Background A comprehensive evaluation of the independent and combined associations of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and albuminuria with mortality is required for assessment of the impact of kidney function on risk in the general population, with implications for improving the definition and staging of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Methods A collaborative meta-analysis of general population cohorts was undertaken to pool standardized data for all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. The two kidney measures and potential confounders from 14 studies (105,872 participants; 730,577 person-years) with urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR) measurements and seven studies (1,128,310 participants; 4,732,110 person-years) with urine protein dipstick measurements were modeled. Findings In ACR studies, mortality risk was unrelated to eGFR between 75-105 ml/min/1·73 m2 and increased at lower eGFR. Adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) for all-cause mortality at eGFR 60, 45, and 15 (versus 95) ml/min/1·73 m2 were 1·18 (95% CI: 1·05-1·32), 1·57 (1·39-1·78), and 3·14 (2·39-4·13), respectively. ACR was associated with mortality risk linearly on the log-log scale without threshold effects. Adjusted HRs for all-cause mortality at ACR 10, 30, and 300 (versus 5) mg/g were 1·20 (1·15-1·26), 1·63 (1·50-1·77), and 2·22 (1·97-2·51). eGFR and ACR were multiplicatively associated with mortality without evidence of interaction. Similar findings were observed for cardiovascular mortality and in dipstick studies. Interpretation Lower eGFR (<60 ml/min/1·73 m2) and higher albuminuria (ACR ≥10 mg/g) were independent predictors of mortality risk in the general population. This study provides quantitative data for using both kidney measures for risk evaluation and CKD definition and staging.

The Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE) and resulting tsunami of March 11, 2011 gave rise to devastating damage on the Pacific coast of the Tohoku region. The Tohoku Medical Megabank Project (TMM), which is being conducted by Tohoku University Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization (ToMMo) and Iwate Medical University Iwate Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization (IMM), has been launched to realize creative reconstruction and to solve medical problems in the aftermath of this disaster. We started two prospective cohort studies in Miyagi and Iwate Prefectures: a population-based adult cohort study, the TMM Community-Based Cohort Study (TMM CommCohort Study), which will recruit 80 000 participants, and a birth and three-generation cohort study, the TMM Birth and Three-Generation Cohort Study (TMM BirThree Cohort Study), which will recruit 70 000 participants, including fetuses and their parents, siblings, grandparents, and extended family members. The TMM CommCohort Study will recruit participants from 2013 to 2016 and follow them for at least 5 years. The TMM BirThree Cohort Study will recruit participants from 2013 to 2017 and follow them for at least 4 years. For children, the ToMMo Child Health Study, which adopted a cross-sectional design, was also started in November 2012 in Miyagi Prefecture. An integrated biobank will be constructed based on the two prospective cohort studies, and ToMMo and IMM will investigate the chronic medical impacts of the GEJE. The integrated biobank of TMM consists of health and clinical information, biospecimens, and genome and omics data. The biobank aims to establish a firm basis for personalized healthcare and medicine, mainly for diseases aggravated by the GEJE in the two prefectures. Biospecimens and related information in the biobank will be distributed to the research community. TMM itself will also undertake genomic and omics research. The aims of the genomic studies are: 1) to construct an integrated biobank; 2) to return genomic research results to the participants of the cohort studies, which will lead to the implementation of personalized healthcare and medicine in the affected areas in the near future; and 3) to contribute the development of personalized healthcare and medicine worldwide. Through the activities of TMM, we will clarify how to approach prolonged healthcare problems in areas damaged by large-scale disasters and how useful genomic information is for disease prevention.

Hypertension guidelines recommend blood pressure self-measurement at home (HBP), but no previous trial has assessed cardiovascular outcomes in hypertensive patients treated according to HBP. The multicenter Hypertension Objective Treatment Based on Measurement by Electrical Devices of Blood Pressure (HOMED-BP;-2010 trial involved 3518 patients (50% women; mean age 59.6 years) with an untreated systolic/diastolic HBP of 135-179/85-119 mm Hg. In a 2 Â 3 design, patients were randomized to usual control (125-134/80-84 mm Hg (UC)) vs. tight control (o125/o80 mm Hg (TC)) of HBP and to initiation of drug treatment with angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers or calcium channel blockers. During follow-up, a computer algorithm automatically generated treatment recommendations based on HBP. At the last follow-up (median 5.3 years), TC patients used more antihypertensive drugs than UC patients (1.82 vs. 1.74 defined daily doses, P ¼ 0.045) and had a greater HBP reduction (21.3/13.1 mm Hg vs. 22.7/13.9 mm Hg, P ¼ 0.018/0.020), but they less frequently achieved the lower HBP targets (37.4 vs. 63.5%, Po0.0001). The primary end point, cardiovascular death plus stroke and myocardial infarction, occurred in 25 UC and 26 TC patients (hazard ratio, 1.02; 95% confidence interval, 0.59-1.77; P ¼ 0.94). Rates were similar (PX0.13) in the three drug groups. In all patients combined, the risk of the primary end point independently increased by 41% (6-89%; P ¼ 0.019) and 47% (15-87%; P ¼ 0.0020) for a 1-s.d. increase in baseline (12.5 mm Hg) and follow-up (13.2 mm Hg) systolic HBP. The 5-year risk was minimal (p1%) if on-treatment systolic HBP was 131.6 mm Hg or less. HOMED-BP proved the feasibility of adjusting antihypertensive drug treatment based on HBP and suggests that a systolic HBP level of 130 mm Hg should be an achievable and safe target.

Abstract-To analyze sex-specific relative and absolute risks associated with blood pressure (BP), we performed conventional and 24-hour ambulatory BP measurements in 9357 subjects (mean age, 52.8 years; 47% women) recruited from 11 populations. We computed standardized multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios for associations between outcome and systolic BP. During a course of 11.2 years (median), 1245 participants died, 472 of cardiovascular causes. The number of fatal combined with nonfatal events was 1080, 525, and 458 for cardiovascular and cardiac events and for stroke, respectively. In women and men alike, systolic BP predicted outcome, irrespective of the type of BP measurement. Women compared with men were at lower risk (hazard ratios for death and all cardiovascular eventsϭ0.66 and 0.62, respectively; PϽ0.001). However, the relation of all cardiovascular events with 24-hour BP (Pϭ0.020) and the relations of total mortality (Pϭ0.023) and all cardiovascular (Pϭ0.0013), cerebrovascular (Pϭ0.045), and cardiac (Pϭ0.034) events with nighttime BP were steeper in women than in men. Consequently, per a 1-SD decrease, the proportion of potentially preventable events was higher in women than in men for all cardiovascular events (35.9% vs 24.2%) in relation to 24-hour systolic BP (1-SD, 13.