Qing-Bin Lu

Vitamin D and Graves' disease: a meta-analysis update.

The association between vitamin D levels and Graves’ disease is not well studied. This update review aims to further analyze the relationship in order to provide an actual view of estimating the risk. We searched for the publications on vitamin D and Graves’ disease in English or Chinese on PubMed, EMBASE, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, China Biology Medical and Wanfang databases. The standardized mean difference (SMD) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated for the vitamin D levels. Pooled odds ratio (OR) and 95% CI were calculated for vitamin D deficiency. We also performed sensitivity analysis and meta-regression. Combining effect sizes from 26 studies for Graves’ disease as an outcome found a pooled effect of SMD = −0.77 (95% CI: −1.12, −0.42; p < 0.001) favoring the low vitamin D level by the random effect analysis. The meta-regression found assay method had the definite influence on heterogeneity (p = 0.048). The patients with Graves’ disease were more likely to be deficient in vitamin D compared to the controls (OR = 2.24, 95% CI: 1.31, 3.81) with a high heterogeneity (I2 = 84.1%, p < 0.001). We further confirmed that low vitamin D status may increase the risk of Graves’ disease.

Human Adenovirus 36 Infection Increased the Risk of Obesity: A Meta-Analysis Update

AbstractHuman adenovirus 36 (HAdV-36), as the key pathogen, was supposed and discussed to be associated with obesity. We searched the references on the association between HAdV-36 infection and obesity with the different epidemiological methods, to explore the relationship with a larger sample size by meta-analysis and compare the differences of epidemiological methods and population subsets by the subgroup analyses.We conducted literature search on the association between HAdV-36 infections and obesity in English or Chinese published up to July 1, 2015. The primary outcome was the HAdV-36 infection rate in the obese and lean groups; the secondary outcomes were the BMI level and BMI z-score in the HAdV-36 positive and negative groups. The pooled odds ratio (OR) was calculated for the primary outcome; the standardized mean differences (SMDs) were calculated for the secondary and third outcomes. Prediction interval (PI) was graphically presented in the forest plot of the random effect meta-analyses. Metaregression analysis and subgroup analysis were performed.Finally 24 references with 10,191 study subjects were included in the meta-analysis. The obesity subjects were more likely to be infected with HAdV-36 compared to the lean controls (OR = 2.00; 95%CI: 1.46, 2.74; PI: 0.59, 6.76; P < 0.001) with a high heterogeneity (I2 = 80.1%; P < 0.001) estimated by the random effect model. Subgroup analysis demonstrated that the pooled OR of HAdV-36 infection for obesity were 1.77 (95%CI: 1.19, 2.63; PI: 0.44, 7.03; P = 0.005) and 2.26 (95%CI: 1.67, 3.07; PI: 1.45, 3.54; P < 0.001) in the adults and children, respectively. Compared to the HAdV-36 negative subjects, the SMD of BMI was 0.28 (95% CI: 0.08, 0.47; PI: −0.53, 1.08; P = 0.006) in the HAdV-36 positive subjects with a high heterogeneity (I2 = 86.5%; P < 0.001). The BMI z-score in the children with HAdV-36 infection was higher than those without HAdV-36 infection (SMD = 0.19; 95%CI: −0.31, 0.70; PI: −2.10, 2.49), which had no significantly statistical difference (P = 0.453).HAdV-36 infection increased the risk of obesity. HAdV-36 also increased the risk of weight gain in adults, which was not observed in children.

Association of obesity with Helicobacter pylori infection: A retrospective study

AIM To explore the association between Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection and obesity/weight gain in a Chinese population. METHODS Our primary outcome was the change in body mass index (BMI). The generalized linear models were used to explore the association between H. pylori infection and the change of BMI, and the logistic regression models were used to explore the association between H. pylori infection and obesity. RESULTS A total of 3039 subjects were recruited and analyzed, of which 12.8% were obese. The prevalence of H. pylori infection was 53.9% (1639/3039) overall and 54.6% (212/388) in the obese subjects. The change of BMI in the H. pylori (+) group was not significantly higher than that in the H. pylori (-) group after adjustment for potential confounding factors [RR = 0.988, 95%CI: 0.924-1.057, P = 0.729]. The prevalence of obesity decreased 1.1% in the H. pylori (+) group and 0.5% in the H. pylori (-) group. The RR of H. pylori infection for obesity was 0.831 (95%CI: 0.577-1.197, P = 0.321) after the adjustment. CONCLUSION H. pylori infection was not associated with overweight/obesity observed from the retrospective study in this Chinese population.

Meta-Analyses of Manganese Superoxide Dismutase Activity, Gene Ala-9Val Polymorphism, and the Risk of Schizophrenia.

AbstractSchizophrenia is a complex and disabling psychiatric disorder, and tardive dyskinesia (TD) is a severe adverse drug effect occurring in 20% to 40% of schizophrenic patients chronically treated with typical neuroleptics. Previous studies suggested that the manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) activity was associated with the development of schizophrenia. Ala-9Val polymorphism, a functional polymorphism of MnSOD gene, has been reported to be related to the risk of schizophrenia and TD. However, these studies did not lead to consistent results. We performed meta-analyses aiming to assess the association between MnSOD activity and schizophrenia, as well as the association of MnSOD Ala-9Val polymorphism with schizophrenia and TD in schizophrenic patients.We search for the literature on MnSOD and schizophrenia in English or Chinese published up to May 1, 2015 on PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Databases, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, China Biology Medical and Wanfang databases. Two investigators independently reviewed retrieved literature and evaluated eligibility. Discrepancy was resolved by consensus with a third reviewer. Data were pooled using fixed-effect or random-effect models. The standardized mean difference (SMD) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated for the MnSOD activity. Pooled odds ratio (OR) and 95% CI were calculated for Ala-9Val genotype and allele frequencies.There were 6, 6, and 10 studies entering 3 parts of meta-analyses, respectively. The MnSOD activity of patients was significantly lower than that of controls (SMD = −0.94; 95% CI: −1.76, −0.12; P = 0.025). No significant associations of Ala-9Val genotypes (OR = 1.14; 95% CI: 0.97, 1.33; P = 0.109) and alleles (OR = 1.06; 95% CI: 0.94, 1.20; P = 0.361) with the risk of schizophrenia were observed. We also did not reveal significant associations of the genotypes (OR = 0.82; 95% CI: 0.66, 1.02; P = 0.075) and alleles (OR = 0.90; 95% CI: 0.76, 1.06; P = 0.215) with the risk of TD in schizophrenia.The decreased MnSOD activity may be associated with the risk of chronic schizophrenia in Chinese population, while MnSOD Ala-9Val polymorphism may not play a significant role in the development of schizophrenia and TD. Longitudinal studies with larger sample sizes and different ethnicities are needed to confirm the association of the MnSOD Ala-9Val variants with schizophrenia and TD.

Association of anaemia with Helicobacter pylori infection: a retrospective study

The role of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection in haematological system diseases is not well understood. We conducted this retrospective study to explore the association between H. pylori infection and anaemia in the Chinese population. This retrospective study was performed in Aerospace Center Hospital in Beijing. We derived the data from the registration system of the physical population between 2012–2016. Logistic regression models were used to explore the association between H. pylori infection and anaemia. Among 17,791 subjects, there were 7,804 (43.9%) subjects with H. pylori infection and 950 (5.3%) with anaemia. The prevalence of anaemia in the H. pylori (+) group was significantly higher than in the H. pylori (−) group after adjusting for age, sex, marriage, underlying diseases and body mass index. Compared to H. pylori (−), the OR of H. pylori (+) was 1.39 for moderate-to-severe anaemia and 1.05 for mild anaemia. The level of haemoglobin was lower in the H. pylori (+) group than in the H. pylori (−) group. This study indicates that H. pylori infection may be related to anaemia and haemoglobin level in the Chinese population.

Association on DISC1 SNPs with schizophrenia risk: A meta-analysis

Schizophrenia is a major psychiatric disorder with complex genetic, environmental, and psychological etiologies. Although DISC1 gene has been shown as a risk factor for schizophrenia in some reports, there is a lack of a consensus. We therefore performed separate meta-analyses aiming to assess the associations between DISC1 SNPs and schizophrenia risk. We found that SNP rs821597 is significantly associated with schizophrenia risk in terms of both allelic and genotypic distribution, while SNP rs821616 is associated with schizophrenia in terms of genotypic distribution, especially in cases above 40 years old.

Alterations of eicosanoids and related mediators in patients with schizophrenia

Schizophrenia (SCZ) is a multifactorial psychiatric disorder. Currently, its molecular pathogenesis remains largely unknown, and no reliable test for diagnosis and therapy monitoring is available. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and their derived eicosanoid signaling abnormalities are relevant to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. However, comprehensive analysis of eicosanoids and related mediators for schizophrenia is very rare. In this study, we applied a targeted liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry based method to monitor 158 PUFAs, eicosanoids and related mediators from enzyme-dependent or independent pathways, in the serum samples of 109 healthy controls, and 115 schizophrenia patients at baseline and after an 8-week period of antipsychotic therapy. Twenty-three metabolites were identified to be significantly altered in SCZ patients at baseline compared to healthy controls, especially arachidonic acid (AA) derived eicosanoids. These disturbances may be related to altered immunological reactions and neurotransmitter signaling. After 8-week antipsychotic treatment, there were 22 metabolites, especially AA and linoleic acid derived eicosanoids, significantly altered in posttreatment patients. Some metabolites, such as several AA derived prostaglandins, thromboxanes, and di-hydroxy-eicosatrienoic acids were reversed toward normal levels after treatment. Based on univariate analysis and orthogonal partial least-squares discriminant analysis, anandamide, oleoylethanolamine, and AA were selected as a panel of potential biomarkers for differentiating baseline SCZ patients from controls, which showed a high sensitivity (0.907), good specificity (0.843) and excellent area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (0.940). This study provided a new perspective to understand the pathophysiological mechanism and identify potential biomarkers of SCZ.

Association between Helicobacter pylori infection and gallbladder diseases: A retrospective study: Helicobacter pylori and gallbladder diseases

The association between Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) and gallbladder diseases is still unclear and is controversial. We conducted a retrospective study to clarify the prevalence of gallbladder diseases and factors related to gallbladder diseases and relationships between H. pylori infection, gallstones, cholecystitis, and cholecystic polypus.

Association between Helicobacter pylori infection and tumor markers: an observational retrospective study

Objective Helicobacter pylori infection is a major cause of several cancers such as gastric, pancreatic and lung. The relationship between H. pylori and tumour markers continues to remain unclear. The primary goal of this study is to clarify the associations between H. pylori infection and six tumour markers (ie, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), cancer antigen (CA) 153, CA199, CA724, CA125 and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP)). The secondary goal is to provide understanding for further research about H. pylori infection and gastrointestinal cancer. Design Observational retrospective study. Setting The study was performed in Beijing, China, where enrolled subjects had all passed health examinations during the period of 2012–2016. Subjects were categorised into H. pylori (+) and H. pylori (–) group according to their infection status and the measured six biomarkers. We used logistic regression models and generalised linear models to explore the associations between H. pylori infection and six tumour markers (ie, CEA, CA153, CA199, CA724, CA125 and AFP). Participants A total of 14 689 subjects were included and 6493 (44.2%) subjects were infected by H. pylori. The subjects had a mean age (1SD) of 45 (18) years. There were 4530 (31.0%) female subjects. Results After adjusting for the confounding factors, infections with H. pylori were found to be significantly associated with abnormal ratios in CEA, AFP and CA724 of H. pylori (+) to H. pylori (–) groups. Significant positive correlation was found between H. pylori infection and CEA values (adjusted β=0.056; 95% CI 0.005 to 0.107; p=0.033). Conclusions In this observational retrospective study, we observed the H. pylori infections in a Chinese population and found higher CEA level in H. pylori-infected subjects and abnormal ratios in CEA, AFP and CA724 in infected subjects to uninfected subjects. These findings may provide a basis for future exploration with H. pylori and tumour markers.