Publications by authors named "Rob Walker"

Background: Biological age can be quantified by composite proteomic scores, called proteomics-based aging clocks (PACs). We investigated whether a discrepancy between chronological and biological age in midlife and late-life is associated with cognition and dementia risk.

Methods: We used two longitudinal population-based studies: the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study and the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA).

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Background: Heart failure (HF) is a growing public health burden. Systemic inflammation is commonly observed in patients with HF and believed to be related to disease pathogenesis. Infection is a potential acute trigger of chronic inflammation.

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Background: Biological age can be quantified by composite proteomic scores, called aging clocks. We investigated whether biological age acceleration (a discrepancy between chronological and biological age) in midlife and late-life is associated with cognitive function and risk of dementia.

Methods: We used two population-based cohort studies: Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study and Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA).

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Improving crop salinity management requires enhanced understanding of salinity responses of leaf and fine-root traits governing resource acquisition, ideally in relation to ion accumulation at intra- or inter-specific levels. We hypothesized that these responses are coupled towards integrated resource conservation for plants under prolonged salt treatment. We tested the hypothesis with a glasshouse experiment on saplings of six contrasting hybrids, subjected to either control or salt treatment (reverse osmosis water versus 3.

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Background: Hormone therapies, including aromatase inhibitors and tamoxifen, are used with ovarian suppression to improve outcomes in premenopausal patients with breast cancer. Cardiovascular impacts of these treatments among premenopausal women are unknown.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that the use of aromatase inhibitors in combination with ovarian suppression, relative to tamoxifen, is associated with greater incident cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in premenopausal breast cancer survivors.

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Grapevines (Vitis vinifera, Vvi) are economically important crop plants which, when challenged with salt (NaCl) in soil and/or irrigation water, tend to accumulate Na+ and Cl- in aerial tissues, impacting yield and berry acceptability for winemaking. Grapevine (Vitis spp.) rootstocks vary in their capacity for shoot Cl- exclusion.

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Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs; namely, rivaroxaban and apixaban) and warfarin are approved for venous thromboembolism (VTE) treatment. Few direct comparisons exist of DOACs on risk of death among patients with VTE, and for patients with concomitant conditions (eg, kidney disease, liver disease), clinical guidelines are unclear. We evaluated 6-month all-cause mortality by anticoagulant prescribed for primary treatment of VTE.

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Background: Multiple myeloma (MM) is associated with high risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE). Anticoagulant prophylaxis is frequently recommended but underutilized partly due to the absence of studies assessing bleeding risk.

Objectives: To determine the rate of severe (hospitalized) bleeding from thromboprophylaxis in patients treated for MM and identify clinical risk factors for bleeding in this population.

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Purpose: Among patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), a nonpharmacologic option (e.g., percutaneous left atrial appendage occlusion [LAAO]) is needed for patients with oral anticoagulant (OAC) contraindications.

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Background: Evidence from network meta-analyses (NMAs) and real-world propensity score (PS) analyses suggest monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) offer a therapeutic advantage over currently available oral therapies and, therefore, warrant consideration as a distinct group of high-efficacy disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) for patients with relapsing multiple sclerosis (RMS). This is counter to the current perception of these therapies by some stakeholders, including payers.

Objectives: A multifaceted indirect treatment comparison (ITC) approach was undertaken to clarify the relative efficacy of mAbs and oral therapies.

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Objective: To assess the association between sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors and other second-line diabetes therapies with risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), as well as conduct head-to-head comparisons between SGLT2 inhibitors.

Patients And Methods: Using data from the MarketScan databases (January 1, 2013, through December 31, 2019), SGLT2 inhibitor users were matched with up to five other second-line therapy users by age, sex, date of enrollment, and date of second-line therapy initiation. The primary composite outcome included stroke, atrial fibrillation, myocardial infarction, and heart failure.

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Venous thromboembolism (VTE) affects 1.2 million people per year in the United States. With several clinical changes in diagnosis and treatment approaches in the past decade, we evaluated contemporary post-VTE mortality risk profiles and trends.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study highlights that pregnancy-related mortality in the U.S. has significantly increased since 1990, with venous thromboembolism (VTE) contributing to about 10% of these deaths.
  • Researchers aimed to determine if preexisting autoimmune diseases increase the risk of postpartum VTE, analyzing a large dataset of over 757,000 individuals of childbearing age.
  • Findings revealed that postpartum individuals with autoimmune diseases had a higher incidence of VTE, especially those with systemic lupus erythematosus and Crohn's disease, indicating the need for enhanced monitoring and preventive care for this group after delivery.
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Background Digoxin acutely increases cardiac output in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and right ventricular failure; however, the effects of chronic digoxin use in PAH are unclear. Methods and Results Data from the Minnesota Pulmonary Hypertension Repository were used. The primary analysis used likelihood of digoxin prescription.

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Background Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a devastating potential complication of pulmonary embolism, a manifestation of venous thromboembolism (VTE). The incidence of and risk factors for PH in those with prior VTE are poorly characterized. Methods and Results () codes from inpatient and outpatient medical claims from MarketScan administrative databases for years 2011 to 2018 were used to identify cases of VTE, comorbidities before the VTE event, and PH occurring subsequent to the VTE event.

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Grapevines ( L., ) on their roots are generally sensitive to salt-forming ions, particularly chloride (Cl) when grown in saline environments. Grafting scions to Cl-excluding hybrid rootstocks reduces the impact of salinity.

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Background: Data are needed on the use of oral anticoagulation in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) in rural versus urban areas, including the initiation of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs).

Objective: We used Medicare data to examine rural/urban differences in anticoagulation use in patients with AF.

Methods: We identified incident AF in a 20% sample of fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries (aged ≥ 65 years) from 2011 to 2016 and collected ZIP code and covariates at the time of AF.

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Background Acute outpatient management of venous thromboembolism (VTE), which includes pulmonary embolism (PE) and deep vein thrombosis (DVT), is perceived to be as safe as inpatient management in some settings. How widely this strategy is used is not well documented. Methods and Results Using MarketScan administrative claims databases for years 2011 through 2018, we identified patients with () codes indicating incident VTE and trends in the use of acute outpatient management.

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Background Current scores for bleeding risk assessment in patients with venous thromboembolism (VTE) undergoing oral anticoagulation have limited predictive capacity. We developed and internally validated a bleeding prediction model using healthcare claims data. Methods and Results We selected patients with incident VTE initiating oral anticoagulation in the 2011 to 2017 MarketScan databases.

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Background: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) affects nearly 1 million Americans annually, and many benefit from continued anticoagulation after the initial 3- to 6-month treatment period (secondary prevention).

Objectives: To determine whether warfarin, apixaban, or rivaroxaban is associated with reduced recurrent VTE hospitalization in the secondary prevention of VTE.

Patients/methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study of participants enrolled in the MarketScan Insurance Database between 2013 and 2017 in those with an incident VTE.

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Background: Randomized trials suggest that direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) are at least as effective as warfarin for primary treatment of VTE and that bleeding risk may be lower for some DOACs relative to warfarin. However, there is very little information regarding potential bleeding risks for DOACs versus warfarin in secondary prevention of VTE.

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare rates of bleeding events resulting in inpatient admissions between individuals taking apixaban, rivaroxaban, and warfarin for secondary prevention of VTE during the period 2013-2017.

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Article Synopsis
  • There's a study happening in the UK to find out how different hospitals treat a condition called gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), which can cause heartburn and other symptoms.
  • The study will collect information about how surgeries are done and what happens to patients before and after the surgery over a year.
  • The goal is to see how hospitals vary in their practices and outcomes to help make the treatments better in the future.
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Objective: To evaluate physiologic monitoring in pediatric patients undergoing out-of-hospital advanced airway management.

Methods: Retrospective case series of pediatric patients (<18 years) with advanced airways placed in the out-of-hospital setting. Patients given cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) or defibrillation before the first advanced airway attempt were excluded.

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Mucolipidosis (ML) II and III are complex lysosomal storage disorders characterized by progressive multisystem pathology which can pose challenges to the anesthetist and increase the risks associated with general anesthesia. We sought to review the management of patients with ML II and III undergoing anesthesia in our institution in order to better define recommendations for the preoperative assessment and optimization of these children. We further elected to analyze the conduct of anesthesia, intraoperative management, and perioperative complications that our patients had experienced in order to allow improved informed consent and anesthetic planning.

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Background: Treatment of MS often begins with low-efficacy injectable disease-modifying therapy (iDMT).

Objectives: To compare the effect of fingolimod 0.5 mg/day on clinical, MRI, patient-reported, and safety outcomes, in treatment-naïve and previously treated (≥1 iDMT) patients with early MS.

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