@article {1504, title = {Aspirin use and incident stroke in the cardiovascular health study. CHS Collaborative Research Group.}, journal = {Stroke}, volume = {29}, year = {1998}, month = {1998 May}, pages = {887-94}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Randomized clinical trials testing aspirin in relatively low-risk, middle-aged people have consistently shown small increases in stroke associated with aspirin use. We analyzed the relationship between the regular use of aspirin and incident ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke among people aged 65 years or older participating in the Cardiovascular Health Study.

METHODS: We conducted a multivariate analysis of incident stroke rates in a prospectively assessed, observational cohort of 5011 elderly people followed for a mean of 4.2 years.

RESULTS: Participants had a mean age of 72 years, and 58\% were women. Twenty-three percent used aspirin frequently, and 17\% used aspirin infrequently at study entry. Frequent aspirin use was associated with an increased rate of ischemic stroke compared with nonusers (relative risk= 1.6; 95\% confidence interval [CI], 1.2 to 2.2; P=0.001). After adjustment for other stroke risk factors, women who used aspirin frequently or infrequently at study entry had a 1.8-fold (95\% CI, 1.2 to 2.8) and 1.6-fold (95\% CI, 0.9 to 3.0) increased risk of ischemic stroke, respectively (P<0.01, test for trend), compared with nonusers. In men, aspirin use was not statistically significantly associated with stroke risk. Findings were similar when aspirin use in the years before the incident stroke was used in the modeling. Aspirin use at entry was also associated with a 4-fold (95\% CI, 1.6 to 10.0) increase in risk of hemorrhagic stroke for both infrequent and frequent users of aspirin (P=0.003).

CONCLUSIONS: Aspirin use was associated with increased risks of ischemic stroke in women and hemorrhagic stroke overall in this elderly cohort, after adjustment for other stroke predictors. The possibility exists of confounding by reasons for aspirin use rather than cause and effect. Whether regular aspirin use increases stroke risk for elderly people without cardiovascular disease can only be determined by randomized clinical trials.

}, keywords = {Aged, Aspirin, Brain Ischemia, Cardiovascular Diseases, Cerebral Hemorrhage, Cerebrovascular Disorders, Cohort Studies, Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors, Dose-Response Relationship, Drug, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Humans, Incidence, Male, Regression Analysis, Risk Factors, Sex Factors, Time Factors}, issn = {0039-2499}, author = {Kronmal, R A and Hart, R G and Manolio, T A and Talbert, R L and Beauchamp, N J and Newman, A} } @article {611, title = {Diabetes mellitus: subclinical cardiovascular disease and risk of incident cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality.}, journal = {Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol}, volume = {20}, year = {2000}, month = {2000 Mar}, pages = {823-9}, abstract = {

Previously diagnosed diabetes mellitus, newly diagnosed diabetes mellitus, and impaired glucose tolerance are important determinants of the risk of clinical cardiovascular disease (CVD). We have evaluated the relation of patients with subclinical CVD, diabetes, and impaired glucose tolerance and "normal" subjects and the risk of clinical CVD in the Cardiovascular Health Study. Diabetes (1343), impaired glucose tolerance (1433), and normal (2421) were defined by World Health Organization criteria at baseline in 1989 to 1990. The average follow-up was 6.4 years (mean age 73 years). Diabetics had a higher prevalence of clinical and subclinical CVD at baseline. Compared with diabetes in the absence of subclinical disease, the presence of subclinical CVD and diabetes was associated with significant increased adjusted relative risk of death (1.5, CI 0.93 to 2.41), relative risk of incident coronary heart disease (1.99, CI 1.25 to 3.19), and incident myocardial infarction (1.93, CI 0.96 to 3.91). The risk of clinical events was greater for participants with a history of diabetes compared with newly diagnosed diabetics at baseline. Compared with nondiabetic nonhypertensive subjects without subclinical disease, patients with a combination of diabetes, hypertension, and subclinical disease had a 12-fold increased risk of stroke. Fasting blood glucose levels were a weak predictor of incident coronary heart disease as were most other risk factors. Subclinical CVD was the primary determinant of clinical CVD among diabetics in the Cardiovascular Health Study.

}, keywords = {Aged, Arteriosclerosis, Coronary Disease, Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1, Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2, Diabetic Angiopathies, Female, Humans, Incidence, Male, Multivariate Analysis, Myocardial Infarction, Prevalence, Proportional Hazards Models, Risk Factors, Sex Distribution, Stroke}, issn = {1079-5642}, doi = {10.1161/01.atv.20.3.823}, author = {Kuller, L H and Velentgas, P and Barzilay, J and Beauchamp, N J and O{\textquoteright}Leary, D H and Savage, P J} } @article {644, title = {Cluster analysis and patterns of findings on cranial magnetic resonance imaging of the elderly: the Cardiovascular Health Study.}, journal = {Arch Neurol}, volume = {58}, year = {2001}, month = {2001 Apr}, pages = {635-40}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVE: To characterize patterns of findings on cranial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the elderly using a statistical technique called cluster analysis.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The Cardiovascular Health Study is a population-based, longitudinal study of 5888 people 65 years and older. Of these, 3230 underwent cranial MRI scans, which were coded for presence of infarcts and grades for white matter, ventricles, and sulci. Cluster analysis separated participants into 5 clusters based solely on patterns of MRI findings. Participants comprising each cluster were contrasted with respect to cardiovascular risk factors and clinical manifestations.

RESULTS: One cluster was low on all the MRI findings (normal) and another was high on all of them (complex infarcts). Another cluster had evidence for infarcts alone (simple infarcts), whereas the last 2 clusters lacked infarcts, one having enlarged ventricles and sulci (atrophy) and the other having prominent white matter changes and enlarged ventricles (leukoaraiosis). Factors that distinguished these clusters in a discriminant analysis were age, sex, several measures of hypertension, internal carotid artery wall thickness, smoking, and prevalent claudication before the MRI. The atrophy group had the highest percentage of men and the normal group had the lowest. Cognitive and motor performance also differed across clusters, with the atrophy cluster performing better than may have been expected.

CONCLUSIONS: These MRI patterns identified participants with different vascular disease risk factors and clinical manifestations. Results of these exploratory analyses warrant consideration in other populations of elderly people. Such patterns may provide clues about the pathophysiology of structural brain changes in the elderly.

}, keywords = {Aged, Brain, Cerebral Infarction, Cerebrovascular Disorders, Cluster Analysis, Cohort Studies, Discriminant Analysis, Female, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Risk Factors}, issn = {0003-9942}, doi = {10.1001/archneur.58.4.635}, author = {Longstreth, W T and Diehr, P and Manolio, T A and Beauchamp, N J and Jungreis, C A and Lefkowitz, D} } @article {669, title = {Patterns on cranial magnetic resonance imaging in elderly people and vascular disease outcomes.}, journal = {Arch Neurol}, volume = {58}, year = {2001}, month = {2001 Dec}, pages = {2074}, keywords = {Aged, Brain, Cardiovascular Diseases, Cluster Analysis, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging}, issn = {0003-9942}, doi = {10.1001/archneur.58.12.2074}, author = {Longstreth, W T and Diehr, P and Beauchamp, N J and Manolio, T A} }