Biomedical subjects

Manish Prakash

Publications and source records attributed to Manish Prakash.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2004

Hepatitis C in a Los Angeles public hepatitis clinic: demographic and biochemical differences associated with race-ethnicity.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: The goal of this study was to uncover possible racial-ethnic differences in hepatitis C presentation in an urban hepatitis clinic. METHODS: We surveyed the clinic summary cards of patients with antibodies to hepatitis C virus (HCV) seen from 1993 to 2000 for demographic and laboratory data. RESULTS: A total of 1271 HCV patients were categorized into 4 major racial-ethnic groups consisting of 95 Asian, 232 African American, 323 Caucasian, and 621 Latino patients. The latter showed significantly higher serum alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase, and bilirubin levels (P < 0.0001) and lower serum albumin levels (P < 0.01) compared with all other racial-ethnic groups. Latinos had the lowest rate of hepatitis B coinfection (2.4%) and were significantly less likely to have normal serum ALT levels (P = 0.0002) compared with other groups. Asian patients were 10 years older than other racial-ethnic groups and were significantly more likely to be coinfected with hepatitis B virus (HBV) (P = 0.004). Asian patients also had an equal distribution of infected men and women whereas all other groups showed a male predominance. Injection drug use was a negligible cause of hepatitis C in Asian patients, but a prevalent exposure in Caucasian patients of both sexes and in African American and Latino men was seen. Transfusion was more prevalent in Asian and Latino patients. CONCLUSIONS: Hepatitis C risk factors, sex distribution, and coinfection with hepatitis B vary by race-ethnicity. Latino patients showed statistically significant biochemical differences in ALT, aspartate transaminase, bilirubin, and albumin levels compared with all other racial-ethnic groups. Further studies are required to determine the possible causes for these biochemical differences.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

The effect of ethnicity on survival in male veterans referred for electrocardiography and treadmill testing.

BACKGROUND: Ethnic differences in the relationship between access to health care and survival are difficult to define because of many confounding factors, such as socioeconomic status and baseline differences in health. Because the Veterans Affairs health care system offers health care largely without financial considerations, it provides an ideal setting in which to identify and understand ethnic differences in health outcomes. Previous studies in this area have lacked clinical and cardiovascular data with which to adjust for baseline differences in patients' health. METHODS: Data were collected from consecutive men referred for resting electrocardiography (ECG) (n = 41 087) or exercise testing (n = 6213) during 12 years. We compared ethnic differences in survival between whites, blacks, and Hispanics after considering baseline differences in age and hospitalization status. We also adjusted for electrocardiogram abnormalities and cardiac risk factors, exercise test results, and cardiovascular comorbidities. RESULTS: White patients tended to be older and had more baseline comorbidities and cardiovascular interventions when they presented for testing. White patients had increased mortality rates compared with blacks and Hispanics. In the ECG population, after adjusting for demographics and baseline electrocardiogram abnormalities, Hispanics had improved survival compared with whites and blacks. In the exercise test population, after adjusting for the same factors, as well as adjusting for the presence of cardiovascular comorbidities, cardiac risk factors, and exercise test findings, Hispanics also exhibited improved survival compared with the other 2 ethnicities. There were no differences in mortality rates between whites and blacks. CONCLUSION: Our findings demonstrate that the health care provided to veterans referred for routine ECG or exercise testing is not associated with poorer survival in ethnic minorities.

Aged↗

PubMed2002

The prognostic value of exercise testing in elderly men.

PURPOSE: Our purposes were to compare the responses to exercise testing in elderly (> or =65 years of age) and younger men, and to investigate whether exercise testing has similar prognostic value in the two age groups. METHODS: We included all elderly (n = 1185) and younger (n = 2789) male veterans without established coronary heart disease who underwent routine clinical exercise testing between 1987 and 2000 at two academically affiliated Veteran's Affairs medical center laboratories. Measurements included a standardized medical history, exercise testing, and all-cause mortality. RESULTS: Compared with younger patients, elderly patients achieved a lower workload (a mean [+/- SD] of 7 +/- 3 vs. 10 +/- 4 metabolic equivalents [METs], P <0.001) and were more likely to have abnormal ST depression (27% [n = 324] vs. 16% [n = 436], P <0.001). During the mean follow-up of 6 years, annual mortality was twice as high among elderly patients as among younger patients (4% vs. 2%, P <0.001). The only exercise test variable that was associated significantly with time to death in both age groups was maximal METs achieved: each 1 MET increase in exercise capacity was associated with an 11% reduction in annual mortality. Exercise-induced ST depression was more common in those who subsequently died, but was not an independent predictor of mortality. CONCLUSION: In elderly men, exercise testing provided prognostic information incremental to clinical data. Achieved workload (in METs) was the major exercise testing variable associated with all-cause mortality. Its prognostic importance was the same in elderly as in younger men.

Age Factors↗

PubMed2002

Exercise capacity and mortality among men referred for exercise testing.

BACKGROUND: Exercise capacity is known to be an important prognostic factor in patients with cardiovascular disease, but it is uncertain whether it predicts mortality equally well among healthy persons. There is also uncertainty regarding the predictive power of exercise capacity relative to other clinical and exercise-test variables. METHODS: We studied a total of 6213 consecutive men referred for treadmill exercise testing for clinical reasons during a mean (+/-SD) of 6.2+/-3.7 years of follow-up. Subjects were classified into two groups: 3679 had an abnormal exercise-test result or a history of cardiovascular disease, or both, and 2534 had a normal exercise-test result and no history of cardiovascular disease. Overall mortality was the end point. RESULTS: There were a total of 1256 deaths during the follow-up period, resulting in an average annual mortality of 2.6 percent. Men who died were older than those who survived and had a lower maximal heart rate, lower maximal systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and lower exercise capacity. After adjustment for age, the peak exercise capacity measured in metabolic equivalents (MET) was the strongest predictor of the risk of death among both normal subjects and those with cardiovascular disease. Absolute peak exercise capacity was a stronger predictor of the risk of death than the percentage of the age-predicted value achieved, and there was no interaction between the use or nonuse of beta-blockade and the predictive power of exercise capacity. Each 1-MET increase in exercise capacity conferred a 12 percent improvement in survival. CONCLUSIONS: Exercise capacity is a more powerful predictor of mortality among men than other established risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

Adrenergic beta-Antagonists↗

PubMed2002

Electrocardiographic findings in patients with chronic spinal cord injury.

OBJECTIVE: To demonstrate the prevalence and prognostic value of electrocardiographic abnormalities in patients with chronic spinal cord injury. METHODS: All electrocardiographs obtained in the Palo Alto Veterans Affairs Medical Center since 1987 have been digitally recorded and stored in a computerized database. For this study, only the first electrocardiograph was considered for analysis. The subjects were divided according to age and level of spinal cord injury. The Social Security Death Index was used to ascertain vital status as of December 1999. RESULTS: Annual mortality was similar in those with chronic spinal cord injury and the able-bodied. However, individuals with a higher level of injury had a significantly higher death rate than those with a lower level of injury. The prognostic characteristics of electrocardiographic abnormalities were similar in both the able-bodied and those with spinal cord injury. CONCLUSION: In general, electrocardiographic abnormalities had the same prevalence in the spinal cord injury subjects as in the able-bodied ones. The prognostic value of electrocardiographic abnormalities in subjects with spinal cord injury is similar to that observed in able-bodied subjects.

Adult↗