BACKGROUND: Even though there is bidirectional association between hypertension and atherosclerosis, atherosclerosis itself is involved in the process of endothelial repair. To clarify the association of endothelial repair with hypertension, a cross-sectional study was conducted. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 562 elderly Japanese men aged 60-69. As gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (γ-GTP) could act as a marker of oxidative stress that injures endothelial cell and higher levels of CD34-positive cell indicate a higher activity of endothelial repair, we therefore performed a CD34-positive level specific analysis of γ-GTP on atherosclerosis and hypertension. RESULTS: In the present study population, hypertension was independently and positively associated with atherosclerosis (multivariable odds ratio (OR) = 2.09 (1.30, 3.35)). Among participants with high CD34-positive cells, γ-GTP showed significant and positive association with atherosclerosis (OR of the log-transformed value of γ-GTP (OR) = 2.26 (1.32, 3.86)) but not with hypertension (OR = 0.77 (0.51, 1.17)). Among participants with low CD34-positive cells, even γ-GTP showed no significant association with atherosclerosis (OR = 0.92 (0.51, 1.68)), but was significantly and positively associated with hypertension (OR = 1.99 (1.27, 3.12)). CONCLUSIONS γ-GTP revealed to have ambivalent association with hypertension and atherosclerosis. Active endothelial repair that is associated with atherosclerosis might have beneficial association with hypertension.

BACKGROUND: A positive association between handgrip strength and blood pressure has been reported. Since these factors are linked to the condition of the endothelium, the activity of endothelial repair might influence the association between handgrip strength and hypertension. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 257 Japanese men aged 60-69 years who underwent an annual health checkup. As individuals with high level of circulating CD34-positive cells might show active endothelial repair, which plays an important role in vascular homeostasis, participants were stratified by circulating CD34-positive cell levels, using the median value of this population (0.96 cells/μL) as the cutoff. RESULTS: Independent of known cardiovascular risk factors, for participants with a high CD34-positive cell, handgrip strength is significantly positively associated with hypertension (odds ratio and 95% confidence interval of hypertension for 1 standard deviation increment of handgrip strength were 1.85 (1.19, 2.88) but not for participants with a low CD34-positive cell (0.91 (0.61, 1.37)). CONCLUSION The positive association between handgrip strength and hypertension is limited to high CD34-positive cells. This result may help clarify the role of vascular homeostasis in maintaining muscle strength.

BACKGROUND: Aging is a process that increases oxidative stress. Increased oxidative stress leads to the development of atherosclerosis and mitochondrial dysfunction. Mitochondria contribute to energy production that might have a beneficial influence on maintaining muscle strength. Therefore, the height-related single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs17081935, which is also reported to be associated with mitochondrial metabolism, might be associated with reduced muscle strength and this association might be affected by atherosclerosis status. To clarify those associations, a cross-sectional study of 1374 elderly Japanese individuals aged 60-89 years was conducted. METHODS: Logistic regression was used to clarify the association between rs17081935 and reduced handgrip strength. Since atherosclerosis might affect handgrip strength, participants were stratified by atherosclerosis status. Reduced handgrip strength was defined as being in the lowest quintile of handgrip strength (< 25.6 kg for men and < 16.1 kg for women). RESULTS: No significant associations were found between a minor allele of rs17081935 and reduced handgrip strength among elderly participants without atherosclerosis. A significant inverse association was observed among elderly participants with atherosclerosis. After adjusting for known cardiovascular risk factors and height, the adjusted odd ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for reduced handgrip strength and a minor allele of rs17081935 were 1.13 (0.86, 1.43) for elderly participants without atherosclerosis and 0.55 (0.36, 0.86) for those with atherosclerosis, respectively. CONCLUSION A minor allele of the height-related SNP rs17081935 was significantly inversely associated with reduced handgrip strength among older individuals with atherosclerosis, but not among those without atherosclerosis.
Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Atherosclerosis/epidemiology* ; Body Height ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; Hand Strength ; Humans ; Japan/epidemiology* ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Prevalence

BACKGROUND: We investigated the association between psychological distress and oral health status/oral health-related quality of life (OHQoL) in Japanese community-dwelling people. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study using data from the Nagasaki Islands Study. A total of 1183 (455 men and 728 women) has been analyzed in this study. Psychological distress was measured using the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6). Oral health status was measured by dental examination. The OHQoL was measured using the General Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI). We defined the total score of ≥5 points on the K6 as high psychological distress (high-K6 group). RESULTS: The multiple linear regression analysis to identify the GOHAI showed that gender, K6, the total number of teeth, the number of dental caries, and visiting a dental clinic within the past 6 months significantly associated with the GOHAI. Among all of these variables, high-K6 (≥ 5) was a substantial contributing factor of the GOHAI (β = - 0.23, 95% Cl - 2.31 to -1.41, p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS It is likely that the individual with high psychological distress was strongly related to poor OHQoL even in the general population.
Aged ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Dental Caries/epidemiology* ; Female ; Humans ; Independent Living/statistics & numerical data* ; Japan/epidemiology* ; Linear Models ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Oral Health/statistics & numerical data* ; Quality of Life/psychology* ; Sex Factors ; Stress, Psychological/epidemiology*