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Biomedical subjects

G T Ko

Publications and source records attributed to G T Ko.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1999

Plasma insulin, growth hormone, cortisol, and central obesity among young Chinese type 2 diabetic patients.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationships between central obesity, insulin resistance index, plasma insulin, growth hormone (GH), and cortisol concentrations in 90 young Chinese type 2 diabetic patients (aged 33+/-5 years) and 104 age- and sex-matched control subjects (aged 32+/-9 years). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Young Chinese diabetic patients (aged <40 years) were recruited from the Prince of Wales Hospital. Blood pressure, height, weight, and waist and hip circumferences were determined. Venous blood was sampled for measurements of fasting plasma glucose, HbA1c, lipids, creatinine, insulin, GH, and cortisol. A 24-h urine was assayed for urinary albumin excretion (UAE). General and central obesity was represented by BMI and waist circumference, respectively. Insulin resistance index was estimated as a product of fasting plasma insulin and glucose concentrations. RESULTS: Compared with control subjects, diabetic patients were more obese, hyperglycemic, and had worse lipid profile, higher blood pressures, UAE, insulin resistance index, plasma insulin, and cortisol concentrations (all P < 0.001) but lower GH concentrations (P < 0.05). When analyzed as a whole group (n = 194), increasing quartiles of waist circumference were associated with increasing trends of insulin resistance index, plasma insulin, and cortisol concentrations (all P < 0.01) but a decreasing trend of plasma GH concentration (P < 0.05). Using stepwise multiple regression analysis, waist circumference was only associated with sex variable (being higher in men) in the control subjects. In the diabetic group, 51% of waist circumference was independently related to male sex and increased plasma insulin and cortisol concentrations as well as reduced plasma GH levels. CONCLUSIONS: In young Chinese type 2 diabetic patients, hyperinsulinemia, hypercortisolemia, and reduced plasma GH levels were closely associated with central obesity. Based on these findings, we postulate that maladaptive hormonal responses to rapid changes in lifestyle may have led to obesity and type 2 diabetes in these young patients. Alternatively, lifestyle-related obesity may have given rise to these hormonal changes. More studies are required to delineate the nature of these relationships.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Glycated haemoglobin and cardiovascular risk factors in Chinese subjects with normal glucose tolerance.

Increased plasma glucose concentration is a predictive factor for mortality in both diabetic and non-diabetic subjects. Although glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) is a useful index of mean blood glucose concentrations over the preceding 1 to 3 months, there are few data regarding its relationship to cardiovascular risk. We have examined the relationship between HbA1c and cardiovascular risk factors in 1280 subjects with normal glucose tolerance. Based on HbA1c tertiles (tertile 1: n = 427, 262 men and 165 women, HbA1c level: 2.9-4.7% in men and 3.2-4.2% in women; tertile 2: n = 426, 261 men and 165 women, HbA1c level: 4.7-5.1% in men and 4.2-4.6% in women; tertile 3: n = 427, 262 men and 165 women, HbA1c level: 5.1-6.7% in men and 4.6-6.9% in women), increasing HbA1c was associated with increasing age, blood pressure, waist-hip ratio, fasting and 2-h plasma glucose, 2-h insulin, cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, apolipoprotein B and urate concentrations. When age and sex were included as covariates, increasing HbA1c remained associated with increasing fasting and 2-h plasma glucose, 2-h insulin, total cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations. These findings emphasize the importance of hyperglycaemia, as reflected by HbA1c, as a continuum in the evaluation of cardiovascular risk. Furthermore, these findings support the hypothesis that cardiovascular disease risk commences with rising glucose concentrations before 'conventionally-defined' glucose intolerance occurs.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Short-term efficacy and tolerability of combination therapy with lovastatin and acipimox in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and mixed dyslipidemia.

In type 2 diabetes, it is not uncommon to find an elevated serum triglyceride and/or reduced high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels; elevated total cholesterol levels often occur as well. To evaluate the short-term efficacy and tolerability of combination therapy with lovastatin and acipimox in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes who have mixed dyslipidemia, an open-label 6-month trial was conducted. All patients had type 2 diabetes (n = 33) with total cholesterol > or = 6.2 mmol/L and fasting triglyceride > or = 2.8 mmol/L, which had been confirmed twice and persisted for at least 12 weeks after introduction of diet control. After a 4-week run-in period, they were given lovastatin 40 mg daily at night for 12 weeks. Acipimox 250 mg three times a day was then added for a further 12 weeks. After 12 weeks of treatment with lovastatin alone, improvement was observed in total cholesterol (21% reduction), triglyceride (32% reduction), low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (5.5% reduction), HDL cholesterol (11.6% elevation), apolipoprotein A-I (4.6% elevation), and apolipoprotein B (20.5% reduction). The addition of acipimox to lovastatin for an additional 12 weeks further reduced serum total cholesterol, triglyceride, LDL cholesterol, and apolipoprotein B, but this additional decrease was not statistically significant. However, HDL cholesterol and apolipoprotein A-I levels were significantly increased by the addition of acipimox (a 14.2% and 9.0% elevation, respectively). Serum creatine phosphokinase increased slightly after 12 weeks of lovastatin but decreased to a concentration similar to baseline after 12 weeks of combination treatment. No patients reported muscle pain or weakness or other side effects. Combination treatment with lovastatin and acipimox appears to be a safe and effective therapy in patients with type 2 diabetes and mixed dyslipidemia, and has particular benefit in elevating serum HDL cholesterol and apolipoprotein A-I levels.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

The association between dyslipidaemia and obesity in Chinese men after adjustment for insulin resistance.

Obesity is associated with dyslipidaemia characterised by increased fasting triglyceride and decreased high-density lipoprotein (HDL) concentrations. Causes for obesity-associated dyslipidaemia include insulin resistance, excessive caloric intake, increased free fatty acid production and disturbances in the counter-regulatory hormones. We examined the relationships between lipid parameters and obesity before and after adjustment of insulin resistance in 902 Hong Kong Chinese men. After adjustment for age, smoking and insulin resistance, increasing body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) remained closely associated with increased concentrations of triglyceride and apolipoprotein B (apo B), increased ratios between low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and HDL (LDL/HDL), and that between apo B and LDL (apo B/LDL), increased fasting and 2-h plasma glucose and insulin, as well as decreased concentrations of HDL, HDL2 and apolipoprotein A-I (apo A-I). On stepwise multiple regression analysis using age, BMI, WHR, insulin resistance and fasting plasma glucose as independent variables, BMI and WHR were the major determinants for the variance of triglyceride, HDL and its subfractions, LDL/HDL, apo B and apo B/LDL. Age was the most important predictor for total cholesterol and LDL. Insulin resistance only explained less than 1% of the variance in triglyceride and apo B. This was compared to a variance between 10 and 16% in these parameters as explained by BMI and/or WHR. In conclusion, obesity is associated with dyslipidaemia in Chinese men, characterised by increased plasma triglyceride, apo B, LDL/HDL, apo B/LDL, and decreased HDL, HDL2 and apo A-I concentrations. Obesity independent of insulin resistance, in particular central adiposity as reflected by increased WHR, was the most important independent variable for many of these lipid abnormalities. Our results emphasised the multifactorial linkage between obesity and dyslipidaemia.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Loss of bone mineral density in Chinese pre-menopausal women with systemic lupus erythematosus treated with corticosteroids.

The adverse effect of disease and chronic corticosteroid therapy on bone mineral density (BMD) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) has been reported in several studies of Caucasian populations. As the factors controlling bone homeostasis may be different in Asian populations, we measured BMD in 52 pre-menopausal Chinese women (mean age 34.1 +/- 8.0 yr) with SLE (mean disease duration 6.4 +/- 4.5 yr) treated with prednisone (mean daily dose 11.4 +/- 10.8 mg/day). Lumbar spine, hip (total and subregions) and total body BMDs were measured in the SLE patients using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA), and compared with those from healthy controls matched for age, sex and body mass index. Compared to controls, SLE patients were found to have lower BMD (g/cm2) at several sites: the lumbar spine (0.98 vs 0.90, P = 0.001), Ward's triangle (0.72 vs 0.67, P = 0.03), total body (1.04 vs 1.01, P = 0.04) and total hip (0.87 vs 0.82, P = 0.05). There was no correlation between BMD at any region and duration of disease, activity of disease or prednisone therapy (mean daily dose, cumulative dose or treatment duration). When BMDs were compared between controls and SLE patients, subgrouped according to those not on calcium and those arbitrarily receiving calcium supplements (1 g/day), significantly lower BMDs were found in those not on calcium compared to both controls and SLE patients on calcium. BMDs in SLE patients on calcium were not different from those in controls. The low prevalence of osteoporosis in our SLE patients (4-6%) suggests significant loss of BMD in Chinese SLE patients on corticosteroid therapy is less than that reported in Caucasians (12-18%).

Adrenal Cortex Hormones↗
PubMed1998

The reproducibility and usefulness of the oral glucose tolerance test in screening for diabetes and other cardiovascular risk factors.

We examined the reproducibility of oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTT) using the World Health Organization criterion in 212 Chinese subjects (male 149, female 63) who underwent two 75 g OGTTs within a 6-week period. The overall reproducibility was 65.6% (139/212) of which 74 subjects had normal glucose tolerance, 24 had diabetes and 41 had impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) on two occasions. The subjects were divided into three groups [group 1: normal OGTTs on both occasions (n = 74); group 2: one abnormal OGTT (either diabetes or IGT (n = 51); group 3: 2 abnormal OGTTs (n = 87)]. Subjects in group 1 were younger, had lower blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), fasting and 2 h plasma insulin levels, triglyceride, very-low density lipoprotein and apolipoprotein-B concentrations than both groups 2 and 3. Group 2 had similar characteristics as group 3 except for a lower glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), fasting and 2 h plasma glucose during the two OGTTs. With receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis, a HbA1c of 5.3% gave an optimal sensitivity of 70.7% and specificity of 74.3% to predict diabetes as defined by a 2 h plasma glucose value > or = 11.1 mmol/L in the first OGTT. Of the 212 subjects, 73 had HbA1c > or = 5.3%. The reproducibility of OGTT was 56.2% for these 73 subjects. With ROC analysis, a BMI of 25 kg/m2 gave an optimal sensitivity of 53.7% and specificity of 56.7% to predict diabetes. For the 36 subjects with BMI > or = 25 kg/m2, the reproducibility of OGTT was 58.3%. Similarly, for the 140 subjects with WHR > or = 0.9, the reproducibility of OGTT was 57.9%. These findings confirmed the poor reproducibility of OGTT which was not improved even amongst subjects with high HbA1c, BMI or WHR. Furthermore, subjects with one abnormal OGTT, whether reproducible or not, had a higher cardiovascular risk profile compared to subjects who had two normal OGTTs.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Antibodies to glutamic acid decarboxylase in young Chinese diabetic patients.

Antibodies to glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) are a useful autoimmune marker for type 1 diabetes mellitus in Caucasians. We examined antibodies to GAD and their relationships with clinical features and pancreatic beta cell function in 140 young Chinese diabetic patients. Over an 18-month period beginning in 1995, 140 young Chinese diabetic subjects with age of onset of disease < or = 35 years and age < 40 years were recruited consecutively, irrespective of their modes of presentation. Clinical features, antibodies to GAD and pancreatic beta cell function (using a glucagon stimulation test) were examined. Increased levels of antibodies to GAD (> 18 units) were detected in 12.1% (n = 17) of these subjects. Forty-three (31%) patients had a classical type 1 presentation and 65 (46%) patients were insulin-deficient based on post-glucagon plasma C-peptide levels. Patients who were insulin-deficient and had a type 1 presentation had the highest prevalence of antibodies to GAD (29.0%) compared with patients who had a type 2 presentation and were non-insulin deficient (6.4%, P = 0.003). Patients who had antibodies to GAD had lower body mass index and waist-hip ratio, earlier onset of disease, lower blood pressure, plasma triglyceride and C-peptide, and higher concentrations of plasma high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and glycated haemoglobin, and were more likely to require drug treatment, compared with those without antibodies to GAD. In conclusion, there was a low prevalence of antibodies to GAD in Chinese young diabetic patients although such antibodies remained a relatively specific marker for insulin deficiency and acute presentation. Causes other than autoimmunity should be sought to explain the high prevalence of insulin deficiency in these young Chinese patients.

Antibodies↗
PubMed1998

Dual phase spiral CT in the detection of small insulinomas of the pancreas.

Dual phase contrast enhanced spiral computed tomography (DPSCT) has the potential to improve detection of small insulin secreting islet cell tumours of the pancreas. Seven patients with biochemically proven insulinoma, who had previously undergone a range of negative radiological procedures, were referred for DPSCT. Images of the pancreas were obtained using 3 mm collimation in the arterial and arteriovenous perfusion phase following the rapid injection of contrast medium. Six tumours were localized in seven patients. The six insulinomas identified on DPSCT ranged in size from 6 mm to 18 mm and were located in the uncinate process (2), head (1), neck (2) and body (1). All six tumours were detected in the arterial phase and four in the arteriovenous phase. The four insulinomas detected on both perfusion phases were more conspicuous in the arterial phase in three patients and more conspicuous in the arteriovenous phase in one patient. In conclusion, high resolution arterial phase acquisition of the pancreas is very valuable in the detection of small insulinomas.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Use of the 1997 American Diabetes Association diagnostic criteria for diabetes in a Hong Kong Chinese population.

OBJECTIVE: Recently, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) has proposed revised diagnostic criteria for diabetes. Lowering of the fasting plasma glucose (FPG) cutoff value is intended to reduce the discrepancy with the 2-h plasma glucose (PG) cutoff value and to encourage the use of FPG. We have applied these new criteria to data collected from a population-based prevalence survey in Hong Kong Chinese subjects of working age. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: The results of 1,513 oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTTs) from a previously published prevalence survey of glucose intolerance and cardiovascular risk factors in a Hong Kong Chinese working population were reexamined using the new criteria. Of the 1,513 subjects, 27 had a known history of diabetes. Of the remaining 1,486 subjects, 228 were also selected randomly for a second OGTT without prior knowledge of the result of the first test. RESULTS: After exclusion of the 27 subjects with a known history of diabetes, the crude prevalence of diabetes was 2.83% (n = 42) when the World Health Organization's (WHO) criteria were applied. When the criterion of FPG > or = 7.0 mmol/l was used, as recommended by the ADA, the prevalence of diabetes was 1.41% (n = 21). Twenty-nine subjects (1.95%) with FPG < 7.0 mmol/l had a 2-h PG > or = 11.1 mmol/l. Eight subjects (0.53%), previously without a diagnosis of diabetes according to the WHO criteria (FPG < 7.8 mmol/l and 2-h PG < 11.1 mmol/l), had FPG between 7.0 and 7.8 mmol/l and were classified as having diabetes by the ADA criteria. This classification gave a net change of -1.42% in the prevalence of diabetes between the use of FPG > or = 7.0 mmol/l alone and the use of WHO criteria. Among the 1,486 subjects with no known history of diabetes, those classified as having diabetes according to the ADA FPG criterion alone had higher HbA1c and fructosamine levels than diabetic subjects defined by the WHO criteria. Of the 228 subjects for whom two FPG measurements were available, those who had consistent definitions (diabetes, impaired fasting glucose, normal fasting glucose) on both occasions were considered to have reproducible tests, giving an overall reproducibility of 90.8% (207 of 228). CONCLUSIONS: Compared with the WHO criteria, the use of FPG to diagnose diabetes, as recommended by the ADA, was a more reproducible test and identified those subjects who had a greater degree of hyperglycemia. Although lowering of the cutoff value from 7.8 to 7.0 mmol/l increased the number of diagnoses among subjects with low FPG, the omission of the 2-h PG would lead to fewer subjects having their diabetes diagnosed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Combined use of a fasting plasma glucose concentration and HbA1c or fructosamine predicts the likelihood of having diabetes in high-risk subjects.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the validity of using fasting plasma glucose (FPG) concentrations in conjunction with HbA1c or fructosamine for the screening of diabetes in high-risk individuals. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: In this study 2,877 Hong Kong Chinese (565 [19.6%] men; 2,312 [80.4%] women) with various risk factors for glucose intolerance underwent a 75-g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) for screening of diabetes. The risk factors included a family history positive for diabetes, a history of gestational diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance, and obesity. RESULTS: Using World Health Organization (WHO) criteria, 1,593 (55.4%) had normal glucose tolerance, 657 (22.8%) had impaired glucose tolerance, and 627 (21.8%) had diabetes. When the 1997 American Diabetes Association (ADA) criteria were applied, 394 (13.7%) had diabetes with an FPG > or = 7.0 mmol/l. Using multiple receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, the paired values of an FPG of 5.6 mmol/l and a HbA1c of 5.5% gave an optimal sensitivity of 83.8% and specificity of 83.6% to predict a 2-h plasma glucose (PG) > or = 11.1 mmol/l. Likewise, the paired values of an FPG of 5.4 mmol/l and a fructosamine level of 235 mumol/l (n = 2,408) gave an optimal sensitivity of 81.5% and specificity of 83.2%. An FPG > or = 5.6 mmol/l and an HbA1c > or = 5.5% was 5.4-fold more likely to occur in diabetic subjects (based on the WHO criteria) compared with nondiabetic subjects. For paired parameters less than these values, the likelihood ratio of this occurring in diabetic subjects was only 0.11. Similarly, an FPG > or = 5.4 mmol/l and a fructosamine > or = 235 mumol/l was fivefold more likely to occur in diabetic subjects than in nondiabetic subjects, with both parameters less than these values having a likelihood ratio of 0.04. Using these paired values as initial screening tests, only subjects who had an FPG > or = 5.6 mmol/l and < 7.8 mmol/l and an HbA1c > or = 5.5% (n = 642) required an OGTT to confirm diabetes, thereby saving 77.7% [(2,877-642)/2,877] of the OGTTs performed. Similarly, only subjects who had an FPG > or = 5.4 mmol/l and < 7.8 mmol/l and a fructosamine > or = 235 mumol/l (n = 526) required OGTT to confirm diabetes, meaning that 78.2% [(2,408-526)/2,408] of the OGTTs could have been saved. Based on the 1997 ADA criterion of an FPG cutoff value of 7.0 mmol/l, the corresponding numbers of OGTTs to be saved were 82.6% and 85.5%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The paired values of FPG and HbA1c or FPG and fructosamine helped to identify potentially diabetic subjects, the diagnosis of which could be further confirmed by the 75-g OGTT. Using this approach approximately 80% of OGTTs could have been saved, depending on the diagnostic cutoff value of FPG.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

The effect of age on cardiovascular risk factors in Chinese women.

Chinese women traditionally have a low incidence of coronary heart disease. However, information on cardiovascular risk factors in this population are relatively scarce. We examined these risk factors in 601 Hong Kong Chinese women (age+/-SEM, 38.5+/-0.4 years; range, 18-66 years) stratified into four age groups (group 1, < or =30 years; group 2, 31-40 years; group 3, 41-50 years; group 4, > or =51 years). Increasing age in Chinese women was associated with increased body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, fasting plasma total cholesterol, triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein, apolipoprotein B, fasting and 2-h plasma glucose, glycated haemoglobin, fasting plasma insulin and urate concentrations. After adjustment for body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio and smoking, all these age-related associations remained statistically significant except for fasting plasma insulin concentration. There was a progressive increase with age in the prevalence of glucose intolerance, hypertension, dyslipidaemia and obesity. These prevalence rates further increased in subjects aged 51 years (the mean menopausal age in Asian women) or above. These findings suggest that age had an important and independent effect on cardiovascular risk in Chinese women and that, as in Caucasians, the onset of menopause might further increase this risk.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Plasma fibrinogen concentration in a Chinese population.

Plasma fibrinogen concentration has been shown to be a predictor of major cardiovascular events. Information on plasma fibrinogen amongst Chinese has been scanty. We examined the relationships between plasma fibrinogen concentration and cardiovascular risk factors in 988 chinese subjects who underwent 75 g oral glucose tolerance test for screening for glucose intolerance. The study involved a selected sample with subjects who had an history of gestational diabetes, delivery of big babies (birth weight > or = 4 kg), equivocal plasma glucose concentrations and subjects who were family members of diabetic patients. This was mainly a non-smoking (96.6%), non-drinking (98%) and non-exercising (99%) population of which 87% (n = 855) were female. Among the 988 subjects (age +/- S.D. 36.8 +/- 10.2, range 16-79 years), plasma fibrinogen concentration ranged from 1.40 to 9.90 g/l with a mean of 3.26 +/- 0.93 g/l. On stratification of the subjects into 4 quartiles based on plasma fibrinogen concentrations, we found that increased plasma fibrinogen was associated with older age, higher body mass index (BMI), systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP), fasting and 2 h plasma glucose (PG), prevalence of diabetes, glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) and triglyceride (TG) level. After adjustment for age and sex, increased plasma fibrinogen concentration remained associated with higher BMI, systolic BP, 2 h PG and TG level. On multivariate analysis using age, BMI, BP, TG, HbA1c and PG as independent variables, plasma fibrinogen was independently related to plasma TG concentration and HbA1c. With 1 S.D. change in TG concentration and HbA1c, there were 3.7 and 5.2% changes in plasma fibrinogen concentration respectively. These findings emphasize the close relationships between plasma fibrinogen and cardiovascular risk factors, in particular abnormal lipid and glucose metabolism.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Simple anthropometric indexes and cardiovascular risk factors in Chinese.

OBJECTIVE: Obesity is a major public health problem due to its associations with multiple cardiovascular risk factors. Although there are sophisticated methods, such as imaging, to document total body fat and its distributions, anthropometric measurements remain important in clinical practice. We examined the relationships between cardiovascular risk factors and the three commonest anthropometric measurements for obesity, body mass index (BMI), waist-hip ratio (WHR) and waist circumference (WC), in Hong Kong Chinese subjects. DESIGN AND SETTING: The data are obtained from a prevalence survey for glucose intolerance and lipid abnormality in a representative Hong Kong Chinese working population. All employees from a public utility company and a regional hospital were invited to participate. SUBJECTS: There were 1513 subjects (910 men and 603 women, mean age +/- s.e.m.: 37.5 +/- 0.2 y). All of them had no significant past medical history. MEASUREMENTS: BMI, WHR and WC of the 1513 subjects were assessed for their relationships with various cardiovascular risk factors. These include blood pressure, fasting and 2 h plasma glucose and insulin, glycated haemoglobin, total cholesterol, triglyceride, high density and low density lipoprotein cholesterol, and urine albumin concentration. RESULTS: After age adjustment, all three anthropometric indexes were significantly correlated with the major cardiovascular risk factors in both men and women. When BMI, WHR and WC were analysed according to quartiles, there was a significant trend for blood pressure, plasma triglyceride, fasting and 2 h plasma glucose and insulin to increase, and high density lipoprotein cholesterol to decrease, with increasing obesity after adjustment for age and smoking. Using stepwise regression analysis with the three indexes as independent variables, most of the variance in blood pressure, plasma lipid, insulin, glucose and urinary albumin concentration were explained either by WC or WHR. In women, BMI was the main explanatory variable for reduced high density lipoprotein cholesterol. CONCLUSIONS: In Hong Kong Chinese, BMI, WHR and WC provide important information in assessing cardiovascular risks. In men, central adiposity as reflected by WC and to some extent, WHR, explained most of the variance in blood pressure, plasma glucose, lipid, insulin and albuminuria. In women, all three indexes reflecting general and central obesity contribute to the variance in these risk factors.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

A patient with Graves' disease, thrombocytopenia and chronic hepatitis B.

A 22-year-old Chinese man, a HBsAg carrier, presented with relapse of thyrotoxic Graves' disease complicated by thrombocytopenia and hepatitis. Platelet count and liver enzymes gradually improved following successful treatment of the thyrotoxicosis with radioactive iodine. Possible pathogenetic links and therapeutic implications are discussed.

Adult↗