6-minute walk test and decreased muscle strength.
- - The relationship between eGFR and physical function is complex, showing that both low and high eGFR values can correlate with worse physical performance, highlighting the need for greater awareness of physical health in patients with varying stages of CKD.
Article Synopsis
- The study aimed to systematically review and analyze randomized controlled trials and cohort studies to assess the impact of bolus advisors on blood sugar levels in adults with diabetes.
- An electronic search was performed across multiple databases, including PubMed and the Cochrane Library, with results from 18 trials involving 1645 adults.
- The findings indicated that bolus advisors led to a slight reduction in glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels and improved treatment satisfaction, suggesting potential benefits for diabetes management, although they did not significantly reduce hypoglycemic events.
Background: Cerebral microvascular dysfunction may contribute to depression via disruption of brain structures involved in mood regulation, but evidence is limited. We investigated the association of retinal microvascular function, a proxy for microvascular function in the brain, with incidence and trajectories of clinically relevant depressive symptoms.
Methods: Longitudinal data are from The Maastricht Study of 5952 participants (59.
Article Synopsis
- Obesity is often viewed as a lifestyle choice rather than a disease, leading to initiatives like the IMI SOPHIA project, which aims to better categorize individuals with obesity based on their disease risk and treatment responses.
- SOPHIA faces challenges due to siloed clinical cohorts, which limit data sharing for biomarker discovery, but tackles this by using a federated database built on open-source DataSHIELD technology that integrates 16 different data sources.
- The project allows secure analysis of combined data without revealing individual patient information, demonstrated through a proof-of-concept analysis linking BMI and blood pressure, which showed results similar to traditional meta-analyses, setting a standard for safe collaborative research.
Background: Microvascular dysfunction is involved in the development of various cerebral disorders. It may contribute to these disorders by disrupting white matter tracts and altering brain connectivity, but evidence is scarce. We investigated the association between multiple biomarkers of microvascular function and whole-brain white matter connectivity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a common chronic disease that disproportionally affects disadvantaged groups. People with a low socioeconomic position (SEP) have increased risk of T2DM and people with a low SEP and T2DM have higher HbA-levels compared to people with T2DM and high SEP. The aim of this study is to analyze longitudinal socioeconomic differences in health-related functioning in people with T2DM.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Aims: Physical activity (PA) constitutes an established protective factor while sedentary behavior (SB) an emerging independent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. This study evaluated the association of PA and SB with endothelial dysfunction (ED) depending on kidney function status.
Methods: Cross-sectional data from the prospective, population-based Maastricht Study were used.
Background & Aims: Recent studies have unveiled an association between socioeconomic position (SEP) and intrahepatic lipid (IHL) content. The aim of this study was to examine to what extent traditional lifestyle factors mediate the relationship between SEP and IHL content, independent of aetiology, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).
Methods: We used cross-sectional data derived from The Maastricht Study (N = 4,001; mean age: 60 years, 49% women, 32% low education level, 21% diabetes, 21% NAFLD).
Article Synopsis
- Elevated blood pressure (BP) is linked to cognitive issues and is found to accelerate brain aging, particularly in women aged 50-69, as shown in a study of over 228,000 individuals from the UK Biobank.
- The research utilized advanced machine learning to establish a new measure for assessing white matter brain age, revealing that individuals with hypertension have an increased white matter brain age by an average of 0.31 years compared to those without hypertension.
- A Mendelian randomization analysis indicated a significant positive causal effect of diastolic BP on white matter brain aging, emphasizing the need for targeted BP management strategies in older women to mitigate cognitive decline.
Thinner inner retinal layers are associated with lower cognitive performance, lower brain volume, and altered white matter network structure-The Maastricht Study.
Alzheimers Dement
January 2024
Introduction: The retina may provide non-invasive, scalable biomarkers for monitoring cerebral neurodegeneration.
Methods: We used cross-sectional data from The Maastricht study (n = 3436; mean age 59.3 years; 48% men; and 21% with type 2 diabetes [the latter oversampled by design]).
(Pre)diabetes and a higher level of glycaemic measures are continuously associated with corneal neurodegeneration assessed by corneal confocal microscopy: the Maastricht Study.
Diabetologia
November 2023
Aims/hypothesis: To assess the associations between glucose metabolism status and a range of continuous measures of glycaemia with corneal nerve fibre measures, as assessed using corneal confocal microscopy.
Methods: We used population-based observational cross-sectional data from the Maastricht Study of N=3471 participants (mean age 59.4 years, 48.
Objectives: This study examined the cross-sectional association between sleep duration, prediabetes, and type 2 diabetes, and its independence from the traditional lifestyle risk factors diet, physical activity, smoking behavior, and alcohol consumption.
Methods: Cross-sectional data from 5561 people aged 40-75 years recruited into The Maastricht Study between 2010 and 2018 were used (1:1 female:male and mean age: 60.1 years [standard deviation: 8.
Computational models of human glucose homeostasis can provide insight into the physiological processes underlying the observed inter-individual variability in glucose regulation. Modelling approaches ranging from "bottom-up" mechanistic models to "top-down" data-driven techniques have been applied to untangle the complex interactions underlying progressive disturbances in glucose homeostasis. While both approaches offer distinct benefits, a combined approach taking the best of both worlds has yet to be explored.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Aims: The complement system, particularly the alternative complement pathway, may contribute to vascular damage and development of cardiovascular disease (CVD). We investigated the association of factor D, the rate-limiting protease in alternative pathway activation, with adverse cardiovascular outcomes.
Methods: In 2947 participants (50.
Background: If retinal indices of neurodegeneration are to be biomarkers for the monitoring of cerebral neurodegeneration, it is important to establish whether potentially modifiable risk factors for dementia are associated with retinal neurodegenerative changes.
Objective: To study associations of dementia risk factors with retinal sensitivity, an index of retinal neural function, and retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness, an index of retinal neural structure.
Methods: We used cross-sectional data from The Maastricht Study (up to 5,666 participants, 50.
Article Synopsis
- Plasma sulfur amino acids (SAAs) like methionine and cysteine may contribute to obesity and cardiometabolic issues, but research on how diet affects their levels is limited.
- The study analyzed data from 1,145 participants to explore how dietary intake of SAAs and protein correlates with plasma SAA concentrations, utilizing food frequency questionnaires and various diet quality scores.
- Results indicated that higher intake of total SAAs and proteins was linked to increased plasma tCys and cystathionine, with specific intake patterns showing different effects on other SAAs and overall diet quality showing a connection to lower plasma tHcy levels.
Background: Dicarbonyls are reactive precursors of advanced glycation end-products (AGEs). Dicarbonyls are formed endogenously, but also during food processing. Circulating dicarbonyls are positively associated with insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes, but the consequences of dietary dicarbonyls are unknown.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAims: There are sex differences in the excess risk of diabetes-associated cardiovascular disease. However, it is not clear whether these sex differences exist with regard to other complications like mental health aspects. Therefore, we investigated sex differences in the association of prediabetes and type 2 diabetes (T2D) with cognitive function, depression, and quality of life (QoL).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: A proinflammatory adipose tissue (AT) microenvironment and systemic low-grade inflammation may differentially affect tissue-specific insulin sensitivity. This study investigated the relationships of abdominal subcutaneous AT (aSAT) and circulating immune cells, aSAT gene expression, and circulating inflammatory markers with liver and skeletal muscle insulin sensitivity in people with overweight and obesity.
Methods: Individuals with overweight and obesity from the PERSonalized Glucose Optimization Through Nutritional Intervention (PERSON) Study (n = 219) and the Maastricht Study (replication cohort; n = 1256) underwent a seven-point oral glucose tolerance test to assess liver and muscle insulin sensitivity, and circulating inflammatory markers were determined.
Background: Microvascular dysfunction (MVD) is an important contributor to major clinical disease such as stroke, dementia, depression, retinopathy, and chronic kidney disease. Alcohol consumption may be a determinant of MVD.
Objective: Main objectives were (1) to study whether alcohol consumption was associated with MVD as assessed in the brain, retina, skin, kidney and in the blood; and (2) to investigate whether associations differed by history of cardiovascular disease or sex.