Sex hormone-binding globulin and insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-1 as indicators of metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular risk, and mortality in elderly men

Two binding proteins, SHBG and IGF-binding protein-1 (IGFBP-1), are both down-regulated by insulin and therefore could serve as potential indicators of the metabolic syndrome and hyperinsulinemia-related cardiovascular risk. We compared serum SHBG and IGFBP-1 as potential markers of abnormal glucose tolerance, the metabolic syndrome, diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular risk factors, and total, cardiovascular, and coronary heart disease mortality in elderly men. Of the original cohort of 1711 men, 524 were alive on January 1, 1989, and 413 participated in the 30-yr examination, of whom 335 men, aged 70-89 yr, formed the study group for the present analysis. Low SHBG and IGFBP-1 were both associated with an increased prevalence of abnormal glucose tolerance and the metabolic syndrome, but only SHBG was associated with diabetes mellitus. SHBG was less influenced by body mass index than IGFBP-1. Low SHBG indicated increased cardiovascular and coronary disease mortality; the association remained after adjustment for abnormal glucose tolerance, but not after adjustment for prevalent cardiovascular disease. IGFBP-1 had no association with mortality. It is concluded that low SHBG is a better indicator of increased cardiovascular mortality than low or high IGFBP-1.     

Substance use-related outpatient consultations in specialized health care: an underestimated entity

Background To study the occurrence and documentation of substance use related outpatient visits in specialized health care.
Methods The diagnosis recorded in retrospective discharge data in Tampere University Hospital for 6 years was compared with the prospective data gathered from separately completed forms added during an 8-week period to every outpatient's discharge data. In this form, the relation of substance use and the actual reason for the consultation were specifically elicited.
Results On the basis of diagnoses, retrospectively, 0.4% (6,666 of 1,555,898) of outpatient visits were caused by substance use. In the prospective part of the study, 5.6% of visits (1,401/25,014) were related to substance use. Retrospective study demonstrated 2% prevalence of substance use, whereas prospective study showed 36% substance use–related visits at the emergency room. According to the retrospective discharge data, alcohol-related organ damages were the major reason for substance use–related outpatient visits. In the prospective study, the proportion of acute traumas was most prevalent.
Conclusions Our study indicates that substance use–related visits often remain undetected in specialized health care. Substance use–related visits were underdocumented/undetected in the emergency room. Using a simple separate form could dramatically increase the detection of substance use–related visits.     

Effects of dynamic strength training on physical function,Valpar 9 work sample test,and working capacity in patients with recent-onset rheumatoid arthritis

OBJECTIVE: To study the impact of 24 months of strength training on the physical function of patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: Seventy patients were assigned to either the strength training (experimental) group (n = 35) or the control group (n = 35). Patients in the experimental group performed strength training for 24 months, and control patients were instructed to perform range of motion exercises. Maximal strength of the knee extensors, trunk flexors, and extensors, as well as grip strength were recorded with dynamometers. Disease activity was assessed by the erythrocyte sedimentation rate and Ritchie's articular index, joint damage was determined by the Larsen x-ray index, and functional capacity was assessed using the Valpar 9 test and the Stanford Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ). The employment status of each patient was recorded. RESULTS: In the experimental group, strength training led to significant increases (19-59%) in maximal strength of the trained muscles. Such increases in the control group varied from 1% to 31%. There was a clear training effect on muscular strength in favor of the experimental group, but significant improvements in the HAQ indices as well as in the Valpar 9 test were seen also in control patients. Results of the Valpar 9 and the HAQ were statistically significantly better in patients who remained gainfully employed compared with patients who retired preterm during followup. However, compared with patients who remained in the work force, patients who retired were older, and their work was physically more demanding. CONCLUSION: As expected, strength training led to increased muscle strength, but this increase did not correlate with improved physical function as assessed by the Valpar 9 work sample test. The increased muscle performance did not prevent a substantial proportion of patients from retiring preterm. The 2 items from the Valpar 9 test that were applied were not sensitive enough to differentiate the patients according to their working status.     

Antibodies to human heat shock protein 60, hypertension and dyslipidemia. A study of joint effects on coronary risk

OBJECTIVE: High IgA-class (but not IgG-class) Anti-Heat-shock-protein 60 antibody level is a predictor of coronary risk in dyslipidemic middle-aged men. In this paper we studied the joint effects of high Anti-Hsp60-antibody level and the classical coronary risk factors. METHODS: We used nested case-control design and logistic regression analyses. The cases consisted of 233 middle-aged men with myocardial infarction or coronary death during 8.5-year follow-up in Helsinki Heart Study, a coronary primary prevention study with gemfibrozil. The controls were subjects without coronary events, matched for drug treatment and the geographical area. RESULTS: The relative coronary risks (Odds Ratios (ORs); 95% confidence interval) were 1.41 (0.96-2.05) for high IgA-class Anti-Hsp60 antibody level and 1.98 (1.35-2.90) for hypertension, defined as mean arterial pressure >114 mmHg. With simultaneous occurrence of high Anti-Hsp60 antibody level and hypertension, the ORs were 2.32 (1.26-4.27) for systolic and 2.99 (1.63-5.48) for diastolic hypertension. Similar patterns of joint effects were found between high Anti-Hsp60 antibody and lipoprotein cholesterol levels as well as antibodies against oxidized low-density lipoprotein. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that, while high IgA-class Anti-Hsp60 antibody level predicts coronary risk, the effect is modest without simultaneous occurrence of other classical risk factors.     

Is there any link between insulin resistance and inflammation in established preeclampsia?

Both insulin resistance and inflammation may contribute to the onset of preeclampsia. They also could be interrelated. We studied the relationship between inflammatory cytokines and markers of insulin resistance. During their third trimester, 22 proteinuric preeclamptic women and 16 normotensive controls underwent intravenous glucose tolerance test (minimal model). Preeclamptic women were more insulin-resistant (P = .009), and they had higher levels of serum soluble tumor necrosis alpha receptor II (TNFalpha RII) (P = .002), triglycerides (P = .006), uric acid (P = .001), and leptin (P = .002) than did the controls. However, the study groups did not differ in serum TNFalpha, C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), and high-density lipoprotein-2 (HDL(2))-cholesterol. In multiple regression analysis only SHBG (P = .01) and triglycerides (P = .0036) were associated with insulin sensitivity independently of body mass index (BMI), weight gain, HDL(2)-cholesterol, CRP, TNFalpha, and TNFalpha RII, IL-6, and leptin. We conclude that insulin resistance and the inflammatory markers studied were not associated in established preeclampsia.     

Cholesterol metabolism and non-cholesterol sterols in patients with ileal pouch anastomosis

Background: Previous studies suggest only minor changes in bile acid metabolism after panproctocolectomy with ileal pouch construction.Aims/Methods: To investigate these changes further, we studied cholesterol absorption and serum, biliary and fecal non-cholesterol sterols and lipids in 12 ileal pouch patients and 10 controls.Results: In patients, cholesterol absorption was markedly reduced and was associated with low serum total and LDL cholesterol and LDL triglyceride levels, but surprisingly, cholesterol synthesis, as indicated by sterol-balance data or serum cholesterol precursor levels, was within low normal limits. The high proportions of serum plant sterol to cholesterol, particularly that of campesterol, were not related to cholesterol absorption, but were attributable to a markedly reduced biliary cholesterol secretion. Interestingly, in these patients the fractional absorption of campesterol was normal, whereas that of sitosterol, like cholesterol, was reduced and was positively related to the intestinal influx of cholesterol. The patients' serum cholestanol proportion was normal, but the proportion of the cholestanol formed during intestinal passage was significantly reduced (17.9% vs 65.2% in controls).Conclusions: Thus ileal pouch patients are characterized by sterol malabsorption, lowered serum total and LDL-cholesterol levels, but unexpectedly without any increase in cholesterol synthesis. The lack of high serum cholestanol, shown earlier frequently in unoperated patients with ulcerative colitis, may indicate reversible cholestasis, a finding deserving further exploration.     

Novel parameters indicate significant differences in severity of obstructive sleep apnea with patients having similar apnea–hypopnea index

Sleep apnea–hypopnea syndrome (SAHS) causes impairment of daytime functions and increases risk of cardiovascular diseases. Apnea–hypopnea index (AHI), currently used for the estimation of the severity of SAHS, does not contain information on the morphology or duration aspects of the breathing cessations and related oxygen desaturations. Longer breathing cessations and deeper desaturations may have more severe consequences than shorter and shallower ones. To address these issues, novel parameters containing information on the duration and morphology of breathing cessations and oxygen desaturations were calculated and evaluated on 160 male patients (40 patients in normal, mild, moderate and severe AHI severity categories). Obstruction and desaturation duration parameters consist of sum of event durations normalized with the total analysed time. Desaturation severity is a sum of desaturation event areas normalized with total analysed time and obstruction severity parameter is a sum of the products of apnea and hypopnea durations and related desaturation areas normalized with total analysed time. The median follow-up time of the patients was 183 months (range 154–215 months). The 40 patients in each category were further divided into subgroups A and B with lowest and highest novel parameter values, respectively. AHI showed no differences between the subgroups. Mortality was increased in subgroups B compared to subgroups A. The correlation of the novel parameters with AHI was only moderate and the parameter values were partially overlapping between the AHI severity categories. This suggests that patients with similar AHI may in fact suffer from SAHS of very different severity. Thus, the present results suggest that the novel parameters could bring new insight to the individual estimation of the severity of SAHS.