Janet Johnston

Ethnic Differences in C-Reactive Protein Concentrations

BACKGROUNDnLimited data exist regarding the ethnic differences in C-reactive protein (CRP) concentrations, an inflammatory marker associated with risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). We hypothesized that known CVD risk factors, including anthropometric characteristics, would explain much of the observed ethnic variation in CRP.nnnMETHODSnWe performed a cross-sectional analysis of 3154 women, without known CVD and not receiving hormone therapy, enrolled in the Study of Womens Health Across the Nation (SWAN), a multiethnic prospective study of pre- and perimenopausal women.nnnRESULTSnThe study population was 47.4% white, 27.7% African-American, 8.5% Hispanic, 7.7% Chinese, and 8.6% Japanese; mean age was 46.2 years. African-American women had the highest median CRP concentrations (3.2 mg/L), followed by Hispanic (2.3 mg/L), white (1.5 mg/L), Chinese (0.7 mg/L), and Japanese (0.5 mg/L) women (all pairwise P < 0.001 compared with white women). Body mass index (BMI) markedly attenuated the association between ethnicity and CRP. After adjusting for age, socioeconomic status, BMI, and other risk factors, African-American ethnicity was associated with CRP concentrations >3 mg/L (odds ratio 1.37, 95% CI 1.07-1.75), whereas Chinese and Japanese ethnicities were inversely related (0.58, 0.35-0.95, and 0.43, 0.26-0.72, respectively).nnnCONCLUSIONSnModifiable risk factors, particularly BMI, account for much but not all of the ethnic differences in CRP concentrations. Further study is needed of these ethnic differences and their implications for the use of CRP in CVD risk prediction.

Contemporary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Versus Balloon Angioplasty for Multivessel Coronary Artery Disease A Comparison of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute Dynamic Registry and the Bypass Angioplasty Revascularization Investigation (BARI) Study

Background—This investigation compares the results of contemporary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with standard balloon angioplasty among patients with multivessel coronary disease. Patients having balloon angioplasty in the Bypass Angioplasty Revascularization Investigation (BARI) and those within the Dynamic Registry meeting BARI eligibility criteria were studied. Methods and Results—Clinical features and in-hospital and 1-year outcomes of 857 BARI-eligible patients in the Dynamic Registry (contemporary PCI) were compared with the 904 randomized patients who underwent percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty in BARI. Compared with BARI patients, Registry patients had fewer lesions attempted (1.53 versus 2.56, P =0.001), more frequent single-vessel PCI (76% versus 33%, P <0.001), greater use of intracoronary stents (76% versus 1%, P <0.001), and GP IIb/IIIa receptor antagonist (24% versus 0%, P <0.001). Angiographic success was achieved more often among Registry patients (91% versus 72%, P <0.001), whereas abrupt closure (1.5% versus 9.5%, P <0.001) and in-hospital coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) (1.9% versus 10.2%, P <0.001) and myocardial infarction (0.8% versus 2.1%, P =0.025) were less common. No differences were observed in either in-hospital or 1-year death, but 1-year death/myocardial infarction was lower in the Registry. Registry patients had lower 1-year rates of subsequent CABG (8.6% versus 22.7%, P <0.001) and PCI (12.4% versus 22.5%, P <0.001). By multivariate analysis, contemporary PCI was independently associated with reduced risk for in-hospital CABG, 1-year CABG, and 1-year PCI. Conclusions—Among patients with multivessel disease, contemporary PCI resulted in safer and more durable revascularization. These results support the role of PCI for selected patients with multivessel coronary artery disease.

Volumetric BMD and vascular calcification in middle-aged women : The study of women's health across the nation

The association of spine vBMD with AC and CAC was studied in a biracial cohort of 490 middle‐aged women in the Study of Womens Health Across the Nation. Lower vBMD was related to high AC, but not to CAC, independent of age and shared risk factors between osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease.

Comparison of in-hospital and one-year outcomes in patients with and without diabetes mellitus undergoing percutaneous catheter intervention (from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Dynamic Registry) ☆

Extrapolation of improvements in percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and outcomes to patients with diabetes has not been systematically examined in clinical practice. Two waves of consecutive patients (n = 4,629) who underwent PCI from July 1997 to June 1999 enrolled in the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Dynamic Registry comprise the study population. There were 1,058 patients with treated diabetes and 3,571 patients without clinically evident diabetes. As a group, patients with diabetes tended to have more clinical, angiographic, and procedural risk factors. Although crude in-hospital mortality rates were higher in patients with diabetes (diabetics 2.3%, nondiabetics 1.3%; p = 0.02), the adjusted risk of in-hospital death (odds ratio 1.46, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.80 to 2.66) was not significantly different. At 1 year, patients with diabetes had a significantly higher adjusted risk of mortality (risk ratio [RR] 1.80, 95% CI 1.35 to 2.41) and need for repeat revascularization (RR 1.40, 95% CI 1.13 to 1.74). There was a significant interaction between stent use and diabetic status with the need for repeat revascularization (adjusted RR in nondiabetics 0.73, 95% CI 0.61 to 0.88; adjusted RR in patients with diabetes 1.20, 95% CI 0.88 to 1.65). Beta blockers at the time of hospital discharge were significantly associated with reduced mortality rates at 1 year in both groups.

Reproductive Hormones and Obesity: 9 Years of Observation From the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation

The effect of change in reproductive hormones and menopause on incident obesity (body mass index > or =30 kg/m(2)) and severe obesity (body mass index > or =35 kg/m(2)) was evaluated over 9 years in 3,260 US women recruited in the multiethnic Study of Womens Health Across the Nation in 1996-1997. After 9 years, cumulative incidences of obesity and severe obesity reached 21.8% and 12.3%, respectively. In multivariate analysis, hormone changes, chronic health conditions, lower physical activity, race/ethnicity, and age were significantly associated with incident obesity and/or severe obesity. The odds of incident severe obesity increased with surgical menopause (odds ratio (OR) = 5.07, 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.29, 11.20; P < 0.001) and initiation of hormone therapy prior to 12 months of amenorrhea (OR = 2.94, 95% CI: 1.14, 7.58; P = 0.03). Predictors of obesity included an increase in free androgen index (OR = 1.37, 95% CI: 1.12, 1.68; P = 0.002) and a decrease in sex hormone-binding globulin (OR = 0.60, 95% CI: 0.45, 0.80; P = 0.0005). Similar results were found for severe obesity. Obesity rates varied by race, but no hormone-by-race interactions were observed. These longitudinal data demonstrate that higher androgens, lower sex hormone-binding globulin, surgical menopause, and early hormone therapy use predict incident obesity and/or severe obesity in a multiracial cohort of women transitioning into menopause.

The effects of physical activity as maintenance for smoking cessation

The effects of physical activity as a maintenance strategy for smoking cessation were evaluated. After a standard smoking cessation program, forty-two women were randomly assigned to one of three groups that received equal number of maintenance meetings: a physical activity program, smoking habit change information and contact control. Abstinence decreased from 83% at the end of treatment to 73% at 3 months, 49% at six months and 34% at 18 months. No differences were shown in cessation across groups. Group differences were shown for subjective levels of tension-anxiety, those who exercised showed increased tension anxiety levels compared to subjects in the no activity groups.

Dietary Intake Related to Prevalent Functional Limitations in Midlife Women

Physical functioning measures are considered integrated markers of the aging process. This prospective investigation examined relations between dietary intake of women at midlife in 1996-1997 and prevalence of physical functioning limitations 4 years later, defined by the Medical Outcomes Study Short-Form 36. The sample included 2,160 multiethnic women, aged 42-52 years, from six geographic areas participating in the Study of Womens Health Across the Nation (SWAN). Associations between measures of diet quality and number of fruit and vegetable servings and prevalent physical functional limitations (no, moderate, or substantial limitations) were tested by logistic regression. The prevalence of moderate and substantial functional limitations was 31% and 10%, respectively. Women in the highest quartile of cholesterol intake had 40% greater odds (odds ratio = 1.4, 95% confidence interval: 1.1, 1.8) of being more limited versus those in the lowest quartile. Women in the highest quartile of fat and saturated fat intakes were 50% and 60% more likely to be more limited, with respective odds ratios of 1.5 and 1.6 (95% confidence intervals: 1.2, 2.0 and 1.2, 2.1) versus those in the lowest quartiles. Lower fruit, vegetable, and fiber intakes were related to reporting greater functional limitations. Modifying dietary practices could be important in minimizing physical limitations.

Neurologic factors associated with cognitive impairment in a rural elderly population in India: the Indo-US Cross-National Dementia Epidemiology Study.

Few reports exist of cognitive impairment and associated factors in developing countries. An age-stratified random sample of 388 men and women, 55 years and older, was drawn from a community-based population in the rural area of Ballabgarh in northern India. We classified as “cognitively impaired” those subjects who had scores below the 10th percentile of the population on a general mental status test (the Hindi Mental State Exam, HMSE) and, separately, on a memory test (Delayed Recall of a 10-Item Word List, DRWL). Three hundred seventy-six subjects also underwent a standardized neurologic history and examination. Neurologic factors associated with cognitive impairment, after adjusting for age, gender, and literacy, were history of impaired consciousness and findings of gait disturbance, diminished deep tendon reflexes, and the presence of at least one primitive reflex. We speculate that there may be unique risk factors in developing countries such as nutritional deficiencies leading to focal deficits and cognitive impairment.