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Aims/hypothesis The aim of the study was to investigate the association between vitamin D intake and status and the risk of islet autoimmunity (IA) and subsequent type 1 diabetes in children at increased risk of type 1 diabetes. Methods The Diabetes Autoimmunity Study in the Young (DAISY) in Denver, CO, USA, has been following children at increased risk of diabetes since 1993. As of February 2011, 198 children developed IA during follow-up of 2,644 DAISY children. Vitamin D intake and plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] were measured longitudinally. Proportional hazards regression analyses of time to IA, or type 1 diabetes in IA-positive children, were conducted, with vitamin D intake and 25(OH)D as time-varying covariates. HRs were calculated for a standard deviation difference in exposure, with adjustment for confounders. Results Intake of vitamin D was not associated with the risk of IA (adjusted HR 1.13; 95% CI 0.95, 1.35; p=0.18) nor progression to diabetes in IA-positive children (adjusted HR 1.30; 95% CI 0.91, 1.86; p=0.15). Moreover, 25(OH)D level was not associated with the risk of IA (adjusted HR 1.12; 95% CI 0.88, 1.43; p=0.36), nor progression to diabetes in IA-positive children (adjusted HR 0.91; 95% CI 0.68, 1.22; p=0.54). In the 128 children in whom we measured 25(OH)D at 9 months of age, 25(OH)D was not associated with risk of IA (n=30 IA-positive children) (adjusted HR 1.02; 95% CI 0.96, 1.07; p=0.58). Conclusions/interpretation Neither vitamin D intake nor 25(OH)D levels throughout childhood were associated with the risk of IA or progression to type 1 diabetes in our population.

BackgroundA better understanding of the natural history of osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) in adulthood should improve health care for patients with this rare condition.MethodsThe Osteogenesis Imperfecta Foundation established the Adult Natural History Initiative (ANHI) in 2010 to give voice to the health concerns of the adult OI community and to begin to address existing knowledge gaps for this condition. Using a web-based platform, 959 adults with self-reported OI, representing a wide range of self-reported disease severity, reported symptoms and health conditions, estimated the impact of these concerns on present and future health-related quality of life (QoL) and completed a Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS®) survey of health issues.ResultsAdults with OI report lower general physical health status (p < .0001), exhibit a higher prevalence of auditory (58 % of sample versus 2–16 % of normalized population) and musculoskeletal (64 % of sample versus 1–3 % of normalized population) concerns than the general population, but report generally similar mental health status. Musculoskeletal, auditory, pulmonary, endocrine, and gastrointestinal issues are particular future health-related QoL concerns for these adults. Numerous other statistically significant differences exist among adults with OI as well as between adults with OI and the referent PROMIS® population, but the clinical significance of these differences is uncertain.ConclusionsAdults with OI report lower general health status but are otherwise more similar to the general population than might have been expected. While reassuring, further analysis of the extensive OI-ANHI databank should help identify areas of unique clinical concern and for future research. The OI-ANHI survey experience supports an internet-based strategy for successful patient-centered outcomes research in rare disease populations.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13023-015-0362-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

BackgroundDiagnostic testing for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is not routinely performed in adults. We estimated medically attended RSV seasonal incidence in a community cohort of adults ≥50 years old during four influenza seasons (2006–07 through 2009–10).MethodsPatients seeking care for acute respiratory illness (ARI) were prospectively enrolled and tested for RSV by multiplex RT-PCR. Results from enrolled patients were used to estimate projected cases among non-enrolled patients with ARI. The seasonal incidence of medically attended RSV was the sum of actual and projected cases divided by the community cohort denominator. Since each enrollment period did not include the entire RSV season, incidence estimates were adjusted to account for the statewide proportion of RSV occurring outside the study enrollment period.ResultsThere were 16,088 to 17,694 adults in the cohort each season and 164 RSV cases in all 4 seasons. The overall seasonal incidence of medically attended RSV was 154 episodes (95% CI, 132–180) per 10,000 persons; the incidence was highest in 2007–08 (179) and lowest in 2006–07 (110). Among persons 50–59, 60–69, and ≥70 years old, RSV incidence was 124 (95% CI, 99–156), 147 (95% CI, 110–196), and 199 (95% CI, 153–258), respectively.ConclusionsThe incidence of medically attended RSV increased with age and was similar during four seasons.

One-third of type 2 diabetes patients do not respond to metformin. Genetic variants in metformin transporters have been extensively studied as a likely contributor to this high failure rate. Here, we investigate, for the first time, the effect of genetic variants in transcription factors on metformin pharmacokinetics (PK) and response. Overall, 546 patients and healthy volunteers contributed their genome-wide, pharmacokinetic (235 subjects), and HbA1c data (440 patients) for this analysis. Five variants in specificity protein 1 (SP1), a transcription factor that modulates the expression of metformin transporters, were associated with changes in treatment HbA1c (P < 0.01) and metformin secretory clearance (P < 0.05). Population pharmacokinetic modeling further confirmed a 24% reduction in apparent clearance in homozygous carriers of one such variant, rs784888. Genetic variants in other transcription factors, peroxisome proliferator–activated receptor-α and hepatocyte nuclear factor 4-α, were significantly associated with HbA1c change only. Overall, our study highlights the importance of genetic variants in transcription factors as modulators of metformin PK and response.