Nonlinear Reduction in Risk for Type 2 Diabetes by Magnesium Intake:An Updated Meta-Analysis of Prospective Cohort Studies

Observational studies between magnesium int- ake and risk of type 2 diabetes yielded inconsistent results. We conducted a system literature search of PubMed database through March 2015 for prospective cohort studies of magnesium intake and type 2 diabetes risk. Study-specific results were pooled in a random-effects model. Subgroup and sensitivity analysis were performed to assess the potential sources of heterogeneity and the robustness of the pooled estimation. Generalized least squares trend estimation was used to investigate the dose-response relationship. A total of 15 papers with 19 analyses were identified with 539,735 participants and 25,252 incident diabetes cases. Magnesium intake was associated with a significant lower risk of type 2 diabetes （RR： 0.77; 95% Ch 0.71-0.82） for the highest compared with lowest category. This association was not significantly modified by the pre-specified study characteristics. In the dose-response analysis, a magnesium intake increment of 100 mg/day was associated with a 16% reduction in type 2 diabetes risk （RR： 0.84; 95% Ch 0.80-0.88）. A nonlinear relationship existed between magnesium intake and type 2 diabetes （P-nonlinearity=0.003）. This meta-analysis further verified a protective effect of magnesium intake on type 2 diabetes in a nonlinear dose-response manner.

A comparative study of risk factors for corneal infection in diabetic and non-diabetic patients

AIM： To compare the clinical characteristics of infectious keratopathy in type 2 diabetes mellitus（T2DM） and nondiabetes mellitus（NDM） and to investigate risk factors for infectious keratopathy in T2DM patients. METHODS： Totally 230 patients with T2DM and 168 with NDM diagnosed as infectious keratopathy were hospitalized at Qingdao Eye Hospital from 2001 to 2015. Data including sex, age, occupation, season, smoking and alcohol consumption habits, duration between onset and treatments, duration of hospitalization were collected. Initially identified indicators were analyzed with a multivariate logistic regression. Glycosylated hemoglobin A1 c（Hb A1 c） in patients with T2DM was analyzed. The infectious keratopathies in the two groups were categorized and compared.RESULTS： The diabetic group consisted of 146（63.5%） males and 84（36.5%） females. The NDM group consisted of 111（66.1%） males and 57（33.9%） females. There was no signigicantly difference in sex distribution between the two groups（P〉0.05）. There were significant differences in age, occupation of patients, season of the onset of diseases, duration between onset and treatment, and durations of hospitalization between the two groups（P〈0.05）. In most of the patients in the diabetic group, the duration between onsetand treatment was ≤3 mo, and most was ≥3 mo in the NDM group. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that age and season were related to the development of corneal infection in the T2DM group（OR=1.709, 1.706）. In the T2DM group, Hb A1 c was 9.09%±2.12%. There were statistically significant differences in the incidences of bacterial keratitis and herpes simplex keratitis in the two groups（P〈0.05）, but no significant statistical difference was found between fungal keratitis and amoebic keratitis（P〉0.05）. CONCLUSION： Advanced age and the summer and winter seasons are identified as risk factors for infectious keratopathy in T2DM patients, and T2DM patients are more prone to bacterial keratitis.

Effects of a Community-Based Intervention on the Lifestyle and Health of People at Risk of Type 2 Diabetes in Benin

Introduction: Worldwide, the prevalence of type 2 diabetes (T2D) is increasing at an epidemic rate. The objective of this study was to measure the effects on lifestyle intervention in subjects at risk of T2D in a West African country. Methods: This study involved Beninese adults at risk of T2D randomly selected from 2 groups of villages: control villages and villages exposed to nutrition education, cooking demonstrations and physical activity sessions. Anthropometric, clinical, and biological measurements were taken in both groups at the beginning and end of the intervention, which lasted 12 months. The paired sample t-test was used to assess the effect of the intervention on the lifestyle of people at risk of T2D. Results: After 12 months of exposure to nutrition education, cooking demonstrations and physical activity sessions in the intervention villages, the mean body mass index, waist circumference, body fat percentage, blood glucose, triglycerides, total cholesterol and amount of alcohol consumed per week had significantly decreased. Conversely, the mean intensity of physical activity and food consumption score had significantly increased. In the control group, 5.6% of the people at risk developed to diabetes. The relative risk was RR = 0.20 [0.14 - 0.56]. Conclusion: The intervention significantly improved metabolic indicators, intensity of leisure activity and dietary score. We suggest larger studies to better assess the effect of community-based interventions on the lifestyle and health of people at risk of T2D in Africa.

The Beijing Desheng Diabetic Eye Study:rationale,design,methodology and baseline data

AIM： To present the rationale, design, methodology, and the baseline data of the Beijing Desheng Diabetic Eye Study（BDDES）, and to determine the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy（DR） and possible risk factors in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus（T2DM） in an urban community of Beijing, China.METHODS： Community-based prospective cohort study of persons diagnosed with T2DM aged 30 y or older. The main variables of interest are the presence and progression of DR as determined by the standardized ETDRS grading of seven fields fundus photographs. The presence and severity of DR were analyzed for possible correlations to non-genetic and genetic dispositions.RESULTS： A total of 1438 participants with data available for analysis, the prevalence of any DR was 35.4%. The prevalence of mild non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy（NPDR）, moderate NPDR, severe NPDR, and proliferative diabetic retinopathy was 27.7%, 2.6%, 0.5% and 4.5%, respectively. By multiple logistic regression analysis, risk factors for the presence of any DR included male（P=0.031）, lower income level（P=0.011）, lower education background（P=0.022）, longer duration of diabetes（P=0.001）, younger age at diabetic onset（P=0.001）, higher systolic blood pressure（P=0.007）, higher glycosylated hemoglobin A1 c levels（P=0.001）, high albuminuria（P=0.03）, and use of insulin（P〈0.001）. For vision-threatening DR, four factors were significant： younger age at diabetic onset（P〈0.001）,higher systolic blood pressure（P=0.042）, high albuminuria（P〈0.001）, and use of insulin（P〈0.001）. CONCLUSION： The BDDES is the first large-scale ongoing cohort study of a Chinese urban population of persons with type 2 diabetes. Using standardized grading system comparable to large cohort studies from western populations, our baseline data shows that the prevalence of DR and major risk factors in this Chinese ethnic population are comparable to that found in the western population studies.

Association of UCP3,APN,and TNF-α Gene Polymorphisms with Type 2 Diabetes in a Population of Northern Chinese Han Patients

We observed the polymorphism distribution and coaction of uncoupling protein 3（UCP3）-55C/T,adiponectin（APN）＋45T/G and tumor necrosis factor（TNF）-α-308G/A on the onset and development of T2DM in a Northern Chinese Han population of 213[100 type 2 diabete（T2DM） patients and 113 health control subjects] by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphisum（PCR-RFLP） method.Results demonstrate the polymorphism of UCP3-55C/T,APN＋45T/G,and TNF-α-308G/A related to T2DM onset and developement.And the individuals carrying UCP3-55T,APN＋45G and TNF-α-308A allele had higher T2DM risk.Those results are the first report to evaluate the association of the coaction of UCP3,APN,TNF-α genes polymorphism on T2DM risk and the susceptibility of T2DM in the Northern Chinese Han population.

On the Issue of Commercial Insurance and Commercial Insurance Market in the Slovak Republic

The article is concentrated on the Slovak commercial insurance, commercial insurance market, non-life insurance, and international risks on the Slovak Republic. Since 1 May 2004, the Slovak insurance market has been part of the uniform European Union insurance market, which includes over 5,000 insurance companies. After Slovakia’s admission to the European Union, several legislative changes have been adopted in the area of commercial insurance industry, which also influenced non-life insurance and the insurance of international risks as part of non-life risks. The most recent act in the area of commercial insurance mentioned in the paper is the Act of the National Council SR No. 39/2015 Coll. on Insurance, in which there are legislative changes in life and also non-life insurance. Basic terms are defined and commented on in the first two chapters （Lowry, Rawlings, ＆ Merkin, 2015）. The nature of international risks as part of non-life risks is described in the second chapter. International risks are classified in the third chapter; international risks are subdivided in the paper into commercial or trade risks, political and economic risks, and special types of risks.