Multiple Reasons for Perceived Everyday Discrimination and All-Cause Mortality Risk Among Older Black Adults

Abstract Background The present study assessed whether reporting multiple reasons for perceived everyday discrimination was associated with an increased risk for all-cause mortality risk among older Black adults. Methods This study utilized data from a subsample of older Black adults from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a nationally representative panel study of older adults in the United States. Our measure of multiple reasons for perceived everyday discrimination was based on self-reports from the 2006/2008 HRS waves. Respondents' vital status was obtained from the National Death Index and reports from key household informants (spanning 2006–2019). Cox proportional hazard models, which accounted for covariates linked to mortality, were used to estimate the risk of all-cause mortality. Results During the observation period, 563 deaths occurred. Twenty percent of Black adults attributed perceived everyday discrimination to three or more sources. In demographic adjusted models, attributing perceived everyday discrimination to three or more sources was a statistically significant predictor of all-cause mortality risk (hazard ratio= 1.45; 95%, confidence interval=1.12 - 1.87). The association remained significant (hazard ratio=1.49, 95%, confidence interval=1.15 - 1.93) after further adjustments for health, behavioral, and economic characteristics. Conclusion Examining how multiple reasons for perceived everyday discrimination relate to all-cause mortality risk has considerable utility in clarifying the unique contributions of perceived discrimination to mortality risk among older Black adults. Our findings suggest that multiple reasons for perceived everyday discrimination are a particularly salient risk factor for mortality among older Black adults.

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Short-term prognosis of normalising serum potassium following an episode of hypokalaemia in patients with chronic heart failure

European Journal of Preventive Cardiology ◽

10.1177/2047487320911154 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 204748732091115

Author(s):

Mette Aldahl ◽

Christoffer Polcwiartek ◽

Line Davidsen ◽

Kristian Kragholm ◽

Peter Søgaard ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Heart Failure ◽

Chronic Heart Failure ◽

Confidence Interval ◽

Mortality Risk ◽

Cardiovascular Mortality ◽

Serum Potassium ◽

Reference Group ◽

Hazard Ratio ◽

Increased Risk ◽

All Cause Mortality

Background/aim It is well known that patients with chronic heart failure and hypokalaemia have increased mortality risk. We investigated the impact of normalising serum potassium following an episode of hypokalaemia on short-term mortality among patients with chronic heart failure. Methods and results We identified 1673 patients diagnosed with chronic heart failure who had a serum potassium measurement under 3.5 mmol/l within 14 days and one year after initiated medical treatment with both loop diuretics and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin-II receptor blockers. A second serum potassium measurement was required 8–30 days after the episode of hypokalaemia. All-cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality was examined within 90 days from the second serum potassium measurement. Mortality was examined according to six predefined potassium groups derived from the second measurement:<3.5 mmol/l ( n = 302), 3.5–3.7 mmol/l ( n = 271), 3.8–4.1 mmol/l ( n = 464), 4.2–4.4 mmol/l ( n = 270), 4.5–5.0 mmol/l ( n = 272), and 5.1–8.0 mmol/l ( n = 94). We used Cox regression to estimate both all-cause mortality risk and cardiovascular mortality, with serum potassium at 3.8–4.1 mmol/l as reference. After 90 days, the all-cause mortality in the six groups was 29.5%, 22.1%, 20.3%, 24.8%, 23.5% and 43.6%, respectively. In multivariable adjusted analysis, patients with serum potassium <3.5 mmol/l (hazard ratio: 1.51; 95% confidence interval: 1.13–2.02) and serum potassium 5.1–8.0 mmol/l (hazard ratio: 2.18; 95% confidence interval: 1.50–3.17) had an increased risk of all-cause mortality compared to the reference. After 90 days, the cardiovascular mortality in the six groups was 19.2%, 17.7%, 14.4%, 18.9%, 18.8% and 34.0%, respectively. In multivariable adjusted analysis, patients with serum potassium 5.1–8.0 mmol/l (hazard ratio: 2.32; 95% confidence interval: 1.51–3.56) had an increased risk of cardiovascular mortality compared to the reference, while serum potassium <3.5 mmol/l (hazard ratio: 1.37; 95% confidence interval: 0.97–1.95) had a trend toward increased risk of cardiovascular mortality compared to the reference. Conclusion Patients with chronic heart failure and hypokalaemia, who after 8–30 days remained hypokalaemic, had a significantly higher 90-day all-cause mortality risk compared to patients in the reference group (3.8–4.1 mmol/l). Patients with chronic heart failure and hypokalaemia, who after 8–30 days had the serum potassium level increased to a level within 5.1–8.0 mmol/l, had both a significantly higher 90-day all-cause mortality risk and cardiovascular mortality risk compared to patients in the reference group (3.8–4.1 mmol/l).

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Glycemic Measures and Risk of Mortality in Older Chinese: The Guangzhou Biobank Cohort Study

The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism ◽

10.1210/clinem/dgz173 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 105 (3) ◽

pp. e181-e190 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Chao Qiang Jiang ◽

Lin Xu ◽

Tai Hing Lam ◽

Ya Li Jin ◽

Wei Sen Zhang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cohort Study ◽

Confidence Interval ◽

Mortality Risk ◽

Fasting Glucose ◽

Tolerance Test ◽

Hazard Ratio ◽

Oral Glucose ◽

Risk Of Mortality ◽

All Cause Mortality ◽

Diagnosed Diabetes

Abstract Context China has the largest number of people with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in the world. Data from previous studies have suggested that up to one-fifth of individuals with diabetes would be missed without an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). To date, there is little information on the mortality risk of these individuals. Objective We estimated the association of different indicators of hyperglycemia with mortality in the general Chinese population. Design Prospective cohort study. Setting China. Participants A total of 17 939 participants aged 50+ years. Exposures Previously diagnosed diabetes and newly detected diabetes defined by fasting glucose (≥7.0 mmol/L), 2-hour postload glucose (≥11.1 mmol/L), or hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c, ≥6.5%). Main Outcomes Measures Deaths from all-cause, cardiovascular disease, and cancer were identified by record linkage with death registration. Results During 7.8 (SD, 1.5) years’ follow-up, 1439 deaths were recorded. Of 3706 participants with T2DM, 2126 (57%) had known T2DM, 118 (3%) were identified by isolated elevated fasting glucose, 1022 (28%) had isolated elevated postload glucose, and 440 (12%) had both elevated fasting and postload glucose. Compared with normoglycemia, the hazard ratio (95% confidence interval) of all-cause mortality was 1.71 (1.46-2.00), 0.96 (0.47-1.93), 1.43 (1.15-1.78), and 1.82 (1.35-2.45) for the 4 groups, respectively. T2DM defined by elevated HbA1c was not significantly associated with all-cause mortality (hazard ratio, 1.17; 95% confidence interval, 0.81-1.69). Conclusion Individuals with isolated higher 2-h postload glucose had a higher risk of mortality by 43% than those with normoglycemia. Underuse of OGTT leads to substantial underdetection of individuals with a higher mortality risk and lost opportunities for early intervention.

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Approximate Mortality Risks between Hyperuricemia and Diabetes in the United States

Journal of Clinical Medicine ◽

10.3390/jcm8122127 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 8 (12) ◽

pp. 2127 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Po-Hsun Chen ◽

Yu-Wei Chen ◽

Wei-Ju Liu ◽

Ssu-Wei Hsu ◽

Ching-Hsien Chen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mortality Risk ◽

Reference Group ◽

The United States ◽

Cox Proportional Hazards ◽

Hazard Ratio ◽

Low Risk ◽

Mortality Data ◽

Mortality Risks ◽

All Cause Mortality ◽

Cvd Mortality

Aim: This study aimed to compare mortality risks across uric acid (UA) levels between non-diabetes adults and participants with diabetes and to investigate the association between hyperuricemia and mortality risks in low-risk adults. Methods: We analyzed data from adults aged >18 years without coronary heart disease and chronic kidney disease (n = 29,226) from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1999–2010) and the associated mortality data (up to December 2011). We used the Cox proportional hazards models to examine the risk of all-cause and cause-specific (cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer) mortality at different UA levels between adults with and without diabetes. Results: Over a median follow-up of 6.6 years, 2069 participants died (495 from CVD and 520 from cancers). In non-diabetes adults at UA ≥ 5 mg/dL, all-cause and CVD mortality risks increased across higher UA levels (p-for-trend = 0.037 and 0.058, respectively). The lowest all-cause mortality risk in participants with diabetes was at the UA level of 5–7 mg/dL. We set the non-diabetes participants with UA levels of <7 mg/dL as a reference group. Without considering the effect of glycemic control, the all-cause mortality risk in non-diabetes participants with UA levels of ≥7 mg/dL was equivalent to risk among diabetes adults with UA levels of <7 mg/dL (hazard ratio = 1.44 vs. 1.57, p = 0.49). A similar result was shown in CVD mortality risk (hazard ratio = 1.80 vs. 2.06, p = 0.56). Conclusion: Hyperuricemia may be an indicator to manage multifaceted cardiovascular risk factors in low-risk adults without diabetes, but further studies and replication are warranted.

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Low serum klotho associated with all-cause mortality among a nationally representative sample of American adults

The Journals of Gerontology Series A ◽

10.1093/gerona/glab308 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Jacob K Kresovich ◽

Catherine M Bulka

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Mortality Risk ◽

Representative Sample ◽

Cox Regression ◽

The United States ◽

Risk Of Death ◽

All Cause Mortality ◽

Nationally Representative ◽

Low Serum

Abstract α-Klotho (klotho) is a protein involved in suppressing oxidative stress and inflammation. In animal models, it is reported to underlie numerous aging phenotypes and longevity. Among a nationally representative sample of adults aged 40 to 79 in the United States, we investigated whether circulating concentrations of klotho is a marker of mortality risk. Serum klotho was measured by ELISA on 10,069 individuals enrolled in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2007-2014. Mortality follow-up data based on the National Death Index were available through December 31, 2015. After a mean follow-up of 58 months (range: 1-108), 616 incident deaths occurred. Using survey-weighted Cox regression models adjusted for age, sex and survey cycle, low serum klotho concentration (< 666 pg/mL) was associated with a 31% higher risk of death (compared to klotho concentration > 985 pg/mL, HR: 1.31, 95% CI: 1.00, 1.71, P= 0.05). Associations were consistent for mortality caused by heart disease or cancer. Associations of klotho with all-cause mortality did not appear to differ by most participant characteristics. However, we observed effect modification by physical activity, such that low levels of serum klotho were more strongly associated with mortality among individuals who did not meet recommendation-based physical activity guidelines. Our findings suggest that, among the general population of American adults, circulating levels of klotho may serve as a marker of mortality risk.

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Impact of low fasting plasma glucose on mortality in the general population

Diabetes and Vascular Disease Research ◽

10.1177/1479164120930599 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 17 (3) ◽

pp. 147916412093059

Author(s):

Parag A Chevli ◽

Muhammad Imtiaz Ahmad ◽

Krupal Hari ◽

Muhammad Ali Anees ◽

Elsayed Z Soliman

Keyword(s):

Cardiovascular Disease ◽

Confidence Interval ◽

Plasma Glucose ◽

Fasting Plasma Glucose ◽

Disease Risk ◽

Cardiovascular Disease Risk ◽

Hazard Ratio ◽

Fasting Plasma ◽

Increased Risk ◽

All Cause Mortality

Background: While the association between hypoglycaemia and poor outcomes in diabetes is well established, it is unclear whether such an association is generalizable to those without diabetes. Methods: A total of 8497 participants free of cardiovascular disease and diabetes from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were included. We examined the relationship between baseline low (<80 mg/dL) and high (⩾126 mg/dL) fasting plasma glucose compared to normal levels (80–99 mg/dL). Results: Over a median follow-up of 14 years, 2101 deaths occurred, of which 570 were due to cardiovascular disease. In a model adjusted for sociodemographic and cardiovascular disease risk factors, individuals with low fasting plasma glucose were at increased risk of cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality [hazard ratio = 1.79 (95% confidence interval = 1.04–3.08) and hazard ratio = 1.35 (95% confidence interval = 1.02–1.78), respectively], compared to those with normal fasting plasma glucose. These associations were stronger among men than women for both cardiovascular disease mortality and all-cause mortality. Conclusion: Low fasting plasma glucose in individuals without diabetes is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality, especially in men.

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Association of baseline platelet count with all-cause mortality after acute myocardial infarction

European Heart Journal Acute Cardiovascular Care ◽

10.1177/2048872620925257 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 204887262092525 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Pil Sang Song ◽

Kye Taek Ahn ◽

Jin-Ok Jeong ◽

Ki-Hyun Jeon ◽

Young Bin Song ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Myocardial Infarction ◽

Heart Failure ◽

Acute Myocardial Infarction ◽

Platelet Count ◽

Confidence Interval ◽

Hazard Ratio ◽

Adjusted Hazard Ratio ◽

Baseline Platelet Count ◽

Increased Risk ◽

All Cause Mortality

Background We sought to evaluate baseline platelet count as a prognostic indicator in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Methods Data of 13,085 patients with AMI were retrieved from a prospective nationwide AMI registry from November 2011 to December 2015. Using Cox hazards models, cumulative risks for adverse outcomes were compared among patients with baseline platelet count of less than 150 K/µL (lowest quartile), 150 to 249 K/µL, 250 to 349 K/µL (reference) and equal to or greater than 350 K/µL (higher quartile). The primary outcome of interest was all-cause mortality. Secondary outcomes included myocardial infarction, re-hospitalisation for heart failure, and stroke. Results During a median follow-up of 2.1 years, a steep U-shaped association was observed for the occurrence of all-cause mortality ( p for non-linearity <0.001). For stroke, a similar U-shaped curve was also seen ( p for non-linearity = 0.095). After multiple adjustments, the lowest and higher quartiles of baseline platelet count were positively associated with all-cause mortality (adjusted hazard ratio: 2.120; 95% confidence interval: 1.345–3.341; p = 0.001, and adjusted hazard ratio: 1.642; 95% confidence interval: 0.957–2.817; p = 0.072, respectively). Similar results were observed in sensitivity analyses even after excluding patients with age ≥75 years or patients with heart failure. Conclusions In patients with AMI, baseline platelet count demonstrated a U-shaped association with an increased risk of all-cause mortality at two years. If validated, these findings suggest that baseline platelet count could serve as a preferred prognostic marker in AMI due to its low cost and universal availability.

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Association of Total Bilirubin With All-Cause and Cardiovascular Mortality in the General Population

Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine ◽

10.3389/fcvm.2021.670768 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

Author(s):

Ziwei Chen ◽

Jing He ◽

Chu Chen ◽

Qi Lu

Keyword(s):

General Population ◽

Cardiovascular Mortality ◽

Total Bilirubin ◽

The United States ◽

Cubic Splines ◽

Hazard Ratio ◽

Increased Risk ◽

All Cause Mortality ◽

Specific Mortality ◽

Restricted Cubic Splines

Objective: The study aims to investigate the association of total bilirubin with all-cause and cause-specific mortality in the general population.Methods: A total of 37,234 adults from the United States National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999–2014 were enrolled. Baseline levels of total bilirubin associated with risk of mortality were evaluated on a continuous scale (restricted cubic splines) and by quartile categories with Cox regression models.Results: Higher levels of total bilirubin was positively associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality [hazard ratio (HR) 1.59, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.46–1.72; p < 0.001]. Compared with individuals with the lowest quartile of bilirubin, the multivariable adjusted hazard ratio for all-cause mortality was 1.25 (1.14–1.37) for individuals in the highest quartile. Restricted cubic splines indicated that the association was non-linear in cardiovascular mortality and cancer mortality while linear in all-cause mortality.Conclusions: Total bilirubin was associated with all-cause and cause-specific mortality in the general population.

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Glaucoma and mortality risk: findings from a prospective population-based study

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-91194-3 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Tilman Kühn ◽

Sabine Rohrmann ◽

Nena Karavasiloglou ◽

David S. Friedman ◽

Aedin Cassidy ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Confidence Interval ◽

Mortality Risk ◽

Cox Regression ◽

The United States ◽

Population Based ◽

Hazard Ratio ◽

Fundus Photography ◽

Visual Field Defects ◽

Population Based Study

AbstractGlaucoma is a neurodegenerative disease with a structural change of the optic nerve head, leading to visual field defects and ultimately blindness. It has been proposed that glaucoma is associated with increased mortality, but previous studies had methodological limitations (selective study samples, lack of data on potential confounders, self-reported or secondary data on glaucoma diagnoses). We evaluated the association between diagnosed glaucoma and mortality in the population-based National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), a representative health survey in the United States. The survey cycles 2005–2006 and 2007–2008 included an extensive ophthalmic examination with fundus photography, which were used to derive standardized glaucoma diagnoses. Risk of all-cause mortality was assessed with multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression models accounting for the complex survey design of NHANES. Time to death was calculated from the examination date to date of death or December 31, 2015 whichever came first. 5385 participants (52.5% women) were eligible, of which 138 had glaucoma at baseline, and 833 died during follow-up. Participants with glaucoma were more likely to be older than those without glaucoma (mean age 69.9 vs. 56.0 years). Mean follow-up time was 8.4 years for participants with glaucoma, and 8.6 years for participants without glaucoma. Glaucoma was associated with increased mortality in an unadjusted Cox regression model (hazard ratio 2.06, 95% confidence interval 1.16 to 3.66), but the association was no longer statistically significant after adjusting for age and sex (hazard ratio 0.74, 95% confidence interval 0.46 to 1.17). Additional adjustment for a range of potential confounders did not significantly change the results. In this representative population-based study, we found no evidence of increased mortality risk in glaucoma patients.

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Factors that contribute to urban–rural gradients in risk of schizophrenia: Comparing Danish and Western Australian registers

Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry ◽

10.1177/00048674211009615 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 000486742110096

Author(s):

Oleguer Plana-Ripoll ◽

Patsy Di Prinzio ◽

John J McGrath ◽

Preben B Mortensen ◽

Vera A Morgan

Keyword(s):

Confidence Interval ◽

Western Australia ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Proportional Hazards ◽

Cox Proportional Hazards ◽

Hazard Ratio ◽

Indigenous Status ◽

Increased Risk ◽

The Relationship ◽

Western Australian

Introduction: An association between schizophrenia and urbanicity has long been observed, with studies in many countries, including several from Denmark, reporting that individuals born/raised in densely populated urban settings have an increased risk of developing schizophrenia compared to those born/raised in rural settings. However, these findings have not been replicated in all studies. In particular, a Western Australian study showed a gradient in the opposite direction which disappeared after adjustment for covariates. Given the different findings for Denmark and Western Australia, our aim was to investigate the relationship between schizophrenia and urbanicity in these two regions to determine which factors may be influencing the relationship. Methods: We used population-based cohorts of children born alive between 1980 and 2001 in Western Australia ( N = 428,784) and Denmark ( N = 1,357,874). Children were categorised according to the level of urbanicity of their mother’s residence at time of birth and followed-up through to 30 June 2015. Linkage to State-based registers provided information on schizophrenia diagnosis and a range of covariates. Rates of being diagnosed with schizophrenia for each category of urbanicity were estimated using Cox proportional hazards models adjusted for covariates. Results: During follow-up, 1618 (0.4%) children in Western Australia and 11,875 (0.9%) children in Denmark were diagnosed with schizophrenia. In Western Australia, those born in the most remote areas did not experience lower rates of schizophrenia than those born in the most urban areas (hazard ratio = 1.02 [95% confidence interval: 0.81, 1.29]), unlike their Danish counterparts (hazard ratio = 0.62 [95% confidence interval: 0.58, 0.66]). However, when the Western Australian cohort was restricted to children of non-Aboriginal Indigenous status, results were consistent with Danish findings (hazard ratio = 0.46 [95% confidence interval: 0.29, 0.72]). Discussion: Our study highlights the potential for disadvantaged subgroups to mask the contribution of urban-related risk factors to risk of schizophrenia and the importance of stratified analysis in such cases.

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THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INFLAMMATORY DIETARY PATTERN AND INCIDENCE OF PERIODONTITIS

British Journal Of Nutrition ◽

10.1017/s0007114520005231 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-36

Author(s):

Ahmed A. Alhassani ◽

Frank B. Hu ◽

Bernard A. Rosner ◽

Fred K. Tabung ◽

Walter C. Willett ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Confidence Interval ◽

Periodontal Disease ◽

Secondary Analysis ◽

Hazard Ratio ◽

Reduced Rank Regression ◽

Rank Regression ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Cox Proportional Hazard Models ◽

Study Population

ABSTRACT The long-term inflammatory impact of diet could potentially elevate the risk of periodontal disease through modification of systemic inflammation. The aim of the present study was to prospectively investigate the associations between a food based, reduced rank regression (RRR) derived, empirical dietary inflammatory pattern (EDIP) and incidence of periodontitis. The study population was composed of 34,940 men from the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study, who were free of periodontal disease and major illnesses at baseline (1986). Participants provided medical and dental history through mailed questionnaires every 2 years, and dietary data through validated semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaires every 4 years. We used Cox proportional hazard models to examine the associations between EDIP scores and validated self-reported incidence of periodontal disease over a 24-year follow-up period. No overall association between EDIP and the risk of periodontitis was observed; the hazard ratio comparing the highest EDIP quintile (most proinflammatory diet) to the lowest quintile was 0.99 (95% confidence interval: 0.89 -1.10, p-value for trend = 0.97). A secondary analysis showed that among obese non-smokers (i.e. never and former smokers at baseline), the hazard ratio for periodontitis comparing the highest EDIP quintile to the lowest was 1.39 (95% confidence interval: 0.98 -1.96, p-value for trend = 0.03). In conclusion, no overall association was detected between EDIP and incidence of self-reported periodontitis in the study population. From the subgroups evaluated EDIP was significantly associated with increased risk of periodontitis only among nonsmokers who were obese. Hence, this association must be interpreted with caution.

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