Diabetes Mellitus ; Practice Guideline ; Prevalence

Twenty-six years earlier in their famous chess rematch, an IBM Supercomputer called Deep Blue defeated then-world chess champion Garry Kasparov: it was the first-ever chess match won by a machine, a much celebrated milestone in the field of Artificial Intelligence. Just last year, the World Association of Medical Editors released the “WAME Recommendations on Chatbots and Generative Artificial Intelligence in Relation to Scholarly Publications,” a recognition of not just the expanding applications of AI in scholarly publishing but more so of the accompanying emergence of concerns on authenticity and accuracy. In recognition of this relevant topic, our Vice Editor in Chief, Dr. Cecile Jimeno, provided a well-attended and interesting talk during the last ASEAN Federation of Endocrine Society Convention in Thailand on the “Emerging Issues on the Use of Artificial Intelligence for Scientific Publications.”
Artificial Intelligence

Objective. Previous studies have demonstrated the role of genetic susceptibility in the pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy. The study aimed to determine the frequencies of angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) gene insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism in a pilot population of Filipino type 2 diabetic patients and normal controls. Methods. An analysis of the ACE gene polymorphism was performed in 42 diabetic patients with and without nephropathy, and 24 normal controls. The analysis was done using polymerase chain reaction, restriction enzyme digestion, and gel electrophoresis techniques to determine the polymorphism (II, DD or ID). Independent T-tests and chi-square tests were used to compare clinical characteristics, and logistic regression analysis was done to determine odds ratio for development of nephropathy. Results. The ID polymorphism of the ACE gene was more frequent (52.4%) in patients with diabetic nephropathy (n=21). In those without nephropathy (n=21), II was more common (61.9%). ID was the more frequent genotype in the normal controls (n=24) (58.3%). The odds of developing diabetic nephropathy were increased by 4.8 times in those with ID polymorphism, and 2.9 times in those with DD. Conclusion. The D allele was more common in patients with diabetic nephropathy, similar to the observation in South Indian patients. Since the study involved only a small pilot group, studies on a larger population is needed to establish the hypothesized role of the D allele in susceptibility to diabetic nephropathy in Filipinos.

Human ; Alleles ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; Diabetic Nephropathies ; Electrophoresis ; Genetic Predisposition To Disease ; Genotype ; Indel Mutation ; Mutagenesis, Insertional ; Peptidyl-dipeptidase A ; ; Mesh Browser: Polymerase Chain Reaction Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Mesh Browser: Polymorphism, Genetic Polymorphism, Genetic

OBJECTIVE: To establish a normal range of values for thyroid volume among adult Filipinos and to correlate thyroid dimensions with age, sex, weight, height, and urinary iodine.
METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study conducted at the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital. Out of 212 health personnel screened, 169 were included based on the following exclusion criteria: goiter stage Ib to III as defined by WHO, hyperthyroid or hypothyroid, hospitalization within the past month, chronic renal disease, chronic alcohol intake, more than 4 pack years of smoking, and abnormal laboratory profile. Laboratory parameters included FT3, FT4, TSH, creatinine, anti-thyroglobulin, anti-thyroid peroxidase, 24-hr urinary iodine , and thyroid ultrasonography. There were 55 males and 114 females with a mean age of 38.98 +/- 11.21 years old, mean weight of 59.84 +/- 11.91 kg.
RESULTS: The size of the right lobe ranged from 3.58-5.09 x 1.15-1.89 x 1.01-1.90 cm (LxWxD) while the left lobe ranged from 3.62-5.01 x 1.15-1.93 x 1.03-1.84, comparable with established values in literature. Using Hotelling's T-squared, male sex was associated with a larger thyroid dimension, (p-value <0.01) There was no statistically significant relationship between thyroid dimension and urinary iodide level. (Pillai's Trace p=0.88, Wilk's Lambda p=0.88, Hotteling's Trace p=0.88, Roy's Largest Root p=0.57). In general, thyroid dimensions were significantly correlated with the demographic variables using canonical correlation (0.5431, p=0.0232).
CONCLUSIONS: The normative thyroid dimensions established among Filipino adults were comparable with the accepted reference values. Thyroid dimensions were significantly correlated with weight, height, and sex but not with urinary iodide levels.

Thyroid Gland ; Body Weight ; Body Height ; Gender Identity ; Reference Values ; Cross-sectional Studies ; Iodine ; Urine ; Creatinine ; Ultrasonography

OBJECTIVES:(1) To determine the prevalence of autoimmune thyroid disease among patients with autoimmune rheumatic disorders seen at the Philippine General Hospital. (2) To determine clinical features that are associated with the occurrence of autoimmune thyroid disease in these patient.
METHODOLOGY:This is a cross sectional analytical study that included 155 adult Filipinos diagnosed with an autoimmune rheumatic disorder. Clinical characteristics were recorded. Serum thyrotropin, thyroxine, triiodothyronine, anti-thyroid peroxidase antibody, anti-thyroglobulin antibody and urinary iodide excretion were determined. The prevalence of autoimmune thyroid disease was computed. Associations between clinical factors and autoimmune thyroid disease were determined.
RESULTS:Overall 21.94% of the population had autoimmune thyroid disease. There was significant association between duration of the autoimmune rheumatic disorder and autoimmune thyroid disease (p-= 0.018). No significant association was noted with the other clinical factors although there was an almost significant association observed for the presence of goiter (p=0.054).
CONCLUSION:Autoimmune thyroid disease commonly occurs in patients with autoimmune rheumatic disorders. As such, it is important to consider screening these patients for the coexistence of thyroid disease to help prevent the complications associated with thyroid dysfunction and avoid adding up to the morbidity of the existing autoimmune rheumatic disorder.

Human ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Adult ; Autoantibodies ; Autoimmune Diseases ; Goiter ; Hospitals, General ; Iodide Peroxidase ; Iodides ; Philippines ; Prevalence ; Thyroid Diseases ; Thyrotropin ; Thyroxine ; Triiodothyronine ; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic

The global burden of diabetes and its accompanying risk factors is upon us. Asia is the focus of this burden, owing to huge population numbers and increasing prevalence rates. The Philippines National Health and Nutrition Survey (NNHeS) of 2013, has provided the latest health and disease score with prevalence rates of the major risk factors among adults >20 years of age: diabetes (5.4%), hypertension (22.3%), dyslipidemia, low HDL (71.3%), obesity, BMI >25 kg/m2 (31.1%), and smoking (25.4%). Metabolic syndrome as of the 2008 survey reports a 27% prevalence rate (unpublished data). Efforts have to be directed to achieve improvement in prevention, survival, and quality of life for all diabetics. The health infrastructure under the leadership of the Department of Health, in partnership with governmental and non-governmental organizations has to provide a cohesive plan engaging all partners in various aspects of care. Strategies to enhance outcomes include: 1) a national screening program, 2) implementation of practice guidelines that will elevate the quality of care for all, 3) access to healthcare, medications, 4) development of an environment for research in institutions to allow a better understanding of these conditions among Filipino patients and 5) enhancement of training, education and service to benefit the Filipino diabetic. Indeed, the challenge is upon all of us as a nation, and we need to stand up and move forward with an organized and accessible system of care, as we aim to combat the epidemic of diabetes and its complications.

After six years of continuous, regular and timely publication of high quality endocrinology articles from the Southeast Asian region, we are pleased to announce that JAFES is now indexed in Scopus, one of the largest abstract and citation databases of peer-reviewed literature. Along with our efforts of adopting international standards, shifting to 100% open access, and using technologies such as our Open Journal Systems-based website, CrossRef digital object identifiers for all published articles, and Similarity Check for plagiarism detection, our being indexed is aligned with the goal to make scientific output from the region global.

Policy ; Ethics

BACKGROUND: Philippine studies on primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) and preoperative localization are scarce, making improvements on detection and recognition particularly difficult.OBJECTIVE: Describe the clinical profile of post-parathyroidectomy PHPT patients at The Medical City (TMC) and  assess localization rates and concordance of neck ultrasound (UTZ) and 99mTc-sestamibi scan (MIBI) with surgical histopathologic findings.METHODOLOGY: Retrospective chart review of PHPT Filipino patients who underwent parathyroidectomy at The Medical City from January 2004 to August 2018. Clinical profile and presentations were described and compared with international data. Imaging results were compared with surgical histopathology findings and the level of agreement was determined.RESULTS: Thirty-five patients were analyzed with female predominance (63%) and an average age of 53 years. Our population had more overt manifestations including skeletal abnormalities (51%), renal calculi (49%) and musculoskeletal symptoms (43%) prior to surgery compared to western countries, where symptoms were noted in less than 20%. MIBI had higher rates of detection than UTZ (80% versus 58%) but had similar localization rates (96.4% versus94%). Whe n performed together, given a positive result from either test, a much higher yield (93.8%) was observed. The level of agreement between MIBI and surgery was 72.5% (?=0.54) while UTZ and surgery was 54.1% (?=0.38).CONCLUSION: Our Filipino subjects had predominantly overt symptomatic hyperparathyroidism upon diagnosis prior to surgery as opposed to more asymptomatic surgical patients in western countries. Combining UTZ and MIBI is a more successful preoperative localization approach in our setting than performing either imaging alone, especially in patients with nodular goiter.
Human ; Parathyroidectomy ; Hyperparathyroidism, Primary

After six years of continuous, regular and timely publication of high quality endocrinology articles from the Southeast Asian region, we are pleased to announce that JAFES is now indexed in Scopus, one of the largest abstract and citation databases of peer-reviewed literature. Along with our efforts of adopting international standards, shifting to 100% open access, and using technologies such as our Open Journal Systems-based website, CrossRef digital object identifiers for all published articles, and Similarity Check for plagiarism detection, our being indexed is aligned with the goal to make scientific output from the region global.

INTRODUCTION: While waist circumference (WC) is widely used as an index for visceral fat accumulation and purportedly the primary pathology responsible for the metabolic syndrome (MS), its proposed cut-off value varies depending on the disparate diagnostic criteria used as well as on the gender, race and ethnic group being evaluated. Due to the strong association between MS and central obesity, waist circumference should be incorporated into the routine physical exam when assessing cardiovascular disease and diabetes risk. Currently however, there is no standard location for the measurement of WC. On literature review, we found no scientific rationale for preferring any one WC site to the others hence, this study.
OBJECTIVE: This study aims to (1) determine waist circumference measurement var iat ions among MS patients, (2005 NCEP-ATP III/AHA/NHLB criteria), at three levels: (A) umbilical level, (B) midline level (between the inferior margin of the ribs and the superior border of the iliac crest) and (C) level of the superior border of the iliac crest.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Across - sectional analytical study among adult patients, aged 40 to 69 years, diagnosed with MS using 2005 NCEP-ATP III/AHA/ NHLB criteria seen at the Philippine General Hospital, as part of the Asia-Oceania Survey on Metabolic Syndrome and Diabetes initiated by the Japan Diabetes Society.
RESULTS: A total of 187 MS individuals were included in the study (56% females). Both males and females were obese stage 1 (25.5 kg/m2 and 26.7 kg/m2 respectively). The mean WC measurements at level A in men was 92.9 cm (81.36 - 104.44 cm) and 93.83 cm (83.4 - 104.26 cm) in women; at level B, the mean WC in men was 90.73 cm (75.49 - 105.97 cm) and 91.51 cm (80.62 - 102.4 cm) in women; and at level C, the mean WC in men was 93.5 cm (81.97 - 105.03 cm) and 95.12 cm (85.11 - 105.13 cm) in women. Results showed that WC measurements at three levels did not significantly differ among MS patients when stratified to age and sex. However, when waist circumference was measured at three levels among all patients with MS, there was significant difference in WC taken at level B and level C (Sig = 0.009). Waist circumference at level A was similar and less variable to WC level B than WC at levelC.
CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with MS as defined by NCEPATP III/AHA/NHLB criteria, waist circumference at level B (midpoint level between the lower ribs and superior border of the iliac crest) was smaller than waist circumference at level A (umbilical level) and smaller than level C (superior border of the iliac crest) (WCB < WCA < WCC). There was greater variability in mean WC measurements at level B and level C. Mean WC measurements at level A (umbilical level) and level B (midpoint level) were similar and less variable and may be a better waist circumference measurements to level C (superior border of the iliac crest).

Human ; Male ; Female ; Aged ; Middle Aged ; Adult ; Adenosine Triphosphate ; Asia ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Ethnic Groups ; Hospitals, General ; Intra-abdominal Fat ; Japan ; Metabolic Syndrome X ; Obesity ; Obesity, Abdominal ; Philippines ; Umbilicus ; Waist Circumference ;