T-wave axis deviation, metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular risk: results from the MOLI-SANI study

Early recognition of patients at increased cardiovascular risk is a major challenge. The surface electrocardiogram provides a useful platform and it has been used to propose several indexes. T wave axis abnormality is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular mortality, independently of other risk factors and can be associated with the presence of the metabolic syndrome (MetS). We assessed the prevalence of T axis abnormalities and its relationship with MetS and its components in a large population of Italian adults. Data concerning 11,143 women (54±11years) and 9742 men (55±11years) randomly recruited from a general population (Moli-sani cohort) were analyzed. After excluding subjects with incomplete data and with history of cardiac disease or left ventricular hypertrophy, T-wave axis was normal in 74.5% of men and 80.9% of women, borderline in 23.6% and 17.3% and abnormal in 1.9% and 1.8%. In subjects with MetS, the prevalence of borderline or abnormal T-wave axis deviation was higher than in subjects without MetS (in men: 26.6% vs. 22.1% and 2.5% vs. 1.7%; in women: 25% vs. 15% and 2.4% vs. 1.6%, respectively for borderline and abnormal levels, pb0.0001). Each component of MetS increased the odds of having borderline or abnormal T-wave axis deviation by 1.21 in men and 1.31 in women. T wave axis deviation is associated with MetS and its individual components. These findings confirm previous reported results, expanding them to a large and representative sample of European population of Caucasian ethnicity

T-wave axis deviation, metabolic syndrome and estimated cardiovascular risk in men and women of the MOLI-SANI Study

Aim: We aimed at investigating the association between T-wave axis deviation, metabolic syndrome (MetS), its components and estimated risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) at 10 years in a adult Italian population. Methods: 11,143 women (54±11 years) and 9,742 men (55±11 years) were analysed from the Molisani cohort, randomly recruited from the general population. MetS was defined using the ATPIII criteria. T-wave axis deviation was measured from the standard 12-lead resting electrocardiogram. CVD risk in ten years was estimated by the CUORE score. Results: 29% of men and 27% of women with MetS showed borderline or abnormal T-wave as compared to 24% and 17% without MetS (p<0.0001 for both genders). Among components of MetS, elevated waist and blood pressure were strongly associated with Twave axis deviation, whereas glucose, HDL and triglycerides were only marginally. The odds of having borderline or abnormal T-wave axis deviation in multivariable regression analysis, was 1.38 (95% CI:1.25-1.53) in MetS men and 1.68 (95% CI:1.51-1.87) in MetS women compared to those without. Further adjustment for MetS components completely abolished the associations. Abnormal T-wave axis deviation was associated with an increased risk of CVD in 10 years in men (OR=4.4; 95% CI:1.10-17.9). Conclusion: T-wave axis deviation is strongly associated with components of the MetS, in particular high waist circumference and blood pressure and with an increased CVD risk, particularly in men. ECG monitoring to identify T-wave axis deviation in obese, hypertensive or MetS subjects can be an early indicator of vascular disease and help in reducing cardiac events

The Moli-Sani project: computerized ECG database in a population-based cohort study

Computerized electrocardiogram (ECG) acquisition and interpretation may be extremely useful in handling analysis of data from large cohort studies and exploit research on the use of ECG data as prognostic markers for cardiovascular disease. The Moli-sani project (http://www.moli-sani.org) is a population-based cohort study aiming at evaluating the risk factors linked to chronic-degenerative disease with particular regard to cardiovascular disease and cancer and intermediate metabolic phenotypes such as hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, obesity, and metabolic syndrome. Between March 2005 and April 2010, 24 325 people aged 35years or older, living in the Molise region (Italy), were randomly recruited. A follow-up based on linkage with hospital discharge records and mortality regional registry and reexamination of the cohort is ongoing and will be repeated at prefixed times. Each subject was administered questionnaires on personal and medical history, food consumption, quality of life (FS36), and psychometry. Plasma serum, cellular pellet, and urinary spots were stored in liquid nitrogen. Subjects were measured blood pressure, weight, height, and waist and hip circumferences, and underwent spirometry to evaluate pulmonary diffusion capacity, gas diffusion, and pulmonary volumes. Standard 12-lead resting ECG was performed by a Cardiette ar2100-view electrocardiograph and tracings stored in digital standard communication protocol format for subsequent analysis. The digital ECG database of the Moli-sani project is currently being used to assess the association between physiologic variables and pathophyiosiologic conditions and parameters derived from the ECG signal. This computerized ECG database represents a unique opportunity to identify and assess prognostic factors associated with cardiovascular and metabolic diseases

Reduction by coffee consumption of prostate cancer risk: Evidence from the Moli-sani cohort and cellular models

Meta-analytic data on the effect of coffee in prostate cancer risk are controversial. Caffeine as a bioactive compound of coffee has not yet been studied in deep in vitro. Our study aimed at evaluating in a population cohort the effect of Italian-style coffee consumption on prostate cancer risk and at investigating in vitro the potential antiproliferative and antimetastatic activity of caffeine on prostate cancer cell lines. 6,989 men of the Moli-sani cohort aged 6550 years were followed for a mean of 4.24 \ub1 1.35 years and 100 new prostate cancer cases were identified. The European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition-Food Frequency Questionnaire was used for the dietary assessment and the evaluation of Italian-style coffee consumption. Two human prostate cancer cell lines, PC-3 and DU145, were tested with increasing concentrations of caffeine, and their proliferative/metastatic features were evaluated. The newly diagnosed prostate cancer participants presented lower coffee consumption (60.1 \ub1 51.3 g/day) compared to the disease-free population (74.0 \ub1 51.7 g/day) (p &lt; 0.05). Multiadjusted analysis showed that the subjects at highest consumption (&gt;3 cups/day) had 53% lower prostate cancer risk as compared to participants at the lowest consumption (0\u20132 cups/day) (p = 0.02). Both human prostate cancer cell lines treated with caffeine showed a significant reduction in their proliferative and metastatic behaviors (p &lt; 0.05). In conclusion, reduction by Italian-style coffee consumption of prostate cancer risk (&gt;3 cups/day) was observed in epidemiological level. Caffeine appeared to exert both antiproliferative and antimetastatic activity on two prostate cancer cell lines, thus providing a cellular confirmation for the cohort study results

Frontal plane T-wave axis orientation predicts coronary events: Findings from the Moli-sani study

The orientation of the frontal plane T-wave axis (T axis) is a reliable measure of ventricular repolarisation. We investigated the association between T-axis and the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD), heart failure (HF), atrial fibrillation (AF), stroke and cardiovascular (CVD) mortality