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Objectives: To extend existing research on the US health disadvantage relative to Europe by studying the relationships of disability with age from midlife to old age in the US and four European regions (England/Northern and Western Europe/Southern Europe/Eastern Europe) including their wealth-related differences, using a flexible statistical approach to model the age-functions. Methods: We used data from three studies on aging, with nationally representative samples of adults aged 50 to 85 from 15 countries (N = 48225): the US-American Health and Retirement Study (HRS), the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) and the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). Outcomes were mobility limitations and limitations in instrumental activities of daily living. We applied fractional polynomials of age to determine best fitting functional forms for age on disability in each region, while controlling for socio-demographic characteristics and important risk factors (hypertension, diabetes, obesity, smoking, physical inactivity). Results: Findings showed high levels of disability in the US with small age-related changes between 50 and 85. Levels of disability were generally lower in Eastern Europe, followed by England and Southern Europe and lowest in Northern and Western Europe. In these latter countries age-related increases of disability, though, were steeper than in the US, especially in Eastern and Southern Europe. For all countries and at all ages, disability levels were higher among adults with low wealth compared to those with high wealth, with largest wealth-related differences among those in early old age in the USA. Conclusions: This paper illustrates considerable variations of disability and its relationship with age. It supports the hypothesis that less developed social policies and more pronounced socioeconomic inequalities are related to higher levels of disability and an earlier onset of disability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To evaluate cardiovascular and psychiatric morbidity in patient visits with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) with insomnia (OSA+Insomnia) versus OSA without insomnia (OSA-Insomnia) in a nationally representative US sample. Methods: A retrospective case-control study of epidemiologic databases (National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey and National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey) representing an estimated ± standard error (SE) 62,253,910±5,274,747 (unweighted count = 7234) patient visits with diagnosis of OSA from 1995–2010, was conducted. An estimated 3,994,104±791,386 (unweighted count = 658) were classified as OSA+Insomnia and an estimated 58,259,806±4,849,800 (unweighted count = 6576) as OSA-Insomnia. Logistic regression analysis was carried out using OSA+Insomnia versus OSA-Insomnia as the dependent variable, and age (>50 years versus ≤50 years), sex, race (‘White’ versus ‘non-White’), essential hypertension, heart failure, ischemic heart disease, cardiac dysrhythmia, cerebrovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, hyperlipidemia, depressive, anxiety, and adjustment disorders (includes PTSD), hypersomnia and all medications used as independent variables. All comorbidities were physician diagnosed using the ICD9-CM. Results: Among patient visits with OSA, an estimated 6.4%±0.9% also had insomnia. Logistic regression analysis revealed that the OSA+Insomnia group was significantly more likely to have essential hypertension (all ICD9-CM codes 401) (OR = 1.83, 95% CI 1.27–2.65) and provisionally more likely to have cerebrovascular disease (ICD9-CM codes 430–438) (OR = 6.58, 95% CI 1.66–26.08). The significant OR for cerebrovascular disease was considered provisional because the unweighted count was <30. Conclusions: In a nationally representative sample, OSA+Insomnia was associated significantly more frequently with essential hypertension than OSA-Insomnia, a finding that has not been previously reported. In contrast to studies that have considered patient self-reports of psychological morbidity, the absence of a significant association with psychiatric disorders in our study may be indicative of the fact that we considered only physician-rated psychiatric syndromes meeting ICD9-CM criteria. Our findings among the OSA+Insomnia group are therefore most likely conservative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Hypothesis: Even within accepted normal ranges, higher serum phosphorus, dietary phosphorus density, parathyroid hormone (PTH) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) are independent predictors of cardiovascular mortality. Lower serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25(OH)D) also predicts adverse cardiovascular outcomes. We hypothesized that vascular dysfunction accompanying subtle disturbances of these bone metabolism parameters would result in associations with increased low grade albuminuria. Study Population and Measures: We examined participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys 1999–2010 (N = 19,383) with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) ≥60 ml/min/1.73 m2 and without severe albuminuria (urine albumin:creatinine ratio (ACR) <300 mg/g). Albuminuria was quantified as ACR and fractional albumin excretion (FEalb). Results: Increasing quintiles of dietary phosphorus density, serum phosphorus and ALP were not associated with higher ACR or FEalb. The lowest versus highest quintile of 25(OH)D was associated with greater albuminuria, but not after adjustment for other covariates including cardiovascular risk factors. An association between the highest versus lowest quintile of bone-specific ALP and greater ACR persisted after covariate adjustment, but was not accompanied by an independent association with FEalb. Increasing quintiles of PTH demonstrated associations with both higher ACR and FEalb that were not abolished by adjusting for covariates including age, gender, race, body mass index, diabetes, blood pressure, history of cardiovascular disease, smoking, eGFR, 25(OH)D, season of measurement, lipids, hemoglobin and C-reactive protein. Adjusted increases in ACR and FEalb associated with the highest versus lowest quintile of PTH were 19% (95% confidence interval 7–28% p<0.001) and 17% (8–31% p = 0.001) respectively. Conclusion: In this population, of the bone mineral parameters associated with cardiovascular outcomes, only PTH is independently associated with ACR and FEalb. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Studies examining the relation of information processing speed, as measured by reaction time, with mortality are scarce. We explored these associations in a representative sample of the US population. Methods: Participants were 5,134 adults (2,342 men) aged 20–59 years from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III, 1988–94). Results: Adjusted for age, sex, and ethnic minority status, a 1 SD slower reaction time was associated with a raised risk of mortality from all-causes (HR = 1.25, 95% CI 1.12, 1.39) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) (HR = 1.36, 95% CI 1.17, 1.58). Having 1 SD more variable reaction time was also associated with greater risk of all-cause (HR = 1.36, 95% CI 1.19, 1.55) and CVD (HR = 1.50, 95% CI 1.33, 1.70) mortality. No associations were observed for cancer mortality. The magnitude of the relationships was comparable in size to established risk factors in this dataset, such as smoking. Interpretation: Alongside better-established risk factors, reaction time is associated with increased risk of premature death and cardiovascular disease. It is a candidate risk factor for all-cause and cause-specific mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While there is a large body of evidence that poor subjective sleep quality is related to lower subjective well-being, studies on the relation of objective sleep measures and subjective well-being are fewer in number and less consistent in their findings. Using data of the Survey of Mid-Life in the United States (MIDUS), we investigated whether duration and quality of sleep, assessed by actigraphy, were related to subjective well-being and whether this relationship was mediated by subjective sleep quality. Three hundred and thirteen mainly white American individuals from the general population and 128 urban-dwelling African American individuals between 35 and 85 years of age were studied cross-sectionally. Sleep duration, variability of sleep duration, sleep onset latency, and time awake after sleep onset were assessed by actigraphy over a period of 7 days. Subjective sleep quality was assessed with the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, positive psychological well-being and symptoms of psychological distress were assessed with the Satisfaction with Life Scale and the Mood and Anxiety Symptom Questionnaire. In both white and African Americans high day-to-day variability in sleep duration was related to lower levels of subjective well-being controlling age, gender, educational and marital status, and BMI. By contrast, sleep duration, sleep onset latency, and time awake after sleep onset were not related to subjective well-being controlling covariates and other sleep variables. Moreover, the relationship between variability in sleep duration and well-being was partially mediated by subjective sleep quality. The findings show that great day-to-day variability in sleep duration – more than average sleep duration – is related to poor subjective sleep quality and poor subjective well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Previous studies have demonstrated gaps in achievement of low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) goals among U.S. individuals at high cardiovascular disease risk; however, recent studies in selected populations indicate improvements. Objective: We sought to define the longitudinal trends in achieving LDL-C goals among high-risk United States adults from 1999–2008. Methods We analyzed five sequential population-based cross-sectional National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys 1999–2008, which included 18,656 participants aged 20–79 years. We calculated rates of LDL-C goal achievement and treatment in the high-risk population. Results: The prevalence of high-risk individuals increased from 13% to 15.5% (p = 0.046). Achievement of LDL-C <100 mg/dL increased from 24% to 50.4% (p<0.0001) in the high-risk population with similar findings in subgroups with (27% to 64.8% p<0.0001) and without (21.8% to 43.7%, p<0.0001) coronary heart disease (CHD). Achievement of LDL-C <70 mg/dL improved from 2.4% to 17% (p<0.0001) in high-risk individuals and subgroups with (3.4% to 21.4%, p<0.0001) and without (1.7% to 14.9%, p<0.0001) CHD. The proportion with LDL-C ≥130 mg/dL and not on lipid medications decreased from 29.4% to 18% (p = 0.0002), with similar findings among CHD (25% to 11.9% p = 0.0013) and non-CHD (35.8% to 20.8% p<0.0001) subgroups. Conclusion: The proportions of the U.S. high-risk population achieving LDL-C <100 mg/dL and <70 mg/dL increased over the last decade. With 65% of the CHD subpopulation achieving an LDL-C <100 mg/dL in the most recent survey, U.S. LDL-C goal achievement exceeds previous reports and approximates rates achieved in highly selected patient cohorts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Bioelectrical impedance vector analysis (BIVA) is a technique for the assessment of hydration and nutritional status, used in the clinical practice. Specific BIVA is an analytical variant, recently proposed for the Italian elderly population, that adjusts bioelectrical values for body geometry. Objective: Evaluating the accuracy of specific BIVA in the adult U.S. population, compared to the ‘classic’ BIVA procedure, using DXA as the reference technique, in order to obtain an interpretative model of body composition. Design: A cross-sectional sample of 1590 adult individuals (836 men and 754 women, 21–49 years old) derived from the NHANES 2003–2004 was considered. Classic and specific BIVA were applied. The sensitivity and specificity in recognizing individuals below the 5th and above the 95th percentiles of percent fat (FMDXA%) and extracellular/intracellular water (ECW/ICW) ratio were evaluated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Classic and specific BIVA results were compared by a probit multiple-regression. Results: Specific BIVA was significantly more accurate than classic BIVA in evaluating FMDXA% (ROC areas: 0.84–0.92 and 0.49–0.61 respectively; p = 0.002). The evaluation of ECW/ICW was accurate (ROC areas between 0.83 and 0.96) and similarly performed by the two procedures (p = 0.829). The accuracy of specific BIVA was similar in the two sexes (p = 0.144) and in FMDXA% and ECW/ICW (p = 0.869). Conclusions: Specific BIVA showed to be an accurate technique. The tolerance ellipses of specific BIVA can be used for evaluating FM% and ECW/ICW in the U.S. adult population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]