Many individual studies on oat β-glucan (OBG) confirmed its functionality in improving type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), but disagreements were identified among those results. To derive a pooled estimate of these results, relevant articles, published before 5 September 2015, were collected from four electronic databases (Pubmed, Cochrane Library, Scopus, and Web of Science) and subjected to meta-analysis in the present work. In total, four articles, dealing with 350 T2DM patients combined, met the inclusion criteria. Compared to control, T2DM patients administrated OBG from 2.5 to 3.5 g/day for 3 to 8 weeks presented significantly lowered concentrations in fasting plasma glucose (FPG) by −0.52 (95% CI: −0.94, −0.10) mmol/L (p = 0.01) and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA_1c) by −0.21% (95% CI: −0.40, −0.02) (p = 0.03). However, OBG intake did not significantly lower the fasting plasma insulin (FPI) concentration. In conclusion, mediate-term OBG intake (3–8 weeks) favored the glycaemic control of T2DM patients but did not improve their insulin sensitivity. Regrettably, data upon the effects of long-term OBG intake on glycaemic control and insulin sensitivity were scarce, which is of much importance and should be addressed in future research.

Epidemiological studies on the associations of legacy per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) and glucose homeostasis remain discordant. Understanding of PFAS alternatives is limited, and few studies have reported joint associations of PFASs and PFAS alternatives. To investigate associations of novel PFAS alternatives (chlorinated perfluoroalkyl ether sulfonic acids, Cl-PFESAs and perfluorobutanoic acid, PFBA) and two legacy PFASs (Perfluorooctanoic acid, PFOA and perfluorooctane sulfonate, PFOS) with glucose-homeostasis markers and explore joint associations of 13 legacy and alternative PFASs with the selected outcomes. We used cross-sectional data of 1,038 adults from the Isomers of C8 Health Project in China. Associations of PFASs and PFAS alternatives with glucose-homeostasis were explored in single-pollutant models using generalized linear models with natural cubic splines for PFASs. Bayesian Kernel Machine Regression (BKMR) models were applied to assess joint associations of exposures and outcomes. Sex-specific analyses were also conducted to evaluate effect modification. After adjusting for confounders, both legacy (PFOA, PFOS) and alternative (Cl-PFESAs and PFBA) PFASs were positively associated with glucose-homeostasis markers in single-pollutant models. For example, in the total study population, estimated changes with 95% confidence intervals (CI) of fasting glucose at the 95th percentile of 6:2Cl-PFESA and PFOS against the thresholds were 0.90 (95% CI: 0.59, 1.21) and 0.44 (95% CI: 0.26, 0.62). Positive joint associations were found in BKMR models with 6:2Cl-PFESA contributing most. Sex-specific associations existed in both single- and multi-pollutant models. Legacy and alternative PFASs were positively associated with glucose-homeostasis markers. 6:2Cl-PFESA was the primary contributor. Sex-specific associations were also identified. These results indicate that joint associations and effect modification should be considered in risk assessment. However, further studies are recommended to strengthen our findings and to elucidate the mechanisms of action of legacy and alternative PFASs.

Background: Malnutrition and tuberculosis (TB) tend to interact with each other. TB may lead to nutrition deficiencies that will conversely delay recovery by depressing immune functions. Nutrition support can promote recovery in the subject being treated for TB. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of nutrition support on promoting the recovery of adult pulmonary TB patients with anti-TB drug therapy. Methods: English database of the Cochrane Controlled Trials Register, PubMed, EMBASE, and Chinese database of CBM, CNKI, VIP, and WANFANG were searched. Randomized controlled trials comparing nutrition support (given for more than 2 weeks) with no nutrition intervention, nutrition advice only, or placebo-control for TB patients being anti-TB treated were included. Two reviewers conducted data extraction, assessed the quality of the studies independently, and any discrepancies were solved by the third reviewer. Data were entered and analyzed by RevMan 5.2 software, and meta-analysis was done using risk ratios (RR s) for dichotomous variables and mean differences (MDs) for continuous variables with 95% confidence intervals (CI s). Results: A total of 19 studies (3681 participants) were included. In nutritional support for TB patients, pooled RR and its 95% CI of sputum smears- or culture-negative conversion rate and chest X-ray (CXR) absorption rate were 1.10 (1.04, 1.17) and 1.22 (1.08, 1.39), respectively, the pooled MD and its 95% CI of body mass index (BMI) and time of sputum smears or culture negativity were 0.59 (0.16, 1.2) and − 5.42 (−7.93, −2.92), respectively, compared with the control group. The differences in outcomes of CXR zone affected, TB score, serum albumin, and hemoglobin were not statistically significant (P = 0.76, 0.24, 0.28, and 0.20, respectively) between the intervention group and the control group. No systemic adverse events were recorded. Conclusions: During anti-TB course, nutrition support may be helpful in treatment of TB patients by improving both sputum smears- or culture-negative conversion rate and BMI, shortening the time of sputum conversion negative. Whether it can improve the final clinical effect, there still needs high-level quality studies to confirm in the future.

This study aimed to propose an operational definition of late-onset hypogonadism (LOH) that incorporates both clinical symptoms and serum testosterone measurements to evaluate the prevalence of LOH in aging males in China. A population-based sample of 6296 men aged 40 years–79 years old was enrolled from six representative provinces in China. Serum total testosterone (TT), sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), and luteinizing hormone (LH) were measured and free testosterone (cFT) was calculated. The Aging Males' Symptoms (AMS) scale was used to evaluate the LOH symptoms. Finally, 5078 men were included in this analysis. The TT levels did not decrease with age (P = 0.59), and had no relationship with AMS symptoms (P = 0.87 for AMS total score, P = 0.74 for ≥ 3 sexual symptoms). The cFT levels decreased significantly with age (P < 0.01) and showed a negative association with the presence of ≥ 3 sexual symptoms (P = 0.03). The overall estimated prevalence of LOH was 7.8% (395/5078) if a cFT level <210 pmol l⁻¹ combined with the presence of ≥ 3 sexual symptoms was used as the criterion of LOH. Among them, 26.1% (103/395) and 73.9% (292/395) had primary and secondary hypogonadism, respectively. After adjustment for confounding factors, primary and secondary hypogonadism was positively related to age and comorbidities. Body mass index was an independent risk factor for secondary hypogonadism. The results suggest that the AMS total score is not an appropriate indicator for decreased testosterone, and that the cFT level is more reliable than TT for LOH diagnosis. Secondary hypogonadism is the most common form of LOH.

Objective Our aim was to elucidate the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) metabolites exposure levels of pregnant women in the underdeveloped region of Zunyi, southwest China. Methods Sociodemographic information was collected via questionnaires, and urine samples were collected at the same time. A total of 3047 pregnant women participated in the study. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry was used to detect the urine concentrations of 10 PAH metabolites. A generalised linear model (GLM) was used to identify predictive factors of PAH metabolites. Results All PAH metabolites had a detection rate greater than 60% (67.21%–90.57%) except for 4-OH-PHE at 55.54%. The median concentrations were 0.02–0.11 µg/g Cre except for 1-OH-NAP, 2-OH-NAP, 2-OH-FLU and 9-OH-FLU (0.36–0.50 µg/g Cre). The cluster analysis identified the phenanthrene and fluorene metabolite clusters (containing no other metabolites), while naphthalene metabolites (1-OH-NAP, 2-OH-NAP) could not be clustered without other metabolites. GLM analysis identified that pregnant women with the following characteristics have high urinary concentration of PAH metabolites: overweight, in the last trimester of pregnancy, distance between their house and main traffic lines as <5 m, use fuel for cooking, passive smoking, renovated their residence for less than 3 years, middle family income and office workers. Conclusion The results clarified pregnant women from the economically underdeveloped area could be the victims of PAHs. In addition, PAHs present a demographic and seasonal differential distribution, which will aid in the development of targeted interventions and reduce exposure to PAHs during pregnancy.

Decreased total testosterone (TT) is the recommended metric to identify age-related hypogonadism. However, average TT and the extent to which it varies by age, can vary substantially among different populations. Population-specific reference ranges are needed to understand normal versus abnormal TT levels. Therefore, the goal for this study was to describe androgen concentrations and their correlates among Western Chinese men. We completed a population-based, cross-sectional study including 227 young adults (YA) (20–39 years) and 939 older adults (OA) (40–89 years). We measured TT, sex-hormone binding globulin (SHBG), luteinizing hormone (LH), testosterone secreting index (TSI), and calculated free testosterone (cFT). Reference ranges for this population were determined using average YA concentrations. Multivariable regression models were used to predict hormone concentrations adjusting for age, waist-to-height ratio (WHR), marital status, education, occupation, smoking, alcohol, blood glucose, and blood pressure. Among OA, 3.8% had low TT, 15.2% had low cFT, 26.3% had low TSI, 21.6% had high SHBG, and 6.1% had high LH. Average cFT was significantly lower in OA (0.30 nmol/L; standard deviation (SD): 0.09) versus YA (0.37; SD: 0.11) but TT was not different in OA (16.82 nmol/L; SD: 4.80) versus YA (16.88; SD: 5.29). In adjusted models increasing age was significantly associated with increased SHBG or LH, and decreased cFT or TSI; however, TT was not significantly associated with age (β = 0.02 nmol/L; 95% confidence interval (CI): -0.01, 0.04). Higher WHR was associated with significantly decreased TT, SHBG, TSI, and LH. The only variable significantly related to cFT was age (β = -0.0033; 95% CI:-0.0037, -0.0028); suggesting that cFT measurements would not be confounded by other lifestyle factors. In conclusion, cFT, but not TT, varies with age in this population, suggesting cFT may be a better potential marker for age-related androgen deficiency than TT among Western Chinese men.