PLoS medicine
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Observational Study
Association between exercise habits and stroke, heart failure, and mortality in Korean patients with incident atrial fibrillation: A nationwide population-based cohort study.
There is a paucity of information about cardiovascular outcomes related to exercise habit change after a new diagnosis of atrial fibrillation (AF). We investigated the association between exercise habits after a new AF diagnosis and ischemic stroke, heart failure (HF), and all-cause death. ⋯ Initiating or continuing regular exercise after AF diagnosis was associated with lower risks of HF and mortality. The promotion of exercise might reduce the future risk of adverse outcomes in patients with AF.
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Observational Study
Associations of obesity and malnutrition with cardiac remodeling and cardiovascular outcomes in Asian adults: A cohort study.
Obesity, a known risk factor for cardiovascular disease and heart failure (HF), is associated with adverse cardiac remodeling in the general population. Little is known about how nutritional status modifies the relationship between obesity and outcomes. We aimed to investigate the association of obesity and nutritional status with clinical characteristics, echocardiographic changes, and clinical outcomes in the general community. ⋯ In our cohort study among asymptomatic community-based adults in Taiwan, we found that obese individuals with poor nutritional status have the highest comorbidity burden, the most adverse cardiac remodeling, and the least favorable composite outcome.
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Paul De Lay and co-authors introduce a Collection on the design of targets for ending the AIDS epidemic.
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In 2017, an estimated 14 million cases of Plasmodium vivax malaria were reported from Asia, Central and South America, and the Horn of Africa. The clinical burden of vivax malaria is largely driven by its ability to form dormant liver stages (hypnozoites) that can reactivate to cause recurrent episodes of malaria. Elimination of both the blood and liver stages of the parasites ("radical cure") is required to achieve a sustained clinical response and prevent ongoing transmission of the parasite. Novel treatment options and point-of-care diagnostics are now available to ensure that radical cure can be administered safely and effectively. We quantified the global economic cost of vivax malaria and estimated the potential cost benefit of a policy of radical cure after testing patients for glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency. ⋯ Our modelling study highlights a substantial global economic burden of vivax malaria that could be reduced through investment in safe and effective radical cure achieved by routine screening for G6PD deficiency and supervision of treatment. Novel, low-cost interventions for improving adherence to primaquine to ensure effective radical cure and widespread access to screening for G6PD deficiency will be critical to achieving the timely global elimination of P. vivax.
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Ying Gue and Gregory Lip discuss the accompanying study by Ana-Catarina Pinho-Gomes and co-workers on blood pressure lowering treatment in patients with atrial fibrillation.