Obese and overweight people have a higher risk of both chronic physical illness and mental illness. Obesity is reported to be positively associated with psychiatric disorders, especially in people who seek obesity treatment. At the same time, obesity treatment may be influenced by psychological factors or personality characteristics. This study aimed to understand the prevalence of mental disorders among ethnic Chinese who sought obesity treatment. Subjects were retrospectively recruited from an obesity treatment center in Taiwan. The obesity treatments included bariatric surgery and non-surgery treatment. All subjects underwent a standardized clinical evaluation with two questionnaires and a psychiatric referral when needed. The psychiatric diagnosis was made thorough psychiatric clinic interviews using the SCID. A total of 841 patients were recruited. We compared the difference in psychiatric disorder prevalence between patients with surgical and non-surgical treatment. Of the 841 patients, 42% had at least one psychiatric disorder. Mood disorders, anxiety disorders and eating disorders were the most prevalent categories of psychiatric disorders. Females had more mood disorders and eating disorders than males. The surgical group had more binge-eating disorder, adjustment disorder, and sleep disorders than the non-surgical group. A high prevalence of psychiatric disorders was found among ethnic Chinese seeking obesity treatment. This is consistent with study results in the US and Europe.

Chronic inflammation plays a pivotal role in the development of atherosclerosis, where the pro-inflammatory cytokine-induced expression of endothelial adhesion molecules and the recruitment of monocytes are the crucial events leading to its pathogenesis. Glossogyne tenuifolia ethanol extract (GTE) is shown to have potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities. We evaluated the effects of GTE and its major components, luteolin (lut), luteolin-7-glucoside (lut-7-g), and oleanolic acid (OA) on TNF-α-induced expression of adhesion molecules in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). The results demonstrated that GTE, lut, and lut-7-g attenuated the expression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) in TNF-α-activated HUVECs, and inhibited the adhesion of monocytes to TNF-α-activated HUVECs. The TNF-α-induced mRNA expression of ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 was also suppressed, revealing their inhibitory effects at the transcriptional level. Furthermore, GTE, lut, and lut-7-g blocked the TNF-α-induced degradation of nuclear factor-kB inhibitor (IkB), an indicator of the activation of nuclear factor-kB (NF-kB). In summary, GTE and its bioactive components were effective in preventing the adhesion of monocytes to cytokine-activated endothelium by the inhibition of expression of adhesion molecules, which in turn is mediated through blocking the activation and nuclear translocation of NF-kB. The current results reveal the therapeutic potential of GTE in atherosclerosis.

Medication nonadherence is associated with an increased risk of complications in hypertensive patients. We investigated behavioral factors associated with medication nonadherence in hypertensive patients in southern Taiwan. Using questionnaires, we collected data regarding clinicodemographic characteristics and nonadherence behaviors from 238 hypertensive patients. We assessed the self-reported prevalence of specific behaviors of medication nonadherence and investigated factors associated with each behavior using multivariable logistic regression analysis. The most common behavior of medication nonadherence was forgetting to take medication (28.6%), followed by discontinuing medication (9.2%) and reducing the medication dose (8.8%). Age ≥ 65 years (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 0.32, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.15–0.69) and male sex (aOR = 2.61, CI = 1.31–5.19) were associated with forgetting to take medication. The presence of comorbidities (diabetes, kidney disease, or both) and insomnia (aOR = 3.97, 95% CI = 1.30–12.1) was associated with reducing the medication dose. The use of diet supplements was associated with discontinuing the medication (aOR = 4.82, 95% CI = 1.50–15.5). Compliance with a low oil/sugar/sodium diet was a protective factor against discontinuing medication (aOR = 0.14; 95% CI = 0.03–0.75). The most pervasive behavior associated with medication nonadherence among hypertensive patients was forgetting to take medication. Age <65 years, male sex, comorbidities, insomnia, noncompliance with diet, and the use of dietary supplements were specifically associated with medication nonadherence.

Anthropometric measures can be obtained easily and quickly and have the potential for prognostic stratification in the context of cardiovascular disease (CVD). This study evaluates the prognostic value of the waist-to-BMI ratio, a body shape index (ABSI), body roundness index (BRI), waist circumference (WC), and body mass index (BMI) for CVD mortality prediction in the general population, compared with the Framingham risk score (FRS). Data of participants from the United States Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) (1988 to 1994), aged 40–79 years with complete data were extracted and analyzed. Cox regression, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, and the C-index were used to determine the predictive value of the anthropometric parameters for CVD mortality, with follow-up through the end of 2019 via the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) Linked Mortality File. After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, 6,746 individuals (mean age 57.6 years) were analyzed. Cox regression indicated significant associations between BMI, WC, waist-to-BMI ratio, BRI, ABSI, and increased CVD mortality risk (adjusted hazard ratios [aHR] = 1.11, 1.19, 1.07, 1.12, and 1.13, respectively). ROC analysis revealed that FRS had the best performance for predicting 10-year CVD mortality (AUC = 0.7252), followed by ABSI (0.6407) and waist-to-BMI ratio (0.6120). Time-dependent AUC analyses confirmed FRS had the highest C-index (0.7004), followed by ABSI (0.6358) and waist-to-BMI ratio (0.5807). Our study suggests that, among the anthropometric measures studied, ABSI and waist-to-BMI ratio may offer predictive capability for CVD mortality in the general US population. The simplicity of measuring and calculating the waist-to-BMI ratio enhances its practicality, making it a potentially useful tool, particularly when other clinical factors are not available. Not applicable.

The proliferation and migration of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) are essential in the pathogenesis of various vascular diseases, such as atherosclerosis and restenosis. Among the mediators of VSMC during atherosclerosis development, platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-BB is a potent mitogen for VSMCs and greatly contributes to the intimal accumulation of VSMCs. Glossogyne tenuifolia (GT, Xiang-Ru) is a traditional antipyretic and hepatoprotective herb from Penghu Island, Taiwan. This study evaluated the inhibitory effect of GT ethanol extract (GTE) and GT water extract (GTW) on proliferative and migratory activities in PDGF-BB-induced VSMCs. The experimental results demonstrated that GTE significantly inhibited the PDGF-BB-stimulated VSMC proliferation and migration, as shown by MTT, wound healing, and Boyden chamber assays. GTE was found to have a much more potent inhibitory activity than GTW. Based on the Western blot analysis, GTE significantly blocked the PDGF-BB-induced phosphorylation of NF-κB and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways, including extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), p38, and JNK, in VSMCs. In addition, GTE retarded the PDGF-BB-mediated migration through the suppression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and MMP-9 expression in VSMCs. Three main ingredients of GT—chlorogenic acid, luteolin-7-glucoside, and luteolin—all showed significant anti-proliferative effects on PDGF-BB-induced VSMCs. As a whole, our findings indicated that GTE has the potential to be a therapeutic agent to prevent or treat restenosis or atherosclerosis.

Objectives: Increased triglyceride glucose (TyG) index appears to be linked to carotid and coronary atherosclerosis and calcifications and possesses an elevated future risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Corrected QT (QTc) interval prolongation is associated with ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death, and a high prevalence of prolonged QTc interval was previously reported in blue-collar workers. The purpose of this study was to find the possible causal inter-relationship between TyG index and QTc interval in a large population of Chinese male steelworkers. Methods: A total of 3189 male workers from two steel plants were enrolled. They responded to a cross-sectional questionnaire on basic attributes and lifestyle, including sleep patterns. All workers in the two plants underwent periodic health checkups, including twelve-lead electrocardiography. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to assess the direct and indirect effects of TyG index on QTc interval. Results: With increasing TyG index tertile, the male steelworkers had an increased QTc interval. Applying multivariate analysis, TyG index was associated independently with the odds of QTc prolongation (adjusted odds ratio = 2.73, 95% confidence interval = 1.39–5.24, p = 0.004). SEM revealed that TyG index, hypertension, obesity, lifestyle, white blood cell (WBC) count, and liver function had statistically significant direct effects on QTc interval. Furthermore, TyG index also had an indirect effect on QTc interval through hypertension, obesity, WBC count, and liver function. Moreover, lifestyle had an indirect effect on QTc interval through TyG index. The final model explained 14% of the variability in QTc interval. Conclusions: An increased TyG index was associated with QTc interval prolongation in this study, and SEM delineated possible causal pathways and inter-relationships of the risk factors contributing to the occurrence of QTc prolongation among Chinese male steelworkers.