TBD Meeting (3355-20)

PHOENIX, ARIZ. – Diabetes patients in China who were enrolled in a team-based care intervention with clinical decision support systems significantly reduced their hemoglobin A_1c, systolic blood pressure, and LDL cholesterol over 18 months, compared with those who received team-based care alone.

Doug Brunk/MDedge News

The finding comes from the Diabetes Complication Control in Community Clinics (D4C), a cluster randomized trial conducted in 38 community health centers in Xiamen, China.

“Diabetes has become a major public health challenge worldwide, especially in low- and middle-income countries where populations are large and growing and health care resources are limited,” Jiang He, MD, PhD, said at the Epidemiology and Prevention/Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health meeting.

According to Dr. He, chair and professor of epidemiology at Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, the prevalence of diabetes has increased rapidly in recent decades in China, from 2.5% in 1994 to 11.6% in 2010. “It was estimated that 114 million Chinese adults had diabetes in 2010,” he said. “Hyperglycemia, high blood pressure, and elevated LDL cholesterol are major risk factors for cardiovascular disease and premature death. The majority of patients with diabetes have multiple uncontrolled CVD risk factors due to suboptimal care. Diabetes and its complications further strain an already overburdened and overwhelmed health care system, especially tertiary care facilities, in China. On the other hand, community health centers are underutilized.”

In D4C, Dr. He and colleagues set out to evaluate changes in CVD risk factors among patients with diabetes after implementing a team-based care model at community health centers in Xiamen, China. They compared the effectiveness of team-based care with clinical decision support systems versus team-based care alone on CVD risk factor control among patients with diabetes at these community health centers.

The study population consisted of 10,942 patients aged 50 years and older with uncontrolled diabetes and at least one of the following three additional CVD risk factors: systolic BP of at least 140 mm Hg and/or diastolic BP of at least 90 mm Hg; LDL cholesterol of at least 100 mg/dL, or clinical atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). At the intervention clinics, team-based care was delivered by a team of primary care physicians, nurses, and diabetes specialists. The researchers trained the primary care physicians and nurses, and a clinical decision support system was integrated with guideline-based treatment algorithms for controlling glycemia, blood pressure, and lipids.

At the enhanced care control clinics, team-based care was delivered by a team of primary care physicians, nurses, and diabetes specialists. The city health commission trained the primary care physicians and nurses. The intervention lasted for 18 months in both groups.

Dr. He, the D4C study chair, reported findings from 10,942 patients: 5,394 in the intervention group and 5,548 in the enhanced care group. The mean baseline age was similar between the intervention group and the enhanced care group (a mean of 63 years), as was body mass index (a mean of 24.9 kg/m²), hemoglobin A_1c (a mean of 8.8 vs. 8.7%, respectively), LDL cholesterol (121.2 vs. 121.1 mg/dL), systolic blood pressure (136.6 vs. 136.9 mm Hg), and diastolic blood pressure (79.7 vs. 79.8 mm Hg).

The researchers found patients in both groups experienced significant reductions in HbA_1c, LDL cholesterol, and BP over the 18-month follow-up, but those in the intervention group fared better in all measures. Specifically, the mean change in HbA_1c from baseline was –.85% in the intervention group, compared with –.66% in the enhanced care group, while the change in LDL was –19 mg/dL, compared with –12.8 mg/dL, respectively; the change in systolic blood pressure was –8.9 mm Hg vs. –7.7 mm Hg, and the change in 10-year ASCVD risk was .57% vs. .28% (P < .0001 for all associations).

The researchers also observed that the proportions of controlled HbA_1c, LDL, and blood pressure at 18 months were higher in the intervention group, compared with the enhanced care group. Specifically, 38% of patients in the intervention group achieved glycemic control, compared with 35% of those in the enhanced care group (P =. 0006), while 48% vs. 39%, respectively, achieved control of LDL cholesterol (P < .0001), and 78% vs. 75% achieved control of blood pressure (P = .0009). In addition, 15% vs. 12% achieved control of all three risk factors at 18 months (P < .0001).

“Implementing team-based care with a clinical decision support system is an effective and sustainable strategy for diabetes control in primary care settings,” Dr. He said at the meeting, which was sponsored by the American Heart Association. “This implementation strategy could be scaled up within primary care settings in China and other low- to middle-income countries to improve CVD risk factor control in patients with diabetes.”

In an interview, session moderator Joshua J. Joseph, MD, of Ohio State University, Columbus, pointed out that since only 12%-15% of study participants achieved control of all three CVD risk factors, “that leaves a great opportunity for [figuring out] how to we get the other 88% or 85% of patients to target levels. That’s going to be important as we think about cardiovascular disease prevention in type 2 diabetes. The more we can use team-based care along with clinical decision support tools, the more we will continue to improve the lives of patients.”

The study was supported by the Xiamen City Health Commission. Dr. He reported having no financial disclosures.

[email protected]

SOURCE: He J et al. EPI/LIFESTYLE 2020, session 7A, abstract 17.

PHOENIX, ARIZ. – Diabetes patients in China who were enrolled in a team-based care intervention with clinical decision support systems significantly reduced their hemoglobin A_1c, systolic blood pressure, and LDL cholesterol over 18 months, compared with those who received team-based care alone.

Doug Brunk/MDedge News

The finding comes from the Diabetes Complication Control in Community Clinics (D4C), a cluster randomized trial conducted in 38 community health centers in Xiamen, China.

“Diabetes has become a major public health challenge worldwide, especially in low- and middle-income countries where populations are large and growing and health care resources are limited,” Jiang He, MD, PhD, said at the Epidemiology and Prevention/Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health meeting.

According to Dr. He, chair and professor of epidemiology at Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, the prevalence of diabetes has increased rapidly in recent decades in China, from 2.5% in 1994 to 11.6% in 2010. “It was estimated that 114 million Chinese adults had diabetes in 2010,” he said. “Hyperglycemia, high blood pressure, and elevated LDL cholesterol are major risk factors for cardiovascular disease and premature death. The majority of patients with diabetes have multiple uncontrolled CVD risk factors due to suboptimal care. Diabetes and its complications further strain an already overburdened and overwhelmed health care system, especially tertiary care facilities, in China. On the other hand, community health centers are underutilized.”

In D4C, Dr. He and colleagues set out to evaluate changes in CVD risk factors among patients with diabetes after implementing a team-based care model at community health centers in Xiamen, China. They compared the effectiveness of team-based care with clinical decision support systems versus team-based care alone on CVD risk factor control among patients with diabetes at these community health centers.

The study population consisted of 10,942 patients aged 50 years and older with uncontrolled diabetes and at least one of the following three additional CVD risk factors: systolic BP of at least 140 mm Hg and/or diastolic BP of at least 90 mm Hg; LDL cholesterol of at least 100 mg/dL, or clinical atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). At the intervention clinics, team-based care was delivered by a team of primary care physicians, nurses, and diabetes specialists. The researchers trained the primary care physicians and nurses, and a clinical decision support system was integrated with guideline-based treatment algorithms for controlling glycemia, blood pressure, and lipids.

At the enhanced care control clinics, team-based care was delivered by a team of primary care physicians, nurses, and diabetes specialists. The city health commission trained the primary care physicians and nurses. The intervention lasted for 18 months in both groups.

Dr. He, the D4C study chair, reported findings from 10,942 patients: 5,394 in the intervention group and 5,548 in the enhanced care group. The mean baseline age was similar between the intervention group and the enhanced care group (a mean of 63 years), as was body mass index (a mean of 24.9 kg/m²), hemoglobin A_1c (a mean of 8.8 vs. 8.7%, respectively), LDL cholesterol (121.2 vs. 121.1 mg/dL), systolic blood pressure (136.6 vs. 136.9 mm Hg), and diastolic blood pressure (79.7 vs. 79.8 mm Hg).

The researchers found patients in both groups experienced significant reductions in HbA_1c, LDL cholesterol, and BP over the 18-month follow-up, but those in the intervention group fared better in all measures. Specifically, the mean change in HbA_1c from baseline was –.85% in the intervention group, compared with –.66% in the enhanced care group, while the change in LDL was –19 mg/dL, compared with –12.8 mg/dL, respectively; the change in systolic blood pressure was –8.9 mm Hg vs. –7.7 mm Hg, and the change in 10-year ASCVD risk was .57% vs. .28% (P < .0001 for all associations).

The researchers also observed that the proportions of controlled HbA_1c, LDL, and blood pressure at 18 months were higher in the intervention group, compared with the enhanced care group. Specifically, 38% of patients in the intervention group achieved glycemic control, compared with 35% of those in the enhanced care group (P =. 0006), while 48% vs. 39%, respectively, achieved control of LDL cholesterol (P < .0001), and 78% vs. 75% achieved control of blood pressure (P = .0009). In addition, 15% vs. 12% achieved control of all three risk factors at 18 months (P < .0001).

“Implementing team-based care with a clinical decision support system is an effective and sustainable strategy for diabetes control in primary care settings,” Dr. He said at the meeting, which was sponsored by the American Heart Association. “This implementation strategy could be scaled up within primary care settings in China and other low- to middle-income countries to improve CVD risk factor control in patients with diabetes.”

In an interview, session moderator Joshua J. Joseph, MD, of Ohio State University, Columbus, pointed out that since only 12%-15% of study participants achieved control of all three CVD risk factors, “that leaves a great opportunity for [figuring out] how to we get the other 88% or 85% of patients to target levels. That’s going to be important as we think about cardiovascular disease prevention in type 2 diabetes. The more we can use team-based care along with clinical decision support tools, the more we will continue to improve the lives of patients.”

The study was supported by the Xiamen City Health Commission. Dr. He reported having no financial disclosures.

[email protected]

SOURCE: He J et al. EPI/LIFESTYLE 2020, session 7A, abstract 17.

PHOENIX, ARIZ. – Diabetes patients in China who were enrolled in a team-based care intervention with clinical decision support systems significantly reduced their hemoglobin A_1c, systolic blood pressure, and LDL cholesterol over 18 months, compared with those who received team-based care alone.

Doug Brunk/MDedge News

The finding comes from the Diabetes Complication Control in Community Clinics (D4C), a cluster randomized trial conducted in 38 community health centers in Xiamen, China.

“Diabetes has become a major public health challenge worldwide, especially in low- and middle-income countries where populations are large and growing and health care resources are limited,” Jiang He, MD, PhD, said at the Epidemiology and Prevention/Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health meeting.

According to Dr. He, chair and professor of epidemiology at Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, the prevalence of diabetes has increased rapidly in recent decades in China, from 2.5% in 1994 to 11.6% in 2010. “It was estimated that 114 million Chinese adults had diabetes in 2010,” he said. “Hyperglycemia, high blood pressure, and elevated LDL cholesterol are major risk factors for cardiovascular disease and premature death. The majority of patients with diabetes have multiple uncontrolled CVD risk factors due to suboptimal care. Diabetes and its complications further strain an already overburdened and overwhelmed health care system, especially tertiary care facilities, in China. On the other hand, community health centers are underutilized.”

In D4C, Dr. He and colleagues set out to evaluate changes in CVD risk factors among patients with diabetes after implementing a team-based care model at community health centers in Xiamen, China. They compared the effectiveness of team-based care with clinical decision support systems versus team-based care alone on CVD risk factor control among patients with diabetes at these community health centers.

The study population consisted of 10,942 patients aged 50 years and older with uncontrolled diabetes and at least one of the following three additional CVD risk factors: systolic BP of at least 140 mm Hg and/or diastolic BP of at least 90 mm Hg; LDL cholesterol of at least 100 mg/dL, or clinical atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). At the intervention clinics, team-based care was delivered by a team of primary care physicians, nurses, and diabetes specialists. The researchers trained the primary care physicians and nurses, and a clinical decision support system was integrated with guideline-based treatment algorithms for controlling glycemia, blood pressure, and lipids.

At the enhanced care control clinics, team-based care was delivered by a team of primary care physicians, nurses, and diabetes specialists. The city health commission trained the primary care physicians and nurses. The intervention lasted for 18 months in both groups.

Dr. He, the D4C study chair, reported findings from 10,942 patients: 5,394 in the intervention group and 5,548 in the enhanced care group. The mean baseline age was similar between the intervention group and the enhanced care group (a mean of 63 years), as was body mass index (a mean of 24.9 kg/m²), hemoglobin A_1c (a mean of 8.8 vs. 8.7%, respectively), LDL cholesterol (121.2 vs. 121.1 mg/dL), systolic blood pressure (136.6 vs. 136.9 mm Hg), and diastolic blood pressure (79.7 vs. 79.8 mm Hg).

The researchers found patients in both groups experienced significant reductions in HbA_1c, LDL cholesterol, and BP over the 18-month follow-up, but those in the intervention group fared better in all measures. Specifically, the mean change in HbA_1c from baseline was –.85% in the intervention group, compared with –.66% in the enhanced care group, while the change in LDL was –19 mg/dL, compared with –12.8 mg/dL, respectively; the change in systolic blood pressure was –8.9 mm Hg vs. –7.7 mm Hg, and the change in 10-year ASCVD risk was .57% vs. .28% (P < .0001 for all associations).

The researchers also observed that the proportions of controlled HbA_1c, LDL, and blood pressure at 18 months were higher in the intervention group, compared with the enhanced care group. Specifically, 38% of patients in the intervention group achieved glycemic control, compared with 35% of those in the enhanced care group (P =. 0006), while 48% vs. 39%, respectively, achieved control of LDL cholesterol (P < .0001), and 78% vs. 75% achieved control of blood pressure (P = .0009). In addition, 15% vs. 12% achieved control of all three risk factors at 18 months (P < .0001).

“Implementing team-based care with a clinical decision support system is an effective and sustainable strategy for diabetes control in primary care settings,” Dr. He said at the meeting, which was sponsored by the American Heart Association. “This implementation strategy could be scaled up within primary care settings in China and other low- to middle-income countries to improve CVD risk factor control in patients with diabetes.”

In an interview, session moderator Joshua J. Joseph, MD, of Ohio State University, Columbus, pointed out that since only 12%-15% of study participants achieved control of all three CVD risk factors, “that leaves a great opportunity for [figuring out] how to we get the other 88% or 85% of patients to target levels. That’s going to be important as we think about cardiovascular disease prevention in type 2 diabetes. The more we can use team-based care along with clinical decision support tools, the more we will continue to improve the lives of patients.”

The study was supported by the Xiamen City Health Commission. Dr. He reported having no financial disclosures.

[email protected]

SOURCE: He J et al. EPI/LIFESTYLE 2020, session 7A, abstract 17.

PHOENIX – Lower baseline fitness and greater decline in fitness over time are independently associated with a higher risk of heart failure in patients with diabetes, results from a large analysis showed.

Doug Brunk/MDedge News

“Diabetes is an important risk factor for the development of heart failure, and the diagnosis of diabetes in newly diagnosed cases of heart failure has been increasing,” Ambarish Pandey, MD, said at the Epidemiology and Prevention/Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health meeting. “Type 2 diabetes is associated with increased burden of traditional risk factors such as hypertension, kidney dysfunction, and dyslipidemia – each of which in turn increase the risk of both atherothrombotic disease as well as heart failure.”

Recent data from the Swedish National Diabetes Register have shown that optimal management of these risk factors in patients with type 2 diabetes can actually mitigate the risk of atherosclerotic events such as acute MI, but the risk of heart failure does not significantly lower with optimal management of these traditional cardiovascular risk factors (N Engl J Med. 2018;379:633-44). “These findings highlight that novel approaches that go beyond just managing traditional cardiovascular risk factors are needed for prevention of heart failure in patients with type 2 diabetes,” said Dr. Pandey, of the division of cardiology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas. “Our group has demonstrated that physical inactivity and low levels of fitness are associated with a higher risk of heart failure. We have also shown that the protective effect of physical activity against heart failure risk is stronger against heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, which is a subtype of heart failure that is increasing in prevalence and has no effective therapies.”

Dr. Pandey and his colleagues set out to test the research hypothesis that fitness decline and increases in body mass index over time are significantly associated with a higher risk of heart failure. To do this, they drew from the LookAHEAD Trial, a multicenter analysis of 5,145 overweight or obese patients with type 2 diabetes who were randomized to an intensive lifestyle intervention or to usual care. The intervention consisted of a caloric intake goal of 1,200 to 1,800 kcal per day and engaging in at least 175 minutes per week of physical activity. Participants were stratified into one of three fitness group levels: low, moderate, and high, from 5 metabolic equivalents (METs) in the lowest fitness tertile to 9 METs in the highest fitness tertile. The primary outcome of the trial was adverse cardiovascular events. The intervention was implemented for almost 10 years, and patients were followed for up to 12 years from baseline.

The heart failure outcomes were not systematically adjudicated in the primary LookAHEAD trial, so Dr. Pandey and colleagues conducted an ancillary study of all incident hospitalizations in the study and followed them for 2 additional years. Overall, the researchers identified 257 incident heart failure events. The cumulative incidence of heart failure for the usual care versus the intensive lifestyle intervention arm was not statistically different (an event rate of 4.53 vs. 4.32 per 1,000 person-years, respectively; hazard ratio, 0.96). “This demonstrated that the intensive lifestyle intervention in the LookAHEAD trial did not significantly modify the risk of heart failure,” Dr. Pandey said.

However, an adjusted analysis revealed that the risk of heart failure was 39% lower in the moderately fit group and 62% lower in the high fit group, compared with the low-fitness group. Among heart failure subtypes, the risk of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) was 40% lower in the moderately fit group and 77% lower in the high-fitness group. On the other hand, baseline level of fitness level was not associated with risk of heart failure reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) after the researchers adjusted for cardiovascular risk factors.

Next, Dr. Pandey and his colleagues used Cox modeling to examine the association of baseline and longitudinal changes in fitness and BMI with risk of heart failure. For change in fitness and BMI analysis, they used the 4-year follow-up data in 3,092 participants who underwent repeat fitness testing and had available data on BMI. They excluded patients who developed heart failure within the first 4 years of the study.

The mean age of the ancillary study population was about 60 years, and there was a lower proportion of women in the high fitness tertile (41%). The researchers observed a graded, inverse association between higher fitness levels and lower risk of heart failure such that increasing fitness from baseline was associated with a substantial decrease in the risk of heart failure. Specifically, a 10% decline in fitness over the 4 years of follow-up was associated with a 11% increase in the overall risk of heart failure (HR, 1.11). “This was largely consistent with the two heart failure subtypes,” he said. Similarly, a 10% increase in BMI over the 4 years of follow-up was associated with a 25% increase in the overall risk of heart failure (HR 1.25). On the other hand, a 10% decrease BMI was associated with a 20% decrease in the risk of heart failure (HR .80). This was also largely consistent for both heart failure subtypes. According to co-lead investigator Kershaw Patel, MD, “these findings suggest that therapies targeting large and sustained improvements in fitness and weight loss may modify the risk of heart failure among patients with diabetes.”

“Lower fitness at baseline was more strongly associated with the risk of HFpEF vs. HFrEF, and greater weight loss over follow-up is associated with a lower risk of heart failure independent of changes in other risk factors,” Dr. Pandey concluded at the meeting, which was sponsored by the American Heart Association.

In an interview, session moderator Joshua J. Joseph, MD, said that it remains unclear what type of setting is ideal for carrying out cardiorespiratory fitness in this patient population. “What is the supervision needed for that to occur?” asked Dr. Joseph, of The Ohio State University, Columbus. “Can patients do this on their own, or do they need guidance? What is the best approach? That’s the question we all have to answer individually in our own communities.”

Dr. Pandey reported having no disclosures.

[email protected]

SOURCE: Pandey A. Epi/Lifestyle 2020, Abstract 16.

PHOENIX – Lower baseline fitness and greater decline in fitness over time are independently associated with a higher risk of heart failure in patients with diabetes, results from a large analysis showed.

Doug Brunk/MDedge News

“Diabetes is an important risk factor for the development of heart failure, and the diagnosis of diabetes in newly diagnosed cases of heart failure has been increasing,” Ambarish Pandey, MD, said at the Epidemiology and Prevention/Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health meeting. “Type 2 diabetes is associated with increased burden of traditional risk factors such as hypertension, kidney dysfunction, and dyslipidemia – each of which in turn increase the risk of both atherothrombotic disease as well as heart failure.”

Recent data from the Swedish National Diabetes Register have shown that optimal management of these risk factors in patients with type 2 diabetes can actually mitigate the risk of atherosclerotic events such as acute MI, but the risk of heart failure does not significantly lower with optimal management of these traditional cardiovascular risk factors (N Engl J Med. 2018;379:633-44). “These findings highlight that novel approaches that go beyond just managing traditional cardiovascular risk factors are needed for prevention of heart failure in patients with type 2 diabetes,” said Dr. Pandey, of the division of cardiology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas. “Our group has demonstrated that physical inactivity and low levels of fitness are associated with a higher risk of heart failure. We have also shown that the protective effect of physical activity against heart failure risk is stronger against heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, which is a subtype of heart failure that is increasing in prevalence and has no effective therapies.”

Dr. Pandey and his colleagues set out to test the research hypothesis that fitness decline and increases in body mass index over time are significantly associated with a higher risk of heart failure. To do this, they drew from the LookAHEAD Trial, a multicenter analysis of 5,145 overweight or obese patients with type 2 diabetes who were randomized to an intensive lifestyle intervention or to usual care. The intervention consisted of a caloric intake goal of 1,200 to 1,800 kcal per day and engaging in at least 175 minutes per week of physical activity. Participants were stratified into one of three fitness group levels: low, moderate, and high, from 5 metabolic equivalents (METs) in the lowest fitness tertile to 9 METs in the highest fitness tertile. The primary outcome of the trial was adverse cardiovascular events. The intervention was implemented for almost 10 years, and patients were followed for up to 12 years from baseline.

The heart failure outcomes were not systematically adjudicated in the primary LookAHEAD trial, so Dr. Pandey and colleagues conducted an ancillary study of all incident hospitalizations in the study and followed them for 2 additional years. Overall, the researchers identified 257 incident heart failure events. The cumulative incidence of heart failure for the usual care versus the intensive lifestyle intervention arm was not statistically different (an event rate of 4.53 vs. 4.32 per 1,000 person-years, respectively; hazard ratio, 0.96). “This demonstrated that the intensive lifestyle intervention in the LookAHEAD trial did not significantly modify the risk of heart failure,” Dr. Pandey said.

However, an adjusted analysis revealed that the risk of heart failure was 39% lower in the moderately fit group and 62% lower in the high fit group, compared with the low-fitness group. Among heart failure subtypes, the risk of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) was 40% lower in the moderately fit group and 77% lower in the high-fitness group. On the other hand, baseline level of fitness level was not associated with risk of heart failure reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) after the researchers adjusted for cardiovascular risk factors.

Next, Dr. Pandey and his colleagues used Cox modeling to examine the association of baseline and longitudinal changes in fitness and BMI with risk of heart failure. For change in fitness and BMI analysis, they used the 4-year follow-up data in 3,092 participants who underwent repeat fitness testing and had available data on BMI. They excluded patients who developed heart failure within the first 4 years of the study.

The mean age of the ancillary study population was about 60 years, and there was a lower proportion of women in the high fitness tertile (41%). The researchers observed a graded, inverse association between higher fitness levels and lower risk of heart failure such that increasing fitness from baseline was associated with a substantial decrease in the risk of heart failure. Specifically, a 10% decline in fitness over the 4 years of follow-up was associated with a 11% increase in the overall risk of heart failure (HR, 1.11). “This was largely consistent with the two heart failure subtypes,” he said. Similarly, a 10% increase in BMI over the 4 years of follow-up was associated with a 25% increase in the overall risk of heart failure (HR 1.25). On the other hand, a 10% decrease BMI was associated with a 20% decrease in the risk of heart failure (HR .80). This was also largely consistent for both heart failure subtypes. According to co-lead investigator Kershaw Patel, MD, “these findings suggest that therapies targeting large and sustained improvements in fitness and weight loss may modify the risk of heart failure among patients with diabetes.”

“Lower fitness at baseline was more strongly associated with the risk of HFpEF vs. HFrEF, and greater weight loss over follow-up is associated with a lower risk of heart failure independent of changes in other risk factors,” Dr. Pandey concluded at the meeting, which was sponsored by the American Heart Association.

In an interview, session moderator Joshua J. Joseph, MD, said that it remains unclear what type of setting is ideal for carrying out cardiorespiratory fitness in this patient population. “What is the supervision needed for that to occur?” asked Dr. Joseph, of The Ohio State University, Columbus. “Can patients do this on their own, or do they need guidance? What is the best approach? That’s the question we all have to answer individually in our own communities.”

Dr. Pandey reported having no disclosures.

[email protected]

SOURCE: Pandey A. Epi/Lifestyle 2020, Abstract 16.

PHOENIX – Lower baseline fitness and greater decline in fitness over time are independently associated with a higher risk of heart failure in patients with diabetes, results from a large analysis showed.

Doug Brunk/MDedge News

“Diabetes is an important risk factor for the development of heart failure, and the diagnosis of diabetes in newly diagnosed cases of heart failure has been increasing,” Ambarish Pandey, MD, said at the Epidemiology and Prevention/Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health meeting. “Type 2 diabetes is associated with increased burden of traditional risk factors such as hypertension, kidney dysfunction, and dyslipidemia – each of which in turn increase the risk of both atherothrombotic disease as well as heart failure.”

Recent data from the Swedish National Diabetes Register have shown that optimal management of these risk factors in patients with type 2 diabetes can actually mitigate the risk of atherosclerotic events such as acute MI, but the risk of heart failure does not significantly lower with optimal management of these traditional cardiovascular risk factors (N Engl J Med. 2018;379:633-44). “These findings highlight that novel approaches that go beyond just managing traditional cardiovascular risk factors are needed for prevention of heart failure in patients with type 2 diabetes,” said Dr. Pandey, of the division of cardiology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas. “Our group has demonstrated that physical inactivity and low levels of fitness are associated with a higher risk of heart failure. We have also shown that the protective effect of physical activity against heart failure risk is stronger against heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, which is a subtype of heart failure that is increasing in prevalence and has no effective therapies.”

Dr. Pandey and his colleagues set out to test the research hypothesis that fitness decline and increases in body mass index over time are significantly associated with a higher risk of heart failure. To do this, they drew from the LookAHEAD Trial, a multicenter analysis of 5,145 overweight or obese patients with type 2 diabetes who were randomized to an intensive lifestyle intervention or to usual care. The intervention consisted of a caloric intake goal of 1,200 to 1,800 kcal per day and engaging in at least 175 minutes per week of physical activity. Participants were stratified into one of three fitness group levels: low, moderate, and high, from 5 metabolic equivalents (METs) in the lowest fitness tertile to 9 METs in the highest fitness tertile. The primary outcome of the trial was adverse cardiovascular events. The intervention was implemented for almost 10 years, and patients were followed for up to 12 years from baseline.

The heart failure outcomes were not systematically adjudicated in the primary LookAHEAD trial, so Dr. Pandey and colleagues conducted an ancillary study of all incident hospitalizations in the study and followed them for 2 additional years. Overall, the researchers identified 257 incident heart failure events. The cumulative incidence of heart failure for the usual care versus the intensive lifestyle intervention arm was not statistically different (an event rate of 4.53 vs. 4.32 per 1,000 person-years, respectively; hazard ratio, 0.96). “This demonstrated that the intensive lifestyle intervention in the LookAHEAD trial did not significantly modify the risk of heart failure,” Dr. Pandey said.

However, an adjusted analysis revealed that the risk of heart failure was 39% lower in the moderately fit group and 62% lower in the high fit group, compared with the low-fitness group. Among heart failure subtypes, the risk of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) was 40% lower in the moderately fit group and 77% lower in the high-fitness group. On the other hand, baseline level of fitness level was not associated with risk of heart failure reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) after the researchers adjusted for cardiovascular risk factors.

Next, Dr. Pandey and his colleagues used Cox modeling to examine the association of baseline and longitudinal changes in fitness and BMI with risk of heart failure. For change in fitness and BMI analysis, they used the 4-year follow-up data in 3,092 participants who underwent repeat fitness testing and had available data on BMI. They excluded patients who developed heart failure within the first 4 years of the study.

The mean age of the ancillary study population was about 60 years, and there was a lower proportion of women in the high fitness tertile (41%). The researchers observed a graded, inverse association between higher fitness levels and lower risk of heart failure such that increasing fitness from baseline was associated with a substantial decrease in the risk of heart failure. Specifically, a 10% decline in fitness over the 4 years of follow-up was associated with a 11% increase in the overall risk of heart failure (HR, 1.11). “This was largely consistent with the two heart failure subtypes,” he said. Similarly, a 10% increase in BMI over the 4 years of follow-up was associated with a 25% increase in the overall risk of heart failure (HR 1.25). On the other hand, a 10% decrease BMI was associated with a 20% decrease in the risk of heart failure (HR .80). This was also largely consistent for both heart failure subtypes. According to co-lead investigator Kershaw Patel, MD, “these findings suggest that therapies targeting large and sustained improvements in fitness and weight loss may modify the risk of heart failure among patients with diabetes.”

“Lower fitness at baseline was more strongly associated with the risk of HFpEF vs. HFrEF, and greater weight loss over follow-up is associated with a lower risk of heart failure independent of changes in other risk factors,” Dr. Pandey concluded at the meeting, which was sponsored by the American Heart Association.

In an interview, session moderator Joshua J. Joseph, MD, said that it remains unclear what type of setting is ideal for carrying out cardiorespiratory fitness in this patient population. “What is the supervision needed for that to occur?” asked Dr. Joseph, of The Ohio State University, Columbus. “Can patients do this on their own, or do they need guidance? What is the best approach? That’s the question we all have to answer individually in our own communities.”

Dr. Pandey reported having no disclosures.

[email protected]

SOURCE: Pandey A. Epi/Lifestyle 2020, Abstract 16.

PHOENIX, ARIZ. – Cardiovascular deaths and death rates related to atrial fibrillation have risen since 1999, with significant acceleration following 2009, results from a cross-sectional analysis of national data show.

Doug Brunk/MDedge News

“AFib is the most common arrhythmia disorder in the United States and it is estimated that it will effect more than 12 million Americans by 2030,” Yoshihiro Tanaka, MD, PhD, said at the Epidemiology and Prevention/Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health meeting. “The predicted lifetime risk ranges from 25% to 35%, and AFib is associated with an increased risk for heart failure, stroke, and death.”

A recent review reported that declines in total heart disease mortality rates in the United States have plateaued since 2011 (JAMA 2019;322[8]:780-2). However, it is not well understood what factors such as AFib contribute to this rate of plateau. In an effort to quantify U.S. trends in AFib-related CVD death rates, Dr. Tanaka and colleagues conducted a serial cross-sectional analysis of death certificate data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Wide-Ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research (WONDER) database during 1999-2017.

Outcomes included age-adjusted mortality per 100,000 based on the 2000 U.S. standard population. The researchers also used joinpoint regression to calculate the average annual percentage change over time and conducted subgroup analyses by race and sex and across two age groups: 35-64 years and 65-84 years.

In all, 522,104 AFib-related CVD deaths were identified during 1999-2017. Dr. Tanaka reported that age-adjusted mortality increased from 16.0 per 100,000 persons in 1999 to 22.2 per 100,000 person in 2017, with an acceleration following an inflection point in 2009. Specifically, the average annual percentage change in AFib-related CVD deaths rose from 0.4% in 2009 to 3.5% in 2017 (P < .001). “These increases were consistent across all race-sex subgroups,” said Dr. Tanaka, of the department of preventive medicine at Northwestern University, Chicago. “Relative increases were also greater in younger compared with older adults, although the absolute number of deaths in younger adults was less.”

The researchers observed that age-adjusted mortality increased across blacks and whites in both age groups, with a more pronounced increase among black and white men. Black men had the highest age-adjusted mortality among persons aged 35-64 (6.5 per 100,000 persons, compared with 4.2 among white men, 2.8 in black women, and 1.6 in white women 1.6 per 100,000). At the same time, white men had the highest age-adjusted mortality rate among those aged 65-84 years (112.5 per 100,000 persons, compared with 87.7 in black men, 77.4 in white women, and 61.3 in black women).

In an interview, one of the session’s moderators, Alvaro Alonso, MD, PhD, said that the study’s reliance on mortality data is a limitation. “You have to be careful with that, because it’s not the whole picture,” said Dr. Alonso, professor of epidemiology at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University, Atlanta. “It could be an underestimation of what is going on. The increase in recent years is probably due to a higher awareness of AFib as a risk factor for stroke; it’s more on the radar. Also, around 2009-2010, we started having new anticoagulants for AFib. It’s getting diagnosed more. When you look at coronary heart disease and stroke, there has been a decrease over time. In mortality and incidence of AFib, we don’t have that. That’s probably because we don’t know very much about what the risk factors for AFib are and how to prevent it.”

Dr. Tanaka said that the cause of increase in AFib-related CVD mortality can be classified into two major categories: a balance between case fatality of AFib and the prevalence of AFib. “The case fatality rate should have decreased over the last years,” he said at the meeting, which was sponsored by the American Heart Association. “In contrast, in the context of the aging of the population, the prevalence of AFib increased over the past years. Contributing factors include increasing awareness of AFib, a change in coding between ICD-9 and ICD-10, and a change in coding practices by physicians.”

Strengths of the study, he said, include its large sample size and the fact that the researchers were able to capture data from all death certificates filed in the United States. Limitations include the fact that the data “do not identify if changes in age-adjusted mortality rates are due to changing incidence or to case fatality rates,” he said. “CDC WONDER does not allow us to explore causes of these descriptive findings, but this would be an important next step.”

Dr. Tanaka reported having no financial disclosures.

[email protected]

SOURCE: Tanaka Y. EPI/Lifestyle 2020, Session 5, Abstract 15.

PHOENIX, ARIZ. – Cardiovascular deaths and death rates related to atrial fibrillation have risen since 1999, with significant acceleration following 2009, results from a cross-sectional analysis of national data show.

Doug Brunk/MDedge News

“AFib is the most common arrhythmia disorder in the United States and it is estimated that it will effect more than 12 million Americans by 2030,” Yoshihiro Tanaka, MD, PhD, said at the Epidemiology and Prevention/Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health meeting. “The predicted lifetime risk ranges from 25% to 35%, and AFib is associated with an increased risk for heart failure, stroke, and death.”

A recent review reported that declines in total heart disease mortality rates in the United States have plateaued since 2011 (JAMA 2019;322[8]:780-2). However, it is not well understood what factors such as AFib contribute to this rate of plateau. In an effort to quantify U.S. trends in AFib-related CVD death rates, Dr. Tanaka and colleagues conducted a serial cross-sectional analysis of death certificate data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Wide-Ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research (WONDER) database during 1999-2017.

Outcomes included age-adjusted mortality per 100,000 based on the 2000 U.S. standard population. The researchers also used joinpoint regression to calculate the average annual percentage change over time and conducted subgroup analyses by race and sex and across two age groups: 35-64 years and 65-84 years.

In all, 522,104 AFib-related CVD deaths were identified during 1999-2017. Dr. Tanaka reported that age-adjusted mortality increased from 16.0 per 100,000 persons in 1999 to 22.2 per 100,000 person in 2017, with an acceleration following an inflection point in 2009. Specifically, the average annual percentage change in AFib-related CVD deaths rose from 0.4% in 2009 to 3.5% in 2017 (P < .001). “These increases were consistent across all race-sex subgroups,” said Dr. Tanaka, of the department of preventive medicine at Northwestern University, Chicago. “Relative increases were also greater in younger compared with older adults, although the absolute number of deaths in younger adults was less.”

The researchers observed that age-adjusted mortality increased across blacks and whites in both age groups, with a more pronounced increase among black and white men. Black men had the highest age-adjusted mortality among persons aged 35-64 (6.5 per 100,000 persons, compared with 4.2 among white men, 2.8 in black women, and 1.6 in white women 1.6 per 100,000). At the same time, white men had the highest age-adjusted mortality rate among those aged 65-84 years (112.5 per 100,000 persons, compared with 87.7 in black men, 77.4 in white women, and 61.3 in black women).

In an interview, one of the session’s moderators, Alvaro Alonso, MD, PhD, said that the study’s reliance on mortality data is a limitation. “You have to be careful with that, because it’s not the whole picture,” said Dr. Alonso, professor of epidemiology at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University, Atlanta. “It could be an underestimation of what is going on. The increase in recent years is probably due to a higher awareness of AFib as a risk factor for stroke; it’s more on the radar. Also, around 2009-2010, we started having new anticoagulants for AFib. It’s getting diagnosed more. When you look at coronary heart disease and stroke, there has been a decrease over time. In mortality and incidence of AFib, we don’t have that. That’s probably because we don’t know very much about what the risk factors for AFib are and how to prevent it.”

Dr. Tanaka said that the cause of increase in AFib-related CVD mortality can be classified into two major categories: a balance between case fatality of AFib and the prevalence of AFib. “The case fatality rate should have decreased over the last years,” he said at the meeting, which was sponsored by the American Heart Association. “In contrast, in the context of the aging of the population, the prevalence of AFib increased over the past years. Contributing factors include increasing awareness of AFib, a change in coding between ICD-9 and ICD-10, and a change in coding practices by physicians.”

Strengths of the study, he said, include its large sample size and the fact that the researchers were able to capture data from all death certificates filed in the United States. Limitations include the fact that the data “do not identify if changes in age-adjusted mortality rates are due to changing incidence or to case fatality rates,” he said. “CDC WONDER does not allow us to explore causes of these descriptive findings, but this would be an important next step.”

Dr. Tanaka reported having no financial disclosures.

[email protected]

SOURCE: Tanaka Y. EPI/Lifestyle 2020, Session 5, Abstract 15.

PHOENIX, ARIZ. – Cardiovascular deaths and death rates related to atrial fibrillation have risen since 1999, with significant acceleration following 2009, results from a cross-sectional analysis of national data show.

Doug Brunk/MDedge News

“AFib is the most common arrhythmia disorder in the United States and it is estimated that it will effect more than 12 million Americans by 2030,” Yoshihiro Tanaka, MD, PhD, said at the Epidemiology and Prevention/Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health meeting. “The predicted lifetime risk ranges from 25% to 35%, and AFib is associated with an increased risk for heart failure, stroke, and death.”

A recent review reported that declines in total heart disease mortality rates in the United States have plateaued since 2011 (JAMA 2019;322[8]:780-2). However, it is not well understood what factors such as AFib contribute to this rate of plateau. In an effort to quantify U.S. trends in AFib-related CVD death rates, Dr. Tanaka and colleagues conducted a serial cross-sectional analysis of death certificate data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Wide-Ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research (WONDER) database during 1999-2017.

Outcomes included age-adjusted mortality per 100,000 based on the 2000 U.S. standard population. The researchers also used joinpoint regression to calculate the average annual percentage change over time and conducted subgroup analyses by race and sex and across two age groups: 35-64 years and 65-84 years.

In all, 522,104 AFib-related CVD deaths were identified during 1999-2017. Dr. Tanaka reported that age-adjusted mortality increased from 16.0 per 100,000 persons in 1999 to 22.2 per 100,000 person in 2017, with an acceleration following an inflection point in 2009. Specifically, the average annual percentage change in AFib-related CVD deaths rose from 0.4% in 2009 to 3.5% in 2017 (P < .001). “These increases were consistent across all race-sex subgroups,” said Dr. Tanaka, of the department of preventive medicine at Northwestern University, Chicago. “Relative increases were also greater in younger compared with older adults, although the absolute number of deaths in younger adults was less.”

The researchers observed that age-adjusted mortality increased across blacks and whites in both age groups, with a more pronounced increase among black and white men. Black men had the highest age-adjusted mortality among persons aged 35-64 (6.5 per 100,000 persons, compared with 4.2 among white men, 2.8 in black women, and 1.6 in white women 1.6 per 100,000). At the same time, white men had the highest age-adjusted mortality rate among those aged 65-84 years (112.5 per 100,000 persons, compared with 87.7 in black men, 77.4 in white women, and 61.3 in black women).

In an interview, one of the session’s moderators, Alvaro Alonso, MD, PhD, said that the study’s reliance on mortality data is a limitation. “You have to be careful with that, because it’s not the whole picture,” said Dr. Alonso, professor of epidemiology at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University, Atlanta. “It could be an underestimation of what is going on. The increase in recent years is probably due to a higher awareness of AFib as a risk factor for stroke; it’s more on the radar. Also, around 2009-2010, we started having new anticoagulants for AFib. It’s getting diagnosed more. When you look at coronary heart disease and stroke, there has been a decrease over time. In mortality and incidence of AFib, we don’t have that. That’s probably because we don’t know very much about what the risk factors for AFib are and how to prevent it.”

Dr. Tanaka said that the cause of increase in AFib-related CVD mortality can be classified into two major categories: a balance between case fatality of AFib and the prevalence of AFib. “The case fatality rate should have decreased over the last years,” he said at the meeting, which was sponsored by the American Heart Association. “In contrast, in the context of the aging of the population, the prevalence of AFib increased over the past years. Contributing factors include increasing awareness of AFib, a change in coding between ICD-9 and ICD-10, and a change in coding practices by physicians.”

Strengths of the study, he said, include its large sample size and the fact that the researchers were able to capture data from all death certificates filed in the United States. Limitations include the fact that the data “do not identify if changes in age-adjusted mortality rates are due to changing incidence or to case fatality rates,” he said. “CDC WONDER does not allow us to explore causes of these descriptive findings, but this would be an important next step.”

Dr. Tanaka reported having no financial disclosures.

[email protected]

SOURCE: Tanaka Y. EPI/Lifestyle 2020, Session 5, Abstract 15.

PHOENIX, ARIZ. – Cardiovascular disease risk factors differ significantly between three black ethnic subgroups in the United States, compared with whites, results from a large, long-term cross-sectional study show.

Doug Brunk/MDedge News

“Race alone does not account for health disparities in CVD risk factors,” lead author Diana Baptiste, DNP, RN, CNE, said at the Epidemiology and Prevention/Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health meeting. “We must consider the environmental, psychosocial, and social factors that may play a larger role in CVD risk among these populations.”

Dr. Baptiste, of the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing Center for Cardiovascular and Chronic Care in Baltimore, noted that blacks bear a disproportionately greater burden of CVD than that of any other racial group. “Blacks living in the U.S. are not monolithic and include different ethnic subgroups: African Americans, Afro-Caribbeans, defined as black persons who are born in the Caribbean islands, and African immigrants, defined as black persons who are born in Africa,” she said. “It is unclear how Afro-Caribbeans and African immigrants compare to African Americans and whites with regard to CVD risk factors.”

To examine trends in CVD risk factors among the three black ethnic subgroups compared with whites, she and her colleagues performed a cross-sectional analysis of 452,997 adults who participated in the 2010-2018 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). Of these, 82% were white and 18% were black. Among blacks, 89% were African Americans, 6% were Afro-Caribbeans, and 5% were African immigrants. Outcomes of interest were four self-reported CVD risk factors: hypertension, diabetes, overweight/obesity, and smoking. The researchers used generalized linear models with Poisson distribution to calculate predictive probabilities of CVD risk factors, adjusted for age and sex.

Dr. Baptiste reported that African immigrants represented the youngest subgroup, with an average age of 41 years, compared with an average age of 50 among whites. They were also less likely to have health insurance (76%), compared with Afro-Caribbeans (81%), African Americans (83%), and whites (91%; P < .001). Disparities were observed in the proportion of individuals living below the poverty level. This was led by African Americans (24%), followed by African immigrants (22%), Afro-Caribbeans (18%), and whites (9%).

African immigrants were most likely to be college educated (36%), compared with whites (32%), Afro-Caribbeans (23%), and African Americans (17%; P =.001). In addition, only 33% of African Americans were married, compared with more than 50% of participants in the other ethnic groups.

African Americans had the highest prevalence of hypertension over the time period (from 44% in 2010 to 42% in 2018), while African immigrants had the lowest (from 19% to 17%). African Americans also had the highest prevalence of diabetes over the time period (from 14% to 15%), while African immigrants had the lowest (from 9% to 7%). The prevalence of overweight and obesity was highest among African Americans (from 74% to 76%), while African immigrants had the lowest (63% to 60%). Finally, smoking prevalence was highest in whites and African Americans compared with African immigrants and Afro-Caribbeans, but the prevalence decreased significantly between 2010 and 2018 (P for trend < .001).

In an interview, one of the meeting session’s moderators, Sherry-Ann Brown, MD, PhD, said that the study’s findings underscore the importance of heterogeneity when counseling patients about CVD risk factors. “Everybody comes from a different cultural background,” said Dr. Brown, a cardiologist and physician scientist at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. “Cultural backgrounds have an impact on when people eat, how they eat, who they eat with, when they exercise, and whether obesity is valued or not. It’s important to recognize that those cultural underpinnings can contribute to heterogeneity. Other factors – whether they are psychosocial or socioeconomic or environmental – also contribute.”

Strengths of the study, Dr. Baptiste said, included the use of a large, nationally representative dataset. Limitations included its cross-sectional design and the National Health Interview Survey’s reliance on self-reported data. “There were also small sample sizes for African immigrants and Afro-Caribbeans,” she said.

The study was supported by Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing Center for Cardiovascular and Chronic Care. Dr. Baptiste reported having no financial disclosures.

The meeting was sponsored by the American Heart Association.

[email protected]

SOURCE: Baptiste D et al. EPI/Lifestyle 2020, Session 4, Abstract 8.

PHOENIX, ARIZ. – Cardiovascular disease risk factors differ significantly between three black ethnic subgroups in the United States, compared with whites, results from a large, long-term cross-sectional study show.

Doug Brunk/MDedge News

“Race alone does not account for health disparities in CVD risk factors,” lead author Diana Baptiste, DNP, RN, CNE, said at the Epidemiology and Prevention/Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health meeting. “We must consider the environmental, psychosocial, and social factors that may play a larger role in CVD risk among these populations.”

Dr. Baptiste, of the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing Center for Cardiovascular and Chronic Care in Baltimore, noted that blacks bear a disproportionately greater burden of CVD than that of any other racial group. “Blacks living in the U.S. are not monolithic and include different ethnic subgroups: African Americans, Afro-Caribbeans, defined as black persons who are born in the Caribbean islands, and African immigrants, defined as black persons who are born in Africa,” she said. “It is unclear how Afro-Caribbeans and African immigrants compare to African Americans and whites with regard to CVD risk factors.”

To examine trends in CVD risk factors among the three black ethnic subgroups compared with whites, she and her colleagues performed a cross-sectional analysis of 452,997 adults who participated in the 2010-2018 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). Of these, 82% were white and 18% were black. Among blacks, 89% were African Americans, 6% were Afro-Caribbeans, and 5% were African immigrants. Outcomes of interest were four self-reported CVD risk factors: hypertension, diabetes, overweight/obesity, and smoking. The researchers used generalized linear models with Poisson distribution to calculate predictive probabilities of CVD risk factors, adjusted for age and sex.

Dr. Baptiste reported that African immigrants represented the youngest subgroup, with an average age of 41 years, compared with an average age of 50 among whites. They were also less likely to have health insurance (76%), compared with Afro-Caribbeans (81%), African Americans (83%), and whites (91%; P < .001). Disparities were observed in the proportion of individuals living below the poverty level. This was led by African Americans (24%), followed by African immigrants (22%), Afro-Caribbeans (18%), and whites (9%).

African immigrants were most likely to be college educated (36%), compared with whites (32%), Afro-Caribbeans (23%), and African Americans (17%; P =.001). In addition, only 33% of African Americans were married, compared with more than 50% of participants in the other ethnic groups.

African Americans had the highest prevalence of hypertension over the time period (from 44% in 2010 to 42% in 2018), while African immigrants had the lowest (from 19% to 17%). African Americans also had the highest prevalence of diabetes over the time period (from 14% to 15%), while African immigrants had the lowest (from 9% to 7%). The prevalence of overweight and obesity was highest among African Americans (from 74% to 76%), while African immigrants had the lowest (63% to 60%). Finally, smoking prevalence was highest in whites and African Americans compared with African immigrants and Afro-Caribbeans, but the prevalence decreased significantly between 2010 and 2018 (P for trend < .001).

In an interview, one of the meeting session’s moderators, Sherry-Ann Brown, MD, PhD, said that the study’s findings underscore the importance of heterogeneity when counseling patients about CVD risk factors. “Everybody comes from a different cultural background,” said Dr. Brown, a cardiologist and physician scientist at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. “Cultural backgrounds have an impact on when people eat, how they eat, who they eat with, when they exercise, and whether obesity is valued or not. It’s important to recognize that those cultural underpinnings can contribute to heterogeneity. Other factors – whether they are psychosocial or socioeconomic or environmental – also contribute.”

Strengths of the study, Dr. Baptiste said, included the use of a large, nationally representative dataset. Limitations included its cross-sectional design and the National Health Interview Survey’s reliance on self-reported data. “There were also small sample sizes for African immigrants and Afro-Caribbeans,” she said.

The study was supported by Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing Center for Cardiovascular and Chronic Care. Dr. Baptiste reported having no financial disclosures.

The meeting was sponsored by the American Heart Association.

[email protected]

SOURCE: Baptiste D et al. EPI/Lifestyle 2020, Session 4, Abstract 8.

PHOENIX, ARIZ. – Cardiovascular disease risk factors differ significantly between three black ethnic subgroups in the United States, compared with whites, results from a large, long-term cross-sectional study show.

Doug Brunk/MDedge News

“Race alone does not account for health disparities in CVD risk factors,” lead author Diana Baptiste, DNP, RN, CNE, said at the Epidemiology and Prevention/Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health meeting. “We must consider the environmental, psychosocial, and social factors that may play a larger role in CVD risk among these populations.”

Dr. Baptiste, of the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing Center for Cardiovascular and Chronic Care in Baltimore, noted that blacks bear a disproportionately greater burden of CVD than that of any other racial group. “Blacks living in the U.S. are not monolithic and include different ethnic subgroups: African Americans, Afro-Caribbeans, defined as black persons who are born in the Caribbean islands, and African immigrants, defined as black persons who are born in Africa,” she said. “It is unclear how Afro-Caribbeans and African immigrants compare to African Americans and whites with regard to CVD risk factors.”

To examine trends in CVD risk factors among the three black ethnic subgroups compared with whites, she and her colleagues performed a cross-sectional analysis of 452,997 adults who participated in the 2010-2018 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). Of these, 82% were white and 18% were black. Among blacks, 89% were African Americans, 6% were Afro-Caribbeans, and 5% were African immigrants. Outcomes of interest were four self-reported CVD risk factors: hypertension, diabetes, overweight/obesity, and smoking. The researchers used generalized linear models with Poisson distribution to calculate predictive probabilities of CVD risk factors, adjusted for age and sex.

Dr. Baptiste reported that African immigrants represented the youngest subgroup, with an average age of 41 years, compared with an average age of 50 among whites. They were also less likely to have health insurance (76%), compared with Afro-Caribbeans (81%), African Americans (83%), and whites (91%; P < .001). Disparities were observed in the proportion of individuals living below the poverty level. This was led by African Americans (24%), followed by African immigrants (22%), Afro-Caribbeans (18%), and whites (9%).

African immigrants were most likely to be college educated (36%), compared with whites (32%), Afro-Caribbeans (23%), and African Americans (17%; P =.001). In addition, only 33% of African Americans were married, compared with more than 50% of participants in the other ethnic groups.

African Americans had the highest prevalence of hypertension over the time period (from 44% in 2010 to 42% in 2018), while African immigrants had the lowest (from 19% to 17%). African Americans also had the highest prevalence of diabetes over the time period (from 14% to 15%), while African immigrants had the lowest (from 9% to 7%). The prevalence of overweight and obesity was highest among African Americans (from 74% to 76%), while African immigrants had the lowest (63% to 60%). Finally, smoking prevalence was highest in whites and African Americans compared with African immigrants and Afro-Caribbeans, but the prevalence decreased significantly between 2010 and 2018 (P for trend < .001).

In an interview, one of the meeting session’s moderators, Sherry-Ann Brown, MD, PhD, said that the study’s findings underscore the importance of heterogeneity when counseling patients about CVD risk factors. “Everybody comes from a different cultural background,” said Dr. Brown, a cardiologist and physician scientist at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. “Cultural backgrounds have an impact on when people eat, how they eat, who they eat with, when they exercise, and whether obesity is valued or not. It’s important to recognize that those cultural underpinnings can contribute to heterogeneity. Other factors – whether they are psychosocial or socioeconomic or environmental – also contribute.”

Strengths of the study, Dr. Baptiste said, included the use of a large, nationally representative dataset. Limitations included its cross-sectional design and the National Health Interview Survey’s reliance on self-reported data. “There were also small sample sizes for African immigrants and Afro-Caribbeans,” she said.

The study was supported by Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing Center for Cardiovascular and Chronic Care. Dr. Baptiste reported having no financial disclosures.

The meeting was sponsored by the American Heart Association.

[email protected]

SOURCE: Baptiste D et al. EPI/Lifestyle 2020, Session 4, Abstract 8.

PHOENIX – African Americans with systemic lupus erythematosus are more likely to experience recurrent hospitalizations for cardiovascular disease, compared with other racial/ethnic groups, results from a single-state registry study found.

Doug Brunk/MDedge News

“SLE is an autoimmune disease that causes inflammation affecting multiple organ systems including the cardiovascular system,” Meghan Angley, MPH, said at the Epidemiology and Prevention/Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health meeting. “Therefore, individuals with SLE are at risk for early CVD. African Americans represent the racial group at greatest risk for SLE.”

According to Ms. Angley, with the department of epidemiology at Emory University, Atlanta, white women with SLE have CVD associated mortality 12 years earlier than their non-SLE counterparts, while African American women with SLE have CVD-associated mortality 19 years earlier than their non-SLE counterparts. “We know that recurrent hospitalizations for CVD are associated with mortality,” she said. “These represent potential points of identification of high-risk individuals and also points of interventions.”

In order to study racial disparities across recurrent hospitalizations for cardiovascular disease in an SLE population, Ms. Angley and her colleagues drew from the Georgia Lupus Registry, which is a population-based registry of patients with validated SLE in two Georgia counties. They included all cases diagnosed between 2000 and 2004. The registry was linked to records of all inpatient hospitalizations in Georgia between 2000 and 2013. The researchers used ICD-9 codes to identify hospitalizations for coronary heart disease, peripheral artery disease, cerebrovascular disease, and heart failure and used the Prentice-Williams-Peterson model for recurrent time-to-event analysis. Specifically, they looked at the total time scale from the point of diagnosis to each of the subsequent CVD hospitalizations and truncated the number of hospitalizations at three to maintain stable modeling estimates. The analysis was censored at the time of patient death or at the end of 2013 and adjusted for sex and age at diagnosis.

The sample included 417 African Americans with SLE and 149 non–African Americans with the disease. Most (86%) were female, and the non–African American group was slightly more likely to have been diagnosed with SLE after the age of 45 years, compared with the African American group (36% vs. 30%, respectively).

Ms. Angley and her colleagues found that 24% of African Americans had at least one CVD hospitalization, and 14% had at least two, while 13% of non–African Americans had at least one CVD hospitalization, and 5% had at least two. Among those in the African American group, reasons for hospitalizations were congestive heart failure, (58%), cerebrovascular disease (27%), coronary heart disease (18%), and peripheral artery disease (2%). Among those in the non–African American group, reasons for hospitalizations were congestive heart failure (38%), coronary heart disease (38%), cerebrovascular disease (25%), and peripheral artery disease (6%).

Overall, African American race was associated with recurrent hospitalizations (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.9). In an event-specific stratified analysis, the association between African American race and the hazard of recurrence became even more pronounced with each event (hospitalization 1 aHR, 1.2; hospitalization 2 aHR, 1.5; hospitalization 3 aHR, 1.9). The researchers also observed that African Americans were hospitalized sooner, compared with non–African Americans: a median of 3.68 versus 4.61 years for hospitalization 1, 3.73 years versus 5.98 years for hospitalization 2, and 4.84 years versus 8.14 years for hospitalization 3.

“African Americans with SLE are more likely to experience recurrent hospitalizations for CVD,” Ms. Angley concluded at the meeting, which was sponsored by the American Heart Association. “The events occur sooner after diagnosis than in non–African Americans, suggesting that African Americans may be more vulnerable to the cardiovascular complications of SLE. Our next steps include examining potential reasons for these disparities, such as looking at primary care patterns over time, SLE severity over time, and treatment at CVD hospitalizations.”

In an interview, one of the meeting session’s moderators, Sherry-Ann Brown, MD, called for additional research to determine the reasons for disparities that were observed between African Americans with SLE and their non–African American counterparts. “We need to figure out why and address it,” said Dr. Brown, who is a cardiologist and physician-scientist at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. “We recognize that social determinants of health, such as insurance, socioeconomic factors, and psychosocial factors, can contribute. We need to figure out the additional steps we need to take in order to close that gap.”

Ms. Angley reported having no disclosures. The study was funded by grants from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and by the National Institutes of Health.

[email protected]

SOURCE: Angley M et al. Epi/Lifestyle 2020, Abstract 5.

PHOENIX – African Americans with systemic lupus erythematosus are more likely to experience recurrent hospitalizations for cardiovascular disease, compared with other racial/ethnic groups, results from a single-state registry study found.

Doug Brunk/MDedge News

“SLE is an autoimmune disease that causes inflammation affecting multiple organ systems including the cardiovascular system,” Meghan Angley, MPH, said at the Epidemiology and Prevention/Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health meeting. “Therefore, individuals with SLE are at risk for early CVD. African Americans represent the racial group at greatest risk for SLE.”

According to Ms. Angley, with the department of epidemiology at Emory University, Atlanta, white women with SLE have CVD associated mortality 12 years earlier than their non-SLE counterparts, while African American women with SLE have CVD-associated mortality 19 years earlier than their non-SLE counterparts. “We know that recurrent hospitalizations for CVD are associated with mortality,” she said. “These represent potential points of identification of high-risk individuals and also points of interventions.”

In order to study racial disparities across recurrent hospitalizations for cardiovascular disease in an SLE population, Ms. Angley and her colleagues drew from the Georgia Lupus Registry, which is a population-based registry of patients with validated SLE in two Georgia counties. They included all cases diagnosed between 2000 and 2004. The registry was linked to records of all inpatient hospitalizations in Georgia between 2000 and 2013. The researchers used ICD-9 codes to identify hospitalizations for coronary heart disease, peripheral artery disease, cerebrovascular disease, and heart failure and used the Prentice-Williams-Peterson model for recurrent time-to-event analysis. Specifically, they looked at the total time scale from the point of diagnosis to each of the subsequent CVD hospitalizations and truncated the number of hospitalizations at three to maintain stable modeling estimates. The analysis was censored at the time of patient death or at the end of 2013 and adjusted for sex and age at diagnosis.

The sample included 417 African Americans with SLE and 149 non–African Americans with the disease. Most (86%) were female, and the non–African American group was slightly more likely to have been diagnosed with SLE after the age of 45 years, compared with the African American group (36% vs. 30%, respectively).

Ms. Angley and her colleagues found that 24% of African Americans had at least one CVD hospitalization, and 14% had at least two, while 13% of non–African Americans had at least one CVD hospitalization, and 5% had at least two. Among those in the African American group, reasons for hospitalizations were congestive heart failure, (58%), cerebrovascular disease (27%), coronary heart disease (18%), and peripheral artery disease (2%). Among those in the non–African American group, reasons for hospitalizations were congestive heart failure (38%), coronary heart disease (38%), cerebrovascular disease (25%), and peripheral artery disease (6%).

Overall, African American race was associated with recurrent hospitalizations (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.9). In an event-specific stratified analysis, the association between African American race and the hazard of recurrence became even more pronounced with each event (hospitalization 1 aHR, 1.2; hospitalization 2 aHR, 1.5; hospitalization 3 aHR, 1.9). The researchers also observed that African Americans were hospitalized sooner, compared with non–African Americans: a median of 3.68 versus 4.61 years for hospitalization 1, 3.73 years versus 5.98 years for hospitalization 2, and 4.84 years versus 8.14 years for hospitalization 3.

“African Americans with SLE are more likely to experience recurrent hospitalizations for CVD,” Ms. Angley concluded at the meeting, which was sponsored by the American Heart Association. “The events occur sooner after diagnosis than in non–African Americans, suggesting that African Americans may be more vulnerable to the cardiovascular complications of SLE. Our next steps include examining potential reasons for these disparities, such as looking at primary care patterns over time, SLE severity over time, and treatment at CVD hospitalizations.”

In an interview, one of the meeting session’s moderators, Sherry-Ann Brown, MD, called for additional research to determine the reasons for disparities that were observed between African Americans with SLE and their non–African American counterparts. “We need to figure out why and address it,” said Dr. Brown, who is a cardiologist and physician-scientist at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. “We recognize that social determinants of health, such as insurance, socioeconomic factors, and psychosocial factors, can contribute. We need to figure out the additional steps we need to take in order to close that gap.”

Ms. Angley reported having no disclosures. The study was funded by grants from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and by the National Institutes of Health.

[email protected]

SOURCE: Angley M et al. Epi/Lifestyle 2020, Abstract 5.

PHOENIX – African Americans with systemic lupus erythematosus are more likely to experience recurrent hospitalizations for cardiovascular disease, compared with other racial/ethnic groups, results from a single-state registry study found.

Doug Brunk/MDedge News

“SLE is an autoimmune disease that causes inflammation affecting multiple organ systems including the cardiovascular system,” Meghan Angley, MPH, said at the Epidemiology and Prevention/Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health meeting. “Therefore, individuals with SLE are at risk for early CVD. African Americans represent the racial group at greatest risk for SLE.”

According to Ms. Angley, with the department of epidemiology at Emory University, Atlanta, white women with SLE have CVD associated mortality 12 years earlier than their non-SLE counterparts, while African American women with SLE have CVD-associated mortality 19 years earlier than their non-SLE counterparts. “We know that recurrent hospitalizations for CVD are associated with mortality,” she said. “These represent potential points of identification of high-risk individuals and also points of interventions.”

In order to study racial disparities across recurrent hospitalizations for cardiovascular disease in an SLE population, Ms. Angley and her colleagues drew from the Georgia Lupus Registry, which is a population-based registry of patients with validated SLE in two Georgia counties. They included all cases diagnosed between 2000 and 2004. The registry was linked to records of all inpatient hospitalizations in Georgia between 2000 and 2013. The researchers used ICD-9 codes to identify hospitalizations for coronary heart disease, peripheral artery disease, cerebrovascular disease, and heart failure and used the Prentice-Williams-Peterson model for recurrent time-to-event analysis. Specifically, they looked at the total time scale from the point of diagnosis to each of the subsequent CVD hospitalizations and truncated the number of hospitalizations at three to maintain stable modeling estimates. The analysis was censored at the time of patient death or at the end of 2013 and adjusted for sex and age at diagnosis.

The sample included 417 African Americans with SLE and 149 non–African Americans with the disease. Most (86%) were female, and the non–African American group was slightly more likely to have been diagnosed with SLE after the age of 45 years, compared with the African American group (36% vs. 30%, respectively).

Ms. Angley and her colleagues found that 24% of African Americans had at least one CVD hospitalization, and 14% had at least two, while 13% of non–African Americans had at least one CVD hospitalization, and 5% had at least two. Among those in the African American group, reasons for hospitalizations were congestive heart failure, (58%), cerebrovascular disease (27%), coronary heart disease (18%), and peripheral artery disease (2%). Among those in the non–African American group, reasons for hospitalizations were congestive heart failure (38%), coronary heart disease (38%), cerebrovascular disease (25%), and peripheral artery disease (6%).

Overall, African American race was associated with recurrent hospitalizations (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.9). In an event-specific stratified analysis, the association between African American race and the hazard of recurrence became even more pronounced with each event (hospitalization 1 aHR, 1.2; hospitalization 2 aHR, 1.5; hospitalization 3 aHR, 1.9). The researchers also observed that African Americans were hospitalized sooner, compared with non–African Americans: a median of 3.68 versus 4.61 years for hospitalization 1, 3.73 years versus 5.98 years for hospitalization 2, and 4.84 years versus 8.14 years for hospitalization 3.

“African Americans with SLE are more likely to experience recurrent hospitalizations for CVD,” Ms. Angley concluded at the meeting, which was sponsored by the American Heart Association. “The events occur sooner after diagnosis than in non–African Americans, suggesting that African Americans may be more vulnerable to the cardiovascular complications of SLE. Our next steps include examining potential reasons for these disparities, such as looking at primary care patterns over time, SLE severity over time, and treatment at CVD hospitalizations.”

In an interview, one of the meeting session’s moderators, Sherry-Ann Brown, MD, called for additional research to determine the reasons for disparities that were observed between African Americans with SLE and their non–African American counterparts. “We need to figure out why and address it,” said Dr. Brown, who is a cardiologist and physician-scientist at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. “We recognize that social determinants of health, such as insurance, socioeconomic factors, and psychosocial factors, can contribute. We need to figure out the additional steps we need to take in order to close that gap.”

Ms. Angley reported having no disclosures. The study was funded by grants from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and by the National Institutes of Health.

[email protected]

SOURCE: Angley M et al. Epi/Lifestyle 2020, Abstract 5.

PHOENIX – More favorable cardiovascular health at 28 weeks’ gestation was associated with lower risks for several adverse maternal and newborn pregnancy outcomes, according to results from a multinational cohort study.

Doug Brunk/MDedge News

“Over the past 10 years, cardiovascular health [CVH] has been characterized across most of the life course and is associated with a variety of health outcomes, but CVH as a whole has not been well studied during pregnancy,” Amanda M. Perak, MD, said at the Epidemiology and Prevention/Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health meeting.

In an effort to examine the associations of maternal gestational CVH with adverse maternal and newborn outcomes, Dr. Perak of the departments of pediatrics and preventive medicine at Northwestern University and Lurie Children’s Hospital, both in Chicago, and colleagues drew from the Hyperglycemia and Adverse Pregnancy Outcome (HAPO) Study, which examined pregnant women at a target of 28 weeks’ gestation and assessed the associations of glycemia with pregnancy outcomes. The researchers analyzed data from an ancillary study of 2,230 mother-child dyads to characterize clinical gestational CVH with use of five metrics: body mass index, blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose, and smoking. The study excluded women with prepregnancy diabetes, preterm births, and cases of fetal death/major malformations.

Each maternal CVH metric was classified as ideal, intermediate, or poor according to modified definitions based on pregnancy guidelines. “For lipids, it’s known that levels change substantially during pregnancy, but there are no pregnancy guidelines,” Dr. Perak said. “We and others have also shown that higher triglycerides in pregnancy are associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes. We selected thresholds of less than 250 mg/dL for ideal and at least 500 mg/dL for poor, based on triglyceride distribution and clinical relevance.”

Total CVH was scored by assigning 2 points for ideal, 1 for intermediate, and 0 for each poor metric, for a total possible 10 points, with 10 being most favorable. They also created four CVH categories, ranging from all ideal to two or more poor metrics. Maternal adverse pregnancy outcomes included preeclampsia and unplanned primary cesarean section. Newborn adverse pregnancy outcomes included birth weight above the 90th percentile and a cord blood insulin sensitivity index lower than the 10th percentile.

The researchers used logistic and multinomial logistic regression of pregnancy outcomes on maternal gestational CVH in two adjusted models. Secondarily, they examined associations of individual CVH metrics with outcomes, with adjustment for the other metrics.

The cohort comprised mother-child dyads from nine field centers in six countries: the United States (25%), Barbados (23%), United Kingdom (21%), China (18%), Thailand (7%), and Canada (7%). The mothers’ mean age was 30 years, and the mean gestational age was 28 weeks. The mean gestational CVH score was 8.8 out of 10. Nearly half of mothers (42%) had ideal metrics, while 4% had two or more poor metrics. Delivery occurred at a mean of 39.8 weeks, and adverse pregnancy outcomes occurred in 4.7%-17.9% of pregnancies.

In the fully adjusted model, which accounted for maternal age, height, alcohol use, gestational age at pregnancy exam, maternal parity, and newborn sex and race/ethnicity, odds ratios per 1-point higher (better) CVH score were 0.61 (95% confidence interval, 0.53-0.70) for preeclampsia, 0.85 (95% CI, 0.76-0.95) for unplanned primary cesarean section (among primiparous mothers), 0.83 (95% CI, 0.77-0.91) for large for gestational age infant, and 0.79 (95% CI, 0.72-0.87) for infant insulin sensitivity index below the 10th percentile. CVH categories were also associated with outcomes. For example, odds ratios for preeclampsia were 4.61 (95% CI, 2.13-11.14) for mothers with one or more intermediate metrics, 7.62 (95% CI, 3.60-18.13) for mothers with one poor metric, and 12.02 (95% CI, 4.70-32.50) for mothers with two or more poor metrics, compared with mothers with all metrics ideal.

“Except for smoking, each CVH metric was independently associated with adverse outcomes,” Dr. Perak said. “However, total CVH was associated with a wider range of outcomes than any single metric. This suggests that CVH provides health insights beyond single risk factors.”

Strengths of the study, she continued, included geographic and racial diversity of participants and high-quality research measurements of CVH. Limitations were that the cohort excluded prepregnancy diabetes and preterm births. “Diet and exercise data were not available, and CVH was measured once at 28 weeks,” she said. “Further study is needed across pregnancy and in other settings, but this study provides the first data on the relevance of gestational CVH for pregnancy outcomes.”

In an interview, Stephen S. Rich, PhD, who directs the Center for Public Health Genomics at the University of Virginia, said that the data “provide strong epidemiologic support to focus on the full range of cardiovascular health. In my view, the primary limitation of the study is that there may be significant differences in how one achieves ideal CHV across a single country, not to mention across the world, particularly in absence of a highly controlled, research environment. It is not clear that the approach used in this study at nine selected sites in six relatively highly developed countries could be translated into primary care – particularly in the U.S. with different regulatory and reimbursement plans and payers. Nonetheless, the evidence suggests a way to reduce adverse outcomes in pregnancy and the area deserves greater research.”

According to Dr. Perak, gestational diabetes is associated with a twofold higher maternal risk for cardiovascular disease (Diabetologia. 2019;62:905-14), while diabetes is also associated with higher offspring risk for CVD (BMJ. 2019;367:16398). However, a paucity of data exists on gestational CVH. In one report, better gestational CVH was associated with less subclinical CVD for the mother 10 years later (J Am Heart Assoc. 2019 Jul 23. doi:10.1161/JAHA.118.011394). In a separate analysis, Dr. Perak and her colleagues found that better gestational CVH was associated with better offspring CVH in childhood. “Unfortunately, we also reported that, among pregnant women in the United States, fewer than 1 in 10 had high CVH,” she said (J Am Heart Assoc. 2020 Feb 17. doi:10.1161/JAHA.119.015123). “However, the relevance of gestational CVH for pregnancy outcomes is unknown, but a it’s key question when considering CVH monitoring in prenatal care.”

Dr. Perak reported having received grant support from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the American Heart Association, and Northwestern University. The HAPO Study was supported by NHLBI and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

The meeting was sponsored by the American Heart Association.

[email protected]

SOURCE: Perak A et al. Epi/Lifestyle 2020, Abstract 33.

PHOENIX – More favorable cardiovascular health at 28 weeks’ gestation was associated with lower risks for several adverse maternal and newborn pregnancy outcomes, according to results from a multinational cohort study.

Doug Brunk/MDedge News

“Over the past 10 years, cardiovascular health [CVH] has been characterized across most of the life course and is associated with a variety of health outcomes, but CVH as a whole has not been well studied during pregnancy,” Amanda M. Perak, MD, said at the Epidemiology and Prevention/Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health meeting.

In an effort to examine the associations of maternal gestational CVH with adverse maternal and newborn outcomes, Dr. Perak of the departments of pediatrics and preventive medicine at Northwestern University and Lurie Children’s Hospital, both in Chicago, and colleagues drew from the Hyperglycemia and Adverse Pregnancy Outcome (HAPO) Study, which examined pregnant women at a target of 28 weeks’ gestation and assessed the associations of glycemia with pregnancy outcomes. The researchers analyzed data from an ancillary study of 2,230 mother-child dyads to characterize clinical gestational CVH with use of five metrics: body mass index, blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose, and smoking. The study excluded women with prepregnancy diabetes, preterm births, and cases of fetal death/major malformations.

Each maternal CVH metric was classified as ideal, intermediate, or poor according to modified definitions based on pregnancy guidelines. “For lipids, it’s known that levels change substantially during pregnancy, but there are no pregnancy guidelines,” Dr. Perak said. “We and others have also shown that higher triglycerides in pregnancy are associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes. We selected thresholds of less than 250 mg/dL for ideal and at least 500 mg/dL for poor, based on triglyceride distribution and clinical relevance.”

Total CVH was scored by assigning 2 points for ideal, 1 for intermediate, and 0 for each poor metric, for a total possible 10 points, with 10 being most favorable. They also created four CVH categories, ranging from all ideal to two or more poor metrics. Maternal adverse pregnancy outcomes included preeclampsia and unplanned primary cesarean section. Newborn adverse pregnancy outcomes included birth weight above the 90th percentile and a cord blood insulin sensitivity index lower than the 10th percentile.

The researchers used logistic and multinomial logistic regression of pregnancy outcomes on maternal gestational CVH in two adjusted models. Secondarily, they examined associations of individual CVH metrics with outcomes, with adjustment for the other metrics.

The cohort comprised mother-child dyads from nine field centers in six countries: the United States (25%), Barbados (23%), United Kingdom (21%), China (18%), Thailand (7%), and Canada (7%). The mothers’ mean age was 30 years, and the mean gestational age was 28 weeks. The mean gestational CVH score was 8.8 out of 10. Nearly half of mothers (42%) had ideal metrics, while 4% had two or more poor metrics. Delivery occurred at a mean of 39.8 weeks, and adverse pregnancy outcomes occurred in 4.7%-17.9% of pregnancies.

In the fully adjusted model, which accounted for maternal age, height, alcohol use, gestational age at pregnancy exam, maternal parity, and newborn sex and race/ethnicity, odds ratios per 1-point higher (better) CVH score were 0.61 (95% confidence interval, 0.53-0.70) for preeclampsia, 0.85 (95% CI, 0.76-0.95) for unplanned primary cesarean section (among primiparous mothers), 0.83 (95% CI, 0.77-0.91) for large for gestational age infant, and 0.79 (95% CI, 0.72-0.87) for infant insulin sensitivity index below the 10th percentile. CVH categories were also associated with outcomes. For example, odds ratios for preeclampsia were 4.61 (95% CI, 2.13-11.14) for mothers with one or more intermediate metrics, 7.62 (95% CI, 3.60-18.13) for mothers with one poor metric, and 12.02 (95% CI, 4.70-32.50) for mothers with two or more poor metrics, compared with mothers with all metrics ideal.

“Except for smoking, each CVH metric was independently associated with adverse outcomes,” Dr. Perak said. “However, total CVH was associated with a wider range of outcomes than any single metric. This suggests that CVH provides health insights beyond single risk factors.”

Strengths of the study, she continued, included geographic and racial diversity of participants and high-quality research measurements of CVH. Limitations were that the cohort excluded prepregnancy diabetes and preterm births. “Diet and exercise data were not available, and CVH was measured once at 28 weeks,” she said. “Further study is needed across pregnancy and in other settings, but this study provides the first data on the relevance of gestational CVH for pregnancy outcomes.”

In an interview, Stephen S. Rich, PhD, who directs the Center for Public Health Genomics at the University of Virginia, said that the data “provide strong epidemiologic support to focus on the full range of cardiovascular health. In my view, the primary limitation of the study is that there may be significant differences in how one achieves ideal CHV across a single country, not to mention across the world, particularly in absence of a highly controlled, research environment. It is not clear that the approach used in this study at nine selected sites in six relatively highly developed countries could be translated into primary care – particularly in the U.S. with different regulatory and reimbursement plans and payers. Nonetheless, the evidence suggests a way to reduce adverse outcomes in pregnancy and the area deserves greater research.”

According to Dr. Perak, gestational diabetes is associated with a twofold higher maternal risk for cardiovascular disease (Diabetologia. 2019;62:905-14), while diabetes is also associated with higher offspring risk for CVD (BMJ. 2019;367:16398). However, a paucity of data exists on gestational CVH. In one report, better gestational CVH was associated with less subclinical CVD for the mother 10 years later (J Am Heart Assoc. 2019 Jul 23. doi:10.1161/JAHA.118.011394). In a separate analysis, Dr. Perak and her colleagues found that better gestational CVH was associated with better offspring CVH in childhood. “Unfortunately, we also reported that, among pregnant women in the United States, fewer than 1 in 10 had high CVH,” she said (J Am Heart Assoc. 2020 Feb 17. doi:10.1161/JAHA.119.015123). “However, the relevance of gestational CVH for pregnancy outcomes is unknown, but a it’s key question when considering CVH monitoring in prenatal care.”

Dr. Perak reported having received grant support from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the American Heart Association, and Northwestern University. The HAPO Study was supported by NHLBI and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

The meeting was sponsored by the American Heart Association.

[email protected]

SOURCE: Perak A et al. Epi/Lifestyle 2020, Abstract 33.

PHOENIX – More favorable cardiovascular health at 28 weeks’ gestation was associated with lower risks for several adverse maternal and newborn pregnancy outcomes, according to results from a multinational cohort study.

Doug Brunk/MDedge News

“Over the past 10 years, cardiovascular health [CVH] has been characterized across most of the life course and is associated with a variety of health outcomes, but CVH as a whole has not been well studied during pregnancy,” Amanda M. Perak, MD, said at the Epidemiology and Prevention/Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health meeting.

In an effort to examine the associations of maternal gestational CVH with adverse maternal and newborn outcomes, Dr. Perak of the departments of pediatrics and preventive medicine at Northwestern University and Lurie Children’s Hospital, both in Chicago, and colleagues drew from the Hyperglycemia and Adverse Pregnancy Outcome (HAPO) Study, which examined pregnant women at a target of 28 weeks’ gestation and assessed the associations of glycemia with pregnancy outcomes. The researchers analyzed data from an ancillary study of 2,230 mother-child dyads to characterize clinical gestational CVH with use of five metrics: body mass index, blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose, and smoking. The study excluded women with prepregnancy diabetes, preterm births, and cases of fetal death/major malformations.

Each maternal CVH metric was classified as ideal, intermediate, or poor according to modified definitions based on pregnancy guidelines. “For lipids, it’s known that levels change substantially during pregnancy, but there are no pregnancy guidelines,” Dr. Perak said. “We and others have also shown that higher triglycerides in pregnancy are associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes. We selected thresholds of less than 250 mg/dL for ideal and at least 500 mg/dL for poor, based on triglyceride distribution and clinical relevance.”

Total CVH was scored by assigning 2 points for ideal, 1 for intermediate, and 0 for each poor metric, for a total possible 10 points, with 10 being most favorable. They also created four CVH categories, ranging from all ideal to two or more poor metrics. Maternal adverse pregnancy outcomes included preeclampsia and unplanned primary cesarean section. Newborn adverse pregnancy outcomes included birth weight above the 90th percentile and a cord blood insulin sensitivity index lower than the 10th percentile.

The researchers used logistic and multinomial logistic regression of pregnancy outcomes on maternal gestational CVH in two adjusted models. Secondarily, they examined associations of individual CVH metrics with outcomes, with adjustment for the other metrics.

The cohort comprised mother-child dyads from nine field centers in six countries: the United States (25%), Barbados (23%), United Kingdom (21%), China (18%), Thailand (7%), and Canada (7%). The mothers’ mean age was 30 years, and the mean gestational age was 28 weeks. The mean gestational CVH score was 8.8 out of 10. Nearly half of mothers (42%) had ideal metrics, while 4% had two or more poor metrics. Delivery occurred at a mean of 39.8 weeks, and adverse pregnancy outcomes occurred in 4.7%-17.9% of pregnancies.

In the fully adjusted model, which accounted for maternal age, height, alcohol use, gestational age at pregnancy exam, maternal parity, and newborn sex and race/ethnicity, odds ratios per 1-point higher (better) CVH score were 0.61 (95% confidence interval, 0.53-0.70) for preeclampsia, 0.85 (95% CI, 0.76-0.95) for unplanned primary cesarean section (among primiparous mothers), 0.83 (95% CI, 0.77-0.91) for large for gestational age infant, and 0.79 (95% CI, 0.72-0.87) for infant insulin sensitivity index below the 10th percentile. CVH categories were also associated with outcomes. For example, odds ratios for preeclampsia were 4.61 (95% CI, 2.13-11.14) for mothers with one or more intermediate metrics, 7.62 (95% CI, 3.60-18.13) for mothers with one poor metric, and 12.02 (95% CI, 4.70-32.50) for mothers with two or more poor metrics, compared with mothers with all metrics ideal.

“Except for smoking, each CVH metric was independently associated with adverse outcomes,” Dr. Perak said. “However, total CVH was associated with a wider range of outcomes than any single metric. This suggests that CVH provides health insights beyond single risk factors.”

Strengths of the study, she continued, included geographic and racial diversity of participants and high-quality research measurements of CVH. Limitations were that the cohort excluded prepregnancy diabetes and preterm births. “Diet and exercise data were not available, and CVH was measured once at 28 weeks,” she said. “Further study is needed across pregnancy and in other settings, but this study provides the first data on the relevance of gestational CVH for pregnancy outcomes.”

In an interview, Stephen S. Rich, PhD, who directs the Center for Public Health Genomics at the University of Virginia, said that the data “provide strong epidemiologic support to focus on the full range of cardiovascular health. In my view, the primary limitation of the study is that there may be significant differences in how one achieves ideal CHV across a single country, not to mention across the world, particularly in absence of a highly controlled, research environment. It is not clear that the approach used in this study at nine selected sites in six relatively highly developed countries could be translated into primary care – particularly in the U.S. with different regulatory and reimbursement plans and payers. Nonetheless, the evidence suggests a way to reduce adverse outcomes in pregnancy and the area deserves greater research.”

According to Dr. Perak, gestational diabetes is associated with a twofold higher maternal risk for cardiovascular disease (Diabetologia. 2019;62:905-14), while diabetes is also associated with higher offspring risk for CVD (BMJ. 2019;367:16398). However, a paucity of data exists on gestational CVH. In one report, better gestational CVH was associated with less subclinical CVD for the mother 10 years later (J Am Heart Assoc. 2019 Jul 23. doi:10.1161/JAHA.118.011394). In a separate analysis, Dr. Perak and her colleagues found that better gestational CVH was associated with better offspring CVH in childhood. “Unfortunately, we also reported that, among pregnant women in the United States, fewer than 1 in 10 had high CVH,” she said (J Am Heart Assoc. 2020 Feb 17. doi:10.1161/JAHA.119.015123). “However, the relevance of gestational CVH for pregnancy outcomes is unknown, but a it’s key question when considering CVH monitoring in prenatal care.”

Dr. Perak reported having received grant support from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the American Heart Association, and Northwestern University. The HAPO Study was supported by NHLBI and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

The meeting was sponsored by the American Heart Association.

[email protected]

SOURCE: Perak A et al. Epi/Lifestyle 2020, Abstract 33.

PHOENIX – Consumption of red meat, particularly the processed form, is linked to a higher risk of developing coronary heart disease in men, results from a large prospective analysis demonstrated.

“The findings of this study are in line with randomized trials showing that the consumption of red meat, as compared with plant-based protein sources, increases LDL cholesterol levels, and with previous studies on red meat and risk of coronary heart disease,” lead study author Laila Al-Shaar, MPH, PhD, said in an interview in advance of the Epidemiology and Prevention/Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health meeting.

According to Dr. Al-Shaar, a postdoctoral research fellow in the department of nutrition at the T.H. Chan School of Public Health at Harvard University, Boston, most of the existing studies on red meat and heart disease have examined the impact of increasing consumption of red meat while decreasing consumption of all other foods. For the current study, she and her colleagues used a substitution analysis approach to understand how replacing red meat (total, processed, or unprocessed) with another protein-rich food was associated with the risk of heart disease. “This would potentially provide more specific guidance for healthier alternatives for those planning to cut down their red meat intake,” she said.

She and her colleagues prospectively followed 43,259 men in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (1986-2012) who had no known history of cancer or cardiovascular disease. Diet was assessed by a standardized and validated food frequency questionnaire that was updated every 4 years. Dr. Al-Shaar and her colleagues used multivariate Cox models to estimate hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals of CHD risk across categories of red meat consumption. They performed substitution analyses by comparing coefficients in models including alternative foods as continuous variables.

Over roughly 933,000 person-years of follow-up, the researchers documented 4,148 incident CHD cases. Of these, 1,680 were fatal. After multivariate adjustment for dietary and nondietary risk factors, both total and processed red meat intake were associated with a modestly higher risk of CHD (hazard ratio for a one serving/day increment, 1.08; 95% confidence interval, 1.01-1.14 for total red meat; and HR, 1.13; 95% CI, 1.03-1.22 for processed red meat). Substitutions of one serving per day of other foods (including nuts, legumes, soy, whole grains, and low- and high-fat dairy) for one serving per day of total red meat were associated with a 10%-47% lower CHD risk.

Stronger inverse associations were observed between some of these substitutions for red meat and risk of fatal CHD. Substituting nuts lowered the risk of fatal heart disease by 17%, while replacing red meat with whole grains was linked to a 48% reduction in that outcome. Those associations were more pronounced when replacing processed red meat.

“Processed meats and meats in general have been thought to be potentially not favorable in terms of cardiovascular disease and cardiovascular disease risk,” Robert H. Eckel, MD, professor emeritus of medicine at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, said in an interview. “Now we have increasing data that not only is there a negative cardiovascular disease impact of animal protein, but we see this on all-cause mortality, including cancer.”

Dr. Al-Shaar said that the findings “support current recommendations to limit consumption of red meat and suggest that high-quality plant-based proteins such as nuts, legumes, and soy are good alternatives for individuals planning to have better food choices and healthier eating patterns.”

She acknowledged certain limitations of the study, including its observational design and the fact that it was limited to non-Hispanic white health professionals, “thus limiting the generalizability of its findings to the whole population.”

Dr. Eckel, who is a past president of the American Heart Association, underscored the importance of one’s overall diet in mitigating the risk of developing coronary heart disease. “It’s not simply substituting animal protein with plant protein,” he said. “Fruits and vegetables and whole grains, lean protein from fish – a Mediterranean-style diet – is what the AHA recommends.”

Dr. Al-Shaar reported having no financial disclosures. The study was supported by a T32 training grant from the National Institutes of Health and by other grants from the NIH. The meeting was sponsored by the AHA.

[email protected]

SOURCE: Al-Shaar L et al. Epi/Lifestyle 2020, Abstract P512.

PHOENIX – Consumption of red meat, particularly the processed form, is linked to a higher risk of developing coronary heart disease in men, results from a large prospective analysis demonstrated.

“The findings of this study are in line with randomized trials showing that the consumption of red meat, as compared with plant-based protein sources, increases LDL cholesterol levels, and with previous studies on red meat and risk of coronary heart disease,” lead study author Laila Al-Shaar, MPH, PhD, said in an interview in advance of the Epidemiology and Prevention/Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health meeting.

According to Dr. Al-Shaar, a postdoctoral research fellow in the department of nutrition at the T.H. Chan School of Public Health at Harvard University, Boston, most of the existing studies on red meat and heart disease have examined the impact of increasing consumption of red meat while decreasing consumption of all other foods. For the current study, she and her colleagues used a substitution analysis approach to understand how replacing red meat (total, processed, or unprocessed) with another protein-rich food was associated with the risk of heart disease. “This would potentially provide more specific guidance for healthier alternatives for those planning to cut down their red meat intake,” she said.

She and her colleagues prospectively followed 43,259 men in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (1986-2012) who had no known history of cancer or cardiovascular disease. Diet was assessed by a standardized and validated food frequency questionnaire that was updated every 4 years. Dr. Al-Shaar and her colleagues used multivariate Cox models to estimate hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals of CHD risk across categories of red meat consumption. They performed substitution analyses by comparing coefficients in models including alternative foods as continuous variables.

Over roughly 933,000 person-years of follow-up, the researchers documented 4,148 incident CHD cases. Of these, 1,680 were fatal. After multivariate adjustment for dietary and nondietary risk factors, both total and processed red meat intake were associated with a modestly higher risk of CHD (hazard ratio for a one serving/day increment, 1.08; 95% confidence interval, 1.01-1.14 for total red meat; and HR, 1.13; 95% CI, 1.03-1.22 for processed red meat). Substitutions of one serving per day of other foods (including nuts, legumes, soy, whole grains, and low- and high-fat dairy) for one serving per day of total red meat were associated with a 10%-47% lower CHD risk.

Stronger inverse associations were observed between some of these substitutions for red meat and risk of fatal CHD. Substituting nuts lowered the risk of fatal heart disease by 17%, while replacing red meat with whole grains was linked to a 48% reduction in that outcome. Those associations were more pronounced when replacing processed red meat.

“Processed meats and meats in general have been thought to be potentially not favorable in terms of cardiovascular disease and cardiovascular disease risk,” Robert H. Eckel, MD, professor emeritus of medicine at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, said in an interview. “Now we have increasing data that not only is there a negative cardiovascular disease impact of animal protein, but we see this on all-cause mortality, including cancer.”

Dr. Al-Shaar said that the findings “support current recommendations to limit consumption of red meat and suggest that high-quality plant-based proteins such as nuts, legumes, and soy are good alternatives for individuals planning to have better food choices and healthier eating patterns.”

She acknowledged certain limitations of the study, including its observational design and the fact that it was limited to non-Hispanic white health professionals, “thus limiting the generalizability of its findings to the whole population.”

Dr. Eckel, who is a past president of the American Heart Association, underscored the importance of one’s overall diet in mitigating the risk of developing coronary heart disease. “It’s not simply substituting animal protein with plant protein,” he said. “Fruits and vegetables and whole grains, lean protein from fish – a Mediterranean-style diet – is what the AHA recommends.”

Dr. Al-Shaar reported having no financial disclosures. The study was supported by a T32 training grant from the National Institutes of Health and by other grants from the NIH. The meeting was sponsored by the AHA.

[email protected]

SOURCE: Al-Shaar L et al. Epi/Lifestyle 2020, Abstract P512.

PHOENIX – Consumption of red meat, particularly the processed form, is linked to a higher risk of developing coronary heart disease in men, results from a large prospective analysis demonstrated.

“The findings of this study are in line with randomized trials showing that the consumption of red meat, as compared with plant-based protein sources, increases LDL cholesterol levels, and with previous studies on red meat and risk of coronary heart disease,” lead study author Laila Al-Shaar, MPH, PhD, said in an interview in advance of the Epidemiology and Prevention/Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health meeting.

According to Dr. Al-Shaar, a postdoctoral research fellow in the department of nutrition at the T.H. Chan School of Public Health at Harvard University, Boston, most of the existing studies on red meat and heart disease have examined the impact of increasing consumption of red meat while decreasing consumption of all other foods. For the current study, she and her colleagues used a substitution analysis approach to understand how replacing red meat (total, processed, or unprocessed) with another protein-rich food was associated with the risk of heart disease. “This would potentially provide more specific guidance for healthier alternatives for those planning to cut down their red meat intake,” she said.

She and her colleagues prospectively followed 43,259 men in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (1986-2012) who had no known history of cancer or cardiovascular disease. Diet was assessed by a standardized and validated food frequency questionnaire that was updated every 4 years. Dr. Al-Shaar and her colleagues used multivariate Cox models to estimate hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals of CHD risk across categories of red meat consumption. They performed substitution analyses by comparing coefficients in models including alternative foods as continuous variables.

Over roughly 933,000 person-years of follow-up, the researchers documented 4,148 incident CHD cases. Of these, 1,680 were fatal. After multivariate adjustment for dietary and nondietary risk factors, both total and processed red meat intake were associated with a modestly higher risk of CHD (hazard ratio for a one serving/day increment, 1.08; 95% confidence interval, 1.01-1.14 for total red meat; and HR, 1.13; 95% CI, 1.03-1.22 for processed red meat). Substitutions of one serving per day of other foods (including nuts, legumes, soy, whole grains, and low- and high-fat dairy) for one serving per day of total red meat were associated with a 10%-47% lower CHD risk.

Stronger inverse associations were observed between some of these substitutions for red meat and risk of fatal CHD. Substituting nuts lowered the risk of fatal heart disease by 17%, while replacing red meat with whole grains was linked to a 48% reduction in that outcome. Those associations were more pronounced when replacing processed red meat.

“Processed meats and meats in general have been thought to be potentially not favorable in terms of cardiovascular disease and cardiovascular disease risk,” Robert H. Eckel, MD, professor emeritus of medicine at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, said in an interview. “Now we have increasing data that not only is there a negative cardiovascular disease impact of animal protein, but we see this on all-cause mortality, including cancer.”

Dr. Al-Shaar said that the findings “support current recommendations to limit consumption of red meat and suggest that high-quality plant-based proteins such as nuts, legumes, and soy are good alternatives for individuals planning to have better food choices and healthier eating patterns.”

She acknowledged certain limitations of the study, including its observational design and the fact that it was limited to non-Hispanic white health professionals, “thus limiting the generalizability of its findings to the whole population.”

Dr. Eckel, who is a past president of the American Heart Association, underscored the importance of one’s overall diet in mitigating the risk of developing coronary heart disease. “It’s not simply substituting animal protein with plant protein,” he said. “Fruits and vegetables and whole grains, lean protein from fish – a Mediterranean-style diet – is what the AHA recommends.”

Dr. Al-Shaar reported having no financial disclosures. The study was supported by a T32 training grant from the National Institutes of Health and by other grants from the NIH. The meeting was sponsored by the AHA.

[email protected]

SOURCE: Al-Shaar L et al. Epi/Lifestyle 2020, Abstract P512.

PHOENIX – Statin use for the secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease increased modestly between 2008 and 2017 in the United States, but more than 40% of patients with established atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease are still not on a statin.

Doug Brunk/MDedge News

In addition, even after release of the 2013 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Guideline on the Treatment of Blood Cholesterol to Reduce Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Risk in Adults (Circulation. 2014;129:S1-45) that markedly increased the pool of eligible patients, disparities exist in the proportion of women versus men, and blacks and Hispanics versus whites with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) who are currently receiving a statin.

“Despite repeated calls for the use of statins for secondary prevention of CVD in multiple guidelines, gender and racial inequalities in the use of statins persist,” Joseph A. Salami, MD, MPH, said at the Epidemiology and Prevention/Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health meeting, sponsored by the American Heart Association. “Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death in the U.S. In 2017, it was responsible for 647,457 deaths. We have an opportunity to improve CVD-related outcomes and cost by intensifying efforts to use statins for the secondary prevention of CVD and closing gender and racial gaps. Action is needed.”

Dr. Salami, a biostatistician with the Baptist Health South Florida Center for Advanced Analytics in Coral Gables, based his remarks on an analysis of data contained in the 2008-2017 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), a national representative survey sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. “Between 2013 and 2018 there were six different guidelines released encouraging statin use among ASCVD patients,” he said. “Besides the good number needed to treat, statin use on secondary prevention of CVD is cost effective.”

Given the proven efficacy of statin use in the prevention of CVD, he and his associates set out to examine trends in the proportion of adults with ASCVD using statins and to assess for gender and racial differences in their use. The researchers used ICD-9 and ICD-10 codes to define ASCVD among the MEPS study population, as well as self-reported history of coronary artery disease, peripheral artery disease, and stroke. After excluding adults aged younger than 40 years and those without ASCVD, this left a population of 15,911 patients. Of these, 44% were female, their mean age was 62 years, and 72% were Caucasian.

Overall, statin use increased from 50% in 2008 to 58.7% in 2017, with an average annual percentage change of 0.95% between 2010 and 2017 (P = .01). However, the annual percentage change in statin use was 0.25% among men versus 0.14% among women (P = .022). “Each year during the study period, more than 3 million women with ASCVD were not prescribed a statin, which translated into about 36 million adult-years,” Dr. Salami said. “In 2017, 16% of these women were African Americans and 15% were Hispanic.”

Logistic regression analysis revealed that in 2017, females with ASCVD were less likely to be prescribed a statin, compared with males (odds ratio, 0.52; P less than .001). In addition, compared with whites, blacks were less likely to be prescribed a statin (OR, 0.69; P = .012), as were Hispanics (OR, 0.62; P = .003). “In a multivariate logistic regression controlling for age, health insurance status, and comorbidities, the gender disparity remained statistically significant, but the racial disparity did not,” Dr. Salami said.

In an interview, one of the meeting session’s moderators, Sherry-Ann Brown, MD, PhD, characterized the study’s findings as sobering. “This should be an eye-opener for all of us in medicine, whether we are physicians, pharmacists, nurses, or researchers,” said Dr. Brown, who is a cardiologist and physician scientist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. “We’re all in this together, and we all have a role to play in addressing social determinants of health. I think we need to recognize the fact that we’re not treating blacks, Hispanics, and women to the degree that we should be, compared to whites and men. I think we need to do better, and we need to figure out how to reach that population, and how to improve.”

Dr. Salami acknowledged certain limitations of the study, including the fact that MEPS was carried out in a noninstitutionalized adult population and that the definition of ASCVD was based partly on self-report. “Therefore, an underestimation of number adults with ASCVD is likely,” he said. “We also couldn’t determine adherence to medication nor long-term use of statins among adults with ASCVD.”

He concluded his presentation by noting that, over the 10-year study period, there were about 71.2 million ASCVD adult-years without a statin prescription. “That is a staggering number,” Dr. Salami said.

He reported having no financial disclosures.

[email protected]

SOURCE: Salami A et al. Epi/Lifestyle 2020, Abstract 4.

PHOENIX – Statin use for the secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease increased modestly between 2008 and 2017 in the United States, but more than 40% of patients with established atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease are still not on a statin.

Doug Brunk/MDedge News

In addition, even after release of the 2013 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Guideline on the Treatment of Blood Cholesterol to Reduce Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Risk in Adults (Circulation. 2014;129:S1-45) that markedly increased the pool of eligible patients, disparities exist in the proportion of women versus men, and blacks and Hispanics versus whites with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) who are currently receiving a statin.

“Despite repeated calls for the use of statins for secondary prevention of CVD in multiple guidelines, gender and racial inequalities in the use of statins persist,” Joseph A. Salami, MD, MPH, said at the Epidemiology and Prevention/Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health meeting, sponsored by the American Heart Association. “Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death in the U.S. In 2017, it was responsible for 647,457 deaths. We have an opportunity to improve CVD-related outcomes and cost by intensifying efforts to use statins for the secondary prevention of CVD and closing gender and racial gaps. Action is needed.”

Dr. Salami, a biostatistician with the Baptist Health South Florida Center for Advanced Analytics in Coral Gables, based his remarks on an analysis of data contained in the 2008-2017 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), a national representative survey sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. “Between 2013 and 2018 there were six different guidelines released encouraging statin use among ASCVD patients,” he said. “Besides the good number needed to treat, statin use on secondary prevention of CVD is cost effective.”

Given the proven efficacy of statin use in the prevention of CVD, he and his associates set out to examine trends in the proportion of adults with ASCVD using statins and to assess for gender and racial differences in their use. The researchers used ICD-9 and ICD-10 codes to define ASCVD among the MEPS study population, as well as self-reported history of coronary artery disease, peripheral artery disease, and stroke. After excluding adults aged younger than 40 years and those without ASCVD, this left a population of 15,911 patients. Of these, 44% were female, their mean age was 62 years, and 72% were Caucasian.

Overall, statin use increased from 50% in 2008 to 58.7% in 2017, with an average annual percentage change of 0.95% between 2010 and 2017 (P = .01). However, the annual percentage change in statin use was 0.25% among men versus 0.14% among women (P = .022). “Each year during the study period, more than 3 million women with ASCVD were not prescribed a statin, which translated into about 36 million adult-years,” Dr. Salami said. “In 2017, 16% of these women were African Americans and 15% were Hispanic.”

Logistic regression analysis revealed that in 2017, females with ASCVD were less likely to be prescribed a statin, compared with males (odds ratio, 0.52; P less than .001). In addition, compared with whites, blacks were less likely to be prescribed a statin (OR, 0.69; P = .012), as were Hispanics (OR, 0.62; P = .003). “In a multivariate logistic regression controlling for age, health insurance status, and comorbidities, the gender disparity remained statistically significant, but the racial disparity did not,” Dr. Salami said.

In an interview, one of the meeting session’s moderators, Sherry-Ann Brown, MD, PhD, characterized the study’s findings as sobering. “This should be an eye-opener for all of us in medicine, whether we are physicians, pharmacists, nurses, or researchers,” said Dr. Brown, who is a cardiologist and physician scientist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. “We’re all in this together, and we all have a role to play in addressing social determinants of health. I think we need to recognize the fact that we’re not treating blacks, Hispanics, and women to the degree that we should be, compared to whites and men. I think we need to do better, and we need to figure out how to reach that population, and how to improve.”

Dr. Salami acknowledged certain limitations of the study, including the fact that MEPS was carried out in a noninstitutionalized adult population and that the definition of ASCVD was based partly on self-report. “Therefore, an underestimation of number adults with ASCVD is likely,” he said. “We also couldn’t determine adherence to medication nor long-term use of statins among adults with ASCVD.”

He concluded his presentation by noting that, over the 10-year study period, there were about 71.2 million ASCVD adult-years without a statin prescription. “That is a staggering number,” Dr. Salami said.

He reported having no financial disclosures.

[email protected]

SOURCE: Salami A et al. Epi/Lifestyle 2020, Abstract 4.

PHOENIX – Statin use for the secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease increased modestly between 2008 and 2017 in the United States, but more than 40% of patients with established atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease are still not on a statin.

Doug Brunk/MDedge News

In addition, even after release of the 2013 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Guideline on the Treatment of Blood Cholesterol to Reduce Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Risk in Adults (Circulation. 2014;129:S1-45) that markedly increased the pool of eligible patients, disparities exist in the proportion of women versus men, and blacks and Hispanics versus whites with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) who are currently receiving a statin.

“Despite repeated calls for the use of statins for secondary prevention of CVD in multiple guidelines, gender and racial inequalities in the use of statins persist,” Joseph A. Salami, MD, MPH, said at the Epidemiology and Prevention/Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health meeting, sponsored by the American Heart Association. “Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death in the U.S. In 2017, it was responsible for 647,457 deaths. We have an opportunity to improve CVD-related outcomes and cost by intensifying efforts to use statins for the secondary prevention of CVD and closing gender and racial gaps. Action is needed.”

Dr. Salami, a biostatistician with the Baptist Health South Florida Center for Advanced Analytics in Coral Gables, based his remarks on an analysis of data contained in the 2008-2017 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), a national representative survey sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. “Between 2013 and 2018 there were six different guidelines released encouraging statin use among ASCVD patients,” he said. “Besides the good number needed to treat, statin use on secondary prevention of CVD is cost effective.”

Given the proven efficacy of statin use in the prevention of CVD, he and his associates set out to examine trends in the proportion of adults with ASCVD using statins and to assess for gender and racial differences in their use. The researchers used ICD-9 and ICD-10 codes to define ASCVD among the MEPS study population, as well as self-reported history of coronary artery disease, peripheral artery disease, and stroke. After excluding adults aged younger than 40 years and those without ASCVD, this left a population of 15,911 patients. Of these, 44% were female, their mean age was 62 years, and 72% were Caucasian.

Overall, statin use increased from 50% in 2008 to 58.7% in 2017, with an average annual percentage change of 0.95% between 2010 and 2017 (P = .01). However, the annual percentage change in statin use was 0.25% among men versus 0.14% among women (P = .022). “Each year during the study period, more than 3 million women with ASCVD were not prescribed a statin, which translated into about 36 million adult-years,” Dr. Salami said. “In 2017, 16% of these women were African Americans and 15% were Hispanic.”

Logistic regression analysis revealed that in 2017, females with ASCVD were less likely to be prescribed a statin, compared with males (odds ratio, 0.52; P less than .001). In addition, compared with whites, blacks were less likely to be prescribed a statin (OR, 0.69; P = .012), as were Hispanics (OR, 0.62; P = .003). “In a multivariate logistic regression controlling for age, health insurance status, and comorbidities, the gender disparity remained statistically significant, but the racial disparity did not,” Dr. Salami said.

In an interview, one of the meeting session’s moderators, Sherry-Ann Brown, MD, PhD, characterized the study’s findings as sobering. “This should be an eye-opener for all of us in medicine, whether we are physicians, pharmacists, nurses, or researchers,” said Dr. Brown, who is a cardiologist and physician scientist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. “We’re all in this together, and we all have a role to play in addressing social determinants of health. I think we need to recognize the fact that we’re not treating blacks, Hispanics, and women to the degree that we should be, compared to whites and men. I think we need to do better, and we need to figure out how to reach that population, and how to improve.”

Dr. Salami acknowledged certain limitations of the study, including the fact that MEPS was carried out in a noninstitutionalized adult population and that the definition of ASCVD was based partly on self-report. “Therefore, an underestimation of number adults with ASCVD is likely,” he said. “We also couldn’t determine adherence to medication nor long-term use of statins among adults with ASCVD.”

He concluded his presentation by noting that, over the 10-year study period, there were about 71.2 million ASCVD adult-years without a statin prescription. “That is a staggering number,” Dr. Salami said.

He reported having no financial disclosures.

[email protected]

SOURCE: Salami A et al. Epi/Lifestyle 2020, Abstract 4.

PHOENIX – The level of physical activity people engage in during their golden years doesn’t have to be strenuous in order to be effective, results from two studies presented at the Epidemiology and Prevention/Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health meeting showed.

Courtesy University of California, San Diego

In one study, women who walked 2,100-4,500 steps each day reduced their risk of dying from cardiovascular disease by up to 38%, compared with those who walked fewer than 2,100 steps each day. In addition, women who walked more than 4,500 steps each day reduced their risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality risk by 48%.

The findings come from an ancillary analysis of the Women’s Health Study known as the Objective Physical Activity and Cardiovascular Health (OPACH) Study.

“Our work shows that both light-intensity and moderate-/vigorous-intensity steps are associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular disease death,” lead author Andrea Z. LaCroix, PhD, said in an interview. “And our previous studies show that all movement while standing, stepping, or just moving about at whatever intensity you choose, appears to have cardiovascular benefits, whereas long hours spent sedentary, especially prolonged sitting bouts are associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease. These new findings on steps are best interpreted as showing that moving instead of sitting is good for your heart and blood vessels as we get older. Find the things you love to do and get moving.”

For OPACH, 6,379 women with an average age of 79 years wore ActiGraph GT3X+ triaxial accelerometers on their wrist for 7 days during 2012-2014, as a way to ascertain the number of steps they took. The researchers followed the study participants to March 1, 2019, and used Cox proportional hazard models to estimate CVD mortality across four quartiles of steps per day, adjusted for age, race/ethnicity, education, smoking, alcohol consumption, self-reported health, comorbidities, and physical function. The lowest quartile reference category was less than 2,108 steps per day. The second, third and fourth quartiles were: 2,108 to fewer than 3,136 steps, 3,136 to fewer than 4,499, and 4,500 and above.

Dr. LaCroix, distinguished professor and chief of epidemiology at the University of California, San Diego, reported that women who walked 2,100-4,500 steps daily reduced their risk of dying from CVD by up to up to 38%, compared with women who walked fewer than 2,100 daily steps. The women who walked more than 4,500 steps per day reduced their risk by 48%.

She noted that, for many years, common wisdom was that 10,000 steps per day should be used as a general fitness target, [but] that goal “was never evidence based, and so far, emerging evidence using accelerometers to measure steps shows benefit way below the level of 10,000 steps.” Dr. LaCroix added that, in this study, “we were able separate steps taken at a light intensity of energy expenditure versus a moderate or vigorous level of energy expenditure. This is like comparing slower versus faster steps. Both influenced the risk of CVD death and we found no evidence that faster steps were more beneficial for reducing risk of CVD death than slower steps. So, the main message I want my demographic [women aged over 60] to understand is that all movement appears to be good for your heart.”

Barry A. Franklin, PhD, director of preventive cardiology and cardiac rehabilitation at Beaumont Health in Royal Oak, Mich., characterized the study findings as “good news” but not entirely surprising. “It goes along with other research showing that the biggest bang from the buck is going from the least fit, least active cohort, which we call the bottom 20%, to the next lowest level,” he said in an interview. “So, by simply doing some steps, certainly less than 10,000, there were significant benefits for this older age group.”

Dr. LaCroix acknowledged certain limitations of the OPACH study, including the fact that it did not include men or women aged younger than 60 years. In addition, the accelerometer used in this and other studies may measure fewer steps than women are actually taking. “Devices vary in their accuracy,” she said. “If you are tracking steps, try to aim for 4,500 or a little more, but know that every step counts.”

In a separate study, researchers found that an increase of 30 minutes per day of low-intensity physical activity (LIPA) may lower the risk of death among older adults, regardless of the amount of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) participants are involved in or whether they have impaired physical function. In addition, an increase of 30 minutes of sedentary time per day may increase the risk of death regardless of the amount of MVPA or whether participants have impaired physical function.

Those are key findings from an analysis of 1,262 participants in the Framingham Offspring Study.

“Given that MVPA tends to decline with age, particularly during the mid- to late-life transition, promoting LIPA and reducing sedentary time may be a more practical alternative among older adults for reducing the risk of mortality,” lead author Joowon Lee, PhD, said in an interview at the meeting sponsored by the American Heart Association.

According to Dr. Lee, a postdoctoral fellow at Boston University, prior studies found that the inverse association between MVPA and cardiovascular and all-cause mortality among older adults. “However, we focused on sedentary and light-intensity physical activity, which is prevalent in older adult population,” he said. “Additionally, we looked at the association between physical activity and mortality after excluding participants with frailty as a sensitivity analysis.”

The researchers drew from accelerometry-derived physical activity data from 1,262 Framingham Offspring Study participants at their ninth examination (2011-2014). The mean age of the subjects was 69 years, 54% were women, and they had worn the accelerometers at least 10 hours per day for at least 4 days prior to the exam visit. The researchers used multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression models to relate physician activity and sedentary time with all-cause mortality adjusting for potential confounders.

During a median follow-up of 4.8 years, 67 study participants died. Dr. Lee and colleagues observed that higher total physical activity, LIPA, adherence to physical activity guidelines (at least 150 minutes of activity each week), and lower sedentary time were associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality. Specifically, they were 67% less likely to die of any cause if they spent at least 150 minutes per week in moderate to vigorous physical activity, compared with those who did not. In addition, the researchers found that each 30-minute interval of LIPA, such as doing household chores or casual walking, was associated with a 20% lower risk of dying from any cause. On the other hand, every additional 30 minutes of being sedentary was related to a 32% higher risk of dying from any cause. The results remained statistically significant even after excluding those with frailty.

“In the present analysis, an increase of 10 minutes in MVPA was not associated with the risk of all-cause mortality although meeting physical activity guidelines [MVPA of at least 150 minutes per week] was the strongest factor associated with the risk of all-cause mortality,” Dr. Lee said.

He acknowledged certain limitations of the analysis, including the fact that the study participants were white individuals with European ancestry. “Additionally, a small number of mortality events were observed in the current investigation,” he said. “So, an additional study of larger multiethnic samples of older adults is warranted to confirm our findings.”

“We tell people: ‘You need 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise most days of the week,’ ” Dr. Franklin said. “That’s true, but a classic study in Lancet showed that if you do 12 or 15 minutes of moderate exercise, not 30 minutes, you also get a 14% reduction in mortality. Some exercise is better than none, and for older adults, they don’t even have to do moderate intensity exercise to get benefits.”

Dr. LaCroix’s study was funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; Dr. LaCroix reported having no financial disclosures. Dr. Lee’s study was supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; Dr. Lee reported having no disclosures.

[email protected]

SOURCES: LaCroix A et al. Epi/Lifestyle 2020, Abstract 30; Lee J et al. Epi/Lifestyle 2020, Abstract 31.

PHOENIX – The level of physical activity people engage in during their golden years doesn’t have to be strenuous in order to be effective, results from two studies presented at the Epidemiology and Prevention/Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health meeting showed.

Courtesy University of California, San Diego

In one study, women who walked 2,100-4,500 steps each day reduced their risk of dying from cardiovascular disease by up to 38%, compared with those who walked fewer than 2,100 steps each day. In addition, women who walked more than 4,500 steps each day reduced their risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality risk by 48%.

The findings come from an ancillary analysis of the Women’s Health Study known as the Objective Physical Activity and Cardiovascular Health (OPACH) Study.

“Our work shows that both light-intensity and moderate-/vigorous-intensity steps are associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular disease death,” lead author Andrea Z. LaCroix, PhD, said in an interview. “And our previous studies show that all movement while standing, stepping, or just moving about at whatever intensity you choose, appears to have cardiovascular benefits, whereas long hours spent sedentary, especially prolonged sitting bouts are associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease. These new findings on steps are best interpreted as showing that moving instead of sitting is good for your heart and blood vessels as we get older. Find the things you love to do and get moving.”

For OPACH, 6,379 women with an average age of 79 years wore ActiGraph GT3X+ triaxial accelerometers on their wrist for 7 days during 2012-2014, as a way to ascertain the number of steps they took. The researchers followed the study participants to March 1, 2019, and used Cox proportional hazard models to estimate CVD mortality across four quartiles of steps per day, adjusted for age, race/ethnicity, education, smoking, alcohol consumption, self-reported health, comorbidities, and physical function. The lowest quartile reference category was less than 2,108 steps per day. The second, third and fourth quartiles were: 2,108 to fewer than 3,136 steps, 3,136 to fewer than 4,499, and 4,500 and above.

Dr. LaCroix, distinguished professor and chief of epidemiology at the University of California, San Diego, reported that women who walked 2,100-4,500 steps daily reduced their risk of dying from CVD by up to up to 38%, compared with women who walked fewer than 2,100 daily steps. The women who walked more than 4,500 steps per day reduced their risk by 48%.

She noted that, for many years, common wisdom was that 10,000 steps per day should be used as a general fitness target, [but] that goal “was never evidence based, and so far, emerging evidence using accelerometers to measure steps shows benefit way below the level of 10,000 steps.” Dr. LaCroix added that, in this study, “we were able separate steps taken at a light intensity of energy expenditure versus a moderate or vigorous level of energy expenditure. This is like comparing slower versus faster steps. Both influenced the risk of CVD death and we found no evidence that faster steps were more beneficial for reducing risk of CVD death than slower steps. So, the main message I want my demographic [women aged over 60] to understand is that all movement appears to be good for your heart.”

Barry A. Franklin, PhD, director of preventive cardiology and cardiac rehabilitation at Beaumont Health in Royal Oak, Mich., characterized the study findings as “good news” but not entirely surprising. “It goes along with other research showing that the biggest bang from the buck is going from the least fit, least active cohort, which we call the bottom 20%, to the next lowest level,” he said in an interview. “So, by simply doing some steps, certainly less than 10,000, there were significant benefits for this older age group.”

Dr. LaCroix acknowledged certain limitations of the OPACH study, including the fact that it did not include men or women aged younger than 60 years. In addition, the accelerometer used in this and other studies may measure fewer steps than women are actually taking. “Devices vary in their accuracy,” she said. “If you are tracking steps, try to aim for 4,500 or a little more, but know that every step counts.”

In a separate study, researchers found that an increase of 30 minutes per day of low-intensity physical activity (LIPA) may lower the risk of death among older adults, regardless of the amount of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) participants are involved in or whether they have impaired physical function. In addition, an increase of 30 minutes of sedentary time per day may increase the risk of death regardless of the amount of MVPA or whether participants have impaired physical function.

Those are key findings from an analysis of 1,262 participants in the Framingham Offspring Study.

“Given that MVPA tends to decline with age, particularly during the mid- to late-life transition, promoting LIPA and reducing sedentary time may be a more practical alternative among older adults for reducing the risk of mortality,” lead author Joowon Lee, PhD, said in an interview at the meeting sponsored by the American Heart Association.

According to Dr. Lee, a postdoctoral fellow at Boston University, prior studies found that the inverse association between MVPA and cardiovascular and all-cause mortality among older adults. “However, we focused on sedentary and light-intensity physical activity, which is prevalent in older adult population,” he said. “Additionally, we looked at the association between physical activity and mortality after excluding participants with frailty as a sensitivity analysis.”

The researchers drew from accelerometry-derived physical activity data from 1,262 Framingham Offspring Study participants at their ninth examination (2011-2014). The mean age of the subjects was 69 years, 54% were women, and they had worn the accelerometers at least 10 hours per day for at least 4 days prior to the exam visit. The researchers used multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression models to relate physician activity and sedentary time with all-cause mortality adjusting for potential confounders.

During a median follow-up of 4.8 years, 67 study participants died. Dr. Lee and colleagues observed that higher total physical activity, LIPA, adherence to physical activity guidelines (at least 150 minutes of activity each week), and lower sedentary time were associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality. Specifically, they were 67% less likely to die of any cause if they spent at least 150 minutes per week in moderate to vigorous physical activity, compared with those who did not. In addition, the researchers found that each 30-minute interval of LIPA, such as doing household chores or casual walking, was associated with a 20% lower risk of dying from any cause. On the other hand, every additional 30 minutes of being sedentary was related to a 32% higher risk of dying from any cause. The results remained statistically significant even after excluding those with frailty.

“In the present analysis, an increase of 10 minutes in MVPA was not associated with the risk of all-cause mortality although meeting physical activity guidelines [MVPA of at least 150 minutes per week] was the strongest factor associated with the risk of all-cause mortality,” Dr. Lee said.

He acknowledged certain limitations of the analysis, including the fact that the study participants were white individuals with European ancestry. “Additionally, a small number of mortality events were observed in the current investigation,” he said. “So, an additional study of larger multiethnic samples of older adults is warranted to confirm our findings.”

“We tell people: ‘You need 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise most days of the week,’ ” Dr. Franklin said. “That’s true, but a classic study in Lancet showed that if you do 12 or 15 minutes of moderate exercise, not 30 minutes, you also get a 14% reduction in mortality. Some exercise is better than none, and for older adults, they don’t even have to do moderate intensity exercise to get benefits.”

Dr. LaCroix’s study was funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; Dr. LaCroix reported having no financial disclosures. Dr. Lee’s study was supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; Dr. Lee reported having no disclosures.

[email protected]

SOURCES: LaCroix A et al. Epi/Lifestyle 2020, Abstract 30; Lee J et al. Epi/Lifestyle 2020, Abstract 31.

PHOENIX – The level of physical activity people engage in during their golden years doesn’t have to be strenuous in order to be effective, results from two studies presented at the Epidemiology and Prevention/Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health meeting showed.

Courtesy University of California, San Diego

In one study, women who walked 2,100-4,500 steps each day reduced their risk of dying from cardiovascular disease by up to 38%, compared with those who walked fewer than 2,100 steps each day. In addition, women who walked more than 4,500 steps each day reduced their risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality risk by 48%.

The findings come from an ancillary analysis of the Women’s Health Study known as the Objective Physical Activity and Cardiovascular Health (OPACH) Study.

“Our work shows that both light-intensity and moderate-/vigorous-intensity steps are associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular disease death,” lead author Andrea Z. LaCroix, PhD, said in an interview. “And our previous studies show that all movement while standing, stepping, or just moving about at whatever intensity you choose, appears to have cardiovascular benefits, whereas long hours spent sedentary, especially prolonged sitting bouts are associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease. These new findings on steps are best interpreted as showing that moving instead of sitting is good for your heart and blood vessels as we get older. Find the things you love to do and get moving.”

For OPACH, 6,379 women with an average age of 79 years wore ActiGraph GT3X+ triaxial accelerometers on their wrist for 7 days during 2012-2014, as a way to ascertain the number of steps they took. The researchers followed the study participants to March 1, 2019, and used Cox proportional hazard models to estimate CVD mortality across four quartiles of steps per day, adjusted for age, race/ethnicity, education, smoking, alcohol consumption, self-reported health, comorbidities, and physical function. The lowest quartile reference category was less than 2,108 steps per day. The second, third and fourth quartiles were: 2,108 to fewer than 3,136 steps, 3,136 to fewer than 4,499, and 4,500 and above.

Dr. LaCroix, distinguished professor and chief of epidemiology at the University of California, San Diego, reported that women who walked 2,100-4,500 steps daily reduced their risk of dying from CVD by up to up to 38%, compared with women who walked fewer than 2,100 daily steps. The women who walked more than 4,500 steps per day reduced their risk by 48%.

She noted that, for many years, common wisdom was that 10,000 steps per day should be used as a general fitness target, [but] that goal “was never evidence based, and so far, emerging evidence using accelerometers to measure steps shows benefit way below the level of 10,000 steps.” Dr. LaCroix added that, in this study, “we were able separate steps taken at a light intensity of energy expenditure versus a moderate or vigorous level of energy expenditure. This is like comparing slower versus faster steps. Both influenced the risk of CVD death and we found no evidence that faster steps were more beneficial for reducing risk of CVD death than slower steps. So, the main message I want my demographic [women aged over 60] to understand is that all movement appears to be good for your heart.”

Barry A. Franklin, PhD, director of preventive cardiology and cardiac rehabilitation at Beaumont Health in Royal Oak, Mich., characterized the study findings as “good news” but not entirely surprising. “It goes along with other research showing that the biggest bang from the buck is going from the least fit, least active cohort, which we call the bottom 20%, to the next lowest level,” he said in an interview. “So, by simply doing some steps, certainly less than 10,000, there were significant benefits for this older age group.”

Dr. LaCroix acknowledged certain limitations of the OPACH study, including the fact that it did not include men or women aged younger than 60 years. In addition, the accelerometer used in this and other studies may measure fewer steps than women are actually taking. “Devices vary in their accuracy,” she said. “If you are tracking steps, try to aim for 4,500 or a little more, but know that every step counts.”

In a separate study, researchers found that an increase of 30 minutes per day of low-intensity physical activity (LIPA) may lower the risk of death among older adults, regardless of the amount of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) participants are involved in or whether they have impaired physical function. In addition, an increase of 30 minutes of sedentary time per day may increase the risk of death regardless of the amount of MVPA or whether participants have impaired physical function.

Those are key findings from an analysis of 1,262 participants in the Framingham Offspring Study.

“Given that MVPA tends to decline with age, particularly during the mid- to late-life transition, promoting LIPA and reducing sedentary time may be a more practical alternative among older adults for reducing the risk of mortality,” lead author Joowon Lee, PhD, said in an interview at the meeting sponsored by the American Heart Association.

According to Dr. Lee, a postdoctoral fellow at Boston University, prior studies found that the inverse association between MVPA and cardiovascular and all-cause mortality among older adults. “However, we focused on sedentary and light-intensity physical activity, which is prevalent in older adult population,” he said. “Additionally, we looked at the association between physical activity and mortality after excluding participants with frailty as a sensitivity analysis.”

The researchers drew from accelerometry-derived physical activity data from 1,262 Framingham Offspring Study participants at their ninth examination (2011-2014). The mean age of the subjects was 69 years, 54% were women, and they had worn the accelerometers at least 10 hours per day for at least 4 days prior to the exam visit. The researchers used multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression models to relate physician activity and sedentary time with all-cause mortality adjusting for potential confounders.

During a median follow-up of 4.8 years, 67 study participants died. Dr. Lee and colleagues observed that higher total physical activity, LIPA, adherence to physical activity guidelines (at least 150 minutes of activity each week), and lower sedentary time were associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality. Specifically, they were 67% less likely to die of any cause if they spent at least 150 minutes per week in moderate to vigorous physical activity, compared with those who did not. In addition, the researchers found that each 30-minute interval of LIPA, such as doing household chores or casual walking, was associated with a 20% lower risk of dying from any cause. On the other hand, every additional 30 minutes of being sedentary was related to a 32% higher risk of dying from any cause. The results remained statistically significant even after excluding those with frailty.

“In the present analysis, an increase of 10 minutes in MVPA was not associated with the risk of all-cause mortality although meeting physical activity guidelines [MVPA of at least 150 minutes per week] was the strongest factor associated with the risk of all-cause mortality,” Dr. Lee said.

He acknowledged certain limitations of the analysis, including the fact that the study participants were white individuals with European ancestry. “Additionally, a small number of mortality events were observed in the current investigation,” he said. “So, an additional study of larger multiethnic samples of older adults is warranted to confirm our findings.”

“We tell people: ‘You need 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise most days of the week,’ ” Dr. Franklin said. “That’s true, but a classic study in Lancet showed that if you do 12 or 15 minutes of moderate exercise, not 30 minutes, you also get a 14% reduction in mortality. Some exercise is better than none, and for older adults, they don’t even have to do moderate intensity exercise to get benefits.”

Dr. LaCroix’s study was funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; Dr. LaCroix reported having no financial disclosures. Dr. Lee’s study was supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; Dr. Lee reported having no disclosures.

[email protected]

SOURCES: LaCroix A et al. Epi/Lifestyle 2020, Abstract 30; Lee J et al. Epi/Lifestyle 2020, Abstract 31.

PHOENIX – Oral estrogen therapy taken within 6 years after the onset of menopause significantly reduced progression of lipid deposition in the carotid arterial wall, compared with placebo. However, starting oral estrogen 10 years after menopause did not confer a similar benefit.

“The clinical practice of estradiol therapy has been nothing short of a roller coaster ride,” lead study author Roksana Karim, PhD, MBBS, said in an interview at the Epidemiology and Prevention/Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health meeting sponsored by the American Heart Association. “Clinicians have been sort of conservative in terms of prescribing estradiol therapy. But over the last 2 decades things have changed, and eventually the timing hypothesis evolved based on the final analysis of the Women’s Health Initiative results as well.”

The findings come from a secondary analysis of the Early Versus Late Intervention Trial With Estradiol (ELITE), which examined the effects of oral 17-beta-estradiol (estrogen) on the progression of early atherosclerosis and cognitive decline in healthy postmenopausal women.

In the original trial, 643 healthy postmenopausal women were randomized to receive 1 mg/day of estradiol or a placebo pill either within 6 years after the onset of menopause or more than a decade after menopause (N Engl J Med 2016;374[13]:1221-31). All study participants took estradiol or placebo daily for an average of 5 years. The study’s initial findings showed that the mean carotid intima-media thickness progression rate was decreased by 0.0034 mm per year with estradiol, compared with placebo, but only in women who initiated hormone therapy within 6 years of menopause onset.

For the current analysis, researchers led by Dr. Karim looked further into estradiol’s impact on heart health by using echogenicity to analyze lipids in the arterial wall among the ELITE participants. The main outcome of interest was gray-scale median (GSM, unitless), a qualitative measure of atherosclerosis based on echogenicity obtained by high-resolution ultrasonography of the common carotid arterial wall. Whereas higher GSM values result with plaques rich in calcium and fibrous tissue, lower GSM values indicate more lipid deposition.

Dr. Karim, an associate professor of clinical preventive medicine at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, and colleagues assessed GSM and serum concentrations of estradiol every 6 months over a median 5-year trial period, and used linear mixed effects regression models to compare the rate of GSM progression between the randomized groups within time-since-menopause strata.

The researchers found that effect of estradiol on the annual rate of GSM progression significantly differed between women in the early and late postmenopause groups (P for interaction = .006). Specifically, the annual GSM progression rate among women in early postmenopause fell by 0.30 per year in women taking estradiol, compared with 1.41 per year in those in the placebo group (P less than .0001), indicating significantly more atherosclerosis in the placebo group. On the other hand, the annual GSM progression rate was not significantly different between the estradiol and placebo groups among the late postmenopausal women (P = .37).

“I think this should comfort clinicians in terms of prescribing estradiol therapy to women who don’t have any contraindications and who are within 6 years of menopause,” Dr. Karim said. “Accumulation of lipids is the key event for atherosclerosis progression.” She and her colleagues also observed that the positive association between mean on-trial serum estradiol levels and GSM progression rate was stronger and significant among early postmenopausal women (P = .008), compared with women in the late postmenopausal group (P = .003). However, this differential association between estradiol level and GSM progression rate was not statistically significant (P for interaction = .33).

“This study is important and raises a critical question: Is there a time period where getting hormone therapy would be most beneficial for the heart?” Nieca Goldberg, MD, medical director of the New York University women’s heart program and senior advisor for women’s health strategy at NYU Langone Health, said in an interview. “I think more studies and more analyses are needed, but we haven’t changed the indications for estradiol. We’re not giving estradiol to prevent progression of heart disease. We use estradiol hormone therapy as indicated for women who are having menopausal symptoms.”

Dr. Karim and colleagues plan to conduct a follow-up analysis from the same cohort of ELITE study participants to validate the findings by assessing lipid particles and markers of inflammation.

She reported having no financial disclosures. The study was funded by the National Institute on Aging.

[email protected]

SOURCE: Karim R et al. Epi/Lifestyle 2020, Abstract MP09.

PHOENIX – Oral estrogen therapy taken within 6 years after the onset of menopause significantly reduced progression of lipid deposition in the carotid arterial wall, compared with placebo. However, starting oral estrogen 10 years after menopause did not confer a similar benefit.

“The clinical practice of estradiol therapy has been nothing short of a roller coaster ride,” lead study author Roksana Karim, PhD, MBBS, said in an interview at the Epidemiology and Prevention/Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health meeting sponsored by the American Heart Association. “Clinicians have been sort of conservative in terms of prescribing estradiol therapy. But over the last 2 decades things have changed, and eventually the timing hypothesis evolved based on the final analysis of the Women’s Health Initiative results as well.”

The findings come from a secondary analysis of the Early Versus Late Intervention Trial With Estradiol (ELITE), which examined the effects of oral 17-beta-estradiol (estrogen) on the progression of early atherosclerosis and cognitive decline in healthy postmenopausal women.

In the original trial, 643 healthy postmenopausal women were randomized to receive 1 mg/day of estradiol or a placebo pill either within 6 years after the onset of menopause or more than a decade after menopause (N Engl J Med 2016;374[13]:1221-31). All study participants took estradiol or placebo daily for an average of 5 years. The study’s initial findings showed that the mean carotid intima-media thickness progression rate was decreased by 0.0034 mm per year with estradiol, compared with placebo, but only in women who initiated hormone therapy within 6 years of menopause onset.

For the current analysis, researchers led by Dr. Karim looked further into estradiol’s impact on heart health by using echogenicity to analyze lipids in the arterial wall among the ELITE participants. The main outcome of interest was gray-scale median (GSM, unitless), a qualitative measure of atherosclerosis based on echogenicity obtained by high-resolution ultrasonography of the common carotid arterial wall. Whereas higher GSM values result with plaques rich in calcium and fibrous tissue, lower GSM values indicate more lipid deposition.

Dr. Karim, an associate professor of clinical preventive medicine at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, and colleagues assessed GSM and serum concentrations of estradiol every 6 months over a median 5-year trial period, and used linear mixed effects regression models to compare the rate of GSM progression between the randomized groups within time-since-menopause strata.

The researchers found that effect of estradiol on the annual rate of GSM progression significantly differed between women in the early and late postmenopause groups (P for interaction = .006). Specifically, the annual GSM progression rate among women in early postmenopause fell by 0.30 per year in women taking estradiol, compared with 1.41 per year in those in the placebo group (P less than .0001), indicating significantly more atherosclerosis in the placebo group. On the other hand, the annual GSM progression rate was not significantly different between the estradiol and placebo groups among the late postmenopausal women (P = .37).

“I think this should comfort clinicians in terms of prescribing estradiol therapy to women who don’t have any contraindications and who are within 6 years of menopause,” Dr. Karim said. “Accumulation of lipids is the key event for atherosclerosis progression.” She and her colleagues also observed that the positive association between mean on-trial serum estradiol levels and GSM progression rate was stronger and significant among early postmenopausal women (P = .008), compared with women in the late postmenopausal group (P = .003). However, this differential association between estradiol level and GSM progression rate was not statistically significant (P for interaction = .33).

“This study is important and raises a critical question: Is there a time period where getting hormone therapy would be most beneficial for the heart?” Nieca Goldberg, MD, medical director of the New York University women’s heart program and senior advisor for women’s health strategy at NYU Langone Health, said in an interview. “I think more studies and more analyses are needed, but we haven’t changed the indications for estradiol. We’re not giving estradiol to prevent progression of heart disease. We use estradiol hormone therapy as indicated for women who are having menopausal symptoms.”

Dr. Karim and colleagues plan to conduct a follow-up analysis from the same cohort of ELITE study participants to validate the findings by assessing lipid particles and markers of inflammation.

She reported having no financial disclosures. The study was funded by the National Institute on Aging.

[email protected]

SOURCE: Karim R et al. Epi/Lifestyle 2020, Abstract MP09.

PHOENIX – Oral estrogen therapy taken within 6 years after the onset of menopause significantly reduced progression of lipid deposition in the carotid arterial wall, compared with placebo. However, starting oral estrogen 10 years after menopause did not confer a similar benefit.

“The clinical practice of estradiol therapy has been nothing short of a roller coaster ride,” lead study author Roksana Karim, PhD, MBBS, said in an interview at the Epidemiology and Prevention/Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health meeting sponsored by the American Heart Association. “Clinicians have been sort of conservative in terms of prescribing estradiol therapy. But over the last 2 decades things have changed, and eventually the timing hypothesis evolved based on the final analysis of the Women’s Health Initiative results as well.”

The findings come from a secondary analysis of the Early Versus Late Intervention Trial With Estradiol (ELITE), which examined the effects of oral 17-beta-estradiol (estrogen) on the progression of early atherosclerosis and cognitive decline in healthy postmenopausal women.

In the original trial, 643 healthy postmenopausal women were randomized to receive 1 mg/day of estradiol or a placebo pill either within 6 years after the onset of menopause or more than a decade after menopause (N Engl J Med 2016;374[13]:1221-31). All study participants took estradiol or placebo daily for an average of 5 years. The study’s initial findings showed that the mean carotid intima-media thickness progression rate was decreased by 0.0034 mm per year with estradiol, compared with placebo, but only in women who initiated hormone therapy within 6 years of menopause onset.

For the current analysis, researchers led by Dr. Karim looked further into estradiol’s impact on heart health by using echogenicity to analyze lipids in the arterial wall among the ELITE participants. The main outcome of interest was gray-scale median (GSM, unitless), a qualitative measure of atherosclerosis based on echogenicity obtained by high-resolution ultrasonography of the common carotid arterial wall. Whereas higher GSM values result with plaques rich in calcium and fibrous tissue, lower GSM values indicate more lipid deposition.

Dr. Karim, an associate professor of clinical preventive medicine at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, and colleagues assessed GSM and serum concentrations of estradiol every 6 months over a median 5-year trial period, and used linear mixed effects regression models to compare the rate of GSM progression between the randomized groups within time-since-menopause strata.

The researchers found that effect of estradiol on the annual rate of GSM progression significantly differed between women in the early and late postmenopause groups (P for interaction = .006). Specifically, the annual GSM progression rate among women in early postmenopause fell by 0.30 per year in women taking estradiol, compared with 1.41 per year in those in the placebo group (P less than .0001), indicating significantly more atherosclerosis in the placebo group. On the other hand, the annual GSM progression rate was not significantly different between the estradiol and placebo groups among the late postmenopausal women (P = .37).

“I think this should comfort clinicians in terms of prescribing estradiol therapy to women who don’t have any contraindications and who are within 6 years of menopause,” Dr. Karim said. “Accumulation of lipids is the key event for atherosclerosis progression.” She and her colleagues also observed that the positive association between mean on-trial serum estradiol levels and GSM progression rate was stronger and significant among early postmenopausal women (P = .008), compared with women in the late postmenopausal group (P = .003). However, this differential association between estradiol level and GSM progression rate was not statistically significant (P for interaction = .33).

“This study is important and raises a critical question: Is there a time period where getting hormone therapy would be most beneficial for the heart?” Nieca Goldberg, MD, medical director of the New York University women’s heart program and senior advisor for women’s health strategy at NYU Langone Health, said in an interview. “I think more studies and more analyses are needed, but we haven’t changed the indications for estradiol. We’re not giving estradiol to prevent progression of heart disease. We use estradiol hormone therapy as indicated for women who are having menopausal symptoms.”

Dr. Karim and colleagues plan to conduct a follow-up analysis from the same cohort of ELITE study participants to validate the findings by assessing lipid particles and markers of inflammation.

She reported having no financial disclosures. The study was funded by the National Institute on Aging.

[email protected]

SOURCE: Karim R et al. Epi/Lifestyle 2020, Abstract MP09.