A prospective study of cardiovascular risk factors and incident hearing loss in men.

Objectives/hypothesis: Hearing loss is the most common sensory disorder in the United States, affecting more than 36 million people. Cardiovascular risk factors have been associated with the risk of hearing loss in cross-sectional studies, but prospective data are currently lacking.

Study Design: Prospective cohort study.

Alcohol intake and risk of incident psoriasis in US women: a prospective study.

Objectives: To evaluate the independent association between alcohol consumption and risk of developing psoriasis and to determine if this risk is associated with different types of alcoholic beverages.

Design: A prospective study of female nurses who were followed up from 1991 to 2005.

Setting: Nurses' Health Study II, a cohort of 116,671 US women aged 27 to 44 years in 1991.

Prevalence and characteristics of tinnitus among US adults.

Background: Tinnitus is common; however, few risk factors for tinnitus are known.

Methods: We examined cross-sectional relations between several potential risk factors and self-reported tinnitus in 14,178 participants in the 1999-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, a nationally representative database. We calculated the prevalence of any and frequent (at least daily) tinnitus in the overall US population and among subgroups.

Determinants of plasma parathyroid hormone levels in young women.

While the effects of calcium, phosphorus intake, and vitamin D on parathyroid hormone (PTH) have been well studied, less is known about other factors that impact PTH. Our goal was to delineate associations between demographic, dietary, and plasma factors and PTH. We conducted a cross-sectional study of intact PTH among 1,288 nonblack women in the Nurses Health Study II aged 33-53 with BMI <30 kg/m2 and eGFR > or = 60 ml/min/1.

Plasma prolactin level and risk of incident hypertension in postmenopausal women.

Background: Laboratory and cross-sectional human studies suggest a potential role for prolactin in the pathogenesis of hypertension; however, the prospective association between prolactin and hypertension has not been previously reported.

Methods: We prospectively examined the association between daytime plasma prolactin levels and the risk of incident hypertension among 874 postmenopausal women who were participants of the Nurses' Health Study. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to adjust for potential confounders.

New loci associated with kidney function and chronic kidney disease.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a significant public health problem, and recent genetic studies have identified common CKD susceptibility variants. The CKDGen consortium performed a meta-analysis of genome-wide association data in 67,093 individuals of European ancestry from 20 predominantly population-based studies in order to identify new susceptibility loci for reduced renal function as estimated by serum creatinine (eGFRcrea), serum cystatin c (eGFRcys) and CKD (eGFRcrea < 60 ml/min/1.73 m(2); n = 5,807 individuals with CKD (cases)).

Plasma resistin levels associate with risk for hypertension among nondiabetic women.

Emerging evidence suggests a role for resistin in inflammation and vascular dysfunction, which may contribute to the pathogenesis of hypertension, but the association between resistin levels and incident hypertension is unknown. We examined the association between plasma resistin levels and the risk for incident hypertension among 872 women without a history of hypertension or diabetes from the Nurses' Health Study. We identified 361 incident cases of hypertension during 14 years of follow-up.

Associations of diet with albuminuria and kidney function decline.

Background And Objectives: Sparse longitudinal data exist on how diet influences microalbuminuria and estimated GFR (eGFR) decline in people with well-preserved kidney function.

Design, Settings, Participants, & Measurements: Of the 3348 women participating in the Nurses' Health Study who had data on urinary albumin to creatinine ratio in 2000, 3296 also had data on eGFR change between 1989 and 2000. Cumulative average intake of nutrients over 14 years was derived from semiquantitative food frequency questionnaires answered in 1984, 1986, 1990, 1994, and 1998.

Sugar-sweetened beverages and chronic disease.

Sugar-sweetened beverages, a major source of fructose, raise serum uric acid levels and are associated with an increased risk of gout, hypertension, and diabetes. However, it is unclear whether the associations with hypertension and diabetes are caused by fructose per se, or through some other mechanism. Nevertheless, given their demonstrated adverse health associations and the lack of any health benefit, the evidence favors minimization of sugar-sweetened beverage intake.

Physical activity and the risk of community-acquired pneumonia in US women.

Background: Exercise bolsters the immune system and can prevent various infections in certain populations. However, limited data exist regarding the role of physical activity and the risk of community-acquired pneumonia.

Methods: During a 12-year period, we prospectively examined the association between physical activity and the risk of community-acquired pneumonia among 83,165 women in the Nurses' Health Study II who were between the ages of 27 and 44 years in 1991.

Analgesic use and the risk of hearing loss in men.

Background: Hearing loss is a common sensory disorder, yet prospective data on potentially modifiable risk factors are limited. Regularly used analgesics, the most commonly used drugs in the US, may be ototoxic and contribute to hearing loss.

Methods: We examined the independent association between self-reported professionally diagnosed hearing loss and regular use of aspirin, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), and acetaminophen in 26,917 men aged 40-74 years at baseline in 1986.

Physical activity and albuminuria.

Higher urinary albumin excretion predicts future cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and chronic kidney disease. Physical activity improves endothelial function so activity may reduce albuminuria. Among diabetics, physical activity decreases albuminuria.

A prospective study of vitamin intake and the risk of hearing loss in men.

Objective: Hearing loss is the most common sensory disorder in the United States, afflicting more than 36 million people. Higher intakes of vitamins C, E, beta carotene, B12, and folate have been proposed to reduce the risk of hearing loss.

Study Design: We prospectively evaluated the association between intake from foods and supplements of vitamins C, E, beta carotene, B12, and folate, and the incidence of hearing loss.

Urinary melatonin and risk of incident hypertension among young women.

Objective: Administered in supraphysiologic doses, the hormone melatonin may reduce blood pressure, particularly nocturnal blood pressure. However, whether lower physiologic levels of melatonin are an independent risk factor for the development of hypertension has never been reported.

Methods: We examined the association between first morning urine melatonin levels and the risk of developing hypertension among 554 young women without baseline hypertension who were followed for 8 years.

The incidence of urinary incontinence across Asian, black, and white women in the United States.

Objective: We calculated incidence rates of urinary incontinence by incontinence frequency and type over 4 years in Asian, black, and white women in the United States.

Study Design: Prospective analyses included 76,724 participants aged 37-79 years in the Nurses' Health Study cohorts with no incontinence at baseline.

Results: The 4-year incidence of incontinence at least monthly was higher in white women (7.

CRP gene variation and risk of community-acquired pneumonia.

Background And Objective: CRP has several potentially antibacterial effects, and variation in the CRP gene is known to influence CRP levels. Whether this variation influences risk of infection, and hence whether CRP has anti-infective activity in humans, is uncertain.

Methods: We evaluated a series of haplotype-tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms among 5374 individuals in the Cardiovascular Health Study, a cohort of older adults from four communities, who were followed for community-acquired pneumonia for 12-13 years.

Relation between alkaline phosphatase, serum phosphate, and all-cause or cardiovascular mortality.

Background: Higher levels of serum alkaline phosphatase (AlkP) are associated with excess mortality in dialysis patients, but whether AlkP is associated with adverse outcomes among people without kidney failure is unknown.

Methods And Results: We first analyzed the association between AlkP and cardiovascular outcomes among 4115 participants with a previous myocardial infarction (the Cholesterol And Recurrent Events [CARE] study). Results were validated by analyzing the association between AlkP and mortality in an independent sample of 14,716 adults from the general US population (the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey).

Demographic, dietary, and urinary factors and 24-h urinary calcium excretion.

Background And Objectives: Higher urinary calcium is a risk factor for nephrolithiasis. This study delineated associations between demographic, dietary, and urinary factors and 24-h urinary calcium.

Design, Setting, Participants, & Measurements: Cross-sectional studies were conducted of 2201 stone formers (SF) and 1167 nonstone formers (NSF) in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (men) and Nurses' Health Studies I and II (older and younger women).

Insulin resistance and risk of incident hypertension among men.

J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich). 2009;11:483-490. (c) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Mortality after hospitalization with mild, moderate, and severe hyponatremia.

Background: Hyponatremia is the most common electrolyte abnormality in hospitalized individuals.

Methods: To investigate the association between serum sodium concentration and mortality, we conducted a prospective cohort study of 98,411 adults hospitalized between 2000 and 2003 at 2 teaching hospitals in Boston, Massachusetts. The main outcome measures were in-hospital, 1-year, and 5-year mortality.

DASH-style diet associates with reduced risk for kidney stones.

The impact of the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet on kidney stone formation is unknown. We prospectively examined the relation between a DASH-style diet and incident kidney stones in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (n = 45,821 men; 18 yr of follow-up), Nurses' Health Study I (n = 94,108 older women; 18 yr of follow-up), and Nurses' Health Study II (n = 101,837 younger women; 14 yr of follow-up). We constructed a DASH score based on eight components: high intake of fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes, low-fat dairy products, and whole grains and low intake of sodium, sweetened beverages, and red and processed meats.

Diet-dependent net acid load and risk of incident hypertension in United States women.

Animal and human studies suggest a potential link between acid-base status and blood pressure. Contemporary Western diets yield a daily systemic acid load of varying amounts, yet the association with hypertension has never been explored. We prospectively examined the association between the diet-dependent net acid load (also known as the estimated net endogenous acid production) and the risk of incident hypertension among 87 293 women without a history of hypertension in the Nurses' Health Study II.

Diet and lifestyle risk factors associated with incident hypertension in women.

Context: Hypertension is an important preventable risk factor for death among women. While several modifiable risk factors have been identified, their combined risk and distribution in the population have not been assessed.

Objective: To estimate the hypothetical fraction of hypertension incidence associated with dietary and lifestyle factors in women.

Menopause, postmenopausal hormone use and risk of incident gout.

Objective: To prospectively study the relation between menopause, postmenopausal hormone use and risk of gout, since female sex hormones have been postulated to decrease gout risk among women.

Methods: In the Nurses' Health Study, the association between menopause, age at menopause, postmenopausal hormone use and risk of self-reported physician-diagnosed incident gout among 92 535 women without gout at baseline was examined. Multivariate proportional hazards regression analysis was used to adjust for other risk factors for gout such as age, body mass index, diuretic use, hypertension, alcohol intake and dietary factors.