Correlating Changes in Metabolic Status With Arterial Health

Change in physical activity and its association with decline in kidney function: A UK Biobank-based cohort study

BACKGROUND

Previous research on the association between physical activity (PA) and kidney function is inconsistent. The association between muscle mass and serum creatinine (SCr) may have implications for interpreting the effect of PA on estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). Few studies have reported changes in physical activity and changes in kidney function.

METHODS

A cohort study was constructed using the UK Biobank. Changes in physical activity were self-reported as metabolic equivalent task (MET) minutes/week. eGFR was calculated using SCr and cystatin C (CysC). Cox and nonlinear regressions with restricted cubic splines were applied to explore the association between changes in physical activity and rapid decline of kidney function (RDKF, eGFR annual decrease ≥3 mL/min/1.73 m2), and the annual change of eGFR. An exploratory analysis of cardiorespiratory fitness as the exposure was conducted.

RESULTS

Among 11 757 participants, the median follow-up time was 4.4 years. Participants whose PA decreased by 1000 MET minutes/week at the follow-up assessment had a 2% reduction in risk of developing RDKFSCr (HR = 0.98, 95% CI: 0.96, 1.00). In contrast, a 1000 MET minutes/week increase in PA was associated with a 4% reduction in risk of developing RDKFCysC (HR = 0.96, 95% CI: 0.93, 0.99). A PA increase of 1000 MET minutes/week was associated with eGFRCysC annual increase of 0.04 mL/min/1.73 m2 (95% CI: 0.03, 0.06) but no significant changes in eGFRSCr.

CONCLUSIONS

In this general population study, there are differing associations between changes in PA and changes in kidney function depending on the kidney biomarker used. Increasing PA is modestly associated with improving annual eGFRCysC and reduced risk of RDKF.

Heart rate variability behavior in young men after short-term carotenoid-containing supplementation

Background

Heart rate variability can reflect the risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD), while carotenoids are good for CVD prevention. However, the acute effect of short-term carotenoid-containing supplementation on heart rate variability in young men is unclear.

Methods

Thirty young men between 20 and 29 years of age without personal or family history of cardiovascular diseases were randomly divided into control and experimental groups. The anthropometric data, physiological parameters, and serum biochemical data were acquired, which were without significant difference between the two groups, at the beginning of trial. The participants in the experimental group consumed one pack of compound nutritional supplements in the morning (e.g., 10 AM) and another pack at night (e.g., 7 PM) each day. Heart rate variability was measured again once a month. Repeated measures analysis of variance with Roy's largest root test and Bonferroni post hoc test were applied for primary outcomes.

Results

Repeated measures analysis of variance indicated a significant time interaction effect for the estimated marginal means of percussion entropy index scale (T1 versus T3, T1 versus T4, and T2 versus T4 with p = 0.009, 0.005, and 0.032, respectively). Roy's largest root test indicates there were significant differences between the means of the index after the intervention between two groups only on T3 and T4 (p = 0.007, η ² = 0.232 and p = 0.028, η ² = 0.162, respectively).

Conclusion

Short-term carotenoid-containing supplementation could help young men by increasing heart rate variability capacity compared to controls over three months.

Reactive Hyperemia-Triggered Wrist Pulse Analysis for Early Monitoring of Young Men with High Atherosclerotic Risk

The high prevalence of cardiovascular disease in young adults has raised significant concern regarding the early identification of risk factors to allow for timely intervention. This study aimed to identify young males at risk of atherosclerosis using a noninvasive instrument and an initial application percussion entropy analysis of the wrist pressure pulse (WPP). In total, 49 young males aged 18 to 28, without any known history of vascular disease, were recruited. Blood samples were obtained whereby a TC/HDL cutoff value of 4 was used to divide the young men into low-risk (Group 1, TC/HDL < 4, N = 32) and high-risk (Group 2, TC/HDL ≥ 4, N = 17) groups regarding atherosclerosis. The reactive hyperemia-triggered WPPs were measured using a modified air-pressure-sensing system (MAPSS). The dilation index (DI) of the endothelial function and percussion entropy index (PEI) of the heart rate variability (HRV) assessments, calculated using pragmatic signal-processing techniques, were compared between the two groups. The nonparametric Mann-Whitney U test showed that the DI and PEI of the two groups showed statistical differences (both p < 0.05). Not only could the MAPSS assess endothelial function and HRV in young males, but the results also showed that waist circumference and PEI may serve as indicators for the early identification of young males at risk of atherosclerosis.