Living healthier for longer: comparative effects of three heart-healthy behaviors on life expectancy with and without cardiovascular disease

Background: Non-smoking, having a normal weight and increased levels of physical activity are perhaps the three key factors for preventing cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, the relative effects of these factors on healthy longevity have not been well described. We aimed to calculate and compare the effects of non-smoking, normal weight and physical activity in middle-aged populations on life expectancy with and without cardiovascular disease. Methods: Using multi-state life tables and data from the Framingham Heart Study (n = 4634) we calculated the effects of three heart healthy behaviours among populations aged 50 years and over on life expectancy with and without cardiovascular disease. For the life table calculations, we used hazard ratios for 3 transitions (No CVD to CVD, no CVD to death, and CVD to death) by health behaviour category, and adjusted for age, sex, and potential confounders. Results: High levels of physical activity, never smoking (men), and normal weight were each associated with 20-40% lower risks of developing CVD as compared to low physical activity, current smoking and obesity, respectively. Never smoking and high levels of physical activity reduced the risks of dying in those with and without a history of CVD, but normal weight did not. Never-smoking was associated with the largest gains in total life expectancy (4.3 years, men, 4.1 years, women) and CVD-free life expectancy (3.8 and 3.4 years, respectively). High levels of physical activity and normal weight were associated with lesser gains in total life expectancy (3.5 years, men and 3.4 years, women, and 1.3 years, men and 1.0 year women, respectively), and slightly lesser gains in CVD-free life expectancy (3.0 years, men and 3.1 years, women, and 3.1 years men and 2.9 years women, respectively). Normal weight was the only behaviour associated with a reduction in the number of years lived with CVD (1.8 years, men and 1.9 years, women). Conclusions: Achieving high levels of physical activity, normal weight, and never smoking, are effective ways to prevent cardiovascular disease and to extend total life expectancy and the number of years lived free of CVD. Increasing the prevalence of normal weight could further reduce the time spent with CVD in the population

Adiposity and weight change in mid-life in relation to healthy survival after age 70 in women: prospective cohort study

Objective: To examine the hypothesis that mid-life adiposity is associated with a reduced probability of maintaining an optimal health status among those who survive to older ages. Design: Prospective cohort study. Setting: The Nurses’ Health Study, United States. Participants: 17 065 women who survived until at least the age of 70, provided information on occurrence of chronic disease, cognitive function, physical function, and mental health at older ages, and were free from major chronic diseases at mid-life (mean age was 50 at baseline in 1976). Main outcome measures: Healthy survival to age 70 and over was defined as having no history of 11 major chronic diseases and having no substantial cognitive, physical, or mental limitations. Results: Of the women who survived until at least age 70, 1686 (9.9%) met our criteria for healthy survival. Increased body mass index (BMI) at baseline was significantly associated with linearly reduced odds of healthy survival compared with usual survival, after adjustment for various lifestyle and dietary variables (P<0.001 for trend). Compared with lean women (BMI 18.5-22.9), obese women (BMI ≥30) had 79% lower odds of healthy survival (odds ratio 0.21, 95% confidence interval 0.15 to 0.29). In addition, the more weight gained from age 18 until mid-life, the less likely was healthy survival after the age of 70. The lowest odds of healthy survival were among women who were overweight (BMI ≥25) at age 18 and gained ≥10 kg weight (0.18, 0.09 to 0.36), relative to women who were lean (BMI 18.5-22.9) and maintained a stable weight. Conclusions: These data provide evidence that adiposity in mid-life is strongly related to a reduced probability of healthy survival among women who live to older ages, and emphasise the importance of maintaining a healthy weight from early adulthood

'Decision support system (DSS) for prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) among hypertensive (HTN) patients in Andhra Pradesh, India'--a cluster randomised community intervention trial.

RIGHTS : This article is licensed under the BioMed Central licence at http://www.biomedcentral.com/about/license which is similar to the 'Creative Commons Attribution Licence'. In brief you may : copy, distribute, and display the work; make derivative works; or make commercial use of the work - under the following conditions: the original author must be given credit; for any reuse or distribution, it must be made clear to others what the license terms of this work are.BACKGROUND: Very few studies having decision support systems as an intervention report on patient outcomes for cardiovascular disease in the Western world. The potential role of decision support system for the management of blood pressure among Indian hypertensives remains unclear. We propose a cluster randomised trial that aims to test the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of DSS among Indian hypertensive patients. METHODS: The trial design is a cluster randomised community intervention trial, in which the participants would be adult male and female hypertensive patients, in the age group of 35 to 64 years, reporting to the Primary Health Care centres of Mahabubnagar district, Andhra Pradesh, India. The objective of the study is to test the effectiveness and compare the cost effectiveness and cost utility among hypertensive subjects randomized to receive either decision support system or a chart based algorithmic support system in urban and rural areas of a district in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India (baseline versus 12 months follow up). The primary outcome would be a comparison of the systolic blood pressure at 0 and 12 months among hypertensive patients randomized to receive the decision support system or the chart based algorithmic support system. Computer generated randomisation and an investigator and analyser blinded method would be followed. 1600 participants; 800 to each arm; each arm having eight clusters of hundred participants each have been recruited between 01 August 2011 - 01 March 2012. A twelve month follow up will be completed by March 2013 and results are expected by April 2013. DISCUSSION: This cluster randomized community intervention trial on DSS will enable policy makers to find out the effectiveness, cost effectiveness and cost utility of decision support system for management of blood pressure among hypertensive patients in India. Most of the previous studies on decision support system have focused on physician performance, adherence and on preventive care reminders. The uniqueness of the proposed study lies in finding out the effectiveness of a decision support system on patient related outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION: CTRI/2012/03/002476, Clinical Trial Registry - India

Epidemiology and impact of chronic bronchitis in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Research on the association between chronic bronchitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbations has led to discordant results. Furthermore, the impact of chronic bronchitis on mortality in COPD subjects is unclear. Within the Rotterdam Study, a population-based cohort study of subjects aged >= 45 years, chronic bronchitis was defined as having a productive cough for >= 3 months per year for two consecutive years. Linear, logistic regression and Cox proportional hazard models were adjusted for age, sex and pack-years. Out of 972 included COPD subjects, 752 had no chronic phlegm production (CB-) and 220 had chronic phlegm production, of whom 172 met the definition of chronic bronchitis (CB+). CB+ subjects were older, more frequently current smokers and had more pack-years than CB-subjects. During a median 6.5 years of follow-up, CB+ subjects had greater decline in lung function (-38 mL.year(-1), 95% CI -61.7--14.6; p=0.024). CB+ subjects had an increased risk of frequent exacerbations (OR 4.0, 95% CI 2.7-5.9; p<0.001). In females, survival was significantly worse in CB+ subjects compared to CB-subjects. Regarding cause-specific mortality, CB+ subjects had an increased risk of respiratory mortality (hazard ratio 2.16, 95% CI 1.12-4.17; p=0.002). COPD subjects with chronic bronchitis have an increased risk of exacerbations and respiratory mortality compared to COPD subjects without chronic phlegm production

COPD is associated with an increased risk of peripheral artery disease and mortality

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) commonly present with multimorbidity. We aimed to investigate the association between COPD and the development of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) in the general population, and how this might affect mortality among individuals with COPD. We included 3123 participants of the population-based Rotterdam Study without PAD at baseline (mean age 65 years; 57.4% female). The association between COPD at baseline and PAD during follow-up was studied using logistic regression (PAD being indicated by an ankle–brachial index (ABI) of 0.9 or less). Cox regression was used for mortality analysis and interaction terms were used to investigate mortality risk modification by PAD. The presence of COPD was associated with incident PAD (adjusted odds ratio 1.9, 95% CI 1.1–3.2). Mortality rates per 100 000 person-years were as follows: 10.0 in individuals without COPD or PAD, 18.4 in those with COPD only, 16.1 in those with PAD only and 30.1 in individuals with both COPD and PAD. No statistical interaction was found between PAD and COPD on risk of dying. Individuals with COPD have an almost doubled risk of developing PAD. Although PAD does not modify the association between COPD and mortality, people suffering from both diseases have substantially higher mortality rates