Our study suggests several risk factors, including smoking, family history, and reproductive history that may increase the risk of SLE.

Background: The relationship between glycated hemoglobin A_1c (HbA_1c) and stroke has not been fully elucidated. In addition, there have been few reports from Asia, and few trials have been conducted for each stroke subtype. Methods: A prospective cohort study was performed involving 32,726 participants (9,558 men and 23,168 women) aged 40–79 years at baseline with approximately 6 years of follow-up in a general population of Japan. The end points included the incidence of all, ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes. Multivariate-adjusted hazard ratios by 6 HbA_1c categories were calculated using a Cox proportional hazard model. Results: During the follow-up, 393 participants developed a stroke, including 240 ischemic and 139 hemorrhagic stroke cases. The adjusted hazard ratios of all strokes and ischemic stroke showed tendencies to increase with HbA_1c level, and the relationships were independent of other confounders. The adjusted hazard ratios of ischemic stroke incidence showed an apparent and graded increase from a relatively mild HbA_1c level (≧6.0%); the HRs (95% CI) were 1.79 (1.10–2.93) for HbA_1c 6.0–6.4%, 2.20 (1.21–4.00) for HbA_1c 6.5–6.9% and 2.91 (1.91–4.44) for HbA_1c ≧7.0% compared with the category of HbA_1c 5.0–5.4%. For hemorrhagic stroke incidence, no significant increase due to rises in HbA_1c level was observed. Conclusions: The relationship of the risk of stroke, especially ischemic stroke, to HbA_1c in the general population appears to be graded without any apparent threshold. The ischemic stroke risk would increase from a relatively mild HbA_1c level of ≧6.0%.

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In order to investigate the predisposition for essential hypertension, a population-based study was carried out in 63 female adolescents. In 35 adolescents with a positive family history of hypertension (the FH (+) group) defined by Williams's family scoring method, both urinary creatinine adjusted sodium concentration and sodium-potassium ratio (Na/K) were significantly lower (p<0.05), and serum total cholesterol was significantly higher (p<0.05) than the values of the FH (-) group. Furthermore, a significant positive correlation was recognized between urinary Na/K and Na-K ATPase activity of the erythrocyte membrane (p<0.05), and between the body mass index and blood pressure (p<0.05 for systolic blood pressure and p<0.01 for diastolic blood pressure), were observed in the FH (+) group, but not in the FH (-) group. The authors discuss these significant correlations in terms of family scores for hipertension.