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We aimed to determine the association between ideal cardiovascular health metrics (ICVHM) and the incidence of hypertension among Iranian adults. The study population included 5409 Iranian adults aged ≥20 years (2088 men) without hypertension (applying the 2017 American College of Cardiology (ACC)/American Heart Association (AHA) guideline) at baseline. The ICVHM was defined according to the AHA's 2020 impact goals, excluding total cholesterol was replaced by non-HDL cholesterol (non-HDL-C). Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was done to estimate the hazard ratios (HRs) for ICVHM both as continuous and categorical variables. During a median 8.5-year follow-up, 2972 new cases of hypertension were identified (men: 1,287). Non-HDL-C < 130 mg/dL in men [HR (95% CI): 0.75(0.65-0.86)] and fasting plasma glucose(FPG) < 100 mg/dL in women[HR (95% CI): 0.79(0.64-0.97)], and among both genders, being normal/overweigth status (compared to obese) and blood pressure <120/80 mmHg were associated with a lower risk for hypertension. Additionally, in both gender, a 1-point increase in the number of global ICVHM decreased the risk of hypertension by more than 10%, and having ≥5 vs. <2 ICVHM, were associated with a lower risk of hypertension by 30% (all p values < 0.05). Applying the JNC 7 guideline, the association between ICVHM, with incident hypertension, were generally similar. Having a higher number of ICVHM was associated with a lower risk of incident hypertension, using both 2017 ACC/AHA and JNC 7 guidelines, mostly attributable to keeping the ideal status of body mass index, non-HDL-C, and FPG., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.)

Background: Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) is an enzyme whose activity became the principal biomarker for liver disease. In the current study, we aimed to determine the prevalence of abnormal ALT, as a surrogate of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and its associated determinants using different criteria among Tehranian subjects between 2018 and 2022., Methods: This is a cross-sectional study on 5676 Tehranian individuals aged 20-70 years. The weighted prevalence of abnormal ALT was calculated using both the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in the United States (US-NHANCE; ALT ≥30 U/L for females and ≥40 U/L for males) and the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) guideline (ALT >25 U/L for females, and >33 U/L for males) thresholds. Moreover, uni/multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to find the determinants of abnormal ALT., Results: The weighted prevalence of abnormal ALT was 12.8% (7.6% females and 18% males) and 22.5% (17.7% females and 27.3% males) based on US-NHANCE and ACG criteria, respectively. Our results showed every decade increase in age decreased the risk of abnormal ALT by 32%. We also found that generally male gender, being overweight/obese, central adiposity, TG ≥6.9 mmol/L, non-HDL-C ≥3.37 mmol/L, lipid-lowering medications, pre-diabetes/T2DM were associated with abnormal ALT using different cutoff points. Moreover, among men resting tachycardia (≥90 beats per min), hypertension, and females past-smoker were also found as other determinants of abnormal ALT., Conclusion: High prevalence of abnormal ALT among non-elderly Iranian adults, especially among men, necessitates immediate multifaceted strategies by policymakers to prevent potential complications caused by NAFLD., (© 2023 The Authors. Journal of Clinical Laboratory Analysis published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Objectives: To evaluate the associations of cardiovascular disease (CVD) outcomes with elevated blood pressure (BP), stage I of isolated systolic hypertension (ISH), isolated diastolic hypertension (IDH), and systolic diastolic hypertension (SDH), defined by 2017 ACC/AHA guidelines among the Tehranian adult population., Method: We enrolled 7068 residents of Tehran (district No. 13) aged at least 30 years, who were free of CVD and not taking antihypertensive medications at baseline. Participants were categorized into eight categories: normal BP (reference group), elevated BP, stage I IDH, stage I ISH, stage I SDH, and all stage II phenotypes. Significant interactions were found between age groups (<60 versus ≥60 years) and BP categories (P value: 0.017); hence, the analysis was performed in each age group, separately. We used multivariable Cox proportional regression analysis to evaluate the association of different BP categories with incident CVD., Results: During 18years of follow-up, 1053 CVD events occurred. In the younger group, stage I of IDH and SDH were associated with increased CVD risk with hazard ratios (HRs) of 1.23 (95% confidence interval: 0.99-1.52) and 1.42 (1.04-1.94), respectively. In the older group, stage I of IDH had a lower risk for coronary heart disease (CHD) [HR 0.53 (0.29-0.96)]. As a sensitivity analysis, among high CVD risk individuals (10-year risk ≥10%), we found a higher risk for CVD among those with elevated BP and stage I of SDH. For individuals with 10-year risk less than 10%, all BP parameters, except stage I of IDH, were associated with increased CVD risk. Although there was no significant interaction between sex and BP categories, elevated BP and stage I of SDH significantly increased the risk of CVD only among men., Conclusion: Age is an important potential modifier in the association between stage I of hypertension and CVD/CHD risk. Stage I of IDH was not an alarming status for CVD development, whether the participants had a high CVD risk or not., (Copyright © 2022 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: In 2013 American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association released a guideline on the management of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) including a composite of death from CVD, non-fatal myocardial infarction, or non-fatal stroke (hard CVD). This guideline recommended a risk score that was calculated using pooled cohort equations (ASCVD-PCE). The guideline was updated in 2018/2019 and further risk discussion was suggested for deciding whether to continue or initiate statin therapy among non-diabetic individuals with ASCVD-PCE score ranged 5-20%. They recommended a risk discussion with considering risk enhancing factors (ASCVD-REFs) including family history of premature CVD, chronic kidney disease, triglycerides ≥ 175 mg/dl, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) ≥ 160 mg/dl, metabolic syndrome (Mets), and for women premature menopause, and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP). In the current study, we aimed to examine the predictability of recommended ASCVD-REFs on incident hard CVD in non-diabetic individuals with LDL-C 70-189 mg/dl, with ASCVD-PCE risk 5-20% during 10 and 15-year follow-up., Methods: Among a total of 3546 non-diabetic individuals aged 40-75 years, after excluding those with ASCVD-PCE score < 5% and ≥ 20% (n = 2342), 1204 individuals (women = 332) were included. The univariable and multivariable (further adjusted for ASCVD-PCE) Cox regression analysis were used to evaluate the association of each potential ASCVD-REFs with hard CVD. Additionnaly, the role of different components of Mets and a history of gestational diabetes (GDM)/macrosomia was also examined. The predictive ability of each significant ASCVD-REFs, then was evaluated by the discrimination accuracy and risk reclassification index., Results: During the 10-year follow-up, 73 hard CVD events occurred. Although in univariable analysis, high blood pressure (BP) component of Mets, GDM/macrosomia, and HDP remained as significant ASCVD-REFs, in the multivariable analysis, only the history of HDP (5.35 (1.22-23.38)) and GDM/macrosomia (3.18 (1.05-9.65)) showed independent risks. During the 15-year follow-up, Mets (1.47 (1.05-2.06)) and its components of high waist circumference (1.40 (1.0-1.95)) and high BP (1.52 (1.07-2.15)) significantly increased the risk. These ASCVD-REFs did not improve discrimination or predictive ability., Conclusions: In a decade follow-up, only conditions specific for women and in longer follow-up, the presence of Mets perse, and its components of high WC and high BP were shown as significant ASCVD-REFs.

Aims: The aim of this study is to assess the American Diabetes Association (ADA) risk score as a self-assessment screening tool for undiagnosed type 2 diabetes (T2DM) in Iran., Methods: In a national survey of risk factors for non-communicable diseases, we included 3458 Iranian adults. The discrimination and validity were assessed using the area under the curve (AUC), sensitivity, specificity, Youden's index, positive and negative predictive values (PPV and NPV). The frequency of high-risk Iranian population who need a glucose test and those who need intervention were also estimated., Results: The AUC was 73.7% and the suggested ADA score of ≥5 yielded a sensitivity of 51.6%, specificity 82.4%, NPV 98.3%, and PPV 7.9%. This threshold results in classifying 18.6% of the Iranians, equals to 8.5 million, as high-risk and 1.5% of the population, about 700,000, would need intervention. However, our study suggested score ≥4 that identified 34% of the population as high-risk and 2% of the population would need intervention., Conclusion: Our findings support the ADA suggested threshold for identifying high-risk individuals for undiagnosed T2DM; however, a lower threshold is also recommended for higher sensitivity. The ADA screening tool could help the public health system for low-cost screening., (Copyright © 2020 Primary Care Diabetes Europe. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: The ACC/AHA released a new guideline on the assessment of cardiovascular risk and management of hypercholesterolemia that some controversy exists concerning its usefulness. We examined the clinical usefulness of this guideline in a high incidence population using novel measures., Methods: First, we validated the new risk equation in a cohort of 2372 men and 2781 women aged 40-75 years. Then, high risk individuals for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) were identified according to the ACC/AHA guideline at baseline (as a predictor) and CVD outcomes were detected during a 10-year follow-up. Discrimination of the guideline was quantified and the quality of decisions was evaluated by Net Benefit Fraction index considering the harm, for false-positive, and benefit, for true-positive predictions. Finally, net number needed to treat (NNT) for statin was estimated, using test tradeoff index, in diabetic and non-diabetic subjects., Results: During follow-up, 726 CVD events including 298 hard CVDs occurred. The equation overestimated the risk by 57% in men and 48% in women. Based on the guideline, 73% of men and 44% of women were eligible for statin therapy. The lowest sensitivity was detected for intensive treatment in non-diabetic subgroups (82% in men and 41% in women; corresponding specificity, 52% and 90% respectively). The guideline had a significant net benefit for both moderate and intensive treatment, which resulted in estimated NNTs ranged 5-55; however, net benefit of intensive therapy was uncertain in non-diabetic women., Conclusions: We objectively showed that the ACC/AHA recommendations could be useful in our population but with some overtreatment in women., (Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.)

Background and Objectives: To improve cardiovascular (CV) health of American population, the American Heart Association (AHA) developed definitions of ideal, intermediate, and poor CV health based on 7 accessible health metrics. The applicability of this construct and the distribution of its components in the community-based populations in the Middle East region have not been reported., Design and Settings: A prospective population-based cohort study conducted from 1999 to 2011., Methods: We used data from phase 4 of Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study (2009-2011) (2861 women and 2004 men, aged >= 20 years) to estimate the frequency of CV health levels (ideal, intermediate, and poor) in adults of both genders, and the frequency of each metric at each level of CV health. The median or mean of each CV health metric was also estimated in the whole spectrum of CV health in all subgroups., Results: Only 1 adult participant met all 7 ideal CV health metrics; 25.01% of women and 26% of men had intermediate CV health; 74.8% of women and 74% of men exhibited poor CV health. Only 19.7% of women and 10.3% of men had 5 or more ideal CV health metrics. Nonsmoking was the most frequent ideal health behavior. A total of 89.6% of participants had 1 or 2 ideal CV health behaviors. Ideal smoking and fasting plasma glucose had the highest frequency of CV health factors among others., Conclusion: The frequency of ideal CV health was extremely low in this cohort of adults. The frequency of intermediate CV health was also low, and it may be significantly lower in the general population.

With the imminent threat of a global health crisis of obesity and diabetes or "diabesity" as it is referred to today, healthcare professionals urgently need an effective range of treatment options for management of these two epidemics. After many decades in obscurity, bariatric surgery has emerged as an impressive treatment of obesity and type 2 diabetes. The field of bariatric surgery has seen a rapid evolution over the last 30 years and current procedures are safe, effective, less invasive, and relatively cost- effective. Bariatric procedures produce durable weight loss, long -term remission of type 2 diabetes, and beneficial effects on other comorbidities; they lead to a significant reduction in mortality in the long term. The adverse events after surgery are not uncommon but in majority of cases are not fatal. Bariatric surgery is costly, but cost-efficacy analysis consistently shows that the additional years of lives gained through bariatric surgery can be obtained at a reasonable and affordable cost. However, universal surgical treatment of obesity is not achievable with the world's current healthcare and surgical resources. The conclusion of this review is that although bariatric surgery is a good addition to management of obesity and diabetes, these epidemics must be addressed by more comprehensive and long-term health policy efforts and appropriate research to determine the most effective ways of prevention and nonsurgical alternatives to treat obesity and type 2 diabetes.