| 1. |
- Locke, Adam E, et al.
(author)
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Genetic studies of body mass index yield new insights for obesity biology.
- 2015
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In: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 518:7538, s. 197-401
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Obesity is heritable and predisposes to many diseases. To understand the genetic basis of obesity better, here we conduct a genome-wide association study and Metabochip meta-analysis of body mass index (BMI), a measure commonly used to define obesity and assess adiposity, in up to 339,224 individuals. This analysis identifies 97 BMI-associated loci (P < 5 × 10(-8)), 56 of which are novel. Five loci demonstrate clear evidence of several independent association signals, and many loci have significant effects on other metabolic phenotypes. The 97 loci account for ∼2.7% of BMI variation, and genome-wide estimates suggest that common variation accounts for >20% of BMI variation. Pathway analyses provide strong support for a role of the central nervous system in obesity susceptibility and implicate new genes and pathways, including those related to synaptic function, glutamate signalling, insulin secretion/action, energy metabolism, lipid biology and adipogenesis.
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| 2. |
- Kepp, Kasper P., et al.
(author)
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Panel stacking is a threat to consensus statement validity
- 2024
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In: Journal of Clinical Epidemiology. - : Elsevier. - 0895-4356 .- 1878-5921. ; 173
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Consensus statements can be very influential in medicine and public health. Some of these statements use systematic evidence synthesis but others fail on this front. Many consensus statements use panels of experts to deduce perceived consensus through Delphi processes. We argue that stacking of panel members toward one particular position or narrative is a major threat, especially in absence of systematic evidence review. Stacking may involve financial conflicts of interest, but nonfinancial conflicts of strong advocacy can also cause major bias. Given their emerging importance, we describe here how such consensus statements may be misleading, by analyzing in depth a recent high-impact Delphi consensus statement on COVID-19 recommendations as a case example. We demonstrate that many of the selected panel members and at least 35% of the core panel members had advocated toward COVID-19 elimination (Zero-COVID) during the pandemic and were leading members of aggressive advocacy groups. These advocacy conflicts were not declared in the Delphi consensus publication, with rare exceptions. Therefore, we propose that consensus statements should always require rigorous evidence synthesis and maximal transparency on potential biases toward advocacy or lobbyist groups to be valid. While advocacy can have many important functions, its biased impact on consensus panels should be carefully avoided.
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| 3. |
- Abbafati, Cristiana, et al.
(author)
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- 2020
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Drechsler, Christiane, et al.
(author)
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Homoarginine and Clinical Outcomes in Renal Transplant Recipients : Results From the Assessment of Lescol in Renal Transplantation Study
- 2015
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In: Transplantation. - 0041-1337 .- 1534-6080. ; 99:7, s. 1470-1476
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Despite improvements in kidney transplantation, complications, including cardiovascular morbidity and graft loss, contribute to reduced graft and patient survival. The amino acid homoarginine exerts a variety of beneficial effects that may be relevant for cardiovascular and graft outcomes, which is investigated in the present study.Methods: Homoarginine was measured in 829 renal transplant recipients participating in the placebo group of the Assessment of Lescol in Renal Transplantation study. Mean follow-up was 6.7 years. By Cox regression analyses, we determined hazard ratios (HRs) to reach prespecified, adjudicated endpoints according to baseline homoarginine levels: major adverse cardiovascular events (n = 103), cerebrovascular events (n = 53), graft failure or doubling of serum creatinine (n = 140), noncardiovascular mortality (n = 51), and all-cause mortality (n = 107).Results: Patients mean age was 50 ± 11 years, homoarginine concentration was 1.96 ± 0.76 µmol/L, and 65% were men. Patients in the lowest homoarginine quartile (<1.40 µmol/L) had an adjusted 2.6-fold higher risk of cerebrovascular events compared to those in the highest quartile (>2.34 µmol/L) (HR, 2.56; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 1.13–5.82). Similarly, the renal endpoint occurred at a significantly increased rate in the lowest homoarginine quartile (HR, 2.34; 95% CI, 1.36–4.02). For noncardiovascular and all-cause mortality, there was also increased risk associated with the lowest levels of homoarginine, with HRs of 4.34 (95% CI, 1.63–10.69) and 2.50 (95% CI, 1.38–4.55), respectively.Conclusions: Low homoarginine is strongly associated with cerebrovascular events, graft loss and progression of kidney failure and mortality in renal transplant recipients. Whether interventions with homoarginine supplementation improve clinical outcomes requires further evaluation.
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
- Pihlstrom, Hege, et al.
(author)
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Increased Risk of All-Cause Mortality and Renal Graft Loss in Stable Renal Transplant Recipients With Hyperparathyroidism
- 2015
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In: Transplantation. - 0041-1337 .- 1534-6080. ; 99:2, s. 351-359
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background. Hyperparathyroidism is reported in 10% to 66% of renal transplant recipients (RTR). The influence of persisting hyperparathyroidism on long-term clinical outcomes in RTR has not been examined in a large prospective study. Methods. We investigated the association between baseline parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels and major cardiovascular events, renal graft loss, and all-cause mortality by Cox Proportional Hazard survival analyses in 1840 stable RTR derived from the Assessment of LEscol in Renal Transplantation trial. Patients were recruited in a mean of 5.1 years after transplantation, and follow-up time was 6 to 7 years. Results. Significant associations between PTH and all 3 outcomes were found in univariate analyses. When adjusting for a range of plausible confounders, including measures of renal function and serum mineral levels, PTH remained significantly associated with all-cause mortality (4% increased risk per 10 units; P = 0.004), and with graft loss (6% increased risk per 10 units; P < 0.001), but not with major cardiovascular events. Parathyroid hormone above the upper limit of normal (65 pg/mL) indicated a 46% (P = 0.006) higher risk of death and an 85% higher risk of graft loss (P < 0.001) compared with low/normal values. Conclusions. Hyperparathyroidismis an independent, potentially remediable, risk factor for renal graft loss and all-cause mortality in RTR.
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| 8. |
- Pihlstrom, Hege, et al.
(author)
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Neopterin is associated with cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality in renal transplant patients
- 2014
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In: Clinical Transplantation. - : Wiley. - 0902-0063 .- 1399-0012. ; 28:1, s. 111-119
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BackgroundInflammatory markers show significant associations with cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality after kidney transplantation. Neopterin, reflecting interferon--release, may better reflect the proinflammatory state of recipients than less specific markers. MethodsKidney transplant recipients in the Assessment of LEscol in Renal Transplant (ALERT) trial were examined and investigated for an association between serum neopterin and subsequent clinical events: graft loss, major cardiovascular events (MACE) and all-cause mortality. ResultsAfter adjustment for established and emerging risk factors neopterin expressed as neopterin-to-creatinine ratio was significantly associated with MACE (p=0.009) and all-cause mortality (p=0.002). Endpoints were more frequent with increasing quartiles of neopterin-to-creatinine ratio. The incidence rates of MACE and all-cause mortality were significantly increased in the upper quartiles compared with the first. ConclusionsThis long-term prospective analysis in stable kidney allograft recipients suggests that neopterin is associated with long-term risk of cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality, but not renal outcomes.
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| 9. |
- Pihlstrom, Hege, et al.
(author)
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Symmetric Dimethylarginine as Predictor of Graft loss and All-Cause Mortality in Renal Transplant Recipients
- 2014
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In: Transplantation. - 0041-1337 .- 1534-6080. ; 98:11, s. 1219-1225
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Elevated symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA) has been shown to predict cardiovascular events and all cause mortality in diverse populations. The potential role of SDMA as a risk marker in renal transplant recipients (RTR) has not been investigated. METHODS: We analyzed SDMA in the placebo arm of the Assessment of Lescol in Renal Transplantation study, a randomized controlled trial of fluvastatin in RTR. Mean follow-up was 5.1 years. Patients were grouped into quartiles based on SDMA levels at study inclusion. Relationships between SDMA and traditional risk factors for graft function and all-cause mortality were analyzed in 925 RTR using univariate and multivariate survival analyses. RESULTS: In univariate analysis, SDMA was significantly associated with renal graft loss, all-cause death, and major cardiovascular events. After adjustment for established risk factors including estimated glomerular filtration rate, an elevated SDMA-level (4th quartile, >1.38 mumol/L) was associated with renal graft loss; hazard ratio (HR), 5.51; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.95-15.57; P=0.001, compared to the 1st quartile. Similarly, SDMA in the 4th quartile was independently associated with all-cause mortality (HR, 4.56; 95% CI, 2.15-9.71; P<0.001), and there was a strong borderline significant trend for an association with cardiovascular mortality (HR, 2.86; 95% CI, 0.99-8.21; P=0.051). CONCLUSION: In stable RTR, an elevated SDMA level is independently associated with increased risk of all-cause mortality and renal graft loss.
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| 10. |
- Pilz, Patrick M., et al.
(author)
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Remote ischemic perconditioning attenuates adverse cardiac remodeling and preserves left ventricular function in a rat model of reperfused myocardial infarction
- 2019
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In: International Journal of Cardiology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0167-5273. ; 285, s. 72-79
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Aims: Remote ischemic conditioning (RIC) is considered a potential clinical approach to reduce myocardial infarct size and ameliorate adverse post-infarct left ventricular (LV) remodeling, however the mechanisms are unknown. The aim was to clarify the impact of RIC on Neuregulin-1 (NRG-1)/ErbBs expression, inflammation and LV hemodynamic function. Methods and results: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to 30 min occlusion of the left coronary artery (LCA) followed by 2 weeks of reperfusion and separated into three groups: (1) sham operated (without LCA occlusion); (2) Myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (MIR) and (3) remote ischemic perconditioning group (MIR + RIPerc). Cardiac structural and functional changes were evaluated by echocardiography and on the isolated working heart system. The level of H3K4me3 at the NRG-1 promoter, and both plasma and LV tissue levels of NRG-1 were assessed. The expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, ECM components and ErbB receptors were assessed by RT-qPCR. MIR resulted in a significant decrease in LV function and enlargement of LV chamber. This was accompanied with a decrease in the level of H3K4me3 at the NRG-1 promoter. Consequently NRG-1 protein levels were reduced in the infarcted myocardium. Subsequently, an upregulated influx of CD68+ macrophages, high expression of MMP-2 and -9 as well as an increase of IL-1β TLR-4, TNF-α TNC expression were observed. In contrast, RIPerc significantly decreased inflammation and improved LV function in association with the enhancement of NRG-1 levels and ErbB3 expression. Conclusions: These findings may reveal a novel anti-remodeling and anti-inflammatory effect of RIPerc, involving activation of NRG-1/ErbB3 signaling.
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| 11. |
- Robinson-Cohen, Cassianne, et al.
(author)
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Genetic Variants Associated with Circulating Parathyroid Hormone.
- 2017
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In: Journal of the American Society of Nephrology : JASN. - 1533-3450. ; 28:5, s. 1553-1565
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Parathyroid hormone (PTH) is a primary calcium regulatory hormone. Elevated serum PTH concentrations in primary and secondary hyperparathyroidism have been associated with bone disease, hypertension, and in some studies, cardiovascular mortality. Genetic causes of variation in circulating PTH concentrations are incompletely understood. We performed a genome-wide association study of serum PTH concentrations among 29,155 participants of European ancestry from 13 cohort studies (n=22,653 and n=6502 in discovery and replication analyses, respectively). We evaluated the association of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with natural log-transformed PTH concentration adjusted for age, sex, season, study site, and principal components of ancestry. We discovered associations of SNPs from five independent regions with serum PTH concentration, including the strongest association with rs6127099 upstream of CYP24A1 (P=4.2 × 10(-53)), a gene that encodes the primary catabolic enzyme for 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D and 25-dihydroxyvitamin D. Each additional copy of the minor allele at this SNP associated with 7% higher serum PTH concentration. The other SNPs associated with serum PTH concentration included rs4074995 within RGS14 (P=6.6 × 10(-17)), rs219779 adjacent to CLDN14 (P=3.5 × 10(-16)), rs4443100 near RTDR1 (P=8.7 × 10(-9)), and rs73186030 near CASR (P=4.8 × 10(-8)). Of these five SNPs, rs6127099, rs4074995, and rs219779 replicated. Thus, common genetic variants located near genes involved in vitamin D metabolism and calcium and renal phosphate transport associated with differences in circulating PTH concentrations. Future studies could identify the causal variants at these loci, and the clinical and functional relevance of these variants should be pursued.
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| 12. |
- Vimaleswaran, Karani S, et al.
(author)
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Association of vitamin D status with arterial blood pressure and hypertension risk: a mendelian randomisation study.
- 2014
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In: The lancet. Diabetes & endocrinology. - 2213-8595 .- 2213-8587. ; 2:9, s. 719-29
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background Low plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) concentration is associated with high arterial blood pressure and hypertension risk, but whether this association is causal is unknown. We used a mendelian randomisation approach to test whether 25(OH)D concentration is causally associated with blood pressure and hypertension risk. Methods In this mendelian randomisation study, we generated an allele score (25[OH]D synthesis score) based on variants of genes that affect 25(OH)D synthesis or substrate availability (CYP2R1 and DHCR7), which we used as a proxy for 25(OH)D concentration. We meta-analysed data for up to 108173 individuals from 35 studies in the D-CarDia collaboration to investigate associations between the allele score and blood pressure measurements. We complemented these analyses with previously published summary statistics from the International Consortium on Blood Pressure (ICBP), the Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology (CHARGE) consortium, and the Global Blood Pressure Genetics (Global BPGen) consortium. Findings In phenotypic analyses (up to n=49363), increased 25(OH)D concentration was associated with decreased systolic blood pressure (β per 10% increase, −0·12 mm Hg, 95% CI −0·20 to −0·04; p=0·003) and reduced odds of hypertension (odds ratio [OR] 0·98, 95% CI 0·97–0·99; p=0·0003), but not with decreased diastolic blood pressure (β per 10% increase, −0·02 mm Hg, −0·08 to 0·03; p=0·37). In meta-analyses in which we combined data from D-CarDia and the ICBP (n=146581, after exclusion of overlapping studies), each 25(OH)D-increasing allele of the synthesis score was associated with a change of −0·10 mm Hg in systolic blood pressure (−0·21 to −0·0001; p=0·0498) and a change of −0·08 mm Hg in diastolic blood pressure (−0·15 to −0·02; p=0·01). When D-CarDia and consortia data for hypertension were meta-analysed together (n=142255), the synthesis score was associated with a reduced odds of hypertension (OR per allele, 0·98, 0·96–0·99; p=0·001). In instrumental variable analysis, each 10% increase in genetically instrumented 25(OH)D concentration was associated with a change of −0·29 mm Hg in diastolic blood pressure (−0·52 to −0·07; p=0·01), a change of −0·37 mm Hg in systolic blood pressure (−0·73 to 0·003; p=0·052), and an 8·1% decreased odds of hypertension (OR 0·92, 0·87–0·97; p=0·002). Interpretation Increased plasma concentrations of 25(OH)D might reduce the risk of hypertension. This finding warrants further investigation in an independent, similarly powered study.
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| 13. |
- Wang, Lu, et al.
(author)
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Circulating 25-hydroxy-vitamin d and risk of cardiovascular disease : a meta-analysis of prospective studies
- 2012
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In: Circulation. Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes. - 1941-7713 .- 1941-7705. ; 5:6, s. 819-829
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BackgroundVitamin D status has been linked to the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, the optimal 25-hydroxy-vitamin D (25[OH]-vitamin D) levels for potential cardiovascular health benefits remain unclear.Methods and ResultsWe searched MEDLINE and EMBASE from 1966 through February 2012 for prospective studies that assessed the association of 25(OH)-vitamin D concentrations with CVD risk. A total of 24 articles met our inclusion criteria, from which 19 independent studies with 6123 CVD cases in 65 994 participants were included for a meta-analysis. In a comparison of the lowest with the highest 25(OH)-vitamin D categories, the pooled relative risk was 1.52 (95% confidence interval, 1.30-1.77) for total CVD, 1.42 (95% confidence interval, 1.19-1.71) for CVD mortality, 1.38 (95% confidence interval, 1.21-1.57) for coronary heart disease, and 1.64 (95% confidence interval, 1.27-2.10) for stroke. These associations remained strong and significant when analyses were limited to studies that excluded participants with baseline CVD and were better controlled for season and confounding. We used a fractional polynomial spline regression analysis to assess the linearity of dose-response association between continuous 25(OH)-vitamin D and CVD risk. The CVD risk increased monotonically across decreasing 25(OH)-vitamin D below ≈60 nmol/L, with a relative risk of 1.03 (95% confidence interval, 1.00-1.06) per 25-nmol/L decrement in 25(OH)-vitamin D.ConclusionsThis meta-analysis demonstrated a generally linear, inverse association between circulating 25(OH)-vitamin D ranging from 20 to 60 nmol/L and risk of CVD. Further research is needed to clarify the association of 25(OH)-vitamin D higher than 60 nmol/L with CVD risk and assess causality of the observed associations.
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| 14. |
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