Sex hormone-binding globulin, testosterone and type 2 diabetes risk in middle-aged African women: exploring the impact of HIV and menopause.

Objectives: Sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) and testosterone are differentially associated with type 2 diabetes (T2D) risk. We investigated whether these associations differ by HIV and menopausal status in Black South African women living with (WLWH) and without HIV (WLWOH).

Design: Cross-sectional observational.

Exploring the effects of ime-restricted ating on body weight and associated cardiometabolic outcomes in outh frican women living with HIV (TESSA): protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

Introduction: We codesigned an intervention with a low-resourced community with the aim to investigate the effects of time-restricted eating (TRE) on changes in body weight and associated cardiometabolic outcomes in South African women living with overweight/obesity and HIV who have initiated dolutegravir (DTG)-based antiretroviral therapy (ART).

Methods And Analysis: Women with overweight or obesity (body mass index ≥25 kg/m², no upper limit), aged 20-45 years, living with HIV and in a low-resourced community, and receiving DTG-based ART for less than 2 years will be recruited from a community healthcare centre in Khayelitsha, Cape Town (n=152). Participants will be randomised 1:1 to the TRE group (n=76) or standard of care control group (n=76) for 12 months.

SHBG, Free Testosterone, and Type 2 Diabetes Risk in Middle-aged African Men: A Longitudinal Study.

Objectives: To investigate longitudinal changes in SHBG and free testosterone (free T) levels among Black middle-aged African men, with and without coexistent HIV, and explore associations with incident dysglycaemia and measures of glucose metabolism.

Design: This longitudinal study enrolled 407 Black South African middle-aged men, comprising primarily 322 men living without HIV (MLWOH) and 85 men living with HIV (MLWH), with normal fasting glucose at enrollment. Follow-up assessments were conducted after 3.

Regional Adiposity and Insulin Sensitivity-Interactions With Menopause and HIV in Middle-Aged Black African Women.

Objective: To explore depot-specific functional aspects of adipose tissue, examining the putative role for menopause and HIV status on insulin sensitivity (SI) and beta-cell function in Black South African women.

Methods: Women (n = 92) from the Middle-Aged Soweto Cohort, including premenopausal HIV-negative women (n = 21); premenopausal women living with HIV (LWH; n = 11); postmenopausal HIV-negative women (n = 42); and postmenopausal women LWH (n = 18) underwent the following tests: body composition (dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry); fasting bloods for sex hormones, inflammation, and adipokines; frequently sampled intravenous glucose tolerance test for SI and beta-cell function (disposition index, DI); abdominal (aSAT) and gluteal subcutaneous adipose tissue (gSAT) biopsies for cell size, and mRNA expression of adipokines, inflammation, and estrogen receptors (ER).

Results: Depot-specific associations between gene expression and insulin parameters did not differ by HIV or menopause status.

Knowledge interface co-design of a diabetes and metabolic syndrome initiative with and for Aboriginal people living on Ngarrindjeri country.

Objectives: This research program involves two phases to identify enablers and barriers to diabetes care for Aboriginal people on Ngarrindjeri country; and co-design a strength-based metabolic syndrome and Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) remission program with the Ngarrindjeri community.

Study Design: A study protocol on qualitative research.

Methods: The study will recruit Aboriginal people living on Ngarrindjeri country above 18 years of age with a diagnosis of metabolic syndrome or T2D.

Measurement of body composition in postpartum South African women living with and without HIV infection.

Background: While several methodologies are available to measure adiposity, few have been validated in sub-Saharan African (SSA) and none in postpartum African women living with HIV (WLHIV). We compared bioelectrical impendence analysis (BIA) and air displacement plethysmography (ADP) against dual -ray absorptiometry (DXA) in South African women and examined differences by HIV and body mass index (BMI) status.

Methods: Lin's concordance correlation coefficient (CCC) test was used to examine fat mass (FM), fat free mass (FFM), and total body fat percent (%BF) difference between BIA vs.

Effects of concurrent exercise training on body composition, systemic inflammation, and components of metabolic syndrome in inactive academics: a randomised controlled trial.

Purpose: Low physical activity in the academic workplace may increase the risk of cardiometabolic disease. This randomised controlled trial investigated the effect of 14 weeks of concurrent exercise training (CT) on components of metabolic syndrome, body composition, insulin resistance, and markers of systemic inflammation in inactive academics.

Methods: 59 inactive academics were randomised into a CT (n = 29) or wait-list control group (n = 30).

Changes in subcutaneous adipose tissue microRNA expression in response to exercise training in obese African women.

The mechanisms that underlie exercise-induced adaptations in adipose tissue have not been elucidated, yet, accumulating studies suggest an important role for microRNAs (miRNAs). This study aimed to investigate miRNA expression in gluteal subcutaneous adipose tissue (GSAT) in response to a 12-week exercise intervention in South African women with obesity, and to assess depot-specific differences in miRNA expression in GSAT and abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue (ASAT). In addition, the association between exercise-induced changes in miRNA expression and metabolic risk was evaluated.

Perceptions and experiences of young Black South African women with obesity from a low socioeconomic community after following a 12-week structured exercise intervention.

Background: Previous research has shown that Black South African (SA) women perceive a bigger body size to be acceptable and desirable, but nonetheless have shown interest in participating in community-based exercise programmes. This study aimed to investigate perceptions and experiences of participating in a 12-week exercise intervention designed to study the mechanisms of insulin sensitivity and secretion in young Black SA women with obesity.

Methods: Qualitative data was collected from young (23 ± 2.

Pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes in sub-Saharan Africans.

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is the region with the highest projected rates of increase in type 2 diabetes (129% by 2045), which will exacerbate the already high prevalence of type 2 diabetes complications and comorbidities in SSA. In addition, SSA is grappling with poverty-related health problems and infectious diseases and is also undergoing the most rapid rates of urbanisation globally. These socioenvironmental and lifestyle factors may interact with genetic factors to alter the pathophysiological sequence leading to type 2 diabetes in sub-Saharan African populations.

Targeted proteomics identifies potential biomarkers of dysglycaemia, beta cell function and insulin sensitivity in Black African men and women.

Aims/hypothesis: Using a targeted proteomics approach, we aimed to identify and validate circulating proteins associated with impaired glucose metabolism (IGM) and type 2 diabetes in a Black South African cohort. In addition, we assessed sex-specific associations between the validated proteins and pathophysiological pathways of type 2 diabetes.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included Black South African men (n=380) and women (n=375) who were part of the Middle-Aged Soweto Cohort (MASC).

Physical Behaviors and Their Association With Adiposity in Men and Women From a Low-Resourced African Setting.

Background: We first explored the associations between physical behaviors and total and regional adiposity. Second, we examined how reallocating time in different physical behaviors was associated with total body fat mass in men and women from a low-income South African setting.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included a sample of 692 participants (384 men and 308 women) aged 41-72 years.

A pilot investigation of genetic and epigenetic variation of FKBP5 and response to exercise intervention in African women with obesity.

We investigated gluteal (GSAT) and abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue (ASAT) DNA methylation of FKBP5 in response to a 12-week intervention in African women with obesity, as well as the effect of the rs1360780 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) on FKBP5 methylation, gene expression and post-exercise training adaptations in obesity and metabolic related parameters. Exercise (n = 19) participants underwent 12-weeks of supervised aerobic and resistance training while controls (n = 12) continued their usual behaviours. FKBP5 methylation was measured in GSAT and ASAT using pyrosequencing.

Targeted proteomics of appendicular skeletal muscle mass and handgrip strength in black South Africans: a cross-sectional study.

Although appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASM) and handgrip strength (HGS) are key components of sarcopenia, their underlying biological mechanisms remain poorly understood. We aimed to investigate associations of circulating biomarkers with ASM and HGS in middle-aged black South Africans. This study consisted of 934 black South Africans (469 men and 465 women, aged 41-72 years) from the Middle-aged Soweto cohort.

Physical Activity Behaviors of a Middle-Age South African Cohort as Determined by Integrated Hip and Thigh Accelerometry.

Purpose: Descriptive studies of objectively measured physical activity behaviors in African populations are rare. We developed a method of combining hip and thigh accelerometery signals to quantify and describe physical behaviors in middle-age South African men and women.

Methods: We integrated signals from two triaxial accelerometers worn simultaneously during free-living, in a subsample of the Middle-age Soweto Cohort ( n = 794; mean (SD) age, 53.

Waist circumference thresholds predicting incident dysglycaemia and type 2 diabetes in Black African men and women.

Aims: To determine the waist circumference (WC) thresholds for the prediction of incident dysglycaemia and type 2 diabetes (T2D) in Black South African (SA) men and women and to compare these to the advocated International Diabetes Federation (IDF) Europid thresholds.

Materials And Methods: In this prospective study, Black SA men (n = 502) and women (n = 527) from the Middle-aged Sowetan Cohort study who had normal or impaired fasting glucose at baseline (2011-2015) were followed up until 2017 to 2018. Baseline measurements included anthropometry, blood pressure and fasting glucose, HDL cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations.

Sarcopenic Obesity in Africa: A Call for Diagnostic Methods and Appropriate Interventions.

This perspective aims to highlight the lack of current knowledge on sarcopenic obesity in Africa and to call for diagnostic methods and appropriate interventions. Sarcopenic obesity has been defined as obesity that occurs in combination with low muscle mass and function, which is typically evident in older adults. However, there has been no clear consensus on population-specific diagnostic criterion, which includes both gold-standard measures that can be used in a more advanced health care system, and surrogate measures that can be used in low-income settings with limited resources and funding.

Intensity Matters for Musculoskeletal Health: A Cross-Sectional Study on Movement Behaviors of Older Adults from High-Income Scottish and Low-Income South African Communities.

This study aimed to investigate differences in physical activity (PA) patterns and the associations between objectively measured 24-h movement behaviors and musculoskeletal measures (muscle strength, muscle mass, physical performance, and bone mineral density) in a high-income and a low-income community. This cross-sectional study recruited independent living older adults aged 60-85 years from high-income Scottish (n = 150) and low-income South African (n = 138) settings. Participants completed demographic and health questionnaires, and testing included body composition and bone mineral density (dual energy X-ray absorptiometry), physical performance (grip strength, gait speed), and PA (accelerometry).

Food Security, Dietary Intake, and Foodways of Urban Low-Income Older South African Women: An Exploratory Study.

This cross-sectional study explored the differences in sociodemographics, dietary intake, and household foodways (cultural, socioeconomic practices that affect food purchase, consumption, and preferences) of food secure and food insecure older women living in a low-income urban setting in South Africa. Women ( = 122) aged 60-85 years old were recruited, a sociodemographic questionnaire was completed, and food security categories were determined. The categories were dichotomised into food secure (food secure and mild food insecurity) and food insecure (moderate and severe).