Social determinants of health and disease in companion dogs: a cohort study from the Dog Aging Project.

Exposure to social environmental adversity is associated with health and survival across many social species, including humans. However, little is known about how these health and mortality effects vary across the lifespan and may be differentially impacted by various components of the environment. Here, we leveraged a relatively new and powerful model for human aging, the companion dog, to investigate which components of the social environment are associated with dog health and how these associations vary across the lifespan.

Lifetime prevalence of malignant and benign tumours in companion dogs: Cross-sectional analysis of Dog Aging Project baseline survey.

Although cancer is widely regarded as a major contributor to canine morbidity and mortality, its frequency in companion dogs has only infrequently been characterised. We analysed cross-sectional data from the baseline survey of owners of 27 541 living companion dogs enrolled in the Dog Aging Project as of 31 December 2020 to estimate the lifetime prevalence of malignant and benign tumours and several potentially-associated characteristics. Survey questions elicited information on history of 'cancer or tumors' including organ site and histologic type.

Race/ethnicity, neighborhood socioeconomic status and cardio-metabolic risk.

Objective: To determine the association between neighborhood socioeconomic status (NSES) and cardio-metabolic risk and whether this relationship differs by race/ethnicity.

Methods: Participants in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (n = 5750), ages 45-84 years, from 6 US counties, including 5 examinations from 2000 to 2012. We calculated a modified allostatic load (AL) index, indicating cardio-metabolic risk.

Cholesterol Mass Efflux Capacity, Incident Cardiovascular Disease, and Progression of Carotid Plaque.

Objective- To assess the role of HDL (high-density lipoprotein)-mediated cholesterol mass efflux capacity (CMEC) in incident cardiovascular disease and carotid plaque progression. Approach and Results- We measured CMEC in 2 cohorts aged 45 to 84 years at baseline derived from the MESA (Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis). Cohort 1 comprised 465 cases with incident cardiovascular disease events during 10 years of follow-up and 465 age- and sex-matched controls; cohort 2 comprised 407 cases with progression of carotid plaque measured by ultrasonography at 2 exams >10 years and 407 similarly matched controls.

Job Strain and the Cortisol Diurnal Cycle in MESA: Accounting for Between- and Within-Day Variability.

Evidence of the link between job strain and cortisol levels has been inconsistent. This could be due to failure to account for cortisol variability leading to underestimated standard errors. Our objective was to model the relationship between job strain and the whole cortisol curve, accounting for sources of cortisol variability.

Incidence of Age-Related Macular Degeneration in a Multi-Ethnic United States Population: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis.

Purpose: To describe the incidence of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and associated risk factors in 4 racial/ethnic groups (white, black, Hispanic, and Chinese) residing in the United States.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Participants: A total of 3811 participants, aged 46 to 86 years, from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) cohort, with retinal data collected twice, on average, 8 years apart.

Job Strain, Occupational Category, Systolic Blood Pressure, and Hypertension Prevalence: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis.

Objective: To assess associations of occupational categories and job characteristics with prevalent hypertension.

Methods: We analyzed 2517 Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis participants, working 20+ hours per week, in 2002 to 2004.

Results: Higher job decision latitude was associated with a lower prevalence of hypertension, prevalence ratio = 0.

Visual Impairment in White, Chinese, Black, and Hispanic Participants from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis Cohort.

Purpose: To describe the prevalence of visual impairment and examine its association with demographic, socioeconomic, and health characteristics in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) cohort.

Methods: Visual acuity data were obtained from 6134 participants, aged 46-87 years at time of examination between 2002 and 2004 (mean age 64 years, 47.6% male), from six communities in the United States.

Change in waist circumference with longer time in the United States among Hispanic and Chinese immigrants: the modifying role of the neighborhood built environment.

Purpose: We examined whether living in neighborhoods supportive of healthier diets and more active lifestyles may buffer immigrants against the unhealthy weight gain that is purported to occur with longer length of US residence.

Methods: Neighborhood data referring to a 1-mile buffer around participants' baseline home addresses were linked to longitudinal data from 877 Hispanic and 684 Chinese immigrants aged 45 to 84 years in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. We used ethnicity-stratified linear mixed models to examine whether food and activity-based neighborhood measures (healthy food stores, walkability, and recreational facilities) were associated with change in waist circumference (WC) over a 9-year follow-up.

Stability and predictors of change in salivary cortisol measures over six years: MESA.

A major challenge in characterizing features of the daily cortisol curve is variability in features over time. Few studies have examined the stability of daily features of the cortisol curve over long periods or the predictors of long term changes. Repeated salivary cortisol measures on 580 adults from the MESA Stress study were used to examine the stability of various features of the daily cortisol curve (wakeup value, the cortisol awakening response (CAR), the early and late decline slope and the area under the curve (AUC)), over short periods (several days) and long periods (approximately 6-years) and to investigate the association of demographic factors with the changes.

Salivary cortisol protocol adherence and reliability by socio-demographic features: the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis.

Collection of salivary cortisol has become increasingly popular in large population-based studies. However, the impact of protocol compliance on day-to-day reliabilities of measures, and the extent to which reliabilities differ systematically according to socio-demographic characteristics, has not been well characterized in large-scale population-based studies to date. Using data on 935 men and women from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, we investigated whether sampling protocol compliance differs systematically according to socio-demographic factors and whether compliance was associated with cortisol estimates, as well as whether associations of cortisol with both compliance and socio-demographic characteristics were robust to adjustments for one another.

Life course socioeconomic status and longitudinal accumulation of allostatic load in adulthood: multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis.

Objectives: We examined the association of childhood and adult socioeconomic status with longitudinal change in allostatic load (AL), a measure of biological dysfunction.

Methods: The study sample included 6135 participants from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, aged 45 to 84 years, recruited in 2000 from 6 US counties; 3 follow-up examinations took place through September 2011. We calculated standardized scores for several metabolic and cardiovascular components relative to accepted clinical cut points for "higher risk" and then summed them to create an overall index of AL.

Associations of socioeconomic and psychosocial factors with urinary measures of cortisol and catecholamines in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA).

Background: Stress hormones have been hypothesized to contribute to the social patterning of cardiovascular disease but evidence of differences in hormone levels across social groups is scant.

Purpose: To examine the associations of socioeconomic and psychosocial factors with urinary levels of cortisol and catecholamines and determine whether these associations are modified by race/ethnicity.

Methods: Measures of cortisol, epinephrine, norepinephrine and dopamine were obtained on 12-h overnight urine specimens from 942 White, African American and Hispanic participants in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA).

Immigrant assimilation and BMI and waist size: a longitudinal examination among Hispanic and Chinese participants in the multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis.

Objective: US birth and longer length of US residence among the foreign-born have been linked to higher anthropometric measures. However, previous studies have been cross sectional and few have examined heterogeneity by ethnic group. Cross-sectional findings that show immigrant weight converging to US-born levels with longer time in the United States imply that immigrants' weight is increasing at a faster rate relative to US-born individuals.

Racial variations in the prevalence of refractive errors in the United States: the multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis.

Purpose: To describe racial variations in the prevalence of refractive errors among adult white, Chinese, Hispanic, and black subjects in the United States.

Design: Cross-sectional data from a prospective cohort study-the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA).

Methods: A total of 6000 adults aged 45 to 84 years living in the United States participated in the study.

Diurnal salivary cortisol is associated with body mass index and waist circumference: the Multiethnic Study of Atherosclerosis.

Objective: Neuroendocrine abnormalities, such as activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, are associated with obesity; however, few large-scale population-based studies have examined HPA axis and markers of obesity. We examined the cross-sectional association of the cortisol awakening response (CAR) and diurnal salivary cortisol curve with obesity.

Design And Methods: The Multiethnic Study of Atherosclerosis Stress Study includes 1,002 White, Hispanic, and Black men and women (mean age 65 ± 9.

A long way from home: comparing mental health measures between foreign and U.S.-born Latinos in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA).

Background: Studies exploring the relationship between foreign-born status and mental health among Latinos in the United States have varied in their conclusions. We examined 2000-2002 MESA data on Latinos and compared responses between immigrants and non-immigrants on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) scale and the Spielberger anxiety and anger scales.

Methods: We used logistic and linear regression to examine whether immigrant status was associated with these psychological outcomes in Latinos-overall, Mexicans-only and Other-Latinos (non-Mexicans).

Racial/ethnic heterogeneity in the socioeconomic patterning of CVD risk factors: in the United States: the multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis.

Many studies document racial variation, gender differences, and socioeconomic status (SES) patterning in cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors but few studies have investigated heterogeneity in SES differences by race/ethnicity or gender. Using data from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (N=6,814) and stratified regression models, we investigated race/ethnic differences in the SES patterning of diabetes, hypertension, smoking, and body mass index (BMI). Inverse socioeconomic gradients in hypertension, diabetes, smoking, and BMI were observed in White and Black women but associations were weaker or absent in Hispanic and Chinese women (except in the case of diabetes for Hispanic women).

Air Pollution and the microvasculature: a cross-sectional assessment of in vivo retinal images in the population-based multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis (MESA).

Background: Long- and short-term exposures to air pollution, especially fine particulate matter (PM(2.5)), have been linked to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. One hypothesized mechanism for these associations involves microvascular effects.

Perceived racial/ethnic discrimination, smoking and alcohol consumption in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA).

Objective: To examine the association of perceived racial/ethnic discrimination with smoking and alcohol consumption in adults participating in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis.

Methods: Data on 6680 black, Chinese, Hispanic and white adults aged 45 to 84 years of age recruited from Illinois, New York, Maryland, North Carolina, Minnesota and California during 2000 and 2002 were used for this analysis. Logistic regression was used to estimate the association of perceived racial/ethnic discrimination with smoking status and alcohol consumption for each racial/ethnic group separately.

Factorial invariance, scale reliability, and construct validity of the job control and job demands scales for immigrant workers: the multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis.

Immigrants have a different social context from those who stay in their home country or those who were born to the country that immigrants now live. Cultural theory of risk perception suggests that social context influences one's interpretation of questionnaire items. We examined psychometric properties of job control and job demand scales with US- and foreign-born workers who preferred English, Spanish, or Chinese (n = 3,114, mean age = 58.

Socioeconomic and race/ethnic differences in daily salivary cortisol profiles: the multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis.

It has often been hypothesized that stress and its biological consequences mediate the relationship between low socioeconomic status (SES) or minority status and poor cardiovascular disease outcomes. The objective of this study was to determine if daily cortisol patterns, a biomarker of the stress response, differ by race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status. Data were collected from 935 Black, White and Hispanic adults age 48-90 years old.

Association of salivary cortisol circadian pattern with cynical hostility: multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis.

Objective: To determine if cynical hostility is associated with alterations in diurnal profiles of cortisol. Hostility has been linked to cardiovascular disease but the biological mechanisms mediating this association remain unknown.

Methods: Up to 18 measures of salivary cortisol taken over 3 days were obtained from each of 936 participants in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA).

Life-course socioeconomic positions and subclinical atherosclerosis in the multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis.

A major limitation of past work on the social patterning of atherosclerosis has been the reliance on measures of neighborhood or individual-level socioeconomic position (SEP) assessed at a single point in time in adulthood. Risk of chronic disease is thought to accumulate throughout the life-course, so the use of a measure for a single point in time may result in inaccurate estimates of the social patterning of subclinical disease. Using data from the US Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA), we examined the relation between childhood SEP [CSEP] (father or caretaker's education), adulthood SEP [ASEP] (a summary score of income, education, and wealth), and 20-year average exposure to neighborhood poverty [NSEP] (residential addresses geocoded and linked to census data) and the prevalence of subclinical atherosclerosis, as assessed by common carotid intimal-medial thickness (IMT) in mid to late adulthood.