Virginia Commonwealth University

About: Virginia Commonwealth University is a education organization based out in Richmond, Virginia, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Health care. The organization has 23822 authors who have published 49587 publications receiving 1787046 citations. The organization is also known as: VCU.

Analysis of shared heritability in common disorders of the brain

Abstract: Disorders of the brain exhibit considerable epidemiological comorbidity and frequently share symptoms, provoking debate about the extent of their etiologic overlap. Here we apply linkage disequilibrium score regression (LDSC) to quantify the extent of shared genetic contributions across 23 brain disorders (n=842,820), 11 quantitative and four dichotomous traits of interest (n=722,125) based on genome-wide association meta-analyses. Psychiatric disorders show substantial sharing of common variant risk, while many neurological disorders appear more distinct from one another, suggesting substantive differences in the specificity of the genetic etiology of these disorders. Further, we observe little evidence of widespread sharing of the common genetic risk between neurological and psychiatric disorders studied. In addition, we identify significant sharing of genetic influences between the certain quantitative measures and brain disorders, including major depressive disorder and neuroticism personality score. These results highlight the importance of common genetic variation as a source of risk for brain disorders and the potential of using heritability methods to obtain a more comprehensive view of the genetic architecture of brain phenotypes.

Where Health Disparities Begin: The Role Of Social And Economic Determinants—And Why Current Policies May Make Matters Worse

Abstract: Health disparities by racial or ethnic group or by income or education are only partly explained by disparities in medical care. Inadequate education and living conditions—ranging from low income to the unhealthy characteristics of neighborhoods and communities—can harm health through complex pathways. Meaningful progress in narrowing health disparities is unlikely without addressing these root causes. Policies on education, child care, jobs, community and economic revitalization, housing, transportation, and land use bear on these root causes and have implications for health and medical spending. A shortsighted political focus on reducing spending in these areas could actually increase medical costs by magnifying disease burden and widening health disparities.

Inflammatory mechanisms linking periodontal diseases to cardiovascular diseases

Abstract: Aims: In this article, inflammatory mechanisms that link periodontal diseases to cardiovascular diseases are reviewed. Methods: This article is a literature review. Results: Studies in the literature implicate a number of possible mechanisms that could be responsible for increased inflammatory responses in atheromatous lesions due to periodontal infections. These include increased systemic levels of inflammatory mediators stimulated by bacteria and their products at sites distant from the oral cavity, elevated thrombotic and hemostatic markers that promote a prothrombotic state and inflammation, cross-reactive systemic antibodies that promote inflammation and interact with the atheroma, promotion of dyslipidemia with consequent increases in pro-inflammatory lipid classes and subclasses, and common genetic susceptibility factors present in both disease leading to increased inflammatory responses. Conclusions: Such mechanisms may be thought to act in concert to increase systemic inflammation in periodontal disease and to promote or exacerbate atherogenesis. However, proof that the increase in systemic inflammation attributable to periodontitis impacts inflammatory responses during atheroma development, thrombotic events or myocardial infarction or stroke is lacking.

Orthopaedic surgeon workforce and volume assessment for total hip and knee replacement in the United States: preparing for an epidemic.

Abstract: The demand for health-care services in general, and musculoskeletal care in particular, is expected to increase substantially in the United States because of the growth of the population, aging of the population, public expectations, economic growth, investment in health-care interventions, and improved diagnosis and treatment. The impact of an aging population is demonstrated by the fact that, in 2000, the eleven most costly medical conditions in the United States were far more prevalent among the elderly, and the population of elderly Americans is increasing. It is not clear that the future supply of physicians will be sufficient to meet the increasing demand for health care. The supply of American physicians is limited by the aging and retirement of current physicians, medical school graduation class size of allopathic medical doctors and osteopathic physicians, and United States immigration policies, which limit the number of physicians entering the country. Furthermore, among active physicians, the “effective physician supply” is limited by gender and generational differences, lifestyle choices, changing practice patterns, and variability in physician productivity. At current physician production levels, the ratio of physicians to population will peak between 2015 and 20201. Between 2000 and 2020, the demand for orthopaedic services in this country will increase by 23% while the supply of orthopaedic surgeons will increase by only 2% during the same interval2. During the next few decades, the demand for total joint arthroplasties in the United States may not be met because of an inadequate supply of total joint arthroplasty surgeons. This hypothesis or concern is based on data and trends associated with the prevalence of total joint arthroplasty, projected volumes of total joint arthroplasty, workforce trends in total joint arthroplasty, and reimbursement for total joint arthroplasty. The purposes of this paper are to evaluate the validity of this …