Dietary Inflammatory Index and Risk of Asthenozoospermia: A Hospital-Based Case-Controlled Study in China

Background: Evidence of associations between a pro-inflammatory diet and asthenozoospermia risk is limited. We therefore performed a case-controlled study to investigate associations between pro-inflammatory diet using dietary inflammatory index (DII) scores and asthenozoospermia risk in China.Methods: Our hospital-based case-controlled study comprised 549 incident asthenozoospermia men and 581 healthy controls. All were interviewed at the infertility clinic in Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University from June 2020 to December 2020. DII scores were calculated based on dietary intake which were assessed using a validated food frequency questionnaire. Semen parameters were analyzed according to World Health Organization guidelines. An unconditional logistic regression model was used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for asthenozoospermia risk. The lowest tertile served as the reference category for regression analyses.Results: After adjustment for age in the primary multivariable model, we failed to determine a significant negative association between DII and asthenozoospermia risk (for the highest tertile of DII scores compared to the lowest tertile) (OR = 0.77, 95% CI: 0.57–1.03). Similarly, non-significant associations were also identified in the multivariable model after adjusting for more potential confounders (OR = 0.86; 95% CI: 0.58–1.27). Additionally, in subgroup analyses stratified by age, body mass index, and smoking status, non-significant results were consistent with the main findings.Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first study exploring this particular topic. Our research does not support an association between DII scores and asthenozoospermia risk. Further prospective studies with more DII relevant foods and nutrients are warranted to confirm our findings.

Association of polymorphisms in MALAT1 with the risk of endometriosis in Southern Chinese women

Endometriosis is a common estrogen-dependent inflammatory disease characterized by the presence of endometrial-like tissue outside the uterine cavity, which causes infertility and pelvic pain. Polymorphisms in MALAT1 have been demonstrated to play crucial roles in many diseases. However, the roles of MALAT1 polymorphisms in the etiology of endometriosis have not been well documented. We genotyped three MALAT1 polymorphisms in 555 endometriosis patients and 535 female control participants using quantitative polymerase chain reaction with TaqMan probes. To estimate the associations between MALAT1 polymorphisms and endometriosis risk, an unconditional logistic regression model was conducted to calculate an odds ratio (OR) and the 95% confidence interval (CI), adjusting for age, abortion history, number of deliveries, Body Mass Index (BMI), and The International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage. We found that the MALAT1 rs591291 C > T polymorphism significantly enhanced endometriosis risk (heterogeneous: adjusted OR = 1.36, 95% CI = 1.00–1.85, P = 0.050; homogenous: adjusted OR = 1.55, 95% CI = 1.03–2.33, P = 0.037; dominant: adjusted OR = 1.41, 95% CI = 1.05–1.88, P = 0.021). In stratification analyses, these associations were more predominant in the patients younger than 35 years old, with a relatively high number of deliveries and with a BMI between 25 and 29.9. Compared with wild-type CCG haplotype carriers, individuals with TCC haplotypes had a higher risk of developing endometriosis. The MALAT1 rs591291 C > T polymorphism was associated with a significant increase in endometriosis risk.

Interaction between visfatin and resistin and the risk of colorectal adenoma.

438 Background: Colorectal adenoma is a well-established precursor lesion of colorectal cancer, so the prevention of adenoma may also contribute to the prevention of cancer. Adipocyte secretes hormones, namely adipocytokines, some of which are likely to be associated with malignancies such as colorectal, breast, and prostate gland cancer. Among several adipocytokines, resistin and visfatin have been suggested to be associated with the progression of colon cancer, and they could therefore be good biomarkers for colorectal adenoma and cancer. Methods: Prior to any procedures, healthy volunteers provided their venous blood, from which we obtained the plasma to measure concentrations of adiponectin, visfatin, and resistin. We underwent total colonoscopy, and identified 776 adenoma cases (522 males, 254 females), 734 controls (478 males, 256 females) were selected from those without adenoma. An unconditional logistic regression model was used to estimate odds ratios for colorectal adenoma after adjustment for potential confounders, including body mass index (BMI). Results: We found no positive association between the presence of colorectal adenoma and the levels of either visfatin (P trend: male 0.24, female 0.87), or resistin (P trend: male 0.85, female 0.71). After adjusting for potential confounders, we still saw no association. On the other hand, adiponectin levels showed a correlation with both BMI (P: male <0.0001, female 0.0007) and the volume of fat. Furthermore, adiponectin levels indicated no positive correlation with visfatin (P: male 0.656, female 0.1445) or resistin (P: male 0.2116, female 0.1352). Conclusions: In this study, no association was observed between visfatin/resistin levels and colorectal adenoma, and they showed no positive correlation with BMI or the volume of intra-abdominal fat. However, other confounders may account for these results, so we plan to conduct further differential analyses.