Da Silva et al. showed that the triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index was positively associated with a higher prevalence of symptomatic coronary artery disease (CAD). TyG has been used in healthy individuals as a marker of insulin resistance. The use of this index as a marker of atherosclerosis in cardiovascular disease (CVD) patients might be influenced by diabetes and the hyperlipidemic state that led to CVD. Certain considerations might be necessary before we conclude that the TyG index can be used as a marker of atherosclerosis in CVD patients. These factors can highlight the role of fasting blood glucose and triglyceride levels that are used in the TyG formula. Comparing the fasting blood glucose and/or triglyceride levels with the TyG index in these patients to show how much value the TyG index can add to clinical practice seems to be necessary. Conclusions of such studies might be biased by these facts. Stratification by CAD disease category cannot help achieve an understanding of the role of TyG in CVD. Correlations do not imply causation, so the use of the TyG index as an index in CAD patients is questionable.

Aim: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is an emerging major public health issue that leads to end-stage kidney disease (ESRD). Factors influencing the self-management and self-efficacy of ESRD patients are still under investigation. The objective of this study is to evaluate the association of depression and anxiety with self-management and self-efficacy in patients with pre-ESRD. Methods: Patients in the department of nephrology of a regional hospital in Taiwan were invited to participate and were included in our study if they had a confirmed diagnosis of early-stage CKD, were more than 20 years old, and could converse in Mandarin Chinese or Taiwanese. Patients diagnosed with depression, who could not execute self-care, or who had cognitive deficits were excluded. In total, this cross-sectional study included 112 pre-ESRD patients. We used the Chinese versions of the hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS), the chronic kidney disease self-efficacy instrument (CKD-SE), and the chronic kidney disease self-management instrument (CKD-SM) as the questionnaire. Spearman’s rank correlation and logistic regressions were used to analyze the data. Results: The top quartile of self-management and self-efficacy scores (28 patients) was defined as high self-management and -efficacy, respectively, and the lower three quartiles as low self-management and -efficacy. The logistic regression analysis showed that having depression decreased the odds of having high self-management by 75.4% and high self-efficacy by 75.1%. Having an education level of senior high school or above increased the odds ratios for having high self-management and high self-efficacy to 4.47 and 3.56 (all p-values < 0.05). Conclusion: Controlling depression as well as increasing the level of education can potentially increase self-management and self-efficacy in pre-ESRD patients.

Diets could play an important role in testicular function, but studies on how adherence to the dietary patterns influences human testicular function in Asian countries are scarce. Herein, we examined the association between testosterone-related dietary patterns and testicular function among adult men in Taiwan. This cross-sectional study recruited 3283 men who attended a private medical screening program from 2009 to 2015. Testosterone-related dietary pattern was generated by the reduced rank regression (RRR) method. The association between adherence to quartile of dietary pattern scores with sex hormones (testosterone, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), and estradiol (E2)) and sperm quality (sperm concentration (SC), total sperm motility (TSM), progressive motility (PRM), and normal sperm morphology (NSM)) were examined by multivariable linear regression. Hemoglobin (β = 0.57, p < 0.001), hematocrit (β = 0.17, p = 0.002), triglyceride (β = −0.84, p < 0.001), HDL-cholesterol (β = 3.58, p < 0.001), total cholesterol to HDL-cholesterol ratio (β = −0.78, p < 0.001), and uric acid (β = −10.77, p < 0.001) were highly correlated with testosterone levels. Therefore, these biomarkers were used to construct a testosterone-related dietary pattern. Highest adherence (Q4) to dietary pattern scores were negatively associated with lower testosterone in the pooled analysis (β = −0.89, p = 0.037) and normal-weight men (β = −1.48, p = 0.019). Likewise, men in the Q4 of the dietary pattern had lower SC (β = −5.55, p = 0.001) and NSM (β = −2.22, p = 0.007) regardless of their nutritional status. Our study suggesting that testosterone-related dietary pattern (rich in preserved vegetables or processed meat or fish, deep-fried foods, innards organs, rice or flour products cooked in oil, and dipping sauce, but low in milk, dairy products, legumes, or beans, and dark or leafy vegetables) was associated with a poor testicular function.

Recently, the role of lifestyle factors in testicular function has developed into a growing area of interest. Based on cross-sectional data on 3283 Taiwanese men, we investigated whether interactive effects of unhealthy lifestyle behaviors were associated with testicular function. The men were recruited from a private screening institute between 2009 and 2015. Lifestyle behaviors (smoking, alcohol drinking, physical activity (PA), sleeping habits, and diet) were obtained by a validated self-reported questionnaire. The men provided a semen sample and had blood drawn for sex hormone measurement. Men who smoked and drank had higher testosterone (T) levels (β = 0.81, p < 0.001) than those who neither smoked nor drank. Men who smoked and had high Western dietary pattern scores had higher T levels—by 0.38 ng/mL (p = 0.03). Those who drank and did not get enough sleep or had high Western dietary pattern scores had elevated T levels—by 0.60 ng/mL (p = 0.005) or 0.45 ng/mL (p = 0.02), respectively. Light PA and insomnia were associated with decreased T levels—by 0.64 ng/mL (p < 0.001). Those who smoked and drank or had light PA or had high Western dietary pattern scores had lower normal sperm morphologies (NSMs)—by 2.08%, 1.77%, and 2.29%, respectively. Moreover, drinkers who had high Western dietary pattern scores had higher sperm concentrations—by 4.63 M/mL (p = 0.04). Awareness and recognition of the long-term impact of lifestyle behaviors and better lifestyle choices may help to optimize the chance of conception amongst couples.