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Background Previous studies have been inconsistent about the association between age at menarche and high blood pressure. Little is known about such association across a wide range of menarcheal ages in less developed ethnic minority regions in China. We aimed to explore the association between age at menarche and high blood pressure (BP; ≥140/90 mm Hg) and to examine the mediating effect of obesity and the moderating effect of menopausal status on this association. Methods and Results A total of 45 868 women from the baseline data of the CMEC (China Multi-Ethnic Cohort) were included in this study. Binary logistic regression was used to analyze the relationship between age at menarche and high BP, and the mediation model was used to evaluate the mediating effects of body mass index and waist circumference on the association of age at menarche with high BP. The mean age at enrollment and age at menarche of participants in our study were 49.3 (SD=10.7) and 14.7 (SD=2.1) years, respectively. Late menarche was associated with a lower risk of high BP (odds ratio, 0.831 [95% CI, 0.728-0.950]). The risk of high BP decreased by 3.1% with each year's delay in the onset of menarche ( P for trend <0.001). Body mass index and waist circumference could partially mediate the association of age at menarche and high BP with the indirect effect of body mass index (odds ratio, 0.998 [95% CI, 0.997-0.998]) and waist circumference (odds ratio, 0.999 [95% CI, 0.998-0.999]). In addition, the mediation effects were modified by the status of menopause. Conclusions Women with late menarche have a lower risk of high BP, and obesity could be one of the important mediators. Obesity prevention is an efficient strategy to reduce the association between age at menarche and high BP, especially in premenopausal women.

Background: Animal and small-cohort human studies have shown that tea consumption affects the gut microbiome, but evidence from large cohort studies is lacking., Objectives: We examined associations between tea consumption and gut microbiome composition among older Chinese adults., Methods: The study included 1179 men and 1078 women from the Shanghai Men's and Women's Health Studies, who reported tea drinking status, type, amount, and duration at baseline and follow-up surveys (1996-2017) and were free of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes at stool collection (2015-2018). Fecal microbiome was profiled using 16S rRNA sequencing. Associations of tea variables with microbiome diversity and taxa abundance were evaluated using linear or negative binomial hurdle models after adjusting for sociodemographics, lifestyle, and hypertension status., Results: Mean age at stool collection was 67.2 ± 9.0 y in men and 69.6 ± 8.5 y in women. Tea drinking was not associated with microbiome ɑ-diversity in men or women; however, all tea variables were associated with β-diversity in men (P < 0.001). Significant associations with taxa abundance were also observed mostly in men. Current tea drinking, mainly green tea drinking, was associated with increase in orders Synergistales and RF39 in men (β = 0.30 to 0.42, all P FDR ≤ 0.10) but not in women (P Interaction-sex = 0.01). Also, increase in families Coriobacteriaceae, Odoribacteraceae, genera Collinsella, Odoribacter, and species Collinsella aerofaciens, Coprococcus catus, and Dorea formicigenerans were observed among men who drank >3.3 cups (781 mL)/d compared to that of nondrinkers (all P FDR <0.10). The increased Coprococcus catus related to tea drinking was more evident among men without hypertension and inversely associated with the prevalence of hypertension (OR: 0.90; 95% CI: 0.84, 0.97; P FDR = 0.03)., Conclusions: Tea consumption may affect gut microbiome β-diversity and abundance of some bacteria, which may contribute to reduced hypertension risk in Chinese men. Future studies should examine the sex-specific tea-gut microbiome associations and how certain bacteria may mediate the health benefits of tea., (Copyright © 2022 American Society for Nutrition. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Current evidence on tea consumption and hypertension is inconclusive, and prospective studies among habitual tea drinkers remain limited., Objective: We investigated the associations of habitual tea consumption with hypertension risk and longitudinal blood pressure changes in 2 large cohorts., Methods: This study included participants aged 40-75 y from the Shanghai Women's Health Study (n = 31,351) and the Shanghai Men's Health Study (n = 28,342), without hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or cancer at baseline. Information on tea consumption was assessed during in-person interviews at enrollment and follow-up visits. Incident hypertension was identified by self-reported diagnosis, medication use, or blood pressure measurements., Results: Current tea drinkers had a 7% higher risk than the non-current tea drinker group [HRs (95% CIs): women, 1.07 (1.01, 1.14); men, 1.07 (1.02, 1.12)]. The amount of tea drinking showed significant dose-response associations with hypertension: compared with the non-current group, HRs (95% CIs) for women and men were 1.01 (0.90, 1.14) and 1.02 (0.96, 1.08) for low (women/men: <100/200 g/mo), 1.07 (1.01, 1.15) and 1.05 (0.99, 1.12) for medium (women/men: 100-250/200-250 g/mo), and 1.18 (1.01, 1.39) and 1.10 (1.03, 1.17) for the high-amount group (women/men: >250 g/mo). Among participants without hypertension, compared with non-current tea drinkers, least-squares means of 3-y changes in blood pressure were 0.3-0.4 mm Hg higher for women and men as current drinkers and 0.7-0.9 mm Hg higher for men in the high-consumption group. Compared with those who never drank tea, women who drank tea consistently had 0.5 (0.2, 0.7) mm Hg higher diastolic blood pressure (DBP), whereas men had 0.5 (0.04, 0.9) mm Hg higher systolic blood pressure and 0.3 (0.04, 0.6) mm Hg higher DBP, respectively., Conclusions: Our findings suggest that habitual tea drinking is associated with a slightly higher risk of hypertension and a minor increase in blood pressure among middle-aged and older Chinese adults, which warrants confirmation by long-term intervention studies., (© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Society for Nutrition.)

Background: Low birth weight (LBW) has been associated with subsequent risks of obesity and certain chronic diseases, but evidence for the associations is limited for the Chinese population., Methods: In this study we analyzed data from two population-based prospective cohort studies, the Shanghai Women's Health Study and the Shanghai Men's Health Study, to examine the associations between LBW and the risk of obesity and chronic diseases. Birth weight was self-reported at baseline; anthropometric measurements were made at study enrollment. Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) diagnoses were self-reported, whereas hypertension diagnoses were based on self-report and blood pressure measurements at baseline and follow-up surveys., Results: Birth weight was available for 11 515 men and 13 569 women. Non-linear associations were observed for birth weight with baseline body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist:  hip ratio (WHR), and waist:  height ratio (WHtR; P < 0.05 for non-linearity), and LBW was linked with lower BMI, smaller WC, and larger WHR and WHtR. An excess risk of T2DM was observed for LBW (<2500 g) versus birth weight 2500-3499 g since baseline (hazard ratio [HR] 1.17; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.92-1.49) and since birth (HR 1.29; 95% CI 1.07-1.54), whereas the HRs for hypertension since baseline and birth were 1.13 (95% CI 1.01-1.27) and 1.20 (95% CI 1.11-1.30), respectively. The risk of the diseases decreased as birth weight increased up to ~4000 g; further increases in birth weight did not convey additional benefits., Conclusion: The results suggest that LBW, an index of poor intrauterine nutrition, may affect health risks later in life in the Chinese population., (© 2018 The Authors. Journal of Diabetes published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd and Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine.)

Essential hypertension (EH) is a complex multifactorial condition influenced by both genetic and environmental factors; aldosterone synthase (CYP11B2) is a key enzyme which involves in the terminal steps of aldosterone synthesis. The result of relationship between C-344T of CYP11B2 polymorphism and EH was controversial. This study was undertaken to investigate the association of C-344T polymorphism with EH in the populations of Tibetan, Dongxiang and Han from northwest of China. A total of 2115 participants aged 18-70 years were enrolled in this study. In total, 1776 blood samples, including 545 Tibetan (305 hypertensive and 240 normotensive), 530 Dongxiang (254 hypertensive and 276 normotensive) and 701 Han (338 hypertensive and 363 normotensive), were analyzed successfully by using Snapshot minisequencing method, 30 samples were also performed by direct sequencing (5 hypertensive and 5 normotensive in each population, respectively). The frequencies of genotype and allele of CYP11B2 (C-344T) were not significantly different between EH group and control group in every ethnic population (p > 0.05). However, in female population of Tibetan, the frequencies of CC and CT genotype and C allele in EH group were higher than in control (p < 0.05) group. The frequencies of CC genotype and C allele in both the normotensive controls and EH patients in Tibetan population were higher than in Dongxiang and Han populations. Our study suggests that there is lack of association between C-344T polymorphism of CYP11B2 gene and EH in Dongxiang and Han populations, whereas the polymorphism was correlated with EH in female population of Tibetan.

Using time-dependent Cox regression models, we examined associations of common antihypertensive medications with overall cancer survival (OS) and disease-specific survival (DSS), with comprehensive adjustment for potential confounding factors. Participants were from the Shanghai Women's Health Study (1996–2000) and Shanghai Men's Health Study (2002–2006) in Shanghai, China. Included were 2,891 incident breast, colorectal, lung, and stomach cancer cases. Medication use was extracted from electronic medical records. With a median 3.4-year follow-up after diagnosis (interquartile range, 1.0–6.3), we found better outcomes among users of angiotensin II receptor blockers with colorectal cancer (OS: adjusted hazard ratio (HR) = 0.62, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.44, 0.86; DSS: adjusted HR = 0.61, 95% CI: 0.43, 0.87) and stomach cancer (OS: adjusted HR = 0.62, 95% CI: 0.41, 0.94; DSS: adjusted HR = 0.63, 95% CI: 0.41, 0.98) and among users of β-adrenergic receptor blockers with colorectal cancer (OS: adjusted HR = 0.50, 95% CI: 0.35, 0.72; DSS: adjusted HR = 0.50, 95% CI: 0.34, 0.73). Better survival was also found for calcium channel blockers (DSS: adjusted HR = 0.67, 95% CI: 0.47, 0.97) and diuretics (OS: adjusted HR = 0.66, 95% CI: 0.45, 0.96; DSS: adjusted HR = 0.57, 95% CI: 0.38, 0.85) with stomach cancer. Our findings suggest angiotensin II receptor blockers, β-adrenergic receptor blockers, and calcium channel blockers might be associated with improved survival outcomes of gastrointestinal cancers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Limited information is available in Asian populations regarding the association of dietary intake and patterns with age-related functional impairments. Using data from 2 population-based cohort studies in China, the Shanghai Women's Health Study (1996–2015) and Shanghai Men's Health Study (2002–2015), we prospectively examined adherence to dietary guidelines, including the Chinese Food Pagoda, the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, and the Alternative Healthy Eating Index, as well as consumption of specific foods, for their associations with impairment in function, both physical (walking, hearing/vision) and mental (memory, decision-making). Included in the analyses were 30,484 participants who had been followed for an average of 14.4 years and were between the ages of 70 and 86 years at the functional status assessment. Higher dietary-recommendation adherence scores were associated with a lower likelihood of developing functional impairments. The odds ratios ranged from 0.61 (95% confidence interval: 0.54, 0.70) to 0.83 (95% confidence interval: 0.72, 0.95) when extreme quintiles were compared. Higher fish, poultry, vegetable, and fruit intake, moderate red meat intake, and low rice consumption were associated with a reduced probability of having physical or mental impairments. Our findings highlight the importance of a high-quality diet in maintaining functional status among the aged population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of this study was to estimate MS prevalence according to three criteria and its risk factors among men in rural China. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: The Nantong Metabolic Syndrome Study (NMSS) was conducted during 2007-2008 in Nantong, China. Participants: 6997 male participants aged 18-74 years. Measurements: In person interviews, blood glucose and lipid measurements were accomplished. Results: The prevalence of MS was 12.86%, 8.55% and 15.28% according to IDF, ATPIII and ATPIII-modified criteria, respectively. The IDF and ATP III-modified criteria agreed only moderately with ATP III criteria (ϰ= 0.56 and 0.68), whereas ATP III-modified and the IDF criteria agreed perfectly (ϰ= 0.90). Vigorous occupational physical activity was associated with a low prevalence of MS with Odds ratio (OR) of 0.58 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.45-0.74). Beer drinkers (alcohol ≤ 6.2 g/day) and rice wine drinkers (alcohol ≤ 9.0 g/day) had about 34% and 33% low risks of developing MS respectively, compared with non-drinkers. OR of MS was 1.95 (95% CI: 1.39-2.73) in men who had familial history of at least two diseases, including hypertension and diabetes, compared with men without familial history of those diseases. Conclusions: Our data suggested that MS is highly prevalent among men in rural China. Family history of diabetes and hypertension is a risk factor in MS development. Physical activity, rice wine and beer consumption are associated with a significantly lower risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]