Jean Michel Rocha Sampaio Leite

Background/Objectives: There is a lack of empirical studies of out-of-pocket health expenditures associated with dyslipidemias, which are major cardiovascular risk factors, especially in underrepresented admixed populations. The study investigates associations of health costs with lipid traits, GWAS-derived genetic risk scores (GRSs), and other cardiometabolic risk factors. Methods: Data from the observational cross-sectional 2015 ISA-Nutrition comprised lifestyle, environmental factors, socioeconomic and demographic variables, and biochemical and genetic markers related to the occurrence of cardiometabolic diseases. GWAS-derived genetic risk scores were estimated from SNPs previously associated with lipid traits. There was phenotypic and genetic information available for 490 independent individuals, which was used as inputs for random forests and logistic regression to explain private quantitative and categorical health costs. Results: There were significant correlations between GRSs and their respective lipid phenotypes. The main relevant variables across techniques and outcome variables comprised income per capita, principal components of ancestry, diet quality, global physical activity, inflammatory and lipid markers, and LDL-c GRS and non-HDL-c GRS. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) of quartile-based categorical health expenditure without GRSs was 0.76. GRSs were not significant for this categorical outcome. Conclusions: We present an original contribution to the investigation of determinants of private health expenditures in a highly admixed population, providing insights on associations between genetic and socioeconomic dimensions of health in Brazil. Ancestry information was also among the main factors contributing to health expenses, providing a novel view of the role of genetic ancestry on cardiometabolic risk factors and its potential impact on health costs.

The rise in obesity and related chronic noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) during recent decades in Brazil has been associated with increases in the financial burden and risk of impoverishment due to out-of-pocket (OOP) health expenditure. Thus, this study investigated trends and predictors associated with impoverishment due to health expenditure, in the population of São Paulo city, Brazil, between 2003 and 2015. Household data from the São Paulo Health Survey (n = 5475) were used to estimate impoverishment linked to OOP health expenses, using the three thresholds of International Poverty Lines (IPLs) defined by the World Bank at 1.90, 3.20, and 5.50 dollars per capita per day purchasing power parity (PPP) in 2011. The results indicated a high incidence of impoverishment due to OOP disbursements for health care throughout the period, predominantly concentrated among low-income individuals. Lifestyle choices referring to leisure-time physical activity (OR = 0.766 at $3.20 IPL, and OR = 0.789 at $5.50 IPL) were linked to reduction in the risk for impoverishment due to OOP health expenditures whilst there were increases in the probability of impoverishment due to cardiometabolic risk factors referring to obesity (OR = 1.588 at $3.20 IPL, and OR = 1.633 at $5.50 IPL), and diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases (OR = 2.268 at $1.90 IPL, OR = 1.967 at $3.20 IPL, and OR = 1.936 at $5.50 IPL). Diagnosis of type 2 diabetes mellitus was associated with an increase in the probability of impoverishment at only the $1.90 IPL (OR = 2.506), whilst coefficients for high blood pressure presented lack of significance in the models. Health policies should focus on interventions for prevention of obesity to ensure the financial protection of the population in São Paulo city, Brazil, especially targeting modifiable lifestyle choices like promotion of physical activity and reduction of tobacco use.

Epidemiological studies frequently classify groups based on phenotypes like self-reported skin color/race, which inaccurately represent genetic ancestry and may lead to misclassification, particularly among individuals of multiracial backgrounds. This study aimed to characterize both global and local genome-wide genetic ancestries and to assess their relationship with self-reported skin color/race in an admixed population of Sao Paulo city. We analyzed 226,346 single-nucleotide polymorphisms from 841 individuals participating in the population-based ISA-Nutrition study. Our findings confirmed the admixed nature of the population, demonstrating substantial European, significant Sub-Saharan African, and minor Native American ancestries, irrespective of skin color. A correlation was observed between global genetic ancestry and self-reported color-race, which was more evident in the extreme proportions of African and European ancestries. Individuals with higher African ancestry tended to identify as Black, those with higher European ancestry tended to identify as White, and individuals with higher Native American ancestry were more likely to self-identify as Mixed, a group with diverse ancestral compositions. However, at the individual level, this correlation was notably weak, and no deviations were observed for specific regions throughout the individual’s genome. Our findings emphasize the significance of accurately defining and thoroughly analyzing race and ancestry, especially within admixed populations.

Background and objectives: Several factors may account for food behavior, including common genetic variation. Robust evidence shows that specific single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are involved in palatability phenotypes. Considering the limited knowledge of these associations in the context of admixed groups, like the Brazilian population, we aimed to investigate associations of SNPs in the TAS1R and TAS2R taste receptor gene families with diet quality. Methods: A sample of 901 individuals ≥ 12 years old from the general population, categorized into age groups (adolescents, adults, and elderly), was interviewed in the Health Survey of Sao Paulo (ISA-Capital). Data on socioeconomic, demographic, and health characteristics were collected, including dietary information from two 24 h recalls in two nonconsecutive days and blood samples. The 24 h recalls were analyzed using the Revised Brazilian Healthy Eating Index (BHEI-R), comprising 12 components referring to food groups, nutrients, and calories from saturated fats, alcohol, and added sugar. Blood samples were genotyped for 255 SNPs in the TAS2R gene family (related to bitterness) and 73 SNPs in the TAS1R (related to sweetness and umaminess). BHEI-R was normally inversed transformed (invBHEIR). After data cleaning and quality control procedures, genotype and phenotype data of 637 individuals were made available for association analysis with invBHEI-R using linear models adjusted for age, age2, age × sex, sex, BMI, and the two first principal components of ancestry. Genetic taste scores (GTSs) were derived from the significant SNPs of each gene family and tested for associations. Analysis was performed with the software R version 4.0.2 using a significance level of 0.05. Results: There were 31 SNPs of TAS2R genes and four SNPs of TAS1R genes significantly associated with BHEI-R (p < 0.05). GTSs were positively associated, and their use increased the model’s performance, especially with TAS2R SNPs (r² rose from 0.135 to 0.188). Conversely, the estimated effect of the TAS1R score on BHEI-R was 2.02 higher than the TAS2R one. Discussion: Our results show potential genetic influences on diet quality by applying genetic taste scores. Unraveling associations between SNPs and food intake might help guide public policies towards healthier food behavior considering genetic differences, i.e., personalized nutrition.

Mateus et al. (2022) conducted a study to examine the effect of receiving off-training reminders to move from activity wristbands on physical activity and sedentary behavior in soccer players. The ...

Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) has high relapse rates due to dysregulated inflammatory signaling pathways and significant changes in the tumor microenvironment, probably influencing the failure of several therapies. The Cysteinyl Leukotriene Receptor 1 (CYSLTR1), a leukotriene modulator of inflammation, has been shown to play an important role in cancer pathogenesis and survival but few studies have been reported on its role in breast cancer. The present work was conducted using publicly available platforms that have omics data to assess the clinical potential of CYSLTR1 expression and its prognostic validation in large cohorts of samples from breast cancer patients. Web platforms containing clinical information, RNA-seq and protein data were selected to perform in silico analyses of the potential marker CYLSTR1. Added together, the platforms included modules for correlation, expression, prognosis, drug interactions, and construction of gene networks. Kaplan-Meier curves revealed that reduced levels of CYSLTR1 corresponded to an unfavorable outcome for overall survival (ppppP2RY10 and XCR1) when tested on a TNBC dataset. Our data highlighted the relevance of CYSLTR1 since it may play an important role in TNBC therapy. However, further in vitro and in vivo studies should be directed towards validating our findings in an effort to improve our understanding of TNBC pathology.

Background Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the main cause of morbidity and mortality in Brazil. Objective To provide population-based data on prevalence and factors associated with CVD risk factors. Methods Individuals aged ≥20 years from two editions of the cross-sectional Health Survey of São Paulo focusing on Nutrition (ISA-Nutrition), performed in Sao Paulo city in 2008 (n=590) and 2015 (n=610), were evaluated for: obesity, central obesity, waist/height ratio, high blood pressure (HBP), dyslipidemia, diabetes, and number of CVD risk factors [...] Abstract Background Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the main cause of morbidity and mortality in Brazil. Objective To provide population-based data on prevalence and factors associated with CVD risk factors. Methods Individuals aged ≥20 years from two editions of the cross-sectional Health Survey of São Paulo focusing on Nutrition (ISA-Nutrition), performed in Sao Paulo city in 2008 (n=590) and 2015 (n=610), were evaluated for: obesity, central obesity, waist/height ratio, high blood pressure (HBP), dyslipidemia, diabetes, and number of CVD risk factors