Culturally-Informed Food Insecurity Screening: Evidence From Northern Navajo Medical Center.

Objective: To develop and evaluate an alternative strengths-based and culturally-informed screener for food security among American Indian respondents.

Design: Two-phase mixed methods sequential exploratory study with a qualitative phase followed by a quantitative phase.

Setting: Northern Navajo Medical Center.

Self-Reported Resilience During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Importance: Identifying factors associated with resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic can inform targeted interventions and resource allocation for groups disproportionately affected by systemic inequities.

Objective: To examine factors associated with self-reported resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic in racially and ethnically diverse, community-dwelling US adults.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This cross-sectional study was conducted as part of the Collaborative Cohort of Cohorts for COVID-19 Research (C4R) study, which assessed the associations of the pandemic with self-reported resilience of participants from 14 established US prospective cohorts since January 2021.

Multi-ancestry genome-wide association analyses incorporating SNP-by-psychosocial interactions identify novel loci for serum lipids.

Serum lipid levels, which are influenced by both genetic and environmental factors, are key determinants of cardiometabolic health and are influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. Improving our understanding of their underlying biological mechanisms can have important public health and therapeutic implications. Although psychosocial factors, including depression, anxiety, and perceived social support, are associated with serum lipid levels, it is unknown if they modify the effect of genetic loci that influence lipids.

Associations Between Urinary Metal Levels and Incident Heart Failure: A Multi-Cohort Analysis.

Background: Environmental metals are recognized cardiovascular disease risk factors, yet the role of metal exposure in heart failure (HF) risk remains understudied.

Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the prospective association of urinary metals with incident HF across 3 geographically and ethnically/racially diverse cohorts: MESA (Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis) and SHS (Strong Heart Study) in the United States, and the Hortega Study in Spain.

Methods: Adults 18-85 years of age in MESA (n = 6,601), SHS (n = 2,917), and Hortega (n = 1,300) were followed up to 20 years.

The Association of Blood Lead with Cardiovascular Disease Incidence and Mortality: Findings from the Strong Heart Study Cohort.

Background: Evidence on lead and the burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD) derived from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data, a general sample of the U.S. population, lacks sufficient representation of American Indians.

Ultra-processed foods, plant and animal sources, and all-cause, cardiovascular, and cancer mortality in older adults in the United States: results from the Cardiovascular Health Study.

Background: Ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption is associated with adverse health outcomes. Plant- and animal-sourced UPFs have a unique nutritional composition to improve palatability, which may impact health, but evidence is limited.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to investigate the association between UPF intake, plant- and animal-sourced UPF, and mortality outcomes in older adults.

Uranium Exposure, Hypertension, and Blood Pressure in the Strong Heart Family Study.

Introduction: Uranium is common in drinking water, soil, and dust in American Indian communities. Hypertension is a cardiovascular risk factor affecting American Indians. We evaluated the association between uranium exposure and incident hypertension and changes in blood pressure among Strong Heart Family Study participants.

Lipidomic Markers of Processed Meat and Unprocessed Red Meat Intake and Risk of Diabetes in American Indians.

Objective: To identify lipidomic markers of habitual unprocessed red meat and processed meat intake and evaluate their associations with diabetes risk in American Indians.

Research Design And Methods: We studied 1,816 participants from the Strong Heart Family Study. Using untargeted liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, we quantified 1,542 lipids (518 known) in fasting plasma at baseline and follow-up (∼5 years apart).

Vitamin D Deficiency and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors Among American Indian Adolescents: The Strong Heart Family Study.

Introduction: We aimed to describe the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among American Indian adolescents and determine its association with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors.

Methods: Our study population consisted of 307 adolescents (aged ≤20 years) participating in the Strong Heart Family Study with serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) measured on samples collected during baseline examinations (2001-2003). We defined baseline prevalence of vitamin D deficiency as 25(OH)D ≤20 ng/mL.

A Large-Scale Genome-wide Association Study of Blood Pressure Accounting for Gene-Depressive Symptomatology Interactions in 564,680 Individuals from Diverse Populations.

Background: Gene-environment interactions may enhance our understanding of hypertension. Our previous study highlighted the importance of considering psychosocial factors in gene discovery for blood pressure (BP) but was limited in statistical power and population diversity. To address these challenges, we conducted a multi-population genome-wide association study (GWAS) of BP accounting for gene-depressive symptomatology (DEPR) interactions in a larger and more diverse sample.

Depression and Incident Hypertension: The Strong Heart Family Study.

Introduction: Compared with White Americans, American Indian adults have disproportionately high depression rates. Previous studies in non-American Indian populations report depression as common among people with uncontrolled hypertension, potentially interfering with blood pressure control. Few studies have examined the association of depressive symptoms with hypertension development among American Indians despite that population's high burden of depression and hypertension.

Trimethylamine -Oxide and Related Gut Microbe-Derived Metabolites and Incident Heart Failure Development in Community-Based Populations.

Background: Growing evidence indicates that trimethylamine -oxide, a gut microbial metabolite of dietary choline and carnitine, promotes both cardiovascular disease and chronic kidney disease risk. It remains unclear how circulating concentrations of trimethylamine -oxide and its related dietary and gut microbe-derived metabolites (choline, betaine, carnitine, γ-butyrobetaine, and crotonobetaine) affect incident heart failure (HF).

Methods: We evaluated 11 768 participants from the Cardiovascular Health Study and the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis with serial measures of metabolites.

Circulating Sphingolipids and All-Cause Mortality: The Strong Heart Family Study.

Background: A growing body of research indicates that associations of ceramides and sphingomyelins with mortality depend on the chain length of the fatty acid acylated to the backbone sphingoid base. We examined associations of 8 ceramide and sphingomyelin species with mortality among an American Indian population.

Methods And Results: The analysis comprised 2688 participants from the SHFS (Strong Heart Family Study).

Assessing the use of GEE methods for analyzing binary outcomes in family studies: the Strong Heart Family Study.

The generalized estimating equations method (GEE) is commonly applied to analyze data obtained from family studies. GEE is well known for its robustness on misspecification of correlation structure. However, the unbalanced distribution of family sizes and complicated genetic relatedness structure within each family may challenge GEE performance.

Association of Achievement of the American Heart Association's Life's Essential 8 Goals With Incident Cardiovascular Diseases in the SHFS.

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in American Indian people. In 2022, the American Heart Association developed the Life's Essential 8 goals to promote cardiovascular health (CVH) for Americans, composed of diet, physical activity, nicotine exposure, sleep, body mass index, blood lipids, blood pressure, and blood glucose. We examined whether achievement of Life's Essential 8 goals was associated with incident CVD among SHFS (Strong Heart Family Study) participants.

Dyslipidemia in American Indian Adolescents and Young Adults: Strong Heart Family Study.

Background: Although many studies on the association between dyslipidemia and cardiovascular disease (CVD) exist in older adults, data on the association among adolescents and young adults living with disproportionate burden of cardiometabolic disorders are scarce.

Methods And Results: The SHFS (Strong Heart Family Study) is a multicenter, family-based, prospective cohort study of CVD in an American Indian populations, including 12 communities in central Arizona, southwestern Oklahoma, and the Dakotas. We evaluated SHFS participants, who were 15 to 39 years old at the baseline examination in 2001 to 2003 (n=1440).

The social drivers of health for Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander youth in the United States.

Objectives: To describe the social drivers of health and health status of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) youth in the US.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional analysis of the 2014 NHPI National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) which surveyed about 3,000 NHPI households, including 1,428 NHPI youth (884 0-12 yo, 421 13-17 yo, and 123 18-21 yo). We described domains of social drivers of health (SDoH), health conditions, and associations of income and food insecurity with body mass index (BMI) for NHPI youth.