This study will identify and describe both patients with LDL levels above the target goal and those who lack routine LDL monitoring in terms of sociodemographic factors (age, sex, race/ethnicity, household income, educational attainment), system-level factors (KPNC Service Area, lack…
Older adults have the greatest burden of asthma and poorest outcomes. The pharmacogenetics of inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) treatment response is not well studied in older adults. A genome-wide association study of ICS response was performed in asthmatics of European ancestry…
Using the GERA cohort, we aim to determine the extent to which atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) polygenic risk score is associated with baseline ASCVD risk and statin-induced ASCVD relative risk reduction. We will also determine the extent to which the…
Breast cancer survivors are at a higher risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality compared with the general population. The impact of objective social and built neighborhood attributes on CVD risk in a cohort of female breast cancer survivors…
Studies comparing the effect of aromatase inhibitor (AI) and tamoxifen use on cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in hormone-receptor positive breast cancer (BC) survivors report conflicting results. We examined associations of endocrine therapy use with incident diabetes, dyslipidemia, and hypertension.…
Study has 3 aims: Identify and characterize common and rare genetic variants and environmental factors underlying untreated LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides and total cholesterol in each of four race/ethnicity groups; identify common and rare genetic variants and environmental factors underlying response…
This study will use the GERA cohort to develop a polygenic risk score-guided precision medicine tool for statin treatment decisions. It will develop an algorithm that predicts baseline atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) and statin-induced ASCVD relative risk reduction incorporating ASCVD…
The goal of this study was to examine the association of breast arterial calcification (BAC) presence and quantity with incident atrial fibrillation (AF) in a large cohort of post-menopausal women. We conducted a longitudinal cohort study among women free of…
Epidemiological studies of interstitial lung disease (ILD) are limited by small numbers and tertiary care bias. Investigators have leveraged the widespread use of electronic health records (EHRs) to overcome these limitations, but struggle to extract patient-level, longitudinal clinical data needed…
Prior studies support the utility of high sensitivity troponin I (hsTnI) for cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk stratification among asymptomatic populations; however, only two prior studies examined women separately. The association between hsTnI and breast arterial calcification is unknown. Cohort study…
QT interval length is an important risk factor for adverse cardiovascular outcomes; however, the genetic architecture of QT interval remains incompletely understood. We conducted a genome-wide association study of 76,995 ancestrally diverse Kaiser Permanente Northern California members enrolled in the…
Genetic substudies of randomized controlled trials demonstrate that high coronary heart disease (CHD) polygenic risk score modifies statin CHD relative risk reduction; it is unknown if the association extends to statin users undergoing routine care. We sought to determine how…
Prior studies of the glycemic effect of statins have been inconsistent. Also, most studies have only considered a short duration of statin use; the effect of long-term statin use on fasting glucose (FG) has not been well examined. The aim…
While clinical heart failure (HF) is recognized as an adverse effect from breast cancer (BC) treatment, sparse data exist on specific HF phenotypes in affected BC survivors. We examined risk of HF by left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) status in…
Inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) response among patients with asthma is influenced by genetics, but biologically actionable insights based on associations have not been found. Various glucocorticoid response omics data sets are available to interrogate their biological effects. We sought to identify…
Many asthma patients remain uncontrolled on inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) and long-acting beta agonists (LABAs), but guidance for selecting add-on therapies, including long-acting muscarinic antagonists (LAMAs) or biologics, is limited. We describe how prescribing practices for add-on LAMA and biologic therapy…
To examine cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality risk in women with breast cancer (BC) by cancer therapy received relative to women without BC. The study population comprised Kaiser Permanente Northern California members. Cases with invasive BC diagnosed from 2005 to…
The incidence of cardiometabolic risk factors in breast cancer (BC) survivors has not been well described. Thus, we compared risk of hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidemia in women with and without BC. Women with invasive BC diagnosed from 2005 to 2013…
Some people have characteristics of both asthma and COPD (asthma-COPD overlap), and evidence suggests they experience worse outcomes than those with either condition alone. What is the genetic architecture of asthma-COPD overlap, and do the determinants of risk for asthma-COPD…
Leveraging the GERA Cohort to evaluate the performance of a 12-SNP PRS for CVD against the Pool Cohorts Equation across ethnic groups; validate MEGASTROKE Consortium PRS_32 for ischemic stroke; and assess the interplay between genetic background and lifestyle factors. We…
Breast arterial calcification (BAC), a common incidental finding in mammography, has been shown to be associated with angiographic coronary artery disease and cardiovascular disease (CVD) outcomes. We aimed to (1) examine the association of BAC presence and quantity with hard…
TdP is a form of polymorphic ventricular tachycardia which develops in the setting of a prolonged QT interval. There are limited data describing risk factors, treatment, and outcomes of this potentially fatal arrhythmia. Our goals were as follows: (1) to…
Inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) are a cornerstone of asthma treatment. However, their efficacy is characterized by wide variability in individual responses. We investigated the association between genetic variants and risk of exacerbations in adults with asthma and how this association is…
Polygenic risk scores (PRSs) will have important utility for asthma and other chronic diseases as a tool for predicting disease incidence and subphenotypes. We utilized findings from a large multiancestry GWAS of asthma to compute a PRS for asthma with…
Background Long QT has been associated with ventricular dysrhythmias, cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality, and sudden cardiac death. However, no studies to date have investigated the dynamics of within-person QT change over time in relation to risk of incident CVD and…
The association between the c.521T>C variant allele in SLCO1B1 (reference single nucleotide polymorphism (rs)4149056) and simvastatin-induced myotoxicity was discovered over a decade ago; however, whether this relationship represents a class effect is still not fully known. The aim of this…
Background: Since vascular risk factors are implicated in cognitive decline, and breast arterial calcification (BAC) is related to vascular risk, we postulated that BAC may be associated with cognitive impairment and dementia. Methods: We used a multiethnic cohort of 3,913…
Hostility is a complex personality trait associated with many cardiovascular risk factor phenotypes. Although magnesium intake has been related to mood and cardio-metabolic disease, its relation with hostility remains unclear. We hypothesize that high total magnesium intake is associated with…
In pharmacogenomic studies of quantitative change, any association between genetic variants and the pretreatment (baseline) measurement can bias the estimate of effect between those variants and drug response. A putative solution is to adjust for baseline. We conducted a series…
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a rare, chronic lung disease associated with substantial symptom burden, morbidity, and cost. Delivery of high-quality effective care in IPF requires understanding health-care resource utilization (HRU) patterns; however, longitudinal data from real-world populations are limited.…
Despite well-documented case series of hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP), epidemiological data delineating relative contributions of risk factors are sparse. To address this, we estimated HP risk in a case-referent study of occupational and nonoccupational exposures. We recruited cases of HP by…
Hundreds of loci have been associated with blood pressure (BP) traits from many genome-wide association studies. We identified an enrichment of these loci in aorta and tibial artery expression quantitative trait loci in our previous work in ~100 000 Genetic Epidemiology…
Asthma affects more than 300 million people in the world, costs over $80 billion annually in the United States, and is efficaciously treated with inhaled corticosteroids (ICS). To our knowledge, no studies have examined the real-world effectiveness of ICS, including…
The association between bone mineral density (BMD) and breast arterial calcification (BAC) remains poorly understood and controversial. The objective of this article is to examine the association between BMD and BAC in a large cohort of postmenopausal women undergoing routine…
Peak lung function and rate of decline predict future airflow obstruction and nonrespiratory comorbid conditions. Associations between lung function trajectories and emphysema have not been explored. Using data from the population-based CARDIA Study, we sought to describe the prevalence of…
In pharmacogenomic studies of quantitative change, any association between genetic variants and the pretreatment (baseline) measurement can bias the estimate of effect between those variants and drug response. A putative solution is to adjust for baseline. We conducted a series…
The KPNC-ILD cohort will consist of approximately 10,000 patients with interstitial lung disease. It will be built through electronic health recordbased case identification using an algorithm that will be further developed. We anticipate optimizing the existing KPNC-ILD algorithm and having…
The study aim is to optimize the Kaiser Permanente Northern California (KPNC) Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD) algorithm and establish the KPNC-ILD cohort. The KPNC-ILD cohort will consist of approximately 10,000 patients with ILD. It will be built through electronic health…
We will conduct assays of a selected panel of cardiac, metabolic, and cancer biomarkers in 3,000 blood samples collected by the MINERVA (MultIethNic Study of BrEast ARterial Calcium Gradation and CardioVAscular Disease) Study and stored at the Kaiser Biobank. The…
Patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have become a promising resource for exploring genetics of complex diseases, discovering new drugs, and advancing regenerative medicine. Increasingly, laboratories are creating their own banks of iPSCs derived from diverse donors. However, there are…
Breast arterial calcification (BAC) may be a predictor of cardiovascular events and is highly prevalent in persons with end-stage kidney disease. However, few studies to date have examined the association between mild-to-moderate kidney function and proteinuria with BAC. We prospectively…
Cardiotoxicity of commonly prescribed medications, typically assessed by electrocardiographic features such as prolongation of the QT interval, has regulatory effects and is associated with potentially fatal outcomes. This project aims to advance understanding of the genetic basis for drug cardiotoxicity…
To examine the association of breast arterial calcification (BAC) with the ankle brachial index (ABI), a sensitive metric of peripheral arterial disease (PAD), among postmenopausal women. Background: BAC is an emerging risk marker of cardiovascular disease (CVD). MINERVA (MultIethNic study…
Genetic variants in the chromosomal region 17q21 are consistently associated with asthma. However, mechanistic studies have not yet linked any of the associated variants to a function that could influence asthma, and as a result, the identity of the asthma…
Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) response to statin therapy has not been fully elucidated in real-world populations. The primary objective of this study was to characterize statin LDL-C dose-response and its heritability in a large, multiethnic population of statin users. We…
Nonadherence to controller and overuse of reliever asthma medications are associated with exacerbations. We aimed to determine patterns of seasonal asthma medication use and to identify time period(s) during which interventions to improve medication adherence could reduce asthma morbidity. We…
There are limited data on factors in young adulthood that predict future lung disease. To determine the relationship between respiratory symptoms, loss of lung health, and incident respiratory disease in a population-based study of young adults. We examined prospective data…
We examined the clinical utility of two multi-locus genetic risk scores (GRSs) previously validated in Europeans among persons of African (AFR; n = 2,089), Latino (LAT; n = 4,349) and East-Asian (EA; n = 4,804) ancestry. We used data from the GERA cohort (30-79 years old,…
A genome-wide association study (GWAS) of 94,674 ancestrally diverse Kaiser Permanente members using 478,866 longitudinal electronic health record (EHR)-derived measurements for untreated serum lipid levels empowered multiple new findings: 121 new SNP associations (46 primary, 15 conditional, and 60 in meta-analysis…
MultIethNic Study of BrEast ARterial Calcium Gradation and CardioVAscular Disease (MINERVA) was designed to answer the question of whether a novel continuous breast arterial calcification (BAC) mass score improves cardiovascular risk stratification among asymptomatic postmenopausal women. This article describes recruitment…
ECG left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is a well-known predictor of cardiovascular disease. However, no prior study has characterized patterns of presence/absence of ECG LVH ("ECG LVH trajectories") across the adult lifespan in both sexes and across ethnicities. We examined: (1)…
Population-based studies of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) in the United States have been limited by reliance on diagnostic code-based algorithms that lack clinical validation. To validate a well-accepted International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, code-based algorithm for IPF using patient-level…
Coronary artery disease is a major cause of death in women. Breast arterial calcifications (BACs), detected inmammograms, can be useful riskmarkers associated with the disease. We investigate the feasibility of automated and accurate detection ofBACsinmammograms for risk assessment of coronary…
EXCELS, a postmarketing observational cohort study, was a commitment to the US Food and Drug Administration to assess the long-term safety of omalizumab in an observational setting, focusing predominantly on malignancies. The aim of this study was to examine a…
Individuals with high levels of hostility may be more susceptible to the influence of television on violence and risk taking behaviors. This study aimed to examine whether hostile personality trait modifies the association between TV viewing and injuries. It is…
Specific study aims are: 1) To establish a multi-ethnic cohort between the ages of 60 and 79 years with equal representation of white, African-American, Asian and Hispanic/Latina women. All participants will be recruited at the time of their regular screening…
The aims of this study are to: 1) Determine the effectiveness of Long-Acting Beta Agonists (LABA) controlling therapies in comparison with other available controller regimens in persistent asthma disease management. 2) Determine if LABA-containing therapies are associated with an increased…
The study’s aims are to: 1) ascertain the genomic contribution of common genetic variants to blood pressure (BP) variation within and between multiple ethnic groups; 2) conduct Mendelian randomization experiments using all new and known BP-associated variants to investigate the…
Blood and other body fluids harbor abundant and stable extracellular RNAs (exRNA) which are increasingly recognized as novel potential biomarkers of disease. This study has the main objective of generating reference profiles of both short and long non-coding regulatory exRNA,…
This study will recruit statin users with: 1) a major acute coronary event (n=150), 2) new onset type 2 diabetes (n=150), 3) statin-induced myopathy (n=150), and controls free of all 3 conditions (n=300). We will then conduct genetic, transcriptomic, proteomic…
The objective of this study is to validate an existing genetic risk score (GRS) based on eight genetic variants associated with CHD, but not with classical cardiovascular risk factors. This GRS has been recently shown to be associated with a…
This is a cohort study with observations at two points in time: Year 20 exam in 2005-06 (age range 38-50) and Year 25 in 2010-11 (age range 43-55), and 5-year change. The research questions are: 1) Are hs-troponin and galectin-3…
Specific aim 1: To examine cross-sectional associations between genetic and neighborhood factors, and their interactions (socioeconomic, physical/built, social) in relation to obesity and BMI; Specific aim 2: To examine longitudinal associations between genetic and neighborhood factors, and their interactions (socioeconomic,…
This study will take advantage of longitudinal data collection in CARDIA to evaluate the association between lung function and risk of future lung disease and cardiovascular disease. The study will perform spirometry in all CARDIA participants at the year 30…
Our objectives are to define severe asthma phenotypes at the molecular and cellular level in order to predict prognosis, identify novel treatment targets, and guide targeted therapy. Our overarching hypothesis is that differences in clinical presentation, outcomes, and response to…
To establish a multi-ethnic cohort (n=5,400) between the ages of 60 and 79 years with equal representation of white (n=1,350; 25%), African-American (n=1,350; 25%), Asian (n=1,350; 25%) and Hispanic/Latina (n=1,350; 25%) women. All participants will be recruited at the time…
Longitudinal electronic health records on 99,785 Genetic Epidemiology Research on Adult Health and Aging (GERA) cohort individuals provided 1,342,814 systolic and diastolic blood pressure measurements for a genome-wide association study on long-term average systolic, diastolic, and pulse pressure. We identified…
We evaluated whether including multilocus genetic risk scores (GRSs) into the Framingham Risk Equation improves the predictive capacity, discrimination, and reclassification of asymptomatic individuals with respect to coronary heart disease (CHD) risk. We performed a cohort study among 51 954 European-ancestry…
In recent years, genome-wide association studies have identified 58 independent risk loci for coronary artery disease (CAD) on the autosome. However, due to the sex-specific data structure of the X chromosome, it has been excluded from most of these analyses.…
To dissect the genetic architecture of blood pressure and assess effects on target organ damage, we analyzed 128,272 SNPs from targeted and genome-wide arrays in 201,529 individuals of European ancestry, and genotypes from an additional 140,886 individuals were used for…
High-sensitivity cardiac troponin I (hs-cTnI) is a novel biomarker of myocardial injury and ischaemia. Our objective was to ascertain correlates of hs-cTnI and its incremental prognostic utility for incident coronary heart disease (CHD) among older asymptomatic subjects. We performed a…
In COPD, body composition studies have focused primarily on low BMI. We examined obesity (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m(2)) as a risk factor for poor function and longitudinal functional decline. Data from a longitudinal cohort of adults with COPD (n =…
Studies suggest that long-chain ?-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (LC?3PUFA) intake and its primary food source-fish-may have beneficial effects on the individual components of metabolic syndrome (MetS). We examined the longitudinal association between fish or LC?3PUFA intake and MetS incidence. We…
Recent genome-wide association studies have identified 49 single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with clinical coronary artery disease. The mechanism by which these loci influence risk remains largely unclear. We examined the association between a genetic risk score composed of high-risk alleles…
Using genome-wide genotypes, we characterized the genetic structure of 103,006 participants in the Kaiser Permanente Northern California multi-ethnic Genetic Epidemiology Research on Adult Health and Aging Cohort and analyzed the relationship to self-reported race/ethnicity. Participants endorsed any of 23 race/ethnicity/nationality…
The Kaiser Permanente (KP) Research Program on Genes, Environment and Health (RPGEH), in collaboration with the University of California-San Francisco, undertook genome-wide genotyping of >100,000 subjects that constitute the Genetic Epidemiology Research on Adult Health and Aging (GERA) cohort. The…
The Epidemiologic Study of Xolair (omalizumab): Evaluating Clinical Effectiveness and Long-term Safety in Patients with Moderate-to-Severe Asthma (EXCELS) assessed the long-term safety of omalizumab in a clinical practice setting as part of a phase IV US Food and Drug Administration…
Short QT syndrome (QTc ? 300 ms) is a novel hereditary channelopathy linked to syncope, paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, and sudden cardiac death. However, its epidemiological features remain unsettled. (1) To assess the prevalence of short QT in a large population-based…
It was hypothesized that television viewing is predictive of cardiometabolic risk. Moreover, people with hostile personality type may be more susceptible to TV-induced negative emotions and harmful health habits which increase occurrence of cardiometabolic risk. The prospective association of TV…
Triglycerides are transported in plasma by specific triglyceride-rich lipoproteins; in epidemiological studies, increased triglyceride levels correlate with higher risk for coronary artery disease (CAD). However, it is unclear whether this association reflects causal processes. We used 185 common variants recently…
The purpose of this study was to ascertain, in the context of an integrated health care delivery system, the association between a comprehensive list of drugs known to have potential QT liability and QT prolongation or shortening. By using a…
Levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, triglycerides and total cholesterol are heritable, modifiable risk factors for coronary artery disease. To identify new loci and refine known loci influencing these lipids, we examined 188,577 individuals using genome-wide…
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia in women and is associated with higher rates of stroke and death. Rates of AF are lower in African American subjects compared with European Americans, suggesting European ancestry could contribute to AF…
BACKGROUND: Adjustment for differing risks among patients is usually incorporated into newer payment approaches, and current risk models rely on age, sex, and diagnosis codes. It is unknown the extent to which controlling additionally for disease severity improves cost prediction.…
A prolonged corrected QT (QTc) interval is a marker for an increased risk of sudden cardiac death. We evaluated the relationship between oral contraceptive (OC) use, type of OC, and QTc interval. We identified 410,782 ECGs performed at Northern California…
Given the anthropometric differences between men and women and previous evidence of sex-difference in genetic effects, we conducted a genome-wide search for sexually dimorphic associations with height, weight, body mass index, waist circumference, hip circumference, and waist-to-hip-ratio (133,723 individuals) and…
Elevated resting heart rate is associated with greater risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality. In a 2-stage meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies in up to 181,171 individuals, we identified 14 new loci associated with heart rate and confirmed associations with…
Approaches exploiting trait distribution extremes may be used to identify loci associated with common traits, but it is unknown whether these loci are generalizable to the broader population. In a genome-wide search for loci associated with the upper versus the…
Mammographically-detected breast arterial calcifications (BAC) are considered to be an incidental finding without clinical importance since they are not associated with increased risk of breast cancer. The goal of this article is to review existing evidence that the presence of…
BACKGROUND: Although chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major cause of disability worldwide, its determinants remain poorly defined. OBJECTIVE: We hypothesized that both pulmonary and extra-pulmonary factors would predict prospective disablement across a hierarchy of activities in persons with…
Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the commonest cause of death. Here, we report an association analysis in 63,746 CAD cases and 130,681 controls identifying 15 loci reaching genome-wide significance, taking the number of susceptibility loci for CAD to 46, and…
BACKGROUND: Although long-chain omega-3 (n-3) PUFAs (LComega3PUFAs) have been linked to the prevention of some inflammatory disorders, little is known about the association between these fatty acids and incidence of asthma. OBJECTIVE: The objective was to prospectively investigate the association…
Asthma has been associated with increased cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. The authors ascertained the association of asthma with CVD and the roles that sex, concurrent allergy, and asthma medications may play in this association. They assembled a cohort of 203,595…
There is evidence across several species for genetic control of phenotypic variation of complex traits, such that the variance among phenotypes is genotype dependent. Understanding genetic control of variability is important in evolutionary biology, agricultural selection programmes and human medicine,…
A prolonged QT interval is a marker for an increased risk of ventricular tachyarrhythmias. Both endogenous and exogenous sex hormones have been shown to affect the QT interval. Endogenous testosterone and progesterone shorten the action potential, and estrogen lengthens the…
BACKGROUND: Obesity contributes to respiratory symptoms and exercise limitation, but the relationships between obesity, airflow obstruction (AO), respiratory symptoms and functional limitation are complex. AIMS: To determine the relationship of obesity with airflow obstruction (AO) and respiratory symptoms in adults…
Structural variations are among the most frequent interindividual genetic differences in the human genome. The frequency and distribution of de novo somatic structural variants in normal cells is, however, poorly explored. Using age-stratified cohorts of 318 monozygotic (MZ) twins and…
Four custom Axiom genotyping arrays were designed for a genome-wide association (GWA) study of 100,000 participants from the Kaiser Permanente Research Program on Genes, Environment and Health. The array optimized for individuals of European race/ethnicity was previously described. Here we…
Blood pressure is a heritable trait influenced by several biological pathways and responsive to environmental stimuli. Over one billion people worldwide have hypertension (>/=140 mm Hg systolic blood pressure or >/=90 mm Hg diastolic blood pressure). Even small increments in…
OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to examine whether kidney dysfunction is associated with the type of clinical presentation of coronary heart disease (CHD). BACKGROUND: Reduced kidney function increases the risk for developing CHD, but it is not known…
The success of genome-wide association studies has paralleled the development of efficient genotyping technologies. We describe the development of a next-generation microarray based on the new highly-efficient Affymetrix Axiom genotyping technology that we are using to genotype individuals of European…
PURPOSE: To identify ethnic differences for risk of hospitalization for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). METHODS: We undertook a cohort study with 126,019 participants: 55% whites, 27% blacks, 11% Asians, and 4% Hispanics. To estimate asthma and COPD…
OBJECTIVES: We investigated the association between physical activity and coronary vasodilation to nitroglycerin (NTG) in the ADVANCE (Atherosclerotic Disease, Vascular Function, and Genetic Epidemiology) cohort of older healthy subjects. BACKGROUND: Physical activity may exert its beneficial effects by augmenting coronary…
BACKGROUND: Screening for peripheral arterial disease (PAD) by measuring ankle brachial index (ABI) in asymptomatic older adults is currently recommended to improve cardiovascular disease risk assessment and establish early treatment, but it is not clear if the strategy is useful…
OBJECTIVE The metabolic syndrome (MetS) is defined as concomitant disorders of lipid and glucose metabolism; central obesity; and high blood pressure; with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. This study tests whether common genetic variants with…
We performed a meta-analysis of 14 genome-wide association studies of coronary artery disease (CAD) comprising 22,233 individuals with CAD (cases) and 64,762 controls of European descent followed by genotyping of top association signals in 56,682 additional individuals. This analysis identified…
PURPOSE: We sought to quantify the impact of respiratory muscle and lower extremity strength on exercise capacity and lower extremity function (LEF) in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). METHODS: In 828 persons with COPD, we assessed the impact…
BACKGROUND: COPD is a major cause of disability, but little is known about how disability develops in this condition. METHODS: The authors analysed data from the Function, Living, Outcomes and Work (FLOW) Study which enrolled 1202 Kaiser Permanente Northern California…
BACKGROUND: Angiogenesis is up-regulated in myocardial ischemia. However, limited data exist assessing the value of circulating angiogenic biomarkers in predicting future incidence of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Our aim was to examine the association between circulating levels of markers of…
BACKGROUND: Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are less likely to receive cardiovascular medications. It is unclear whether differential cardiovascular drug use explains, in part, the excess risk of cardiovascular events and death in patients with CKD and coronary heart…
BACKGROUND: Lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A(2) (Lp-PLA(2)) is a predictor of cardiovascular events that has been shown to vary with race. The objective of this study was to examine factors associated with this racial variation. METHODS: We measured Lp-PLA(2) mass and activity…
BACKGROUND: Although chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common cause of death and disability, little is known about the effects of socioeconomic status (SES) and race-ethnicity on health outcomes. METHODS: The aim of this study is to determine the…
OBJECTIVES: We sought to replicate the association between the kinesin-like protein 6 (KIF6) Trp719Arg polymorphism (rs20455), and clinical coronary artery disease (CAD). BACKGROUND: Recent prospective studies suggest that carriers of the 719Arg allele in KIF6 are at increased risk of…
Obesity is globally prevalent and highly heritable, but its underlying genetic factors remain largely elusive. To identify genetic loci for obesity susceptibility, we examined associations between body mass index and approximately 2.8 million SNPs in up to 123,865 individuals with…
Waist-hip ratio (WHR) is a measure of body fat distribution and a predictor of metabolic consequences independent of overall adiposity. WHR is heritable, but few genetic variants influencing this trait have been identified. We conducted a meta-analysis of 32 genome-wide…
Most common human traits and diseases have a polygenic pattern of inheritance: DNA sequence variants at many genetic loci influence the phenotype. Genome-wide association (GWA) studies have identified more than 600 variants associated with human traits, but these typically explain…
BACKGROUND: Few studies to date have described the prevalence of electrocardiographic (ECG) abnormalities in a biracial middle-aged cohort. METHODS AND RESULTS: Participants underwent measurement of traditional risk factors and 12-lead ECGs coded using both Minnesota Code and Novacode criteria. Among…
Due to the complex nature of common diseases, their etiology is likely to involve 'uncommon but strong' (UBS) interactive effects--i.e. allelic combinations that are each present in only a small fraction of the patients but associated with high disease risk.…
Consistent but indirect evidence has implicated genetic factors in smoking behavior. We report meta-analyses of several smoking phenotypes within cohorts of the Tobacco and Genetics Consortium (n = 74,053). We also partnered with the European Network of Genetic and Genomic…
BACKGROUND: The association between asthma and anaphylaxis remains poorly understood. OBJECTIVE: To ascertain, in a managed care organization in northern California, the association of asthma and asthma severity with future risk of anaphylactic shock and other selected allergy diagnoses. METHODS:…
BACKGROUND: Psychologic factors affect how patients with COPD respond to attempts to improve their self-management skills. Learned helplessness may be one such factor, but there is no validated measure of helplessness in COPD. METHODS: We administered a new COPD Helplessness…
BACKGROUND: A comprehensive survey-based COPD severity score has usefulness for epidemiologic and health outcomes research. We previously developed and validated the survey-based COPD Severity Score without using lung function or other physiologic measurements. In this study, we aimed to further…
BACKGROUND: Psychological functioning is an important determinant of health outcomes in chronic lung disease. To better define the role of anxiety in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a study was conducted of the inter-relations between anxiety and COPD in a…
BACKGROUND: This study examined the construct validity and reliability of the new 2-item Stanford Brief Activity Survey (SBAS). METHODS: Secondary analysis was conducted using data collected from the healthy older controls (n = 1023) enrolled in the Atherosclerotic Disease Vascular…
BACKGROUND: Endothelium-derived nitric oxide plays a crucial role in the regulation of vascular tone and the development of cardiovascular disease. The endogenous nitric oxide synthase inhibitor asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) has emerged as a novel cardiovascular risk factor. ADMA appears to…
BACKGROUND: several studies have shown an association between chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and cognitive impairment. These studies have been limited by methodological issues such as diagnostic uncertainty, cross-sectional design, small sample size, or lack of appropriate referent group. This…
BACKGROUND: Limited data suggest that moderate alcohol drinkers may have better lung airways function than abstainers. Because few studies have fully accounted for confounders (including smoking and coronary disease), and some might have been biased by the inclusion with nondrinkers…
The purpose of this article is to review the evidence concerning the utility of lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2), a key promoter of vascular inflammation, as a biomarker of future risk of cardiovascular disease. In addition, the evidence of complementary action…
BACKGROUND: Coronary wall cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) is a promising noninvasive approach to assess subclinical atherosclerosis, but data are limited in subjects over 60 years old, who are at increased risk. The purpose of the study was to evaluate coronary…
Background/Aims: Our objective was to assess associations between passive smoke exposure in various venues and serum carotenoid concentrations. Methods: CARDIA is an ongoing longitudinal study of the risk factors for subclinical and clinical cardiovascular disease. At baseline in 1985/1986, serum…
We investigated the association between cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and carotid atherosclerosis in 9 871 Korean men aged 40-81 years. We measured carotid intima-media thickness by using B-mode ultrasonography, and cardiorespiratory fitness was measured by a maximal treadmill exercise test using…
BACKGROUND: Prior research on the risk of depression in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has yielded conflicting results. Furthermore, we have an incomplete understanding of how much depression versus respiratory factors contributes to poor health-related quality of life. METHODS: Among…
BACKGROUND: Change in coronary artery calcification is a surrogate marker of subclinical coronary artery disease (CAD). In the only large prospective study, CAD risk factors predicted progression of coronary artery calcium (CAC). METHODS: We measured CAC at enrollment and after…
RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: Breast arterial calcification (BAC) detected on mammography is frequently not included in final reports. However, previous studies have indicated that BAC may be evidence of general atherosclerotic vascular disease, and it can potentially be a useful marker…
Whether cardiorespiratory fitness relates to early subclinical atherosclerotic vascular disease remains unknown. We investigated the relation of cardiorespiratory fitness to coronary artery calcification (CAC) in 2373 African-American and White young adults from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults…
BACKGROUND: Few cohort studies have focused on risk factors for end-stage renal disease (ESRD). This investigation evaluated the prognostic value of several potential novel risk factors for ESRD after considering established risk factors. METHODS: We studied 177 570 individuals from…
OBJECTIVES: We investigated the Latino paradox in a managed care setting and examined the role of birthplace. METHODS: We evaluated 133,155 non-Latino Whites and 5,237 Latinos (36% born in the United States, 34% in Central and South America, 21% in…
BACKGROUND: Accurate, high-throughput genotyping allows the fine characterization of genetic ancestry. Here we applied recently developed statistical and computational techniques to the question of African ancestry in African Americans by using data on more than 450,000 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) genotyped…
Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARG) gene have been associated with cardiovascular risk factors, particularly obesity and diabetes. We assessed the relationship between 4 PPARG SNPs (C-681G, C-689T, Pro12Ala, and C1431T) and coronary heart disease…
BACKGROUND: The contribution of occupational exposures to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and, in particular, their potential interaction with cigarette smoking remains underappreciated. METHODS: Data from the FLOW study of 1202 subjects with COPD (of which 742 had disease classified…
Secondhand smoke (SHS) is a major contributor to indoor air pollution. Because it contains respiratory irritants, it may adversely influence the clinical course of persons with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We used data from nonsmoking members of the FLOW…
BACKGROUND: Small asymptomatic lung nodules are found frequently in the course of cardiac computed tomography (CT) scanning. However, the utility of assessing and reporting incidental findings in healthy, asymptomatic subjects is unknown. METHODS: The sample comprised 1023 60- to 69-year-old…
PURPOSE: Although chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has a major impact on physical health, the specific impact of COPD on physical functional limitations has not been characterized clearly. We aimed to elucidate the physical functional limitations that are directly attributable…
A susceptibility locus for coronary artery disease (CAD) at chromosome 9p21 has recently been reported, which may influence the age of onset of CAD. We sought to replicate these findings among white subjects and to examine whether these results are…
BACKGROUND: Mortality risk in adult asthma is poorly understood, especially the interplay among race, disease severity, and health care access. OBJECTIVE: To examine mortality risk factors in adult asthma. METHODS: In a prospective cohort study of 865 adults with severe…
BACKGROUND: Circulating levels of acute phase reactant proteins such as plasma C-reactive protein (CRP) are likely influenced by multiple genes regulating the innate immune response. METHODS AND RESULTS: We screened a set of 16 inflammation-related genes for association with CRP…
Recent human genetic studies suggest that allelic variants of leukotriene pathway genes influence the risk of clinical and subclinical atherosclerosis. We sequenced the promoter, exonic, and splice site regions of ALOX5 and ALOX5AP and then genotyped 7 SNPs in ALOX5…
OBJECTIVE: Murine genetic models suggest that function of the 12/15-LOX enzyme promotes atherosclerosis. We tested the hypothesis that exonic and/or promoter single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the human 12/15-LOX gene (ALOX15) alter the risk of symptomatic coronary artery disease (CAD).…
The authors' objective was to analyze the impact of respiratory impairment on the risk of physical functional limitations among adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). They hypothesized that greater pulmonary function decrement would result in a broad array of…
BACKGROUND: With the widespread use of cardiac multidetector row computed tomography (MDCT), the issue of incidental findings is receiving increasing attention. Our objectives were to evaluate the prevalence of incidental findings discovered during cardiac MDCT scanning and to identify clinical…
Social capital has been shown to be associated with reduced mortality due to cardiovascular disease. Our aim was to determine the association of time-varying community-level social capital (CSC) with recurrence of acute coronary syndrome using a retrospective cohort study design.…
OBJECTIVES: This study evaluated the hypothesis that impaired nitroglycerin (NTG)-induced coronary vasodilation is associated with advanced coronary atherosclerosis in asymptomatic older patients. BACKGROUND: Atherosclerosis is associated with both structural and functional abnormalities of the vessel wall. Noninvasive functional measures of…
Hostility is a personality trait associated with increased risk of coronary heart disease. No study has reported the association between hostility and antioxidants, which may be mediators for atherosclerosis. CARDIA (Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults) Study participants were…
BACKGROUND: The lectin-like oxidized LDL receptor LOX-1 (encoded by OLR1) is believed to play a key role in atherogenesis and some reports suggest an association of OLR1 polymorphisms with myocardial infarction (MI). We tested whether single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in…
BACKGROUND: Circulating concentrations of proteins associated with coagulation and fibrinolysis may differ between individuals with coronary artery disease (CAD) who develop an acute myocardial infarction (AMI) rather than stable exertional angina. METHODS: We compared plasma concentrations of fibrinogen, d-dimer, tissue-type…
BACKGROUND: Genetic polymorphisms may affect the balance between coagulation and fibrinolysis and thereby affect individual vulnerability to acute myocardial infarction (MI) among patients with underlying coronary atherosclerosis. METHODS: We enrolled 1375 patients with an initial clinical presentation of coronary disease.…
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess systematic differences between patients with acute myocardial infarction (MI) and patients with stable angina in matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) circulating levels and genetic polymorphisms. METHODS: We identified adults in a large integrated…
BACKGROUND: Only some patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) develop acute myocardial infarction (MI), and emerging evidence suggests vulnerability to MI varies systematically among patients and may have a genetic component. The goal of this study was to assess whether…
Serum inflammatory markers correlate with outcome and response to therapy in subjects with cardiovascular disease. However, current individual markers lack specificity for the diagnosis of coronary artery disease (CAD). We hypothesize that a multimarker proteomic approach measuring serum levels of…
BACKGROUND: Morbidity from asthma disproportionately affects black people. Whether this excess morbidity is fully explained by differences in asthma severity, access to care, or socioeconomic status (SES) is unknown. METHODS: We assessed whether there were racial disparities in asthma management…
Measurement of coronary artery calcium (CAC) has been proposed as a screening tool, but CAC levels may differ according to race and gender. Racial/ethnic and gender distributions of CAC were examined in a randomly selected cohort of 60- to 69-year-old…
BACKGROUND: Identification of risk factors for and early diagnosis of clinically significant abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) before rupture is vital to optimize outcomes in these patients. Our aim was to examine traditional and three novel potential risk factors (abdominal obesity,…
The usefulness of the metabolic syndrome is subject of debate. A central issue from the epidemiological perspective is whether the syndrome predicts cardiovascular disease above and beyond its individual components. In this paper, the current evidence regarding this matter is…
PURPOSE: To determine the utility of the Stanford Brief Activity Survey (SBAS) as a quick screening tool in a clinical population, where no other measure of physical activity was available. METHODS: The SBAS was administered to 500 younger cases in…
BACKGROUND: Whether abdominal obesity is related to coronary artery calcification (CAC) is not known. OBJECTIVE: We investigated the relations of waist girth and waist-hip ratio (WHR) to CAC in 2951 African American and white young adults from the Coronary Artery…
African-American populations are genetically admixed. Studies performed among unrelated individuals from ethnically admixed populations may be both vulnerable to confounding by population stratification, but offer an opportunity for efficiently mapping complex traits through admixture linkage disequilibrium. By typing 42 ancestry-informative…
OBJECTIVE: There has been reduced active smoking, decreased societal acceptance for smoking indoors, and changing smoking policy since the mid-1980s. We quantified passive smoke exposure trends and their relationship with workplace policy. METHOD: We studied 2504 CARDIA participants (Blacks and…
BACKGROUND: Normal endothelial function depends on nitric oxide (NO) release by endothelial cells. Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), by competing with L-arginine, inhibits NO production and may lead to endothelial dysfunction and atherosclerotic development. Our aim was to ascertain the association between…
CONTEXT: Leptin is associated with adiposity and insulin resistance and may play a direct role in vascular calcification. It is unclear, however, whether leptin is an independent predictor of atherosclerotic burden. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine…
BACKGROUND: Low body mass index has been associated with increased mortality in severe COPD. The impact of body composition earlier in the disease remains unclear. We studied the impact of body composition on the risk of functional limitation in COPD.…
Despite having a chronic respiratory disease, adults with asthma do not appear to selectively avoid smoking. We used data from a prospective cohort study of 865 adults, with asthma recruited from a large managed care organization after hospitalization for asthma.…
There is a limited understanding of the forces that drive the steady rise in the number of patients who receive treatment for ESRD. It was hypothesized that this is not simply due to increasing prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD)…
Whether visceral obesity predicts coronary heart disease (CHD) risk above and beyond overall fatness remains unsettled. Moreover, whether the association between visceral obesity and CHD risk differs by sex, age, race, and overall fatness is poorly understood. The authors conducted…
OBJECTIVES: We sought to examine the association between the metabolic syndrome (MetS) (defined both by the 2001 National Cholesterol Educational Program Adult Treatment Panel III [ATP-III] definition and the American Heart Association/National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute [AHA/NHLBI] revision incorporating…
BACKGROUND: Psychosocial factors play an important role in outcomes of asthma. Perceived control, a measure of patients' beliefs about their ability to control their disease, has not been studied in association with asthma health outcomes METHODS: We used data from…
PURPOSE: We aimed to elucidate the prevalence of and risk factors for work disability in severe adult asthma and to evaluate the impact of work disability on downstream health outcomes. METHODS: We used data from a prospective cohort study of…
The Stanford Brief Activity Survey (SBAS), a new two-item physical activity survey, and the Stanford Seven-Day Physical Activity Recall (PAR) questionnaire were administered to men and women, aged 60-69 years, in the Atherosclerotic Disease VAscular functioN and genetiC Epidemiology (ADVANCE)…
OBJECTIVE: To assess whether active and passive smokers are more likely than non-smokers to develop clinically relevant glucose intolerance or diabetes. DESIGN: Coronary artery risk development in young adults (CARDIA) is a prospective cohort study begun in 1985-6 with 15…
BACKGROUND: Evidence that demonstrates the harmful effect of cigarette smoking during young adulthood is limited. Therefore, we assessed associations between cigarette smoking and several self-reported illnesses in a prospective cohort study in healthy young adults. METHODS: Data were derived from…
Endostatin, an endogenous anti-angiogenic protein, has been linked to reduced atherosclerosis in animal models. We conducted a nested case-control study to ascertain whether decreased circulating endostatin might be associated with increased odds of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and whether this…
BACKGROUND: Although interest in the relationship between obesity and kidney disease is increasing, few epidemiologic studies have examined whether excess weight is an independent risk factor for end-stage renal disease (ESRD). OBJECTIVE: To determine the association between increased body mass…
Though previous data indicate a positive association between depression and coronary heart disease, the mechanisms mediating these associations remain unclear. These prospective analyses assessed the association between history of Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale depression and possible mediators of…
BACKGROUND: Cigarette smoking is an established causal factor for atherosclerosis. However, the smoking effect on different echogenic components of carotid arterial wall measured by ultrasound is not well elucidated. METHODS: Middle-aged men and women who had IMT measurement > or…
BACKGROUND: Few cohort studies have examined the risk of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) among Asians compared with whites and blacks. METHODS: To compare the incidence of ESRD in Asians, whites, and blacks in Northern California, we examined sociodemographic and clinical…
BACKGROUND: Previous studies have documented sex and racial/ethnic disparities in outcomes after acute myocardial infarction (AMI), but the explanation of these disparities remains limited. In a setting that controls for access to medical care, we evaluated whether sex and racial/ethnic…
BACKGROUND: Because they have chronic airway inflammation, adults with asthma could have symptomatic exacerbation after exposure to second hand smoke (SHS). Surprisingly, data on the effects of SHS exposure in adults with asthma are quite limited. Most previous epidemiological studies…
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the longitudinal impact of asthma specialist care on the risk of emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalization for asthma. DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING: A prospective cohort study using both telephone survey and computerized utilization data. STUDY DESIGN: We…
Elevated plasma levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), an inflammation-sensitive marker, have emerged as an important predictor of future cardiovascular disease and metabolic abnormalities in apparently healthy men and women. Here, we performed a systematic survey of common nucleotide variation across…
BACKGROUND: There appears to be an asthma epidemic in the United States and other developed countries, with increasing prevalence and severity of asthma. Despite these trends, the understanding of severe asthma remains limited. Research has been hampered by the lack…
BACKGROUND: Psychological disorders, including depression, are common in adults with asthma. Although depression is treatable, its impact on longitudinal asthma outcomes is not clear. OBJECTIVE: To elucidate the impact of depressive symptoms on patient-centered outcomes and emergency health care use…
BACKGROUND: Many cases of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) are ascribed to hypertension. However, because renal disease itself can raise blood pressure, some investigators argue that ESRD seen in patients with hypertension is due to underlying primary renal disease. Previous cohort…
We examined the relation of measures of echocardiographic left ventricular mass and geometry with coronary artery calcium (CAC) in 2,724 young adults. After adjustment for other coronary risk factors, left atrial dimension remained associated with the presence of CAC, and…
We examined the 16-year mortality experience among participants in the baseline examination (1985-86) of the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study, a U.S. cohort of 5115 urban adults initially 18-30 years old and balanced by sex and…
OBJECTIVE: To examine the association of lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2) mass and activity with calcified coronary plaque in young adults. METHODS AND RESULTS: Nested case-control study among CARDIA participants at the year 15 examination (2000 to 2001, 33 to 45…
We studied categories of blood pressure (BP)
BACKGROUND: Inflammation plays a role in the pathogenesis of athero-thrombosis. Because of the chronic, inflammatory nature of asthma, we hypothesized a possible link asthma and prospective risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). METHODS: We performed a cohort study among 70…
Mammograms, New Findings are Promising OAKLAND, Calif., May 25, 2004 -- The presence of breast vascular calcifications found through common mammograms is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases in women, according to an article in the May Journal…
OBJECTIVE: Vascular calcification holds promise as a useful cardiovascular risk maker. Our objective was to examine the association between breast vascular calcification and risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) outcomes. METHODS: A cohort study was performed among 12,761 women, 40-79 years…
The independent effect of exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS; passive smoking) on the risk of stroke is not well established. We performed a cohort study among 27,698 lifelong nonsmokers with no prior history of stroke, 62% women, aged 30-85…
BACKGROUND: Hostility has been shown to predict both the development and manifestation of coronary disease. Examining the inter-relation of dietary intake of fish and of polyunsaturated (n-3 and n-6) essential fatty acids with hostility may provide additional insights into the…
We tested whether asthma diagnosis is associated with weight gain and physical activity in 4,547 18 to 30-yr-old African American and white men and women, followed prospectively for up to 10 yr. Baseline asthma was most frequent in African American…
STUDY OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) and demographic, lifestyle, occupational characteristics and self reported health conditions. DESIGN: Cross sectional study, using data from multiphasic health checkups between 1979 and 1985. SETTING: Large health…
Using data from a large health plan, we performed a cohort study of thyroid cancer among 204,964 persons (aged 10--89 at baseline in 1964--1973, 54% female) followed for a median of 20 years. There were 196 incident thyroid cancers (73…
BACKGROUND: Glycemic control is associated with microvascular events, but its effect on the risk of heart failure is not well understood. We examined the association between hemoglobin (Hb) A(Ic) and the risk of heart failure hospitalization and/or death in a…
The results of this case-control study conducted at a large HMO support the notion that severe asthma may be associated with transient hepatic enzyme elevation. Conversely, we found no evidence of associations between asthma therapeutic classes and hepatic enzyme elevation.
BACKGROUND: Understanding factors that contribute to high suicide risk holds important implications for prevention. We aimed to examine the sociodemographic and medical predictors of attempted suicide (severe enough to require hospitalization) and of completed suicide in a large population-based sample…
CONTEXT: Calcium deposits in coronary and extracoronary arterial beds may indicate the extent of atherosclerosis. However, the incremental predictive value of vascular calcification, beyond traditional coronary risk factors, is not clearly established. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate risk factors for aortic arch…
CONTEXT: Psychosocial factors, including personality and character traits, may play a role in the development and expression of coronary artery disease. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether hostility, a previously reported predictor of clinical coronary artery disease, is associated with coronary calcification,…
In contrast to clinical trials using statin drugs, which suggest that cholesterol lowering from high to moderate levels is safe, many, but not all, prospective studies report higher nonatherosclerotic disease rates in people with low serum total cholesterol, even after…
PURPOSE: Approximately half of previous studies on serum uric acid have reported it to be an independent risk factor for coronary heart disease (CHD). We tested this hypothesis in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study. METHODS: A total of…
STUDY OBJECTIVE: To examine the association of cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption with hospital presentation of ARDS in a well-defined, multiethnic population. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Health maintenance organization in Northern California. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 121,012 health plan…
BACKGROUND: the evidence of a potential beneficial role of antioxidants in preventing atherosclerotic disease is not entirely consistent. OBJECTIVE: to assess the longitudinal association of serum total antioxidant capacity and serum antioxidants with the presence of subclinical carotid atherosclerosis. METHODS:…
BACKGROUND: The sale of cigars in the United States has been increasing for the past six years. Cigar smoking is a known risk factor for certain cancers and for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, unlike the relation between cigarette…
A multiethnic cohort of adult members of the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program (55300 men and 65271 women) was followed for 15 years (1979-93) to assess the association between total cholesterol and risk of infections (other than respiratory and HIV)…
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