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SummaryToo much sitting, and both short and long sleep duration are associated with obesity, but little is known on the nature of the relations between these behaviours. We therefore examined the associations between sleep duration and time spent sitting in adults across five urban regions in Europe. We used cross-sectional survey data from 6,037 adults (mean age 51.9 years (SD 16.4), 44.0% men) to assess the association between self-reported short (<6 h per night), normal (6-8 h per night) and long (>8 h per night) sleep duration with self-report total time spent sitting, time spent sitting at work, during transport, during leisure and while watching screens. The multivariable multilevel linear regression models were tested for moderation by urban region, age, gender, education and weight status. Because short sleepers have more awake time to be sedentary, we also used the percentage of awake time spent sedentary as an outcome. Short sleepers had 26.5 min day À1 more sedentary screen time, compared with normal sleepers (CI 5.2; 47.8). No statistically significant associations were found with total or other domains of sedentary behaviour, and there was no evidence for effect modification. Long sleepers spent 3.2% higher proportion of their awake time sedentary compared with normal sleepers. Shorter sleep was associated with increased screen time in a sample of European adults, irrespective of urban region, gender, age, educational level and weight status. Experimental studies are needed to assess the prospective relation between sedentary (screen) time and sleep duration.

BackgroundThe prevalence of abdominal obesity is increasing worldwide. Adults with abdominal obesity have been reported to have increased risk of cardiometabolic disorders.The aim of this study was to examine whether non-obese subjects (body mass index (BMI) < 25 kg/m2) with abdominal obesity examined in the framework of the Swiss–Hungarian Cooperation Programme had increased metabolic risk compared to participants without abdominal obesity.MethodsA cross-sectional study was carried out in 5228 non-obese individuals. Data were collected between July 2012 and February 2016. Descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation analysis and multiple logistic regression models were applied, odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) being the outcomes.Results607 (11.6%) out of the 5228 non-obese individuals had abdominal obesity. The correlation analysis indicated that the correlation coefficients between BMI and waist circumference (WC) were 0.610 in males and 0.526 in females. In this subgroup, the prevalence of high systolic blood pressure, high fasting blood glucose, and high total cholesterol and triglyceride levels were significantly higher. The logistic regression model based on these data showed significantly higher risk for developing high systolic blood pressure (OR = 1.53; 95% CI = 1.20–1.94), low HDL cholesterol (OR = 2.06; 95% CI = 1.09–3.89), and high trygliceride level (OR = 1.65; 95% CI = 1.27–2.16).ConclusionsThere was a very high, significant, positive correlation between WC and BMI. Abdominal obesity was found to be strongly related to certain metabolic risk factors among non-obese subjects. Hence, measuring waist circumference could be recommended as a simple and efficient tool for screening abdominal obesity and related metabolic risk even in non-obese individuals.

In an attempt to model occupational and environmental Mn exposures and their possible interaction, young male Wistar rats were exposed to Mn by oral administration in dissolved form (MnCl2 ·4H2O, 14.84 and 59.36 mg/kg b.w.) and by intratracheal application of MnO2 nanoparticles (2.63 mg/kg b.w.). After 3 and 6 weeks oral, or 3 weeks oral plus 3 weeks intratracheal, exposure, general toxicological, and electrophysiological tests were done. Body weight gain was significantly reduced after 6 and 3 plus 3 weeks exposure, but the effect of the latter on the pace of weight gain was stronger. Organ weights signalized systemic stress and effect on lungs. Changes in evoked electrophysiological responses (cortical sensory evoked potential and nerve action potential) indicated that the 3 plus 3 weeks combined exposure caused equal or higher changes in the latency of these responses than 6 weeks of exposure, although the calculated summed Mn dose in the former case was lower. The results showed the importance of the physicochemical form of Mn in determining the toxic outcome, and suggested that neurofunctional markers of Mn action may indicate the human health effect better than conventional blood Mn measurement.

Running head: nervous system and general effects of nanoparticulate cadmium AbstractCadmium is a metal used in various industrial applications, whereby exposure to Cdcontaining fumes is likely. The submicron sized particles in the fumes represent an extra risk due to their high mobility within the organism and high surface area. Toxicity of Cd on the liver, kidney and bones is well known, but there are less data on its neurotoxicity. Here, male Wistar rats were treated for 3 and 6 weeks by intratracheal instillation of CdO 2 nanosuspension. The treated rats' body weight gain was significantly decreased, and in the high dose rats (0.4 mg/kg Cd daily) the weight of lungs and thymus was significantly increased. In this group, the spectrum of spontaneous cortical electrical activity was shifted to higher frequencies, the latency of sensory evoked potentials was lengthened, and the frequency following ability of the somatosensory evoked potential was impaired -even without detectable Cd deposition in the brain. The data support the role of the nano-sized Cd in the causation of nervous system damage and show the possibility of modeling human neurotoxic damage in rats.3