• Children
• Insulin resistance
• Kidney damage
• Microalbuminuria
• Obesity

• Metabolic syndrome
• Microalbumin
• Type 2 diabetes
• Urinary creatinine

• Adult
• Albumins/metabolism
• Creatinine/urine
• Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/urine
• Female
• Humans
• Iran
• Male
• Metabolic Syndrome/urine
• Middle Aged
• Young Adult

Objective: This study investigated the association of metabolic syndrome (MS) and its components with cardiac, macro-, and micro-circulatory abnormalities in an elderly Chinese population.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted using data for 1,958 participants from the Northern Shanghai Study aged over 65 years without a history of cardiovascular disease. MS was defined according to the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III in 2005 (NCEPIII 2005). Asymptomatic cardiovascular impairment parameters, including the left ventricle mass index (LVMI), peak transmitral pulsed Doppler velocity/early diastolic tissue Doppler velocity (E/Ea), carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cf-PWV), ankle-brachial index (ABI), carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT), arterial plaque, and urinary albumin–creatinine rate (UACR), were evaluated.

Results: LVMI, E/Ea, cf-PWV, and the proportion of UACR > 30 mg/g exhibited increasing trends while ABI exhibited a decreasing trend according to the number of MS components (all p for trend < 0.01). Logistic regression analysis revealed that MS was significantly associated with LV hypertrophy (LVH), LV diastolic dysfunction, arteriosclerosis, and microalbuminuria (all p < 0.001). Central obesity and high blood pressure were associated with all cardiovascular abnormalities (all p < 0.05), whereas elevated plasma glucose was associated with arteriosclerosis and microalbuminuria (both p < 0.001). In addition, high triglyceride levels were associated with microalbuminuria (p < 0.05).

Conclusions: MS is significantly associated with cardiac, macro-, and micro-circulatory abnormalities in elderly Chinese. Moreover, the presence of individual MS components may have specific prognostic significance.

• cardiac abnormality
• elderly population
• macrocirculatory abnormality
• metabolic syndrome
• microcirculatory abnormality

• Metabolic Syndrome
• Microalbuminuria
• Urinary Albumin

• Adolescent
• Adult
• Aged
• Albuminuria/epidemiology
• China/epidemiology
• Cross-Sectional Studies
• Female
• Humans
• Male
• Metabolic Syndrome/epidemiology
• Middle Aged
• Prevalence
• Risk Factors

• Shandong-Ministry of Health Action on Salt Reduction and Hypertension
• Young Scholar Scientific Research Foundation of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention

• Albuminuria
• CKD
• Meta-analysis
• Metabolic syndrome
• Proteinuria

• Albuminuria/blood
• Albuminuria/diagnosis
• Albuminuria/epidemiology
• Case-Control Studies
• Cross-Sectional Studies
• Humans
• Metabolic Syndrome/blood
• Metabolic Syndrome/diagnosis
• Metabolic Syndrome/epidemiology
• Prospective Studies
• Proteinuria/blood
• Proteinuria/diagnosis
• Proteinuria/epidemiology
• Risk Factors

• Arterial stiffness
• Metabolic syndrome
• Microalbuminuria

• Adult
• Albuminuria/blood
• Albuminuria/complications
• Area Under Curve
• Asian People
• China
• Creatinine/blood
• Female
• Humans
• Linear Models
• Male
• Metabolic Syndrome/blood
• Metabolic Syndrome/complications
• ROC Curve
• Risk Factors

Background. The impact of the various components of metabolic syndrome (MetS) on chronic kidney disease has been conflicting. We aim to investigate the association between MetS and microalbuminuria and identify the major contributing components of MetS that result in microalbuminuria in the Chinese aged population. Methods. A total of 674 adults aged 55–98 years (males: 266; mean age: 66.5 ± 7.5 years) were studied. MetS was defined by the 2004 Chinese Diabetes Society criteria and microalbuminuria by urine albumin-creatinine ratio (UACR) ≥3 mg/mmoL. Results. The prevalence of microalbuminuria was gradually increased with increasing number of MetS components (P < 0.05). In multivariate regression, after adjusting for age and sex, MetS was the strongest correlate of microalbuminuria (OR = 1.781, 95% CI = 1.226–2.587; P < 0.05) followed by the fasting plasma glucose (FPG) (OR = 1.217, 95% CI = 1.044–1.092; P < 0.05), systolic blood pressure (SBP) (OR = 1.011, 95% CI = 1.107–1.338; P < 0.05), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) (OR = 0.576, 95% CI = 0.348–0.953; P < 0.05). Conclusions. MetS is independently associated with microalbuminuria in the Chinese aged population. Elevated FPG is the most predominant component of metabolic syndrome associated with microalbuminuria followed by elevated SBP and reduced HDL-C.

Accumulating evidence indicates a strong correlation between allergic disease and cardiovascular risks. In spite of this, the data concerning the association between allergic rhinitis (AR) and cardiovascular risks is sparse and conflicting. This study aimed to investigate the association between AR prevalence and metabolic syndrome (MetS) in a large-scale, population-based survey, while considering the relevant risk factors.

A nationwide cross-sectional study was conducted based on data from 30,590 subjects aged 19 years and older, from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Survey 2007–2013. The odds ratios (ORs) and 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) of AR prevalence, based on MetS status and the presence of any MetS component, were calculated using multiple logistic regression analyses.

Regarding the characteristics of patients with AR and/or MetS, some variables had significant associations with disease in inverse directions for AR and MetS. Multivariate logistic analysis, with adjustments for demographic variables and health habits, indicated that AR prevalence was significantly lower in subjects with MetS (OR 0.84; 95 % CI 0.76–0.93), high blood pressure (OR 0.85; 95 % CI 0.77–0.94), or impaired fasting glucose (OR 0.81; 95 % CI 0.73–0.89). Furthermore, high blood pressure and impaired fasting glucose were significant predictors for reduced AR prevalence, independently of other MetS components.

In this population, AR was diagnosed less frequently in subjects with metabolic conditions. Well-designed prospective studies allowing for medical service utilization and collaborative basic research are warranted to elucidate the mechanism responsible for this inverse relationship.

• Allergic rhinitis
• Cardiovascular risks
• Impaired fasting glucose
• Metabolic syndrome

Given emerging evidence of the association between stress and disease, practitioners need a tool for measuring stress. Several instruments exist to measure perceived stress; however, none of them are applicable for population surveys because stress conceptualization can differ by population. The aim of this study was to develop and validate the Perceived Stress Inventory (PSI) and its short version for use in population surveys and clinical practice in Korea.

From a pool of perceived stress items collected from three widely used instruments, 20 items were selected for the new measurement tool. Nine of these items were selected for the short version. We evaluated the validity of the items using exploratory factor analysis of the preliminary data. To evaluate the convergent validity of the PSI, 387 healthy people were recruited and stratified on the basis of age and sex. Confirmatory analyses and examination of structural stability were also carried out. To evaluate discriminatory validity, the PSI score of a group with depressive symptoms was compared with that of a healthy group. A similar comparison was also done for persons with anxious mood.

Exploratory factor analysis supported a three-factor construct (tension, depression, and anger) for the PSI. Reliability values were satisfactory, ranging from 0.67 to 0.87. Convergent validity was confirmed through correlation with the Perceived Stress Scale, Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. People with depressive or anxious mood had higher scores than the healthy group on the total PSI, all three dimensions, and the short version.

The long and short versions of the PSI are valid and reliable tools for measuring perceived stress. These instruments offer benefits for stress research using population-based surveys.

• Factor Analysis, Statistical
• Measurement
• Reliability
• Stress
• Validity