ORCID Profile
0000-0002-1306-1676
Current Organisations
University of Bristol
,
Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine
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Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 17-06-2018
DOI: 10.1080/09540121.2018.1487916
Abstract: HIV self-stigma in HIV positive men who have sex with men (HIVMSM) has been identified as one of the largest challenges of HIV prevention, and associates with numerous negative outcomes, including depression, decreased social support, and less condom use intentions. In the present study, 321 HIVMSM in Chengdu, China were recruited to examine the prevalence of condom use in the past months and intentions to use condoms in next six months we also identify pathways between HIV self-stigma and intentions to use condoms by the structural equation modeling approach. Results showed that Chinese HIVMSM had the suboptimal prevalence of consistent condom use and low intentions to use condoms consistently. Additionally, depression and decreased social support were significant mediators between HIV self-stigma and condom use intentions. The complex pathways between HIV self-stigma and intentions to use condoms should be taken into account in the HIV prevention and intervention programs.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 10-10-2017
DOI: 10.1007/S10995-017-2369-X
Abstract: Objectives To ascertain the association between caesarean delivery and breastfeeding practices in China. Methods We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) and Meta-analysis Of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (MOOSE) guidelines. Electronic databases of CNKI, Medline, EMBASE, CINAHL, ProQuest and Science Direct were searched and screened to identify relevant articles from January 1990 to June 2015. Both fixed and random effect meta-analysis techniques were used to estimate the pooled effect size between caesarean delivery and breastfeeding outcomes at different time points. Sensitivity analysis and publication bias test were also conducted. Results Forty six studies were eligible for the qualitative synthesis of systematic review among them, 27 studies were included for the meta-analysis. At the early postpartum period, the odds of exclusive breastfeeding after caesarean section was 47% (pooled OR 0.53, 95% CI 0.41, 0.68) lower than that after vaginal delivery. At 4 months postpartum, the odds of breastfeeding was similarly lower (pooled OR 0.61, 95% CI 0.53, 0.71) for caesarean mothers. Substantial heterogeneity among studies was detected for both breastfeeding outcomes. Subgroup analyses stratified by study design, time points of breastfeeding outcomes and definitions of breastfeeding all confirmed the negative association between caesarean section and breastfeeding prevalence. Conclusions In China, breastfeeding practices were affected adversely by caesarean delivery. Therefore, health policy to improve breastfeeding outcomes should take this into consideration.
Publisher: The Endocrine Society
Date: 24-11-2021
Abstract: Observational associations between maternal polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and offspring birth weight (BW) have been inconsistent and the causal relationship is still uncertain. We conducted a 2-s le Mendelian randomization (MR) study to estimate the causal effect of maternal PCOS on offspring BW. We constructed genetic instruments for PCOS with 14 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) which were identified in a genome-wide association study (GWAS) meta-analysis including 10 074 PCOS cases and 103 164 controls of European ancestry from 7 cohorts. The genetic associations of these SNPs with the offspring BW were extracted from summary statistics estimated by the Early Growth Genetics consortium (n = 406 063 European ancestry in iduals) using the weighted linear model, an approximation method of structural equation model, which separated maternal genetic effects from fetal genetic effects. We used a 2-s le MR design to examine the causal relationship between maternal PCOS and offspring BW. Sensitivity analyses were conducted to assess the robustness of the MR results. We found little evidence for a causal effect of maternal PCOS on offspring BW (–6.1 g, 95% CI –16.8 g, 4.6 g). Broadly consistent results were found in the sensitivity analyses. Despite the large scale of this study, our results suggested little causal effect of maternal PCOS on offspring BW. MR studies with a larger s le size of women with PCOS or more genetic instruments that would increase the variation of PCOS explained are needed in the future.
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 11-09-2023
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2021
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 22-09-2017
DOI: 10.1111/PPE.12410
Abstract: Conventional survival analysis is commonly applied in the analysis of time-to-event data in paediatric studies, where the exposure variables of interest are often treated as time-fixed. However, the values of these exposure variables can vary over time and time-fixed analysis may introduce time-dependent bias. Time-dependent bias is illustrated graphically considering two scenarios in longitudinal study settings for paediatric time-to-event outcomes. As an illustrative ex le, the time-varying covariate approach was applied to survival analysis of breast-feeding data (n = 695) collected in China between 2010 and 2011, with an emphasis on the effects of covariates 'solid foods introduction' and 'maternal return to work' on breast-feeding duration up to 12 months postpartum. Time-varying exposures could occur before or after the occurrence of an event of interest so that time-fixed analysis can lead to biased and imprecise parameter estimates. In the illustrative ex le, the reduced risk of 'solid foods introduction' (hazard ratio (HR) 0.61, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.50, 0.75) on breast-feeding cessation and an absence of an association with 'maternal return to work' (HR 0.99, 95% CI 0.73, 1.36) from the time-fixed analysis reversed (HR 1.50, 95% CI 1.17, 1.93) and became significant (HR 1.45, 95% CI 1.06, 2.00), respectively, based on the time-varying covariate model. The time-varying covariate approach is preferable for survival analysis of time-to-event data in the presence of time-varying exposures.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 09-06-2021
DOI: 10.1186/S12986-021-00584-X
Abstract: To prospectively examine the associations of baseline serum uric acid (SUA) and SUA changes with incident metabolic syndrome (MetS) and update the evidence through a meta-analysis. Our analyses were based on the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study from 2011–2012 to 2015–2016. The exposures were baseline SUA and SUA changes, and the outcome was incident MetS assessed in 2015–2016. Logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). A meta-analysis was conducted to synthesize evidence from all cohort studies on the same topic. Of 3779 participants (47.2% men mean age: 59.5 years) without MetS, 452 participants developed MetS after a follow-up of 4 years. Compared to the lowest quartiles, the adjusted ORs (95% CIs) for MetS were 1.08 (0.77–1.50), 1.32 (0.95–1.82), and 1.55 (1.12–2.16) for three higher quartiles of baseline SUA, and 1.23 (0.89–1.71), 1.39 (1.00–1.93), and 1.89 (1.38–2.58) for three higher quartiles of SUA changes. Each increment of 1 mg/dL of baseline SUA level was associated with 19% higher odds of MetS (adjusted OR 1.19 95% CI 1.07–1.33). In the meta-analysis of 24 cohort studies among 140,913 participants, the pooled relative risk (95% CI) was 1.32 (1.25–1.40) for the highest versus lowest SUA category, and 1.15 (1.09–1.21) for each 1 mg/dL increase in the SUA level. Both baseline SUA and longitudinal SUA changes were positively associated with risk of MetS among middle-aged and elderly Chinese, which was supported by findings from a comprehensive meta-analysis across multiple populations. SUA levels might need to be monitored closely for subsequent risk of MetS in clinical practice.
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 2020
Abstract: The association between inflammatory properties of diet and ovarian cancer risk has been investigated in some Western populations. However, little evidence is available from Asian women whose ovarian cancer incidence rates are low and dietary and lifestyle patterns are very different from their Western counterparts. We aimed to examine whether more pro-inflammatory diets, as indicated by higher dietary inflammatory index (DII®) scores, are associated with increased odds of epithelial ovarian cancer in southern China. A case-control study was conducted during 2006-2008 in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province. Energy-adjusted DII (E-DII) scores were calculated based on dietary intake assessed by a validated food frequency questionnaire administered to 500 incident epithelial ovarian cancer patients and 500 hospital-based controls. Logistic regression models were used to assess the relationship between E-DII scores and odds of ovarian cancer. Positive associations were observed between higher E-DII scores and ovarian cancer odds, using both continuous DII scores (odds ratio (OR) 1.87 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.65, 2.13) and by DII tertiles (OR tertile3vs1 7.04, 95% CI: 4.70, 10.54, p for trend 0.001). Likewise, a more pro-inflammatory diet was associated with a higher chance of serous and mucinous ovarian tumors. Our results suggest that a pro-inflammatory diet was associated with increased odds of developing epithelial ovarian cancer in southern Chinese women. The findings add to epidemiological evidence for the role of dietary inflammatory potential in ovarian cancer development.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 02-03-2021
DOI: 10.1186/S12873-021-00420-8
Abstract: We sought to describe the national characteristics of ED visits by patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in the United States in order to improve the emergency treatment and screening of ESRD patients. We analyzed data from 2014 to 2016 ED visits provided by the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey. We s led adult (age ≥ 18 years) ED patients with ESRD. By proportion or means of weighted s le variables, we quantified annual ED visits by patients with ESRD. We investigated demographics, ED resource utilization, clinical characteristics, and disposition of patients with ESRD and compared these to those of patients without ESRD. Logistic regression models were used to estimate the association between these characteristics and ESRD ED visits. Approximately 722,692 (7.78%) out of 92,899,685 annual ED visits represented ESRD patients. Males were more likely to be ESRD patients than females (aOR: 1.34 95% CI: 1.09–1.66). Compare to whites, non-Hispanic Blacks were 2.55 times more likely to have ESRD (aOR: 2.55 95% CI: 1.97–3.30), and Hispanics were 2.68 times more likely to have ESRD (95% CI: 1.95–3.69). ED patients with ESRD were more likely to be admitted to the hospital (aOR: 2.70 95% CI: 2.13–3.41) and intensive care unit (ICU) (aOR: 2.21 95% CI: 1.45–3.38) than patients without ESRD. ED patients with ESRD were more likely to receive blood tests and get radiology tests. We described the unique demographic, socioeconomic, and clinical characteristics of ED patients with ESRD, using the most comprehensive, nationally representative study to date. These patients’ higher hospital and ICU admission rates indicate that patients with ESRD require a higher level of emergency care.
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 07-02-2023
DOI: 10.1101/2023.02.03.23285451
Abstract: Emerging metabolomics-based studies suggested links between amino acids metabolism and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) risk, however, whether there exists an aetiological role of amino acid metabolism in NAFLD development remains unknown. The aim of the present study was to assess the causal relationship between circulating levels of amino acids and NAFLD risk. We performed two-s le Mendelian randomisation (MR) analyses using summary level data from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to assess causal relationships between genetically predicted circulating levels of amino acids and NAFLD risk. Data from the largest GWAS on NAFLD (8,434 cases and 770,180 controls) were used in discovery MR analysis, and from a GWAS on NAFLD (1,483 cases and 17,781 controls) where NAFLD cases were diagnosed using liver biopsy, were used in replication MR analysis. Wald ratios or multiplicative random-effect inverse variance weighted (IVW) methods were used in the main MR analysis, and weighted median and MR-Egger regression analysis were used in sensitivity analyses. We additionally performed an MR conservative analysis by restricting genetic instruments to those directly involved in amino acid metabolism pathways. We found that genetically predicted higher alanine (OR=1.45, 95% CI 1.15-1.83) and lower glutamine (OR = 0.81, 95% CI 0.66-1.00) levels were associated with a higher risk of developing NAFLD. Results from MR sensitivity analyses and conservative analysis supported the main findings. Genetically predicted higher circulating levels of alanine was associated with an increased risk of NAFLD, whereas higher glutamine was associated with a decreased risk of NAFLD. This work was supported by Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine (2021YJRC02). Recent metabolomics studies revealed associations between circulating levels of several amino acids and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) risk. Most of these studies were conducted with a focus on the profiling of amino acids between in iduals with NAFLD and healthy subjects, which suggested the altered amino acid metabolism might be a consequence of NAFLD rather than a causal risk factor for NAFLD. We searched PubMed for studies in any language using the search terms “amino acids” AND “Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease OR NAFLD OR fatty liver” AND “Mendelian randomisation OR Mendelian randomization”, and found few studies on the causal effects of circulating amino acids on NAFLD risk. Thus, whether there is an aetiological role of amino acids in NAFLD development remains unknown. In the present study, we systematically investigated the causal effects of genetically predicted circulating levels of 20 amino acids on NAFLD risk using data from large-scale genome-wide association studies in up to 778,614 in iduals of European ancestry. We utilised a state-of-art causal inference approach, that is Mendelian randomisation, to construct layers of evidence. Overall, we found that among 20 amino acids, genetically predicted higher circulating levels of alanine was associated with an increased risk of NAFLD, whereas higher glutamine was associated with a decreased risk of NAFLD. Our study is the first to systematically assess the causal relationships between levels of plasma amino acids and the development of NAFLD using multi-omics (i.e., genomic and metabolomic) data from large-scale human studies. Our results suggest the potential for the glutamine supplementation or alanine depletion for personalized nutrition in NAFLD prevention and treatment.
Publisher: Authorea, Inc.
Date: 26-04-2023
DOI: 10.22541/AU.168252882.29290942/V1
Abstract: Several medications and treatments are being investigated for their potential effectiveness against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), including androgen and other sex hormones. However, the causal relationships between serum sex hormones and COVID-19 susceptibility and severity, particularly with regards to potentially sex-specific effects, remain largely unknown. In this study, we used the latest data from the UK Biobank (up to 424,907 in iduals) and COVID-19 Host Genetics Initiative (up to 1,878,143 in iduals) to systematically assess the sex-specific causal effects of serum sex hormone levels on COVID-19 outcomes within a two-s le Mendelian randomization (MR) framework. The inverse-variance weighted method was used in the main MR analysis. We additionally performed a series of sensitivity analysis to assess the robustness of MR effect estimates to potentially invalid genetic variants. Our MR analysis revealed novel causal associations between serum estradiol and bioavailable testosterone levels and SARS-CoV-2 infection in women, but not men, except for a suggestive inverse causal association between estradiol levels and COVID-19 severity in men. These novel findings improve our understanding of the sex-specific causal nature of sex hormones in relation to COVID-19 outcomes, and suggest that sex hormones may serve as potential therapeutic targets for preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection and improving patient outcomes.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 15-02-2021
DOI: 10.1002/DMRR.3437
Abstract: We prospectively examined the relationship between metabolic syndrome (MetS) and incident chronic kidney disease (CKD) among middle‐aged and elderly Chinese, and conducted a systematic review and meta‐analysis of all cohort studies on this topic. Our research data were derived from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study. Participants ( n =5752, age ≥45 years) without CKD (defined as estimated glomerular filtration rate ml/min/1.73m 2 ) at baseline were followed up for 4 years. We applied logistic regressions to examine the association of MetS with incident CKD. In addition, we pooled our effect estimates and those from previous cohort studies in the meta‐analysis. In a 4‐years follow‐up, 61 (4.27%) developed CKD in participants with MetS versus 102 (2.36%) in participants without MetS. After adjustment for potential confounders, odds ratio for incident CKD was 1.82 [95% confidence interval (95% CI): 1.19–2.78] comparing participants with MetS with those without MetS. There was a linear positive association between the number of MetS components and incident CKD ( p for trend .001). In the updated meta‐analysis of 25 studies among 350,655 participants with 29,368 incident cases of CKD, the pooled relative risk of developing CKD in participants with MetS was 1.34 (95% CI: 1.28–1.39), compared with those without MetS. In iduals with MetS had higher risk of incident CKD in middle‐aged and elderly Chinese adults, which was supported by a comprehensive review of cohort studies from multiple populations. It may be advisable to routinely monitor renal functions among in iduals with MetS.
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 18-04-2022
DOI: 10.1101/2022.04.15.22273911
Abstract: Amino acids are key to protein synthesis, energy metabolism, cell signaling and gene expression however, the contribution of specific maternal amino acids to fetal growth is unclear. We explored the effect of maternal circulating amino acids on fetal growth, proxied by birthweight, using two-s le Mendelian randomization and summary data from a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of serum amino acids levels (s le 1, n = 86,507) and a maternal GWAS of offspring birthweight, adjusting for fetal genotype effects (s le 2, n = 406,063 with maternal and/or fetal genotype effect estimates). A total of 106 independent single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) robustly associated with 19 amino acids ( p 4.9 × 10 −10 ) were used as genetic instrumental variables. Our results provide evidence that maternal circulating glutamine (59 g offspring birthweight increase per SD increase in maternal amino acid level, 95% CI: 7, 110) and serine (27 g, 95% CI: 9, 46) raise, while leucine (−59 g, 95% CI: -106, -11) and phenylalanine (−25 g, 95% CI: -47, -4) lower offspring birthweight. Our findings strengthen evidence for key roles of maternal circulating amino acids in healthy fetal growth.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 08-04-2020
DOI: 10.1186/S13643-020-01334-5
Abstract: Pre-ecl sia and being born small for gestational age are associated with significant maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality. Placental dysfunction is a key pathological process underpinning these conditions thus, markers of placental function have the potential to identify pregnancies ending in pre-ecl sia, fetal growth restriction, and the birth of a small for gestational age infant. To assess the predictive ability of late pregnancy (after 24 weeks’ gestation) tests in isolation or in combination for adverse pregnancy outcomes associated with placental dysfunction, including pre-ecl sia, fetal growth restriction, delivery of a SGA infant (more specifically neonatal growth restriction), and stillbirth. Studies assessing the ability of biochemical tests of placental function and/or ultrasound parameters in pregnant women beyond 24 weeks’ gestation to predict outcomes including pre-ecl sia, stillbirth, delivery of a SGA infant (including neonatal growth restriction), and/or fetal growth restriction will be identified by searching the following databases: EMBASE, MEDLINE, Cochrane CENTRAL, Web of Science, CINAHL, ISRCTN registry, UK Clinical Trials Gateway, and WHO International Clinical Trials Portal. Any study design in which the biomarker and ultrasound scan potential predictors have been assessed after 24 weeks’ gestation but before diagnosis of outcomes (pre-ecl sia, fetal growth restriction, SGA (including neonatal growth restriction), and stillbirth) will be eligible (this would include randomized control trials and nested prospective case-control and cohort studies), and there will be no restriction on the background risk of the population. All eligible studies will be assessed for risk of bias using the modified QUADAS-2 tool. Meta-analyses will be undertaken using the ROC models to estimate and compare test discrimination and reclassification indices to test calibration. Validation will be explored by comparing consistency across studies. This review will assess whether current published data reporting either a single or combination of tests in late pregnancy can accurately predict adverse pregnancy outcome(s) associated with placental dysfunction. Accurate prediction could allow targeted management and possible intervention for high-risk pregnancies, ultimately avoiding adverse outcomes associated with placental disease. PROSPERO CRD42018107049
Publisher: Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)
Date: 11-2018
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2017
DOI: 10.1016/J.MIDW.2017.03.011
Abstract: to examine the association between maternal education and breastfeeding prevalence in China. a systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted based on the literature of observational studies retrieved from electronic databases of CNKI, Medline, Embase, CINHAL, ProQuest and Science Direct. Maternal education was recoded into two binary categorical variables using different cut-off points. Both fixed and random effect models were used to estimate the pooled association between maternal education and breastfeeding prevalence in China. Visual inspection of Galbraith plot for heterogeneity detection, sensitivity analysis and publication bias test were performed. a total of 31 studies were included in the systematic review, and 15 and 26 studies were suitable for meta-analysis in terms of two different cutoff points of maternal education respectively. In the group using 6-year education cut-off (Group 1), the odds of breastfeeding was 10% (pooled OR=0.90, 95% CI: 0.83, 0.97) lower in mothers who had been educated for 'more than 6 years' compared to mothers with '6 years or less' education. In the group using 12-year education cut-off (Group 2), the odds of breastfeeding was 9% (pooled OR=0.91, 95% CI: 0.86, 0.96) lower in mothers who had 'more than 12 years' education compared to mothers who attained '12 years or less' education. There was substantial heterogeneity across the studies in both groups. Through meta-regression analysis, s le size of studies was detected contributing to the heterogeneity in Group 1 however none of study level factors were found to be a source of heterogeneity in Group 2. in the Chinese culture and employment environment, mothers who have attained a higher level of education are less likely to breastfeed their babies compared to mothers with lower education levels.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 20-02-2023
DOI: 10.1186/S12916-023-02775-0
Abstract: Recent studies found associations between non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), but the causal nature of this association is still uncertain. We performed a bidirectional two-s le Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis to test for the causal association between NAFLD and PCOS using data from a large-scale biopsy-confirmed NAFLD genome-wide association study (GWAS) (1483 cases and 17,781 controls) and PCOS GWAS (10,074 cases and 103,164 controls) in European ancestries. Data from glycemic-related traits GWAS (in up to 200,622 in iduals) and sex hormones GWAS (in 189,473 women) in the UK Biobank (UKB) were used in the MR mediation analysis to assess potential mediating roles of these molecules in the causal pathway between NAFLD and PCOS. Replication analysis was conducted using two independent datasets from NAFLD and PCOS GWASs in the UKB and a meta-analysis of data from FinnGen and the Estonian Biobank, respectively. A linkage disequilibrium score regression was conducted to assess genetic correlations between NAFLD, PCOS, glycemic-related traits, and sex hormones using full summary statistics. In iduals with higher genetic liability to NAFLD were more likely to develop PCOS (OR per one-unit log odds increase in NAFLD: 1.10, 95% CI: 1.02–1.18 P = 0.013). Indirect causal effects of NAFLD on PCOS via fasting insulin only (OR: 1.02, 95% CI: 1.01–1.03 P = 0.004) and further a suggestive indirect causal effect via fasting insulin in concert with androgen levels were revealed in MR mediation analyses. However, the conditional F statistics of NAFLD and fasting insulin were less than 10, suggesting likely weak instrument bias in the MVMR and MR mediation analyses. Our study suggests that genetically predicted NAFLD was associated with a higher risk of developing PCOS but less evidence for vice versa. Fasting insulin and sex hormones might mediate the link between NAFLD and PCOS.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 08-07-2020
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 27-07-2022
DOI: 10.3390/JCDD9080237
Abstract: Background: It is plausible that maternal pregnancy metabolism influences the risk of offspring congenital heart disease (CHD). We sought to explore this through a systematic approach using different methods and data. Methods: We undertook multivariable logistic regression of the odds of CHD for 923 mass spectrometry (MS)-derived metabolites in a sub-s le of a UK birth cohort (Born in Bradford (BiB) N = 2605, 46 CHD cases). We considered metabolites reaching a p-value threshold .05 to be suggestively associated with CHD. We sought validation of our findings, by repeating the multivariable regression analysis within the BiB cohort for any suggestively associated metabolite that was measured by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) or clinical chemistry (N = 7296, 87 CHD cases), and by using genetic risk scores (GRS: weighted genetic risk scores of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that were associated with any suggestive metabolite) in Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses. The MR analyses were performed in BiB and two additional European birth cohorts (N = 38,662, 319 CHD cases). Results: In the main multivariable analyses, we identified 44 metabolites suggestively associated with CHD, including those from the following super pathways: amino acids, lipids, co-factors and vitamins, xenobiotics, nucleotides, energy, and several unknown molecules. Of these 44, isoleucine and leucine were available in the larger BiB cohort (NMR), and for these the results were validated. The MR analyses were possible for 27/44 metabolites and for 11 there was consistency with the multivariable regression results. Conclusions: In summary, we have used complimentary data sources and statistical techniques to construct layers of evidence. We found that pregnancy amino acid metabolism, androgenic steroid lipids, and levels of succinylcarnitine could be important contributing factors for CHD.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2020
DOI: 10.1016/J.CMPB.2019.105196
Abstract: In longitudinal epidemiological studies consisting of a baseline stage and a follow-up stage, observations at the baseline stage may contain a countable proportion of negative responses. The time-to-event outcomes of those observations corresponding to negative responses at baseline can be denoted as zeros, which are excluded from standard survival analysis. Consequently, some important information on these subjects is therefore lost in the analysis. Furthermore, subjects are often clustered within hospitals, communities or health service centers, resulting in correlated observations. The framework of the two-part model has been developed and utilized widely to analyze semi-continuous data or count data with excess zeros, but its application to clustered time-to-event data with clumping at zero remains sparse. A two-part mixed-effects modeling approach was proposed. A logistic mixed-effects regression model was used in the first part to determine factors associated with the prevalence of the baseline event of interest. Parametric frailty models (including Weibull, exponential, log-logistic and log-normal) were used in the second part to assess associations between exposures and time-to-event outcomes. Correlated random effects were incorporated within the two regression models to accommodate the inherent correlation within each clustering unit and the correlation between the two parts. As an illustrative ex le, the method was applied to exclusive breastfeeding data from a community-based prospective cohort study in Nepal. A significantly positive correlation between the baseline prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding and exclusive breastfeeding duration was confirmed (ρ = 0.67, P < 0.001). The correlated two-part model outperformed the independent two-part model (likelihood ratio test statistic = 8.6, df = 1, P = 0.003). The proposed approach makes full use of all available information at baseline and during the follow-up, compared to the conventional survival analysis. In addition to breastfeeding studies, the method can be applied to other research areas where clustered time-to-event data with clumping at zero arise.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 09-10-2016
DOI: 10.3390/NU8100622
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 14-09-2016
DOI: 10.1111/JRE.12417
Abstract: Periodontitis is an infectious disease in which the host immune and inflammatory responses play essential roles in resistance to bacterial infection, as well as the induction of tissue destruction if the immune response is dysregulated. The triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells (TREMs) modulates inflammatory and innate immune signaling. TREM-1 is considered as an lifier of the immune response, while TREM-2 is a negative regulator that has yet to be explored in periodontal disease before. We hypothesized that TREMs participated in the innate immune responses during the pathogenesis of periodontitis. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate TREM-1 and TREM-2 expression in the gingival tissues from patients with chronic periodontitis and healthy subjects as well as their correlation with clinical periodontal parameters. This study is the first to identify TREM-2 in periodontal tissue, as well as the protein expression changes of TREM-1 and TREM-2 in periodontal tissues. Gingival tissue sections were collected from 31 healthy subjects and 53 patients with chronic periodontitis. Immunohistochemistry and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction were employed to evaluate the protein and mRNA expression of these receptors in gingival tissues. The recorded clinical parameters were probing depth, clinical attachment loss, plaque index and bleeding on probing. In addition to myeloid cells in gingival connective tissues, TREM-1 and TREM-2 were also found expressed in gingival epithelial cells. In particular, TREM-1 was detected in almost all gingival epithelium from both healthy and inflamed biopsies. The expression levels of TREM-1 and TREM-2 were significantly increased in the periodontitis group compared to the healthy group. Increased levels of these receptors are to be positively correlated with site-specific periodontal parameters. The increased expression of TREM-1 and TREM-2 levels in periodontitis may confer diagnostic and potential therapeutic targets as well as indicating their association with the clinical severity of the disease.
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 15-11-2022
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Location: China
No related grants have been discovered for Jian Zhao.