Evidence suggests that asymptomatic and mild SARS-CoV-2 infections comprise > 95% of all cases. Developing a test that indicates past infection and possible immunity against the virus is important. We administered 244 antibody tests to three groups of high-risk population. The test consisted of an IgG component and an IgM component. The overall IgM/IgG positivity for patients with none, mild, moderate, and severe symptoms were 21.1%, 21.8%, 14.2%, and 26.9%, respectively. Those with moderate or severe symptoms were no more or less likely to have positive antibody tests than those with no or mild symptoms.
Background
Blue zones are longevity hotspots around the world characterized by highest concentrations of healthy centenarians. Certified blue zone communities are designed by implementation of environmental and policy changes that promote healthy behaviors.
Objective
To examine the trends of prevalence of zero CAC, a marker of ideal cardiovascular and overall health status and burden of cardiovascular risk factors in Beach Cities/certified blue zones of Southern California and rest of California.
Methods
This is a population-based cohort study of persons aged 50 years or older in California, who underwent CAC screening between 2000 and 2019. A total of 3864 participants from Beach Cities of Southern California were identified by Zip Codes and compared with 35,537 participants from rest of California. We compared trends of prevalence of zero CAC and cardiovascular risk factors between the two groups, in 5-year intervals.
Results
Among 39,401 participants (mean age, 58.1 years; 36% women), 13,374 (34%) had zero CAC. The prevalence of CAC = 0 was significantly higher in Beach Cities compared to the rest of California (p < 0.001). Across the study period, the prevalence of cardiac risk factors including obesity, smoking, diabetes and hypertension remain significantly lower in Beach Cities. (p < 0.001)
Conclusions
This study, shows for the first time, that higher prevalence of zero CAC in Beach Cities of California, adds validity to excellent prognosis and longevity in these areas. The impact of policy implementation and environmental changes on lifestyle patterns, cardiovascular health and healthy ageing needs to be evaluated.
Objective
The objective of this article was to study the association of aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) with bone mineral density (BMD).
Methods
Spine BMD was evaluated in a subset of 2028 participants from the Multiethnic Study of Atherosclerosis cohort who were NSAID users (including aspirin) and underwent both lumbar and thoracic imaging. Multiethnic Study of Atherosclerosis is a prospective cohort study that includes 4 ethnic groups (white, Asian, African American, and Hispanic). Trabecular BMD was evaluated by quantitative computed tomography based on cardiac computed tomography images, which were obtained during coronary calcium scans. The analyses were cross sectional using baseline examination data for exposure and outcomes.
Results
After adjustment for potential confounders including age, sex, race, and traditional cardiovascular risk factors, a small association between trabecular BMD and baseline use of COX-2–selective NSAID was observed. COX-2–selective NSAID use was associated with 7.4 mg/cm3 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.6–13.3; P = 0. 013) higher trabecular BMD in thoracic spine and 10.6 mg/cm3 higher at lumbar spine (95% CI, 5.1–16.1; P < 0.001). Among regular aspirin users, there was no association between drug use and trabecular BMD. Considering all spine fractures together, the prevalence ratio of fractures among aspirin users was 1.0 (95% CI, 0.6–1.6) and 1.1 (95% CI, 0.5–2.3) among COX-2–selective NSAID users.
Conclusions
Regular use of aspirin has no significant association with trabecular BMD in either the thoracic or lumbar spine and no association with fracture prevalence. COX-2–selective NSAIDs may have modest positive association with BMD, but the mechanisms were not assessed and the observational study design makes residual confounding a possible alternate explanation. Potential pathological mechanisms warrant further longitudinal exploration.
Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the association of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk scores and coronary artery plaque (CAP) progression in HIV-infected participants.Methods: We studied men with and without HIV-infection enrolled in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS) CVD study. CAP at baseline and follow-up was assessed with cardiac computed tomography angiography (CCTA). We examined the association between baseline risk scores including pooled cohort equation (PCE), Framingham risk score (FRS), and Data collect of Adverse effects of anti-HIV drugs equation (D:A:D) and CAP progression.Results: We studied 495 men (211 HIV-uninfected, 284 HIV-infected). The adjusted odds ratio (aOR) of total plaque volume (TPV) and noncalcified plaque volume (NCPV) progression in the highest relative to lowest tertile was 9.4 [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 2.4-12.1, P < 0.001)] and 7.7 (95% CI 3.1-19.1, P < 0.001) times greater, respectively, among HIV-uninfected men in the PCE atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) high vs. low-risk category. Among HIV-infected men, the association for TPV and NCPV progression for the same PCE risk categories, odds ratio (OR) 2.8 (95% CI 1.4-5.8, P < 0.01) and OR 2.4 (95% CI 1.2-4.8, P < 0.05), respectively (P values for interaction by HIV ¼ 0.02 and 0.08, respectively). Similar results were seen for the FRS risk scores. Among HIV-uninfected men, PCE high risk category identified the highest proportion of men with plaque progression in the highest tertile, although in HIV-infected men, high-risk category by D:A:D identified the greatest percentage of men with plaque progression albeit with lower specificity than FRS and PCE.
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