Are weight loss and metabolic outcomes of bariatric surgery influenced by candidate glucocorticoid receptor gene polymorphisms? A prospective study.

Background: Bariatric surgery is the most effective treatment for severe obesity. There can be variation in the degree of weight reduction following bariatric surgery. It is unknown whether single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the glucocorticoid receptor locus (GRL) affect postoperative weight loss and metabolic outcomes.

Echocardiography protocol and cardiometabolic phenotyping in Indian birth cohorts-the IndEcho study.

Background: Asian Indians are at higher risk of cardiometabolic disease compared to other ethnic groups, and the age of onset is typically younger. Cardiac structure and function are poorly characterized in this ethnic group. In this study, we describe image-acquisition methods and the reproducibility of measurements and detailed echocardiography characteristics in two large Indian population-based cohorts (the New Delhi and Vellore Birth Cohorts) from India.

Concealed pregnancy as an act of care? A qualitative analysis of motivations for concealing and non-disclosure of early pregnancy in The Gambia.

Background: A barrier to achieving first trimester antenatal care (ANC) attendance in many countries has been the widespread cultural practice of not discussing pregnancies in the early stages. Motivations for concealing pregnancy bear further study, as the interventions necessary to encourage early ANC attendance may be more complicated than targeting infrastructural barriers to ANC attendance such as transportation, time, and cost.

Methods: Five focus groups with a total of 30 married, pregnant women were conducted to assess the feasibility of conducting a randomised controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness of early initiation of physical activity and/or yoghurt consumption in reducing Gestational Diabetes Mellitus in pregnant women in The Gambia.

Perineum Spindle Cell Sarcoma in Neurofibromatosis Type 1.

Soft tissue neoplasm is common among patients with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF-1). We present a case of a middle-aged woman with NF-1 who presented with a painless, insidiously increasing perineal mass for the past eight months. She underwent colonoscopy, computed tomography staging, magnetic resonance imaging of the pelvis, core-needle biopsy, and later wide local excision of left perineum swelling.

TCF7L2 plays a complex role in human adipose progenitor biology, which might contribute to genetic susceptibility to type 2 diabetes.

Introduction: Non-coding genetic variation at TCF7L2 is the strongest genetic determinant of type 2 diabetes (T2D) risk in humans. TCF7L2 encodes a transcription factor mediating the nuclear effects of WNT signaling in adipose tissue (AT). In vivo studies in transgenic mice have highlighted important roles for TCF7L2 in adipose tissue biology and systemic metabolism.

The associations between body fat distribution and bone mineral density in the Oxford Biobank: a cross sectional study.

Background: Body composition is associated with bone mineral density (BMD), but the precise associations between body fat distribution and BMD remain unclear. The regional adipose tissue depots have different metabolic profiles. We hypothesized that they would have independent associations with BMD.

Distinct opposing associations of upper and lower body fat depots with metabolic and cardiovascular disease risk markers.

Background: To examine the associations of total and regional adiposity with metabolic and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk markers.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included 1080 (53.8% men, aged 39-44 years) individuals from South India.

Pregnancy-related interventions in mothers at risk for gestational diabetes in Asian India and low and middle-income countries (PRIMORDIAL study): protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

Introduction: Lifestyle modification is the mainstay of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) prevention. However, clinical trials evaluating the safety and efficacy of diet or physical activity (PA) in low-income and middle-income settings such as Africa and India are lacking. This trial aims to evaluate the efficacy of yoghurt consumption and increased PA (daily walking) in reducing GDM incidence in high-risk pregnant women.

A prospective study of the relationships between change in body composition and cardiovascular risk factors across the menopause.

Objective: Menopause increases the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) which in part has been attributed to the rise in cholesterol and blood pressure (BP). This study examined the hypothesis that menopausal changes in body composition and regional fat depots relate to the change in CVD risk factors.

Methods: A prospective recall study was designed to capture premenopausal women to be re-examined soon after menopause.

Association of serum 25-Hydroxy vitamin D with total and regional adiposity and cardiometabolic traits.

Background: Lower serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] is associated with greater adiposity and adverse cardiometabolic risk profile. The evidence is inconsistent among South Asian Indians. We aimed to examine associations between 25(OH)D and cardiovascular (CVD) risk markers in a rural and urban cohort from South India.

Prevalence, incidence and predictors of cardiovascular risk factors: longitudinal data from rural and urban South India and comparison with global data.

Introduction: India has high mortality rates from cardiovascular disease (CVD). Understanding the trends and identifying modifiable determinants of CVD risk factors will guide preventive strategies and policy making.

Research Design And Methods: CVD risk factors (obesity, central obesity, and type 2 diabetes (T2D), hypertension, hypercholesterolemia and hypertriglyceridemia) prevalence and incidence were estimated in 962 (male 519) non-migrant adults from Vellore, South India, studied in: (1) 1998-2002 (mean age 28.

Hemoglobin concentration and risk of arterial and venous thrombosis in 1.5 million Swedish and Danish blood donors.

Introduction: There are conflicting results whether elevated hematocrit is associated with an increased risk of thromboembolic events in individuals without polycythemia vera. To assess the risk of vascular events in relation to hemoglobin concentration, we conducted a large population-based cohort study based on Scandinavian health registers.

Materials And Methods: We included 1,538,019 Swedish and Danish blood donors between 1987 and 2012.

The proposed systemic thermogenic metabolites succinate and 12,13-diHOME are inversely associated with adiposity and related metabolic traits: evidence from a large human cross-sectional study.

Aims/hypothesis: Circulating succinate and 12,13-dihydroxy-9Z-octadecenoic acid (12,13-diHOME) were recently shown to promote brown adipocyte thermogenesis and protect against metabolic disorders in rodents. This study aimed to evaluate the associations between plasma levels of these metabolites and adiposity and metabolic profile in humans.

Methods: Fasting plasma succinate and 12,13-diHOME levels were quantified using ultra HPLC-tandem MS in 2248 individuals (50% female, mean age 41.

Relevance of human fat distribution on lipid and lipoprotein metabolism and cardiovascular disease risk.

Purpose Of Review: Upper body abdominal and lower body gluteofemoral fat depot masses display opposing associations with plasma lipid and lipoprotein and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk profiles. We review developments on adipose tissue fatty acid metabolism in the context of body fat distribution and how that might be related to adverse lipid and lipoprotein profiles and CVD risk.

Recent Findings: Recent data have confirmed the paradoxical relationship of upper abdominal and lower body gluteofemoral adiposity and CVD risk.

IndEcho study: cohort study investigating birth size, childhood growth and young adult cardiovascular risk factors as predictors of midlife myocardial structure and function in South Asians.

Introduction: South Asians have high rates of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and its risk factors (hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidaemia and central obesity). Left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy and dysfunction are features of these disorders and important predictors of CVD mortality. Lower birth and infant weight and greater childhood weight gain are associated with increased adult CVD mortality, but there are few data on their relationship to LV function.

Correction: Immunohistochemical Typing of Adenocarcinomas of the Pancreatobiliary System Improves Diagnosis and Prognostic Stratification.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

No association between frequent apheresis donation and risk of fractures: a retrospective cohort analysis from Sweden.

Background: Citrate anticoagulation during apheresis induces transient alterations in calcium homeostasis. It is unknown whether the repeated, transient alterations in calcium homeostasis experienced by repeated apheresis donors affects bone turnover to increase fracture risk. Our aim was to investigate the risk of osteoporotic and nonosteoporotic fracture among voluntary, frequent apheresis donors.

Weight Gain and Height Growth during Infancy, Childhood, and Adolescence as Predictors of Adult Cardiovascular Risk.

Objectives: To investigate independent relationships of childhood linear growth (height gain) and relative weight gain to adult cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk traits in Asian Indians.

Study Design: Data from 2218 adults from the Vellore Birth Cohort were examined for associations of cross-sectional height and body mass index (BMI) and longitudinal growth (independent conditional measures of height and weight gain) in infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood with adult waist circumference (WC), blood pressure (BP), insulin resistance (homeostatic model assessment-insulin resistance [HOMA-IR]), and plasma glucose and lipid concentrations.

Results: Higher BMI/greater conditional relative weight gain at all ages was associated with higher adult WC, after 3 months with higher adult BP, HOMA-IR, and lipids, and after 15 years with higher glucose concentrations.

ABO blood group and risk of cancer: A register-based cohort study of 1.6 million blood donors.

Introduction: The associations between ABO blood group and cancer risk have been studied repeatedly, but results have been variable. Consistent associations have only been reported for pancreatic and gastric cancers.

Materials And Methods: We estimated associations between different ABO blood groups and site-specific cancer risk in a large cohort of healthy blood donors from Sweden and Denmark.

ABO Blood Group and Risk of Thromboembolic and Arterial Disease: A Study of 1.5 Million Blood Donors.

Background: ABO blood groups have been shown to be associated with increased risks of venous thromboembolic and arterial disease. However, the reported magnitude of this association is inconsistent and is based on evidence from small-scale studies.

Methods And Results: We used the SCANDAT2 (Scandinavian Donations and Transfusions) database of blood donors linked with other nationwide health data registers to investigate the association between ABO blood groups and the incidence of first and recurrent venous thromboembolic and arterial events.

Epidemiology of Massive Transfusion: A Binational Study From Sweden and Denmark.

Objective: There is an increasing focus on massive transfusion, but there is a paucity of comprehensive descriptions of the massively transfused patients and their outcomes. The objective of this study is to describe the incidence rate of massive transfusion, patient characteristics, and the mortality of massively transfused patients.

Design: Descriptive cohort study.