[Cardiovascular risk factors and prevention].
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Vanina Bongard.
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BACKGROUND: Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is an abundant fatty acid in the brain. In the diet, DHA is found mostly in fatty fish. The content of DHA has been shown to be decreased in the brain and plasma of patients with dementia. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether plasma phosphatidylcholine (PC) DHA content is associated with the risk of developing dementia. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A prospective follow-up study in 899 men and women who were free of dementia at baseline, had a median age of 76.0 years, and were followed up for a mean of 9.1 years for the development of all-cause dementia and Alzheimer disease. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Plasma PC fatty acid levels were measured at baseline. Cox proportional regression analysis was used to assess relative risks of all-cause dementia and Alzheimer disease according to baseline plasma levels. RESULTS: Ninety-nine new cases of dementia (including 71 of Alzheimer disease) occurred during the follow-up. After adjustment for age, sex, apolipoprotein E epsilon4 allele, plasma homocysteine concentration, and education level, subjects in the upper quartile of baseline plasma PC DHA levels, compared with subjects in the lower 3 quartiles, had a relative risk of 0.53 of developing all-cause dementia (95% confidence interval, 0.29-0.97; P=.04) and 0.61 of developing Alzheimer disease (95% confidence interval, 0.31-1.18; P=.14). Subjects in the upper quartile of plasma PC DHA levels had a mean DHA intake of 0.18 g/d and a mean fish intake of 3.0 servings per week (P<.001) in a subset of 488 participants. We found no other significant associations. CONCLUSION: The top quartile of plasma PC DHA level was associated with a significant 47% reduction in the risk of developing all-cause dementia in the Framingham Heart Study.
PURPOSE: Previous studies have shown a potential inverse relationship between blood pressure and daily calcium intake. The aim of the study was to assess the independent contribution of dairy product and calcium intake to blood pressure variations at a population level. METHODS: A sample of 912 men aged 45-64 years was randomly selected from the general population, as part of the French MONICA cross-sectional survey on cardiovascular risk factors (1995-1996). Extensive questionnaires on risk factors were filled out and each participant completed a three-consecutive-day food record. Two blood pressure measurements were performed at rest. In statistical analyses subjects were grouped according to quintiles of dairy product or calcium intakes. RESULTS: Systolic and diastolic blood pressures significantly decreased from the lowest [145.4 (standard error (SE) 1.55) and 89.0 (SE 0.94) mmHg respectively] to the highest quintile [135.6 (SE 1.26) and 85.3 (SE 0.84) mmHg respectively] of dairy product intakes in bivariate analysis. After multivariate linear regression analysis adjusted for confounders [centre, age, daily sodium, magnesium, calcium and alcohol intake, daily energy intake without alcohol, dieting, physical activity, body mass index (BMI), smoking, and use of antihypertensive or lipid-lowering drugs], the difference in systolic blood pressure remained significant. Results were similar when calcium intake was considered. After adjustment for confounders, the association between calcium-dairy product combination and blood pressure was the most significant when intakes of dairy products and calcium were both higher than the median. CONCLUSION: Dairy products and dietary calcium are both significantly and independently associated with low levels of systolic blood pressure.
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Hypertension control is a cornerstone of preventive treatment in patients at risk for cerebral attack. The aim of this study was to analyze hypertension management in secondary prevention of stroke as compared with patients in secondary prevention of myocardial infarction (MI). METHODS: The ECLAT1 study was a cross-sectional study conducted in all French regions in a random sample of 3009 practitioners. Patients with a documented history of atherothrombotic disease were included. Risk factors and the last measurement of blood pressure (BP) available in the medical record were noted. In the current study, patients with treated hypertension and a unique manifestation of atherothrombotic disease, ischemic stroke or MI, were analyzed. RESULTS: Among the 4346 patients included in the ECLAT1 study, 1416 patients with treated hypertension and stroke or MI were analyzed. Hypertension control was poorer in patients with stroke as compared with patients with MI (24.56% versus 34.16% P<0.01). Compared with patients with MI, systolic BP (140.61+/-14.14 versus 144.21+/-14.99; P<0.0001), pulse pressure (59.91+/-11.94 versus 62.48+/-12.49; P<0.001), and, to a lesser extent, diastolic BP (80.69+/-8.39 versus 81.72+/-8.85; P<0.05) were higher in stroke patients. Moreover, antihypertensive monotherapy was more frequently used in stroke than in MI patients (43.16% versus 31.44% P<0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: With respect to the beneficial influence of tight BP control in secondary prevention of stroke, our results highlight the need for information provided to practitioners to recall the importance of hypertension control in this situation and to increase the use of combination therapy.
BACKGROUND AND AIM: The problem of a possible gender bias in coronary heart disease management is still controversial. We studied gender differences in secondary preventive drug prescriptions and in referral to cardiac rehabilitation after acute coronary events in France. METHODS: An observational survey was carried out in 1998-1999 in 150 French intensive cardiac care units. A sample of 2626 consecutive patients admitted for myocardial infarction or unstable angina and alive at discharge was included. Data were retrospectively collected from medical records after discharge. RESULTS: The sample was composed of 1921 men and 705 women. At discharge, antiplatelet agents were prescribed in 93.4% of men and 91.5% of women (p=0.09), beta-blockers in 73.4% and 63.7% (p<0.0001), angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors in 39.9% and 44.3% (p<0.05), and statins in 47.0% and 40.7% (p<0.01). The percentage of subjects referred to a cardiac rehabilitation program at discharge was 26.2% in men and 15.5% in women (p<0.0001). In multivariate analysis, taking into account confounding factors, gender did not appear as an independent determinant of drug prescriptions. Conversely, being a woman was independently associated with a lower probability to be referred to a cardiac rehabilitation program at discharge (adjusted female-to-male odds ratio: 0.44 (95% confidence interval: [0.31-0.64], p<0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: In this study, gender was not an independent determinant of secondary preventive drug prescriptions after acute coronary events. Conversely, we found a gender bias in referral to cardiac rehabilitation programs at discharge.
BACKGROUND: Pulse pressure (PP), C reactive protein (CRP) and soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1) levels have been associated with cardiovascular prognosis. Interestingly, previous reports have shown that PP was associated both with CRP and sICAM-1. The mechanisms underlying these associations remain unknown. On the one hand, it has been shown that PP influences, via endothelial function, the expression of various molecules, which in turn may generate inflammation. On the other hand, inflammation-induced changes in the arterial wall, modifying the PP, may be the confounding factor of these relationships. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role played by the arterial structure and the aortic stiffness on these relationships. METHODS: In a cross-sectional population sample of 891 healthy subjects, carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity and blood pressure were measured in the supine position. The common carotid intima-media thickness and the presence of plaques were assessed by ultrasonography. CRP and sICAM-1 levels were measured by an immunonephelemetric method and an immunoenzymatic method, respectively. RESULTS: A positive relationship was found between PP and CRP (P < 0.001). This relationship remained after adjustment for classical cardiovascular risk factors, and successively for mean blood pressure, intima-media thickness, presence of plaques and pulse wave velocity (P < 0.05). No significant association was observed between PP and sICAM-1. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study demonstrate that changes in arterial structure and in arterial stiffness are not confounding factors in the relationship between PP and CRP.
BACKGROUND: Atherothrombosis is a systemic disease affecting coronary, cerebral, and lower limb arteries, and requiring secondary prevention measures. DESIGN: Data from three observational studies carried out in 1999-2000 (ECLAT1, APRES, PRISMA) were pooled to describe the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors and the patterns of drug use in atherothrombotic patients. METHODS: General practitioners and cardiologists engaged in a private practice and evenly distributed in France recruited consecutive patients who had a history of at least one atherothrombotic event: myocardial infarction (MI), ischaemic stroke, and/or peripheral arterial disease (PAD). RESULTS: The sample was composed of 14 544 patients (men: 75.0%, age 75 or older: 31.0%). At least one of the four major risk factors (smoking, hypertension, hypercholesterolaemia, diabetes) was present in 94.3% of the sample. Prevalence of drug use was: 78.8% (antiplatelet agents), 48.5% (statins), 36.7% (beta-blockers), and 33.4% [angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors]. After adjustment for confounders, statins were taken in a significantly larger extent in patients with a history of isolated MI than in those with a previous ischaemic stroke or PAD, or in patients who suffered from both MI and ischaemic stroke. Isolated MI (as compared with ischaemic stroke and PAD) was significantly and independently associated with a higher probability to take antiplatelet agents, beta-blockers or ACE inhibitors. CONCLUSIONS: At least one conventional risk factor was observed in almost all atherothrombotic patients. Use of preventive drugs was lower in patients with a history of ischaemic stroke or PAD, and should increase, accordingly to the results of recent randomized controlled trials.
BACKGROUND: CD14 pathway is at the crossroads between infection and inflammation. In human pathology, divergent results have been reported on the relationship between a polymorphism in the promoter of receptor CD14 (C260T), expression of soluble CD14 (sCD14) receptor and atherosclerosis. The aim of the study was to investigate in a cross-sectional population-based sample the relationships between C260T polymorphism in CD14 gene, sCD14 blood levels and arterial wall. METHODS: Among 1015 subjects, randomly recruited by the Toulouse MONICA center between 1995 and 1997, 899 subjects with complete data for all the measurements, were analyzed. sCD14 was measured using an immuno-enzymatic method. Common carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and the presence of plaques in the carotid and femoral arteries were assessed by ultrasonography. A genotypic examination for the CD14 C260T polymorphism was performed. RESULTS: An increase in sCD14 expression was observed in subjects carrying t allele (P < 0.01). No significant difference in intima-media thickness, number of plaques and pulse wave velocity was noticed according to C260T polymorphism. An interaction (P < 0.05) was observed between C260T polymorphism and current smoking in sCD14 expression: among smokers, no significant change in sCD14 was observed in individuals carrying t allele. CONCLUSION: Although (C260T) polymorphism in CD14 gene in this study is associated with expression of sCD14, no significant association was found between this polymorphism and early markers of atherosclerosis. This polymorphism affects plasma levels of sCD14 in relation to current smoking status. Further studies are needed to determine whether this interaction influences the deleterious effect of smoking on vascular events.
We assessed three soluble fibrin monomer (SFM) assays in 231 in and out-patients with clinically suspected deep-vein thrombosis. Thrombosis was confirmed or excluded by complete lower-limb ultrasound. SFM assay were less accurate than VIDAS D-dimer and in patients with small thrombosis or under anticoagulation. Specificity was lower for a similar sensitivity.
The effects of the apolipoprotein E epsilon and angiotensin-converting enzyme insertion/deletion alleles on lipid levels and hypolipidemic drug treatment was assessed in 400 men with stable angina pectoris or healed myocardial infarction and 338 healthy controls. The data indicate that epsilon4 carriers have increased total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, that the epsilon4 allele unfavorably decreases the efficiency of statin treatment, and that the angiotensin-converting enzyme insertion/deletion polymorphism exerts no significant effect, with the exception of an increase in apolipoprotein E levels.
BACKGROUND: Isolated systolic hypertension (ISH) is a major cardiovascular risk factor. The prevalence of ISH, isolated diastolic (IDH), and mixed hypertension (MH) and their association with lipid, inflammatory, and endothelial cell markers were assessed. METHODS: A population sample from Haute-Garonne, France, was chosen. RESULTS: Prevalence of ISH, IDH, and MH was 16%, 5%, and 16%, respectively, in men, and 13%, 2%, and 9% in women. No difference was found between ISH, IDH, or MH subjects in comparison to normotensive individuals for all biologic markers studied. CONCLUSIONS: Isolated systolic hypertension and MH are relatively common in Haute-Garonne and are not associated with lipid, inflammatory, or endothelial cell markers.
OBJECTIVE: To assess the interaction between apolipoprotein (apo) E polymorphism, alcohol consumption, and BMI on insulin, lipid, and lipoprotein levels in men. RESEARCH METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Cross-sectional study of 266 healthy men without hypolipidemic or antidiabetic drug treatment. BMI, apo E polymorphisms, insulin, and lipid and lipoprotein levels were assessed. Alcohol consumption was assessed by questionnaire. epsilon2/epsilon4 carriers were excluded from the analysis. RESULTS: On bivariate analysis, epsilon2 carriers had lower levels of total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and higher levels of apo E and lipoparticle B:E than epsilon3 carriers, the opposite being found for epsilon4 carriers compared with epsilon3 carriers; epsilon4 carriers also had significantly higher insulin levels. On multivariate analysis, significant interactions (p < 0.04) between apo E alleles and increased BMI were found for total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and insulin levels, the increase in those parameters with BMI being stronger among epsilon4 carriers than among epsilon3 or epsilon2 carriers. Significant interactions (p < 0.02) between apo E alleles and alcohol consumption were also found for apo B levels, which increased in epsilon2 carriers but remained relatively stable in epsilon3 and tended to decrease in epsilon4 carriers. DISCUSSION: These data suggest that effects of apo E alleles on lipids and insulin levels are partly dependent on environmental variables such as BMI and alcohol intake. These findings highlight the importance of gene x environment interactions on the deleterious effect of obesity on cardiovascular risk factors.
OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to assess the joint contribution of hypertension and body mass index to coronary heart disease risk. DESIGN Prospective study on men aged 50-59 years free of coronary heart disease at entry recruited in three regions of France (n = 7359) and in Northern Ireland (n = 2399). PARTICIPANTS: The recruitment frame was based on industry and various employment groups, on health screening centers and general practice. MAIN OUTCOME: Incident cases of effort angina, unstable angina, myocardial infarction and coronary death were recorded over a 5-year follow-up. RESULTS: Compared with the reference group [body mass index (BMI) 25 kg/m2], the relative risk of coronary event was higher in the second (25 < or =BMI 27.6) and third BMI tertiles: 1.27 (95% confidence interval 0.94-1.70) and 1.14 (0.84-1.56) after adjustment for confounders and covariates, including diabetes, hypertension and lipoprotein levels. Further analyses revealed a significant interaction between hypertension and BMI on coronary disease risk (P <0.05), suggesting that hypertension modifies coronary heart disease (CHD) risk attributable to BMI. Among hypertensive men, the relative risk of coronary heart disease was 1.34 (0.85-2.11) and 1.61 (1.04-2.50) in the second and third BMI tertiles, respectively. In normotensive men, BMI was not associated with CHD risk; relative risk 1.25 (0.85-1.85) and 0.66 (0.40-1.09) in the second and third BMI, respectively. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that hypertension and overweight jointly increase coronary heart disease risk.
OBJECTIVE: Soluble CD14 (sCD14), an effective mediator for the activation of monocytes by bacterial endotoxin is involved in the release of substances able to modify the characteristics of the arterial wall. The aim of this study was to investigate, in humans, the relationship of sCD14 with aortic stiffness and to analyse the influence of arterial structure and endothelial function on this relationship. DESIGN: Cross-sectional population-based study. PARTICIPANTS: One thousand and fifteen subjects randomly selected from the polling lists, were recruited by the Toulouse MONICA centre between 1995 and 1997. METHODS: Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV) and blood pressure (BP) were measured in the supine position. Common carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and the presence of plaques were assessed by ultrasonography. sCD14 was measured using an immunoenzymatic method. RESULTS: The results concern the 891 subjects with complete data for all the variables. In the bivariate analyses, PWV (P < 0.001), systolic BP (P < 0.05), pulse pressure (PP) (P < 0.01), IMT (P < 0.001), the number of plaques (P < 0.05) and von Willebrand factor activity (vWFa) (P < 0.001) were positively associated with sCD14, whereas no significant relationship was observed between sCD14 and diastolic BP. After adjustment for age and sex, no significant relationship remained between IMT, the number of plaques, SBP, PP and sCD14. A significant and positive relationship was observed between sCD14 and PWV (trend P < 0.05) after adjustment for numerous confounders. CONCLUSION: This population-based study yields first evidence that sCD14 is associated with aortic stiffness independently of age, BP and atherosclerosis in humans.
Since inflammatory mechanisms seem to be involved in different stages of atherosclerosis, we analysed a random population-based sample of 972 subjects to assess the relationships between soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1), subclinical peripheral atherosclerosis and intima-media thickness (IMT). B-mode ultrasonography was used to assess the presence of carotid (common and internal) and femoral atherosclerotic plaques and to measure common carotid IMT (avoiding plaque sites). Mean sICAM-1 level was 287.4 (standard deviation: 102.8) and 255.2 (83.5) ng/ml, respectively, in subjects with and without carotid plaques (P<0.0001). It equalled 286.7 (101.1) and 249.7 (79.7) ng/ml, respectively, in subjects with and without femoral plaques (P<0.0001). Subjects beyond the 90th percentile of common carotid IMT had higher sICAM-1 levels than those below, but this was not significant (P=0.08). Multiple logistic regression analyses adjusted for age, gender and other cardiovascular risk factors showed that sICAM-1 was independently associated with the risk of having at least one carotid plaque (adjusted odds ratio for a 10 ng/ml increase in sICAM-1: OR=1.03, 95% confidence interval: [1.02-1.05]) and with the risk of having at least one femoral plaque (adjusted OR=1.04 [1.02-1.06]). On the other hand, no significant relationship was found in multivariate analysis between sICAM-1 and common carotid IMT.
OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence and relationships of insulin resistance syndrome (IRS) with inflammatory and hemostatic markers in a representative sample of the population of Southwestern France aged 35-64 years. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, data were collected from 597 men and 556 women and were assessed regarding BMI, blood pressure, total and HDL cholesterol levels, triglyceride level, glucose level, plasma insulin level, white blood cell count, fibrinogen level, factor VII level, von Willebrand factor, C-reactive protein level, soluble intercellular adhesion molecule, soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1, and soluble CD(14). Insulin resistance was defined by homeostasis model assessment > or =3.8. RESULTS: Prevalence of IRS was higher in men than in women (23 vs. 12%, respectively; P < 0.001) and increased with age in both sexes (9, 24, and 34% for age groups 35-44, 45-54, and 55-64 years, respectively, for men and 4, 10, and 21% for women). After adjusting for age, alcohol consumption, tobacco smoking, and also for menopause in women, subjects (men and women) with IRS had significantly higher white blood cell count, factor VII levels, coagulating factor VII levels, and C-reactive protein levels than the other subjects. In men, further increases in soluble intercellular adhesion molecule and soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 were noted, whereas in women, the differences were borderline significant. Conversely, no differences were found in fibrinogen, von Willebrand factor, and soluble CD(14) in both sexes. CONCLUSIONS: IRS is relatively common in residents of Southwestern France and is related to a deleterious increase in hemostatic and inflammatory parameters.
The aim of this observational prospective study was to assess the incidence rate and the characteristics of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) induced by amiodarone during the long-term follow-up of 98 French patients. Inclusions were performed between March 1994 and April 1997. Eligible patients were consecutive outpatients for whom amiodarone was initiated for the first time. The treatment had to be taken for at least 6 months if no ADR required its withdrawal. A cohort of 57 men and 41 women, mean age 72.6 years (SD: 8.6), was followed for a mean period of 38 months. The incidence rate of ADRs during the overall follow-up period was 13.91 cases for 100 person-years. Recorded ADRs were 13 hypothyroidism (incidence rate for 100 person-years: 4.61 [95% confidence interval: 4.58-4.63], 5 hyperthyroidism (1.62 [1.60-1.63]), 10 bradycardia and/or conduction ADRs (3.48 [3.46-3.50]), 7 photosensitivity (2.27 [2.25-2.28]), 1 storage disease (0.33 [0.32-0.33]), 3 interstitial pneumonitis (0.97 [0.96-0.98]), 2 peripheral neuropathies (0.65 [0.64-0.66]), 1 tremor (0.32 [0.32-0.33]) and 1 gastrointestinal disturbances (0.32 [0.32-0.33])). Thyroid and cardiac ADRs occurred mainly during the first 6 months. According to the French system of pharmacovigilance, 27 ADRs were "probable/likely" and 14 were "possible." Hypothyroidism, cardiac ADRs, and photosensitivity were the most frequent ADRs. None of the ADRs had a fatal outcome in this study.