Weight-loss interventions generally improve lipid profiles and reduce cardiovascular disease risk, but effects are variable and may depend on genetic factors. We performed a genetic association analysis of data from 2,993 participants in the Diabetes Prevention Program to test the hypotheses that a genetic risk score (GRS) based on deleterious alleles at 32 lipid-associated single-nucleotide polymorphisms modifies the effects of lifestyle and/or metformin interventions on lipid levels and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) lipoprotein subfraction size and number. Twenty-three loci previously associated with fasting LDL-C, HDL-C, or triglycerides replicated (P = 0.04–1×10−17). Except for total HDL particles (r = −0.03, P = 0.26), all components of the lipid profile correlated with the GRS (partial |r| = 0.07–0.17, P = 5×10−5–1×10−19). The GRS was associated with higher baseline-adjusted 1-year LDL cholesterol levels (β = +0.87, SEE±0.22 mg/dl/allele, P = 8×10−5, P interaction = 0.02) in the lifestyle intervention group, but not in the placebo (β = +0.20, SEE±0.22 mg/dl/allele, P = 0.35) or metformin (β = −0.03, SEE±0.22 mg/dl/allele, P = 0.90; P interaction = 0.64) groups. Similarly, a higher GRS predicted a greater number of baseline-adjusted small LDL particles at 1 year in the lifestyle intervention arm (β = +0.30, SEE±0.012 ln nmol/L/allele, P = 0.01, P interaction = 0.01) but not in the placebo (β = −0.002, SEE±0.008 ln nmol/L/allele, P = 0.74) or metformin (β = +0.013, SEE±0.008 nmol/L/allele, P = 0.12; P interaction = 0.24) groups. Our findings suggest that a high genetic burden confers an adverse lipid profile and predicts attenuated response in LDL-C levels and small LDL particle number to dietary and physical activity interventions aimed at weight loss.

Across the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) follow-up, cumulative diabetes incidence remained lower in the lifestyle compared with the placebo and metformin randomized groups and could not be explained by weight. Collection of self-reported physical activity (PA) (yearly) with cross-sectional objective PA (in follow-up) allowed for examination of PA and its long-term impact on diabetes prevention. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Yearly self-reported PA and diabetes assessment and oral glucose tolerance test results (fasting glucose semiannually) were collected for 3,232 participants with one accelerometry assessment 11-13 years after randomization (n 5 1,793). Mixed models determined PA differences across treatment groups. The association between PA and diabetes incidence was examined using Cox proportional hazards models. RESULTS There was a 6% decrease (Cox proportional hazard ratio 0.94 [95% CI 0.92, 0.96]; P < 0.001) in diabetes incidence per 6 MET-h/week increase in time-dependent PA for the entire cohort over an average of 12 years (controlled for age, sex, baseline PA, and weight). The effect of PA was greater (12% decrease) among participants less active at baseline (<7.5 MET-h/week) (n 5 1,338) (0.88 [0.83, 0.93]; P < 0.0001), with stronger findings for lifestyle participants. Lifestyle had higher cumulative PA compared with metformin or placebo (P < 0.0001) and higher accelerometry total minutes per day measured during follow-up (P 5 0.001 and 0.047). All associations remained significant with the addition of weight in the models. CONCLUSIONS PA was inversely related to incident diabetes in the entire cohort across the study, with cross-sectional accelerometry results supporting these findings. This highlights the importance of PA within lifestyle intervention efforts designed to prevent diabetes and urges health care providers to consider both PA and weight when counseling high-risk patients.

In this study, we evaluated the feet of 144 consecutive children with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis [IRA) during a routine outpatient visit to discover patterns of foot problems. We found that all but nine subjects had at least 1 of 21 foot problems, categorized as inflammation, limitation of motion, and abnormal alignment. Overall, pronated rearfoot and midfoot were observed in 73% and 72% of IRA patients, respectively. Additionally, 36% had splayfoot, whereas 35% of subjects had ankle limitation of motion. Other common foot problems included pronated forefoot, rearfoot and forefoot synovitis, forefoot limitation of motion, and toe valgus. Significant differences in the occurrence of various foot problems were observed among JRA onset/course subgroups and were influenced by both age and disease duration. Specifically, subjects with polyarticular JRA had more forefoot limitation and toe valgus, whereas subjects with pauciarticular JRA had pronated forefoot more often. Ankle limitation of motion, although unrelated to the JRA subgroup, was related to the duration of JRA. Subjects with longer disease histories also had toe valgus more often. Conversely, forefoot limitation of motion seemed to be more a function of age than of disease duration. These results indicate that foot problems are

A statewide survey of 2,875 Texas public school nurses was conducted to determine the characteristics, needs, and involvement of nurses in the health and education management of students with special health care needs (SSHCN). The 1,574 survey respondents (response rate = 55%) were primarily registered nurses (84%) with a mean of 8.6 years (SD = 7.1) of experience in the school setting. Respondents served 1.5 school campuses on average; the mean nurse-to-student ratio per campus was 1:728 (SD = 518). Respondents identified 106,650 SSHCN (6% of total enrollment). Asthma (47%), attention deficit disorder (26%), and seizure disorders (8%) were the most prevalent conditions encountered among SSHCN. Medication administration (54%), diapering (12%), and inhalation respiratory treatments (11%) were the most common of 48,569 health procedures delivered daily to SSHCN by nurses, clerical staff, assistants, and teachers. Parents were identified as the primary source of both child-specific health (70%) and training (68%) information in the school setting. Although nurses, of all school personnel, are likely best able to speak to the impact of a child's health impairment and needed school services, only 32% of respondents reported routine participation in special education eligibility evaluations and only 18% reported routine attendance at special education meetings for SSHCN. Moreover, 84% and 92%, respectively, reported discomfort at participating in special education eligibility evaluations and attending special education meetings.

ImportanceAge-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a leading cause of blindness with no treatment available for early stages. Retrospective studies have shown an association between metformin and reduced risk of AMD.ObjectiveTo investigate the association between metformin use and age-related macular degeneration (AMD).Design, Setting, and ParticipantsThe Diabetes Prevention Program Outcomes Study is a cross-sectional follow-up phase of a large multicenter randomized clinical trial, Diabetes Prevention Program (1996-2001), to investigate the association of treatment with metformin or an intensive lifestyle modification vs placebo with preventing the onset of type 2 diabetes in a population at high risk for developing diabetes. Participants with retinal imaging at a follow-up visit 16 years posttrial (2017-2019) were included. Analysis took place between October 2019 and May 2022.InterventionsParticipants were randomly distributed between 3 interventional arms: lifestyle, metformin, and placebo.Main Outcomes and MeasuresPrevalence of AMD in the treatment arms.ResultsOf 1592 participants, 514 (32.3%) were in the lifestyle arm, 549 (34.5%) were in the metformin arm, and 529 (33.2%) were in the placebo arm. All 3 arms were balanced for baseline characteristics including age (mean [SD] age at randomization, 49 [9] years), sex (1128 [71%] male), race and ethnicity (784 [49%] White), smoking habits, body mass index, and education level. AMD was identified in 479 participants (30.1%); 229 (14.4%) had early AMD, 218 (13.7%) had intermediate AMD, and 32 (2.0%) had advanced AMD. There was no significant difference in the presence of AMD between the 3 groups: 152 (29.6%) in the lifestyle arm, 165 (30.2%) in the metformin arm, and 162 (30.7%) in the placebo arm. There was also no difference in the distribution of early, intermediate, and advanced AMD between the intervention groups. Mean duration of metformin use was similar for those with and without AMD (mean [SD], 8.0 [9.3] vs 8.5 [9.3] years; P = .69). In the multivariate models, history of smoking was associated with increased risks of AMD (odds ratio, 1.30; 95% CI, 1.05-1.61; P = .02).Conclusions and RelevanceThese data suggest neither metformin nor lifestyle changes initiated for diabetes prevention were associated with the risk of any AMD, with similar results for AMD severity. Duration of metformin use was also not associated with AMD. This analysis does not address the association of metformin with incidence or progression of AMD.