Publications by authors named "Joseph Shearer"

Background: Heart failure (HF) is increasing in the United States, and awareness is needed for prevention. Hypertension is the leading cause of HF, and adherence to antihypertensive medication is critical for reducing HF risk. Self-efficacy positively influences health-promoting behaviors.

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Article Synopsis
  • Heart failure (HF) risk is significantly higher in rural areas compared to urban regions in the UK, even with universal healthcare, suggesting that factors beyond access to care are at play.
  • The study analyzed data from over 417,000 participants and found that even in smaller or rural settings, the risk of HF was notably elevated, with biological aging linked to a 6.6% mediation of this risk.
  • This research highlights the importance of considering environmental, social, and dietary influences on health, emphasizing new targets for public health interventions aimed at reducing HF disparities.
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Background: Heart failure (HF) and kidney disease frequently co-occur, increasing mortality risk. The cardiorenal syndrome results from damage to either the heart or kidney impacting the other organ. The epidemiology of cardiorenal syndrome among the general population is incompletely characterized and despite shared risk factors with HF, differences in mortality risk across key demographics have not been well described.

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Background: Higher total serum cholesterol is associated with lower mortality in heart failure. Evaluating associations between lipoprotein subfractions and mortality among people with heart failure may provide insights into this observation.

Methods: We prospectively enrolled a community cohort of people with heart failure from 2003 to 2012 and assessed vital status through 2021.

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Background: Frailty is common in heart failure (HF) and is associated with death but not routinely captured clinically. Frailty is linked with inflammation and malnutrition, which can be assessed by a novel plasma multimarker score: the metabolic vulnerability index (MVX). We sought to evaluate the associations between frailty and MVX and their prognostic impact.

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Background: Heart failure is heterogeneous syndrome with persistently high mortality. Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy enables high-throughput metabolomics, suitable for precision phenotyping. We aimed to use targeted metabolomics to derive a metabolic risk score (MRS) that improved mortality risk stratification in heart failure.

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Background: The relationship between ketone bodies (KB) and mortality in patients with heart failure (HF) syndrome has not been well established.

Objectives: The aim of this study is to assess the distribution of KB in HF, identify clinical correlates, and examine the associations between plasma KB and all-cause mortality in a population-based HF cohort.

Methods: The plasma KB levels were measured by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

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Background: Heart failure (HF) is a complex clinical syndrome with persistently high mortality. High-throughput proteomic technologies offer new opportunities to improve HF risk stratification, but their contribution remains to be clearly defined. We aimed to systematically review prognostic studies using high-throughput proteomics to identify protein signatures associated with HF mortality.

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Background: Heart failure (HF) is a complex clinical syndrome with high mortality. Current risk stratification approaches lack precision. High-throughput proteomics could improve risk prediction.

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Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are environmentally persistent organic pollutants detectable in the serum of most U.S. adults.

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Background: Inflammation and protein energy malnutrition are associated with heart failure (HF) mortality. The metabolic vulnerability index (MVX) is derived from markers of inflammation and malnutrition and measured by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. MVX has not been examined in HF.

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Background: Glyphosate is the most widely applied herbicide worldwide, and its use has been associated with increased risks of certain hematopoietic cancers in epidemiologic studies. Animal and in vitro experiments suggest that glyphosate may induce oxidative stress, a key characteristic of carcinogens; however, evidence in human populations remains scarce. We investigated associations between glyphosate exposure and urinary oxidative stress biomarkers in the Biomarkers of Exposure and Effect in Agriculture study, a molecular epidemiologic subcohort in the Agricultural Health Study.

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Background: Pesticides have been reported to be associated with malignant and non-malignant kidney disease. Few studies have examined the relationship between individual pesticides and kidney dysfunction.

Objective: We evaluated the associations of pesticide use with measured kidney function among male pesticide applicators in the Biomarkers of Exposure and Effect in Agriculture (BEEA) study, a subcohort in the Agricultural Health Study.

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Background: Farmers have a higher incidence of multiple myeloma, and there is suggestive evidence of an elevated prevalence of its precursor, monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS), relative to the general population. Pesticide exposures are suspected to play a role; however, the biologic plausibility for associations with multiple myeloma remains unclear.

Objectives: Our objectives were to examine the prevalence of MGUS and evaluate associations with a wide range of pesticides in a large sample of farmers.

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Background: Experimental and clinical studies have implicated certain chemokines and angiogenic cytokines in multiple myeloma (MM) pathogenesis. To investigate whether systemic concentrations of these markers are associated with future MM risk and progression from its precursor, monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS), we conducted a prospective study within the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial.

Methods: We measured concentrations of 45 immunologic and pro-angiogenic markers in sera from 241 MM case patients, 441 participants with nonprogressing MGUS, and 258 MGUS-free control participants using Luminex-based multiplex assays and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays.

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Background: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are highly persistent chemicals that have been detected in the serum of over 98% of the US population. Studies among highly exposed individuals suggest an association with perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) exposure and kidney cancer. It remains unclear whether PFOA or other PFAS are renal carcinogens or if they influence risk of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) at concentrations observed in the general population.

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Background: Agricultural work and occupational pesticide use have been associated with increased risk of renal cell carcinoma (RCC), the most common form of kidney cancer. However, few prospective studies have investigated links to specific pesticides.

Objective: We evaluated the lifetime use of individual pesticides and the incidence of RCC.

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Objectives: Permethrin use has been associated with an increased risk of multiple myeloma (MM) among pesticide applicators. However, the biological plausibility and mechanisms underlying this association are not fully understood. The aim of this study was to assess whether exposure to permethrin is related to haematological alterations among occupationally exposed pesticide applicators.

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Objective: To assess the association of objectively measured levels of physical activity and sedentary time with major blood cell counts (e.g. white blood cells, red blood cells, platelets) among adults.

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Laminin receptor (67 LR) is a 67 kDa protein derived from a 37 kDa precursor (37 LR). 37/67 LR is a strong clinical correlate for progression, aggression, and chemotherapeutic relapse of several cancers including breast, prostate, and colon. The ability of 37/67 LR to promote cancer cell aggressiveness is further increased by its ability to transduce physiochemical and mechanosensing signals in endothelial cells and modulate angiogenesis.

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Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) represent a promising tool for cell therapy, particularly for their antitumor effects. This cell population can be isolated from multiple tissue sources and also display an innate ability to home to areas of inflammation, such as tumors. Upon entry into the tumor microenvironment niche, MSCs promote or inhibit tumor progression by various mechanisms, largely through the release of soluble factors.

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Unlabelled: The Deepwater Horizon (DWH) explosion in 2010 is the largest oil spill (Macondo) in U.S.

History: We focused on gaining an understanding of the physical health and mental health effects attributable to the Macondo oil spill.

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The number of mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapeutic modalities has grown in recent years. Adipose-derived mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (ASCs) can be isolated and expanded relatively easily as compared with their bone-marrow counterparts, making them a particularly promising source of MSCs. And although the biological mechanisms surrounding ASCs are actively being investigated, little is known about the effects that in vivo environmental exposures might have on their ability to properly differentiate.

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Background: The tumor microenvironment plays an important role in the progression of cancer by mediating stromal-epithelial paracrine signaling, which can aberrantly modulate cellular proliferation and tumorigenesis. Exposure to environmental toxicants, such as inorganic arsenic (iAs), has also been implicated in the progression of prostate cancer.

Objective: The role of iAs exposure in stromal signaling in the tumor microenvironment has been largely unexplored.

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Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a risk factor for age-related dementia and development of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease that are associated with cognitive decline. The exact mechanism for this risk is unknown but we hypothesized that TBI is exacerbating age-related changes in gene expression. Here, we present evidence in an animal model that experimental TBI increases age-related stochastic gene expression.

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