Life’s Simple 7’s Cardiovascular Health Metrics are Associated with Hispanic/Latino Neurocognitive Function: HCHS/SOL Results

Hispanics/Latinos are purportedly at increased risk for neurocognitive decline and dementias. Without dementia cures, low-cost, well-tolerated public health means for mitigating neurocognitive decline are needed

Association of Childhood Economic Hardship with Adult Height and Adult Adiposity among Hispanics/Latinos. The HCHS/SOL Socio-Cultural Ancillary Study

The study examined the association of childhood and current economic hardship with anthropometric indices in Hispanic/Latino adults, using data from the HCHS/SOL Socio-cultural ancillary study (N = 5,084), a community-based study of Hispanic/Latinos living in four urban areas (Bronx, NY, Chicago, IL, Miami, FL, and San Diego, CA). Childhood economic hardship was defined as having experienced a period of time when one’s family had trouble paying for basic needs (e.g., food, housing), and when this economic hardship occurred: between 0–12, 13–18 years old, or throughout both of those times. Current economic hardship was defined as experiencing trouble paying for basic needs during the past 12 months. Anthropometry included height, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and percentage body fat (%BF). Complex survey linear regression models were used to test the associations of childhood economic hardship with adult anthropometric indices, adjusting for potential confounders (e.g., age, sex, Hispanic background). Childhood economic hardship varied by Hispanic background, place of birth, and adult socio-economic status. Childhood economic hardship during both periods, childhood and adolescence, was associated with shorter height. Childhood economic hardship was associated with greater adiposity among US born individuals only. Current economic hardship was significantly associated with all three measures of adiposity (BMI, WC, %BF). These findings suggest that previous periods of childhood economic hardship appear to influence adult height more than adiposity, whereas current economic hardship may be a better determinant of adult adiposity in Hispanics

The age-related contribution of cognitive function to dual-task gait in middle-aged adults in Spain : observations from a population-based study

Poor dual-task gait performance is associated with a risk of falls and cognitive decline in adults aged 65 years or older. When and why dual-task gait performance begins to deteriorate is unknown. This study aimed to characterise the relationships between age, dual-task gait, and cognitive function in middle age (ie, aged 40-64 years). We conducted a secondary analysis of data from community-dwelling adults aged 40-64 years that took part in the Barcelona Brain Health Initiative (BBHI) study, an ongoing longitudinal cohort study in Barcelona, Spain. Participants were eligible for inclusion if they were able to walk independently without assistance and had completed assessments of both gait and cognition at the time of analysis and ineligble if they could not understand the study protocol, had any clinically diagnosed neurological or psychiatric diseases, were cognitively impaired, or had lower-extremity pain, osteoarthritis, or rheumatoid arthritis that could cause abnormal gait. Stride time and stride time variability were measured under single-task (ie, walking only) and dual-task (ie, walking while performing serial subtractions) conditions. Dual-task cost (DTC; the percentage increase in the gait outcomes from single-task to dual-task conditions) to each gait outcome was calculated and used as the primary measure in analyses. Global cognitive function and composite scores of five cognitive domains were derived from neuropsychological testing. We used locally estimated scatterplot smoothing to characterise the relationship between age and dual-task gait, and structural equation modelling to establish whether cognitive function mediated the association between observed biological age and dual tasks. 996 people were recruited to the BBHI study between May 5, 2018, and July 7, 2020, of which 640 participants completed gait and cognitive assessments during this time (mean 24 days [SD 34] between first and second visit) and were included in our analysis (342 men and 298 women). Non-linear associations were observed between age and dual-task performance. Starting at 54 years, the DTC to stride time (β=0·27 [95% CI 0·11 to 0·36]; p<0·0001) and stride time variability (0·24 [0·08 to 0·32]; p=0·0006) increased with advancing age. In individuals aged 54 years or older, decreased global cognitive function correlated with increased DTC to stride time (β=−0·27 [−0·38 to −0·11]; p=0·0006) and increased DTC to stride time variability (β=−0·19 [−0·28 to −0·08]; p=0·0002). Dual-task gait performance begins to deteriorate in the sixth decade of life and, after this point, interindividual variance in cognition explains a substantial portion of dual-task performance

Neurocognitive Function Among Middle-aged and Older Hispanic/Latinos: Results from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos

We sought to examine and describe neurocognitive function among middle-aged and older Hispanic/Latino Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL) participants. We analyzed baseline cross-sectional data from the middle-aged and older (ages 45–74 years old) participants (n = 9,063) to calculate neurocognitive function scores and their correlates. Older age and higher depressive symptoms scores were associated with lower average neurocognitive performance, whereas greater educational attainment and household income were associated with higher neurocognitive performance. Hispanic/Latino heritage groups significantly varied in neurocognitive performances. Some neurocognitive differences between Hispanics/Latinos were maintained after controlling for language preference, education, household income, and depressive symptoms. We found notable differences in neurocognitive scores between Hispanic/Latino heritage groups that were not fully explained by the cultural and socioeconomic correlates examined in this study. Further investigations into plausible biological and environmental factors contributing to the Hispanic/Latino heritage group differences in neurocognitive found in the HCHS/SOL are warranted

Consistency and precision of cancer reporting in a multiwave national panel survey

Abstract Background Many epidemiological studies rely on self-reported information, the accuracy of which is critical for unbiased estimates of population health. Previously, accuracy has been analyzed by comparing self-reports to other sources, such as cancer registries. Cancer is believed to be a well-reported condition. This paper uses novel panel data to test the consistency of cancer reports for respondents with repeated self-reports. Methods Data come from 978 adults who reported having been diagnosed with cancer in at least one of four waves of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, 1999-2005. Consistency of cancer occurrence reports and precision of timing of onset were studied as a function of individual and cancer-related characteristics using logistic and ordered logistic models. Results Almost 30% of respondents gave inconsistent cancer reports, meaning they said they never had cancer after having said they did have cancer in a previous interview; 50% reported the year of diagnosis with a discrepancy of two or more years. More recent cancers were reported with a higher consistency and timing precision; cervical cancer was reported more inaccurately than other cancer types. Demographic and socio-economic factors were only weak predictors of reporting quality. Conclusions Results suggest that retrospective reports of cancer contain significant measurement error. The errors, however, are fairly random across different social groups, meaning that the results based on the data are not systematically biased by socio-economic factors. Even for health events as salient as cancer, researchers should exercise caution about the presumed accuracy of self-reports, especially if the timing of diagnosis is an important covariate.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/112656/1/12963_2010_Article_108.pd

Prevalence of Major Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Cardiovascular Diseases Among Hispanic/Latino Individuals of Diverse Backgrounds in the United States

Major cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are leading causes of mortality among US Hispanic and Latino individuals. Comprehensive data are limited regarding the prevalence of CVD risk factors in this population and relations of these traits to socioeconomic status (SES) and acculturation

Multiple Loci Are Associated with White Blood Cell Phenotypes

White blood cell (WBC) count is a common clinical measure from complete blood count assays, and it varies widely among healthy individuals. Total WBC count and its constituent subtypes have been shown to be moderately heritable, with the heritability estimates varying across cell types. We studied 19,509 subjects from seven cohorts in a discovery analysis, and 11,823 subjects from ten cohorts for replication analyses, to determine genetic factors influencing variability within the normal hematological range for total WBC count and five WBC subtype measures. Cohort specific data was supplied by the CHARGE, HeamGen, and INGI consortia, as well as independent collaborative studies. We identified and replicated ten associations with total WBC count and five WBC subtypes at seven different genomic loci (total WBC count—6p21 in the HLA region, 17q21 near ORMDL3, and CSF3; neutrophil count—17q21; basophil count- 3p21 near RPN1 and C3orf27; lymphocyte count—6p21, 19p13 at EPS15L1; monocyte count—2q31 at ITGA4, 3q21, 8q24 an intergenic region, 9q31 near EDG2), including three previously reported associations and seven novel associations. To investigate functional relationships among variants contributing to variability in the six WBC traits, we utilized gene expression- and pathways-based analyses. We implemented gene-clustering algorithms to evaluate functional connectivity among implicated loci and showed functional relationships across cell types. Gene expression data from whole blood was utilized to show that significant biological consequences can be extracted from our genome-wide analyses, with effect estimates for significant loci from the meta-analyses being highly corellated with the proximal gene expression. In addition, collaborative efforts between the groups contributing to this study and related studies conducted by the COGENT and RIKEN groups allowed for the examination of effect homogeneity for genome-wide significant associations across populations of diverse ancestral backgrounds