Clinical Trial Service Unit

About: Clinical Trial Service Unit is a based out in . It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Stroke. The organization has 428 authors who have published 1387 publications receiving 181920 citations.

Burden of carotid artery atherosclerosis in Chinese adults: implications for future risk of cardiovascular diseases

Abstract: BackgroundPopulation-based studies of ultrasound measures of carotid atherosclerosis are informative about future risks of cardiovascular disease.DesignCross-sectional studies of carotid artery atherosclerosis in 24,822 Chinese adults from the China Kadoorie Biobank and 2579 Europeans from the UK Biobank.MethodsMean intima-media thickness of the common carotid arteries and presence of carotid artery plaque were examined in the China Kadoorie Biobank study. The carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) findings in Chinese (mean age 59 years) were compared with a European population (mean age 62 years).ResultsOverall, the mean cIMT in Chinese was 0.70 mm (SD 0.16) and increased with age by 0.08 mm (SE 0.008) per 10-years older age. About 31% of the Chinese had carotid plaques and the prevalence varied 10-fold with age (6% at 40–49 to 63% at 70–89 years) and four-fold by region (range, 14%–57%). After adjustment for age, sex and region, plaque prevalence was higher in smokers than in non-smokers (36% vs. 28%) an...

Homocysteine-lowering trials for prevention of vascular disease: protocol for a collaborative meta-analysis.

Abstract: Background Elevated plasma total homocysteine is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD), but the randomized trials of dietary supplementation with B-vitamins to lower homocysteine have not yet provided clear evidence of benefit on vascular risk. Methods Cumulative meta-analysis of all randomized trials assessing the effects of lowering homocysteine levels with B-vitamins on risk of CVD. Results An individual patient data meta-analysis of all randomized trials of the effects on vascular risk of lowering homocysteine with B-vitamins will maximize the power to assess the epidemiologically predicted differences in risk. Among the 12 randomized homocysteine-lowering trials for prevention of CVD, involving more than 1000 participants, data should be available on approximately 52,000 participants (32,000 with prior CVD in unfortified populations; and 14,000 with prior CVD and 6000 with renal disease in fortified populations). To minimize bias, the design and primary analyses to be carried out have been pre-specified. The analyses will include assessment of effects on major vascular events (MVE), stroke, major coronary events (MCE), in addition to venous thrombosis, cancer and fractures. Additional analyses will assess effects on vascular outcomes in sub-groups defined by population, prior disease, per 3 micromol/L difference in homocysteine levels achieved by treatment, pre-treatment vitamin status, duration, age, sex and vascular events excluding revascularizations and, separately, excluding vascular events occurring during the first year of treatment. Conclusions A cumulative meta-analysis of the homocysteine-lowering trials should ensure that reliable evidence emerges about the effects of lowering homocysteine on risk of vascular and non-vascular outcomes.

Body Fat Distribution and Systolic Blood Pressure in 10,000 Adults with Whole-Body Imaging: UK Biobank and Oxford BioBank

Abstract: Objective This study aimed to quantify the associations of regional fat mass and fat-free mass with systolic blood pressure. Methods This analysis combined individual participant data from two large-scale imaging studies: UK Biobank and Oxford BioBank. In both studies, participants were interviewed and measured, and they underwent dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry imaging. Linear regression was used to relate systolic blood pressure to anthropometric measures of adiposity (BMI, waist circumference, and waist to hip ratio) and dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry-derived measures of body composition (visceral android fat, subcutaneous android fat, subcutaneous gynoid fat, and fat-free mass). Results Among 10,260 participants (mean age 49; 96% white), systolic blood pressure was positively associated with visceral android fat (3.2 mmHg/SD in men; 2.8 mmHg/SD in women) and fat-free mass (1.92 mmHg/SD in men; 1.64 mmHg/SD in women), but there was no evidence of an association with subcutaneous android or gynoid fat. Associations of systolic blood pressure with BMI were slightly steeper than those with waist circumference or waist to hip ratio; these associations remained unchanged following adjustment for fat-free mass, but adjustment for visceral android fat eliminated associations with waist circumference and waist to hip ratio and more than halved associations with BMI. Conclusions This analysis indicates that visceral fat is the primary etiological component of excess adiposity underlying the development of adiposity-related hypertension.