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Fundus Photography as a Convenient Tool to Study Microvascular Responses to Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors in Epidemiological Studies
Published on: October 22, 2014
Bilirubin, cardiovascular diseases and cancer: epidemiological perspectives
Keizo Ohnaka1, Suminori Kono1,2
1a Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan.
Abstract:
Owing to a potent antioxidant property of bilirubin, a growing interest has been drawn to the potential protective effects of bilirubin against oxidative stress-related diseases. This article evaluates associations of bilirubin with atherosclerotic diseases and cancer. Serum bilirubin has consistently been shown to be inversely associated with diverse atherosclerotic diseases, mostly among men in different populations. A limited number of prospective studies have shown a U-shaped or reversed J-shaped relationship between bilirubin and coronary heart disease in men and no evident association in women. Few studies have provided evidence supportive of a protective association between bilirubin and cancer risk. The findings on bilirubin-related genetic polymorphisms are inconsistent in relation to coronary heart disease and cancer.
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