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.

Atrial fibrillation without comorbidities: Prevalence, incidence and prognosis (from the Framingham Heart Study).

Background: The epidemiology of atrial fibrillation (AF) without comorbidities, known as 'lone AF', is uncertain. Although it has been considered a benign condition, we hypothesized that it confers a worse prognosis compared with a matched sample without AF.

Methods: We described the proportion of AF without comorbidities (clinical, subclinical cardiovascular disease and triggers) among the entire AF sample in Framingham Heart Study (FHS).

Predicting Heart Failure With Preserved and Reduced Ejection Fraction: The International Collaboration on Heart Failure Subtypes.

Background: Heart failure (HF) is a prevalent and deadly disease, and preventive strategies focused on at-risk individuals are needed. Current HF prediction models have not examined HF subtypes. We sought to develop and validate risk prediction models for HF with preserved and reduced ejection fraction (HFpEF, HFrEF).

Adipose Tissue Depots and Their Cross-Sectional Associations With Circulating Biomarkers of Metabolic Regulation.

Background: Visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and fatty liver differ in their associations with cardiovascular risk compared with subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT). Several biomarkers have been linked to metabolic derangements and may contribute to the pathogenicity of fat depots. We examined the association between fat depots on multidetector computed tomography and metabolic regulatory biomarkers.

Short-Term Exposure to Air Pollution and Biomarkers of Oxidative Stress: The Framingham Heart Study.

Background: Short-term exposure to elevated air pollution has been associated with higher risk of acute cardiovascular diseases, with systemic oxidative stress induced by air pollution hypothesized as an important underlying mechanism. However, few community-based studies have assessed this association.

Methods And Results: Two thousand thirty-five Framingham Offspring Cohort participants living within 50 km of the Harvard Boston Supersite who were not current smokers were included.

Racial Differences in Electrocardiographic Characteristics and Prognostic Significance in Whites Versus Asians.

Background: Racial differences in electrocardiographic (ECG) characteristics and prognostic significance among Whites and Asians are not well described.

Methods And Results: We studied 2677 White Framingham Heart Study participants (57% women) and 2972 Asian (64% women) Singapore Longitudinal Aging Study participants (mean age 66 years in both) free of myocardial infarction or heart failure. Racial differences in ECG characteristics and effect on mortality were assessed.

Association of Lipid-Related Genetic Variants with the Incidence of Atrial Fibrillation: The AFGen Consortium.

Background: Several studies have shown associations between blood lipid levels and the risk of atrial fibrillation (AF). To test the potential effect of blood lipids with AF risk, we assessed whether previously developed lipid gene scores, used as instrumental variables, are associated with the incidence of AF in 7 large cohorts.

Methods: We analyzed 64,901 individuals of European ancestry without previous AF at baseline and with lipid gene scores.

TBX5 mutations contribute to early-onset atrial fibrillation in Chinese and Caucasians.

Aims: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common arrhythmia with an important heritable aspect. The genetic factors underlying AF have not been fully elucidated.

Methods And Results: We screened six candidate genes (CAV1, KCNJ2, KCNQ1, NKX2.

Atrial Fibrillation Begets Heart Failure and Vice Versa: Temporal Associations and Differences in Preserved Versus Reduced Ejection Fraction.

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) and heart failure (HF) frequently coexist and together confer an adverse prognosis. The association of AF with HF subtypes has not been well described. We sought to examine differences in the temporal association of AF and HF with preserved versus reduced ejection fraction.

Adverse Events in Treating Smear-Positive Tuberculosis Patients in China.

This study aimed to estimate the adverse events (AE) rate during anti-tuberculosis treatment and to explore AE-related risk factors. New and previously treated smear-positive tuberculosis (TB) cases were enrolled from eight regions in China between April 2009 and October 2010. The AE rate was estimated, and AE risk factors during anti-TB treatment were assessed using Cox proportional models.

Circulating Galectin-3 Is Associated With Cardiometabolic Disease in the Community.

Background: Circulating Galectin-3 (Gal-3) concentrations are associated with an increased incidence of heart failure, atrial fibrillation, chronic kidney disease, and mortality. Recent evidence suggests that Gal-3 may also be an important modulator of cardiometabolic traits such as adiposity, insulin resistance, and hyperglycemia. We examined the associations of blood Gal-3 concentrations and cardiometabolic disease traits in the Framingham Heart Study.

The transcriptional landscape of age in human peripheral blood.

Disease incidences increase with age, but the molecular characteristics of ageing that lead to increased disease susceptibility remain inadequately understood. Here we perform a whole-blood gene expression meta-analysis in 14,983 individuals of European ancestry (including replication) and identify 1,497 genes that are differentially expressed with chronological age. The age-associated genes do not harbor more age-associated CpG-methylation sites than other genes, but are instead enriched for the presence of potentially functional CpG-methylation sites in enhancer and insulator regions that associate with both chronological age and gene expression levels.

Associations of obesity and body fat distribution with incident atrial fibrillation in the biracial health aging and body composition cohort of older adults.

Unlabelled: Obesity is a well-recognized risk factor for atrial fibrillation (AF), yet adiposity measures other than body mass index (BMI) have had limited assessment in relation to AF risk. We examined the associations of adiposity measures with AF in a biracial cohort of older adults. Given established racial differences in obesity and AF, we assessed for differences by black and white race in relating adiposity and AF.

Gene expression markers of age-related inflammation in two human cohorts.

Introduction: Chronically elevated circulating inflammatory markers are common in older persons but mechanisms are unclear. Many blood transcripts (>800 genes) are associated with interleukin-6 protein levels (IL6) independent of age. We aimed to identify gene transcripts statistically mediating, as drivers or responders, the increasing levels of IL6 protein in blood at older ages.

Red blood cell fatty acids and biomarkers of inflammation: a cross-sectional study in a community-based cohort.

Introduction: Inflammation and inflammatory biomarkers have emerged as integral components and predictors of incident cardiovascular (CV) disease. Omega-3 fatty acids, particularly eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids (EPA and DHA) have anti-inflammatory properties, and have been variably associated with lower blood pressure, favorable blood lipid changes, and reduced CV events.

Methods And Results: We examined the cross-sectional association of red blood cell (RBC) fatty acids, representative of body membrane fatty acid composition, with 10 biomarkers active in multiple inflammatory pathways in 2724 participants (mean age 66 ± 9 years, 54% women, 8% minorities) from the Framingham Offspring and minority Omni Cohorts.

The relation of red blood cell fatty acids with vascular stiffness, cardiac structure and left ventricular function: the Framingham Heart Study.

Polyunsaturated fatty acids have been associated with beneficial influences on cardiovascular health. However, the underlying mechanisms are not clear, and data on the relations of polyunsaturated fatty acids to subclinical disease measures such as vascular stiffness and cardiac function are sparse and inconclusive. In a large community-based cohort, we examined the relations of omega-3 and other fatty acids to a comprehensive panel of vascular function measures (assessing microvascular function and large artery stiffness), cardiac structure and left ventricular function.

Whole blood gene expression and interleukin-6 levels.

Background: Circulating interleukin-6 levels increase with advancing age and are a risk factor for various diseases and mortality. The characterization of gene expression profiles associated with interleukin-6 levels might suggest important molecular events underlying its regulation.

Methods And Results: We studied the association of transcriptional profiles with interleukin-6 levels in 2422 participants from the Framingham Heart Study Offspring Cohort using Affymetrix Human Exon 1.

Plasma microRNAs are associated with atrial fibrillation and change after catheter ablation (the miRhythm study).

Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are associated with cardiovascular disease and control gene expression and are detectable in the circulation.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that circulating miRNAs may be associated with atrial fibrillation (AF).

Methods: Using a prospective study design powered to detect subtle differences in miRNAs, we quantified plasma expression of 86 miRNAs by high-throughput quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction in 112 participants with AF and 99 without AF.

B-type natriuretic peptide and C-reactive protein in the prediction of atrial fibrillation risk: the CHARGE-AF Consortium of community-based cohort studies.

Aims: B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and C-reactive protein (CRP) predict atrial fibrillation (AF) risk. However, their risk stratification abilities in the broad community remain uncertain. We sought to improve risk stratification for AF using biomarker information.

Pleiotropic genes for metabolic syndrome and inflammation.

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) has become a health and financial burden worldwide. The MetS definition captures clustering of risk factors that predict higher risk for diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease. Our study hypothesis is that additional to genes influencing individual MetS risk factors, genetic variants exist that influence MetS and inflammatory markers forming a predisposing MetS genetic network.

Whole blood gene expression and atrial fibrillation: the Framingham Heart Study.

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) involves substantial electrophysiological, structural and contractile remodeling. We hypothesize that characterizing gene expression might uncover important pathways related to AF.

Methods And Results: We performed genome-wide whole blood transcriptomic profiling (Affymetrix Human Exon 1.