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Introducción: la artritis reumatoide (AR) es una enfermedad crónica inflamatoria, con diversas complicaciones principalmente de tipo cardiovascular, siendo una de las causas más comunes de muerte en estos pacientes, con un riesgo dos veces superior de infarto de miocardio comparado con la población en general. Existen escalas de riesgo cardiovascular (RCV) útiles para la población general, sin embargo, no aptas para pacientes con AR, ya que subestiman este RCV. Objetivo: analizar el RCV mediante la Escala Framingham y las recomendaciones de la Liga Europea contra las Enfermedades Reumáticas EULAR 2015/2016. Metodología: Estudio observacional analítico retrospectivo transversal una muestra de 74 pacientes. Resultados: se obtuvo una muestra compuesta mayormente por mujeres, con sobrepeso. La hipertensión arterial, el colesterol disminuido y la positividad del factor reumatoide, resultaron los factores de RCV más prevalentes. La escala Framingham clasificó a la mayor parte de la población dentro de RCV bajo, mientras que el RCV modificado por EULAR como RCV alto. La hipertensión resultó la variable con correlación positiva en la estadificación del RCV modificado por EULAR. El análisis del riesgo cardiovascular por Framingham se situó mayormente en RCV bajo, mientras que el RCV modificado por EULAR clasificó a la mayor parte de la población dentro de un riesgo cardiovascular alto. Conclusiones: se encontraron elevadas tasas de factores de riesgo cardiovascular tradicionales y propios de AR, donde tratamiento antihipertensivo, niveles de colesterol disminuidos y factor reumatoide positivo resultaron los más prevalentes.

Objective: Accurate measurement of QT interval, the ventricular action potential from depolarization to repolarization, is important for the early detection of Long QT syndrome. The most effective QT correction (QTc) formula has yet to be determined in the pediatric population, although it has intrinsically greater extremes in heart rate (HR) and is more susceptible to errors in measurement. The authors of this study compare six different QTc methods (Bazett, Fridericia, Framingham, Hodges, Rautaharju, and a computer algorithm utilizing the Bazett formula) for consistency against variations in HR and RR interval. Methods: Descriptive Retrospective Study. We included participants from a pediatric cardiology practice of a community hospital who had an ECG performed in 2017. All participants were healthy patients with no past medical history and no regular medications. Results: ECGs from 95 participants from one month to 21 years of age (mean 9.7 years) were included with a mean HR of 91 beats per minute (bpm). The two-sample paired t-test or Wilcoxon signed-rank test assessed for any difference between QTc methods. A statistically significant difference was observed between every combination of two QTc formulae. The Spearman's rank correlation analysis explored the QTc/HR and QTc/RR relationships for each formula. Fridericia method was most independent of HR and RR with the lowest absolute value of correlation coefficients. Bazett and Computer had moderate correlations, while Framingham and Rautaharju exhibited strong correlations. Correlations were positive for Bazett and Computer, reflecting results from prior studies demonstrating an over-correction of Bazett at higher HRs. In the linear QTc/HR regression analysis, Bazett had the slope closest to zero, although Computer, Hodges, and Fridericia had comparable values. Alternatively, Fridericia had the linear QTc/RR regression coefficient closest to zero. The Bland-Altman method assessed for bias and the limits of agreement between correction formulae. Bazett and Computer exhibited good agreement with minimal bias along with Framingham and Rautaharju. To account for a possible skewed distribution of QT, all the above analyses were also performed excluding the top and bottom 2% of data as sorted by heart rate ranges (N = 90). Results from this data set were consistent with those derived from all participants (N = 95). Conclusions: Overall, the Fridericia correction method provided the best rate correction in our pediatric study cohort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Background: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are a major global health concern, causing significant morbidity and mortality. A joint report by the Harvard School of Public Health and World Economic Forum highlights a substantial economic burden of $47 trillion due to CVD from 2010-2030. Predictions suggest 23.6 million deaths from CVD by 2030. Identifying individuals at CVD risk is crucial for prevention. The Framingham Risk Score (FRS) is a key tool for estimating 10-year CVD risk. Objective: To estimate the ten-year risk of developing cardiovascular disease using Framingham heart risk assessment score. Methodology: In the period from January to July 2023, a cross-sectional study spanning six months was conducted at the Community Medicine OPD of LLRM Medical College, Meerut. Adult residents were interviewed, and data, comprising anthropometric measurements and blood investigations (fasting blood sugar and lipid profile), were gathered using a pretested semi-structured questionnaire. The Framingham Risk Score, a gender-specific algorithm, was employed to assess the 10-year cardiovascular risk for each individual. Results: Among 298 participants, 13.3% had an intermediate risk, and 4.2% had a high risk of cardiovascular disease in the next 10 years. Higher prevalence of intermediate and high risk was observed in males. Urban adults exhibited prevalent cardiovascular risk factors, projecting a 2.8% high-risk prediction. Conclusion: In this study, males exhibited a higher prevalence of intermediate and high risk than females. The projected high-risk prediction for CVD in the next 10 years among participants was 2.8%.

Background: Currently available treatment options for Parkinson's disease are symptomatic and do not alter the course of the disease. Recent studies have raised the possibility that cardiovascular risk management may slow the progression of the disease. Objectives: We estimated the effect of baseline cardiovascular risk factors on the progression of Parkinson's disease, using measures for PD-specific motor signs and cognitive functions. Methods: We used data from 424 de novo Parkinson's disease patients and 199 age-matched controls from the observational, multicenter Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI) study, which included follow-up of up to 9 years. The primary outcome was the severity of PD-specific motor signs, assessed with the MDS-UPDRS part III in the "OFF"-state. The secondary outcome was cognitive function, measured with the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, Symbol Digit Modalities Test, and Letter-Number Sequencing task. Exposures of interest were diabetes mellitus, hypertension, body mass index, cardiovascular event history and hypercholesterolemia, and a modified Framingham risk score, measured at baseline. The effect of each of these exposures on disease progression was modeled using linear mixed models, including adjustment for identified confounders. A secondary analysis on the Tracking Parkinson's cohort including 1,841 patients was performed to validate our findings in an independent patient cohort. Results: Mean age was 61.4 years, and the average follow-up was 5.5 years. We found no statistically significant effect of any individual cardiovascular risk factor on the MDS-UPDRS part III progression (all 95% confidence intervals (CIs) included zero), with one exception: in the PD group, the estimated effect of a one-point increase in body mass index was 0.059 points on the MDS-UPDRS part III per year (95% CI: 0.017 to 0.102). We found no evidence for an effect of any of the exposures on the rate of change in cognitive functioning in the PD group. Similar results were observed for the Tracking Parkinson's cohort (all 95% CIs overlapped with PPMI), but the 95% CI of the effect of body mass index on the MDS-UPDRS part III progression included zero. Conclusions: Based on this analysis of two large cohorts of de novo PD patients, we found no evidence to support clinically relevant effects of cardiovascular risk factors on the clinical progression of Parkinson's disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background A parental history of cardiovascular disease (CVD) confers greater risk of future CVD among offspring. Whether the presence of parental modifiable risk factors contribute to or modify CVD risk in offspring is unclear. Methods and Results We studied 6278 parent–child trios in the multigenerational longitudinal Framingham Heart Study. We assessed parental history of CVD and modifiable risk factors (smoking, hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and hyperlipidemia). Multivariable Cox models were used to evaluate the association of parental history and future CVD among offspring. Among 6278 individuals (mean age 45±11 years), 44% had at least 1 parent with history of CVD. Over a median follow‐up of 15 years, 353 major CVD events occurred among offspring. Parental history of CVD conferred 1.7‐fold increased hazard of future CVD (hazard ratio [HR], 1.71 [95% CI, 1.33–2.21]). Parental obesity and smoking status were associated with higher hazard of future CVD (obesity: HR, 1.32 [95% CI, 1.06–1.64]; smoking: HR, 1.34 [95% CI, 1.07–1.68], attenuated after adjusting for offspring smoking status). By contrast, parental history of hypertension, diabetes, and hypercholesterolemia were not associated with future CVD in offspring (P>0.05 for all). Furthermore, parental risk factors did not modify the association of parental CVD history on future offspring CVD risk. Conclusions Parental history of obesity and smoking were associated with a higher hazard of future CVD in offspring. By contrast, other parental modifiable risk factors did not alter offspring CVD risk. In addition to parental CVD, the presence of parental obesity should prompt a focus on disease prevention.

In the last decade, heart diseases have become the leading cause of deaths in the world. Various risk factors associated with heart disease include age, gender, cholesterol levels, blood pressure, glucose levels, chest pain, obesity, stress, family history, etc. with the help of which heart diseases can be predicted in any patient. In the past decade or so various efforts have been made by the researchers for effective prediction of various heart diseases. In this paper, a novel ensemble deep learning model has been proposed for efficient prediction of coronary heart disease. The dataset used for this purpose is collected from the Framingham heart disease database. Different performance evaluation metrics including precision, accuracy, recall and f1-score are being used for evaluating the performance of the proposed model. As per the experimental results, the proposed ensemble model outperformed most of the conventional machine learning techniques in terms of accuracy, precision, recall and f1 score for coronary heart disease prediction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, heart disease is the major cause of deaths globally. According to a survey conducted by the World Health Organization, almost 18 million people die of heart diseases (or cardiovascular diseases) every day. So, there should be a system for early detection and prevention of heart disease. Detection of heart disease mostly depends on the huge pathological and clinical data that is quite complex. So, researchers and other medical professionals are showing keen interest in accurate prediction of heart disease. Heart disease is a general term for a large number of medical conditions related to heart and one of them is the coronary heart disease (CHD). Coronary heart disease is caused by the amassing of plaque on the artery walls. In this paper, various machine learning base and ensemble classifiers have been applied on heart disease dataset for efficient prediction of coronary heart disease. Various machine learning classifiers that have been employed include k-nearest neighbor, multilayer perceptron, multinomial naïve bayes, logistic regression, decision tree, random forest and support vector machine classifiers. Ensemble classifiers that have been used include majority voting, weighted average, bagging and boosting classifiers. The dataset used in this study is obtained from the Framingham Heart Study which is a long-term, ongoing cardiovascular study of people from the Framingham city in Massachusetts, USA. To evaluate the performance of the classifiers, various evaluation metrics including accuracy, precision, recall and f1 score have been used. According to our results, the best accuracy was achieved by logistic regression, random forest, majority voting, weighted average and bagging classifiers but the highest accuracy among these was achieved using weighted average ensemble classifier.

Abstract Aims Sleep apnoea and congestive heart failure (CHF) commonly co‐exist, but their interaction is unclear. Metabolomics may clarify their interaction and relationships to outcome. Methods and results We assayed 372 circulating metabolites and lipids in 1919 and 1524 participants of the Framingham Heart Study (FHS) (mean age 54 ± 10 years, 53% women) and Women's Health Initiative (WHI) (mean age 67 ± 7 years), respectively. We used linear and Cox regression to relate plasma concentrations of metabolites and lipids to echocardiographic parameters; CHF and its subtypes heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF); and sleep indices. Adenine dinucleotide phosphate (ADP) associated with left ventricular (LV) fractional shortening; phosphocreatine with LV wall thickness; lysosomal storage molecule sphingomyelin 18:2 with LV mass; and nicotine metabolite cotinine with time spent with an oxygen saturation less than 90% (β = 2.3 min, P = 2.3 × 10−5). Pro‐hypertrophic metabolite hydroxyglutarate partly mediated the association between LV wall thickness and HFpEF. Central sleep apnoea was significantly associated with HFpEF (P = 0.03) but not HFrEF (P = 0.5). There were three significant metabolite canonical variates, one of which conferred protection from cardiovascular death [hazard ratio = 0.3 (0.11, 0.81), P = 0.02]. Conclusions Energetic metabolites were associated with cardiac function; energy‐ and lipid‐storage metabolites with LV wall thickness and mass; plasma levels of nicotine metabolite cotinine were associated with increased time spent with a sleep oxygen saturation less than 90%, a clinically significant marker of outcome, indicating a significant hazard for smokers who have sleep apnoea.

Copyright of Hypertonia és Nephrologia is the property of LifeTime Media Kft. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: The Framingham Risk Score (FRS) and Pooled Cohort Equations (PCEs) overestimate risk in many contemporary cohorts.Objectives: This study sought to determine if recalibration of these scores using contemporary population-level data improves risk stratification for statin therapy.Methods: Five-year FRS and PCEs were recalibrated using a cohort of Ontario residents alive January 1, 2011, who were 30 to 79 years of age without cardiovascular disease. Scores were externally validated in a primary care cohort of routinely collected electronic medical record data from January 1, 2010, to December 31, 2014. The relative difference in mean predicted and observed risk, number of statins avoided, and number needed to treat with statins to reduce a cardiovascular event at 5 years were reported.Results: The FRS was recalibrated in 6,938,971 Ontario residents (51.6% women, mean age 48 years) and validated in 71,450 individuals (56.1% women, mean age 52 years). Recalibration reduced overestimation from 109% to 49% for women and 131% to 32% for men. The recalibrated FRS was estimated to reduce statin prescriptions in up to 26 per 1,000 low-risk women and 80 per 1,000 low-risk men, as well as reduce the number needed to treat from 61 to 47 in women and from 53 to 41 in men. In contrast, after recalibration of the PCEs, risk remained overestimated by 217% in women and 128% in men.Conclusions: Recalibration is a feasible solution to improve risk prediction but is dependent on the model being used. Recalibration of the FRS but not the PCEs reduced overestimation and may improve utilization of statins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: The aim of this study was to assess the performance of the Framingham, UK Prospective Diabetes Study (UKPDS)[1], and the Action in Diabetes and Vascular disease: Preterax and Diamicron-MR Controlled Evaluation (ADVANCE)[2] risk equations in prediction of 4-year cardiovascular events in an Iranian people with type 2 diabetes. Methods: The 4-year risks of cardiovascular disease (CVD)[3] were estimated using the three equations in a community of 557 patients with type 2 diabetes and free of CVD at baseline. A trained physician evaluated all of the participants regarding occurrence of CVD event during follow up. CVD was defined as major events including fatal/ non-fatal myocardial infarction as well as fatal/non-fatal stroke, minor events including treated coronary heart disease (CHD)[4], and established peripheral arterial disease (PAD)[5]. Results: During 4 years of follow-up, 64 CVD events were observed (66% minor CVD events). Despite having a good calibration (estimated to observed ratio ranging from 91.37 to 98.2 percent, Hosmer–Lemeshow χ2 (HLχ2)[6] values

Abstract Background Although it is well established that MIBI does not redistribute as thallium within the myocardium, it showed a reverse redistribution phenomenon that can be expressed by the rate of myocardial MIBI washout. The aim in this study was calculating the global myocardial washout of the MIBI (GWR) in patients diagnosed with coronary artery disease (CAD) of different risk stratifications. Results This prospective study included 100 patients. All patients were stratified into low-, intermediate-, and high-risk groups according to clinical evaluation using Framingham score, stress ECG results using Duke’s score and finally myocardial perfusion imaging prognostic findings. GWR was estimated in each of these groups. GWR mean was 9.5%, 13%, and 18% within clinically stratified patients into low-, intermediate-, and high-risk patients respectively with correlation coefficient 0.4. In addition, GWR mean was 9.7%, 15.4%, and 18.7% within patients stratified according to exercise ECG findings into low-, intermediate-, and high-risk patients respectively with correlation coefficient 0.6. Combining all myocardial perfusion findings, GWR mean was 7.9%, 15.1%, and 19.3% in patient with low-, intermediate-, and high-risk imaging findings respectively with correlation coefficient 0.71. Conclusion GWR is positively correlated with the risk stratifications of the CAD patients. GWR can be used as an additional parameter to assess the risk of CAD patients.

Background Vascular function is compromised in Alzheimer disease (AD) years before amyloid and tau pathology are detected and a substantial body of work shows abnormal platelet activation states in patients with AD. The aim of our study was to investigate whether platelet function in middle age is independently associated with future risk of AD. Methods and Results We examined associations of baseline platelet function with incident dementia risk in the community‐based FHS (Framingham Heart Study) longitudinal cohorts. The association between platelet function and risk of dementia was evaluated using the cumulative incidence function and inverse probability weighted Cox proportional cause‐specific hazards regression models, with adjustment for demographic and clinical covariates. Platelet aggregation response was measured by light transmission aggregometry. The final study sample included 1847 FHS participants (average age, 53.0 years; 57.5% women). During follow‐up (median, 20.5 years), we observed 154 cases of incident dementia, of which 121 were AD cases. Results from weighted models indicated that platelet aggregation response to adenosine diphosphate 1.0 µmol/L was independently and positively associated with dementia risk, and it was preceded in importance only by age and hypertension. Sensitivity analyses showed associations with the same directionality for participants defined as adenosine diphosphate hyper‐responders, as well as the platelet response to 0.1 µmol/L epinephrine. Conclusions Our study shows individuals free of antiplatelet therapy with a higher platelet response are at higher risk of dementia in late life during a 20‐year follow‐up, reinforcing the role of platelet function in AD risk. This suggests that platelet phenotypes may be associated with the rate of dementia and potentially have prognostic value.

William Kannel and the Framingham Study

BackgroundThe increased risk of stroke and cognitive impairment associated with atrial fibrillation (AF) is well documented. However, there is a paucity of research investigating the relations between AF and brain morphology.ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to investigate the association between AF and brain volume measures on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).MethodsThe study sample included stroke- and dementia-free participants who attended the Framingham Heart Study offspring cohort 7th examination cycle (1999-2005) and underwent contemporaneous MRI. We examined the association between prevalent AF and brain volume measures (total cerebral volume, frontal lobe volume, temporal lobe volume, temporal horn volume, hippocampal volume, and white matter hyperintensity volume) with linear regression. We first adjusted models for age and sex, and then for vascular risk factors and APOE4.ResultsWe studied 2144 individuals (mean age 61.8 ± 9.3 years; 54% women); 73 participants (3.4%) had prevalent AF at the time of MRI. In age- and sex-adjusted models, AF was inversely associated with total cerebral brain volume, frontal brain volume, and temporal brain volume. After further adjustment for vascular risk factors and APOE4, AF remained associated with frontal brain volume.ConclusionAfter accounting for vascular risk factor burden, prevalent AF was associated with lobar indexes of vascular brain aging but not with expected white matter changes.

Copyright of Ciencia e Innovación en Salud is the property of Universidad Simon Bolivar (USB) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Aims: Sleep apnoea and congestive heart failure (CHF) commonly co‐exist, but their interaction is unclear. Metabolomics may clarify their interaction and relationships to outcome. Methods and results: We assayed 372 circulating metabolites and lipids in 1919 and 1524 participants of the Framingham Heart Study (FHS) (mean age 54 ± 10 years, 53% women) and Women's Health Initiative (WHI) (mean age 67 ± 7 years), respectively. We used linear and Cox regression to relate plasma concentrations of metabolites and lipids to echocardiographic parameters; CHF and its subtypes heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF); and sleep indices. Adenine dinucleotide phosphate (ADP) associated with left ventricular (LV) fractional shortening; phosphocreatine with LV wall thickness; lysosomal storage molecule sphingomyelin 18:2 with LV mass; and nicotine metabolite cotinine with time spent with an oxygen saturation less than 90% (β = 2.3 min, P = 2.3 × 10−5). Pro‐hypertrophic metabolite hydroxyglutarate partly mediated the association between LV wall thickness and HFpEF. Central sleep apnoea was significantly associated with HFpEF (P = 0.03) but not HFrEF (P = 0.5). There were three significant metabolite canonical variates, one of which conferred protection from cardiovascular death [hazard ratio = 0.3 (0.11, 0.81), P = 0.02]. Conclusions: Energetic metabolites were associated with cardiac function; energy‐ and lipid‐storage metabolites with LV wall thickness and mass; plasma levels of nicotine metabolite cotinine were associated with increased time spent with a sleep oxygen saturation less than 90%, a clinically significant marker of outcome, indicating a significant hazard for smokers who have sleep apnoea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Primary prevention guidelines recommend the use of the Framingham risk score (FRS) to estimate the 10-year coronary heart disease (CHD) risk in patients without diabetes for statin eligibility. However, the FRS model has never been validated in an Arab population. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the clinical performance of the FRS model for predicting 10-year CHD risk in adult United Arab Emirates (UAE) nationals without diabetes. Methods This 10-year retrospective cohort study included patients from the primary care clinics and outpatient specialty departments of a large tertiary care hospital in Al-Ain, UAE. They were aged 30–79 without a baseline history of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. The FRS for each subject was calculated. Follow-up data on hard CHD (hCHD) events (myocardial infarction or coronary death) for each participant were collected from the baseline visit in 2008 until December 31, 2019. The area under the time-dependent receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUROC) was used to assess the FRS model discrimination. Calibration was measured by using the Hosmer-Lemeshow χ2 test and the calibration curve. The optimal cutoff-point for hCHD risk prediction was determined by ROC curve analysis. Results A total of 554 participants were included. The mean age was 48.0 ± 12.8 years and 45% were men. The mean predicted FRS of the study cohort was 5.2% and approximately 7% were classified as high-risk (≥ 20% threshold) by the FRS model. During a median follow-up of 10.2 years (interquartile range, 7.8–11.0 years), 26 hCHD events occurred. The FRS model displayed reasonably good discrimination (time-dependent AUROC value: 0.83) and calibration in predicting hCHD (Hosmer-Lemeshow χ2 statistic 11.2, P = 0.191). Applying the 20% high-risk threshold, the FRS model had a sensitivity of only 37% in identifying patients at high-risk for an hCHD event over 10 years. While a 7.5% optimal cutoff-point improved the sensitivity to 74%. Conclusions The FRS can be used in the prediction of coronary risk among UAE nationals without diabetes, however, the recommended hCHD risk threshold for statin eligibility may be too high. Lowering the cutoff-point to 7.5% could improve the identification of patients for preventive treatment.

Background Limited and conflicting evidence is available regarding the predictive value of adding adverse pregnancy outcomes (APOs) to established cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors. Hence, the objective of this study was to determine whether adding APOs to the Framingham risk score improves the prediction of CVD events in women. Methods and Results Out of 5413 women who participated in the Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study, 4013 women met the eligibility criteria included for the present study. The exposure and the outcome variables were collected based on the standard protocol. Cox proportional hazard model was used to evaluate the association of APOs and CVDs. The variant of C‐statistic for survivals and reclassification of subjects into Framingham risk score categories after adding APOs was reported. Out of the 4013 eligible subjects, a total of 1484 (36.98%) women reported 1 APO, while 395 (9.84%) of the cases reported multiple APOs. Univariate proportional hazard Cox models showed the significant relations between CVD events and APOs. The enhanced model had a higher C‐statistic indicating more acceptable discrimination as well as a slight improvement in discrimination (C‐statistic differences: 0.0053). Moreover, we observed a greater risk of experiencing a CVD event in women with a history of multiple APOs compared with cases with only 1 APO (1 APO: hazard ratio [HR] = 1.22; 2 APOs: HR; 1.94; ≥3 APOs: HR = 2.48). Conclusions Beyond the established risk factors, re‐estimated CVDs risk by adding APOs to the Framingham risk score may improve the accurate risk estimation of CVD. Further observational studies are needed to confirm our findings.

Objective: Mexican-Americans have a higher prevalence of modifiable cardiovascular risk factors as compared to Non-Hispanic whites. This study aims to elucidate the utility of the Framingham Cardiovascular Disease Risk Score (FCVDRS) as a predictor of cognitive performance on a cohort of Mexican Americans elders. Participants and Setting: 429 Mexican-Americans (338 female and 91 male) from a longitudinal study conducted at The University of North Texas Health Science Center were studied. Main outcome measures: Demographic and clinical data relevant to Framingham Cardiovascular Disease 10-year Risk Score (FCVDRS) were assessed. FCVDRS was calculated based on Body Mass Index (BMI) and categorized as Low if 20. Cognitive performance on Trails B, Wechsler Logical Memory I and II, Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), and Animal Naming (AN) tests. Demographic data was analyzed using t-tests and chi-square tests as appropriate. Pearson correlation tests and ANOVAs were used to compare FCVDRS, as a continuous variable and as a categorical variable, against cognitive performance. Results: Both Pearson correlation tests and linear regression analysis, showed significant correlations between FCVDRS and performance on 4 of the 8 measures of cognitive performance. ANOVAs with Post-Hoc analysis also showed that the difference in cognitive performance was more pronounced between groups with greater differences in FCVDRS. In all analyses, the strength of the relationship was stronger in females. Conclusion: The results show that FCDVRS has high predictive utility in measures of cognitive function. Gender specific analysis between FCVDRS and cognitive performance indicate a stronger association in females.

Objectives: (1) To describe and compare cardiovascular and cardiometabolic disease risk scores using three existing risk calculators: Framingham Risk Score (FRS), American Heart Association (AHA) and Metabolic Syndrome Severity Score (MSSS) in Veterans with spinal cord injury and disorders (SCI/D); (2) To examine level of agreement between risk scores derived from three different risk scoring systems; and (3) To investigate whether the agreement among these methods is different for Veterans with Tetraplegia versus Paraplegia., Design: Retrospective chart review., Methods: Electronic medical records of 194 Veterans with SCI/D who were seen at the VAPAHCS SCI/D Center between August 2004 and June 2022 were reviewed. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk scores (FRS and AHA) along with a Metabolic Syndrome Severity Score (MSSS) were computed using web-based calculators., Results: Moderate agreement between CVD risk scores (FRS and AHA) was observed; however, the agreement was poor between MSSS and both AHA and FRS. No differences were observed between the paraplegia and tetraplegia cohorts. From the AHA risk score, more than half the study population was found to be at high risk while less than half was considered high risk from the FRS and MSSS scores., Conclusions: Given the moderate association between AHA and FRS scores along with considerable variation in risk predictors, CVD risk prediction assessment tools should be interpreted cautiously in the SCI population. SCI-related clinical biomarkers and other clinically relevant risk factors should be taken into consideration to optimize risk estimation in persons with SCI/D.

Background: In the last years cardiovascular risk has decreased in grown adults and elderly while it seems to be rising among young adults., Objective: to assess the 10-year cardiovascular risk (CVR) in young healthcare professionals at the teaching hospital in Rome, using two scores, and identify possible determinants in order to design and implement preventive strategies., Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out between January 2019 and July 2020. Participants underwent medical history collection, physical examination, and blood tests. CVR was calculated using CUORE and Framingham Risk Scores. A multiple linear regression analysis was conducted having the scores as dependent variables. Diagnostic tests were used for checking model assumptions., Results: The study was carried out including 525 participants, 58.5% physicians and 32.1% nurses. Multivariate analysis was carried out only for men, since the pp plot for the whole population and for females for the dependent variables showed some evidence of non-normality, and the residual plot shows variance of the residuals was not constant across the range of fitted values. CVR, using the Framingham equation, directly correlated with age (β = 0.260; p < 0.001). Using the CUORE score, qualification as a physician (p < 0.001) is associated with a lower risk of having a CVR, while age (p < 0.001) is directly proportional to this risk., Conclusions: Increasing age consistently emerges as a prominent factor, positively influencing both the Framingham risk score and CUORE score, but this association was found only for men. Being a doctor is a protective factor for the CUORE score.

[Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Active neutrophils are important contributors to Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology through the formation of capillary stalls that compromise cerebral blood flow (CBF) and through aberrant neutrophil signaling that advances disease progression. The neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is a proxy of neutrophil-mediated inflammation, and higher NLR is found in persons diagnosed with clinical AD. The objective of this study was to investigate whether increased NLR in older adults is independently associated with the risk of subsequent dementia. Methods: We examined associations of baseline NLR with incident dementia risk in the community-based Framingham Heart Study (FHS) longitudinal cohorts. The association between NLR and risk of dementia was evaluated using the cumulative incidence function (CIF) and inverse probability-weighted Cox proportional cause-specific hazards regression models, with adjustment for age, sex, body mass index (BMI), systolic and diastolic blood pressure, diabetes, current smoking status, low-density lipoprotein (LDH), high-density lipoprotein (LDL), total cholesterol, triglycerides, and history of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Random forest survival models were used to evaluate the relative predictive value of the model covariates on dementia risk. Results: The final study sample included 1,648 participants with FHS (average age, 69 years; 56% women). During follow-up (median, 5.9 years), we observed 51 cases of incident dementia, of which 41 were AD cases. Results from weighted models suggested that the NLR was independently associated with incident dementia, and it was preceded in predictive value only by age, history of CVD, and blood pressure at baseline. Conclusion: Our study shows that individuals with higher NLR are at a greater risk of subsequent dementia during a 5.9-year follow-up period. Further evaluating the role of neutrophil-mediated inflammation in AD progression may be warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because people living with HIV (PLWH) have an elevated risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD), prevention of CVD should be integrated in to HIV care. In this study, we compared the agreement between three risk scores and evaluated the indication for statin therapy based on guidelines of the American Heart Association and European AIDS Clinical Society. This study is a cross-sectional, single-center study. All PLWH ≥ 30 years without CVD and statin therapy were consecutively enrolled. Agreement between CVD risk estimates was assessed using Cohen's kappa coefficient. Of 488 PLWH, 41.2% were female with a median age of 47.8 years. D:A:D-R classified the highest proportion of patients in the categories of high/very high risk for CVD (17.8%) compared to SCORE (4.7%) and FRS (13.7%). D:A:D-R and SCORE (κ = 0.11) as well as D:A:D-R and FRS (κ = 0.33) showed poor agreement. Based on different CVD risk equations and guidelines, indication for statin therapy ranged from 34.8% to 92.0% of patients. In conclusion, a high proportion of PLWH is at high risk for CVD likely underestimated by treating physicians. Inconsistencies in the evaluation of CVD risk and primary prophylaxis should be tackled by an interdisciplinary approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to assess the performance of the Framingham, UK Prospective Diabetes Study (UKPDS), and the Action in Diabetes and Vascular disease: Preterax and Diamicron-MR Controlled Evaluation (ADVANCE) risk equations in the prediction of 4-year cardiovascular disease CVD) in Iranian people with type 2 diabetes. The 4-year risks of CVD were estimated using the three equations in a community of 557 patients with type 2 diabetes and free of CVD at baseline. A trained physician evaluated all of the participants regarding the occurrence of CVD events during follow-up. CVD was defined as major events including fatal/non-fatal myocardial infarction as well as fatal/non-fatal stroke, minor events including treated coronary heart disease (CHD), and established peripheral arterial disease (PAD). During four years of followup, 64 CVD events were observed (66% minor CVD events). Despite having a good calibration (estimated to observed ratio ranging from 91.37 to 98.2 percent, Hosmer-Lemeshow χ2 (HLχ2) values <15), both general (Framingham) and diabetes-specific (UKPDS and ADVANCE) equations did not have adequate discriminative ability (Area Under the Curve (AUC) ranging from 0.48 to 0.56). Framingham, UKPDS, and ADVANCE risk equations, regardless of being general or diabetes-specific, could not precisely predict 4-year risk of CVD in Iranian individuals with type 2 diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) occur more often in people living with HIV (PLWH) than in the general population. It has been reported that CVD risk scores developed for the general population underestimate the CVD risk in PLWH. Performances of the Framingham Risk Score (FRS), the Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation (SCORE) and the atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (asCVD) risk score in PLWH were compared with the general population to quantify score‐specific differences in risk prediction. Methods: HIV‐positive outpatients from the HIV‐HEART (HIVH) study (n = 567) were compared with participants from the population‐based Heinz Nixdorf Recall (HNR) study (n ~ 4440) both recruited from the German Ruhr area. During a follow‐up time of around 5 years, the associations between the FRS and incident CVD and peripheral artery disease (CVD_pAD), SCORE and coronary heart disease (CHD), and asCVD and incident CVD were examined using logistic regression. Score performances were assessed by comparing the areas under the curve (AUCs). Results: The mean ages were 52.9 ± 6.7 and 59.1 ± 7.7 years in the HIVH and HNR studies, respectively. There were fewer incident CVD events in the HNR study than in the HIVH study (CVD_pAD: 3.9% vs. 12.1%; CHD: 2.1% vs. 7.8%; CVD: 3.5% vs. 9.9%). Age‐ and sex‐adjusted CVD risk was greater with increasing FRS, SCORE and asCVD in both cohorts, but the scores performed more accurately in the HNR than in HIVH study (AUCs FRS: 0.71 vs. 0.65; SCORE: 0.70 vs. 0.62; asCVD: 0.74 vs. 0.62). Conclusions: Associations between risk scores and future CVD were observed in both cohorts, but the score performances were less reliable in PLWH than in the general population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Active neutrophils are important contributors to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathology through the formation of capillary stalls that compromise cerebral blood flow (CBF) and through aberrant neutrophil signaling that advances disease progression. The neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is a proxy of neutrophil-mediated inflammation, and higher NLR is found in persons diagnosed with clinical AD. The objective of this study was to investigate whether increased NLR in older adults is independently associated with the risk of subsequent dementia.Methods: We examined associations of baseline NLR with incident dementia risk in the community-based Framingham Heart Study (FHS) longitudinal cohorts. The association between NLR and risk of dementia was evaluated using the cumulative incidence function (CIF) and inverse probability-weighted Cox proportional cause-specific hazards regression models, with adjustment for age, sex, body mass index (BMI), systolic and diastolic blood pressure, diabetes, current smoking status, low-density lipoprotein (LDH), high-density lipoprotein (LDL), total cholesterol, triglycerides, and history of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Random forest survival models were used to evaluate the relative predictive value of the model covariates on dementia risk.Results: The final study sample included 1,648 participants with FHS (average age, 69 years; 56% women). During follow-up (median, 5.9 years), we observed 51 cases of incident dementia, of which 41 were AD cases. Results from weighted models suggested that the NLR was independently associated with incident dementia, and it was preceded in predictive value only by age, history of CVD, and blood pressure at baseline.Conclusion: Our study shows that individuals with higher NLR are at a greater risk of subsequent dementia during a 5.9-year follow-up period. Further evaluating the role of neutrophil-mediated inflammation in AD progression may be warranted.

Purpose of Review: To provide the current state of the development and application of cardiovascular disease (CVD) prediction tools in people living with HIV (PLWH). Recent Findings: Several risk prediction models developed on the general population are available to predict CVD risk, the most notable being the US-based pooled cohort equations (PCE), the Framingham risk functions, and the Europe-based SCORE (Systematic COronary Risk Evaluation). In validation studies in cohorts of PLWH, these models generally underestimate CVD risk, especially in individuals who are younger, women, Black race, or predicted to be at low/intermediate risk. An HIV-specific CVD prediction model, the Data Collection on Adverse Events of Anti-HIV Drugs (D:A:D) model, is available, but its performance is modest, especially in US-based cohorts. Enhancing CVD prediction with novel biomarkers of inflammation or coronary artery calcification is of interest but has not yet been evaluated in PLWH. Finally, studies on CVD risk prediction are lacking in diverse PLWH globally. Summary: While available risk models for CVD prediction in PLWH remain suboptimal, clinicians should remain vigilant of higher CVD risk in this population and should use any of these risk scores for risk stratification to guide preventive interventions. Focus on established traditional risk factors such as smoking remains critical in PLWH. Risk prediction functions tailored to PLWH in diverse settings will enhance clinicians' ability to deliver optimal preventive care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: An association between chronic infectious diseases and development of dementia has been suspected for decades, based on the finding of pathogens in postmortem brain tissue and on serological evidence. However, questions remain regarding confounders, reverse causality, and how accurate, reproducible and generalizable those findings are.Objective: Investigate whether exposure to Herpes simplex (manifested as herpes labialis), Chlamydophila pneumoniae (C. pneumoniae), Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), and cytomegalovirus (CMV) modifies the risk of dementia in a populational cohort.Methods: Questionnaires regarding incidence of herpes infections were administered to Original Framingham Study participants (n = 2,632). Serologies for C. pneumoniae, H. pylori, and CMV were obtained in Original (n = 2,351) and Offspring cohort (n = 3,687) participants. Participants are under continuous dementia surveillance. Brain MRI and neuropsychological batteries were administered to Offspring participants from 1999-2005. The association between each infection and incident dementia was tested with Cox models. Linear models were used to investigate associations between MRI or neuropsychological parameters and serologies.Results: There was no association between infection serologies and dementia incidence, total brain volume, and white matter hyperintensities. Herpes labialis was associated with reduced 10-year dementia risk (HR 0.66, CI 0.46-0.97), but not for the duration of follow-up. H. pylori antibodies were associated with worse global cognition (β -0.14, CI -0.22, -0.05).Conclusion: We found no association between measures of chronic infection and incident dementia, except for a reduction in 10-year dementia risk for patients with herpes labialis. This unexpected result requires confirmation and further characterization, concerning antiviral treatment effects and capture of episodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Andrea Giacomelli, Alice Ranzani, Letizia Oreni, Elena Gervasi, Angelica Lupo, Anna Lisa Ridolfo, Massimo Galli, Stefano RusconiIII Infectious Disease Unit, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences "L. Sacco", University of Milan, Milan, ItalyPurpose: Integrase inhibitor (INI)-containing regimens are increasingly replacing protease inhibitor(PI)-containing regimens in clinical practice. The aim of this study was to evaluate the determinants of the durability of INI-containing regimens after the switch.Patients and methods: We retrospectively analysed all of the people with HIV infection attending the University of Milan’s Infectious Diseases Unit at Luigi Sacco Hospital who were switched from a PI- to an INI-containing regimen between April 2008 and March 2017. The probability of remaining on an INI-containing regimen was estimated using Kaplan-Meier curves, and the baseline clinical predictors of INI-containing regimen durability were assessed using a multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression model.Results: Three hundred and twelve patients were included in the analysis. The median time of observation was 21 months (interquartile range 10–36 months). The main reasons for switching from a PI-containing regimen to an INI-containing regimen were toxicities (31.4%) and simplification (31.1%). Univariate analysis revealed no difference in the probability of INI discontinuation between the patients treated with raltegravir, dolutegravir or elvitegravir (p=0.060), but the multivariable Cox regression model showed that the patients treated with dolutegravir were at less risk of discontinuation than those treated with raltegravir (adjusted hazard ratio 0.49, 95% confidence interval 0.26–0.95; p=0.034).Conclusion: Switching from a PI- to an INI-containing regimen may be an option for patients under virological control. The patients switched to dolutegravir were less likely to discontinue the INI than those switched to raltegravir. Our findings support this therapeutic strategy and highlight the durability and efficacy of dolutegravir containing-regimens after switching from a PI-containing regimen.Keywords: HIV, protease inhibitors, integrase inhibitors, dolutegravir, lipids, Framingham

Background: Although it is well established that MIBI does not redistribute as thallium within the myocardium, it showed a reverse redistribution phenomenon that can be expressed by the rate of myocardial MIBI washout. The aim in this study was calculating the global myocardial washout of the MIBI (GWR) in patients diagnosed with coronary artery disease (CAD) of different risk stratifications. Results: This prospective study included 100 patients. All patients were stratified into low-, intermediate-, and high-risk groups according to clinical evaluation using Framingham score, stress ECG results using Duke's score and finally myocardial perfusion imaging prognostic findings. GWR was estimated in each of these groups. GWR mean was 9.5%, 13%, and 18% within clinically stratified patients into low-, intermediate-, and high-risk patients respectively with correlation coefficient 0.4. In addition, GWR mean was 9.7%, 15.4%, and 18.7% within patients stratified according to exercise ECG findings into low-, intermediate-, and high-risk patients respectively with correlation coefficient 0.6. Combining all myocardial perfusion findings, GWR mean was 7.9%, 15.1%, and 19.3% in patient with low-, intermediate-, and high-risk imaging findings respectively with correlation coefficient 0.71. Conclusion: GWR is positively correlated with the risk stratifications of the CAD patients. GWR can be used as an additional parameter to assess the risk of CAD patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Elevated lipoprotein(a) is a well‐established risk factor for atherosclerotic vascular disease but is not measured in routine clinical care. Screening of high lipoprotein(a) in individuals with moderate elevations of low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL‐C) may identify individuals at high risk of cardiovascular disease. Methods and Results We examined 2606 Framingham Offspring participants (median age, 54 years; 45% men) prospectively with a median follow‐up of 15 years (n=392 incident cardiovascular events). Individuals with higher (≥100 nmol/L) versus lower lipoprotein(a) were divided into groups based on LDL‐C

Background: Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) cause 18 million deaths annually. Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) account for 80% of the CVD burden, and the burden is expected to grow in the region in the coming years. Screening for and identification of individuals at high risk for CVD in primary care settings can be accomplished using available CVD risk scores. However, few of these scores have been validated/recalibrated for use in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Methods: Pooled cohort equations (PCE) and Framingham risk scores for 10-year CVD risk were applied on 1960 men and women aged 40 years and older from the AWI-Gen (Africa, Wits-INDEPTH Partnership for GENomic studies) study 2015. Low, moderate/intermediate or high CVD risk classifications correspond to 20% chance of developing CVD in 10 years respectively. Agreement between the risk scores was assessed using kappa and correlation coefficients. Results: High CVD risk was 10.3% in PCE 2013, 0.4% in PCE 2018, 2.9% in Framingham and 3.6% in Framingham non-laboratory scores. Conversely, low CVD risk was 62.2% in PCE 2013 and 95.6% in PCE 2018, 84.0% and 80.1% in Framingham and Framingham non-laboratory scores, respectively. A moderate agreement existed between the Framingham functions (kappa = 0.64, 95% CI 0.59–0.68, correlation, rs = 0.711). There was no agreement between the PCE 2013 and 2018 functions (kappa = 0.05, 95% CI 0.04–0.06). Conclusions: Newer cohort-based data is necessary to validate and recalibrate existing CVD risk scores in order to develop appropriate functions for use in SSA.

Background Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) risk prediction models have been useful in estimating if individuals are at low, intermediate, or high risk, of experiencing a CVD event within some established time frame, usually 10 years. Central to this is the concern in Trinidad and Tobago of using pre-existing CVD risk prediction methods, based on populations in the developed world (e.g. ASSIGN, Framingham and QRISK®2), to establish risk for its multiracial/ethnic Caribbean population. The aim of this study was to determine which pre-existing CVD risk method is best suited for predicting CVD risk for individuals in this population. Method A survey was completed by 778 participants, 526 persons with no prior CVD, and 252 who previously reported a CVD event. Lifestyle and biometric data was collected from non-CVD participants, while for CVD participants, medical records were used to collect data at the first instance of CVD. The performances of three CVD risk prediction models (ASSIGN, Framingham and QRISK®2) were evaluated using their calculated risk scores. Results All three models (ASSIGN, Framingham and QRISK®2) identified less than 62% of cases (CVD participants) with a high proportion of false-positive predictions to true predictions as can be seen by positive predictabilities ranging from 78% (ASSIGN and Framingham) to 87% (QRISK®2). Further, for all three models, individuals whose scores fell into the misclassification range were 2X more likely to be individuals who had experienced a prior CVD event as opposed to healthy individuals. Conclusion The ASSIGN, Framingham and QRISK®2 models should be utilised with caution on a Trinidad and Tobago population of intermediate and high risk for CVD since these models were found to have underestimated the risk for individuals with CVD up to 2.5 times more often than they overestimated the risk for healthy persons.

Background The prevalence of cardiovascular disease is high among patients with chronic kidney disease and cardiovascular events (CVE) remain the leading cause of death after kidney transplantation (KT). We performed a retrospective analysis of 389 KT recipients to assess if the European Society of Cardiology Score (ESC-Score), Framingham Heart Study Score (FRAMINGHAM), Prospective Cardiovascular Munster Study Score (PROCAM-Score) or Assessing cardiovascular risk using Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network Score (ASSIGN-Score) algorithms can predict cardiovascular risk after KT at the time of entering the waiting list. Methods 389 KT candidates were scored by the time of entering the waiting list. Pearsons chi-square test, cox regression analysis and survival estimates were performed to evaluate the reliability of the cardiovascular scoring models after successful KT. Results During a follow-up of 8 ± 5.8 years, 96 patients (30%) died due to cardiovascular problems, whereas 13.9% suffered non-fatal CVE. Graft loss occurred in 84 patients (21.6%). Predictors of CVE, survival and graft loss were age and the length of end-stage kidney disease. All scores performed well in assessing the risk for CVE (P < 0.01). Receiver-operating characteristic analysis using the ESC-SCORE, as an example, suggested a cut-off for risk stratification and clinical decisions. Conclusions We found all tested scores were reliable for cardiovascular assessment. We suggest using cardiac scores for risk assessment before KT and then taking further steps according to current guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) risk prediction models have been useful in estimating if individuals are at low, intermediate, or high risk, of experiencing a CVD event within some established time frame, usually 10 years. Central to this is the concern in Trinidad and Tobago of using pre-existing CVD risk prediction methods, based on populations in the developed world (e.g. ASSIGN, Framingham and QRISK®2), to establish risk for its multiracial/ethnic Caribbean population. The aim of this study was to determine which pre-existing CVD risk method is best suited for predicting CVD risk for individuals in this population. Method: A survey was completed by 778 participants, 526 persons with no prior CVD, and 252 who previously reported a CVD event. Lifestyle and biometric data was collected from non-CVD participants, while for CVD participants, medical records were used to collect data at the first instance of CVD. The performances of three CVD risk prediction models (ASSIGN, Framingham and QRISK®2) were evaluated using their calculated risk scores. Results: All three models (ASSIGN, Framingham and QRISK®2) identified less than 62% of cases (CVD participants) with a high proportion of false-positive predictions to true predictions as can be seen by positive predictabilities ranging from 78% (ASSIGN and Framingham) to 87% (QRISK®2). Further, for all three models, individuals whose scores fell into the misclassification range were 2X more likely to be individuals who had experienced a prior CVD event as opposed to healthy individuals. Conclusion: The ASSIGN, Framingham and QRISK®2 models should be utilised with caution on a Trinidad and Tobago population of intermediate and high risk for CVD since these models were found to have underestimated the risk for individuals with CVD up to 2.5 times more often than they overestimated the risk for healthy persons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]