Leg and arm adiposity is inversely associated with diastolic hypertension in young and middle-aged United States adults

Background We sought to determine the association between appendicular adiposity and hypertension, with the purpose of better understanding the role of body fat distribution on blood pressure (BP). Methods We included 7411 adults aged 20 to 59 who were not taking antihypertensives and without cardiovascular disease from the 2011 to 2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys. Leg & arm adiposity, determined via dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scans, was defined as percent of total body fat present in legs/arms (leg/total%, arm/total%). Measures were categorized into sex-specific tertiles. We estimated change in BP and odds ratios (ORs) of hypertension (BP ≥ 130/80) and hypertension subtypes using multivariable, survey design-adjusted linear & logistic regression, respectively. Results Of the participants, 49% were female, the average (standard deviation) age was 37.4 (0.3) years, and 24% had hypertension. Those in the highest tertile (T3) of leg/total% had 30% decreased adjusted ORs (aOR) of hypertension compared to the lowest tertile (T1; aOR, 0.70; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 0.55–0.89). This association was not significant for arm/total% (0.89, 0.68–1.17). T3 of leg/total% was associated with 49% lower, 41% lower, and unchanged relative odds of isolated diastolic hypertension (IDH), systolic-diastolic hypertension (SDH), and isolated systolic hypertension (ISH) compared to T1 (IDH: 0.51, 0.37–0.70; SDH: 0.59, 0.43–0.80; ISH: 1.06, 0.70–1.59). For every 10% increase in leg/total%, diastolic BP decreased by an adjusted mean 3.5 mmHg (95% CI, − 4.8 to − 2.2) in males and 1.8 mmHg (95% CI, − 2.8 to − 0.8) in females (P < 0.001 for both). Conclusions A greater proportional distribution of fat around the legs is inversely, independently associated with hypertension, and more specifically, diastolic hypertension (IDH and SDH).

Comorbidities and Health-Related Quality of Life in Subjects with Spine Osteoarthritis at 50 Years of Age or Older: Data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

Background and Objective: This study assessed comorbidities and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in subjects with lumbar spine osteoarthritis (OA) in the Korean population. Materials and Methods: We analyzed 3256 subjects who were 50 years or older and underwent plain radiography of the lumbar spine as part of the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) 2012. Radiographic assessment was based on Kellgren–Lawrence (K-L) grade ranging from 0 to 2, with K-L grade 2 defined as lumbar spine OA. HRQOL was assessed by EuroQol-5 dimensions (EQ-5D), which include the EQ-5D index and visual analogue scale (EQ-VAS) measurements. Results: Comorbidities such as hypertension, myocardial infarction, angina, cerebral infarction, and diabetes mellitus were more frequent in spine OA than in controls, while dyslipidemia was less common. Subjects with spine OA had higher mean number of comorbid conditions than controls (1.40 (SE 0.05) vs. 1.20 (SE 0.03), p = 0.001). Subjects with spine OA had much lower EQ-5D index than controls (p < 0.001) but not lower EQ-VAS score. Multivariate binary logistic analysis showed that hypertension and colon cancer were associated with spine OA compared to controls (OR 1.219, 95% CI 1.020–1.456, p = 0.030 and OR 0.200, 95% CI 0.079–0.505, p = 0.001, respectively) after adjustment for confounding factors. Lower EQ-5D index was related to spine OA (95% CI 0.256, 95% CI 0.110–0.595, p = 0.002) but not EQ-VAS score. Conclusion: In this study, we found that comorbidities such as hypertension and colon cancer as well as lower HRQOL were associated with spine OA.

Cooking at Home, Fast Food, Meat Consumption, and Dietary Carbon Footprint among US Adults

Shifting consumer behavior towards more sustainable diets can benefit environmental sustainability and human health. Although more frequent home cooking is associated with a better diet quality and fast-food consumption with worse diet quality, the environmental impact of diets based on frequency of cooking or eating fast food is not well understood. The objective of this study was to investigate whether the frequency of cooking dinner at home or eating fast food is associated with dietary greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE). We linked 24-h dietary recall data from adult respondents in the 2007–2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) (N = 11,469) to a database of GHGE factors to obtain a measure of dietary GHGE (kgCO2-eq/2000 kcal) (the sum of emissions released in the production of food for an individual’s diet), adjusted by energy intake (kgCO2-eq/2000 kcal). We examined associations between frequency of cooking dinner (the only meal for which cooking frequency was measured), frequency of eating fast food, and dietary GHGE and protein sources (beef, pork, poultry, other meat, and fish and seafood (g/2000 kcal)) using generalized linearized regression models that controlled for age, sex, and other socio-economic characteristics. Greater cooking frequency was associated with higher dietary GHGE. In fully adjusted models, cooking 5–6 times/week was associated with an additional 0.058 kgCO2-eq/2000 kcal (SE 0.033) and cooking 7 times/week was associated with an additional 0.057 kgCO2-eq/2000 kcal (SE 0.027) when compared to cooking 0–2 times/week. Individuals in households who cooked dinner more frequently consumed significantly more meat, poultry, and fish (cooking 7 times/week: 148.7 g/2000 kcal vs. cooking 0–2 times/week: 135.4 g/2000 kcal, p-trend = 0.005), which could explain the association with a higher carbon footprint diet. There were few associations of note between fast-food frequency and GHGE. Policies and interventions that reduce consumption of meat and increase consumption of plants when both cooking meals at home and eating meals out are needed to shift toward diets that will be beneficial for both human health and the health of the planet.

The Relation of Accelerometer-Measured Physical Activity and Serum Uric Acid Using the National Health and Nutrition Survey (NHANES) 2003–2004

Objective: Gout is a crystal-induced inflammatory arthritis caused by elevated uric acid. Physical activity has the potential to reduce serum uric acid (SUA), thus improving the disease burden of gout. In this study, we examined the association of objectively-measured physical activity and SUA.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using survey, laboratory, and accelerometer data from the 2003–2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). SUA concentrations (mg/dL) were obtained during an initial exam, and then physical activity (kCal/day) was measured with 7 days of ActiGraph accelerometry in participants (n = 3,475) representative of the ambulatory, non-institutionalized US civilian population. Regression, including restricted cubic splines, was used to assess the relation of physical activity and SUA in bivariate and adjusted models. Covariates included age, gender, race/ethnicity, alcohol use, body mass index, renal function, and urate-lowering therapy.Results: In the bivariate model, physical activity was correlated with SUA concentrations and included a non-linear component (p &lt; 0.01). In the adjusted model, linear splines were employed with a node at the SUA nadir of 5.37mg/dL; this occurred at 703 kCal/day of physical activity. The association of physical activity and SUA was negative from 0 to 703 kCal/day (p = 0.07) and positive &gt;703 kCal/day (p &lt; 0.01 for the change in slope).Conclusion: Physical activity and SUA are associated in a non-linear fashion, with a minimum estimated SUA at 703 kCal/day of objectively-measured physical activity. These findings raise intriguing questions about the use of physical activity as a potential adjunctive therapy in patients with gout, and further interventional studies are needed to elucidate the effects of moderate intensity exercise on SUA concentrations.

Periodontal Disease an Overlooked Chapter in Public Health: A Statistical Analysis

This study aims to find that there is any association between Periodontal diseases with factors like diabetes, depression, blood pressure, age, gender, alcohol, smoking, education level, and obesity. For this study data were taken from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). From this data various variables are taken and test in SAS 9.4 software for analysis. This study is done on a 3737 sample in which 734 people reported having gum/periodontal disease. Logistic regression analysis was performed with variables. We found a significant association between diabetes, depression, age, smoking, and obesity to have periodontal disease.