Adult height, coronary heart disease and stroke: a multi-locus Mendelian randomization meta-analysis.

Background: We investigated causal effect of completed growth, measured by adult height, on coronary heart disease (CHD), stroke and cardiovascular traits, using instrumental variable (IV) Mendelian randomization meta-analysis.

Methods: We developed an allele score based on 69 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with adult height, identified by the IBCCardioChip, and used it for IV analysis against cardiovascular risk factors and events in 21 studies and 60 028 participants. IV analysis on CHD was supplemented by summary data from 180 height-SNPs from the GIANT consortium and their corresponding CHD estimates derived from CARDIoGRAMplusC4D.

Cardiovascular risk factors and cognitive decline in older people with type 2 diabetes.

Aims/hypothesis: The aim of this work was to assess the role of well-established cardiovascular risk factors in the late-life cognitive decline of patients with type 2 diabetes.

Methods: Data from 831 participants (aged 60-75 years) attending the 4 year follow-up of the Edinburgh Type 2 Diabetes Study (ET2DS) were used. Smoking history (pack-years), BP, HbA1c, plasma glucose and cholesterol were determined at baseline clinics (single time measurements) and/or from serial data recorded on a clinical management database from diagnosis until recruitment ('historical' data).

γ-Glutamyltransferase, but not markers of hepatic fibrosis, is associated with cardiovascular disease in older people with type 2 diabetes mellitus: the Edinburgh Type 2 Diabetes Study.

Aims/hypothesis: We examined the association of prevalent and incident cardiovascular disease (CVD) with chronic liver disease in a cohort of community-based people with type 2 diabetes, in order to clarify the relationship between these two important conditions.

Methods: 1,066 participants with type 2 diabetes aged 60-75 years underwent assessment of a range of liver injury markers (non-specific injury, steatosis, steatohepatitis, fibrosis, portal hypertension). Individuals were followed up for incident cardiovascular events.

Association between severe hypoglycemia, adverse macrovascular events, and inflammation in the Edinburgh Type 2 Diabetes Study.

Objective: To determine whether a history of severe hypoglycemia was associated with an increased risk of subsequent macrovascular events in people with type 2 diabetes and to explore possible mediation of this association by inflammation.

Research Design And Methods: A cohort of 1,066 adults aged 60-75 years with type 2 diabetes was evaluated prospectively. Baseline history of severe hypoglycemia and plasma levels of the inflammatory markers C-reactive protein, fibrinogen, interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α were recorded.

N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide and risk of cardiovascular events in older patients with type 2 diabetes: the Edinburgh Type 2 Diabetes Study.

Aims/hypothesis: The aim of this study was to investigate the association of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) with traditional cardiovascular risk factors and incident cardiovascular events in older people with type 2 diabetes.

Methods: In the prospective phase of the Edinburgh Type 2 Diabetes Study, 1066 men and women aged 60 to 75 years with type 2 diabetes mellitus were followed for 4 years; 112 participants had an incident cardiovascular event. At baseline, cardiovascular risk factors, pre-existing cardiovascular disease and levels of NT-proBNP were evaluated.

Using non-invasive biomarkers to identify hepatic fibrosis in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus: the Edinburgh type 2 diabetes study.

Background & Aims: It is difficult to determine the different stages of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease without the use of invasive liver biopsy. In this study we investigated five non-invasive biomarkers used previously to detect hepatic fibrosis and determined the level of agreement between them in order to inform future research.

Methods: In the Edinburgh Type 2 Diabetes Study, a population-based cohort aged 60-74 years with type 2 diabetes, 831 participants underwent ultrasound assessment for fatty liver and had serum aspartate aminotransferase to alanine aminotransferase ratio (AST/ALT), aspartate to platelet ratio index (APRI), European Liver Fibrosis panel (ELF), Fibrosis-4 Score (FIB4) and liver stiffness measurement (LSM) measured.

Severe hypoglycemia and cognitive decline in older people with type 2 diabetes: the Edinburgh type 2 diabetes study.

Objective: People with type 2 diabetes are at increased risk of age-related cognitive decline and dementia. Hypoglycemia is a candidate risk factor, but the direction of association between episodes of severe hypoglycemia and cognitive decline in type 2 diabetes remains uncertain.

Research Design And Methods: In the Edinburgh Type 2 Diabetes Study, cognitive function was assessed in 831 adults with type 2 diabetes (aged 60-75 years) at baseline and after 4 years.

Clinical and subclinical macrovascular disease as predictors of cognitive decline in older patients with type 2 diabetes: the Edinburgh Type 2 Diabetes Study.

Objective: Macrovascular disease may contribute to increased risk of accelerated cognitive decline in patients with type 2 diabetes. We aimed to determine associations of measures of macrovascular disease with cognitive change in a cognitively healthy older population with type 2 diabetes.

Research Design And Methods: Eight hundred thirty-one men and women (aged 60-75 years) attended two waves of the prospective Edinburgh Type 2 Diabetes Study (ET2DS).

Identification of the BCAR1-CFDP1-TMEM170A locus as a determinant of carotid intima-media thickness and coronary artery disease risk.

Background: Carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) is a widely accepted marker of subclinical atherosclerosis. To date, large-scale investigations of genetic determinants of cIMT are sparse.

Methods And Results: To identify cIMT-associated genes and genetic variants, a discovery analysis using the Illumina 200K CardioMetabochip was conducted in 3430 subjects with detailed ultrasonographic determinations of cIMT from the IMPROVE (Carotid Intima Media Thickness [IMT] and IMT-Progression as Predictors of Vascular Events in a High Risk European Population) study.

Carotid intima-media thickness and the prediction of vascular events.

Carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) has received interest as a predictor of cardiovascular events in recent years. Use of cIMT in a clinical setting is limited by the variability in measurement and the lack of evidence for its use in clinical risk prediction. This review examines the major studies that have assessed the relationship between cIMT and cardiovascular event risk and discusses the current role of IMT in cardiovascular risk prediction.

Carotid intima-media thickness progression to predict cardiovascular events in the general population (the PROG-IMT collaborative project): a meta-analysis of individual participant data.

Background: Carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) is related to the risk of cardiovascular events in the general population. An association between changes in cIMT and cardiovascular risk is frequently assumed but has rarely been reported. Our aim was to test this association.