Blood Lead Levels and Risk of Atherosclerosis in the Carotid Artery: Results from a Swedish Cohort.

Background: Lead exposure has been associated with increased incidence of adverse clinical cardiovascular outcomes. Atherosclerosis has been suggested as one of the underlying mechanisms, and findings from experimental studies support this, but human data are scarce.

Objectives: Our objective was to determine the association between environmental lead exposure based on blood lead (B-Pb) concentrations and the prevalence of atherosclerotic plaque in the carotid artery.

Blood cadmium concentration and risk of subarachnoid haemorrhage.

Background: Cadmium is a toxic metal and exposure is mainly from diet and tobacco smoke. Cadmium is accumulated in blood vessels and may reduce synthesis of procollagen and inhibit proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells. High blood cadmium has been associated with increased risk of myocardial infarction, stroke and unruptured intracranial aneurysms.

Heart rate and premature atrial contractions at 24hECG independently predict atrial fibrillation in a population-based study.

Background: Low resting heart rate and premature atrial contractions (PACs) predict incident atrial fibrillation (AF) and could be interdependent, since PACs occur in the gaps between normal beats.

Objective: To study the association between low heart rate at 24hECG, PACs and incident AF in a prospective population-based cohort.

Methods: In the Malmö Diet and Cancer study, 24hECGs were performed in 377 AF-free subjects.

Smoking-induced risk of future cardiovascular disease is partly mediated by cadmium in tobacco: Malmö Diet and Cancer Cohort Study.

Background: Smoking is a strong risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and causes exposure to cadmium, which is a pro-atherosclerotic metal. Cadmium exposure has also been shown to increase the risk of CVD, even after adjustment for smoking. Our hypothesis was that part of the risk of CVD in smokers may be mediated by cadmium exposure from tobacco smoke.

Biomarkers of blood cadmium and incidence of cardiovascular events in non-smokers: results from a population-based proteomics study.

Background: Cadmium is a toxic metal with multiple adverse health effects, including risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The mechanistic link between cadmium and CVD is unclear. Our aim was to examine the associations between blood cadmium (B-Cd) and 88 potential protein biomarkers of CVD.

Correction: Predictive value for cardiovascular events of common carotid intima media thickness and its rate of change in individuals at high cardiovascular risk - Results from the PROG-IMT collaboration.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Blood Lead Levels and Decreased Kidney Function in a Population-Based Cohort.

Background: Environmental lead exposure has been associated with decreased kidney function, but evidence from large prospective cohort studies examining low exposure levels is scarce. We assessed the association of low levels of lead exposure with kidney function and kidney disease.

Study Design: Prospective population-based cohort.

Predictive value for cardiovascular events of common carotid intima media thickness and its rate of change in individuals at high cardiovascular risk - Results from the PROG-IMT collaboration.

Aims: Carotid intima media thickness (CIMT) predicts cardiovascular (CVD) events, but the predictive value of CIMT change is debated. We assessed the relation between CIMT change and events in individuals at high cardiovascular risk.

Methods And Results: From 31 cohorts with two CIMT scans (total n = 89070) on average 3.

New alkylresorcinol metabolites in spot urine as biomarkers of whole grain wheat and rye intake in a Swedish middle-aged population.

Background/objectives: Studies on the health effects of whole grains typically use self-reported intakes which are prone to large measurement errors. Dietary biomarkers that can provide an objective measure of intake are needed. New alkylresorcinol (AR) metabolites (3,5-dihydroxycinnamic acid (DHCA), 2-(3,5-dihydroxybenzamido)acetic acid (DHBA-glycine) and 5-(3,5-dihydroxyphenyl) pentanoic acid (DHPPTA)) in 24 h urine samples have been suggested as biomarkers for whole grain (WG) wheat and rye intake but remain to be evaluated in spot urine samples.

The tyranny of the averages and the indiscriminate use of risk factors in public health: The case of coronary heart disease.

Modern medicine is overwhelmed by a plethora of both established risk factors and novel biomarkers for diseases. The majority of this information is expressed by probabilistic measures of association such as the odds ratio (OR) obtained by calculating differences in average "risk" between exposed and unexposed groups. However, recent research demonstrates that even ORs of considerable magnitude are insufficient for assessing the ability of risk factors or biomarkers to distinguish the individuals who will develop the disease from those who will not.

Cadmium, Carotid Atherosclerosis, and Incidence of Ischemic Stroke.

Background: Exposure to cadmium has been associated with carotid plaques, inflammation in carotid plaques, and increased risk of ischemic stroke. This study examined the separate and interacting effects of blood cadmium levels and carotid plaques on the risk of incident ischemic stroke.

Methods And Results: Cadmium levels were measured in 4156 subjects (39.

Complement C3 Associates With Incidence of Diabetes, but No Evidence of a Causal Relationship.

Purpose: This study explored whether complement factor 3 (C3) in plasma is associated with incidence of diabetes in a population-based cohort. We also identified genetic variants related to C3 and explored whether C3 and diabetes share common genetic determinants.

Methods: C3 was analyzed in plasma from 4368 nondiabetic subjects, 46 to 68 years old, from the Malmö Diet and Cancer Study.

Partial Mediation by Cadmium Exposure of the Association Between Tobacco Smoking and Atherosclerotic Plaques in the Carotid Artery.

Exposure to cadmium confers increased cardiovascular risk. Tobacco smoke contains cadmium, which, hypothetically, may mediate parts of the tobacco-associated risk of developing atherosclerotic plaques. Baseline data from the Swedish Malmö Diet and Cancer cohort (1991-1996) were used to test this hypothesis.

Alcohol Consumption and Common Carotid Intima-Media Thickness: The USE-IMT Study.

Aims: Epidemiological evidence indicates a protective effect of light to moderate alcohol consumption compared to non-drinking and heavy drinking. Although several mechanisms have been suggested, the effect of alcohol on atherosclerotic changes in vessel walls is unclear. Therefore, we explored the relationship between alcohol consumption and common carotid intima media thickness, a marker of early atherosclerosis in the general population.

Fasting levels of growth hormone are associated with carotid intima media thickness but are not affected by fluvastatin treatment.

Background: Growth hormone (GH) has been linked to cardiovascular disease but the exact mechanism of this association is still unclear. We here test if the fasting levels of GH are cross-sectionally associated with carotid intima media thickness (IMT) and whether treatment with fluvastatin affects the fasting level of GH.

Methods: We examined the association between GH and IMT in 4425 individuals (aged 46-68 years) included in the baseline examination (1991-1994) of the Malmö Diet and Cancer cardiovascular cohort (MDC-CC).

Circulating cadmium concentration and risk of aortic aneurysms: A nested case-control study within the Malmö Diet and Cancer cohort.

Background And Aims: Diet and smoking expose the general population to cadmium (Cd), which is a toxic metal that accumulates in the arterial wall. In experimental studies, Cd causes reductions in proliferation of smooth muscle cells and cellular synthesis of procollagen. The aim of this study was to examine whether blood Cd levels, a valid measure of Cd exposure, are associated with increased risk of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA).

ST segment depression on 24-hour electrocardiography predicts incident atrial fibrillation in two population-based cohorts.

Aims: ST-depression at 24hECG has not been studied in relation to atrial fibrillation (AF) risk. We aimed to determine whether ST-depression at 24hECG was associated with incident AF in two Swedish population-based cohorts - a sub-cohort of the Malmö Diet and Cancer study (MDCS), and the cohort 'Men born in 1914', and to determine whether 24hECG could be used to predict AF development.

Methods And Results: There were 378 acceptable 24hECG recordings in the MDCS (mean age 64.

Clustering of cardiovascular risk factors and carotid intima-media thickness: The USE-IMT study.

Background: The relation of a single risk factor with atherosclerosis is established. Clinically we know of risk factor clustering within individuals. Yet, studies into the magnitude of the relation of risk factor clusters with atherosclerosis are limited.

Pro-atrial natriuretic peptide and prediction of atrial fibrillation and stroke: The Malmö Preventive Project.

Background The increasing prevalence of atrial fibrillation and novel therapeutic tools to prevent cardioembolic stroke has increased the need for risk markers. Objectives This study explored the relationship between the midregional sequence of pro-atrial natriuretic peptide (MR-proANP) levels with the risk of atrial fibrillation and stroke, and whether measurement of MR-proANP improves the prediction of these outcomes. Methods MR-proANP was measured in fasting blood samples of 5130 subjects (69% men, mean age 69.

Cadmium exposure is associated with soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor, a circulating marker of inflammation and future cardiovascular disease.

Background: Diet and smoking are the main sources of cadmium exposure in the general population. Cadmium increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases, and experimental studies show that it induces inflammation. Blood cadmium levels are associated with macrophages in human atherosclerotic plaques.

Parity, weight change, and maternal risk of cardiovascular events.

Background: High parity has been suggested to increase risk of maternal cardiovascular disease independent of body mass index measured after childbearing. Pregnancy is, however, associated with persistent weight gain and metabolic changes that, independent of parity, increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. It could therefore be questioned if high parity independently increases the risk of cardiovascular disease or if this association may be confounded, mediated, or modified by other parity-related factors.

Genome wide association study identifies two loci associated with cadmium in erythrocytes among never-smokers.

Background: Cadmium is a non-essential toxic metal with multiple adverse health effects. Exposure in the general population occurs by smoking and diet. Cadmium in erythrocytes is a valid biomarker of exposure and body burden of cadmium.

Comparison of a web-based food record tool and a food-frequency questionnaire and objective validation using the doubly labelled water technique in a Swedish middle-aged population.

Two web-based dietary assessment tools have been developed for use in large-scale studies: the Riksmaten method (4-d food record) and MiniMeal-Q (food-frequency method). The aim of the present study was to examine the ability of these methods to capture energy intake against objectively measured total energy expenditure (TEE) with the doubly labelled water technique (TEE), and to compare reported energy and macronutrient intake. This study was conducted within the pilot study of the Swedish CArdioPulmonary bioImage Study (SCAPIS), which included 1111 randomly selected men and women aged 50-64 years from the Gothenburg general population.

Acute-phase proteins and incidence of diabetes: a population-based cohort study.

Aims: To examine the relationship between plasma levels of the acute-phase proteins ceruloplasmin, alpha-1-antitrypsin, orosomucoid, haptoglobin and C-reactive protein (CRP), and incidence of diabetes in the population-based Malmö Diet and Cancer Study-Cardiovascular Cohort (MDCS-CC).

Methods: The study population consists of 4246 participants (aged 46-67 years, 60.8 % women) with no previous history of diabetes.