Objective
Decline in cognitive function begins by the 40s, and may be related to future dementia risk. We used data from a community‐representative study to determine whether there are age‐related ...differences in simple cognitive and gait tests by the 40s, and whether these differences were associated with covert cerebrovascular disease on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
Methods
Between 2010 and 2012, 803 participants aged 40 to 75 years in the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiological (PURE) study, recruited from prespecified postal code regions centered on 4 Canadian cities, underwent brain MRI and simple tests of cognition and gait as part of a substudy (PURE‐MIND).
Results
Mean age was 58 ± 8 years. Linear decreases in performance on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST), and Timed Up and Go test of gait were seen with each age decade from the 40s to the 70s. Silent brain infarcts were observed in 3% of 40‐ to 49‐year‐olds, with increasing prevalence up to 18.9% in 70‐year‐olds. Silent brain infarcts were associated with slower timed gait and lower volume of supratentorial white matter. Higher volume of supratentorial MRI white matter hyperintensity was associated with slower timed gait and worse performance on DSST, and lower volumes of the supratentorial cortex and white matter, and cerebellum.
Interpretation
Covert cerebrovascular disease and its consequences on cognitive and gait performance and brain atrophy are manifest in some clinically asymptomatic persons as early as the 5th decade of life. Ann Neurol 2015;77:251–261
Iodine is a trace micronutrient that is critical for normal thyroid function and human health. Inadequate dietary intake is associated with cognitive impairment, infertility, growth retardation and ...iodine deficiency disorders in affected populations. Herein, we examined the prevalence of iodine deficiency in adults (median age of 61 years) based on the analysis of 24 h urine samples collected from 800 participants in four clinical sites across Canada in the Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiological (PURE) study. Urinary iodide together with thiocyanate and nitrate were measured using a validated capillary electrophoresis assay. Protective/risk factors associated with iodine deficiency were identified using a binary logistic regression model, whereas daily urinary iodine concentration (24 h UIC, μg/L) and urinary iodine excretion (24 h UIE, μg/day) were compared using complementary statistical methods with covariate adjustments. Overall, our Canadian adult cohort had adequate iodine status as reflected by a median UIC of 111 μg/L with 11.9% of the population <50 μg/L categorized as having moderate to severe iodine deficiency. Iodine adequacy was also evident with a median 24 h UIE of 226 μg/day as a more robust metric of iodine status with an estimated average requirement (EAR) of 7.1% (< 95 μg/day) and a tolerable upper level (UL) of 1.8% (≥1100 μg/day) based on Canadian dietary reference intake values. Participants taking iodine supplements (OR = 0.18; p = 6.35 × 10−5), had greater 24 h urine volume (OR = 0.69; p = 4.07 × 10−4), excreted higher daily urinary sodium (OR = 0.71; p = 3.03 × 10−5), and/or were prescribed thyroxine (OR = 0.33; p = 1.20 × 10−2) had lower risk for iodine deficiency. Self-reported intake of dairy products was most strongly associated with iodine status (r = 0.24; p = 2.38 × 10−9) after excluding for iodine supplementation and T4 use. Participants residing in Quebec City (OR = 2.58; p = 1.74 × 10−4) and Vancouver (OR = 2.54; p = 3.57 × 10−4) were more susceptible to iodine deficiency than Hamilton or Ottawa. Also, greater exposure to abundant iodine uptake inhibitors from tobacco smoking and intake of specific goitrogenic foods corresponded to elevated urinary thiocyanate and nitrate, which were found for residents from Quebec City as compared to other clinical sites. Recent public health policies that advocate for salt restriction and lower dairy intake may inadvertently reduce iodine nutrition of Canadians, and further exacerbate regional variations in iodine deficiency risk.
Non-communicable diseases, particularly cardiovascular diseases, are the leading cause of decreased life expectancy and death in Latin America and the Caribbean. Although a lifestyle, which includes ...no tobacco use, good nutrition, and regular physical activity is touted as key to health, the environmental, racial, social and economic conditions, which underpin lifestyle are often ignored or considered only secondarily. Placing the main responsibility on a patient to change their lifestyle or to simply comply with pharmacological treatment ignores the specific conditions in which the individual lives. Furthermore, there are major disparities in access to both healthy living conditions as well as access to medical care.
There is sufficient evidence to support advocating for policies that support healthy living, particularly healthy food choices. Progress is being made to improve the food environment with enactment of front of package nutritional labels. However, policies were enacted only after intense regional research and advocacy supporting their implementation.
Government officials must rise above the pressures of commercial interests and support health-promoting policies or be exposed as self-interest groups themselves. Strong advocacy is required to persuade officials that all policies should take health into consideration both to improve lives and economies.
The Canadian Hypertension Education Program, an extensive professional education program to improve the management of hypertension, was started in 1999. There were very large increases in diagnosis ...and treatment of hypertension in the first 4 years after initiation of the program. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between the changes in antihypertensive therapy with changes in hospitalization and death from major hypertension-related cardiovascular diseases in Canada between 1992 and 2003. Using various national databases, Canadian standardized yearly mortality and hospitalization rates per 1000 for stroke, heart failure, and acute myocardial infarction were calculated for individuals aged >or=20 years and regressed against antihypertensive prescription rates. Changes in rates were examined in a time series analysis. There were significant reductions (P<0.0001) in the rate of death from stroke, heart failure, and myocardial infarction starting in 1999. There was also a reduction in hospitalization rate from stroke (P<0.0001) and heart failure (P<0.0001) but not myocardial infarction in 1999. The changes in death (P<0.001 for all 3 diseases) and hospitalization (P<0.0001 for stroke and heart failure; P=0.018 for acute myocardial infarction) were associated with the increases in antihypertensive prescriptions. This study demonstrates that the reduction in cardiovascular death and hospitalization rates is associated with an increase in antihypertensive prescriptions and that it coincides with the introduction of the Canadian Hypertension Education Program. The Canadian Hypertension Education Program educational model for improving health care could be adopted by other countries with well-developed professional and scientific societies.
Incidental magnetic resonance diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI)-positive lesions, considered to represent small acute infarcts, have been detected in patients with cerebral small vessel diseases or ...cognitive impairment, but the prevalence in the community population is unknown.
DWI sequences collected in 793 participants in the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiological (PURE) study were reviewed for DWI lesions consistent with small acute infarcts.
No DWI-positive lesions were detected (0%, 95% confidence interval, 0-0.5).
DWI-positive lesions are rare in an asymptomatic community population. The prevalence of DWI-positive lesions in the community seems to be lower than in patients with cerebral amyloid angiopathy, intracerebral hemorrhage, or cognitive impairment.
Abstract Objective To describe the risk of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) after radiation therapy (RT) for breast cancer (BrCa) in an exposed population. Methods We identified and validated cases ...of AMI (vAMI), by electrocardiographic or enzyme criteria, among all 6680 women who received post-operative RT following lumpectomy or mastectomy, within 12 months following diagnosis of BrCa between 1982 and 1988 in Ontario, Canada. We identified women without vAMI whose death certification was ascribed to AMI (dAMI). We abstracted risk factors and treatment exposures for a random sample of women from the 6680, and for all with vAMI or dAMI. The hazards of vAMI and of dAMI were estimated using multivariate Cox proportional hazards models, corrected for study design. Results We validated 121 cases of vAMI and identified 92 cases of dAMI. The risk of vAMI associated with RT to the left breast HR = 1.96 (1.09, 3.54) among women at age ⩾ 60 at time of RT, adjusted for history of smoking and prior MI. The adjusted HR dAMI = 1.90 (1.08, 3.35) for exposure to anterior internal mammary node (IMC) RT. Among women who received anterior left breast boost RT, increasing area of the boost is associated with adjusted HR vAMI = 1.02 (1.00, 1.03)/cm2 , and adjusted HR dAMI = 1.02 (1.01, 1.03)/cm2. Conclusion The risks of vAMI and dAMI following RT for BrCa are related to anatomic sites of RT (left breast, area of anterior left breast boost field, and anterior IMC field).
Abstract Background Although salt intake derived from data on urinary sodium excretion in free-living populations has been used in public policy, a population study on urinary sodium excretion has ...not been done in Canada. We assessed dietary sodium and potassium intake using a 24-hour urine collection in a large survey of urban and rural communities from 4 Canadian cities and determined the association of these electrolytes with blood pressure (BP). Methods One thousand seven hundred consecutive individuals, aged 37-72 years, attending their annual follow-up visits of the ongoing P rospective and U rban R ural E pidemiology (PURE) study in Vancouver, Hamilton, Ottawa, and Quebec City, Canada, collected a 24-hour urine sample using standardized procedures. Results Mean sodium excretion was 3325 mg/d and mean potassium excretion was 2935 mg/d. Sodium excretion ranged from 3093 mg/d in Vancouver to 3642 mg/d in Quebec City, after adjusting for covariates. Potassium excretion ranged from 2844 mg/d in Ottawa to 3082 mg/d in Quebec City. Both electrolytes were higher in men than in women and in rural populations than in urban settings ( P < 0.001 for all). Sodium excretion was between 3000 and 6000 mg/d in 48.3% of the participants, < 3000 mg/d in 46.7%, and > 6000 mg/d in only 5%. No significant association between sodium or potassium excretion and BP was found. Conclusions Sodium consumption in these Canadians is within a range comparable to other Western countries, and intake in most individuals is < 6000 mg/d, with only 5% at higher levels. Within this range, sodium or potassium levels were not associated with BP.
Cardiovascular Risk Assessment in Pilots Mulloy, Andrew; Wielgosz, Andreas
Aerospace medicine and human performance,
08/2019, Letnik:
90, Številka:
8
Journal Article
Recenzirano
For over 30 yr the global medical community has attempted to define the acceptable cardiovascular risk in pilots. This challenge is compounded by the ever-changing technological and medical landscape ...of air travel. We aimed to review the existing literature on estimating the risk of pilot cardiovascular incapacitation and determine if the current guidelines are founded in the best available evidence.
A detailed review of the guidelines and literature that supports them was completed. Relevant articles were identified by review of the source literature of the guidelines and the references of these source documents. All articles referenced were reviewed in full by both authors. Data that informed the existing recommendations were reviewed and compared to available modern data. The results of these findings were incorporated into a formula that allows for the calculation of acceptable pilot cardiovascular risk given any operator-determined set of variables.
Among the evidence that informs current guidelines, there exists a need for further updating. A number of assumptions have been made in creating guidelines and these may no longer reflect the current technological or medical aviation environment. Incorporating the identified variables into a formula allows for the calculation of acceptable cardiovascular risk. This formula was tested using past data and reproduced existing results.
Current guidelines for pilot cardiovascular risk assessment require review by the international aviation medical community. We propose a novel formula that may serve as a template for future guidelines and may be adapted as aviation technology and health data evolve.
Background
The clinical implications of potential interactions between proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and clopidogrel have been debated for over a decade.
Objective
We assessed the association between ...combined clopidogrel–PPI treatment and the risk of recurrent myocardial infarction (MI) and three secondary outcomes.
Patients and Methods
A nested case–control study was conducted within Cerner Corporation’s Health Facts
®
database. A retrospective cohort of patients who experienced a first MI and started clopidogrel treatment was created. Within this cohort, patients experiencing a second MI (cases) were matched with up to five controls. Logistic regression was used to estimate adjusted odds ratios (aORs). Findings were compared with those obtained from models with three negative control exposure drugs: H
2
receptor antagonists, prasugrel, and ticagrelor.
Results
In total, 2890 recurrent MI cases were identified within 12 months following entry into the cohort of clopidogrel users (
N
= 52,006). aOR for PPI use versus non-use among clopidogrel users was 1.08 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.95–1.23. Similar ORs were obtained for secondary endpoints. A positive association between combined use of clopidogrel/PPIs and increased risk of MI was seen in the group aged 80–89 years (aOR 1.26; 95% CI 1.05–1.51). No associations with MI were observed for (1) H2 receptor antagonist use versus non-use among clopidogrel users or (2) PPI use versus non-use among prasugrel users or among ticagrelor users.
Conclusions
Overall, our findings do not support a significant adverse clinical impact of concomitant clopidogrel/PPI use by patients with MI. Nonetheless, investigation of the possible association seen in those aged 80–89 years may be warranted.
Little is known about physical activity levels in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) who are not engaged in cardiac rehabilitation. We explored the trajectory of physical activity after ...hospitalization for CAD, and examined the effects of demographic, medical, and activity-related factors on the trajectory.
A prospective cohort study.
A total of 782 patients were recruited during CAD-related hospitalization. Leisure-time activity energy expenditure (AEE) was measured 2, 6 and 12 months later. Sex, age, education, reason for hospitalization, congestive heart failure (CHF), diabetes, and physical activity before hospitalization were assessed at recruitment. Participation in cardiac rehabilitation was measured at follow-up.
AEE was 1948+/-1450, 1676+/-1290, and 1637+/-1486 kcal/week at 2, 6 and 12 months, respectively. There was a negative effect of time from 2 months post-hospitalization on physical activity (P<0.001). Interactions were found between age and time (P=0.012) and education and time (P=0.001). Main effects were noted for sex (men more active than women; P<0.001), CHF (those without CHF more active; P<0.01), diabetes (those without diabetes more active; P<0.05), and previous level of physical activity (those active before hospitalization more active after; P<0.001). Coronary artery bypass graft patients were more active than percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) patients (P=0.033).
Physical activity levels declined from 2 months after hospitalization. Specific subgroups (e.g. less educated, younger) were at greater risk of decline and other subgroups (e.g. women, and PCI, CHF, and diabetic patients) demonstrated lower physical activity. These groups need tailored interventions.
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