.630, p < .001. Aortic pulse wave velocity in the Guangzhou group was consistently lower than that in the Beijing group when compared in subjects with the same arterial pressure at the same age, indicating a difference in aortic distensibility between the two groups, independent of arterial pressure. Results in two ethnically similar population groups with low serum cholesterol and low prevalence of atherosclerosis but markedly different prevalence of hypertension suggest that salt intake has an independent effect on arteriolar tone and arterial wall properties, with the former indirectly and the latter directly contributing to increased arterial stiffness with age.

ObjectiveTo prospectively examine the association between low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (LDL-C) concentrations and intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) risk.MethodsThe current cohort study included 96,043 participants (mean age 51.3 years) who were free of stroke, myocardial infarction, and cancer at baseline (2006). Serum LDL-C concentrations were assessed in 2006, 2008, 2010, and 2012. Cumulative average LDL-C concentrations were calculated from all available LDL-C data during that period. Incident ICH was confirmed by review of medical records.ResultsWe identified 753 incident ICH cases during 9 years of follow-up. The ICH risk was similar among participants with LDL concentrations of 70 to 99 mg/dL and those with LDL-C concentrations ≥100 mg/dL. In contrast, participants with LDL-C concentrations <70 mg/dL had a significantly higher risk of developing ICH than those with LDL-C concentrations of 70 to 99 mg/dL; adjusted hazard ratios were 1.65 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.32–2.05) for LDL-C concentrations of 50 to 69 mg/dL and 2.69 (95% CI 2.03–3.57) for LDL-C concentrations <50 mg/dL.ConclusionsWe observed a significant association between lower LDL-C and higher risk of ICH when LDL-C was <70 mg/dL, and the association became nonsignificant when LDL-C ≥70 mg/dL. These data can help determination of the ideal LDL range in patients who are at increased risk of both atherosclerotic disease and hemorrhagic stroke and guide planning of future lipid-lowering studies.

Background and AimsThe American Heart Association has recently established seven ideal cardiovascular health metrics for cardiovascular health promotion and disease reduction (i.e., non-smoking, normal body mass index, physically active, healthy diet, and normal levels of cholesterol, blood pressure and fasting blood glucose). The present study seeks to evaluate how well these metrics predict mortality from all causes and cardiovascular diseases in adult Chinese living in a northern industrial city.Methods and ResultsData of 95,429 adults who participated in the Kailuan cohort study from June 2006 to October 2007 was analyzed. All participants underwent questionnaire assessment, clinical examination, laboratory assessments and were followed up biannually. During a median follow-up of 4.02 years, 1,843 deaths occurred, with 597 deaths resulting from cardiovascular diseases. Lower mortality rates from all causes and cardiovascular diseases were observed among the subjects who met a higher number of the ideal health metrics. Compared to the participants who met none or one ideal health metric, those meeting ≥5 ideal health metrics had a lower risk of all-cause mortality by 30% (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.70; 95% confidence interval, 0.56–0.88) and a lower risk of mortality from cardiovascular diseases by 39% (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.61; 95% confidence interval, 0.41–0.89) . Four metrics (smoking status, physical activity, blood pressure and fasting blood glucose) were significantly associated with all-cause mortality. Three metrics (physical activity, blood pressure and fasting blood glucose) were significantly associated with mortality from cardiovascular diseases.ConclusionThe number of ideal health metrics is negatively associated with mortality rates from all causes and cardiovascular diseases among adults in a Northern Chinese industrial city. The data supports the AHA recommendation of ideal health metrics for adults from Northern China.

Lower blood pressure (BP) within the normotensive range have been suggested to be deleterious in diabetic persons using anti-hypertensive drugs. We hypothesized BP<120/80mmHg and BP trajectories may predict further risk of all-cause mortality or cardiovascular events (CVEs) in normotensive diabetic individuals. We included 3,159 diabetic adults, free of hypertension, atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases or cancer in 2006 (baseline), from a community-based cohort including 101,510 participants. A total of 831 participants with SBP <120/80 mmHg and 2,328 participants with BP of 120-139/80-89 mmHg were included. BP and other clinical covariates were repeatedly measured every 2 years. During 7 years of follow-up, we documented 247 deaths and 177 CVEs. Diabetic persons with BP<120/80mmHg had a 46% increased risk of all-cause mortality (95%CI 10-93%) compared with those with BP of 120-139/80-89mmHg at baseline. We then estimated the association between BP trajectories from 2006 to 2008 and adverse events among 2,311 diabetic persons who had both BP measures at 2006 and 2008. Relative to stable BP of 120-139/80-89mmHg, having persistently BP<120/80mmHg (HR 2.35, 95%CI 1.10-5.01) or a spontaneous decrease in BP from 120-139/80-89 to <120/80mmHg (HR 3.04, 95%CI 1.56-5.92) was significantly associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality during 2008-2014. A rise in BP from 120-139/80-89 to ≥140/90 mmHg conferred a high risk of CVEs (HR 1.98, 95%CI 1.24-3.17). In normotensive diabetic persons, having a low BP or a decline in BP was both associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality, while development of incident hypertension increased the risk of CVEs.

Worse overall sleep quality was associated with higher odds of being high or very high risk for CKD and proteinuria in Chinese adults.

Change in salt intake was associated with the stroke risk. These data support the dietary recommendation to the reduction of salt intake.

BackgroundResting heart rate (RHR) predicts both cardiovascular and noncardiovascular death in different populations. However, the results of the association between RHR and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are inconsistent, especially for each subtype of CVDs.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to prospectively explore the relationship between RHR and CVDs including myocardial infarction (MI), ischemic stroke, and hemorrhagic stroke and all-cause death in a general population.MethodsThe Kailuan study is a prospective longitudinal cohort study on cardiovascular risk factors and cardiovascular or cerebrovascular events. Hazard ratio (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using Cox regression modeling.ResultsWe analyzed 92,562 participants (18–98 years old) in the Kailuan Study. CVDs were developed in 1,903 people during follow-ups. In multivariate analysis with adjustment for major traditional cardiovascular risk factors, HRs of the highest quintile group compared with the lowest quintile group of RHR for all-cause CVDs, MI, any stroke, ischemic stroke, hemorrhagic stroke, and all-cause death were 1.03 (95% CI, 0.98–1.07), 1.10 (95% CI, 1.01–1.20), 1.01 (95% CI, 0.97–1.06), 1.02 (95% CI, 0.96–1.07), 1.01 (95% CI, 0.92–1.11) and 1.18, (95% CI, 1.13–1.23), respectively.ConclusionsThe elevated RHR was independently associated with the increased risk for MI and all-cause death, but not for all-cause CVDs, any stroke, ischemic stroke, nor hemorrhagic stroke. This indicates that the elevated RHR might be a risk marker for MI and all-cause death in general populations.

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