Supine hypertension and cardiovascular disease: controversies and advances.

Elevated blood pressure is one of the most important risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Despite blood pressure being historically measured in the supine position prior to the 20th century, current clinical guidelines are primarily based on seated measurements. Emerging evidence suggests that hypertension in the supine position may be equally or more strongly associated with cardiovascular risk and mortality than seated hypertension.

Preliminary evidence for perceived rapid alcohol tolerance growth as a risk factor for problematic alcohol use.

Background: Preclinical research with animals suggests that a propensity to more rapidly adapt to the effects of alcohol could be an important neurobiological difference underlying alcohol use disorder (AUD). Research translating this work to humans is scarce. We tested whether adults' self-perceptions of rapidly developing alcohol tolerance following the onset of regular drinking was associated with increased risk of problematic alcohol use (using scores that excluded tolerance items), while controlling for several potentially important confounders.

Characterizing aging-related genetic and physiological determinants of spinal curvature.

Background: Increased spinal curvature is one of the most recognizable aging traits in the human population. However, despite high prevalence, the etiology of this condition remains poorly understood.

Methods: To gain better insight into the physiological, biochemical, and genetic risk factors involved, we developed a novel machine learning method to automatically derive thoracic kyphosis and lumbar lordosis angles from dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scans in the UK Biobank Imaging cohort.

Survey measures of subjective response to alcohol are improved by incorporating questions about the intensity of alcohol effects.

Objective: Extant survey measures of subjective response to alcohol, an important risk factor for alcohol problems, query the number of drinks to experience alcohol effects but do not consider how individuals experience them. We tested whether new measures of the intensity of alcohol effects, alongside the "number of drinks," contributed uniquely or interactively in predicting alcohol problems. We examined associations among these subjective response variables with racial identity and sex assigned at birth.

Racial and Ethnic Differences in 60-Day Hospital Readmissions for Patients with Breast, Colorectal, Lung, and Prostate Cancer.

Background: This study evaluates factors associated with racial/ethnic differences in 60-day hospital readmissions for patients with the four most common cancer types.

Methods: The cohort included 43,781 patients discharged alive following an index admission with a principal diagnosis of breast, colorectal, lung, or prostate cancer in the 2016 State Inpatient Database from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project. Multivariate logistic regression models were utilized to evaluate contributors to differences in 60-day hospital readmissions and to estimate Peters-Belson observed-to-expected (OE) 60-day readmission rate ratios for each race/ethnicity.

Adverse Childhood Experiences Are Associated With an Increased Risk of Dyspepsia in Patients Undergoing Upper Endoscopy.

Background And Aims: Stress is a risk factor for dyspepsia; however, neither the type nor timing of stress exposures across the lifespan in this syndrome are well understood. We aimed to understand the association between both adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and experience of current life stress with dyspepsia by collecting and analyzing survey data from a racially diverse cohort of adult research patients presenting for upper endoscopy (esophagogastroduodenoscopy).

Methods: The Gastric Immune Response and Cancer Interception study is a cohort study that enrolled adults scheduled for esophagogastroduodenoscopy at an academic center and administered a detailed survey, including questions on ACEs, current adult stress, and dyspepsia symptoms.

Mid- to Late-Life Traditional Cardiovascular Risk Factor Exposure and Zero Coronary Artery Calcium: The ARIC (Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities) Study.

Background: Our understanding of traditional atherosclerotic risk factors is based predominantly on one-time measurements and associations with adverse cardiovascular outcomes.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the contribution of mid- to late-life cumulative risk factor exposure to healthy arterial aging, represented by a persistent coronary artery calcium (CAC) score of zero.

Methods: Among 2,044 community-dwelling, participants free of coronary heart disease from the ARIC (Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities) study, the associations of ∼30-year time-weighted average mid- to late-life (starting at a median age of 49 years in 1987-1989) traditional atherosclerotic risk factors (cholesterol, systolic blood pressure, fasting glucose, and smoking) with late-life (median age 80 years in 2018-2019) CAC 0 were evaluated.

Pathways to alcohol use and problems in adulthood for children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): The role of common impairments above and beyond ADHD symptom persistence.

Childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a known risk factor for later alcohol-related outcomes, such as drinking at young ages or developing alcohol use disorder by adulthood. However, research has yet to determine whether common ADHD-related impairments (e.g.

Association of Race and Ethnicity with Genomic Testing at a Comprehensive Cancer Center in North Carolina.

Non-Hispanic Black patients diagnosed with prostate cancer between 2014 and 2019 and treated at a comprehensive cancer center were less likely to use tumor-specific genomic testing compared with non-Hispanic White patients. Disparities in the use of precision oncology technologies should be monitored and addressed to ensure equitable cancer care.

Peripheral artery disease and risk of kidney outcomes: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study.

Background And Aims: The potential impact of peripheral artery disease (PAD) on kidney outcomes is not well understood. The aim of this study was to explore the association between PAD and end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) and chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Methods: Among 14,051 participants (mean age 54 [SD 6 years]) from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study, we categorized PAD status as symptomatic PAD (intermittent claudication or leg revascularization), asymptomatic PAD (ankle-brachial index [ABI] ≤0.

Prevalence of the cagA Virulence Factor Varies by Race Among Helicobacter pylori -Infected Patients Undergoing Upper Endoscopy.

Introduction: We designed a race-conscious study to assess the presence of Helicobacter pylori v irulence factor cagA in a retrospective cohort of patients with active H. pylori infection.

Methods: We compared cagA status by race in gastric tissue samples from 473 patients diagnosed with active H.

Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Eradication in a Clinical Population.

Objectives: Eradication of reduces the risk of gastric cancer (GC). Individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are known to be at increased risk for GC. In a cohort of -positive individuals, we assessed whether those with T2DM were at risk of persistent infection following treatment compared with individuals without T2DM.

Coronary artery calcium as a marker of healthy and unhealthy aging in adults aged 75 and older: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study.

Background And Aims: Coronary artery calcium (CAC) is validated for risk prediction among middle-aged adults, but there is limited research exploring implications of CAC among older adults. We used data from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study to evaluate the association of CAC with domains of healthy and unhealthy aging in adults aged ≥75 years.

Methods: We included 2,290 participants aged ≥75 years free of known coronary heart disease who underwent CAC scoring at study visit 7.

Helicobacter pylori testing prior to or at gastric cancer diagnosis and survival in a diverse US patient population.

Background: Gastric cancer (GC) accounts for the greatest disparity in cancer mortality between Black and White Americans. Although clinical trials have shown that Helicobacter pylori (Hp) treatment reduces risk of GC, Hp testing and treatment is not consistently performed in the US, and may offer an opportunity to improve survival.

Methods: In a diverse retrospective cohort of 99 GC cases diagnosed at Duke University from 2002-2020 (57% Black; 43% white), we examined the association of Hp testing and treatment prior to or at cancer diagnosis with overall survival using Cox regression analyses to calculate adjusted hazards ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

Heritable Composite Phenotypes Defined by Combinations of Conduct Problem, Depression, and Temperament Features: Contributions to risk for Alcohol Problems.

The genetic architectures underlying symptoms of conduct problems and depression have largely been examined separately and without incorporating temperament, despite evidence for their genetic overlap. We examined how symptoms and temperament dimensions were transmitted together in families to identify highly heritable composite phenotypes, and how these composite phenotypes predicted alcohol outcomes in young adulthood. Participants (N = 486) were drawn from the third generation of families oversampled for alcohol use disorder in the first generation.

Defining Demographic-specific Coronary Artery Calcium Percentiles in the Population Aged ≥75: The ARIC Study and MESA.

Background: Current clinical guidelines recommend a coronary artery calcium (CAC) score of 100 Agatston Units or demographic-specific 75th percentile as high-risk thresholds for guiding atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease preventive therapy. Meanwhile, low CAC can help derisk individuals who may safely defer statin therapy. However, limited data from the early 2000s, including just 208 older Black individuals, inform CAC percentiles for adults aged 75 to 85 years, and none have been established in adults aged ≥85 years.

Development of an adaptive clinical web-based prediction tool for kidney replacement therapy in children with chronic kidney disease.

Clinicians need improved prediction models to estimate time to kidney replacement therapy (KRT) for children with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Here, we aimed to develop and validate a prediction tool based on common clinical variables for time to KRT in children using statistical learning methods and design a corresponding online calculator for clinical use. Among 890 children with CKD in the Chronic Kidney Disease in Children (CKiD) study, 172 variables related to sociodemographics, kidney/cardiovascular health, and therapy use, including longitudinal changes over one year were evaluated as candidate predictors in a random survival forest for time to KRT.

Coronary Artery Calcium Scores in Older Adults With Diabetes and Their Association With Diabetes-Specific Risk Enhancers (from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study).

Coronary artery calcium (CAC) is a validated marker of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk; however, it is not routinely incorporated in ASCVD risk prediction in older adults with diabetes. We sought to assess the CAC distribution among this demographic and its association with "diabetes-specific risk enhancers," which are known to be associated with increased ASCVD risk. We used the ARIC (Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities) study data, including adults aged >75 years with diabetes, who had their CAC measured at ARIC visit 7 (2018 to 2019).

The role of early intervention for adolescent mental health and polydrug use: Cascading mediation through childhood growth in the general psychopathology (p) factor.

This study is a secondary data analysis that extends knowledge about the effects of the early childhood Family Check-Up (FCU) intervention to trajectories of general psychopathology problems (p factor) across early and middle childhood, and effects on adolescent psychopathology and polydrug use. The Early Steps Multisite study (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT00538252) is a randomized controlled trial of the FCU and consists of a large, racially and ethnically diverse sample of children who grew up in low-income households in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Eugene, Oregon; and Charlottesville, Virginia ( = 731; 49% female; 27.

Polygenic risk score for problematic alcohol use predicts heavy drinking and alcohol use disorder symptoms in young adulthood after accounting for adolescent alcohol use and parental alcohol use disorder.

Background: Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified hundreds of loci associated with alcohol-related traits. GWAS permit the calculation of polygenic risk scores (PRS), which aggregate genetic risk for a trait across the genome. To evaluate the usefulness of a PRS for problematic alcohol use (PAU)-which subsumes alcohol use disorder (AUD) and alcohol-related problems-we tested whether this PRS predicted heavy drinking and alcohol problems after accounting for family history of AUD and prior drinking history, robust and established predictors of PAU.