A Chinese genetic epidemiological analyses revealed that alcohol intake uniformly increases blood pressure (BP) and stroke, indicating that the apparently protective effects of moderate alcohol intake against stroke suggested by conventional epidemiological analyses are largely non-causal. The study enrolled 512 715 adults between June 25, 2004, and July 15, 2008, from […]
An analysis of pooled individual participant data collected between March 25, 1985, and August 31, 2016 revealed that higher consumption of dietary cholesterol or eggs was significantly associated with higher risk of incident cardiovascular disease (CVD) and all-cause mortality in a dose-response manner. The analysis included 29 615 participants (mean age […]
A Mendelian randomization study revealed that genetically predicted endogenous testosterone is positively linked to cardiovascular disease (CVD), including thromboembolism, heart failure (HF), and myocardial infarction (MI) in men. The study identified genetic predictors of endogenous testosterone from a genome wide association study of serum testosterone conducted in 3225 men of […]
A secondary analysis of data from a US randomized clinical trial suggests that smokers with high blood pressure (BP) may have a higher rate of cardiovascular events associated with intensive BP control. Of 9361 participants in the trial, 466 were current smokers with systolic BP > 144 mm Hg at […]
A new US National Academies report updated Dietary Reference Intakes for potassium (Adequate Intake [AI] 3400 mg for man and 2600 mg for most women per day) and sodium (AI 1500 mg/day, and Chronic Risk Reduction Intake 2300 mg/day) in healthy adults. There was insufficient evidence of risk of excess […]
A US prospective analysis revealed that higher consumption of nuts, especially tree nuts, is associated with lower cardiovascular disease (CVD) incidence and mortality in patients with diabetes. The analysis included 16,217 men (1986-2014) and women (1980-2014) with diabetes at baseline or diagnosed during follow-up. During 223,682 and 254,923 person-years of […]
A US retrospective longitudinal cohort study revealed that higher baseline push-up capacity is associated with a lower incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) events. The study was conducted between January 1, 2000, and December 31, 2010. There were 1562 participants underwent baseline examination, and 1104 with available push-up data included in […]
A US prospective multicenter longitudinal study suggested that higher intake of artificially sweetened beverages (ASB) was associated with increased risk of stroke, particularly small artery occlusion subtype, coronary heart disease, and all-cause mortality. The study included 81 714 postmenopausal women of ages 50 to 79 years at baseline who enrolled […]
A Japanese study suggested that vulnerable carotid plaque increases the risk of cortical cerebral microinfarcts (CMIs) and subsequent cognitive impairment. The study included 89 patients with >30% carotid stenosis on ultrasound. CMIs were identified in 26 patients (29%). Adjusted for age and sex, CMIs were associated with intraplaque hemorrhage, lacunar […]
A prospective cohort study revealed that frequent consumption of fried foods, especially fried chicken and fried fish/shellfish, was associated with a higher risk of all cause and cardiovascular mortality in women in the US. The study included 106 966 postmenopausal women aged 50-79 at study entry who were enrolled between September […]