Left ventricular hypertrophy and mortality in ethnic minority groups in the UK: e-ECHOES study.

Objectives: Hypertension is the key modifiable cardiovascular risk factor but is underdiagnosed, and its scale in South Asian and African-Caribbean communities is unknown. Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is a measure of target organ damage in uncontrolled hypertension. The study assesses LVH prevalence in South Asian and African-Caribbean communities and its impact on mortality.

Improving mental healthcare access and experience for people from minority ethnic groups: an England-wide multisite experience-based codesign (EBCD) study.

Background: Long-standing ethnic inequalities in access and mental healthcare were worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objectives: Stakeholders coproduced local and national implementation plans to improve mental healthcare for people from minority ethnic groups.

Methods: Experience-based codesign conducted in four areas covered by National Health Service (NHS) mental health trusts: Coventry and Warwickshire, Greater Manchester, East London and Sheffield.

Antihypertensive treatment in people of very old age with frailty: time for a paradigm shift?

The optimal management of hypertension in individuals aged 80 years or older with frailty remains uncertain due to multiple gaps in evidence. Complex health issues, polypharmacy, and limited physiological reserve make responding to antihypertensive treatments unpredictable. Patients in this age group may have limited life expectancy, so their quality of life should be prioritized when making treatment decisions.

Study of C677T Methylene Tetrahydrofolate Reductase Gene Polymorphism as a Risk Factor for Neural Tube Defects.

Introduction: Various genetic and environmental factors contribute to the development of neural tube defects (NTDs) which are a group of neurulation defects resulting from failure of closure of embryonic neural tube. Among genetic factors is polymorphism in methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene, giving rise to a gene variant or mutant. However, in most studies directed at finding an association between MTHFR variants and NTD, there is no clear evidence of a cause-and-effect relationship.

Spironolactone in Atrial Fibrillation With Preserved Cardiac Fraction: The IMPRESS-AF Trial.

Background Patients with permanent atrial fibrillation have poor outcomes, exercise capacity, and quality of life even on optimal anticoagulation. Based on mechanistic and observational data, we tested whether the mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist spironolactone can improve exercise capacity, E/e' ratio, and quality of life in patients with permanent atrial fibrillation and preserved ejection fraction. Methods and Results The double-masked, placebo-controlled IMPRESS-AF (Improved Exercise Tolerance in Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction by Spironolactone on Myocardial Fibrosis in Atrial Fibrillation) trial (NCT02673463) randomized 250 stable patients with permanent atrial fibrillation and preserved left ventricular ejection fraction to spironolactone 25 mg daily or placebo.

Mapping 123 million neonatal, infant and child deaths between 2000 and 2017.

Since 2000, many countries have achieved considerable success in improving child survival, but localized progress remains unclear. To inform efforts towards United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3.2-to end preventable child deaths by 2030-we need consistently estimated data at the subnational level regarding child mortality rates and trends.

Predictors of diastolic dysfunction in ethnic groups: observations from the Hypertensive Cohort of The Ethnic-Echocardiographic Heart of England Screening Study (E-ECHOES).

The study aimed to establish a relationship of ethnicity to diastolic dysfunction in subjects of African-Caribbean and South Asian origins and the impact of diastolic dysfunction and ethnicity on all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. Hypertensive subjects with ejection fraction ≥55% and no history of ischaemic heart disease/valve pathology (n  =  1546, 830 South Asians and 716 African-Caribbeans) were identified from the Ethnic-Echocardiographic Heart of England Screening Study (E-ECHOES). Diastolic function and cardiac remodelling were measured by echocardiography.

Fractures in Kidney Transplant Recipients: A Comparative Study Between England and New York State.

Objectives: Fractures are associated with high morbidity and are a major concern for kidney transplant recipients. No comparative analysis has yet been conducted between countries in the contemporary era to inform future international prevention trials.

Materials And Methods: Data were obtained from the Hospital Episode Statistics and the Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative databases on all adult kidney transplants performed in England and New York State from 2003 to 2013, respectively, and on posttransplant fracture-related hospitalization from 2003 to 2014.

General practice views of managing childhood obesity in primary care: a qualitative analysis.

Objective: To explore general practice staff views of managing childhood obesity in primary care.

Design: A qualitative study to elicit the views of clinical and non-clinical general practice staff on managing childhood obesity.

Setting: Interviews were conducted at 30 general practices across England.

Interarm Difference in Systolic Blood Pressure in Different Ethnic Groups and Relationship to the "White Coat Effect": A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Interarm differences (IADs) ≥10 mm Hg in systolic blood pressure (BP) are associated with greater incidence of cardiovascular disease. The effect of ethnicity and the white coat effect (WCE) on significant systolic IADs (ssIADs) are not well understood.

Methods: Differences in BP by ethnicity for different methods of BP measurement were examined in 770 people (300 White British, 241 South Asian, 229 African-Caribbean).

Preconception care for women with type 1 or type 2 diabetes mellitus: a mixed-methods study exploring uptake of preconception care.

Background: Diabetes mellitus is a global health problem and one of the most common medical conditions in pregnancy. A wide range of modifiable risk factors are associated with diabetes mellitus in pregnancy, and it is widely acknowledged that preconception care (PCC) is beneficial for women with pre-existing diabetes mellitus. However, uptake of PCC services is low.

Premature Cardiac Aging in South Asian Compared to Afro-Caribbean Subjects in a Community-Based Screening Study.

Background: People of South Asian (SAs) and African Caribbean (AC) origin have increased cardiovascular morbidity, but underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Aging is the key predictor of deterioration in diastolic function, which can be assessed by echocardiography using E/e' ratio as a surrogate of left ventricular (LV) filling pressure. The study aimed to assess a possibility of premature cardiac aging in SA and AC subjects.

IMproved exercise tolerance in patients with PReserved Ejection fraction by Spironolactone on myocardial fibrosiS in Atrial Fibrillation rationale and design of the IMPRESS-AF randomised controlled trial.

Introduction: Patients with atrial fibrillation frequently suffer from heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. At present there is no proven therapy to improve physical capacity and quality of life in participants with permanent atrial fibrillation with preserved left ventricular contractility.

Objective: The single-centre IMproved exercise tolerance In heart failure With PReserved Ejection fraction by Spironolactone On myocardial fibrosiS In Atrial Fibrillation (IMPRESS-AF) trial aims to establish whether treatment with spironolactone as compared with placebo improves exercise tolerance (cardiopulmonary exercise testing), quality of life and diastolic function in patients with permanent atrial fibrillation.

Corrigendum to "Ferritin as a Risk Factor for Glucose Intolerance amongst Men and Women Originating from the Indian Subcontinent".

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1155/2015/924387.].

Influence of ethnicity on acceptability of method of blood pressure monitoring: a cross-sectional study in primary care.

Background: Ambulatory and/or home monitoring are recommended in the UK and the US for the diagnosis of hypertension but little is known about their acceptability.

Aim: To determine the acceptability of different methods of measuring blood pressure to people from different minority ethnic groups.

Design And Setting: Cross-sectional study with focus groups in primary care in the West Midlands.

Results and lessons from the Spironolactone To Prevent Cardiovascular Events in Early Stage Chronic Kidney Disease (STOP-CKD) randomised controlled trial.

Objectives: To determine whether low-dose spironolactone can safely lower arterial stiffness in patients with chronic kidney disease stage 3 in the primary care setting.

Design: A multicentre, prospective, randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blinded study.

Setting: 11 primary care centres in South Birmingham, England.

Ferritin as a Risk Factor for Glucose Intolerance amongst Men and Women Originating from the Indian Subcontinent.

Background. Serum ferritin predicts the onset of diabetes; however, this relationship is not clear amongst South Asians, a population susceptible to glucose intolerance and anaemia. Objective.

CD36 expression and lipid metabolism following an oral glucose challenge in South Asians.

Aim: To investigate lipid metabolism and the relationship with monocyte expression of the fatty acid translocase CD36 in South Asians.

Methods: An observational study of South Asians whom as an ethnic group have - a higher risk of developing diabetes. The susceptibility to diabetes is coupled with an earlier and more rapid progression of micro-, and macro-vascular complications.

The relationship between spirituality, health and life satisfaction of undergraduate students in the UK: an online questionnaire study.

US students with higher spirituality scores report better health and life satisfaction.This is the first UK study to explore the relationship between spirituality, health and life satisfaction of undergraduate students. Over 500 undergraduates completed an online questionnaire.