The Roles of Genetic and Early-Life Environmental Factors in the Association Between Overweight or Obesity and Hypertension: A Population-Based Twin Study

Aims/HypothesisWe aimed to explore whether and to what extent overweight or obesity could increase the risk of hypertension, and further to estimate the roles of genetic and early-life familial environmental factors in their association.MethodsThis prospective twin study was based on the Chinese National Twin Registry (CNTR), which collected information from self-report questionnaires. We conducted unmatched case-control analysis to examine the association between overweight or obesity and hypertension. And further to explore whether genetics and familiar environments shared within a twin pair, accounted for their association via co-twin matched case-control design. Generalized estimating equation (GEE) models and conditional logistic regressions were used in the unmatched and matched analyses, respectively. Then, we used logistic regressions to test the difference in odds ratios (ORs) between the unmatched and matched analyses. Finally, through bivariate twin model, the roles of genetic and environmental factors in the body mass index (BMI)- hypertension association were estimated.ResultsOverall, we included a total of 30,617 twin individuals, of which 7533 (24.6%) twin participants were overweight or obesity and 757 (2.5%) developed hypertension during a median follow-up time of 4.4 years. In the GEE model, overweight or obesity was associated with a 94% increased risk of hypertension (OR=1.94, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.64~2.30). In the conditional logistic regression, the multi-adjusted OR was 1.80 (95% CI: 1.18~2.74). The difference in OR between unmatched and matched analyses was significant (P=0.016). Specifically, overweight or obesity was not associated with hypertension risk in the co-twin design when we full controlled genetic and familiar environmental factors (OR=0.89, 95 CI: 0.46~1.72). After controlling for age and sex, we found the positive BMI-hypertension association was mainly explained by a genetic correlation between them (rA= 0.59, 95% CI: 0.44~1.00).Conclusions/InterpretationGenetics and early-life environments shared by participants within a twin pair appear to account for the association between overweight or obesity and hypertension risk.

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P524Serratus anterior plane block in subcutaneous implantable cardioverter defibrillator implantation: a case-control analysis

EP Europace ◽

10.1093/europace/euaa162.142 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 22 (Supplement_1) ◽

Author(s):

M Ziacchi ◽

G Bisignani ◽

P Palmisano ◽

A Scalone ◽

C Martignani ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Pain Intensity ◽

Case Control ◽

Control Group ◽

Control Analysis ◽

Serratus Anterior ◽

Local Approach ◽

Icd Implantation ◽

The Difference ◽

Case Control Analysis ◽

Anterior Plane

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements No Funding OnBehalf RHYTHM DETECT study group Background A two-incision technique, in association with inter-muscular positioning of the subcutaneous defibrillator (S-ICD), is now the most frequently adopted implantation approach in Europe. Ultrasound-guided serratus anterior plane block (SAPB) has been proposed in order to provide anesthesia/analgesia during S-ICD implantation. Objective We performed a case-control analysis in which a standardized SAPB approach was compared with the typical local anesthesia and sedation approach. Methods 91 consecutive patients underwent implantation of an S-ICD with the SAPB approach for anesthesia/analgesia at 10 centers. The control group consisted of 55 consecutive patients who underwent S-ICD implantation with standard local approach. Results The mean procedure duration was 59 ± 15min in the SAPB group and 76 ± 23min in the control group (p < 0.001). No operative complications were reported in either group. During the procedure, 79 (87%) patients in the SAPB group and 25 (46%) patients in the control group (p < 0.001) remained awake. Lower values of pain intensity at the device pocket (p = 0.005) and the lateral tunneling site (p = 0.046) were reported in the SAPB group. The difference in static (p = 0.002) and dynamic (p = 0.007) pain intensity between the groups persisted at 1 hour, while no differences were observed 6 hours after the end of the procedure. Conclusions SAPB is feasible and effective in providing anesthesia/analgesia during S-ICD implantation. The procedures were successfully accomplished and no complications occurred in either group. However, SAPB was associated with lower pain levels, enabling the need for sedation to be reduced and more patients to remain awake. Moreover, it resulted in shorter procedure durations.

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Accounting for the association between childhood maltreatment and alcohol-use disorders in males: a twin study

Psychological Medicine ◽

10.1017/s0033291710000425 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 41 (1) ◽

pp. 59-70 ◽

Cited By ~ 36

Author(s):

K. C. Young-Wolff ◽

K. S. Kendler ◽

M. L. Ericson ◽

C. A. Prescott

Keyword(s):

Environmental Factors ◽

Childhood Maltreatment ◽

Twin Study ◽

Alternative Explanation ◽

Control Analysis ◽

Clinical Interviews ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Family Level ◽

Matched Case ◽

Case Control Analysis

BackgroundAn association between childhood maltreatment and subsequent alcohol abuse and/or dependence (AAD) has been found in multiple studies of females. Less is known about the association between childhood maltreatment and AAD among males, and the mechanisms that underlie this association in either gender. One explanation is that childhood maltreatment increases risk for AAD. An alternative explanation is that the same genetic or environmental factors that increase a child's risk for being maltreated also contribute to risk for AAD in adulthood.MethodLifetime diagnosis of AAD was assessed using structured clinical interviews in a sample of 3527 male participants aged 19–56 years from the Virginia Adult Twin Study of Psychiatric and Substance Use Disorders. The sources of childhood maltreatment–AAD association were estimated using both a matched case–control analysis of twin pairs discordant for childhood maltreatment and bivariate twin modeling.ResultsApproximately 9% of participants reported childhood maltreatment, defined as serious neglect, molestation, or physical abuse occurring before the age of 15 years. Those who experienced childhood maltreatment were 1.74 times as likely to meet AAD criteria compared with males who did not experience childhood maltreatment. The childhood maltreatment–AAD association largely reflected environmental factors in common to members of twin pairs. Additional exploratory analyses provided evidence that AAD risk associated with childhood maltreatment was significantly attenuated after adjusting for measured family-level risk factors.ConclusionsMales who experienced childhood maltreatment had an increased risk for AAD. Our results suggest that the childhood maltreatment–AAD association is attributable to broader environmental adversity shared between twins.

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Faculty Opinions recommendation of Variations in bone mineral density of proximal femora of elderly people with hip fractures: a case-control analysis.

Faculty Opinions – Post-Publication Peer Review of the Biomedical Literature ◽

10.3410/f.718412091.793495565 ◽

2014 ◽

Author(s):

Anwar Marthya

Keyword(s):

Bone Mineral Density ◽

Elderly People ◽

Bone Mineral ◽

Hip Fractures ◽

Case Control ◽

Control Analysis ◽

Mineral Density ◽

Case Control Analysis

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Faculty Opinions recommendation of Association between circulating levels of sex steroid hormones and Barrett's esophagus in men: a case-control analysis.

Faculty Opinions – Post-Publication Peer Review of the Biomedical Literature ◽

10.3410/f.718546480.793507896 ◽

2015 ◽

Author(s):

Milli Gupta

Keyword(s):

Steroid Hormones ◽

Barrett’S Esophagus ◽

Barrett's Esophagus ◽

Case Control ◽

Sex Steroid Hormones ◽

Sex Steroid ◽

Control Analysis ◽

Case Control Analysis ◽

Circulating Levels

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Association of socioeconomic status with medical assistance in dying: a case–control analysis

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2020-043547 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (5) ◽

pp. e043547

Author(s):

Donald A Redelmeier ◽

Kelvin Ng ◽

Deva Thiruchelvam ◽

Eldar Shafir

Keyword(s):

Socioeconomic Status ◽

Palliative Care ◽

Low Socioeconomic Status ◽

Case Control ◽

Control Analysis ◽

Medical Assistance ◽

Low Socioeconomic ◽

Medical Assistance In Dying ◽

Income Status ◽

Economic Constraints

ObjectivesEconomic constraints are a common explanation of why patients with low socioeconomic status tend to experience less access to medical care. We tested whether the decreased care extends to medical assistance in dying in a healthcare system with no direct economic constraints.DesignPopulation-based case–control study of adults who died.SettingOntario, Canada, between 1 June 2016 and 1 June 2019.PatientsPatients receiving palliative care under universal insurance with no user fees.ExposurePatient’s socioeconomic status identified using standardised quintiles.Main outcome measureWhether the patient received medical assistance in dying.ResultsA total of 50 096 palliative care patients died, of whom 920 received medical assistance in dying (cases) and 49 176 did not receive medical assistance in dying (controls). Medical assistance in dying was less frequent for patients with low socioeconomic status (166 of 11 008=1.5%) than for patients with high socioeconomic status (227 of 9277=2.4%). This equalled a 39% decreased odds of receiving medical assistance in dying associated with low socioeconomic status (OR=0.61, 95% CI 0.50 to 0.75, p<0.001). The relative decrease was evident across diverse patient groups and after adjusting for age, sex, home location, malignancy diagnosis, healthcare utilisation and overall frailty. The findings also replicated in a subgroup analysis that matched patients on responsible physician, a sensitivity analysis based on a different socioeconomic measure of low-income status and a confirmation study using a randomised survey design.ConclusionsPatients with low socioeconomic status are less likely to receive medical assistance in dying under universal health insurance. An awareness of this imbalance may help in understanding patient decisions in less extreme clinical settings.

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Serum otolin-1 as a biomarker for benign paroxysmal positional vertigo: a case-control study

The Journal of Laryngology & Otology ◽

10.1017/s0022215121001274 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-4

Author(s):

D V K Irugu ◽

A Singh ◽

H Yadav ◽

H Verma ◽

R Kumar ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Serum Level ◽

Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo ◽

Case Control Study ◽

Serum Levels ◽

Case Control ◽

Control Group ◽

Positional Vertigo ◽

The Difference ◽

Control Study ◽

Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo

Abstract Objectives This study aimed to evaluate serum otolin-1 levels in patients with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo and to compare these levels with healthy individuals. Method This was a case-control study. After obtaining institutional ethical committee clearance, the serum level of otolin-1 was calculated in adult individuals (18–75 years old) who were divided into group 1 (patients presenting with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo) and group 2 (healthy patients without benign paroxysmal positional vertigo as the control group). Data analysis was carried out to compare the serum levels in the cases and controls. A p-value less than 0.05 was considered significant. Results A total of 70 age-matched individuals (cases, n = 40; controls, n = 30) were included in the study. The mean serum level of otolin-1 was 636.8 pg/ml (range, 259–981 pg/ml) in the group of patients with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo and 236.2 pg/ml (range, 189–370 pg/ml) in the control group. The difference was statistically significant (p = 0.0000). Conclusion The serum levels of otolin-1 in patients with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo are significantly higher compared with individuals without benign paroxysmal positional vertigo.

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Premedication Does Not Influence the Incidence of Infliximab Infusion Reactions in Pediatric Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease—A Single Center Case–Control Study

Journal of Clinical Medicine ◽

10.3390/jcm10143177 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (14) ◽

pp. 3177

Author(s):

Edyta Szymanska ◽

Maciej Dadalski ◽

Joanna Sieczkowska-Golub ◽

Dorota Jarzebicka ◽

Monika Meglicka ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Inflammatory Bowel Disease ◽

Bowel Disease ◽

Pediatric Patients ◽

Case Control Study ◽

Case Control ◽

Chi Square ◽

Infusion Reactions ◽

Inflammatory Bowel ◽

The Difference ◽

Control Study

Background: Infusion reactions (IRs) are the most common adverse events (AEs) of infliximab (IFX) treatment in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Prophylactic premedication (PM) with corticosteroids or antihistamines prior to IFX infusions has been used in clinical practice, but its efficacy is not known. The aim of this study was to assess the influence of steroid PM on IR incidence in pediatric patients with IBD receiving IFX. Methods: We performed a case–control study that included pediatric patients with IBD receiving IFX. Patients were divided into four subgroups according to the agent and PM they received: Remicade (original drug) + PM, and two biosimilars—Reshma +/− PM, and Flixabi—PM. At our site, until 2018, PM with steroids was used as a part of standard IFX infusion (PM+); however, since then, this method has no longer been administered (PM−). IRs were divided into mild/severe reactions. Differences between subgroups were assessed with the appropriate chi-square test. Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess associations between PM and IR incidence, correcting for co-medication usage. Results: There were 105 children (55 PM+, 44 male, mean age 15 years) included in the study who received 1276 infusions. There was no difference between the PM+ and PM− subgroups, either in incidence of IR (18.2% vs. 16.0% of patients, p > 0.05) or in percentage of infusions followed by IR (2.02% vs. 1.02% of infusions, p > 0.5). The OR of developing IR when using PM was 0.34, and the difference in IRs ratio in PM+ and PM− patients was not statistically significant (95% CI, 0.034–1.9). There were 11/18 (61.1%) severe IRs (anaphylactic shock) reported in all patients (both PM+ and PM−). Conclusion: At our site, the incidence of IR was low, and PM did not decrease the incidence of IR in pediatric patients with IBD receiving IFX. These results indicate that PM with steroids should not be a standard part of IFX infusion to prevent IR.

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The Association Between Chronic Disease and Psychological Distress: An Australian Twin Study

Twin Research and Human Genetics ◽

10.1017/thg.2020.86 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 23 (6) ◽

pp. 322-329

Author(s):

Jessica Tyler ◽

Janine Lam ◽

Katrina Scurrah ◽

Gillian Dite

Keyword(s):

Psychological Distress ◽

Chronic Disease ◽

Environmental Factors ◽

Twin Study ◽

Disease Status ◽

Adult Health ◽

Linear Regression Models ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Genetic And Environmental Factors ◽

Distress Scale

AbstractThere is a commonly observed association between chronic disease and psychological distress, but many potential factors could confound this association. This study investigated the association using a powerful twin study design that can control for unmeasured confounders that are shared between twins, including genetic and environmental factors. We used twin-paired cross-sectional data from the Adult Health and Lifestyle Questionnaire collected by Twins Research Australia from 2014 to 2017. Linear regression models fitted using maximum likelihood estimations (MLE) were used to test the association between self-reported chronic disease status and psychological distress, measured by the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6). When comparing between twin pairs, having any chronic disease was associated with a 1.29 increase in K6 (95% CI: 0.91, 1.66; p < .001). When comparing twins within a pair, having any chronic disease was associated with a 0.36 increase in K6 (95% CI: 0.002, 0.71; p = .049). This within-pair estimate is of most interest as comparing twins within a pair naturally controls for shared factors such as genes, age and shared lived experiences. Whereas the between-pair estimate does not. The weaker effect found within pairs tells us that genetic and environmental factors shared between twins confounds the relationship between chronic disease and psychological distress. This suggests that associations found in unrelated samples may show exaggerated estimates.

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A nonparametric test for association with multiple loci in the retrospective case-control study

Statistical Methods in Medical Research ◽

10.1177/0962280219842892 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 29 (2) ◽

pp. 589-602

Author(s):

Chan Wang ◽

Shufang Deng ◽

Leiming Sun ◽

Liming Li ◽

Yue-Qing Hu

Keyword(s):

Rare Variants ◽

Association Studies ◽

Nonparametric Test ◽

Case Control ◽

Genome Wide Association Studies ◽

Nucleotide Polymorphisms ◽

Retrospective Case ◽

Multiple Loci ◽

Common Diseases ◽

The Difference

The genome-wide association studies aim at identifying common or rare variants associated with common diseases and explaining more heritability. It is well known that common diseases are influenced by multiple single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that are usually correlated in location or function. In order to powerfully detect association signals, it is highly desirable to take account of correlations or linkage disequilibrium (LD) information among multiple SNPs in testing for association. In this article, we propose a test SLIDE that depicts the difference of the average multi-locus genotypes between cases and controls and derive its variance–covariance matrix in the retrospective design. This matrix is composed of the pairwise LD between SNPs. Thus SLIDE can borrow the strength from an external database in the population of interest with a few thousands to hundreds of thousands individuals to improve the power for detecting association. Extensive simulations show that SLIDE has apparent superiority over the existing methods, especially in the situation involving both common and rare variants, both protective and deleterious variants. Furthermore, the efficiency of the proposed method is demonstrated in the application to the data from the Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium.

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