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Introduction: Expressive writing is a promising tool to promote physical and emotional health. This meta-analysis took the initiative to examine the effects of expressive writing on quality of life relevant outcomes among Asian populations. Method: To determine the long-term effects, the literature search identified 11 experimental studies with randomized controlled trials and follow-up assessments. The final analysis included 38 reported effect sizes and a total of 1188 participants. Results: The results suggested that for the current sample, there were no significant group differences between expressive writing and control conditions at the first follow-up assessment, g = 0.05 (p = 0.53), nor at the second follow-up assessment, g = 0.04 (p = 0.73). Change score analyses showed non-significant changes from baseline to first follow-up, g = 0.01 (p = 0.78) and from baseline to second follow-up, g = 0.04 (p = 0.55). In addition, moderator analyses did not detect substantial moderators pertaining to participant characteristics (physical health, immigration status) or intervention features (topic focus, prompt structure, time lapse of events). Discussion: Taken together, these findings indicate that to optimize treatment outcomes for Asian populations, expressive writing interventions need to consider salient concerns in cultural communities and the sociocultural impact on individual tendencies towards emotional processing. Implications for the design of writing interventions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aim: Whether alcohol intake is associated with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) eradication failure remains controversial, and this meta-analysis was aimed at investigating the effect of alcohol on the risk of H. pylori eradication failure. Methods: Relevant studies were systematically screened for and retrieved from PubMed and Web of Science (updated to January 2022), and relevant references were manually reviewed. The odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. Subgroup, publication bias, and sensitivity analyses were also conducted. Results: A total of 40 studies were included in the meta-analysis. No significant association was found between alcohol consumption and the risk of H. pylori eradication failure (OR = 1.09, 95% CI, 0.94–1.26). However, in subgroup analyses stratified by region, a positive association was found in Asian patients (OR = 1.23, 95% CI, 1.03–1.47). In Asian patients, alcohol consumption was associated with the risk of H. pylori eradication failure when the duration of therapy was > 7 days (OR = 1.17, 95% CI, 1.10–1.25), when the treatment regimen included nitroimidazoles (OR = 1.16, 95% CI, 1.09–1.24), and when patients were treated with bismuth-containing quadruple therapy (OR = 1.17, 95% CI, 1.10–1.25). Alcohol intake > 40 g/day was associated with H. pylori eradication failure (OR = 3.17, 95% CI, 1.56–6.41). Moreover, in Asian patients who were administered a vonoprazan (VPZ)-based therapy regimen, alcohol consumption had no effect on H. pylori eradication rates (OR = 1.73, 95% CI, 0.98–3.05). Conclusion: Our meta-analysis clearly showed that a higher daily alcohol intake was associated with a higher risk of H. pylori eradication failure in Asian populations. Moreover, a VPZ-based treatment regimen can prevent this effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The population demographics of the eastern U.S has changed in recent years with an increase in immigrants, particularly of Asian and Hispanic origins. This trend motivated the identification of foods preferred by these ethnic communities in 16 states in the region and Washington, D.C., focusing on greens and herbs. Over 100 ethnic greens and herbs were identified as being preferred food choices, from which 40 were selected for further study, representing 10 crops important to four ethnicities: Asian Indian, Chinese, Mexican, and Puerto Rico. Bulletin board focus group and telephone survey participants responded to questions regarding their consumption in 2010. The relevant information was collected to assess retail sales for each crop for each of the four ethnic groups. Results demonstrated that the ethnic crop demand in the eastern U.S is significant, and the prospects for future growth are promising as the population of ethnic consumers in the region is projected to continue to grow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Germline mutations of the TP53 tumour suppressor gene are the only known cause of the hereditary autosomal disorder called Li‐Fraumeni syndrome (LFS). However, little information is available about TP53 pathogenic variants in Asian LFS patients, making it difficult to provide precise genetic counselling with regard to long‐term cancer risk. We conducted a systematic review to gather relevant case–control studies exploring the association between TP53 polymorphisms and the incidence of cancer belonging to the LFS spectrum in Asian populations. Method: Systematic review and meta‐analysis. The odds ratio was used as a summary effect measure to quantify the strength of the association between TP53 polymorphisms and cancer risk by means of random‐effects meta‐analysis. Results: In total, 16 studies were included in this systematic review, with 13 studies (involving 10,645 cases and 28,288 controls) that enabled meta‐analysis. The majority of the studies focused on a single‐nucleotide variation at codon 72 in exon 4 (c.215C>G, p.Arg72Pro, rs1042522). Therefore, we tested either dominant, co‐dominant, recessive, or heterozygous models and found that the p.Arg72Pro was not significantly associated with increased cancer risk in any of the models. Conclusion: We found the number of studies on cancers belonging to the LFS spectrum in Asia is very small. Thus, at the present time a meta‐analysis approach is somewhat useful to identify germline TP53 mutations as potential markers of hereditary cancer associated with LFS in Asian populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Background: Compared with western countries, Asian breast cancer patients have unique pathological and biological characteristics. Most of them are premenopausal women with HR positive. Tamoxifen as the first-line drug for premenopausal women with HR+ is involved in multiple enzymes and transporters during metabolizing and transporting process. Variants that cause decreased or inactive gene products leading to abnormal responses in tamoxifen therapy have well been studied in western countries, whereas such information is much less reported in Asian populations. Objective: In order to elucidate the relationship between genetic variants and tamoxifen-induced individual drug reactions in different Asian populations and further identify genotypes/phenotypes with potential therapeutic significance. Methods: We reviewed the frequencies of genetic variants in major enzymes and transporter genes involved in the metabolism and transport of tamoxifen across Asian populations as well as significant correlations between genotypes/metabolic phenotypes and metabolites concentrations or BC clinical outcomes. Results: Significant inter-ethnic differences in allele frequencies was found among Asian populations, such as CYP2D6*4, *10, *41, CYP2C9*2, ABCB1 C3435T and SLCO1B1*5, and CYP2D6*10/*10 is the most common genotype correlated with adverse clinical outcomes. Moreover, we summarized the barriers and controversies of implementing pharmacogenetics in tamoxifen therapy and concluded that more population-specific pharmacogenetic studies are needed in the future. Conclusion: This review revealed more systematic pharmacogenomics of genes involved in the metabolism and transport besides CYP2D6, are required to optimize the genotyping strategies and guide the personalized tamoxifen therapy in Asian populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To externally validate the clinical utility of Chinese Prostate Cancer Consortium Risk Calculator (CPCC-RC) and Asian adapted Rotterdam European Randomized Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer Risk Calculator 3 (A-ERSPC-RC3) for prediction prostate cancer (PCa) and high-grade prostate cancer (HGPCa, Gleason Score ≥ 3 + 4) in both Chinese and European populations. Materials and methods: The Chinese clinical cohort, the European population-based screening cohort, and the European clinical cohort included 2,508, 3,616 and 617 prostate biopsy-naive men, respectively. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), calibration plot and decision curve analyses were applied in the analysis. Results: The CPCC-RC's predictive ability for any PCa (AUC 0.77, 95% CI 0.75–0.79) was lower than the A-ERSPC-RC3 (AUC 0.79, 95% CI 0.77–0.81) in the European screening cohort (p < 0.001), but similar for HGPCa (p = 0.24). The CPCC-RC showed lower predictive accuracy for any PCa (AUC 0.65, 95% CI 0.61–0.70), but acceptable predictive accuracy for HGPCa (AUC 0.73, 95% CI 0.69–0.77) in the European clinical cohort. The A-ERSPC-RC3 showed an AUC of 0.74 (95% CI 0.72–0.76) in predicting any PCa, and a similar AUC of 0.74 (95% CI 0.72–0.76) in predicting HGPCa in Chinese cohort. In the Chinese population, decision curve analysis revealed a higher net benefit for CPCC-RC than A-ERSPC-RC3, while in the European screening and clinical cohorts, the net benefit was higher for A-ERSPC-RC3. Conclusions: The A-ERSPC-RC3 accurately predict the prostate biopsy in a contemporary Chinese multi-center clinical cohort. The CPCC-RC can predict accurately in a population-based screening cohort, but not in the European clinical cohort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Suicide was the ninth leading cause of death for Asian Americans in 2017. The growth of Asian American populations has led to more discussions about suicide prevention efforts. A 128-item needs assessment survey was administered at cultural events in 10 predominantly immigrant Asian communities. In five years, 1,840 respondents (61 percent response rate) filled out the survey anonymously to express their health and mental health concerns. This study aims to identify factors and help-seeking behaviors associated with having suicidal concerns among Asian Americans in various subgroups. Among the respondents, 1,314 rated the intensity of their concerns about suicide with an average of 0.74 (SD = 1.11) on a four-point rating scale in that 13.7 percent rated their concerns as severe. Taiwanese respondents expressed the highest intensity score (1.09) compared with other ethnic groups (from 0.29 to 1.04). A logistic regression analysis found that each unit of health concerns on a four-point rating scale significantly increases the likelihood of suicide concerns by 46 times among Asian Americans. Consistent with previous studies, immigrants were likely to share mental health problems with friends and physicians. Effective suicide prevention requires mental health awareness programming for the Asian American community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) by infants and young children are less explored in Asian populations. The Growing Up in Singapore Towards healthy Outcomes cohort study examined associations between SSB intake at 18 months and 5 years of age, with adiposity measures at 6 years of age. We studied Singaporean infants/children with SSB intake assessed by FFQ at 18 months of age (n 555) and 5 years of age (n 767). The median for SSB intakes is 28 (interquartile range 5·5–98) ml at 18 months of age and 111 (interquartile range 57–198) ml at 5 years of age. Association between SSB intake (100 ml/d increments and tertile categories) and adiposity measures (BMI standard deviation scores (sd units), sum of skinfolds (SSF)) and overweight/obesity status were examined using multivariable linear and Poisson regression models, respectively. After adjusting for confounders and additionally for energy intake, SSB intake at age 18 months were not significantly associated with later adiposity measures and overweight/obesity outcomes. In contrast, at age 5 years, SSB intake when modelled as 100 ml/d increments were associated with higher BMI by 0·09 (95 % CI 0·02, 0·16) sd units, higher SSF thickness by 0·68 (95 % CI 0·06, 1·44) mm and increased risk of overweight/obesity by 1·2 (95 % CI 1·07, 1·23) times at age 6 years. Trends were consistent with SSB intake modelled as categorical tertiles. In summary, SSB intake in young childhood is associated with higher risks of adiposity and overweight/obesity. Public health policies working to reduce SSB consumption need to focus on prevention programmes targeted at young children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence on long-term influences of maternal vitamin B12 deficiency or concentrations on infant cognition is limited. We examined associations between maternal plasma vitamin B12 and cognitive development in 24-month-old infants. Maternal plasma vitamin B12 concentrations were measured at 26–28 weeks' gestation; infant cognitive development was assessed with the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development-III at 24 months, for 443 mother–infant pairs from the Growing Up in Singapore Towards Healthy Outcomes cohort. Linear regressions adjusted for key confounders examined associations of maternal vitamin B12 with cognitive, receptive and expressive language, fine and gross motor subscales. Co-occurrence of maternal vitamin B12 with folate or vitamin B6 insufficiencies on child's cognition was explored. Average maternal plasma vitamin B12 concentrations was 220·5 ± 80·5 pmol/l; 15 % and 41 % of mothers were vitamin B12 deficient (<148 pmol/l) and insufficient (148–220·9 pmol/l), respectively. Infants of mothers with vitamin B12 deficiency had 0·42 (95 % CI −0·70, −0·14) sd lower cognitive scores, compared with infants of mothers with sufficient vitamin B12. Co-occurrence of maternal vitamins B12 and B6 insufficiencies was associated with 0·37 (95 % CI −0·69, −0·06) sd lower cognitive scores in infants compared with infants of mothers sufficient in both vitamins. No significant associations were observed with other subscales. Study findings suggest the possible need to ensure adequate vitamin B12 during pregnancy. The impact of co-occurrence of maternal B-vitamins insufficiencies on early cognitive development warrants further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: It is acknowledged that ancestry may play a role in the like li - hood of reporting motion sickness, based upon ques tion naires in which symptoms are reported more frequently in indivi du - als with Asian ancestry. This study compares motion sick ness and re lated vertigo syndromes in Thai and Thai-Chinese populations. Material/Methods: The Motion Sickness Questionnaire; Albany Panic and Pho - bia Questionnaire; Acrophobia Questionnaire; Body Symp toms Ques tionnaire and the Situational Characteristics Questionnaire were administered to 128 participants. Eighty-eight partici pants had a father, mother and all grandparents of Thai ori gin, while 44 participants had with at least one Chinese ancestor among parents or grandparents. Results: All responses were similar between groups except regarding fear of heights, which is significantly higher in Thai partici - pants without recent Chinese ancestors. Conclusions: Reported motion sickness sensitivity is similar between Thai and Chinese populations. The group differences for some fear of heights items may be linked to each group' previous experience with heights. Results also suggest that although conquering a fear of heights might require specific visuovestibular adaptations, these adaptations alone may not be sufficient to lessen an individual'sfear of heights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The carboxylesterase 1 gene (CES1) encodes a hydrolase implicated in the metabolism of commonly used drugs. CES1A2, a hybrid of CES1 and a CES1-like pseudogene, has a promoter that is weak in most individuals. However, some individuals harbor a promoter haplotype of this gene with two overlapping Sp1 sites that confer significantly increased transcription potentially leading to rapid drug metabolism. This CES1A2 haplotype has previously been reported to be common among Asians. Using polymerase chain reaction followed by sequencing, the present study examined variation in the promoter and 5′ untranslated region of CES1A2 in 120 Han Chinese and 120 Japanese people enrolled in the 1000 Genomes Project. We identified 11 single nucleotide variations, two of which were novel, in 145 of the individuals who were found to carry CES1A2. Alignment analysis indicated that the CES1A2 haplotype with the overlapping Sp1 sites has been generated by incorporation of a segment of CES1. All minor allele frequencies were equal to or below 0.022 and the frequencies of the minor haplotypes were up to 40-fold lower than previously reported, including that of the haplotype with the overlapping Sp1 sites. This information is novel and suggests that the pharmacogenetic relevance of CES1A2 is limited in Asians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The highest rates of thyroid cancer are observed in Pacific Island nations as well as Australia and Asian countries bordering the Pacific. The objective of this study was to determine the risk for thyroid cancer among immigrants to Canada from Southeast and East Asia compared with immigrants from other regions and nonimmigrants.Methods: This was a population-based, longitudinal cohort study using health care administrative data to examine all residents of Ontario without pre-existing thyroid cancer. Individuals were followed from January 1997 or 5 years after they became eligible for health care coverage in Ontario, whichever came later. Patients were followed until March 2015 for incident-differentiated thyroid cancer, and then for recurrence.Results: The study followed 14,659,733 individuals for a median of 17 years. Thyroid cancer incidence was 43.8 cases per 100,000 person-years among Southeast Asian immigrants, 28.6 cases per 100,000 person-years among East Asian immigrants, 21.5 cases per 100,000 person-years among other immigrants, and 14.5 cases per 100,000 person-years among nonimmigrants. Incidence was highest among immigrants from the Philippines (52.7 cases per 100,000 person-years), South Korea (33.5 cases per 100,000 person-years), and China (30.0 cases per 100,000 person-years). Adjusted hazard ratios for thyroid cancer compared with nonimmigrants were 2.66 (95% confidence interval, 2.48-2.84) for Southeast Asian immigrants, 1.87 (95% confidence interval, 1.75-2.00) for East Asian immigrants, and 1.51 (95% confidence interval, 1.45-1.57) for other immigrants. Immigrants were more likely to have papillary histology and stage I cancer. East Asian immigrants, but not Southeast Asian immigrants, had a lower risk of recurrence (hazard ratio, 0.73 [95% confidence interval, 0.57-0.94] and 1.01 [95% confidence interval, 0.81-1.26], respectively).Conclusions: Immigrants from Southeast and East Asia had markedly higher thyroid cancer incidence than nonimmigrants. At particularly elevated risk were immigrants from the Philippines, South Korea, and China. Cancer 2017;123:3320-5. © 2017 American Cancer Society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine in-vivo kinematics of our developed posterior-stabilized (PS) total knee prosthesis for Asian populations in comparison with a popular high-flexion PS prosthesis.Methods: We analyzed 62 osteoarthritic knees: 31 knees with the new PS prosthesis (group A) and 31 knees with a popular high-flexion PS prosthesis (group B). Radiographic knee images were taken during standing, lunge, and kneeling activities. The three-dimensional position and orientation of the implant components were determined using model-based shape matching techniques.Results: Group A showed slightly greater implant flexion angles compared with knees with conventional prosthesis at maximum lunge (average: 119 vs. 110°, p = 0.001), and at maximum kneeling (121 vs. 114°, p = 0.004), although the range of motion was not significantly different. The femoral centre positions were more posterior in group A at standing, at 90° lunge, at maximum lunge (-9 and -7 mm, p = 0.004), at 90° kneeling, and at maximum kneeling (-9 vs. -7 mm, p = 0.016), and posterior translations of the femoral center were greater at 90° knee flexion postures. The femoral centre positions had a strong negative correlation with implant flexion angles at maximum lunge in group B (r = -0.893, p < 0.001), but not in group A (p = 0.242).Conclusions: The new PS prosthesis designed for Asian knee morphology achieved flexion angles and range of motion at least comparable to that of conventional high-flexion PS prosthesis. The femoral roll-back pattern, however, is different from a conventional knee, reflecting the post/cam design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prevalence and incidence of eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) have been rapidly increasing in Western countries. It is thought to be more common among Caucasians than other racial or ethnic groups, but epidemiological studies have not been fully evaluated in Asian populations, and its clinical manifestation is rarely documented. In this review, recent reports regarding EoE in Asian countries have been collected, and differences in the clinical features, including symptoms and endoscopic findings, between Asian and Western populations have been evaluated. In Asia, EoE is still much less prevalent than in Western countries. Baseline values for average age, male/female ratio, and personal history of allergic disease were comparable to those in Western populations. Predominant symptoms were dysphagia, and food impaction was extremely rare among Asian patients. Although the frequency of abnormal endoscopic findings varies among studies, over 90% of patients with EoE have shown abnormal findings such as linear furrow, which is the most common findings, in recent prospective studies in Asia. There are few reports regarding the treatment of EoE and no prospective studies evaluating drugs or elimination diet in patient with EoE have been reported in Asia. Overall, EoE had similar clinical characteristics in Asian populations. Because the incidence of EoE could increase in the future with the increase in allergic disorders in Asian countries, large-scale, nationwide prospective studies should be performed to more fully understand the epidemiology and pathophysiology of EoE in Asian populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prevalence and incidence of eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) have been rapidly increasing in Western countries. It is thought to be more common among Caucasians than other racial or ethnic groups, but epidemiological studies have not been fully evaluated in Asian populations, and its clinical manifestation is rarely documented. In this review, recent reports regarding EoE in Asian countries have been collected, and differences in the clinical features, including symptoms and endoscopic findings, between Asian and Western populations have been evaluated. In Asia, EoE is still much less prevalent than in Western countries. Baseline values for average age, male/female ratio, and personal history of allergic disease were comparable to those in Western populations. Predominant symptoms were dysphagia, and food impaction was extremely rare among Asian patients. Although the frequency of abnormal endoscopic findings varies among studies, over 90% of patients with EoE have shown abnormal findings such as linear furrow, which is the most common findings, in recent prospective studies in Asia. There are few reports regarding the treatment of EoE and no prospective studies evaluating drugs or elimination diet in patient with EoE have been reported in Asia. Overall, EoE had similar clinical characteristics in Asian populations. Because the incidence of EoE could increase in the future with the increase in allergic disorders in Asian countries, large-scale, nationwide prospective studies should be performed to more fully understand the epidemiology and pathophysiology of EoE in Asian populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine has been widely administered against SARS-CoV-2 infection; however, data regarding its immunogenicity, reactogenicity, and potential differences in responses among Asian populations remain scarce. Methods: 270 participants without prior COVID-19 were enrolled to receive ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccination with a prime–boost interval of 8–9 weeks. Their specific SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, neutralizing antibody titers (NT50), platelet counts, and D-dimer levels were analyzed before and after vaccination. Results: The seroconversion rates of anti-RBD and anti-spike IgG at day 28 after a boost vaccination (BD28) were 100% and 95.19%, respectively. Anti-RBD and anti-spike IgG levels were highly correlated (r = 0.7891), which were 172.9 ± 170.4 and 179.3 ± 76.88 BAU/mL at BD28, respectively. The geometric mean concentrations (GMCs) of NT50 for all participants increased to 132.9 IU/mL (95% CI 120.0–147.1) at BD28 and were highly correlated with anti-RBD and anti-spike IgG levels (r = 0.8248 and 0.7474, respectively). Body weight index was statistically significantly associated with anti-RBD IgG levels (p = 0.035), while female recipients had higher anti-spike IgG levels (p = 0.038). The GMCs of NT50 declined with age (p = 0.0163) and were significantly different across age groups (159.7 IU/mL for 20–29 years, 99.4 IU/mL for ≥50 years, p = 0.0026). Injection-site pain, fever, and fatigue were the major reactogenicity, which were more pronounced after prime vaccination and in younger participants (<50 years). Platelet counts decreased and D-dimer levels increased after vaccination but were not clinically relevant. No serious adverse events or deaths were observed. Conclusion: The vaccine is well-tolerated and elicited robust humoral immunity against SARS-CoV-2 after standard prime–boost vaccination in Taiwanese recipients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims/hypothesis: Ethnicity and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) are both risk factors for the development of type 2 diabetes. However, it is uncertain whether ethnicity modifies the effect of GDM on diabetes risk. We aimed to determine the risk of diabetes following pregnancy with and without GDM for Chinese and South Asian women compared with white women. Methods: Using healthcare databases, all 1,050,108 women aged 20-49 with live births between January 1995 and June 2008 in Ontario were identified. They were followed for up to 15 years for the diagnosis of diabetes. Results: The age-standardised prevalences of GDM were 4.1%, 7.1% and 2.9% for Chinese, South Asian and white women, respectively. The cumulative incidence of diagnosed diabetes at the median follow-up time of 7.6 years was 16.5% and 1.8% for Chinese women with and without GDM, 31.8% and 3.6% for South Asian women with and without GDM, and 25.7% and 1.8% for white women with and without GDM. The presence of GDM conferred an increase in the risk for diabetes after pregnancy of more than 13-fold in white women, but only a nine- to tenfold increase among Chinese and South Asian women. Conclusions/interpretation: Although one-third of South Asian women with GDM were diagnosed with diabetes within 8 years postpartum, the incremental impact of GDM on diabetes risk was not as strong among Chinese and South Asian women as it was among white women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to summarize results on the association of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) promoter -308A/G polymorphism with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) susceptibility in Asian populations by using the meta-analysis. We searched all the publications about the association between TNF-α promoter -308A/G polymorphism and SLE in Asian populations from PubMed, Elsevier Science Direct, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and Wanfang (Chinese). Meta-analysis was performed for genotypes AA versus GG, GA versus GG, AA versus GG + GA, GA + AA versus GG, and A allele versus G allele in a fixed/random effect model. A total of 12 studies (1017 cases and 1086 controls) were included in the current meta-analysis (Chinese, Japanese, and Thai). When all groups were pooled, a significant association of A allele and increased SLE risk was found (OR = 1.44, 95%CI = 1.04-2.01, P = 0.03). When analyses were restricted to more ethnically homogeneous populations, similar result was found in Chinese population (OR = 1.59, 95%CI = 1.12-2.26, P = 0.009). But the association between TNF-α promoter -308 polymorphism and SLE was not observed when examining the contrast of G/A + A/A versus G/G, A/A versus A/G + G/G, A/A versus G/G, and G/A versus G/G. This meta-analysis demonstrates the association between TNF-α promoter -308A/G polymorphism and SLE in Asian populations, especially in Chinese population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyzed the genetic architecture of prepubertal development of relative weight to height in 216 monozygotic and 159 dizygotic complete Japanese twin pairs (52% girls). Ponderal index at birth (kg/m) and body mass index (BMI, kg/m) from 1 to 11 years of age were used. Additive genetic factors explained the major proportion (52-74%) of the variation of BMI from 1 to 11 years of age. Environmental factors common to both co-twins also showed some effect (7-28%), but at most ages this was not statistically significant. Strong genetic tracking was found for BMI from 1 to 11 years of age, but there was also evidence for a persistent effect of common environmental factors. Our results suggest that the genetic architecture of BMI development in the Japanese population is generally similar to that found in previous twin studies in Caucasian populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent study demonstrated that M55V variant in SUMO4 at IDDM5 was associated with susceptibility to type 1 diabetes. Subsequent studies, however, showed inconsistency in the association. To clarify the population-wide effect on the association of SUMO4 with type 1 diabetes, we have performed meta-analysis including our own data in Asian populations, which confirmed a highly significant association in Asian populations (summary odds ratio [OR]: 1.29, P= 7.0 × 10−6), but indicated significant heterogeneity in the genetic effect of the SUMO4 gene on type 1 diabetes among diverse ethnic groups. These observations indicated the association of SUMO4 with type 1 diabetes in Asian populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]