To enable comparison between studies and settings, researchers and practitioners should be explicit about their choice of definition and measure. Using a cut-off of two or more conditions as part of the definition is widely adopted. Measure selection should be based on tools validated for the outcome being considered. Where there is no validated measure, or where multiple outcomes or populations are being considered, disease counts are appropriate.

Context Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is prevalent in older individuals, but the risk implications of low estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and high albuminuria across the full age range are controversial. Objective To evaluate possible effect modification (interaction) of age on the association of estimated GFR and albuminuria with clinical risk examining both relative and absolute risk. Design, Setting, Participants We investigated 2,051,244 participants from 33 general population or high-risk (of vascular disease) cohorts and 13 CKD cohorts from Asia, Australesia, Europe, and North/South America conducted during 1972–2011 with mean follow-up time of 5.8 years (range 0–31 years). Main Outcome Measures Hazard ratios (HRs) of mortality and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) according to eGFR and albuminuria were meta-analyzed across age categories after adjusting for sex, race, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, systolic blood pressure, cholestserol, body mass index, and smoking. Absolute risks were estimated using HRs and average incidence rates. Results Mortality (112,325 deaths) and ESRD (8,411 events) risk were higher at lower eGFR and higher albuminuria in every age category. In general/high-risk cohorts, relative mortality risk for reduced eGFR decreased with increasing age: e.g., adjusted HRs (95% CI) at eGFR 45 vs. 80 ml/min/1.73m2 were 3.50 (2.55–4.81), 2.21 (2.02–2.41), 1.59 (1.42–1.77), and 1.35 (1.23–1.48) in age categories 18–54, 55–64, 65–74 and 75+ years, respectively (P-values for age interaction <0.05). Absolute risk differences for the same comparisons were higher at older age (9.0 [95% CI, 6.0–12.8], 12.2 [10.3–14.3], 13.3 [9.0–18.6], and 27.2 [13.5–45.5] excess deaths per 1,000 person-years, respectively). For increased albuminuria, reduction of relative risk with increasing age were less evident, while differences in absolute risk were higher in the older age categories (7.5 [95% CI, 4.3–11.9], 12.2 [7.9–17.6], 22.7 [15.3–31.6], and 34.3 [19.5–52.4] excess deaths per 1,000 person-years, respectively by age category, at ACR 300 mg/g compared to 10 mg/g). In CKD cohorts, adjusted relative hazards of mortality did not decrease with age. In all cohorts, ESRD relative risks and absolute risk differences at lower eGFR or higher albuminuria were comparable across age categories. Conclusions Both low eGFR and high albuminuria were independently associated with mortality and ESRD regardless of age across a wide range of populations. Mortality showed lower relative risk but higher absolute risks differences at older age.

The United Kingdom General Practice Research Database (GPRD) is an office-based, computer-generated, medical resource designed from its inception to be used for epidemiologic research. A distinct version of the GPRD is maintained by the Boston Collaborative Drug Surveillance Program and has been the source of more than 130 scientific articles primarily addressing drug safety issues. We reviewed evidence related to the validity of the GPRD. Specifically, with our extensive experience with this automated database, we evaluated the quality and completeness of the data that it contains.

Glycemic traits are used to diagnose and monitor type 2 diabetes, and cardiometabolic health. To date, most genetic studies of glycemic traits have focused on individuals of European ancestry. Here, we aggregated genome-wide association studies in up to 281,416 individuals without diabetes (30% non-European ancestry) with fasting glucose, 2h-glucose post-challenge, glycated hemoglobin, and fasting insulin data. Trans-ancestry and single-ancestry meta-analyses identified 242 loci (99 novel; P <5x10 -8 ), 80% with no significant evidence of between-ancestry heterogeneity. Analyses restricted to European ancestry individuals with equivalent sample size would have led to 24 fewer new loci. Compared to single-ancestry, equivalent sized trans-ancestry fine-mapping reduced the number of estimated variants in 99% credible sets by a median of 37.5%. Genomic feature, gene-expression and gene-set analyses revealed distinct biological signatures for each trait, highlighting different underlying biological pathways. Our results increase understanding of diabetes pathophysiology by use of trans-ancestry studies for improved power and resolution.