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Huma Qamar Centre for Global Child Health, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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Nandita Perumal Centre for Global Child Health, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Department of Epidemiology, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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Eszter Papp Centre for Global Child Health, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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Alison D Gernand Department of Nutritional Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA

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Abdullah Al Mahmud Nutrition and Clinical Services Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research (icddr,b), Dhaka, Bangladesh

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Daniel E Roth Centre for Global Child Health, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Department of Paediatrics, Hospital for Sick Children and University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) reflects inadequate growth in-utero and is prevalent in low resource settings. This study aimed to assess the association of maternal delivery parathyroid hormone (PTH) – a regulator of bone turnover and calcium homeostasis – with newborn anthropometry, to identify regulators of PTH, and to delineate pathways by which maternal PTH regulates birth size using path analysis. This was a cross-sectional analysis of data from participants (n = 537) enrolled in the Maternal Vitamin D for Infant Growth trial in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Primary exposures were maternal delivery intact PTH (iPTH) or whole PTH (wPTH) and outcomes were gestational age- and sex-standardized z-scores for birth length (LAZ), weight (WAZ), and head circumference (HCAZ). Hypothesized regulators of PTH included calcium and protein intake, vitamin D, magnesium, fibroblast-like growth factor-23 (FGF23), and C-reactive protein. Maternal iPTH was not associated with birth size in linear regression analyses; however, in path analysis models, every SD increase in log(iPTH) was associated with 0.08SD (95% CI: 0.002, 0.162) higher LAZ. In linear regression and path analysis models, wPTH was positively associated with WAZ. Vitamin D suppressed PTH, while FGF23 was positively associated with PTH. In path analysis models, higher magnesium was negatively associated with LAZ; FGF23 was positively associated and protein intake was negatively associated with LAZ, WAZ, and HCAZ. Higher maternal PTH in late pregnancy is unlikely to contribute to IUGR. Future studies should investigate maternal FGF23, magnesium and protein intake as regulators of fetal growth, particularly in settings where food insecurity and IUGR are public health problems.

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Suma Uday Department of Endocrinology and Diabetes, Birmingham Children’s Hospital, Birmingham, UK

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Ardita Kongjonaj MEAL Specialist at Save the Children International, Albania Country Office, Tirana, Albania

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Magda Aguiar Health Economics Unit, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK

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Ted Tulchinsky Braun School of Public Health and Community Medicine, and Ashkelon College, Ashkelon, Israel

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Wolfgang Högler Department of Endocrinology and Diabetes, Birmingham Children’s Hospital, Birmingham, UK
Institute of Metabolism and Systems Research, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK

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Background

Nutritional rickets is a growing global public health concern despite existing prevention programmes and health policies. We aimed to compare infant and childhood vitamin D supplementation policies, implementation strategies and practices across Europe and explore factors influencing adherence.

Methods

European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology Bone and Growth Plate Working Group members and other specialists completed a questionnaire on country-specific vitamin D supplementation policy and child health care programmes, socioeconomic factors, policy implementation strategies and adherence. Factors influencing adherence were assessed using Kendall’s tau-b correlation coefficient.

Results

Responses were received from 29 of 30 European countries (97%). Ninety-six per cent had national policies for infant vitamin D supplementation. Supplements are commenced on day 1–5 in 48% (14/29) of countries, day 6–21 in 48% (14/29); only the UK (1/29) starts supplements at 6 months. Duration of supplementation varied widely (6 months to lifelong in at-risk populations). Good (≥80% of infants), moderate (50–79%) and low adherence (<50%) to supplements was reported by 59% (17/29), 31% (9/29) and 10% (3/29) of countries, respectively. UK reported lowest adherence (5–20%). Factors significantly associated with good adherence were universal supplementation independent of feeding mode (P = 0.007), providing information at neonatal unit (NNU) discharge (P = 0.02), financial family support (P = 0.005); monitoring adherence at surveillance visits (P = 0.001) and the total number of factors adopted (P < 0.001).

Conclusions

Good adherence to supplementation is a multi-task operation that works best when parents are informed at birth, all babies are supplemented, and adherence monitoring is incorporated into child health surveillance visits. Implementation strategies matter for delivering efficient prevention policies.

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Iulia Soare University of Medicine and Pharmacy ‘Carol Davila’ Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania

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Anca Sirbu University of Medicine and Pharmacy ‘Carol Davila’ Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania
Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolic diseases, Elias Hospital, Bucharest, Romania

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Mihai Mircea Diculescu University of Medicine and Pharmacy ‘Carol Davila’ Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania
Department of Gastroenterology, Fundeni Clinical Institute, Bucharest, Romania

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Bogdan Radu Mateescu University of Medicine and Pharmacy ‘Carol Davila’ Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania
Department of Gastroenterology, Colentina Hospital, Bucharest, Romania

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Cristian Tieranu University of Medicine and Pharmacy ‘Carol Davila’ Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania
Department of Gastroenterology, Elias Hospital, Bucharest, Romania

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Sorina Martin University of Medicine and Pharmacy ‘Carol Davila’ Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania
Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolic diseases, Elias Hospital, Bucharest, Romania

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Carmen Gabriela Barbu University of Medicine and Pharmacy ‘Carol Davila’ Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania
Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolic diseases, Elias Hospital, Bucharest, Romania

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Mirela Ionescu University of Medicine and Pharmacy ‘Carol Davila’ Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania
Department of Gastroenterology, Elias Hospital, Bucharest, Romania

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Simona Fica University of Medicine and Pharmacy ‘Carol Davila’ Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania
Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolic diseases, Elias Hospital, Bucharest, Romania

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Background and aim

Low bone mineral density (BMD) is a common complication in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). However, debates are ongoing with regard to the other involved factors, especially in younger patients. This study aimed to evaluate the parameters that contribute to decreased BMD, focusing on premenopausal women and men aged <50 years.

Methods

This study included 81 patients with IBD and 81 age-, sex- and BMI-matched controls. Blood tests were conducted on IBD patients, and a dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scan was performed on both groups.

Results

Low BMD and fragility fracture were found to be more prevalent in IBD patients than in healthy subjects (49.3% vs 23.4%, P = 0.001 and 9.8% vs 1.2%, P = 0.01, respectively). Patients with low BMD were older, with a longer disease duration, higher faecal calprotectin (FC) levels and lower magnesium and lean mass (appreciated as appendicular skeletal muscle index (ASMI)). Multiple regression analysis revealed that ASMI, age and use of glucocorticoids were the independent parameters for decreased BMD. Although 91.3% of the patients had a 25-hydroxy vitamin D level of <30 ng/mL, it was not a statistically significant factor for decreased BMD.

Conclusion

In our study, the levels of vitamin D did not seem to have an important impact on BMD. Conversely, FC, magnesium and lean mass are important factors, suggesting that good control of disease, adequate magnesium intake and increased lean mass can have a good impact on bone metabolism in patients with IBD.

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Alexander V Amram Department of Physiology, Cardiovascular Research Institute, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA

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Stephen Cutie Department of Physiology, Cardiovascular Research Institute, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA

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Guo N Huang Department of Physiology, Cardiovascular Research Institute, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA

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Research conducted across phylogeny on cardiac regenerative responses following heart injury implicates endocrine signaling as a pivotal regulator of both cardiomyocyte proliferation and heart regeneration. Three prominently studied endocrine factors are thyroid hormone, vitamin D, and glucocorticoids, which canonically regulate gene expression through their respective nuclear receptors thyroid hormone receptor, vitamin D receptor, and glucocorticoid receptor. The main animal model systems of interest include humans, mice, and zebrafish, which vary in cardiac regenerative responses possibly due to the differential onsets and intensities of endocrine signaling levels throughout their embryonic to postnatal organismal development. Zebrafish and lower vertebrates tend to retain robust cardiac regenerative capacity into adulthood while mice and other higher vertebrates experience greatly diminished cardiac regenerative potential in their initial postnatal period that is sustained throughout adulthood. Here, we review recent progress in understanding how these three endocrine signaling pathways regulate cardiomyocyte proliferation and heart regeneration with a particular focus on the controversial findings that may arise from different assays, cellular-context, age, and species. Further investigating the role of each endocrine nuclear receptor in cardiac regeneration from an evolutionary perspective enables comparative studies between species in hopes of extrapolating the findings to novel therapies for human cardiovascular disease.

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Søs Dragsbæk Larsen Department of Clinical Research, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark

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Christine Dalgård Department of Clinical Research, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
Department of Public Health, Environmental Medicine, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark

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Mathilde Egelund Christensen Department of Clinical Research, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark

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Sine Lykkedegn Hans Christian Andersen Children’s Hospital, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark

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Louise Bjørkholt Andersen Department of Clinical Research, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Herlev Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark

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Marianne Andersen Department of Clinical Research, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
Department of Medical Endocrinology, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark

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Dorte Glintborg Department of Medical Endocrinology, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark

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Henrik Thybo Christesen Department of Clinical Research, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
Hans Christian Andersen Children’s Hospital, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark

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Background

Low foetal vitamin D status may be associated with higher blood pressure (BP) in later life.

Objective

To examine whether serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D2+3 (s-25OHD) in cord and pregnancy associates with systolic and diastolic BP (SBP; DBP) in children up to 3 years of age.

Design

Prospective, population-based cohort study.

Methods

We included 1594 singletons from the Odense Child Cohort with available cord s-25OHD and BP data at median age 3.7 months (48% girls), 18.9 months (44% girls) or 3 years (48% girls). Maternal s-25OHD was also assessed at gestational ages 12 and 29 weeks. Multiple regression models were stratified by sex a priori and adjusted for maternal educational level, season of birth and child height, weight and age.

Results

In 3-year-old girls, SBP decreased with −0.7 mmHg (95% CI −1.1; −0.3, P = 0.001) and DBP with −0.4 mmHg (95% CI −0.7; −0.1, P = 0.016) for every 10 nmol/L increase in cord s-25OHD in adjusted analyses. Moreover, the adjusted odds of having SBP >90th percentile were reduced by 30% for every 10 nmol/L increase in cord s-25OHD (P = 0.004) and by 64% for cord s-25OHD above the median 45.1 nmol/L (P = 0.02). Similar findings were observed between pregnancy s-25OHD and 3-year SBP, cord s-25OHD and SBP at 18.9 months, and cord s-25OHD and DBP at 3 years. No consistent associations were observed between s-25OHD and BP in boys.

Conclusion

Cord s-25OHD was inversely associated with SBP and DBP in young girls, but not in boys. Higher vitamin D status in foetal life may modulate BP in young girls. The sex difference remains unexplained.

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Mieke Van Hemelrijck
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Thurkaa Shanmugalingam
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Cecilia Bosco
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Wahyu Wulaningsih
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Sabine Rohrmann Cancer Epidemiology Group, Division of Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Division of Cancer Studies, King's College London, London, UK

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Background

Despite mounting evidence linking both calcium and IGF1, there is a lack of studies investigating any association between circulating levels of IGF1 and serum calcium.

Methods

Serum calcium, IGF1, and IGF-binding protein 3 (IGFBP3) were measured for 5368 participants in NHANES III. We calculated multivariable-adjusted geometric means of serum concentrations of IGF1, IGFBP3, and IGF1/IGFBP3 by categories of calcium (lowest 5% (<1.16 mmol/l), mid 90%, and top 5% (≥1.31 mmol/l)). We also performed stratified analyses by sex, age, ethnicity, BMI, serum levels of vitamin D, and bone mineral density (BMD).

Results

Overall, we found that circulating calcium was positively associated with circulating levels of IGF1 and IGFBP3, but not their molar ratio (i.e., geometric mean of IGF1 by increasing calcium categories: 237.63, 246.51, and 264.22 ng/nl; P trend: 0.43; P first vs third category: 0.01). In particular, these associations were observed in women, people aged <60, non-Hispanic whites, those with vitamin D levels above the mean, and those with low BMD. In contrast, there was an inverse association with the molar ratio for those with BMI ≥30 kg/m2.

Conclusion

We found an overall positive association between circulating levels of IGF1 and IGFBP3 and serum calcium. However, stratification by potential effect-modifiers did not support all suggested hypotheses. Our findings provide more insight into the interplay between calcium and IGF1, which in the future can be investigated in larger observational studies allowing for additional stratifications based on a combination of the different effect-modifiers investigated here.

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Mengting Yin Sichuan University West China Hospital, Chengdu, China

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Qianhui Liu Sichuan University West China Hospital, Chengdu, China

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Qingzhong Wang Jintang First People’s Hospital, West China Hospital Sichuan University Jingtang Hospital, Chengdu, China

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Yong He Sichuan University West China Hospital, Chengdu, China

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Haolan Song Sichuan University West China Hospital, Chengdu, China

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Xin Nie Sichuan University West China Hospital, Chengdu, China

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Guixing Li Sichuan University West China Hospital, Chengdu, China

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Background

The diagnosis of primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) remains a challenge because of increased asymptomatic PHPT or patients with normocalcaemic PHPT (NPHPT). In addition, some primary hospitals in China have no equipment to measure parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels. Therefore, an additional, simple, and inexpensive laboratory biochemical marker is urgently needed. The calcium/phosphate (Ca/P) ratio and chloride/phosphate (Cl/P) ratio have been proposed as suitable tools to diagnose PHPT in Europe; however, the Ca/P ratio has never been tested in China. We aimed to conduct a confirmatory study to explore the diagnostic performance of the Ca/P ratio for PHPT in China.

Methods

From January 2015 to December 2020, a total of 155 patients who underwent parathyroidectomy (143 PHPT patients and 12 NPHPT patients) and 153 controls were enrolled in this single-center , retrospective study. Serum calcium, phosphate, parathyroid hormone, 25-hydroxyvitamin vitamin D (25(OH) vitamin D), chloride, alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate aminotransaminase (AST), estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), and creatinine levels were recorded for all the study participants. Pairwise comparisons were made between groups, and the diagnostic performance of the Ca/P ratio was determined using receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) analysis.

Results

Patients with PHPT had a higher Ca/P ratio than controls (P < 0.001). A Ca/P ratio above 2.94 with a sensitivity of 95.5% and specificity of 98.7% can distinguish PHPT patients from healthy individuals. This index was positively correlated with the PTH level (r = 0.875, P < 0.001).

Conclusion

The Ca/P ratio is an ideal and inexpensive indicator for diagnosing PHPT in China when using a cut-off value of 2.94.

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Ozlem Atan Sahin Department of Pediatrics, Acıbadem University School of Medicine, Atasehir, Istanbul, Turkey

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Damla Goksen Department of Pediatric Endocrinology, Faculty of Medicine, Ege University, Bornova, Izmir, Turkey

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Aysel Ozpinar Department of Biochemistry, Acıbadem University, School of Medicine, Atasehir, Istanbul, Turkey

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Muhittin Serdar Department of Biochemistry, Acıbadem University, School of Medicine, Atasehir, Istanbul, Turkey

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Huseyin Onay Department of Medical Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Ege University, Bornova, Izmir, Turkey

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Background

There have been studies focused on FokI, BsmI, ApaI and TaqI polymorphisms of the vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene and susceptibility to type 1 diabetes mellitus with controversial results.

Methods

This present study is a meta-analysis investigating the association between FokI, ApaI, TaqI and BsmI polymorphisms of VDR gene and type 1 DM in children. A literature search was performed using Medline, EMBASE, Cochrane and PubMed. Any study was considered eligible for inclusion if at least one of FokI, ApaI, TaqI and BsmI polymorphisms was determined, and outcome was type 1 DM at pediatric age.

Results

A total of 9 studies comprising 1053 patients and 1017 controls met the study inclusion criteria. The pooled odds ratios (ORs) of the FokI, ApaI, TaqI and BsmI polymorphisms were combined and calculated. Forest plots and funnel plots of the OR value distributions were drawn. Our meta-analysis has demonstrated statistically significant associations between DM1 and VDR genotypes, BsmIBB (P < 0.05), BsmIBb, (P < 0.05), BsmIbb (P < 0.05), TaqITT (P < 0.05) and TaqItt (P < 0.05) in children.

Conclusion

The results indicated that BsmIBB, BsmIBb and TaqItt polymorphisms were associated with an increased risk of type 1 DM, whereas BsmIbb and TaqITT had protective effect for type 1 DM in children.

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June Young Choi Department of Surgery, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam-si, Korea

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Jin Wook Yi Department of Surgery, Seoul National University Hospital and College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

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Jun Hyup Lee Department of Surgery, Seoul National University Hospital and College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

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Ra-Yeong Song Department of Surgery, Seoul National University Hospital and College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

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Hyeongwon Yu Department of Surgery, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam-si, Korea

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Hyungju Kwon Department of Surgery, Seoul National University Hospital and College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

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Young Jun Chai Department of Surgery, Seoul National University Boramae Hospital, Seoul, Korea

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Su-jin Kim Department of Surgery, Seoul National University Hospital and College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

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Kyu Eun Lee Department of Surgery, Seoul National University Hospital and College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

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The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between vitamin D receptor gene (VDR) expression and prognostic factors in papillary thyroid cancer (PTC). mRNA sequencing and somatic mutation data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) were analyzed. VDR mRNA expression was compared to clinicopathologic variables by linear regression. Tree-based classification was applied to find cutoff and patients were split into low and high VDR group. Logistic regression, Kaplan–Meier analysis, differentially expressed gene (DEG) test and pathway analysis were performed to assess the differences between two VDR groups. VDR mRNA expression was elevated in PTC than that in normal thyroid tissue. VDR expressions were high in classic and tall-cell variant PTC and lateral neck node metastasis was present. High VDR group was also associated with classic and tall cell subtype, AJCC stage IV and lower recurrence-free survival. DEG test reveals that 545 genes were upregulated in high VDR group. Thyroid cancer-related pathways were enriched in high VDR group in pathway analyses. VDR mRNA overexpression was correlated with worse prognostic factors such as subtypes of papillary thyroid carcinoma that are known to be worse prognosis, lateral neck node metastasis, advanced stage and recurrence-free survival.

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Silvia Ciancia Department of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

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Vanessa Dubois Basic and Translational Endocrinology (BaTE), Department of Basic and Applied Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

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Martine Cools Department of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Ghent University, Pediatric Endocrinology Service, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium

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Both in the United States and Europe, the number of minors who present at transgender healthcare services before the onset of puberty is rapidly expanding. Many of those who will have persistent gender dysphoria at the onset of puberty will pursue long-term puberty suppression before reaching the appropriate age to start using gender-affirming hormones. Exposure to pubertal sex steroids is thus significantly deferred in these individuals. Puberty is a critical period for bone development: increasing concentrations of estrogens and androgens (directly or after aromatization to estrogens) promote progressive bone growth and mineralization and induce sexually dimorphic skeletal changes. As a consequence, safety concerns regarding bone development and increased future fracture risk in transgender youth have been raised. We here review published data on bone development in transgender adolescents, focusing in particular on differences in age and pubertal stage at the start of puberty suppression, chosen strategy to block puberty progression, duration of puberty suppression, and the timing of re-evaluation after estradiol or testosterone administration. Results consistently indicate a negative impact of long-term puberty suppression on bone mineral density, especially at the lumbar spine, which is only partially restored after sex steroid administration. Trans girls are more vulnerable than trans boys for compromised bone health. Behavioral health measures that can promote bone mineralization, such as weight-bearing exercise and calcium and vitamin D supplementation, are strongly recommended in transgender youth, during the phase of puberty suppression and thereafter.

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