Comparison of Associations of Food Security Instruments and Mediators With Premature All-Cause and Cardiovascular Disease Death in US Adults.

Background: Food insecurity is associated with high morbidity and mortality and is typically measured with the 10-item US Adult Food Security Survey Module. Shorter instruments may capture similar information, but this has not been validated against mortality in general populations.

Methods: A nationally representative sample of individuals aged 20 to 74 years from the US National Health Interview Survey 2011 to 2018 was included, with deaths linked to the National Death Index through 2019.

Circulating MicroRNA-19 and cardiovascular risk reduction in response to weight-loss diets.

Objective: MicroRNA-19 (miR-19) plays a critical role in cardiac development and cardiovascular disease (CVD). We examined whether change in circulating miR-19 was associated with change in CVD risk during weight loss.

Methods: This study included 509 participants with overweight or obesity from the 24-month weight-loss diet intervention study (the POUNDS Lost trial) and with available data on circulating miR-19a-3p and miR-19b-3p at baseline and 6 months.

Social, Behavioral, and Metabolic Risk Factors and Racial Disparities in Cardiovascular Disease Mortality in U.S. Adults : An Observational Study.

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality is persistently higher in the Black population than in other racial and ethnic groups in the United States.

Objective: To examine the degree to which social, behavioral, and metabolic risk factors are associated with CVD mortality and the extent to which racial differences in CVD mortality persist after these factors are accounted for.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Effects of a Low-Carbohydrate Dietary Intervention on Hemoglobin A1c: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Low-carbohydrate diets decrease hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) among patients with type 2 diabetes at least as much as low-fat diets. However, evidence on the effects of low-carbohydrate diets on HbA1c among individuals with HbA1c in the range of prediabetes to diabetes not treated by diabetes medications is limited.

Objective: To study the effect of a behavioral intervention promoting a low-carbohydrate diet compared with usual diet on 6-month changes in HbA1c among individuals with elevated untreated HbA1c.

Associations of Anxiety during the COVID-19 Pandemic with Patient Characteristics and Behaviors in CKD Patients: Findings from the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort (CRIC) Study.

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with anxiety and depression. Although the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has increased stressors on patients with CKD, assessments of anxiety and its predictors and consequences on behaviors, specifically virus mitigation behaviors, are lacking.

Methods: From June to October 2020, we administered a survey to 1873 patients in the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort (CRIC) Study, asking participants about anxiety related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lifestyle behaviors and cardiovascular risk profiles among parous women by gestational diabetes status, 2007-2018.

Background And Aims: Women with prior gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) are at elevated risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease. We compared cardiometabolic risk factors among parous U.S.

Change in ankle-brachial index and mortality among individuals with chronic kidney disease: findings from the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort Study.

Background: Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) have an increased risk of peripheral arterial disease (PAD). The ankle-brachial index (ABI), a noninvasive measure of PAD, is a predictor of adverse events among individuals with CKD. In general populations, changes in ABI have been associated with mortality, but this association is not well understood among patients with CKD.

Discordantly normal ApoB relative to elevated LDL-C in persons with metabolic disorders: A marker of atherogenic heterogeneity.

Objective: A significant proportion of persons with metabolic syndrome (MetS), prediabetes, or type 2 diabetes (T2D) do not develop atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD).We sought to determine whether discordantly normal apolipoprotein B (ApoB) relative to elevated LDL-C may help to explain heterogeneity in ASCVD risk among persons with metabolic disorders.

Methods: There were 278 Bogalusa Heart Study participants with MetS (n=95), prediabetes (n=233), or T2D (n=31) and LDL-C ≥100 mg/dL who were free of carotid plaque at baseline (2001-02) and underwent carotid ultrasound at follow-up (2013-16).

Trends in Cardiovascular Risk Factors in US Adults by Race and Ethnicity and Socioeconomic Status, 1999-2018.

Importance: After decades of decline, the US cardiovascular disease mortality rate flattened after 2010, and racial and ethnic differences in cardiovascular disease mortality persisted.

Objective: To examine 20-year trends in cardiovascular risk factors in the US population by race and ethnicity and by socioeconomic status.

Design, Setting, And Participants: A total of 50 571 participants aged 20 years or older from the 1999-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, a series of cross-sectional surveys in nationally representative samples of the US population, were included.

Low-carbohydrate dietary pattern on glycemic outcomes trial (ADEPT) among individuals with elevated hemoglobin A1c: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality globally. Strong evidence supports the importance of diet and other lifestyle factors in preventing T2DM. Among individuals with T2DM, low-carbohydrate diets lead to decreases in hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c).

Branched-chain amino acids, history of gestational diabetes, and breastfeeding: The Bogalusa Heart Study.

Background And Aims: To examine the associations between history of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and breastfeeding with branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) and their metabolites in later life.

Methods And Results: 638 women (mean age 48.0 y) who had participated in the Bogalusa Heart Study and substudies of pregnancy history had untargeted, ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectroscopy conducted by Metabolon© on serum samples.

An untargeted metabolomics study of blood pressure: findings from the Bogalusa Heart Study.

Objective: To identify novel and confirm previously reported metabolites associated with SBP, DBP, and hypertension in a biracial sample of Bogalusa Heart Study (BHS) participants.

Methods: We employed untargeted, ultra-high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectroscopy metabolomics profiling among 1249 BHS participants (427 African-Americans and 822 whites) with BP and covariable data collected during the 2013 to 2016 visit cycle. A total of 1202 metabolites were tested for associations with continuous and binary BP phenotypes using multiple linear and logistic regression models, respectively, in overall and race-stratified analyses.

Assessment of the cumulative effects of restoration activities on water quality in Tampa Bay, Florida.

Habitat and water quality restoration projects are commonly used to enhance coastal resources or mitigate negative impacts of water quality stressors. Significant resources have been expended for restoration projects, yet much less attention has focused on evaluating broad regional outcomes beyond site-specific assessments. This study presents an empirical framework to evaluate multiple datasets in the Tampa Bay area (Florida, USA) to identify 1) the types of restoration projects that have produced the greatest improvements in water quality, and 2) over which time frames different projects may produce water quality benefits.

Short-term exposure to ambient air pollution and circulating biomarkers of endothelial cell activation: The Framingham Heart Study.

Background: Short-term exposure to air pollution has been associated with cardiovascular events, potentially by promoting endothelial cell activation and inflammation. A few large-scale studies have examined the associations and have had mixed results.

Methods: We included 3820 non-current smoking participants (mean age 56 years, 54% women) from the Framingham Offspring cohort examinations 7 (1998-2001) and 8 (2005-2008), and Third Generation cohort examination 1 (2002-2005), who lived within 50 km of a central monitoring station.

Trends in Prevalence and Control of Hypertension According to the 2017 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) Guideline.

Background: Hypertension is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality. Compared with prior guidelines, the 2017 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) hypertension guideline recommends lower blood pressure thresholds for defining hypertension, for initiating antihypertensive medication, and for antihypertensive medication treatment goals.

Methods And Results: To better understand potential impacts of the 2017 guideline, we studied trends in mean systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure, prevalence and burden of hypertension, and proportion of controlled hypertension in the US adult population aged ≥20 from 1999 through 2016.

Exposure to Traffic Emissions and Fine Particulate Matter and Computed Tomography Measures of the Lung and Airways.

Background: Exposure to ambient air pollution has been associated with lower lung function in adults, but few studies have investigated associations with radiographic lung and airway measures.

Methods: We ascertained lung volume, mass, density, visual emphysema, airway size, and airway wall area by computed tomography (CT) among 2,545 nonsmoking Framingham CT substudy participants. We examined associations of home distance to major road and PM2.

Ambient air pollution, adipokines, and glucose homeostasis: The Framingham Heart Study.

Objective: To examine associations of proximity to major roadways, sustained exposure to fine particulate matter (PM), and acute exposure to ambient air pollutants with adipokines and measures of glucose homeostasis among participants living in the northeastern United States.

Methods: We included 5958 participants from the Framingham Offspring cohort examination cycle 7 (1998-2001) and 8 (2005-2008) and Third Generation cohort examination cycle 1 (2002-2005) and 2 (2008-2011), who did not have type 2 diabetes at the time of examination visit. We calculated 2003 annual average PM at participants' home address, residential distance to the nearest major roadway, and daily PM, black carbon (BC), sulfate, nitrogen oxides (NO), and ozone concentrations.

Short-Term Exposure to Ambient Air Pollution and Biomarkers of Systemic Inflammation: The Framingham Heart Study.

Objective: The objective of this study is to examine associations between short-term exposure to ambient air pollution and circulating biomarkers of systemic inflammation in participants from the Framingham Offspring and Third Generation cohorts in the greater Boston area.

Approach And Results: We included 3996 noncurrent smoking participants (mean age, 53.6 years; 54% women) who lived within 50 km from a central air pollution monitoring site in Boston, MA, and calculated the 1- to 7-day moving averages of fine particulate matter (diameter<2.

Residential Proximity to Major Roadways, Fine Particulate Matter, and Hepatic Steatosis: The Framingham Heart Study.

We examined associations between ambient air pollution and hepatic steatosis among 2,513 participants from the Framingham (Massachusetts) Offspring Study and Third Generation Cohort who underwent a computed tomography scan (2002-2005), after excluding men who reported >21 drinks/week and women who reported >14 drinks/week. We calculated each participant's residential-based distance to a major roadway and used a spatiotemporal model to estimate the annual mean concentrations of fine particulate matter. Liver attenuation was measured by computed tomography, and liver-to-phantom ratio (LPR) was calculated.

Residential proximity to major roads, exposure to fine particulate matter and aortic calcium: the Framingham Heart Study, a cohort study.

Objectives: Traffic and ambient air pollution exposure are positively associated with cardiovascular disease, potentially through atherosclerosis promotion. Few studies have assessed associations of these exposures with thoracic aortic calcium Agatston score (TAC) or abdominal aortic calcium Agatston score (AAC), systemic atherosclerosis correlates. We assessed whether living close to a major road and residential fine particulate matter (PM) exposure were associated with TAC and AAC in a Northeastern US cohort.

Chocolate intake and incidence of heart failure: Findings from the Cohort of Swedish Men.

Unlabelled: The objective of this study was to evaluate the association of chocolate consumption and heart failure (HF) in a large population of Swedish men.

Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study of 31,917 men 45-79 years old with no history of myocardial infarction, diabetes, or HF at baseline who were participants in the population-based Cohort of Swedish Men study. Chocolate consumption was assessed through a self-administrated food frequency questionnaire.

Residential proximity to major roadways, fine particulate matter, and adiposity: The framingham heart study.

Objective: Higher traffic-related air pollution has been associated with higher body mass index (BMI) among children. However, few studies have assessed the associations among adults.

Methods: Participants (N = 2,372) from the Framingham Offspring and Third Generation cohorts who underwent multidetector-computed tomography scans (2002-2005) were included.

Physical activity and the incidence of multiple sclerosis.

Objective: To study whether physical activity during adulthood or early life is associated with multiple sclerosis (MS) incidence in 2 prospective cohorts of women.

Methods: Women in the Nurses' Health Study (NHS) (n = 81,723; 1986-2004) and NHS II (n = 111,804; 1989-2009) reported recent physical activity at baseline and in selected follow-up questionnaires. Using this information, we calculated total metabolic equivalent hours of physical activity per week, a measure of energy expenditure.

Residential Proximity to Major Roads, Exposure to Fine Particulate Matter, and Coronary Artery Calcium: The Framingham Heart Study.

Objective: Long-term exposure to traffic and particulate matter air pollution is associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, potentially via atherosclerosis promotion. Prior research on associations of traffic and particulate matter with coronary artery calcium Agatston score (CAC), an atherosclerosis correlate, has yielded inconsistent findings. Given this background, we assessed whether residential proximity to major roadway or fine particulate matter were associated with CAC in a Northeastern US study.