Background and Aims:We compared lung function parameters in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), and examined the association between lung function parameters and fibrosis severity in MAFLD. Meth-ods: In this cross-sectional study, we randomly recruited 2,543 middle-aged individuals from 25 communities across four cities in China during 2016 and 2020. All participants received a health check-up including measurement of anthropometric parameters, biochemical variables, liver ultrasonography, and spirometry. The severity of liver disease was assessed by the fibrosis (FIB)-4 score. Results: The prevalence of MAFLD was 20.4% (n=519) and that of NAFLD was 18.4% (n=469). After adjusting for age, sex, adiposity measures, smoking status, and significant alcohol intake, subjects with MAFLD had a significantly lower predicted forced vital capacity (FVC, 88.27±17.60% vs. 90.82±16.85%, p<0.05) and lower 1 s forced expiratory volume (FEV 1 , 79.89±17.34 vs. 83.02±16.66%, p<0.05) than those with NAFLD. MAFLD with an increased FIB-4 score was significantly associated with decreased lung function. For each 1-point increase in FIB-4, FVC was diminished by 0.507 (95% CI: −0.840, −0.173, p=0.003), and FEV 1 was diminished by 0.439 (95% CI: −0.739, −0.140, p=0.004). The results remained unchanged when the statistical analyses was performed separately for men and women. Conclusions: MAFLD was significantly associated with a greater impairment of lung function parameters than NAFLD.
Limited studies have assessed the relation between telomere length and risk of hearing loss; moreover, they have reported equivocal associations. In the first case-control study, the subjects were chosen from the general population of Zhejiang province in order to assess the association between leucocyte telomere length and risk of hearing loss from 2016 to 2018. A total of 817 cases (55.93 ± 8.99 years) and 817 age-, sex- and residential city-matched controls (55.91 ± 9.03 years) were included for analysis. In the multivariable models, individuals in the top quartile of relative telomere length (RTL) had an odds ratio (OR) for hearing loss of 0.53 (95% confidence intervals [CI], 0.38–0.74) compared to those in the bottom quartile, and specifically, the OR was 0.45 (95% CI, 0.28–0.73) in females. In females, the risk of hearing loss decreased by 46% as RTL doubling increased; the standard deviation of RTL was associated with a 29% decrease in hearing loss risk. Additional analysis showed significant difference between participants in the female mild hearing loss group and corresponding controls. These results suggest that telomere length is associated with hearing loss in the general population, particularly in females with mild hearing loss. Telomere length might be a potential predictive biomarker of hearing loss at early stage.
AbstractPurposeThe purpose of this study was to evaluate the association of hearing loss with atherogenic index (AI) in the general population.MethodsA multistage study using cluster random sampling method was conducted in the Zhejiang province from 2016 to 2018. Pure-tone air-conduction hearing thresholds were measured at frequencies of 0.125–8 kHz for each subject. After obtaining their consent, all participants were asked to provide their own plasma lipid data.ResultsA total of 3,414 eligible participants were included, 1,765 (51.7%) were men and 1,649 (48.3%) were women and 1,113 (32.6%) had hearing loss. Ridge regression showed increased AI in subjects with hearing loss. The subgroup with the highest quartile of AI, presenting the highest risk of hearing loss as compared to the lowest quartile, comprised young and middle-aged women. Further analysis revealed that the AI in people with different categories of hearing loss was higher than that in the normal population, except for those with (extremely) severe hearing loss. Moreover, the young and middle-aged women exhibited the most significant correlations between AI and hearing loss.ConclusionAI was positively associated with hearing loss in the general population, especially the young and middle-aged women.
Kidney transplantation was associated with an increased risk of cancer during a long-term follow-up. Long-term risk for cancer in LKDs and kidney recipients should be monitored.
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