Covert Neurological Symptoms Associated With Silent Infarcts From Midlife to Older Age: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study

Unrecognized or unreported stroke-like symptoms, called covert symptoms, occur in persons free of clinical stroke. Whether covert symptoms are associated with subclinical brain infarcts (SBI) is unknown. This study examined the association between covert stroke-like symptoms and SBI/stroke in persons with no history of stroke or TIA

Risk of dementia hospitalisation associated with cardiovascular risk factors in midlife and older age: the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study

Cardiovascular risk factors are associated with a higher risk of developing dementia. Studies in older populations, however, have often failed to show this relationship. We assessed the association between cardiovascular risk factors measured in midlife and risk of being hospitalized with dementia and determined whether this association was modified by age and ethnicity

Recruitment and retention strategies for community-based longitudinal studies in diverse urban neighborhoods

Longitudinal, natural experiments provide an ideal evaluation approach to better understand the impact of built environment interventions on community health outcomes, particularly health disparities. As there are many participant engagement challenges inherent in the design of large-scale community-based studies, adaptive and iterative participant engagement strategies are critical. This paper shares practical lessons learned from the Physical Activity and Redesigned Community Spaces (PARCS) study, which is an evaluation of the impact of a citywide park renovation initiative on physical activity, psychosocial health, and community well-being. The PARCS study, although ongoing, has developed several approaches to improve participant engagement: building trust with communities, adapting the study protocol to meet participants’ needs and to reflect their capacity for participation, operational flexibility, and developing tracking systems. These strategies may help researchers anticipate and respond to participant engagement challenges in community-based studies, particularly in low-income communities of color

Compensation or displacement of physical activity in middle-school girls: the Trial of Activity for Adolescent Girls

The “activitystat” hypothesis suggests that increases in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) are accompanied by a compensatory reduction in light physical activity (LPA) and/or an increase in inactivity in order to maintain a consistent total physical activity level (TPA).ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to identify evidence of compensation in middle school girls.SubjectsParticipants were 6,916, 8th grade girls from the Trial of Activity for Adolescent Girls (TAAG).DesignInactivity and physical activity were measured over 6- consecutive days using accelerometry (MTI Actigraph). A within-girl, repeated measures design was used to assess associations between physical activity and inactivity using general linear mixed models.ResultsWithin a given day, for every one MET-minute more of inactivity, there was 3.18 MET-minutes (95% confidence interval: −3.19, −3.17) less of TPA (activity > 2 METS) on the same day. Daily inactivity was also negatively associated with TPA on the following day. Each additional minute of MVPA was associated with 1.85 minutes less of inactivity on the same day (95% confidence interval: −1.89, −1.82). Daily MVPA was also negatively associated with inactivity the following day.ConclusionOur results, based on 6-days of observational data, were not consistent with the “activitystat” hypothesis, and instead indicated that physical activity displaced inactivity, at least in the short term. Longer intervention trials are needed, nevertheless our findings support the use of interventions to increase physical activity over discrete periods of time in middle school girls

Public Parks and Physical Activity Among Adolescent Girls

Proximity to routine destinations is an important correlate of physical activity. We examined the association between distance from school and physical activity in adolescent girls

Tracking of Physical Activity and Inactivity in Middle School Girls

The purpose of this study was to describe and compare the levels of tracking of physical activity and inactivity as assessed by self-report and accelerometry in middle school girls over a 2-year period

Associations between Patterns of Objectively Measured Physical Activity and Risk Factors for the Metabolic Syndrome

Determine whether certain patterns of objectively measured physical activity (PA) are associated with the risk factors for or the diagnosis of the metabolic syndrome (MS)

Women's employment status and mortality: the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study

Background: As women's labor force participation in the United States has increased over the past decades, there has been an interest in the potential health effects of employment. To date, however, research findings have been contradictory. Methods: Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the association between employment status and mortality among 7361 middle-aged African American and white women who participated in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study. Women were classified as employed or homemakers at the baseline examination (1987–1989) and were followed for approximately 11 years. Proportional hazards regression was used to estimate unadjusted and adjusted hazard ratios. Results: After adjusting for sociodemographic factors and selected risk factors for mortality, employed women had a lower risk of mortality than homemakers (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.65, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.49, 0.86). This decreased risk of mortality persisted in additional analyses that excluded those who died within the first 2 years of follow-up or, alternatively, those with a history of coronary heart disease (CHD), stroke, cancer, hypertension, diabetes, or a perception of fair or poor health at baseline. In cause of death-specific analyses, the mortality advantage among employed women persisted for circulatory systemrelated deaths; however, the association for cancer-related deaths was weaker, and the CI included one. Conclusions: As the association between employment status and mortality was not explained by known risk factors for mortality, additional research is needed to identify other potential factors that may help to explain this relationshiphttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/57749/1/Womens Employment in Status and Mortality The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study.pd

Blood Pressure and White-Matter Disease Progression in a Biethnic Cohort: Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study

Blood pressure (BP) is a predictor of concurrent and subsequently measured white matter hyperintensity (WMH), but longitudinal studies of WMH change and data in black participants are lacking. We hypothesized that WMH progression would be 1) strongly related to BP in blacks and whites, and 2) predicted more strongly by earlier (midlife) or cumulative BP measurements than by measures at older ages