@article {809, title = {Neighbourhood environments and mortality in an elderly cohort: results from the cardiovascular health study.}, journal = {J Epidemiol Community Health}, volume = {58}, year = {2004}, month = {2004 Nov}, pages = {917-23}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: It has been postulated that neighbourhood conditions are related to the health of the elderly population but longitudinal studies are rare and confounding by individual level variables remains a possibility.

METHODS: Data were obtained from the cardiovascular health study, a population based study of adults aged 65 years and older. Census block groups were used as proxies for neighbourhoods. A summary score was used to characterise the neighbourhood socioeconomic environment. Information on personal socioeconomic indicators, cardiovascular disease prevalence, and cardiovascular risk factors was obtained from the baseline examination. Proportional hazards regression and propensity score matching were used to control for individual level variables.

RESULTS: Over the eight year follow up there were 1346 deaths among the 5074 participants, of which 43\% were attributable to cardiovascular disease. Among white participants, living in the most disadvantaged neighbourhood group was associated with higher rates of cardiovascular death, after adjustment for income, education, and occupation (hazard ratio (HR) 1.5, 95\% confidence intervals (CI) 1.2 to 1.9). No neighbourhood differences were observed for non-cardiovascular deaths. Estimates for black participants were 1.3 (95\% CI 0.7 to 2.3) for cardiovascular deaths and 1.4 (95\% CI 0.8 to 2.4) for non-cardiovascular deaths, but sample size was small. In white participants, associations of neighbourhood characteristics with cardiovascular mortality persisted after adjustment for prevalent baseline disease and cardiovascular risk factors. The use of propensity score matching led to similar results (HR for the lowest compared with the highest neighbourhood score group: 1.6 95\% CI 1.1 to 2.5, controlling for personal socioeconomic indicators).

CONCLUSION: Neighbourhood disadvantage is related to rates of cardiovascular death in elderly white adults.

}, keywords = {African Americans, Aged, Cardiovascular Diseases, European Continental Ancestry Group, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Humans, Income, Male, Poverty Areas, Residence Characteristics, Risk Factors, Socioeconomic Factors, United States}, issn = {0143-005X}, doi = {10.1136/jech.2003.019596}, author = {Diez Roux, Ana V and Borrell, Luisa N and Haan, Mary and Jackson, Sharon A and Schultz, Richard} } @article {918, title = {Metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease in older people: The cardiovascular health study.}, journal = {J Am Geriatr Soc}, volume = {54}, year = {2006}, month = {2006 Sep}, pages = {1317-24}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVES: To assess the prospective association between metabolic syndrome (MetS) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) in older people and to evaluate the effect of lowering the threshold for impaired fasting glucose (IFG) on the prevalence of IFG and MetS and the risk of CVD.

DESIGN: Prospective cohort study.

SETTING: Four field centers in U.S. communities.

PARTICIPANTS: Three thousand five hundred eighty-five subjects in the Cardiovascular Health Study free of diabetes mellitus and CVD at baseline (mean age 72, 62\% female, 14\% black).

MEASUREMENTS: Baseline measures of MetS components and adjudicated incident CVD events. MetS (2001) was defined first using the original criteria from the Third Adult Treatment Panel Report of the National Cholesterol Education Program (> or =3 of the following: large waist circumference (women >88 cm, men >102 cm), elevated triglycerides (> or =1.70 mmol/L), low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (men <1.04 mmol/L, women <1.30 mmol/L), elevated fasting glucose (6.1-6.9 mmol/L), and high blood pressure (> or =130/85 mmHg or self-reported use of medications for hypertension). Subjects were also classified according to the revised definition of the MetS (2005) that applies the lower threshold for fasting glucose (5.6-6.9 mmol/L).

RESULTS: During follow-up (median 11 years), 818 coronary heart disease (CHD), 401 stroke, and 554 congestive heart failure (CHF) events occurred. Age- and race-adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) for CHD, stroke, and CHF were 1.30 (95\% confidence interval (CI) = 1.07-1.57), 0.94 (95\% CI = 0.73-1.21), and 1.40 (95\% CI = 1.12-1.76) for women and 1.35 (95\% CI = 1.10-1.66), 1.51 (95\% CI = 1.08-2.12), and 1.47 (95\% CI = 1.14-1.90) for men, respectively. Overall, women and men with MetS (2005) were 20\% to 30\% more likely to experience any CVD event than subjects without MetS (2005). Using the lower cut-point for IFG resulted in a near tripling in IFG prevalence (16\% to 46\%) and an additional 9\% classified with MetS (2005) but HRs similar to those estimated from the original MetS (2001) criteria. High blood pressure was the component most strongly associated with incident CHD.

CONCLUSION: Results from this study of an elderly, population-based cohort provide support for earlier investigations in primarily middle-aged populations that link the presence of MetS with the development of CVD and further underscore the importance of recognizing and treating its individual components, particularly high blood pressure.

}, keywords = {African Americans, Age Factors, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Blood Glucose, Cardiovascular Diseases, Cohort Studies, European Continental Ancestry Group, Fasting, Female, Humans, Incidence, Male, Metabolic Syndrome, Risk Factors, Sex Factors}, issn = {0002-8614}, doi = {10.1111/j.1532-5415.2006.00862.x}, author = {McNeill, Ann Marie and Katz, Ronit and Girman, Cynthia J and Rosamond, Wayne D and Wagenknecht, Lynne E and Barzilay, Joshua I and Tracy, Russell P and Savage, Peter J and Jackson, Sharon A} }