Androgenicity in Young Women and Development of Metabolic Syndrome Before Menopause: The CARDIA and CARDIA Women's Studies.

Context: There are no reported data from prospective long-term studies on the relation of androgen levels in young women with development of metabolic syndrome (MetS) before menopause.

Objective: We investigated associations of androgens and SHBG with incident MetS during 23 years of follow-up.

Methods: We included 366 White and 375 Black women ages 20 to 32 years participating in the CARDIA study and CARDIA Women's study, free of MetS at baseline examination (1987-1988), and premenopausal 23 years later.

Associations of Early-Life Adversity With Later-Life Epigenetic Aging Profiles in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis.

Epigenetic biomarkers of accelerated aging have been widely used to predict disease risk and may enhance our understanding of biological mechanisms between early-life adversity and disparities in aging. With respect to childhood adversity, most studies have used parental education or childhood disadvantage and/or have not examined the role played by socioemotional or physical abuse and trauma in epigenetic profiles at older ages. This study leveraged data from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) on experiences of threat and deprivation in participants' early lives (i.

Personal Health Literacy and Life Simple 7: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis.

Background: Personal Health literacy (PHL) is essential in cardiovascular risk management. Hindrances in PHL can lead to poor cardiovascular outcomes.

Purpose: To investigate whether limited PHL is associated with lower likelihoods of i) overall cardiovascular health and ii) individual cardiovascular health components as defined by the American Heart Association's Life Simple (LS7).

Diurnal dynamic range as index of dysregulation of system dynamics. A cortisol examplar using data from the Study of Midlife in the United States.

We discuss the importance of including measures of dysregulated system dynamics in the operationalization of allostatic load. The concept of allostatic load, as originally proposed by McEwen and Stellar, included dysregulation not only in the resting state of physiological systems, but also in system dynamics. We describe previous work on cortisol diurnal dynamic range (peak to nadir spread) as an index of the health of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, with compression of dynamic range being a marker of dysregulation.

Association of Exposure to Abuse, Nurture, and Household Organization in Childhood With 4 Cardiovascular Disease Risks Factors Among Participants in the CARDIA Study.

Background We investigated associations of childhood abuse with 4 cardiovascular disease risk factors in adulthood, and whether exposure to nurturing and household organization in childhood mitigated these associations. Methods and Results The CARDIA (Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults) study (baseline examination, 1985-1986) was used to examine associations of childhood exposures (measured retrospectively at the year 15 examination) with incident obesity, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia (assessed from baseline to year 30). Race- and sex-stratified Cox proportional hazards models were used to examine associations of exposure to childhood abuse with incident cardiovascular disease risk factors.

On the Biopsychosocial Costs of Alienated Labor.

Data from the national, longitudinal Mid-Life in the US (MIDUS) study were used to examine work alienation and its relationship to biological health as well as psychological and social functioning. The alienation measure focuses on the autonomy and creativity the work provides. We hypothesized that alienated work would have negative associations with each of the three domains: in biology, higher 'allostatic load' (biological dysregulation); in psychology, poorer cognitive performance; and socially, negative impacts on family life.

Health Literacy Within a Diverse Community-Based Cohort: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis.

Background: Health literacy has yet to be described in a non-clinical, racially diverse, community-based cohort.

Methods: Four questions assessing health literacy were asked during annual phone encounters with Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) participants between 2016 and 2018 (n = 3629). We used prevalence ratios (PRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to characterize how demographic and acculturation factors related to limited health literacy.

Major Lipids and Future Risk of Pneumonia: 20-Year Observation of the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study Cohort.

Background: Circulating lipids have been implicated as important modulators of immune response, and altered lipid levels correlate with the severity of infection. However, long-term prognostic implications of lipid levels regarding future infection risk remain unclear. The current project aims to explore whether baseline lipid levels are associated with risk of future serious infection, measured by hospitalization for pneumonia.

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.

Association of Childhood Psychosocial Environment With 30-Year Cardiovascular Disease Incidence and Mortality in Middle Age.

Background Childhood adversity and trauma have been shown to be associated with poorer cardiovascular disease (CVD) outcomes in adulthood. However, longitudinal studies of this association are rare. Methods and Results Our study used the CARDIA (Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults) Study, a longitudinal cohort that has followed participants from recruitment in 1985-1986 through 2018, to determine how childhood psychosocial environment relates to CVD incidence and all-cause mortality in middle age.

Recommendations for epidemiologic and phenotypic research in polycystic ovary syndrome: an androgen excess and PCOS society resource.

Study Question: What are the best practices for undertaking epidemiologic and phenotypic studies in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)?

Summary Answer: Best practices for the undertaking of epidemiologic and phenotypic studies in PCOS are outlined.

What Is Known Already: Currently methodologies used for studies of PCOS epidemiology and phenotypes vary widely, and the comparability of studies is low, reducing the ability to harmonize studies.

Study Design, Size, Duration: The Androgen Excess and PCOS (AE-PCOS) Society established a Task Force to draft a research resource for epidemiologic and phenotypic studies in PCOS, with the aim of providing guidelines on study design and execution, insights into the limitations and alternatives and protocols to be used, taking into consideration a global perspective.

Intergenerational mentoring, eudaimonic well-being and gene regulation in older adults: A pilot study.

To clarify the biological mechanisms underlying the relationship between pro-social behavior and health, this pilot study examined the impact of a 9-month intergenerational helping intervention on conserved transcriptional response to adversity (CTRA) gene expression profiles, which are characterized by up-regulation of genes involved in inflammation and down-regulation of genes involved in antiviral defenses. The Generation Xchange program trains and places older (age 50+) volunteers in K-3 grade classrooms to aid students' academic development (reading and math) and address behavioral issues (e.g.

Compared to non-drinkers, individuals who drink alcohol have a more favorable multisystem physiologic risk score as measured by allostatic load.

Aims: Alcohol use is associated with both positive and negative effects on individual cardiovascular risk factors, depending upon which risk factor is assessed. The present analysis uses a summative multisystem index of biologic risk, known as allostatic load (AL), to evaluate whether the overall balance of alcohol-associated positive and negative cardiovascular risk factors may be favorable or unfavorable.

Methods: This analysis included 1255 adults from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) biomarker substudy.

The cross-sectional and longitudinal association between air pollution and salivary cortisol: Evidence from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis.

Background: Cortisol, a stress hormone released by the activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, is critical to the body's adaptive response to physiological and psychological stress. Cortisol has also been implicated in the health effects of air pollution through the activation of the sympathetic nervous system. This study evaluates the cross-sectional and longitudinal association between several air pollutants and salivary cortisol.

Social stratification and allostatic load: shapes of health differences in the MIDUS study in the United States.

Social stratification is an important mechanism of human organization that helps to explain health differences between demographic groups commonly associated with socioeconomic gradients. Individuals, or group of individuals, with similar health profiles may have had different stratification experiences. This is particularly true as social stratification is a significant non-measurable source of systematic unobservable differences in both SES indicators and health statuses of disadvantage.

Neighbourhood racial/ethnic residential segregation and cardiometabolic risk: the multiethnic study of atherosclerosis.

Background: Racial residential segregation has been linked to adverse health outcomes, but associations may operate through multiple pathways. Prior studies have not examined associations of neighbourhood-level racial segregation with an index of cardiometabolic risk (CMR) and whether associations differ by race/ethnicity.

Methods: We used data from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis to estimate cross-sectional and longitudinal associations of baseline neighbourhood-level racial residential segregation with a composite measure of CMR.

Interleukin-10 as a predictor of major adverse cardiovascular events in a racially and ethnically diverse population: Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis.

Purpose: To understand if baseline levels of the anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-10 (IL-10) are associated with either subclinical atherosclerosis or risk for adverse cardiovascular (CV) events.

Methods: The study included 930 adults from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) ancillary Stress Study. Participants, age 48-90 years at enrollment, were followed for an average of 10.

Early-Life Adversity and Dysregulation of Adult Diurnal Cortisol Rhythm.

Objectives: Exposure to life stresses can lead to diminution in the capacity of stress response systems to mount a robust response to new challenges, with blunting of dynamic range-the spread between maximal attainable and minimal resting levels. We investigate the association between early-life adversity and the dynamic range of adult diurnal cortisol secretion.

Method: In 35- to 86-year-old adults, cortisol assayed from 16 saliva samples over 4 consecutive days was used to compute diurnal dynamic range and area under the curve (AUC).

Trends in Racial/Ethnic and Nativity Disparities in Cardiovascular Health Among Adults Without Prevalent Cardiovascular Disease in the United States, 1988 to 2014.

Background: Trends in cardiovascular disparities are poorly understood, even as diversity increases in the United States.

Objective: To examine U.S.

The Great Recession worsened blood pressure and blood glucose levels in American adults.

Longitudinal, individual-specific data from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) provide support for the hypothesis that the 2008 to 2010 Great Recession (GR) negatively impacted the health of US adults. Results further advance understanding of the relationship by () illuminating hypothesized greater negative impacts in population subgroups exposed to more severe impacts of the GR and () explicitly controlling for confounding by individual differences in age-related changes in health over time. Analyses overcome limitations of prior work by () employing individual-level data that avoid concerns about ecological fallacy associated with prior reliance on group-level data, () using four waves of data before the GR to estimate and control for underlying individual-level age-related trends, () focusing on objective, temporally appropriate health outcomes rather than mortality, and () leveraging a diverse cohort to investigate subgroup differences in the GR's impact.

Team-Based Interprofessional Competency Training for Dementia Screening and Management.

As many as 50% of people satisfying diagnostic criteria for dementia are undiagnosed. A team-based training program for dementia screening and management was developed targeting four professions (medicine, nursing, pharmacy, social work) whose scope of practice involves dementia care. An interprofessional group of 10 faculty members was trained to facilitate four interactive competency stations on dementia screening, differential diagnoses, dementia management and team care planning, and screening for and managing caregiver stress.

Environmental determinants of polycystic ovary syndrome.

In this review, we summarize existing research on a variety of environmental factors potentially involved in the etiology, prevalence, and modulation of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), and we suggest avenues for future research. The main environmental factors we consider include environmental toxins, diet and nutrition, socioeconomic status, and geography. There is some evidence that environmental toxins play a role in disrupting reproductive health, but there is limited research as to how these toxins may affect the development of PCOS.

Neighborhood Characteristics are Associated with Racial and Gender Variation in Walking among Older Adults: the Cardiovascular Health Study.

Objective: To examine variation by race and gender in the association between neighborhood socioeconomic status and walking among community-dwelling older adults.

Design: Cross-sectional.

Setting: Cardiovascular Health Study, a longitudinal population-based cohort.