Publications by authors named "Baker Smith"

Importance: Given that many risk factors for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) begin in childhood, knowledge of the prevalence of cardio-kidney metabolic syndrome (CKM) in adolescents and its risk factors is critical to understanding the etiology of ASCVD risk burden.

Objective: To calculate the proportion of US adolescents with CKM stages 0, 1, and 2 and to assess the social factors and behaviors most strongly associated with advanced CKM stage.

Design: Cross-sectional analysis of 2017-2020 US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) sample data.

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Attention to social justice is essential to improving cardiovascular health outcomes. In the absence of social justice, equitable cardiovascular health is impossible. This viewpoint provides a brief synopsis of the 2023 -sponsored session titled "Moving Towards Social Justice in Cardiovascular Health.

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Objective: Medical specialist trainees report dissatisfaction with both the usefulness and timing of feedback provided following summative examinations. This study aimed to explore ophthalmology trainee and supervisor experiences of feedback following final summative examination (the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists Advanced Clinical Examination (RACE)).

Methods: Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with ophthalmology trainees who had recently sat RACE (2017-2021) ( = 19) and supervising ophthalmologists who support trainees to prepare for RACE ( = 10).

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The overall goal of this review is to summarize what is currently known regarding the tracking of blood pressure levels from early childhood into later adulthood and to describe the factors contributing to increased hypertension prevalence across the lifespan. This review describes 4 theoretical constructs of blood pressure trajectory across the lifespan: forward development, forward tracking, forward reversal, and maintenance of normal blood pressure levels.

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Purpose Of Review: Family history of premature cardiovascular disease is a strong predictor of individual cardiovascular risk. However, family history is not always available and not always reliable. Roughly 80% of health outcomes are influenced not by genetic risk but by societal factors, including adverse health behaviors and environment.

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Addressing the need for more equitable cardio-oncology care requires attention to existing disparities in cardio-oncologic disease prevention and outcomes. This is particularly important among those affected by adverse social determinants of health (SDOH). The intricate relationship of SDOH, cancer diagnosis, and outcomes from cardiotoxicities associated with oncologic therapies is influenced by sociopolitical, economic, and cultural factors.

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Evidence from medicine and other fields has shown that gender diversity results in better decision making and outcomes. The incoming workforce of congenital heart specialists (especially in pediatric cardiology) appears to be more gender balanced, but past studies have shown many inequities. Gender-associated differences in leadership positions, opportunities presented for academic advancement, and recognition for academic contributions to the field persist.

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Achieving health equity in populations with congenital heart disease (CHD) requires recognizing existing disparities throughout the lifespan that negatively and disproportionately impact specific groups of individuals. These disparities occur at individual, institutional, or system levels and often result in increased morbidity and mortality for marginalized or racially minoritized populations (population subgroups (e.g.

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Article Synopsis
  • * The AHA conducts continuous monitoring of heart disease and stroke data globally, culminating in an annual Statistical Update that relies on extensive collaboration from clinicians, scientists, and public health professionals.
  • * The 2024 update emphasizes the impact of structural racism on health disparities and includes global data and insights on cardiovascular health benefits, highlighting the commitment to addressing these public health issues.
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Background: Although disparities in surgical outcomes are well-documented, our understanding of how socioecological factors drive these disparities remains limited. Comprehensive and efficient assessment tools are needed. This study's objective was to develop and assess the acceptability and feasibility of a comprehensive tool evaluating socioecological determinants of health in patients requiring colorectal surgery.

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Background: Failure rates on medical specialist final summative examinations in Australia are high, regardless of speciality. Examination failure can have detrimental psycho-social, financial and job security effects on the trainee, while delays in completion of training adversely impacts workforce growth and health outcomes for the community. The study aimed to explore the preparation factors that contribute to ophthalmology trainee success in their final summative examination.

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Purpose Of Review: This article outlines what is currently known regarding the relationship between neighborhood deprivation and pediatric obesity. It discusses the intersectionality between neighborhood deprivation, race, ethnicity, and pediatric obesity. We conclude by proposing several potential solutions to disparities in pediatric obesity related to neighborhood deprivation.

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Background: Homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HoFH) is a rare genetic disorder characterized by severely elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels due to profoundly defective LDL receptor (LDLR) function. Given that severely elevated LDL-C starts in utero, atherosclerosis often presents during childhood or adolescence, creating a largely unmet need for aggressive LDLR-independent lipid-lowering therapies in young patients with HoFH. Here we present the first evaluation of the efficacy and safety of evinacumab, a novel LDLR-independent lipid-lowering therapy, in pediatric patients with HoFH from parts A and B of a 3-part study.

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Background: Higher neighborhood deprivation is associated with hypertension diagnosis in youth. In this study, we assess if there is an association between neighborhood deprivation and antihypertensive therapy prescription among insured youth with a primary hypertension diagnosis.

Methods: Using a retrospective cross-sectional design, we assessed the proportion of youth with a diagnosis of primary hypertension prescribed antihypertensive therapy.

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Cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic health reflects the interplay among metabolic risk factors, chronic kidney disease, and the cardiovascular system and has profound impacts on morbidity and mortality. There are multisystem consequences of poor cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic health, with the most significant clinical impact being the high associated incidence of cardiovascular disease events and cardiovascular mortality. There is a high prevalence of poor cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic health in the population, with a disproportionate burden seen among those with adverse social determinants of health.

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A growing appreciation of the pathophysiological interrelatedness of metabolic risk factors such as obesity and diabetes, chronic kidney disease, and cardiovascular disease has led to the conceptualization of cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic syndrome. The confluence of metabolic risk factors and chronic kidney disease within cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic syndrome is strongly linked to risk for adverse cardiovascular and kidney outcomes. In addition, there are unique management considerations for individuals with established cardiovascular disease and coexisting metabolic risk factors, chronic kidney disease, or both.

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The (WCPCCS) will be held in Washington DC, USA, from Saturday, 26 August, 2023 to Friday, 1 September, 2023, inclusive. The will be the largest and most comprehensive scientific meeting dedicated to paediatric and congenital cardiac care ever held. At the time of the writing of this manuscript, has 5,037 registered attendees (and rising) from 117 countries, a truly diverse and international faculty of over 925 individuals from 89 countries, over 2,000 individual abstracts and poster presenters from 101 countries, and a Best Abstract Competition featuring 153 oral abstracts from 34 countries.

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Cardiovascular disease risk factors are highly prevalent among youth in the United States and Canada. Pediatric preventive cardiology programs have independently developed and proliferated to address cardiovascular risk factors in youth, but there is a general lack of clarity on best practices to optimize and sustain desired outcomes. We conducted surveys of pediatric cardiology division directors and pediatric preventive cardiology clinicians across the United States and Canada to describe the current landscape and perspectives on future directions for the field.

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Purpose Of The Review: Family meals represent a novel strategy for improving cardiovascular health in youth. The purpose of this paper is to describe the association between family meals, dietary patterns, and weight status in youth.

Review Findings: According to the American Heart Association's Life's Essential 8, poor diet quality and overweight/obesity status are key contributors to suboptimal cardiovascular health.

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The overall prevalence of hypertension in childhood is 2% to 5%, and the leading type of childhood hypertension is primary hypertension, especially in adolescence. As in adults, the leading risk factors for children with primary hypertension are excess adiposity and suboptimal lifestyles; however, environmental stress, low birth weight, and genetic factors may also be important. Hypertensive children are highly likely to become hypertensive adults and to have measurable target organ injury, particularly left ventricular hypertrophy and vascular stiffening.

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Importance: The association between degree of neighborhood deprivation and primary hypertension diagnosis in youth remains understudied.

Objective: To assess the association between neighborhood measures of deprivation and primary hypertension diagnosis in youth.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This cross-sectional study included 65 452 Delaware Medicaid-insured youths aged 8 to 18 years between January 1, 2014, and December 31, 2019.

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Objective: Expansion of opportunities for ophthalmology training beyond the 'big smoke' is anticipated to support the future distribution of ophthalmologists in regional, rural and remote areas of Australia. However, little is known about what enables supervision outside of metropolitan tertiary hospital settings that would contribute to positive training experiences for specialist medical trainees and encourage them to leave the 'big smoke' once qualified. The aim of this study was therefore to explore the perceived enablers of ophthalmology trainee supervision in regional, rural and remote health settings across Australia.

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Background: The American Heart Association, in conjunction with the National Institutes of Health, annually reports the most up-to-date statistics related to heart disease, stroke, and cardiovascular risk factors, including core health behaviors (smoking, physical activity, diet, and weight) and health factors (cholesterol, blood pressure, and glucose control) that contribute to cardiovascular health. The Statistical Update presents the latest data on a range of major clinical heart and circulatory disease conditions (including stroke, congenital heart disease, rhythm disorders, subclinical atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease, heart failure, valvular disease, venous disease, and peripheral artery disease) and the associated outcomes (including quality of care, procedures, and economic costs).

Methods: The American Heart Association, through its Epidemiology and Prevention Statistics Committee, continuously monitors and evaluates sources of data on heart disease and stroke in the United States to provide the most current information available in the annual Statistical Update with review of published literature through the year before writing.

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