Bmc Med
-
The American Heart Association recommends Life's Simple 7 as ideal cardiovascular health (ICVH) to reduce cardiovascular risk. Rate advancement period (RAP), a useful tool to quantify and communicate exposure impact on risks, may enhance communication about the benefits of achieving ICVH. We aimed to examine whether greater adherence to ICVH metrics was associated with reduced incidence of cardiovascular risk in a population-based cohort and estimate its impact on the timing of occurrence using RAP. ⋯ Greater adherence to ICVH metrics was associated with lower cardiovascular risk among Spanish adults of the RIVANA cohort. Adherence to ideal metrics may substantially delay cardiovascular risk.
-
While the vaccines against COVID-19 are highly effective, COVID-19 vaccine breakthrough is possible despite being fully vaccinated. With SARS-CoV-2 variants still circulating, describing the characteristics of individuals who have experienced COVID-19 vaccine breakthroughs could be hugely important in helping to determine who may be at greatest risk. ⋯ While the majority of COVID-19 vaccine breakthrough cases in England were mild, some differences in rates of breakthrough cases have been identified in several clinical groups. While it is important to note that these findings are simply descriptive and cannot be used to answer why certain groups have higher rates of COVID-19 breakthrough than others, the emergence of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 coupled with the number of positive SARS-CoV-2 tests still occurring is concerning and as numbers of fully vaccinated (and boosted) individuals increases and as follow-up time lengthens, so too will the number of COVID-19 breakthrough cases. Additional analyses, to assess vaccine waning and rates of breakthrough COVID-19 between different variants, aimed at identifying individuals at higher risk, are needed.
-
Accumulating evidence now indicates that the presence of faecal haemoglobin, in the absence of gastrointestinal bleeding, may be an indicator of systemic inflammation and is linked to the development of human diseases. We evaluated whether a positive faecal immunochemical test (FIT) is associated with the development of immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs). ⋯ Positive FIT is associated with increased risk of RA in the general population, corroborating that aberrancies of gut mucosa are associated with the development of IMIDs. Vigilant monitoring and early referral to a specialist upon medical suspicion is required in this population.
-
Placenta-derived proteins in the systemic maternal circulation are suggested as potential biomarkers for placental function. However, the identity and longitudinal patterns of such proteins are largely unknown due to the inaccessibility of the human placenta and limitations in assay technologies. We aimed to identify proteins derived from and taken up by the placenta in the maternal circulation. Furthermore, we aimed to describe the longitudinal patterns across gestation of placenta-derived proteins as well as identify placenta-derived proteins that can serve as reference curves for placental function. ⋯ Together, these data may serve as a first step towards a reference for the healthy placenta-derived proteome that can be measured in the systemic maternal circulation and potentially serve as biomarkers of placental function. The "placental proteomic clock" represents a novel concept that warrants further investigation. Deviations in the proteomic pattern across gestation of such proteomic clock proteins may serve as an indication of placental dysfunction.
-
Observational Study
Blackwater fever and acute kidney injury in children hospitalized with an acute febrile illness: pathophysiology and prognostic significance.
Acute kidney injury (AKI) and blackwater fever (BWF) are related but distinct renal complications of acute febrile illness in East Africa. The pathogenesis and prognostic significance of BWF and AKI are not well understood. ⋯ BWF is associated with severe AKI in children hospitalized with a severe febrile illness. Increased awareness of AKI in the setting of BWF, and improved access to AKI diagnostics, is needed to reduce disease progression and in-hospital mortality in this high-risk group of children through early implementation of kidney-protective measures.