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Biomedical subjects

R J Garrison

Publications and source records attributed to R J Garrison.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Prevalence and correlates of posterior extra echocardiographic spaces in a free-living population based sample (the Framingham study).

To obtain epidemiologic information on extra echocardiographic spaces immediately posterior to the left ventricular free wall, 2,028 subjects in the original Framingham cohort study (mean age 70 +/- 7 years) and 3,624 of the offspring of the cohort (and their spouses) (mean age 44 +/- 10 years) with adequate echocardiograms were evaluated. Extra echocardiographic spaces were detected in 370 (6.5%) of the 5,652 subjects. The prevalence ranged from less than 1% in subjects in the 20- to 30-year age decade to greater than 15% for those in their 80s. Extra echocardiographic spaces tended to be more common in subjects who were older, female, obese, more hypertensive, and who had higher blood sugar levels and higher low density lipoprotein cholesterol levels (measured 8 years earlier). The high prevalence of extra echocardiographic spaces and the independent association with age (cohort and offspring), obesity (cohort and male offspring), and ventricular septal hypertrophy (cohort and male offspring) is compatible with at least 2 hypotheses among others that should be tested: (1) Subepicardial fat may often masquerade as pericardial fluid producing a posterior extra echocardiographic space, especially in obese elderly subjects. (2) Small posterior extra echocardiographic spaces may often be early markers of subclinical hypertensive heart disease.

Adolescent↗

Risk factors for pulmonary embolism. The Framingham Study.

To assess potential long-term risk factors for major pulmonary embolism, 46 subjects from the Framingham Heart Study with autopsy-confirmed and clinically significant pulmonary embolism were identified in whom age, systolic blood pressure, cholesterol level, cigarette use, glucose level, Metropolitan relative weight, and varicose veins were ascertained at entry into the Study. These variables were compared among these 46 subjects, all 3,470 subjects in whom these variables were measured at the inception of the Study, and the 998 of these subjects who died within 26 years of follow-up. In multivariate analysis of subjects with autopsy-confirmed major pulmonary embolism and all subjects who died, only Metropolitan relative weight was significantly and independently associated with pulmonary embolism and only among women (p less than 0.001). These findings indicate that, in this cohort, increased adiposity in women is an important long-term factor for significant pulmonary embolism at autopsy. This raises the possibility that weight reduction in obese women may decrease the chances of pulmonary embolism.

Age Factors↗

HDL-cholesterol in a sample of black adults: the Framingham Minority Study.

A group of 100 adult black residents of Framingham, MA were examined and their plasma lipids were determined by the Framingham Heart Study Lipoprotein Laboratory. The age range of the participants was 20-69 yr, and the mean age was 42 yr for both sexes. The mean plasma total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C), and triglyceride (TG) values for the 45 black men were 184,37.2, and 78 mg/dl, respectively. The corresponding levels for the 55 black women were 192,50.4, and 49. Even after adjusting for obesity, alcohol intake, and cigarette use, the HDL-C levels among the blacks were significantly lower (p less than 0.001) than the levels for Framingham white men and women. This black sample is more highly educated than black groups previously studied, and appears to be as active as the Framingham white sample. We conclude that this black population has quite low HDL-C levels, and the results suggest that the lipoprotein distributions in this group differ from those previously reported for blacks.

Activities of Daily Living↗

Predicting coronary heart disease in siblings--a multivariate assessment: the Framingham Heart Study.

The incidence of clinically recognized coronary heart disease and its relation to risk factors have been studied for 596 sibships in the Framingham Heart Study cohort. Only the 186 pairs of brothers were considered in the multivariate analysis, since the rate of coronary heart disease in women is low. Multiple logistic regression was performed by using endpoints of coronary heart disease as the dependent variable for the younger brother of the pair. Age, Metropolitan relative weight, systolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, cigarette smoking and endpoints of coronary heart disease for the older brother represent the independent variables. The incidence of myocardial infarction in the older brother is significantly related to myocardial infarction experience of the younger brother, even after the strong effects of total cholesterol, systolic blood pressure and cigarette smoking were controlled. These findings suggest that family history of myocardial infarction may be an important independent predictor of myocardial infarction, and suggest that familial aggregation for coronary heart disease may result from predisposition to disease, possibly genetic, that is not reflected in the measured levels of total cholesterol, systolic blood pressure or cigarette smoking.

Analysis of Variance↗

The filter cigarette and coronary heart disease: the Framingham study.

Long-term follow-up of the Framingham cohort for coronary heart disease (CHD) end-points has made it possible to test the hypothesis that those who smoke filter cigarettes are less likely to get clinical manifestations of CHD than those who smoke non-filter cigarettes. Men were classified at the 7th biennial examination (1963--64) according to whether they smoked filter or non-filter cigarettes. 58% of the cigarette-smoking men under age 55 at this examination smoked filter cigarettes. These men had slightly lower prior smoking exposure than smokers of non-filter cigarettes. Despite what seemed to be a favourable cigarette-smoking history, the filter-cigarette smokers did not have lower CHD incidence rates than non-filter smokers. This finding was unchanged even after multivariate logistic regression analysis to adjust for the slight differences in age, systolic blood pressure, and serum cholesterol between the two groups.

Adult↗

Estimation of very-low-density lipoprotein cholesterol from data on triglyceride concentration in plasma.

We examined the relationship in a large-living population between the concentration of triglycerides in plasma from fasting persons and the concentration of very-low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL-C) as determined after preparative ultracentrifugation. Data from individuals in the Framingham Heart Study who were free of coronary heart disease, did not have Fredrickson Type I, III, or V hyperlipoproteinemia, and whose plasma-triglyceride values were less than 4000 mg/L were considered in the analyses. A total of 4100 Framingham Offspring, ages 20-49 years, met these criteria, as did 2284 participants in the original Framingham Cohort, aged 50-79 years. We estimated a linear regression model with an intercept and slope coefficient, using VLDL-C (units, mg/L) as the dependent variable and triglycerides as the dependent variable. The intercept was approximately 30.0 mg/L, and the slope coefficient for triglycerides was about 0.20 when all age and sex groups were combined. However, when the analysis was performed by age group, the slope coefficient for triglycerides increased with each age group only for women. The model, in which a different intercept and slope is used for each age and sex group was statistically better than a previously developed simpler model. On the other hand, the older model, in which VLDL-C is easily estimated by multiplying the triglyceride value by 0.20, is reasonably accurate and is very simple to use. The generalizability of the model is discussed in the light of results from other population studies.

Adult↗

Prevalence of coronary heart disease in the Framingham Offspring Study: role of lipoprotein cholesterols.

Forth-three of 1,312 men aged 35 to 54 years in the Framingham Offspring Study had clinically recognized coronary heart disease at the initial examination. Twenty-six men in this group had previously had a myocardial infarction. Of 1,296 women in the same age range, only 11 had coronary disease and 3 a prior myocardial infarction. The prevalence of coronary heart disease in men was strongly associated with age, smoking, high density lipoprotein (HDL), low density lipoprotein (LDL) and total cholesterol using univariate analyses. When multivariate logistic regression analysis was used, age, smoking and HDL and LDL cholesterol retained their significant associatin with coronary heart disease. The total cholesterol/HDL cholesterol ratio was also strongly associated with coronary heart disease in the multivariate analysis. It is concluded that both HDL and LDL cholesterol are strongly and independently associated with the prevalence of coronary heart disease, whereas the level of very low density lipoprotein cholesterol makes no statistically significant independent contribution.

Adult↗

Obesity and lipoprotein cholesterol in the Framingham offspring study.

This study examines the relationship between obesity and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, and very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) cholesterol in 4260 young adult men and women. The strongest association between obesity and LDL cholesterol was found in 20-29 yr-old males, the weakest in 40-49-yr-old males. Conversely, in women the relationship between LDL cholesterol and obesity was modest except in the oldest (40-49 yr) age group. An inverse relationship between obesity and HDL cholesterol was of similar shape and strength in all sex and age-specific groups. When the ratio of total cholesterol (TCHOL) to HDL cholesterol was compared in lean and grossly obese 20-29-yr-old males, substantial differences were found. Since other data show this index of the lipoprotein profile to be the single best indicator of CHD risk, it would appear that the atherogenic potential of obesity is greater than would be suggested by the relatively weak association between obesity and TCHOL or any single lipoprotein cholesterol. These data also suggest that the impact of obesity as a risk factor for CHD may have been underestimated. The paucity of lean males 40-49-yr-old prevents firm conclusions about the CHD risk in such a group. Indirect evidence indicates that lean 40-49-yr-old men would have a markedly more favorable lipoprotein profile and consequently a much lower risk of CHD.

Adolescent↗

Variability of heart rate, P-R, QRS and Q-T durations in twins.

During a cardiovascular risk factor study, electrocardiograms were done on 355 sets of middle-aged male monozygotic and dizygotic twins. Potential genetic variability in ventricular rate and P-R, QRS, and Q-T duration was investigated using classical statistical twin methodology. Significant genetically determined variability was found for ventricular rate and P-R interval. These findings suggest that heart rate and, to a lesser extent, atrial depolarization are under genetic control with 54% and 34%, respectively, of the variation among individuals explained by heredity.

Adult↗

Evidence for additional blood pressure correlates in adults 20-56 years old.

The offspring of parents belonging to the original Framingham Heart Study cohort, and spouses of these offspring, were examined beginning in 1971. Cardiovascular examinations similar to those performed on the parents in 1952-1953 were given to offspring and their spouses. The mean blood pressure (BP) appeared to be lower in the female offspring-spouses than in the cohort mothers. Comparable multivariate analyses on 3588 offspring and spouses of both sexes, ages 20-49 years, and 1842 parents, ages 30-49 years, confirmed the frequently reported importance of weight, heart rate, alcohol consumption, glucose and hematocrit or hemoglobin as independent positive correlates and smoking as an inverse correlate of botsured variables of total serum proteins and plasma triglycerides added significantly to prediction of BP in both sex groups, and a less striking negative association was found for serum phosphorus. The findings for serum proteins and triglycerides were supported in a separate population of middle-aged twin men. Even with the additional measured variables, only 28-34% of the total BP variance is explained in these populations.

Adult↗

The relation of antemortem characteristics to cardiovascular findings at necropsy--The Framingham Study.

The relation of premorbid cardiovascular risk attributes routinely measures at regular biennial examinations to cardiac necropsy findings using a special autopsy protocol was examined among 127 decedents of the Framingham cohort. Necropsy findings analyzed were: heart weight, left ventricular (LV) muscle thickness, percent luminal insufficiency of the coronary arteries, and percent intimal involvement with atherosclerosis. Clinical data analyzed included weight, height, blood pressure and serum cholesterol measured 1, 5, and 9 years prior to death. Systolic blood pressure, but not diastolic, correlated strongly with heart weight and LV muscle thickness in both sexes, and with atherosclerotic involvement in women, but not men. Serum cholesterol 1, 5, and 9 years antemortem all correlated positively with the degree of luminal insufficiency in men, while in women only cholesterol 9 years before death correlated significantly. In multivariate analysis only systolic pressure in women correlated independently with left ventricular muscle thickness and relative weight was the only independent correlate of heart weight. Only age was an independent significant correlate of the extent of coronary atherosclerosis in women. For men, coronary atherosclerotic involvement was independently correlated with only the serum cholesterol and measures of obesity were the major predictors of heart size. The degree of coronary pathology also correlated positively with heart weight in men and LV muscle thickness in women. In general clinical data measured just prior to death did not correlate as well with pathological findings as did earlier measurements.

Adult↗

Detection of genetic variance in blood pressure of seven-year-old twins.

Results from twin studies in older children and adults indicate that there is significant genetic variance for blood pressure (BP). Utilizing date which were collected in 12 US university-affiliated hospitals in 1966-1973 in the Collaborative Perinatal Project (NCPP), the authors sought to determine if the effects of heredity on BP variability are apparent in younger twins. BP was determined in 197 pairs of like-sexed twins at seven years of age. Significant genetic variability for diastolic blood pressure (DBP) was found in the twins, with a heritability estimate of 0.53. Systolic blood pressure (SBP) results tended in the same direction but were not statistically significant. The trends were comparable for both sexes and races. These findings suggest that even at a young age substantial genetic influences on DBP variability are detectable.

Blood Pressure↗

An investigation of coronary heart disease in families. The Framingham offspring study.

The Framingham Heart Study (FHS) was started in 1948 as a prospective investigation of cardiovascular disease in a cohort of adult men and women. Continuous surveillance of this sample of 5209 subjects has been maintained through biennial physical examinations. In 1971 examinations were begun on the children of the FHS cohort. This study, called the Framingham Offspring Study (FOS), was undertaken to expand upon knowledge of cardiovascular disease, particularly in the area of familial clustering of the disease and its risk factors. This report reviews the sampling design of the FHS and describes the nature of the FOS sample. The FOS families appear to be of typical size and age structure for families with parents born in the late 19th or early 20th century. In addition, there is little evidence that coronary heart disease (CHD) experience and CHD risk factors differ in parents of those who volunteered for this study and the parents of those who did not volunteer.

Adult↗

A comparison of blood pressure, total cholesterol and cigarette smoking in parents in 1950 and their children in 1970.

Blood pressure and serum cholesterol levels as well as cigarette smoking are compared for parents who were examined in the Framingham Heart Study between 1948 and 1950 and their offspring who were studied in the early 1970s in the Framingham Offspring Study. For ages 30-49 years there are modest but significant differences in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure when mothers are compared to daughters, with the average pressures in the daughters being lower. Blood pressure differences in fathers and sons are not as large, and they disappear when families which include hypertensives are eliminated from the analysis. Total cholesterol levels were found to be significantly lower in both daughters and sons, but the difference was not large after adjusting for changes in methodology. The proportion of cigarette smokers was found to be substantially lower in the sons in all age groups, and modest reductions in cigarette smoking were also noted in all but the oldest (age 45--49 years) group of daughters.

Adult↗