Whether the risk of gastric cancer varies by the types of meat consumption still remains disputable. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to identify the exact associations that red, processed, and white meat have with gastric cancer. We searched relevant studies in Medline, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library before November 2018, including cohort and case-control studies. We used random-effect models to estimate the adjusted relative risk (RR), and Egger’s tests to evaluate publication bias. Through stepwise screening, 43 studies were included in this analysis (11 cohort studies and 32 case-control studies with 16,572 cases). In a meta-analysis for the highest versus lowest categories of meat consumption, both red (RR: 1.41, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.21–1.66) and processed (RR: 1.57, 95% CI: 1.37–1.81) meat consumption were positively associated with gastric cancer risk, while white meat consumption was negatively associated with gastric cancer risk (RR: 0.80, 95% CI: 0.69–0.92). In a dose–response meta-analysis, the RRs of gastric cancer were 1.26 (95% CI: 1.11–1.42) for every 100 g/day increment in red meat consumption, 1.72 (95% CI: 1.36–2.18) for every 50 g/day increment in processed meat consumption, and 0.86 (95% CI: 0.64–1.15) for every 100 g/day increment in white meat consumption. The increase of white meat consumption may reduce the risk of gastric cancer, while red or processed meat may increase the risk of gastric cancer. Further studies are required to identify these associations, especially between white meat and gastric cancer.

Hypertension is an important modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD).¹ The population-attributable fraction of hypertension for CVD is approximately 60% in Asia.^2,3 In 2017, the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) released an updated guideline with a new criteria for hypertension, defining stage 1 hypertension as systolic blood pressure as 130 mm Hg through 139 mm Hg or diastolic blood pressure as 80 mm Hg through 89 mm Hg.⁴ This lower threshold for hypertension was based on multiple meta-analyses that showed higher CVD risk in the stage 1 hypertension blood pressure range.^5-11 However, most of the study populations from these studies were composed of middle-aged and elderly adults, leaving a relative lack of evidence for young adults aged 20 through 39 years.

Few previous studies have investigated the association between urban green space and cardiovascular disease (CVD) within Asian populations. We aimed to determine the relationship between amount of green space in the residential environment and CVD within a large general Asian population in this population-based longitudinal study. The study population consisted of 351,409 participants aged over 20 years extracted from the National Health Insurance Service National Sample Cohort. Data on newly-occurred CVD events were collected from hospital admission records for the period 1 January 2006 to 31 December 2013. Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was used for determining the risk of developing CVD according to urban green space coverage (% area), adjusting for a number of relevant confounders. Compared to those within the lowest quartile of green space coverage, those within the highest quartile of urban space had a reduced risk of total CVD (hazard ratio, HR 0.85, 95% confidence interval, CI 0.81-0.89), coronary heart disease (HR 0.83, 95% CI 0.78-0.89), acute myocardial infarction (HR 0.77, 95% CI 0.68-0.88), total stroke (HR 0.87, 95% CI 0.82-0.93) and ischemic stroke (HR 0.86, 95% CI 0.80-0.94), but not hemorrhagic stroke (HR 0.98, 95% CI 0.86-1.12). The risk-reducing effect of green space coverage was preserved after stratification according to sex, household income, and Charlson comorbidity index. Residing in urban regions with greater green space coverage may lead to a reduced risk of CVD. Urban planning intervention policies that increase urban green space coverage could help to reduce the risk of CVD.

Background: Although high serum cholesterol in young adults is known to be a predictor for cardiovascular events, there is not enough evidence for the association of cholesterol level change with cardiovascular disease ( CVD ). This study aimed to evaluate whether the change in cholesterol is associated with incidence of CVD among young adults. Methods and Results: We examined 2 682 045 young adults (aged 20–39 years) who had undergone 2 consecutive national health check‐ups provided by Korean National Health Insurance Service between 2002 and 2005. Cholesterol levels were classified into low (<180 mg/dL), middle (180–240 mg/dL) and high (≥240 mg/dL). CVD events were defined as ≥2 days hospitalization attributable to CVD for 10 years follow‐up. Increased cholesterol levels were significantly associated with elevated ischemic heart disease risk (adjusted hazard ration [ aHR ]=1.21; 95% confidence interval [ CI ]=1.03–1.42 in low‐high group and aHR =1.21; 95% CI =1.15–1.27 in middle‐high group) and cerebrovascular disease ( CEVD ) risk ( aHR =1.24; 95% CI =1.05–1.47 in low‐high group and aHR =1.09; 95% CI =1.02–1.16 in middle‐high group). Decreased cholesterol levels were associated with reduced ischemic heart disease risk ( aHR =0.91; 95% CI =0.88–0.95 in middle‐low group, aHR =0.65; 95% CI =0.56–0.75 in high‐low group and aHR =0.68; 95% CI =0.65–0.73 in high‐middle group). Furthermore, lower cerebrovascular disease risk ( aHR =0.76; 95% CI =0.62–0.92) was observed in the high‐low group compared with patients with sustained high cholesterol. Conclusions: The findings of our study indicate that increased cholesterol levels were associated with high CVD risk in young adults. Furthermore, young adults with decreased cholesterol levels had reduced risk for CVD .

Background: Anemia is thought to increase mortality risks, but the effects of high hemoglobin concentration on survival are unclear. The effect of change in hemoglobin concentrations on survival in the general population is also unknown. This study aimed to examine the effect of hemoglobin concentrations and their changes on cardiovascular and all‐cause mortality risks. Methods and Results: We retrospectively analyzed a cohort from the NHIS‐HEALS (National Health Insurance Service–National Health Screening Cohort) database, including 170 078 men and 122 116 women without cardiovascular diseases, aged >40 years at baseline, with hemoglobin concentrations available for both first and second health examinations. We assessed 2 independent variables: “One‐time” hemoglobin concentrations and changes in hemoglobin from first to second examination. Participants were followed up for a median of 8 years to determine mortality related to myocardial infarction, stroke, all cardiovascular diseases, and all causes. Hemoglobin concentrations showed a U‐ or J‐shaped association with cardiovascular and all‐cause mortality after adjusting for cardiovascular risk factors. When anemic men achieved normal hemoglobin concentrations, the all‐cause mortality risk decreased, with an adjusted hazard ratio of 0.67 (95% confidence interval, 0.59–0.77), in comparison with those whose anemia persisted. Both increases and decreases of hemoglobin concentration outside the normal range elevated all‐cause mortality risk (adjusted hazard ratio: 1.39 [95% confidence interval, 1.28–1.49] and 1.10 [95% confidence interval, 1.01–1.20], respectively), compared with persistent normal hemoglobin concentrations. The trend was similar in women but was less significant. Conclusions: Low or high hemoglobin concentrations were associated with elevated cardiovascular and all‐cause mortality. Reaching and maintaining hemoglobin concentrations within the normal range correlated with decreased all‐cause mortality.