Prevalence of Aortic Valve Calcium and the Long-Term Risk of Incident Severe Aortic Stenosis.

BACKGROUND: Aortic valve calcification (AVC) is a principal mechanism underlying aortic stenosis (AS). OBJECTIVES: This study sought to determine the prevalence of AVC and its association with the long-term risk for severe AS. METHODS: Noncontrast cardiac computed tomography was performed among 6,814 participants free of known cardiovascular disease at MESA (Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis) visit 1. AVC was quantified using the Agatston method, and normative age-, sex-, and race/ethnicity-specific AVC percentiles were derived. The adjudication of severe AS was performed via chart review of all hospital visits and supplemented with visit 6 echocardiographic data. The association between AVC and long-term incident severe AS was evaluated using multivariable Cox HRs. RESULTS: AVC was present in 913 participants (13.4%). The probability of AVC >0 and AVC scores increased with age and were generally highest among men and White participants. In general, the probability of AVC >0 among women was equivalent to men of the same race/ethnicity who were approximately 10 years younger. Incident adjudicated severe AS occurred in 84 participants over a median follow-up of 16.7 years. Higher AVC scores were exponentially associated with the absolute risk and relative risk of severe AS with adjusted HRs of 12.9 (95% CI: 5.6-29.7), 76.4 (95% CI: 34.3-170.2), and 380.9 (95% CI: 169.7-855.0) for AVC groups 1 to 99, 100 to 299, and ≥300 compared with AVC = 0. CONCLUSIONS: The probability of AVC >0 varied significantly by age, sex, and race/ethnicity. The risk of severe AS was exponentially higher with higher AVC scores, whereas AVC = 0 was associated with an extremely low long-term risk of severe AS. The measurement of AVC provides clinically relevant information to assess an individual's long-term risk for severe AS.

Metabolites Associated with Coffee Consumption and Incident Chronic Kidney Disease.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Moderate coffee consumption has been associated with lower risk of CKD; however, the exact biologic mechanisms underlying this association are unknown. Metabolomic profiling may identify metabolic pathways that explain the association between coffee and CKD. The goal of this study was to identify serum metabolites associated with coffee consumption and examine the association between these coffee-associated metabolites and incident CKD. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS: Using multivariable linear regression, we identified coffee-associated metabolites among 372 serum metabolites available in two subsamples of the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study (ARIC; n=3811). Fixed effects meta-analysis was used to pool the results from the two ARIC study subsamples. Associations between coffee and metabolites were replicated in the Bogalusa Heart Study (n=1043). Metabolites with significant associations with coffee in both cohorts were then evaluated for their prospective associations with incident CKD in the ARIC study using Cox proportional hazards regression. RESULTS: In the ARIC study, mean (SD) age was 54 (6) years, 56% were daily coffee drinkers, and 32% drank >2 cups per day. In the Bogalusa Heart Study, mean (SD) age was 48 (5) years, 57% were daily coffee drinkers, and 38% drank >2 cups per day. In a meta-analysis of two subsamples of the ARIC study, 41 metabolites were associated with coffee consumption, of which 20 metabolites replicated in the Bogalusa Heart Study. Three of these 20 coffee-associated metabolites were associated with incident CKD in the ARIC study. CONCLUSIONS: We detected 20 unique serum metabolites associated with coffee consumption in both the ARIC study and the Bogalusa Heart Study, and three of these 20 candidate biomarkers of coffee consumption were associated with incident CKD. One metabolite (glycochenodeoxycholate), a lipid involved in primary bile acid metabolism, may contribute to the favorable kidney health outcomes associated with coffee consumption. Two metabolites (O-methylcatechol sulfate and 3-methyl catechol sulfate), both of which are xenobiotics involved in benzoate metabolism, may represent potential harmful aspects of coffee on kidney health.