Dietary patterns and hearing loss in older men enrolled in the Caerphilly Study.

The association between dietary patterns (DP) and prevalence of hearing loss in men enrolled in the Caerphilly Prospective Study was investigated. During 1979-1983, the study recruited 2512 men aged 45-59 years. At baseline, dietary data were collected using a semi-quantitative FFQ, and a 7-d weighed food intake (WI) in a 30 % subsample.

Troponin and BNP are markers for subsequent non-ischaemic congestive heart failure: the Caerphilly Prospective Study (CaPS).

Objective: To examine the long-term predictive value of 28 biomarkers for subsequent non-ischaemic congestive heart failure (CHF) and separately for other cardiovascular outcomes (myocardial infarction (MI) and stroke).

Methods: The Caerphilly Prospective Study recruited 2171 men aged 55-69 years from the general population in 1989-1993; men were screened for evidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and followed for clinical cardiovascular events. Fasting blood samples were stored at -70°C until assayed for novel biomarkers in 2010-2013.

Lipoprotein(a) and the risk of cardiovascular disease in the European population: results from the BiomarCaRE consortium.

Aims: As promising compounds to lower Lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)) are emerging, the need for a precise characterization and comparability of the Lp(a)-associated cardiovascular risk is increasing. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the distribution of Lp(a) concentrations across the European population, to characterize the association with cardiovascular outcomes and to provide high comparability of the Lp(a)-associated cardiovascular risk by use of centrally determined Lp(a) concentrations.

Methods And Results: Based on the Biomarkers for Cardiovascular Risk Assessment in Europe (BiomarCaRE)-project, we analysed data of 56 804 participants from 7 prospective population-based cohorts across Europe with a maximum follow-up of 24 years.

The relationship between adipokines and the onset of type 2 diabetes in middle-aged men: The PRIME study.

Aims: Epidemiological evidence suggests that adipokines may be associated with the onset of type 2 diabetes, but the evidence to date is limited and inconclusive. This study examined the association between adiponectin and leptin and the subsequent diagnosis of type 2 diabetes in a UK population based cohort of non-diabetic middle-aged men.

Methods: Baseline serum levels of leptin and adiponectin were measured in 1839 non-diabetic men aged 50-60years who were participating in the prospective population-based PRIME study.

Troponin I and cardiovascular risk prediction in the general population: the BiomarCaRE consortium.

Aims: Our aims were to evaluate the distribution of troponin I concentrations in population cohorts across Europe, to characterize the association with cardiovascular outcomes, to determine the predictive value beyond the variables used in the ESC SCORE, to test a potentially clinically relevant cut-off value, and to evaluate the improved eligibility for statin therapy based on elevated troponin I concentrations retrospectively.

Methods And Results: Based on the Biomarkers for Cardiovascular Risk Assessment in Europe (BiomarCaRE) project, we analysed individual level data from 10 prospective population-based studies including 74 738 participants. We investigated the value of adding troponin I levels to conventional risk factors for prediction of cardiovascular disease by calculating measures of discrimination (C-index) and net reclassification improvement (NRI).

Isolated negative T waves in the general population is a powerful predicting factor of cardiac mortality and coronary heart disease.

Background: Isolated negative T waves (INTW) are considered a common and minor electrocardiographic (ECG) abnormality. However, few recent studies have associated the presence of INTW with an increased risk of all-causes and cardiovascular mortalities. The aim was to evaluate the predictive value of INTW for coronary heart disease (CHD) and all-cause mortality.

Which biomarkers are predictive specifically for cardiovascular or for non-cardiovascular mortality in men? Evidence from the Caerphilly Prospective Study (CaPS).

Objective: To examine a panel of 28 biomarkers for prediction of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and non-CVD mortality in a population-based cohort of men.

Methods: Starting in 1979, middle-aged men in Caerphilly underwent detailed medical examination. Subsequently 2171 men were re-examined during 1989-1993, and fasting blood samples obtained from 1911 men (88%).

Age- and sex-specific causal effects of adiposity on cardiovascular risk factors.

Observational studies have reported different effects of adiposity on cardiovascular risk factors across age and sex. Since cardiovascular risk factors are enriched in obese individuals, it has not been easy to dissect the effects of adiposity from those of other risk factors. We used a Mendelian randomization approach, applying a set of 32 genetic markers to estimate the causal effect of adiposity on blood pressure, glycemic indices, circulating lipid levels, and markers of inflammation and liver disease in up to 67,553 individuals.

Sex-stratified genome-wide association studies including 270,000 individuals show sexual dimorphism in genetic loci for anthropometric traits.

Given the anthropometric differences between men and women and previous evidence of sex-difference in genetic effects, we conducted a genome-wide search for sexually dimorphic associations with height, weight, body mass index, waist circumference, hip circumference, and waist-to-hip-ratio (133,723 individuals) and took forward 348 SNPs into follow-up (additional 137,052 individuals) in a total of 94 studies. Seven loci displayed significant sex-difference (FDR<5%), including four previously established (near GRB14/COBLL1, LYPLAL1/SLC30A10, VEGFA, ADAMTS9) and three novel anthropometric trait loci (near MAP3K1, HSD17B4, PPARG), all of which were genome-wide significant in women (P<5×10(-8)), but not in men. Sex-differences were apparent only for waist phenotypes, not for height, weight, BMI, or hip circumference.

External validation of the 2008 Framingham cardiovascular risk equation for CHD and stroke events in a European population of middle-aged men. The PRIME study.

Objective: To test the applicability of the sex-specific 2008 Framingham general cardiovascular risk equation for coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke in European middle-aged men from Ireland and France.

Methods: In the PRIME study, 9638 healthy middle-aged men recruited in France and Ireland were surveyed for 10 years for the occurrence of first CHD and stroke events. The original Framingham equation, the partially calibrated Framingham equation (using the PRIME baseline survival at 10 years), and the completely calibrated Framingham equation (additionally using risk factor means calculated in PRIME) were assessed.

All-cause mortality and periodontitis in 60-70-year-old men: a prospective cohort study.

Objective: To investigate the association between periodontitis and mortality from all causes in a prospective study in a homogenous group of 60- to 70-year-old West European men.

Methodology: A representative sample of 1400 dentate men, (mean age 63.8, SD 3.

Genetic associations for activated partial thromboplastin time and prothrombin time, their gene expression profiles, and risk of coronary artery disease.

Activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) and prothrombin time (PT) are clinical tests commonly used to screen for coagulation-factor deficiencies. One genome-wide association study (GWAS) has been reported previously for aPTT, but no GWAS has been reported for PT. We conducted a GWAS and meta-analysis to identify genetic loci for aPTT and PT.

Adipocytokines and the risk of ischemic stroke: the PRIME Study.

Objective: Adipocytokines are hormones secreted from adipose tissue that possibly link adiposity and the risk of cardiovascular disease, but limited prospective data exist on plasma adipocytokines and ischemic stroke risk. We investigated associations and predictive properties of 4 plasma adipocytokines, namely resistin, adipsin, leptin, and total adiponectin, with regard to incident ischemic stroke in the PRIME Study.

Methods: A cohort of 9,771 healthy men 50 to 59 years of age at baseline was followed up over a period of 10 years.

Novel loci for adiponectin levels and their influence on type 2 diabetes and metabolic traits: a multi-ethnic meta-analysis of 45,891 individuals.

Circulating levels of adiponectin, a hormone produced predominantly by adipocytes, are highly heritable and are inversely associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) and other metabolic traits. We conducted a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies in 39,883 individuals of European ancestry to identify genes associated with metabolic disease. We identified 8 novel loci associated with adiponectin levels and confirmed 2 previously reported loci (P = 4.

A genome-wide association search for type 2 diabetes genes in African Americans.

African Americans are disproportionately affected by type 2 diabetes (T2DM) yet few studies have examined T2DM using genome-wide association approaches in this ethnicity. The aim of this study was to identify genes associated with T2DM in the African American population. We performed a Genome Wide Association Study (GWAS) using the Affymetrix 6.

Is dieting behaviour decreasing in young adolescents?

Objective: To report trends in underweight, overweight and obesity in 12-15-year-old adolescents and examine changes in dieting behaviour, which have been less well documented.

Design: Comparison of two independent representative cross-sectional surveys.

Setting: Northern Ireland.

Status of novel cardiovascular risk factor and cardiovascular disease risk in an urban Cuban population--a pilot study.

Cardiovascular disease is the main cause of death in Cuba, yet the prevalence of novel risk factors is not known. To examine the prevalence of risk factors of traditional and novel cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) among an urban Cuban population, a cross-sectional pilot survey was undertaken in Havana city, Cuba. Ninety-seven adults aged 45-60 years registered to receive medical care at a policlinic.

Dietary patterns and smoking in Northern Irish men: a population at high risk of coronary heart disease.

This study evaluated dietary habits of Northern Irish men who are at high risk of cardiovascular disease, stratified as never-, ex-, moderate-, or heavy-smokers. Participants were male volunteers (30 - 49 years) from a single workforce in Belfast (n = 765). Dietary information was collected using a validated food frequency questionnaire.

A multiple biomarker risk score for guiding clinical decisions using a decision curve approach.

Aims: We assessed whether a cardiovascular risk model based on classic risk factors (e.g. cholesterol, blood pressure) could refine disease prediction if it included novel biomarkers (C-reactive protein, N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide, troponin I) using a decision curve approach which can incorporate clinical consequences.

The stroke offspring study: is parental stroke history of value in targeted risk factor screening?

Aim: This study aimed to compare the prevalence of stroke risk factors among people with a parental history of stroke to those in a control group of individuals, of similar age, gender and social class, with no parental stroke history.

Background: Parental stroke increases an individual's risk of stroke, but little is known of the potential value of using this information in targeted screening for primary prevention in general practice.

Method: We sent questionnaires to 300 randomly selected individuals aged 40-65 years, in each of 11 different general practices in Northern Ireland.

Patterns of alcohol consumption and ischaemic heart disease in culturally divergent countries: the Prospective Epidemiological Study of Myocardial Infarction (PRIME).

Objective: To investigate the effect of alcohol intake patterns on ischaemic heart disease in two countries with contrasting lifestyles, Northern Ireland and France.

Design: Cohort data from the Prospective Epidemiological Study of Myocardial Infarction (PRIME) were analysed. Weekly alcohol consumption, incidence of binge drinking (alcohol >50 g on at least one day a week), incidence of regular drinking (at least one day a week, and alcohol <50 g if on only one occasion), volume of alcohol intake, frequency of consumption, and types of beverage consumed were assessed once at inclusion.

Relative contribution of lipids and apolipoproteins to incident coronary heart disease and ischemic stroke: the PRIME Study.

Aim: To compare within the same cohort the association of a large panel of lipids with the risk of incident coronary heart disease (CHD) and ischemic stroke events in participants of the Prospective Epidemiological Study of Myocardial Infarction.

Methods: In this binational (Northern Ireland and France) prospective cohort, we considered 9,711 men aged 50-59 years free of CHD and stroke at baseline (1991-1993). The hazard ratios of each lipid marker for CHD and ischemic stroke events were estimated in separate Cox proportional hazard models adjusted for age, study center, systolic blood pressure, antihypertensive treatment, current smoking status, body mass index and diabetes.

C-reactive protein, interleukin 6, fibrinogen and risk of sudden death in European middle-aged men: the PRIME study.

Objective: To examine prospectively the association of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, interleukin 6, and fibrinogen with sudden death in asymptomatic European men.

Methods And Results: Among the 9771 men from the Etude PRospective de l'Infarctus du Myocarde (PRIME) Study, 664 had a first coronary heart disease over 10 years, including 50 sudden deaths, 34 nonsudden coronary deaths, and 580 nonfatal coronary heart disease events. For each outcome, 2 matched controls, who were free of coronary heart disease at the index date, were randomly selected from the initial cohort (nested case control study design).

An analysis of prospective risk factors for aortic stiffness in men: 20-year follow-up from the Caerphilly prospective study.

Arterial stiffness is an important determinant of cardiovascular risk. The precise risk factors for arterial stiffening remain unclear. We aimed to identify potential risk factors using prospective exposure data from the Caerphilly Prospective Study.