Objectives: This study's objective was to examine association between sleep duration and sleep quality, and metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its components in Taiwanese male police officers. Material and Methods: Male police officers who underwent annual health examinations were invited to join the study and eventually a total of 796 subjects was included in it. The study subjects were divided into 5 groups according to the length (duration) of sleep: < 5, 5-5.9, 6-6.9, 7-7.9 and ≥ 8 h per day, and the global Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index was used to categorize their sleep quality as good or poor. To analyze the association between sleep problems and MetS, adjusted odds ratio and respective 95% confidence intervals (CI) were computed. Results: The prevalence of MetS in Taiwanese male police officers was 24.5%. Abdominal obesity had the highest proportion (36.2%) among 5 components of MetS. More than 1/2 of the police officers (52.3%) had poor sleep quality. Police officers with higher scores of sleep disturbances had a higher prevalence of MetS (p = 0.029) and abdominal obesity (p = 0.009). After adjusting for age, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, smoking status, alcohol drinking habit, physical habitual exercise, snoring and type of shift work, the police officers who slept less than 5 h were 88% more likely to suffer from abdominal obesity than those who slept 7-7.9 h (95% CI: 1.01-3.5). Sleep quality was not associated with MetS and its components. Conclusions: The police officers who slept less than 5 h were more likely to experience abdominal obesity in Taiwan, and those with higher scores of sleep disturbances had a higher prevalence of MetS and abdominal obesity. It is recommended that police officers with short sleep duration or sleep disturbances be screened for MetS and waist circumference in order to prevent cardiovascular diseases.

Hemodialysis patients with secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHP) suffer from excessive oxidative stress and inflammation. Vitamin D analogues are currently the first line therapy for SHP, but the influence of vitamin D treatment on inflammation and oxidative stress remains unknown. This study investigated the influence of vitamin D therapy on oxidative stress and inflammatory markers in hemodialysis patients with SHP. Twenty-five patients (mean age 58 ± 12 years, 13 males and 12 females) were enrolled in the study to receive calcitriol treatment for 16 weeks. We evaluated changes in the serum biochemical parameters, inflammatory markers [C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels], serum oxidative stress condition [total antioxidant status (TAS)], and CD4 + T-lymphocyte intracellular cytokines [interferon γ (IFN-γ) and interleukin-4 (IL-4)] before and at the end of the 16-week calcitriol treatment. Correlations between each of these factors were also studied. All patients with SHP had low serum 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D 3 levels and elevated serum levels of intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH), CRP and IL-6. Twenty patients (10 males and 10 females) responded to the calcitriol therapy, with significant decrements in serum iPTH. Our results showed that calcitriol can effectively suppress iPTH secretion, reduce inflammatory markers (CRP and IL-6) and oxidative stress. It can also effectively reduce inflammatory cytokine (CD4 + IFN-γ) and increase anti-inflammatory cytokine (CD4 + IL-4). Interestingly, significant correlations between CD4 + IFN-γ levels and serum iPTH levels, as well as between TAS and iPTH levels were noted. Overall, our study has demonstrated calcitriol treatment significantly attenuates inflammation and oxidative stress in hemodialysis patients with SHP.