Cardiometabolic disease in South Asians: A global health concern in an expanding population

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is one of the main causes of mortality and morbidity worldwide. As an emerging population, South Asians (SAs) bear a disproportionately high burden of CVD relative to underlying classical risk factors, partly attributable to a greater prevalence of insulin resistance and diabetes and distinct genetic and epigenetic influences. While the phenotypic distinctions between SAs and other ethnicities in CVD risk are becoming increasingly clear, the biology of these conditions remains an area of active investigation, with emerging studies involving metabolism, genetic variation and epigenetic modifiers (e.g., extracellular RNA). In this review, we describe the current literature on prevalence, prognosis and CVD risk in SAs, and provide a landscape of translational research in this field toward ameliorating CVD risk in SAs

Subclinical Atherosclerosis, Statin Eligibility, and Outcomes in African American Individuals: The Jackson Heart Study

Importance: Modern prevention guidelines substantially increase the number of individuals who are eligible for treatment with statins. Efforts to refine statin eligibility via coronary calcification have been studied in white populations but not, to our knowledge, in large African American populations. Objective: To compare the relative accuracy of US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) and American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) recommendations in identifying African American individuals with subclinical and clinical atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). Design, Setting, and Participants: In this prospective, community-based study, 2812 African American individuals aged 40 to 75 years without prevalent ASCVD underwent assessment of ASCVD risk. Of these, 1743 participants completed computed tomography. Main Outcomes and Measures: Nonzero coronary artery calcium (CAC) score, abdominal aortic calcium score, and incident ASCVD (ie, myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, or fatal coronary heart disease). Results: Of the 2812 included participants, the mean (SD) age at baseline was 55.4 (9.4) years, and 1837 (65.3%) were female. The USPSTF guidelines captured 404 of 732 African American individuals (55.2%) with a CAC score greater than 0; the ACC/AHA guidelines identified 507 individuals (69.3%) (risk difference, 14.1%; 95% CI, 11.2-17.0; P \u3c .001). Statin recommendation under both guidelines was associated with a CAC score greater than 0 (odds ratio, 5.1; 95% CI, 4.1-6.3; P \u3c .001). While individuals indicated for statins under both guidelines experienced 9.6 cardiovascular events per 1000 patient-years, those indicated under only ACC/AHA guidelines were at low to intermediate risk (4.1 events per 1000 patient-years). Among individuals who were statin eligible by ACC/AHA guidelines, the 10-year ASCVD incidence per 1000 person-years was 8.1 (95% CI, 5.9-11.1) in the presence of CAC and 3.1 (95% CI, 1.6-5.9) without CAC (P = .02). While statin-eligible individuals by USPSTF guidelines did not have a significantly higher 10-year ASCVD event rate in the presence of CAC, African American individuals not eligible for statins by USPSTF guidelines had a higher ASCVD event rate in the presence of CAC (2.8 per 1000 person-years; 95% CI, 1.5-5.4) relative to without CAC (0.8 per 1000 person-years; 95%, CI 0.3-1.7) (P = .03). Conclusions and Relevance: The USPSTF guidelines focus treatment recommendations on 38% of high-risk African American individuals at the expense of not recommending treatment in nearly 25% of African American individuals eligible for statins by ACC/AHA guidelines with vascular calcification and at low to intermediate ASCVD risk

Update on Cystatin C: Incorporation Into Clinical Practice

Kidney function monitoring using creatinine-based GFR estimation is a routine part of clinical practice. Emerging evidence has shown that cystatin C may improve classification of GFR for defining chronic kidney disease (CKD) in certain clinical populations, and assist in understanding the complications of CKD. In this review and update, we summarize the overall literature on cystatin C, critically evaluate recent high-impact studies, highlight the role of cystatin C in recent kidney disease guidelines, and suggest a practical approach for clinicians to incorporate cystatin C into practice. We conclude by addressing frequently asked questions related to implementing cystatin C use in a clinical setting

Sarcopenic obesity and associations with mortality in older women and men : a prospective observational study

Background The combined effect of sarcopenia and obesity, i.e., sarcopenic obesity, has been associated with disability and worse outcomes in older adults, but results are conflicting. The objectives of this study were to describe the prevalence of sarcopenic obesity (SO) in older adults, and to examine how the risk of mortality is associated with SO and its various components. Methods Data were obtained from two Swedish population studies, the Gothenburg H70 Birth Cohort Studies of 521 women and men at the age of 75, and the Uppsala Longitudinal Study of Adult Men (ULSAM), which included 288 men aged 87 years. Sarcopenia was defined using the recently updated EWGSOP2 definition. Obesity was defined by any of three established definitions: body mass index >= 30 kg/m(2), fat mass > 30%/ > 42% or waist circumference >= 88 cm/>= 102 cm for women and men, respectively. The Kaplan-Meier survival curve and the Cox proportional hazard model were used for 10-year and 4-year survival analyses in the H70 and ULSAM cohorts, respectively. Results SO was observed in 4% of the women and 11% of the men in the H70 cohort, and in 10% of the ULSAM male cohort. The 75-year-old women with SO had a higher risk (HR 3.25, 95% confidence interval (1.2-8.9)) of dying within 10 years compared to those with a "normal" phenotype. A potential similar association with mortality among the 75-year-old men was not statistically significant. In the older men aged 87 years, obesity was associated with increased survival. Conclusions SO was observed in 4-11% of community-dwelling older adults. In 75-year-old women SO appeared to associate with an increased risk of dying within 10 years. In 87-year-old men, the results indicated that obesity without sarcopenia was related to a survival benefit over a four-year period