Publications by authors named "Eric Whitsel"
Article Synopsis
- Coronary heart disease (CHD) is a major health issue in the U.S., and improved prediction models could help in early detection and intervention.
- Researchers developed a deep learning autoencoder survival analysis model (AESurv) that analyzes DNA methylation and clinical data to predict CHD events more accurately.
- The AESurv model outperformed traditional survival analysis models in two studies, showing strong potential for improving early CHD prediction and aiding healthcare professionals in managing patient care.
There is a profound need to identify modifiable risk factors to screen and prevent pancreatic cancer. Air pollution, including fine particulate matter (PM2.5), is increasingly recognized as a risk factor for cancer.
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- Chronic kidney disease (CKD) affects about 1 in 7 adults in the U.S., especially African Americans who are more likely to suffer from it.
- Scientists discovered that certain changes in DNA can help predict who might get CKD, focusing on specific sites in the DNA.
- The study created a special score using these DNA changes to see how likely someone is to have CKD and found it works well for African Americans, suggesting it could help in checking kidney health in the future.
Discovering the direct relations between nutrients and epigenetic ageing.
J Nutr Health Aging
September 2024
Article Synopsis
- As people get older, age-related diseases are becoming more common, which puts pressure on healthcare systems, making it important to support healthy ageing.
- Researchers looked at over 3,900 postmenopausal women to study how certain nutrients affect biological age using a tool called the PhenoAge epigenetic clock.
- They found that eating more good nutrients like coumestrol and beta-carotene can slow down ageing, while too much sugar and certain fats can speed it up.
Background: Understanding the impact of clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP) and mosaic chromosomal alterations (mCAs) on solid tumor risk and mortality can shed light on novel cancer pathways.
Methods: The authors analyzed whole genome sequencing data from the Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine Women's Health Initiative study (n = 10,866). They investigated the presence of CHIP and mCA and their association with the development and mortality of breast, lung, and colorectal cancers.
Article Synopsis
- The study investigated the relationship between exposure to gaseous air pollutants and brain health, specifically using MRI data from participants in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study.
- Researchers analyzed data from over 1,600 participants and estimated air pollutant levels at their addresses over a ten-year period, while also considering the variations in pollutant concentrations across different study locations.
- The results showed no significant associations between air pollution and brain MRI outcomes, suggesting that the methods used for estimating exposure and differences by study location may influence results.
Article Synopsis
- A study investigated the link between midlife exposure to air pollution and proximity to major roadways and the risk of developing dementia later in life, using data from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study.
- Despite following over 12,700 participants for nearly 30 years, no significant associations were found between these environmental factors and the incidence of dementia overall.
- However, exploratory analyses suggested that younger individuals and those without midlife hypertension might face higher dementia risk when living near roadways, particularly if they had diabetes and were exposed to certain pollutants.
Background And Objectives: Epigenetic age estimators indicating faster/slower biological aging vs chronological age independently associate with several age-related outcomes; however, longitudinal associations with cognitive function are understudied. We examined associations of epigenetic age estimators with cognitive function measured annually.
Methods: This longitudinal study consisted of older women enrolled in the Women's Health Initiative Memory Study with DNA methylation (DNAm) collected at baseline (1995-1998) from 3 ancillary studies and were followed up to 13 years.
Article Synopsis
- The study examined the relationship between exposure to particulate matter (PM) and cognitive outcomes, highlighting mixed findings in previous research due to differing estimation methods.
- Researchers used data from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study to compare PM exposure levels across 11 different methods, assessing their effect on cognitive and MRI outcomes.
- Results showed high agreement in exposure estimates across different sites, but low within-site consistency; however, findings indicated no significant associations between PM levels and cognitive outcomes, raising concerns about potential biases related to unmeasured confounding factors.
Background: Heterogeneity in ageing rates drives the need for research into lifestyle secrets of successful agers. Biological age, predicted by epigenetic clocks, has been shown to be a more reliable measure of ageing than chronological age. Dietary habits are known to affect the ageing process.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Aircraft noise exposure is linked to cardiovascular disease risk. One understudied candidate pathway is obesity. This study investigates the association between aircraft noise and obesity among female participants in two prospective Nurses' Health Study (NHS and NHSII) cohorts.
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- - The study investigates the relationship between home radon exposure and stroke risk in middle-aged and older women in the U.S., using data from the Women's Health Initiative cohort of postmenopausal women.
- - Results show that women exposed to radon levels of 2-4 pCi/L and over 4 pCi/L had increased risks of stroke compared to those with lower exposures, with specific risks associated with different types of strokes.
- - The findings suggest that even radon levels below the EPA's mitigation threshold can pose a health risk, highlighting the need for further evaluation of radon exposure and its potential effects on stroke.
Background: - Disparities in incident stroke risk among women by race and ethnicity persist. Few studies report the distribution and association of stroke risk factors by age group among a diverse sample of women.
Methods: - Data from the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) Observational Study collected between 1993 and 2010 were used to calculate cumulative stroke incidence and incidence rates among non-Hispanic African American (NHAA), non-Hispanic white (NHW), and Hispanic white or African American (HWAA) women by age group in participants aged ≥50 years at baseline (N = 77,247).
Importance: Clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP), the age-related clonal expansion of hematopoietic stem cells with leukemogenic acquired genetic variants, is associated with incident heart failure (HF).
Objective: To evaluate the associations of CHIP and key gene-specific CHIP subtypes with incident HF with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF).
Design, Setting, And Participants: This population-based cohort study included participants from 2 racially diverse prospective cohort studies with uniform HF subtype adjudication: the Jackson Heart Study (JHS) and Women's Health Initiative (WHI).
Article Synopsis
- The study evaluates various methods used to estimate air pollution exposure specifically focusing on particulate matter and how these methods affect health outcomes relating to mortality and cardiovascular disease.
- Researchers compared annual exposure estimates assigned to participants in the Women's Health Initiative Memory Study (WHIMS) from 1999 to 2004 using different estimation techniques, including geostatistical methods and satellite data.
- Results indicated that while most approaches produced similar air pollution exposure estimates across the US, local differences were noted, and health effect associations remained consistent regardless of the estimation method used.
Article Synopsis
- A study found that higher diet quality scores are linked to lower biological aging, as measured by DNA methylation, in postmenopausal women.
- Researchers analyzed data from 4,500 women aged 50-79, using food frequency questionnaires to score diet quality and assess epigenetic aging markers.
- Results showed significant inverse associations between three diet quality scores and measures of epigenetic aging, particularly with the DunedinPACE measure, meaning better diets may lead to slower biological aging.
Article Synopsis
- The study investigates the potential link between radon exposure and clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP), which may increase the risk of blood cancers and heart diseases.
- Researchers analyzed data from nearly 11,000 participants to assess the relationship between indoor radon levels and the presence of CHIP, noting varying risks based on radon concentration zones.
- Results showed that higher radon exposure (in Zones 1 and 2) is associated with an increased risk of CHIP in individuals who have had ischemic strokes, whereas no significant risks were found in those with hemorrhagic strokes or those without stroke histories.
Article Synopsis
- Elevated psychosocial stress is linked to accelerated biological aging, but this study specifically examines how stressful life events (SLEs) affect epigenetic age in postmenopausal women, a group with higher stress and disease risk.
- Utilizing data from the Women's Health Initiative, researchers measured SLEs and social support through questionnaires and calculated epigenetic aging markers from blood samples.
- The results indicate that higher SLE burden correlates with faster epigenetic aging, particularly affecting Black women and those with low social support, highlighting the need for targeted strategies in stress management and disease prevention for aging women.
Article Synopsis
- Clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP) can lead to increased risks of cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and mortality among individuals, particularly affecting postmenopausal women.
- The study assessed the influence of socioeconomic status (SES) at both individual and neighborhood levels on the prevalence of CHIP, incorporating factors like education, income, and personal resources.
- Results indicate that better neighborhood SES correlates with a slight increase in CHIP risk, but high levels of optimism among women appear to reduce this risk, suggesting that positive psychological factors may mitigate the effects of socio-economic disadvantage on health.
Article Synopsis
- Agitation in Alzheimer's disease is linked to difficulties in emotion regulation and may be influenced by heart rate variability (HRV), which reflects the integrity of emotional and autonomic control systems.
- Researchers utilized data from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study, spanning two decades and involving multiple visits, to examine the relationship between changes in HRV and the risk of agitation in individuals with Alzheimer's.
- Results indicated that lower HRV over time was significantly associated with a higher likelihood of experiencing agitation, with a 0.05 log-unit change in HRV correlating to a tenfold increase in agitation odds, even after accounting for cognitive status and health conditions.
Article Synopsis
- A study was conducted to explore the relationship between long-term exposure to air pollution and brain amyloid accumulation, a key biomarker for Alzheimer's disease, among participants in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study.
- Researchers estimated participants' air pollution exposure over a 10-year period and measured brain amyloid levels using PET scans on 346 individuals without dementia.
- The results indicated no significant link between long-term exposure to various air pollutants and brain amyloid positivity, suggesting air pollution might affect cognitive health in ways not directly tied to amyloid accumulation.
Objective: Clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP) is an aging-related accumulation of somatic mutations in hematopoietic stem cells, leading to clonal expansion. CHIP presence has been implicated in atherosclerotic coronary heart disease (CHD) and all-cause mortality, but its association with incident type 2 diabetes (T2D) is unknown. We hypothesized that CHIP is associated with elevated risk of T2D.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCharacterizing temporal trends in populations exposed to aircraft noise around U.S. airports: 1995-2015.
J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol
September 2023
Background: Aircraft noise is a key concern for communities surrounding airports, with increasing evidence for health effects and inequitable distributions of exposure. However, there have been limited national-scale assessments of aircraft noise exposure over time and across noise metrics, limiting evaluation of population exposure patterns.
Objective: We evaluated national-scale temporal trends in aviation noise exposure by airport characteristics and across racial/ethnic populations in the U.
Background And Objectives: Studies on the association between proton pump inhibitor (PPI) use and dementia report mixed results and do not examine the impact of cumulative PPI use. We evaluated the associations between current and cumulative PPI use and risk of incident dementia in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study.
Methods: These analyses used participants from a community-based cohort (ARIC) from the time of enrollment (1987-1989) through 2017.