Educational level and chronic inflammation in the elderly – the role of obesity: results from the population‐based <scp>CARLA</scp> study

Medenwald, Daniel; Loppnow, Harald; Kluttig, Alexander; Nuding, Sebastian; Greiser, KH; Thiery, Joachim; Tiller, Daniel; Herzog, Beatrice; Werdan, Karl; Haerting, Johannes

doi:10.1111/cob.12107

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…This was confirmed in our analysis, with BMI, HbA 1c and smoking being associated with hsCRP. We also found that the use of lipid-lowering therapy and higher levels of education were negatively associated with hsCRP, which have been shown previously [40][41][42].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Markers of Cardiovascular Disease among Adults Exposed to Smoke from the Hazelwood Coal Mine Fire

Betts

Dewar

Gao

et al. 2021

IJERPH

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Little research has examined the effects of high concentration, medium-duration smoke exposure on cardiovascular health. We investigated whether six weeks of exposure to smoke from the 2014 Hazelwood coal mine fire in Victoria (Australia), was associated with long-term clinical or subclinical cardiovascular disease approximately four years later, in adult residents of the towns of Morwell (exposed, n = 336) and Sale (unexposed, n = 162). The primary outcome was serum high sensitivity (hs) C-reactive protein (CRP). Blood pressure, electrocardiogram, flow mediated dilatation and serum levels of hs-troponin, N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide and lipids were secondary outcomes. There was no significant difference in weighted median hsCRP levels between exposed and unexposed participants (1.9 mg/L vs. 1.6 mg/L, p = 0.273). Other outcomes were comparable between the groups. hsCRP was associated in a predictable manner with current smoking, obesity and use of lipid-lowering therapy. Four years after a 6-week coal mine fire, this study found no association between smoke exposure and markers of clinical or subclinical cardiovascular disease in exposed adults.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Markers of Cardiovascular Disease among Adults Exposed to Smoke from the Hazelwood Coal Mine Fire

Betts

Dewar

Gao

et al. 2021

IJERPH

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“…Substantial reductions in CRP were predicted with a 1 mmol/L change in HDL-c; however, eliciting this response may prove difficult in a resource-poor environment. These covariates, however, do predict possible routes of intervention, whereby proper nutrition (focusing on weight management, treatment of hyperlipidemia, and glycemic control), as well as increased physical activity (to improve resting heart rate) and increasing education levels, can reduce inflammation in populations [ 35 , 36 , 37 ]. Completing 12 or more years of formal education was associated with reduced CRP concentrations ( Table 1 , unadjusted), although this reduction was found to be non-significant.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Education, Smoking and CRP Genetics in Relation to C-Reactive Protein Concentrations in Black South Africans

Myburgh

Nienaber-Rousseau

Kruger

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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Because elevated circulating C-reactive protein (CRP) and low socio-economic status (SES), have both been implicated in cardiovascular disease development, we investigated whether SES factors associate with and interact with CRP polymorphisms in relation to the phenotype. Included in the study were 1569 black South Africans for whom CRP concentrations, 12 CRP single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), cardiovascular health markers, and SES factors were known. None of the investigated SES aspects was found to associate with CRP concentrations when measured individually; however, in adjusted analyses, attaining twelve or more years of formal education resulted in a hypothetically predicted 18.9% lower CRP concentration. We also present the first evidence that active smokers with a C-allele at rs3093068 are at an increased risk of presenting with elevated CRP concentrations. Apart from education level, most SES factors on their own are not associated with the elevated CRP phenotype observed in black South Africans. However, these factors may collectively with other environmental, genetic, and behavioral aspects such as smoking, contribute to the elevated inflammation levels observed in this population. The gene-smoking status interaction in relation to inflammation observed here is of interest and if replicated could be used in at-risk individuals to serve as an additional motivation to quit.

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DAG-informed regression modelling, agent-based modelling and microsimulation modelling: a critical comparison of methods for causal inference

Arnold

Harrison

Heppenstall

et al. 2018

International Journal of Epidemiology

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The current paradigm for causal inference in epidemiology relies primarily on the evaluation of counterfactual contrasts via statistical regression models informed by graphical causal models (often in the form of directed acyclic graphs, or DAGs) and their underlying mathematical theory. However, there have been growing calls for supplementary methods, and one such method that has been proposed is agent-based modelling due to its potential for simulating counterfactuals. However, within the epidemiological literature, there currently exists a general lack of clarity regarding what exactly agent-based modelling is (and is not) and, importantly, how it differs from microsimulation modelling—perhaps its closest methodological comparator. We clarify this distinction by briefly reviewing the history of each method, which provides a context for their similarities and differences, and casts light on the types of research questions that they have evolved (and thus are well suited) to answering; we do the same for DAG-informed regression methods. The distinct historical evolutions of DAG-informed regression modelling, microsimulation modelling and agent-based modelling have given rise to distinct features of the methods themselves, and provide a foundation for critical comparison. Not only are the three methods well suited to addressing different types of causal questions, but, in doing so, they place differing levels of emphasis on fixed and random effects, and also tend to operate on different timescales and in different timeframes.

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Educational level and chronic inflammation in the elderly – the role of obesity: results from the population‐based CARLA study

Cited by 3 publications

References 39 publications

Markers of Cardiovascular Disease among Adults Exposed to Smoke from the Hazelwood Coal Mine Fire

Markers of Cardiovascular Disease among Adults Exposed to Smoke from the Hazelwood Coal Mine Fire

Education, Smoking and CRP Genetics in Relation to C-Reactive Protein Concentrations in Black South Africans

DAG-informed regression modelling, agent-based modelling and microsimulation modelling: a critical comparison of methods for causal inference

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