Project description:Targeted metabolomics was conducted on plasma samples from a nested case-cohort study within the biracial REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) cohort. This longitudinal study investigates health outcomes with a focus on stroke disparities across the United States, particularly in the Southeastern "Stroke Belt," where stroke risk and mortality are 2-4 times higher in the Black population. The REGARDS study recruited 30,239 Black and White participants aged 45 years or older. This dataset includes 2,377 baseline plasma samples collected between 2003 and 2007 from a stroke case-cohort sub-study, with 1,056 randomly selected cohort participants and 1,321 stroke cases. The resulting data provides a resource for investigating metabolic profiles and their potential implications for health outcomes and disparities.
Project description:Albuminuria is an important risk factor for progressive chronic kidney disease (CKD) and is more prevalent in black than white adults. We sought to determine the association between low income and albuminuria and whether this association differs for blacks and whites.Cross-sectional study.9,144 black and 13,684 white US adults 45 years and older in the population-based Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) Study.Self-reported annual household income category (?$75,000, $35,000-$74,999, $20,000-$34,999, and <$20,000); black and white race.Albuminuria defined as high (30-300 mg/g) or very high (>300 mg/g) urinary albumin-creatinine ratio (ACR). Multinomial logistic regression used to examine the race-stratified association between categories of income and albuminuria (normal, high, or very high ACR).Overall, geometric mean ACR was 10.2 mg/g and was higher for blacks (11.8 mg/g) than whites (9.3 mg/g), P<0.001. Lower income was associated with a higher prevalence of albuminuria for both whites and blacks in unadjusted analyses. After adjustment for demographics, lifestyle factors, comorbid illnesses, and estimated glomerular filtration rate, there was a trend toward a stronger association between lower income levels and high ACR in blacks (ORs of 1.38 [95% CI, 1.07-1.77], 1.36 [95% CI, 1.05-1.75], and 1.58 [95% CI, 1.21-2.05] for income levels of $35,000-$74,999, $20,000-$34,999, and <$20,000, respectively; reference group is those with income?$75,000) compared with whites (ORs of 0.95 [95% CI, 0.81-1.12], 0.95 [95% CI, 0.79-1.14], and 1.26 [95% CI, 1.02-1.55], respectively); P interaction=0.08 between race and income. Results were similar for very high ACR and subgroups of participants with diabetes or hypertension.Cross-sectional design; not all REGARDS participants provided their annual income.Lower income may be associated more strongly with albuminuria in blacks than whites and may be a determinant of racial disparities in albuminuria.
Project description:Stroke is a major public health concern worldwide given the associated morbidity and mortality. Smoking is a risk factor for stroke, but the relationship between secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure and stroke has been inconsistent to date. The aim of the current study was to examine the association of SHS exposure and risk of stroke and its subtypes (ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke) among nonsmokers.Demographic and clinical characteristics were compared by SHS exposure status for African American and white nonsmokers aged ?45 years in the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study in 2014. Hazard ratios (HRs) and corresponding 95% CIs were calculated by Cox proportional hazards models to assess the relationship between SHS exposure and stroke risk.Of the 21,743 participants (38% African American, 45% male), SHS exposure in the past year was reported by 23%. Compared with those without SHS exposure, exposed participants were more likely to be female, white, younger, and reside with a smoker (all p<0.001). A total of 428 incident strokes were observed from April 2003 to March 2012 during a mean follow-up of 5.6 years. The risk of overall stroke was increased 30% among those with SHS exposure after adjustment for other stroke risk factors (95% CI=2%, 67%). This relationship appeared to be driven by ischemic strokes.SHS exposure is independently associated with an increased risk of stroke. Future studies are needed to confirm these findings and examine the role of long-term effects of SHS exposure on stroke outcomes.
Project description:Background and purposePoststroke cognitive decline causes disability. Risk factors for poststroke cognitive decline independent of survivors' prestroke cognitive trajectories are uncertain.MethodsAmong 22 875 participants aged ≥45 years without baseline cognitive impairment from the REGARDS cohort (Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke), enrolled from 2003 to 2007 and followed through September 2015, we measured the effect of incident stroke (n=694) on changes in cognitive functions and cognitive impairment (Six-Item Screener score <5) and tested whether patient factors modified the effect. Median follow-up was 8.2 years.ResultsIncident stroke was associated with acute declines in global cognition, new learning, verbal memory, and executive function. Acute declines in global cognition after stroke were greater in survivors who were black (P=0.04), men (P=0.04), and had cardioembolic (P=0.001) or large artery stroke (P=0.001). Acute declines in executive function after stroke were greater in survivors who had <high school education versus college graduates (P=0.01). Incident stroke was associated with faster declines in global cognition and executive function but not new learning or verbal memory compared with prestroke slopes. Faster declines in global cognition over years after stroke were greater in survivors who were older (P<0.01), resided outside the Stroke Belt (P=0.005), or had cardioembolic stroke (P=0.01). Faster declines in executive function over years after stroke were greater in survivors who were older (P<0.01) or lacked hypertension (P=0.03).ConclusionsIncident stroke alters a patient's cognitive trajectory, and this effect is greater with increasing age and cardioembolic stroke. Race, sex, geography, and hypertension status may modify the risk of poststroke cognitive decline.
Project description:To identify approximately 500 cases of incident cognitive impairment (ICI) in a large, national sample adapting an existing cognitive test-based case definition and to examine relationships of vascular risk factors with ICI.Participants were from the REGARDS study, a national sample of 30,239 African-American and White Americans. Participants included in this analysis had normal cognitive screening and no history of stroke at baseline, and at least one follow-up cognitive assessment with a three-test battery (TTB). Regression-based norms were applied to TTB scores to identify cases of ICI. Logistic regression was used to model associations with baseline vascular risk factors.We identified 495 participants with ICI of 17,630 eligible participants. In multivariable modeling, income (OR 1.83 CI 1.27,2.62), stroke belt residence (OR 1.45 CI 1.18,1.78), history of transient ischemic attack (OR 1.90 CI 1.29,2.81), coronary artery disease(OR 1.32 CI 1.02,1.70), diabetes (OR 1.48 CI 1.17,1.87), obesity (OR 1.40 CI 1.05,1.86), and incident stroke (OR 2.73 CI 1.52,4.90) were associated with ICI.We adapted a previously validated cognitive test-based case definition to identify cases of ICI. Many previously identified risk factors were associated with ICI, supporting the criterion-related validity of our definition.
Project description:Inflammation biomarkers are associated with the venous thromboembolism (VTE) risk factors obesity and age; however, the relationships of inflammation with VTE risk remain controversial.To examine associations of four inflammation biomarkers, i.e. C-reactive protein (CRP), serum albumin, white blood cell (WBC) count, and platelet count (PLTC), with incident VTE, and to determine whether they mediate the association of age or obesity with VTE.Hazards models adjusted for VTE risk factors were used to calculate the prospective association of each biomarker with incident VTE in 30,239 participants of the REasons for Geographic And Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study. Mediation of the associations of obesity and age with VTE were examined by bootstrapping. Over a period of 4.6 years, there were 268 incident VTE events. After adjustment for VTE risk factors, the hazard ratios (HRs) were 1.25 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.09-1.43) per standard deviation (SD) higher log-CRP and 1.25 (95% CI 1.06-1.48) per SD lower albumin; there were no associations for WBC count or PLTC. The association of body mass index (BMI), but not age, with VTE was partially mediated by CRP and albumin. In risk factor-adjusted models, the percentage attenuations of the BMI HR for VTE after introduction of CRP or albumin into the models were 15.4% (95% CI 7.7-33.3%) and 41.0% (95% CI 12.8-79.5%), respectively.Higher CRP levels and lower serum albumin levels were associated with increased VTE risk, and statistically mediated part of the association of BMI with VTE. These data suggest that inflammation may be a potential mechanism underlying the relationship between obesity and VTE risk.