@article {675, title = {Fasting and 2-hour postchallenge serum glucose measures and risk of incident cardiovascular events in the elderly: the Cardiovascular Health Study.}, journal = {Arch Intern Med}, volume = {162}, year = {2002}, month = {2002 Jan 28}, pages = {209-16}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: The contributions of fasting and 2-hour postchallenge glucose level to cardiovascular events remain ill-defined, especially for nondiabetic adults. This study examined the relative predictive power of fasting and 2-hour glucose level on cardiovascular event risk.

METHODS: A total of 4014 community-dwelling adults 65 years or older who participated in the baseline visit of the Cardiovascular Health Study and who were without treated diabetes or previous myocardial infarction or stroke were eligible for analyses. Participants with treated diabetes at baseline were excluded. Incident myocardial infarction or stroke, or coronary death, was the outcome of interest. Age-, sex-, and race-adjusted proportional hazards regression models described individual and joint associations between baseline measures of fasting and 2-hour postchallenge glucose level and event risk.

RESULTS: There were 764 incident cardiovascular events during 8.5 years of follow-up. Fasting glucose level of 115 mg/dL (6.4 mmol/L) or more was associated with an increased cardiovascular risk (hazard ratio [HR], 1.66 [95\% confidence interval (CI), 1.39-1.98]) in adjusted analyses compared with fasting glucose level less than 115 mg/dL. Two-hour glucose level was associated with a linear risk (HR, 1.02 [95\% CI, 1.00-1.04] per 10 mg/dL [0.6 mmol/L]) that included an additional increase in risk for 2-hour glucose level of 154 mg/dL (8.5 mmol/L) or more (HR, 1.29 [95\% CI, 1.04-1.59]) in adjusted analyses. In joint fasting and 2-hour glucose models, only 2-hour glucose level remained predictive of event risk.

CONCLUSIONS: Two-hour glucose level was better than fasting glucose level alone at identifying older adults at increased risk of major incident cardiovascular events.

}, keywords = {Aged, Blood Glucose, Cardiovascular Diseases, Fasting, Female, Glucose Tolerance Test, Humans, Male, Myocardial Infarction, Predictive Value of Tests, Proportional Hazards Models, Risk Assessment, Stroke}, issn = {0003-9926}, doi = {10.1001/archinte.162.2.209}, author = {Smith, Nicholas L and Barzilay, Joshua I and Shaffer, Douglas and Savage, Peter J and Heckbert, Susan R and Kuller, Lewis H and Kronmal, Richard A and Resnick, Helaine E and Psaty, Bruce M} } @article {900, title = {Factors associated with geographic variations in stroke incidence among older populations in four US communities.}, journal = {Stroke}, volume = {37}, year = {2006}, month = {2006 Aug}, pages = {1980-5}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: In the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS), we previously observed lower stroke incidence in Allegheny County, PA compared with the other 3 study sites. The purpose of this study was to study possible reasons for the lower stroke incidence in Allegheny County.

METHODS: CHS participants 65 years or older who were stroke-free at baseline (n=5639) were followed between 1989 to 1990 and 2000 for the development of stroke. Risk factors at baseline and their subsequent control were compared among both groups. Site-specific hazard ratios for stroke incidence were calculated using Cox regression models.

RESULTS: The unadjusted hazard ratio for total stroke incidence in Forsyth County, NC; Sacramento County, CA; and Washington County, MD combined compared with Allegheny County, PA was 1.74 (95\% CI: 1.42, 2.14). After adjustment for age and other traditional risk factors, there was modest reduction of the excess hazard in non-Allegheny sites compared with Allegheny County (hazard ratio=1.52, 95\% CI: 1.17, 1.98). Between baseline and the seventh-year visits, control of hypertension, diabetes, lipids, smoking, atrial fibrillation and transient ischemic attack were similar across sites. White matter grade > or = 3 on the baseline brain MRI was less common in Allegheny County (25.8\% versus 36.3\%, respectively; P<0.001) and accounted for 25\% of the excess hazard in non-Allegheny sites compared with Allegheny County.

CONCLUSIONS: Site differences in stroke risk factors at baseline and subsequent control only partially explain site differences in stroke incidence. White matter grade as a possible integrated measure of exposure and control of risk factors may help in explaining geographic variations in stroke incidence.

}, keywords = {Aged, Brain, California, Female, Humans, Incidence, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Proportional Hazards Models, Risk Assessment, Risk Factors, Stroke}, issn = {1524-4628}, doi = {10.1161/01.STR.0000231454.77745.d9}, author = {El-Saed, Aiman and Kuller, Lewis H and Newman, Anne B and Lopez, Oscar and Costantino, Joseph and McTigue, Kathleen and Cushman, Mary and Kronmal, Richard} }