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Obesity, a chronic low-grade inflammation metabolic abnormality, is related to high proinflammatory cytokines concentrations. Epstein-Barr virus-induced gene 3 (EBI3) encodes for the EBI3 beta subunit that constitutes interleukin (IL) 27 and 35. Our objective was to assess the association of three EBI3 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with the presence of central obesity in a group of Mexican subjects. The rs428253, rs4740, and rs4905 EBI3 SNPs were genotyped in 1323 individuals (1092 central obese and 231 non-central obese). We also analyzed IL-6, IL-27, and IL-35 concentrations. Under different models, the rs4740 (OR = 0.384, P recessive  = 0.010; OR = 0.404, P codominant 2  = 0.019) and rs4905 (OR = 0.380, P recessive  = 0.009; OR = 0.404, P codominant 2  = 0.018) were related with a low risk of central obesity. In central obese subjects, the SNPs were related to lower risk of hypoalphalipoproteinemia (rs4740) and with high IL-6 concentrations (rs428253, rs4740, and rs4905), whereas in non-central obese individuals, the rs428253 was related with low risk of increased visceral abdominal fat and hypertriglyceridemia. Interleukin-6, IL-27 and IL-35 concentrations were similar in both groups and no relation was noticed with the studied genotypes. Our results suggest an association of EBI3 SNPs with a low risk of central obesity and with a few risk factors for cardiovascular disease in individuals with and without central obesity., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background and Aims: Paraoxonase 1 (PON1) is considered to play a crucial role as an anti-atherosclerotic factor. The PON1 activity is affected by genetic polymorphisms, environmental factors, age, sex, lifestyle, pharmaceutical drugs, and dietary factors. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between macro- and micronutrients as well as PON1 concentration and activities in patients with cardiovascular diseases (CVD), cardiovascular risk factors but no CVD (CRF), and in healthy controls (control group)., Methods and Results: A case-control study was carried out with 356 volunteers from the Mexican Institute of Social Security, Mexico. Clinical parameters, lipid profile, PON1 activities (AREase, LACase, CMPAase and PONase), and PON1 concentration were evaluated. There was a differential intake of macro- and micronutrients among the study groups. The intake of proteins and carbohydrates was higher in the CVD group than in the CFR and control groups (p < 0.05). AREase, LACase, and CMPAase activities and PON1 concentration were lowest in the CVD group., Conclusion: LACase and CMPAase activities, as well as PON1 concentration, could be included in the battery of CVD predictive biomarkers in the Mexican population., (Copyright © 2019 The Italian Society of Diabetology, the Italian Society for the Study of Atherosclerosis, the Italian Society of Human Nutrition, and the Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, Federico II University. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the role of the C-514T (rs1800588) gene polymorphism of the hepatic lipase (LIPC) as susceptibility marker for fatty liver in the Mexican population. The polymorphism was genotyped by 5' exonuclease TaqMan assays in a group of 1468 subjects (980 with and 488 without fatty liver) belonging to the Genetics of Atherosclerotic Disease (GEA) Mexican Study. Anthropometric and biochemical measurements were performed on all individuals. The polymorphism was not associated with fatty liver, however, under dominant model, the TT genotype was associated with increased levels of triglycerides (P=0.0002), apolipoprotein A1 (P=0.015), triglycerides/HDL-cholesterol index (P=0.046) and increased frequency of type 2 diabetes mellitus (P=0.045). On the other hand, the same genotype was associated with the presence of small LDLs (P=0.003). The risk analysis showed that under a dominant model, the LIPC C-514T polymorphism was associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes (OR=1.42, P=0.029), hypertriglyceridemia (OR=1.36, P=0.006), and coronary artery calcification (CAC)≥1 (OR=1.44, P=0.015) and decreased risk of hypoalphalipoproteinemia (OR=0.78, P=0.036). The results suggest that the LIPC C-154T polymorphism is associated with cardiometabolic parameters and cardiovascular risk factors but not with fatty liver in Mexican population. The association detected with CAC indicates that this polymorphism could be a marker for subclinical atherosclerosis., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Epidemiological and clinical studies have shown that a low plasma high‑density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) level is a strong predictor of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) is a key enzyme in the formation, maturation and function of HDL. Therefore impaired LCAT function may enhance atherosclerosis because of defective cholesterol transport. In this study, we examined a 34-year old LCAT‑deficient patient and eight first-degree family members. There was a strong family history for CVD and type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2). The proband was found homozygous for a previously reported LCAT gene mutation (Thr37Met). A sister and two sons of the proband were heterozygous for the same mutation. The proband had DM2 and showed severe multivessel coronary artery disease, corneal opacification and extremely low HDL-C levels. Large HDL particles were absent while small HDL particles were increased. The HDL of the patient had a reduced ability to promote cell cholesterol efflux, and the low‑density lipoproteins (LDL) were more susceptible to oxidation. Among his family members, two heterozygotes and one non-carrier had early carotid or coronary atherosclerosis. In conclusion, as the increased LDL oxidability and structural and functional abnormalities of HDL particles have been reported in patients with obesity and diabetes, the results suggested that the adverse coronary risk profile, and not being LCAT deficient, may be responsible for the CVD found in our proband, and for the early atherosclerosis observed in the two heterozygotes and in the wild‑type family members.

Objective: We studied the effect of pioglitazone on insulin levels, inflammation markers, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) composition and subclasses distribution, in young women with uncomplicated systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)., Methods: This double-blind trial included 30 premenopausal women (30 ±8 years old) with SLE, who were randomized to pioglitazone (30 mg/day) or placebo treatment for 3 months. Plasma and HDL lipids were determined by colorimetric enzymatic assays, insulin by radioimmunometric assay, inflammation by immunonephelometry and HDL size and subclasses distribution by a native 4-30% polyacrylamide gradient gel electrophoresis., Results: Compared with placebo, pioglitazone significantly increased HDL-cholesterol plasma levels (14.2%), reduced fasting insulin plasma levels (23.6%) and the homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance (31.7%). C-reactive protein (70.9%) and serum amyloid A (34.9%) were also significantly reduced with the pioglitazone use, whereas the HDL particle size was increased (8.80 nm vs. 8.95 nm; p = 0.044) by changes in the distribution of HDL(2b), HDL(3b), and HDL(3c) subclasses. The change in HDL size correlated with a rise in free and cholesterol-ester content in the HDL particles., Conclusion: Pioglitazone significantly enhanced insulin sensitivity, reduced inflammation, and modified HDL characteristics, suggesting a potential beneficial effect of this drug in patients with SLE with a risk to develop cardiovascular disease., Trial Registration: This trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov Protocol Registration System, with the number NCT01322308.

Purpose: To examine the prevalence of coronary risk factors in Mexican adolescents, and their relations to school type, gender, and residence in urban and rural areas., Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 3121 junior high school students, aged 12 to 16 years, attending urban schools (eight public, n = 1850, two private, n = 480) and three rural public (n = 791) schools. Weight, height, waist circumference, blood pressure, and fasting glucose and lipid-lipoprotein levels were measured. Tobacco smoking and physical activity were also ascertained. The prevalence rates of cardiovascular risk factors were determined by gender and school type., Results: Obesity, overweight, high blood pressure, cigarette smoking, and physical inactivity were higher for urban than rural adolescents. The prevalence of the low HDL-C level was exceedingly high in adolescents of three school types (> 30%) but particularly in male rural students (48.9%). Compared with rural students, high LDL-cholesterol was twice as high in private schoolchildren. The prevalence of impaired fasting glucose was .35% in the whole population and much higher in obese males (1.6%) and obese females (2.4%)., Conclusions: Our findings highlight an epidemic of coronary risk factors mainly in adolescents living in the urban area, suggesting the importance of environmental factors.

Background: Several studies have addressed arterial hypertension prevalence in Mexico. However, few include an analysis of other types of hypertension and their associated risk factors. The present work describes the prevalence of high blood pressure (HBP), isolated systolic hypertension (ISH) and diastolic hypertension (DH) and their association to certain risk factors of cardiovascular disease in an adult population of Mexico City., Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed on 825 subjects aged between 20 and 90 years, selected by multistage cluster sampling. HBP was diagnosed by previous history if systolic blood pressure was > or = 140 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure > or = 90 mmHg. The measurements taken included body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, levels of insulin, glucose, trigylycerides, total cholesterol, high and low density lipoprotein cholesterol, and lipoprotein(a)., Results: Prevalence adjusted by age for HBP was 19.4%, for ISH, 4.7%, and for DH, 4.1%. Age had an important influence on HBP and ISH with a highly significant X2t. The profile of metabolic variables was modified according to sex and type of hypertension. Thus, in DH, metabolic variables were more affected than in other types of hypertension., Conclusions: Results in HBP prevalence in the present study were lower than in other surveys performed in Mexico. It must be noted, however, that much care should be taken to choose the strategy of subject selection, since results of the prevalence of a disease depend on it to a great extent. The ISH and DH and their association to risk factors must be studied thoroughly because they constitute different clinical entities.

A cross-epidemiologic study concerning cardiovascular risk factors in a random sample population of Mexico City was carried out in 1991 and 1992. Lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)) levels in 404 men and 311 women aged 20-90 years were determined by enzyme-linked immunoassay on fasting plasma. Men and women showed similar age-adjusted Lp(a) values. For the whole population the median Lp(a) was 6.9 mg/dL and the prevalence of high Lp(a) (> 30 mg/dL) was 14%. Small positive correlations between Lp(a) and plasma cholesterol (rs = 0.16) and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) (rs = 0.21), and a negative one with insulin (rs = -0.13) were found. In a multiple regression analysis, insulin and LDL-C were the variables that best explained the variation of Lp(a) in our sample. Our data show that Lp(a) in our population is similar to that found in other populations. An association of Lp(a) with myocardial infarction was observed (high Lp(a) was seen in 33% of atherosclerotic individuals versus 14% in healthy subjects) but did not reach statistical significance.

The present report is a description of the characteristics of a studied population and of the methodology used in a study performed to investigate high blood pressure prevalence and cardiovascular risk factors among the adult population of Mexico City. A cross-sectional study was conducted from January 1991 to March 1992. Random samplings of multiple stages was used and 825 adult subjects were studied in Mexico City. The following measurements were registered: blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), waist-hip ratio (WHR), total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high density lipoproteins (HDL-C) and low density lipoproteins (LDL-C), lipoprotein (a) (Lp(a)), glucose and insulin. Personal and family history of cardiovascular illness were investigated, as well as exposure to some risk factors such as smoking, alcohol consumption and sedentarism. The response rate was 86.6%. The prevalence of high blood pressure was 21.1%, and of non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus was 8.7%. Frequency of dyslipidemia in the studied sample was 24.4% for high TG, 23.6% for low HDL-C, 23.6% for high LDL-C, 14.9% for Lp(a) excess (Lp(a) > or = 30 mg/dl; overweight and obesity were more prevalent among women. The diversity of living conditions among the population of Mexico City was included in the sampling strategy design, not only to register the high blood pressure (HBP) frequency in each stratum but to identify other cardiovascular risk factors which could be decisive in the development of HBP. Regarding the features of the studied population, BMI did not reveal differences among men, but their TG levels were higher and HDL levels lower than those of other populations. In women, the results obtained for BMI, WHR, lipids and lipoproteins were also higher compared with the mean reported for other populations.

Little is known about qualitative abnormalities of high-density lipoproteins (HDL) in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We studied distribution and composition of HDL subclasses in 30 premenopausal women with uncomplicated SLE, and 18 controls matched for age and sex. Plasma and HDL lipids were determined by colorimetric enzymatic assays, HDL size distribution by native gradient polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) and apolipoproteins in HDL by sodium dodecyl sulphate denaturing PAGE. Compared with controls, SLE patients had significantly lower proportions of HDL2b (-14.7%) and higher proportions of HDL3b (+8.8%) and HDL3c (+23.3%). Cholesteryl ester (-18%) and apolipoprotein AI (-9%) were lower, whereas triglycerides (+32%) and apolipoprotein E (+27%) were higher in SLE HDL (P < 0.05; for all). In the whole population, stepwise regression analysis showed that only insulin concentrations (R2 = 0.327) and plasma total apo AI (R2 = 0.114) accounted independently to the variance in HDL size. This study shows that HDL distribution and composition are abnormal in non-complicated SLE patients. These HDL abnormalities have been reported to be associated to impaired atheroprotective properties of HDL and prevalence of coronary heart disease. Therefore, they may contribute to the premature atherosclerosis observed in young women with SLE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]