Increased glucocorticoid metabolism in diabetic kidney disease.

Aims: Glomerular damage indicated by proteinuria is a main symptom in diabetic nephropathy. Mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) antagonists (MRAs) are beneficial irrespective of aldosterone availability. Thus, we hypothesized an alternatively activated MR to promote glomerular damage in proteinuric diabetic nephropathy.

Clinical Profiles and Factors Associated with a Low Sodium Intake in the Population: An Analysis of the Swiss Survey on Salt.

As a part of the salt controversy, it has been suggested that people with a low sodium intake have an increased risk of cardiovascular events. However, there is no clear explanation for this increased risk. We examined the socio-demographic, clinical profile, and behavioral factors associated with a low sodium intake in the Swiss subjects who participated in the Swiss Survey on Salt.

Uranium exposure of the Swiss population based on 24-hour urinary excretion.

Aim Of The Study: Important regional differences in uranium exposure exist because of varying uranium concentrations in soil, water and food. Comprehensive data on the exposure of the general population to uranium is, however, scarce. Based on the 24-hour urinary excretion, the uranium exposure of the adult Swiss population was assessed in relation to age, sex, place of residence, body mass index (BMI), smoking habit and type of drinking water, as well as risk factors in relation to kidney impairment and indicators of a possible renal dysfunction.

Sex and Body Mass Index Modify the Association Between Leptin and Sodium Excretion: A Cross-sectional Study in an African Population.

Background: Renal sodium handling could be a potential mediator linking adipokines to hypertension. The aim of the study was to assess the relationship of leptin with urinary sodium excretion and proximal sodium reabsorption in humans.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on participants of hypertensive families from the Seychelles Island.

Effects of short- and long-term exposures to particulate matter on inflammatory marker levels in the general population.

The effect of particulate matter (PM) on health increases with exposure duration but the change from short to longer term is not well studied. We examined the exposure to PM smaller 10 μm (PM) from short to longer duration and their associations with levels of inflammatory markers in the population-based CoLaus cohort in Lausanne, Switzerland. Baseline and follow-up CoLaus data were used to study the associations between PM exposure and inflammatory markers, including the high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP), as well as interleukin 1-beta (IL-1β), interleukin 6 (IL-6), and tumor-necrosis-factor alpha (TNF-α) using mixed models.

Socioeconomic status, non-communicable disease risk factors, and walking speed in older adults: multi-cohort population based study.

Objective: To assess the association of low socioeconomic status and risk factors for non-communicable diseases (diabetes, high alcohol intake, high blood pressure, obesity, physical inactivity, smoking) with loss of physical functioning at older ages.

Design: Multi-cohort population based study.

Setting: 37 cohort studies from 24 countries in Europe, the United States, Latin America, Africa, and Asia, 1990-2017.

Association of 24-Hour Blood Pressure With Urinary Sodium Excretion in Healthy Adults.

Background: While the positive relationship between urinary sodium excretion and blood pressure (BP) is well established for middle-aged to elderly individuals using office BP, data are limited for younger individuals and ambulatory BP measurements.

Methods: Our analysis included 2,899 individuals aged 18 to 90 years from 2 population-based studies (GAPP, Swiss Kidney Project on Genes in Hypertension [SKIPOGH]). Participants with prevalent cardiovascular disease, diabetes, or on BP-lowering treatment were excluded.

Urinary Cadmium Excretion Is Associated With Increased Synthesis of Cortico- and Sex Steroids in a Population Study.

Context: Urinary cadmium (Cd) excretion is associated with cancer and cardiovascular morbidity. A potential mechanism could be disturbance of steroidogenesis in gonads and adrenal glands.

Objective: We tested whether urinary excretion of Cd is correlated with that of cortico- and sex steroid metabolites in the general adult population.

Major Differences in Diet across Three Linguistic Regions of Switzerland: Results from the First National Nutrition Survey menuCH.

Switzerland is a multilingual country located between Germany, France and Italy, which differ by dietary habits and related outcomes. We explored differences in food consumption as well as compliance to the Swiss food-based dietary guidelines (FBDG) across the German-, French-, and Italian-speaking regions. The 2014-2015 nationwide cross-sectional survey was conducted among a stratified random sample of 2057 adults aged 18 to 75 years.

A population-based approach to assess the heritability and distribution of renal handling of electrolytes.

The handling of electrolytes by the kidney is essential for homeostasis. However, the heritability of these processes, the first step in gene discovery, is poorly known. To help clarify this, we estimated the heritability of serum concentration, urinary excretion, renal clearance, and fractional excretion of sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, phosphate, and chloride in a population-based study.

Seasonality of sodium and potassium consumption in Switzerland. Data from three cross-sectional, population-based studies.

Background And Aim: Blood pressure displays a seasonal pattern. Whether this pattern is related to high sodium and/or low potassium intakes has not been investigated. We assessed if sodium and potassium consumption present a seasonal pattern.

Bayesian association scan reveals loci associated with human lifespan and linked biomarkers.

The enormous variation in human lifespan is in part due to a myriad of sequence variants, only a few of which have been revealed to date. Since many life-shortening events are related to diseases, we developed a Mendelian randomization-based method combining 58 disease-related GWA studies to derive longevity priors for all HapMap SNPs. A Bayesian association scan, informed by these priors, for parental age of death in the UK Biobank study (n=116,279) revealed 16 independent SNPs with significant Bayes factor at a 5% false discovery rate (FDR).

Geriatric Patient Safety Indicators Based on Linked Administrative Health Data to Assess Anticoagulant-Related Thromboembolic and Hemorrhagic Adverse Events in Older Inpatients: A Study Proposal.

Background: Frail older people with multiple interacting conditions, polypharmacy, and complex care needs are particularly exposed to health care-related adverse events. Among these, anticoagulant-related thromboembolic and hemorrhagic events are particularly frequent and serious in older inpatients. The growing use of anticoagulants in this population and their substantial risk of toxicity and inefficacy have therefore become an important patient safety and public health concern worldwide.

Associations of sodium, potassium and protein intake with blood pressure and hypertension in Switzerland.

Background: Nutritional factors play an important role in the regulation of blood pressure and in the development of hypertension. In this analysis, we explored the associations of 24-hour urinary Na+, K+ and urea excretion with blood pressure levels and the risk of hypertension in the Swiss population, taking regional linguistic differences into account.

Methods: The Swiss Survey on Salt is a population based cross-sectional study that included 1336 subjects from the three main linguistic regions (French, German and Italian) of Switzerland.

Trends in prevalence, awareness, treatment and control of high blood pressure in the Seychelles between 1989 and 2013.

Background: Limited data are available in the African region on trends in blood pressure (BP) and awareness, treatment and control rates.

Objective: We examined trends in these indicators for a 25-year period in the Seychelles, a rapidly developing small island state in the African region.

Methods: Population-based surveys of adults aged 25-64 years were performed in 1989, 1994, 2004 and 2013 using nearly identical methods for all surveys.

Interventions promoting healthy eating as a tool for reducing social inequalities in diet in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review.

Introduction: Diet is a major risk factor for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and is also strongly patterned by socioeconomic factors. Whether interventions promoting healthy eating reduce social inequalities in diet in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) remains uncertain. This paper aims to summarize current evidence on interventions promoting healthy eating in LMICs, and to establish whether they reduce social inequalities in diet.

Building leadership capacity to prevent and control noncommunicable diseases: evaluation of an international short-term training program for program managers from low- and middle-income countries.

Objectives: To assess the impact of a 1-week training seminar jointly developed and conducted by the World Health Organization and the University Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine of Lausanne targeting senior policy-makers in low- and middle-income countries on public health aspects of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs).

Methods: A short qualitative questionnaire was emailed to all participants to one of the nine seminars organized between 2010 and 2015.

Results: From the 195 participants from 96 different countries, 122 (63%) completed the questionnaire.

Relation of 24-hour urinary caffeine and caffeine metabolite excretions with self-reported consumption of coffee and other caffeinated beverages in the general population.

Background: Caffeine intake is generally estimated by self-reported consumption, but it remains unclear how well self-report associates with metabolite urinary excretion. We investigated the associations of self-reported consumption of caffeinated drinks with urinary excretion of caffeine and its major metabolites in an adult population.

Methods: We used data from the population-based Swiss Kidney Project on Genes in Hypertension (SKIPOGH) study.

The genetics of blood pressure regulation and its target organs from association studies in 342,415 individuals.

To dissect the genetic architecture of blood pressure and assess effects on target organ damage, we analyzed 128,272 SNPs from targeted and genome-wide arrays in 201,529 individuals of European ancestry, and genotypes from an additional 140,886 individuals were used for validation. We identified 66 blood pressure-associated loci, of which 17 were new; 15 harbored multiple distinct association signals. The 66 index SNPs were enriched for cis-regulatory elements, particularly in vascular endothelial cells, consistent with a primary role in blood pressure control through modulation of vascular tone across multiple tissues.

Performance of targeted screening for the identification of hypertension in children.

Targeted screening of hypertension in childhood might be more efficient than universal screening. We estimated the sensitivity, specificity, negative and positive predictive values of combined parental history of hypertension and overweight/obesity for the diagnosis of hypertension in 5207 children aged 10-14 years. Children had hypertension if they had sustained elevated blood pressure over three separate visits.

Socioeconomic predictors of dietary patterns among Guatemalan adults.

Objectives: We aimed to assess the associations of socioeconomic factors with dietary patterns in a Guatemalan population.

Methods: Cross-sectional data of 1076 participants (42 % men, mean age 32.6 ± 4.

Fibroblast growth factor 23 and markers of mineral metabolism in individuals with preserved renal function.

Fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) is a bone-derived hormone that regulates phosphate homeostasis. Circulating FGF23 is elevated in chronic kidney disease (CKD) and independently associated with poor renal and cardiovascular outcomes and mortality. Because the study of FGF23 in individuals with normal renal function has received little attention, we examined in a large, population-based study of 1128 participants the associations of FGF23 with markers of mineral metabolism and renal function.

Educational differences in dietary intake and compliance with dietary recommendations in a Swiss adult population.

Objectives: This study assessed the impact of education on diet and compliance with the national recommendations.

Methods: The study included 4338 adult participants of the Colaus study, a cross-sectional, population-based study conducted between 2009 and 2012 in Lausanne (Switzerland). Education was categorized as primary, apprenticeship, secondary, and tertiary.