Browsing by Author "Hsiung, Chao A."

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A meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies for adiponectin levels in East Asians identifies a novel locus near WDR11-FGFR2
(2014-02-15)
Wu, Ying
;
Gao, He
;
Li, Huaixing
;
Tabara, Yasuharu
;
Nakatochi, Masahiro
Blood levels of adiponectin, an adipocyte-secreted protein correlated with metabolic and cardiovascular risks, are highly heritable. Genome-wide association (GWA) studies for adiponectin levels have identified 14 loci harboring variants associated with blood levels of adiponectin. To identify novel adiponectin-associated loci, particularly those of importance in East Asians, we conducted a meta-analysis of GWA studies for adiponectin in 7827 individuals, followed by two stages of replications in 4298 and 5954 additional individuals. We identified a novel adiponectin-associated locus on chromosome 10 near WDR11-FGFR2 (P 3.0 10(14)) and provided suggestive evidence for a locus on chromosome 12 near OR8S1-LALBA (P 1.2 10(7)). Of the adiponectin-associated loci previously described, we confirmed the association at CDH13 (P 6.8 10(165)), ADIPOQ (P 1.8 10(22)), PEPD (P 3.6 10(12)), CMIP (P 2.1 10(10)), ZNF664 (P 2.3 10(7)) and GPR109A (P 7.4 10(6)). Conditional analysis at ADIPOQ revealed a second signal with suggestive evidence of association only after conditioning on the lead SNP (P-initial 0.020; P-conditional 7.0 10(7)). We further confirmed the independence of two pairs of closely located loci (2 Mb) on chromosome 16 at CMIP and CDH13, and on chromosome 12 at GPR109A and ZNF664. In addition, the newly identified signal near WDR11-FGFR2 exhibited evidence of association with triglycerides (P 3.3 10(4)), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C, P 4.9 10(4)) and body mass index (BMI)-adjusted waisthip ratio (P 9.8 10(3)). These findings improve our knowledge of the genetic basis of adiponectin variation, demonstrate the shared allelic architecture for adiponectin with lipids and central obesity and motivate further studies of underlying mechanisms.
Incidence of retinal vein occlusion with longterm exposure to ambient air pollution
(2019-09-24)
Zhang, Han-Wei
;
Lin, Chao-Wen
;
Kok, Victor C.
;
Tseng, Chun-Hung
;
Lin, Yuan-Pei
This study aimed to investigate whether long-term exposure to airborne hydrocarbons, including volatile organic compounds, increases the risk of developing retinal vein occlusion (RVO) among the population of Taiwan. A retrospective cohort study involving 855,297 people was conducted. Cox proportional hazards regression analysis fitted the multiple pollutant models for two targeted pollutants, including total hydrocarbons (THC), nonmethane hydrocarbons (NMHC) were used, and the risk of RVO was estimated. The chi-squared test and one-way analysis of variance were used to test differences in demographics and comorbidity distribution among tertiles of the targeted pollutants. Before controlling for multiple pollutants, hazard ratios for the overall population were 19.88 (95% CI: 17.56-22.50) at 0.51-ppm increases in THC and 4.33 (95% CI: 3.97-4.73) at 0.27-ppm increases in NMHC. The highest adjusted hazard ratios for different multiple pollutant models of each targeted pollutant were statistically significant (all p values were.0.05) for all patients at 29.67 (95% CI: 25.57-34.42) for THC and 16.24 (95% CI: 14.14-18.65) for NMHC. Our findings suggest that long-term exposure to THC and NMHC contribute to RVO development.
Long-term ambient hydrocarbons exposure and incidence of ischemic stroke
(2019-12-04)
Zhang, Han-Wei
;
Kok, Victor C.
;
Chuang, Shu-Chun
;
Tseng, Chun-Hung
;
Lin, Chin-Teng
Exposure to air pollutants is known to have adverse effects on human health; however, little is known about the association between hydrocarbons in air and an ischemic stroke (IS) event. We investigated whether long-term exposure to airborne hydrocarbons, including volatile organic compounds, increased IS risk. This retrospective cohort study included 283,666 people aged 40 years or older in Taiwan. Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was used to fit single- and multiple-pollutant models for two targeted pollutants, total hydrocarbons (THC) and nonmethane hydrocarbons (NMHC), and estimated the risk of IS. Before controlling for multiple pollutants, hazard ratios (HRs) of IS with 95% confidence intervals for the overall population were 2.69 (2.64-2.74) at 0.16-ppm increase in THC and 1.62 (1.59-1.66) at 0.11-ppm increase in NMHC. For the multiple-pollutant models controlling for PM2.5, the adjusted HR was 3.64 (3.56-3.72) for THC and 2.21 (2.16-2.26) for NMHC. Our findings suggest that long-term exposure to THC and NMHC may be a risk factor for IS development.
Long-Term Exposure to Ambient Hydrocarbons Increases Dementia Risk in People Aged 50 Years and above in Taiwan
(2019-01-01)
Zhang, Han-Wei
;
Kok, Victor C.
;
Chuang, Shu-Chun
;
Tseng, Chun-Hung
;
Lin, Chin-Teng
Background: Alzheimer's disease, the most common cause of dementia among the elderly, is a progressive and irreversible neurodegenerative disease. Exposure to air pollutants is known to have adverse effects on human health, however, little is known about hydrocarbons in the air that can trigger a dementia event. Objective: We aimed to investigate whether long-term exposure to airborne hydrocarbons increases the risk of developing dementia. Method: The present cohort study included 178,085 people aged 50 years and older in Taiwan. Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was used to fit the multiple pollutant models for two targeted pollutants, including total hydrocarbons and non-methane hydrocarbons, and estimated the risk of dementia. Results: Before controlling for multiple pollutants, hazard ratios with 95% confidence intervals for the overall population were 7.63 (7.28-7.99, p <0.001) at a 0.51 -ppm increases in total hydrocarbons, and 2.94 (2.82-3.05, p <0.001) at a 0.32-ppm increases in non-methane hydrocarbons. The highest adjusted hazard ratios for different multiple-pollutant models of each targeted pollutant were statistically significant (p <0.001) for all patients: 11.52 (10.86-12.24) for total hydrocarbons and 9.73 (9.18-10.32) for non-methane hydrocarbons. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that total hydrocarbons and non-methane hydrocarbons may be contributing to dementia development.