Social and Psychosocial Determinants of Racial and Ethnic Differences in Cardiovascular Health in the United States Population.

BACKGROUND: Social and psychosocial factors are associated with cardiovascular health (CVH). Our objective was to examine the contributions of individual-level social and psychosocial factors to racial and ethnic differences in population CVH in the NHANES (National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys) 2011 to 2018, to inform strategies to mitigate CVH inequities. METHODS: In NHANES participants ages ≥20 years, Kitagawa-Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition estimated the statistical contribution of individual-level factors (education, income, food security, marital status, health insurance, place of birth, depression) to racial and ethnic differences in population mean CVH score (range, 0-14, accounting for diet, smoking, physical activity, body mass index, blood pressure, cholesterol, blood glucose) among Hispanic, non-Hispanic Asian, or non-Hispanic Black adults compared with non-Hispanic White adults. RESULTS: Among 16 172 participants (representing 255 million US adults), 24% were Hispanic, 12% non-Hispanic Asian, 23% non-Hispanic Black, and 41% non-Hispanic White. Among men, mean (SE) CVH score was 7.45 (2.3) in Hispanic, 8.71 (2.2) in non-Hispanic Asian, 7.48 (2.4) in non-Hispanic Black, and 7.58 (2.3) in non-Hispanic White adults. In Kitagawa-Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition, education explained the largest component of CVH differences among men (if distribution of education were similar to non-Hispanic White participants, CVH score would be 0.36 [0.04] points higher in Hispanic, 0.24 [0.04] points lower in non-Hispanic Asian, and 0.23 [0.03] points higher in non-Hispanic Black participants; P<0.05). Among women, mean (SE) CVH score was 8.03 (2.4) in Hispanic, 9.34 (2.1) in non-Hispanic Asian, 7.43 (2.3) in non-Hispanic Black, and 8.00 (2.5) in non-Hispanic White adults. Education explained the largest component of CVH difference in non-Hispanic Black women (if distribution of education were similar to non-Hispanic White participants, CVH score would be 0.17 [0.03] points higher in non-Hispanic Black participants; P<0.05). Place of birth (born in the United States versus born outside the United States) explained the largest component of CVH difference in Hispanic and non-Hispanic Asian women (if distribution of place of birth were similar to non-Hispanic White participants, CVH score would be 0.36 [0.07] points lower and 0.49 [0.16] points lower, respectively; P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Education and place of birth confer the largest statistical contributions to the racial and ethnic differences in mean CVH score among US adults.

Spatially Weighted Coronary Artery Calcium Score and Coronary Heart Disease Events in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis.

BACKGROUND: A limitation of the Agatston coronary artery calcium (CAC) score is that it does not use all of the calcium density information in the computed tomography scan such that many individuals have a score of zero. We examined the predictive validity for incident coronary heart disease (CHD) events of the spatially weighted coronary calcium score (SWCS), an alternative scoring method for CAC that assigns scores to individuals with Agatston CAC=0. METHODS: The MESA (Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis) is a longitudinal study that conducted a baseline exam from 2000 to 2002 in 6814 participants including computed tomography scanning for CAC. Subsequent exams and systematic follow-up of the cohort for outcomes were performed. Statistical models were adjusted using the MESA risk score based on age, sex, race/ethnicity, systolic blood pressure, use of hypertension medications, diabetes, total and HDL (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol, use of lipid-lowering medications, smoking status, and family history of heart attack. RESULTS: In the 3286 participants with Agatston CAC=0 at baseline and for whom SWCS was computed, 98 incident CHD events defined as definite or probably myocardial infarction or definite CHD death occurred during a median follow-up of 15.1 years. In this group, SWCS predicted incident CHD events after multivariable adjustment (hazard ratio=1.30 per SD of natural logarithm [SWCS] [95% CI, 1.04-1.60]; P=0.005); and progression from Agatston CAC=0 at baseline to CAC>0 at subsequent exams (multivariable-adjusted incidence rate difference per SD of natural logarithm [SWCS] per 100 person-years 1.68 [95% CI, 1.03-2.33]; P<0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: SWCS predicts incident CHD events in individuals with Agatston CAC score=0 as well as conversion to Agatston CAC>0 at repeat computed tomography scanning at later exams. SWCS has predictive validity as a subclinical phenotype and marker of CHD risk in individuals with Agatston CAC=0.

Fasting glucose variability in young adulthood and incident diabetes, cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality.

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: The aim of this study was to determine whether long-term intra-individual variability in fasting glucose (FG) during young adulthood is associated with incident diabetes, cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality. METHODS: We included participants from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study, ages 18-30 years at baseline (1985-1986) and followed with eight examinations for up to 30 years. Long-term glucose variability was assessed using the CV (CV-FG) and the absolute difference between successive FG measurements (average real variability; ARV-FG). For participants who developed any event (diabetes, CVD or mortality), FG variability measurement was censored at the examination prior to event ascertainment. We estimated HRs for incident diabetes, CVD and mortality with adjustment for demographics, baseline FG, change in FG (censor - baseline) and time-varying education, smoking, alcohol consumption, BMI, physical activity, systolic BP, BP medications, LDL-cholesterol and cholesterol medications (and incident diabetes and diabetes medications for CVD and mortality outcomes). RESULTS: Among 3769 black and white participants, there were 317 incident diabetes cases (102,677 person-years), 159 incident CVD events (110,314 person-years) and 174 deaths (111,390 person-years). After adjustment, HRs per 1 SD higher ARV-FG were 1.64 (95% CI 1.52, 1.78) for diabetes, 1.15 (95% CI 1.01, 1.31) for CVD and 1.25 (95% CI 1.11, 1.40) for mortality. The HRs per 1 SD higher CV-FG were 1.39 (95% CI 1.21, 1.58) for diabetes, 1.32 (95% CI 1.13, 1.54) for CVD and 1.08 (95% CI 0.92, 1.27) for mortality, after adjustment. The cause-specific HRs per 1 SD higher ARV-FG were 1.29 (95% CI 1.14, 1.47) for non-CVD death and 1.05 (95% CI 0.76, 1.45) for CVD death. We did not observe evidence for effect modification of any association by sex or race. CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: Our results suggest that higher intra-individual FG variability during young adulthood before the onset of diabetes is associated with incident diabetes, CVD and mortality.

Self-reported marijuana use over 25 years and abdominal adiposity: the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study.

AIMS: We investigated the association between cumulative lifetime and current marijuana use with total abdominal adipose tissue (AT), visceral AT, subcutaneous AT, intermuscular AT, and mean liver attenuation (LA) at mid-life. DESIGN: Longitudinal and cross-sectional secondary data analysis of participants in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study. SETTING: CARDIA field centers in Birmingham, AL; Chicago, IL; Minneapolis, MN; and Oakland, CA, USA. PARTICIPANTS: CARDIA participants, aged 18-30 years in 1985-1986, who were present at the clinic examination in 2010-2011 (n = 2902). MEASUREMENTS: Marijuana use was assessed from responses to self-administered questionnaires at 8 CARDIA examinations over 25 years, determined as cumulative marijuana-years and current use status. Non-contrast computed tomography imaging of the abdomen was obtained in 2010-2011. FINDINGS: In 2010-2011, 84% of participants reported a history of marijuana use with 11% reporting use within the past 30 days. Before adjustment, we observed greater cumulative marijuana use was associated with lower total abdominal and subcutaneous AT volume and lower LA and current marijuana use was associated with lower subcutaneous AT. However, after adjustment for age, sex, race, field center, cigarette pack-years and current use, regular alcohol consumption, cumulative drink-years, and physical activity, neither cumulative marijuana use nor current use showed an association with any abdominal adipose depot. Our estimates did not differ by age, sex, or race nor after accounting for cohort attrition. CONCLUSION: Neither cumulative marijuana use nor current marijuana use is associated with total abdominal, visceral, subcutaneous, or intermuscular adipose tissue, or liver attenuation in mid-life.

Association of Modifiable Risk Factors in Young Adulthood With Racial Disparity in Incident Type 2 Diabetes During Middle Adulthood.

Importance: In the United States, black individuals are twice as likely to develop type 2 diabetes compared with white individuals, and these disparities are particularly pronounced in young and middle age. Prior studies have identified differences in traditional risk factors that may be associated with racial disparities in diabetes incidence but have not simultaneously adjusted for risk factors measured across multiple domains (eg, the individual and the environment) and updated over time. Objective: To determine the relative associations of modifiable biological, neighborhood, psychosocial, socioeconomic, and behavioral factors in young adulthood with the observed racial disparity in diabetes incidence between middle-aged black and white individuals. Design, Setting, and Participants: Black and white men and women from the observational Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults study, aged 18 to 30 years, without diabetes at baseline (1985-1986; N = 4251) were observed through 2015-2016. Sex-stratified multivariable-adjusted Cox proportional hazards modeling, with adjustment for time-updated covariates, was used to estimate risk for incident diabetes. Percent reduction in the ß coefficient (the logarithm used to calculate the hazard ratio [HR]) was calculated to compare black to white participants. Exposures: Self-identified race and factors including biological (eg, fasting glucose, body mass index), neighborhood (racial segregation and tract-level poverty), psychosocial (depressive symptoms), socioeconomic (eg, personal and parental educational attainment, current employment), and behavioral (eg, regular alcohol consumption, smoking) domains. Main Outcomes and Measures: Incident type 2 diabetes mellitus. Results: The mean (SD) age at baseline was 25 (3.6) years, 49% (n = 2066) of the sample was black, and 54% (n = 2304) were women. Over a mean follow-up of 24.5 years, 504 cases of incident diabetes were identified. Using sex-stratified multivariable-adjusted Cox proportional hazards models, black women and men were more likely to develop diabetes than white men and women (black women: HR, 2.86 [95% CI, 2.19-3.72] and risk difference [RD], 89 cases/1000 people [95% CI, 61-117]; black men: HR, 1.67 [95% CI, 1.28-2.17] and RD, 47 cases/1000 people [95% CI, 15-78]) after adjustment for age and center. Biological factors were most strongly associated with the disparity in diabetes risk between black and white individuals for women (percent reduction in ß, 112%) and men (percent reduction in ß, 86%). There was no longer disparity in diabetes risk between black and white middle-aged adults after adjustment for biological, neighborhood, psychosocial, socioeconomic, and behavioral factors measured over time (HR for women, 0.79 [95% CI, 0.55-1.14]; HR for men, 0.92 [95% CI, 0.62-1.38]). Conclusions and Relevance: In this cohort study comparing black and white participants, there was a statistically significant increased risk of incident type 2 diabetes among black women and men. However, after adjustment for modifiable risk factors during young adulthood, the disparity was no longer statistically significant.

Cumulative Lifetime Marijuana Use and Incident Cardiovascular Disease in Middle Age: The Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effects of marijuana in the development of incident cardiovascular and cerebrovascular outcomes. METHODS: Participants were 5113 adults aged 18 to 30 years at baseline (1985-1986) from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults study, who were followed for more than 25 years. We estimated cumulative lifetime exposure to marijuana using repeated assessments collected at examinations every 2 to 5 years. The primary outcome was incident cardiovascular disease (CVD) through 2013. RESULTS: A total of 84% (n = 4286) reported a history of marijuana use. During a median 26.9 years (131 990 person-years), we identified 215 CVD events, including 62 strokes or transient ischemic attacks, 104 cases of coronary heart disease, and 50 CVD deaths. Compared with no marijuana use, cumulative lifetime and recent marijuana use showed no association with incident CVD, stroke or transient ischemic attacks, coronary heart disease, or CVD mortality. Marijuana use was not associated with CVD when stratified by age, gender, race, or family history of CVD. CONCLUSIONS: Neither cumulative lifetime nor recent use of marijuana is associated with the incidence of CVD in middle age.

Circulating level of hepatocyte growth factor predicts incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA).

BACKGROUND: Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is a pleotropic factor posited to have metabolic homeostatic properties. The purpose of this study is to examine whether level of HGF is associated with the development of type 2 diabetes. METHODS: Data from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) were used to examine the prospective association between serum level of HGF and incident diabetes. Fasting HGF was measured at Exam 1 (2000-2002) in 5395 participants free from diabetes (61.5±10.2 years old) and incidence of diabetes was determined at four subsequent follow-up exams over 12 years. Hazard ratios (HR) for incident diabetes were estimated according to 1 standard deviation (SD) unit increment of HGF (1 SD=26 µg/l), before and after adjustment for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, study center, smoking status, alcohol consumption, body mass index, waist circumference, fasting glucose and insulin, C-reactive protein, and interleukin-6 levels. RESULTS: A 1 SD increment of baseline HGF was associated with a 46% (95% CI=1.37, 1.56) increased risk of diabetes before adjustment. After adjustment, diabetes risk per 1 SD increment of HGF was attenuated but remained significantly increased (HR=1.21; 95% CI=1.12, 1.32). Men had a significantly greater HR compared to women per equivalent increase of HGF (p-value for sex interaction=0.04). There was no evidence of effect modification by race/ethnicity. CONCLUSIONS: This study advances understanding from cross-sectional studies and investigation of incident insulin resistance, demonstrating higher level of HGF is associated with incident diabetes and may reflect a unique type of impaired metabolism.

Marijuana use and risk of prediabetes and diabetes by middle adulthood: the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study.

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: The impact of marijuana use on metabolic health is largely unknown. This study sought to clarify the cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between self-reported marijuana use, and prediabetes (defined as fasting glucose 5.6-6.9 mmol/l, 2 h glucose post OGTT 7.8-11.0 mmol/l or HbA1c 5.7-6.4% [39-47 mmol/mol]) and diabetes. METHODS: Data from the community-based Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study were used to determine marijuana use and the presence of prediabetes and diabetes among participants. The association between marijuana use and the prevalence of prediabetes and diabetes was examined in 3,034 participants at CARDIA examination year 25 (2010-2011), while the incidence of prediabetes and diabetes according to previous marijuana use was assessed in 3,151 individuals who were free from prediabetes/diabetes at year 7 (1992-1993) and who returned for at least one of the four subsequent follow-up examinations over 18 years. RESULTS: The percentage of individuals who self-reported current use of marijuana declined over the course of the study's follow-up. After multivariable adjustment, higher odds of prediabetes were found for individuals who reported current use of marijuana (OR 1.65 [95% CI 1.15, 2.38]) and a lifetime use of 100 times or more (OR 1.49 [95% CI 1.06, 2.11]), compared with individuals who reported never using marijuana. There was no association between marijuana use and diabetes at CARDIA examination year 25. Over 18 years of follow-up, a greater risk of prediabetes (but not diabetes) was found for individuals who reported a lifetime use of marijuana of 100 times or more (HR 1.39 [95% CI 1.13, 1.71]), compared with individuals who had never used marijuana. CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: Marijuana use in young adulthood is associated with an increased risk of prediabetes by middle adulthood, but not with the development of diabetes by this age.

Glycated hemoglobin and incident type 2 diabetes in singaporean chinese adults: the Singapore Chinese health study.

BACKGROUND: The American Diabetes Association recently included glycated hemoglobin in the diagnostic criteria for diabetes, but research on the utility of this biomarker in Southeast Asians is scant. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between percent HbA1c and incident diabetes in an Asian population of adult men and women without reported diabetes. METHODS: Data analysis of 5,770 men and women enrolled in the Singapore Chinese Health Study who provided a blood sample at the follow-up I visit (1999-2004) and had no cancer and no reported history of diabetes or cardiovascular disease events. Diabetes was defined as self-report of physician diagnosis, identified at the follow-up II visit (2006-2010). RESULTS: Hazard ratios (and 95% confidence intervals) for incident diabetes by 5 categories of HbA1c were estimated with Cox regression models and continuous HbA1c with cubic spline analysis. Compared to individuals with an HbA1c ≤ 5.7% (≤39 mmol/mol), individuals with HbA1c 5.8-5.9% (40-41 mmol/mol), 6.0-6.1% (42-43 mmol/mol), 6.2-6.4% (44-47 mmol/mol), and ≥ 6.5% (≥48 mmol/mol) had significantly increased risk for incident diabetes during follow-up. In cubic spline analysis, levels below 5.7% HbA1c were not significantly associated with incident diabetes. CONCLUSIONS: Our study found a strong and graded association with HbA1c 5.8% and above with incident diabetes in Chinese men and women.

Glycated hemoglobin and all-cause and cause-specific mortality in Singaporean Chinese without diagnosed diabetes: the Singapore Chinese Health Study.

OBJECTIVE: Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) is a robust biomarker of the preceding 2 to 3 months average blood glucose level. The aim of this study was to examine the association between HbA1c and mortality in a cohort of Southeast Asians. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Analysis of 7,388 men and women, mean age 62 years, from the Singapore Chinese Health Study who provided a blood sample at the follow-up I visit (1999-2004) and reported no history of diabetes, previous adverse cardiovascular events, or cancer. A total of 888 deaths were identified through 31 December 2011 via registry linkage. Participants represented a random study sample of potential control subjects for a nested case-control genome-wide association study of type 2 diabetes in the population. Hazard ratios (HRs) for all-cause and cause-specific mortality by six categories of HbA1c were estimated with Cox regression models. RESULTS: Relative to participants with an HbA1c of 5.4-5.6% (36-38 mmol/mol), participants with HbA1c ≥6.5% (≥48 mmol/mol) had an increased risk of all-cause, cardiovascular, and cancer mortality during an average of 10.1 years of follow-up; HRs (95% CIs) were 1.96 (1.56-2.46), 2.63 (1.77-3.90), and 1.51 (1.04-2.18), respectively. No level of HbA1c was associated with increased risk of respiratory mortality. Levels <6.5% HbA1c were not associated with mortality during follow-up. The results did not materially change after excluding observation of first 3 years post-blood draw. CONCLUSIONS: HbA1c levels consistent with undiagnosed type 2 diabetes (≥6.5%) are associated with an increased risk of all-cause and cause-specific mortality in Chinese men and women.