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Objective To evaluate the association between thoracic kyphosis and physical function. Design Prospective cohort. Setting Framingham, Massachusetts. Participants Framingham Heart Study Offspring and Third Generation cohort members who had computed tomography ( CT) performed between 2002 and 2005 and physical function assessed a mean 3.4 years later (N = 1,100; mean age 61 ± 8, range 50-85). Measurements Thoracic kyphosis (Cobb angle, T4-T12) was measured in degrees using supine CT scout images. Participants were categorized according to Cobb angle to compare those in the highest quartile (Q4, most-severe kyphosis) with those in the lowest quartiles (Q1-Q3). Quick walking speed (m/s), chair-stand time (seconds), grip strength (kg), and self-reported impairments were assessed using standardized procedures. Analyses were adjusted for age, height, weight, smoking, follow-up time, vertebral fractures, and prevalent spinal degeneration. Results Thoracic kyphosis was not associated with physical function in women or men, and these results were consistent in those younger than 65 and those aged 65 and older. For example, walking speed was similar in adults younger than 65 with and without severe kyphosis (women, Q4: 1.38 m/s, Q1-Q3: 1.40 m/s, P = .69; men, Q4: 1.65 m/s, Q1-Q3: 1.60 m/s; P = .39). Conclusion In healthy relatively high-functioning women and men, kyphosis severity was not associated with subsequent physical function. Individuals at risk of functional decline cannot be targeted based on supine CT thoracic curvature measures alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Midlife cardiovascular risk, hypertension (HTN) in particular, has been related cross-sectionally to poorer neuropsychological (NP) performance in middle age and older adults. This study investigated whether a similar relationship persists between midlife HTN or systolic blood pressure (SBP) and NP performance approximately 30 years later. 378 Framingham stroke and dementia-free Original cohort participants, with HTN and SBP ascertained between 50-60 years of age (mean age 55 ± 1, 65% women), were administered a NP assessment at age ≥80 years. Tests included Logical Memory, Visual Reproduction, Paired Associate, Hooper Visual Organization Test, Trail Making A & B, Digit Span Forward and Backward, Controlled Word Association Test (COWAT), and Similarities. Multivariable linear regression, adjusted for age, time interval between risk factor and NP testing, gender, and premorbid intelligence, assessed association between midlife HTN/SBP and NP outcomes. Midlife HTN was not significantly associated with NP outcome measures. Midlife SBP was associated with poorer Digit Span Forward and COWAT performance (p <  0.05). No significant interaction of age on HTN/SBP to NP associations was found. There was a significant interaction between ApoE4 status and SBP in their effects on COWAT (pinteraction = 0.074); SBP was negatively associated with COWAT only in those with the ApoE4 allele (p = 0.025). While midlife HTN is not associated with late life cognitive impairment, midlife SBP is related to late life attention and verbal fluency impairments, particularly among ApoE4+ individuals. These results offer insight into processes that are operative in the absence of overt cognitive impairment and dementia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. We sought to determine change in the prevalence of functional limitations and physical disability among the community-dwelling elderly population across 3 decades. Methods. We studied original participants of the Framingham Heart Study, aged 79 to 88 years, at examination 15 (1977-1979; 177 women, 103 men), examination 20 (1988-1990; 159 women, 98 men) and examination 25 (1997-1999; 174 women, 119 men). Self-reported functional limitation was defined using the Nagi scale, and physical disability was defined using the Rosow-Breslau and Katz scales. Results. Functional limitations declined across examinations from 74.6% to 60.5% to 37.9% (P<.001) among women and from 54.2% to 37.8% to 27.8% (P<.001) among men. Physical disability declined from 74.5% to 48.5% to 34.6% (P<.001) among women and 42.3% to 33.3% to 22.8% (P=.009) among men. Among women, improvements in functional limitations (P =.05) were greater from examination 20 to 25, whereas for physical disability (P =.02), improvements were greater from examination 15 to 20. Improvements in function were constant across the 3 examinations in men. Conclusions. Among community-dwelling elders, the prevalence of functional limitations and physical disability declined significantly in both women and men from the 1970s to the 1990s. This may in part be due to improvements in technological devices used to maintain independence. Further work is needed to identify the underlining causes of the decline so preventative measures can be established that promote independence for the elderly population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To compare the short- and long-term prognosis following a first Q-wave or non-Q-wave myocardial infarction.Design: Cohort study with a mean follow-up period of 5.1 +/- 4.9 years.Setting: Population-based.Participants: Framingham (Mass) Heart Study subjects with an initial recognized myocardial infarction during a 17-year period were studied, including 227 men and 136 women with a mean age of 67.2 years. Seventy-seven percent of first infarctions were Q-wave infarctions and 23% were non-Q-wave infarctions.Main Outcome Measures: Reinfarction and death from coronary heart disease.Results: During the follow-up period, subjects with non-Q-wave infarctions had a significantly higher rate of reinfarction than subjects in the Q-wave group (P = .02 for the entire follow-up). The 10-year reinfarction rates were 44.8% vs 27.4%. When analyzed separately by age and sex, differences in reinfarction rates were only noted in men and in those under the age of 65 years. There were no differences in coronary heart disease death rates based on Q-wave status, even when examined separately by age and sex. Multivariate analysis revealed a 1.8-fold higher risk of reinfarction in the non-Q-wave group (95% confidence interval, 1.1 to 3.1), and also demonstrated that baseline hypertension was an independent risk factor for predicting reinfarction (relative risk, 1.8; 95% confidence interval, 1.1 to 3.2). There were no differences in the rates of sudden death or all-cause mortality following the two types of myocardial infarction. Additionally, subjects with a first Q-wave infarction had a higher rate of subsequent congestive heart failure, while those with non-Q-wave infarctions had a significantly higher rate of coronary insufficiency (unstable angina with transient ST-T wave abnormalities).Conclusions: These results confirm and extend findings from prior studies that have identified patients with first non-Q-wave myocardial infarctions as potentially unstable, with greater subsequent morbidity and similar mortality to their counterparts with Q-wave infarctions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We tested whether friends’ and family members’ cardiovascular health events and also their own aspirin use are associated with the likelihood that an individual takes aspirin regularly. Analyses were based on longitudinal data on 2724 members of the Framingham Heart Study (based in Massachusetts, U.S.A.) who were linked to friends and family members who were also participants in the same study. Men were more likely to take aspirin if a male friend had recently been taking aspirin, and women were more likely to take aspirin if a brother had recently been taking aspirin. Men were also more likely to take aspirin if a brother recently had a cardiovascular event, and women were more likely to take aspirin if a female friend recently experienced a cardiovascular event. Aspirin use is correlated with the health and behavior of friends and family. These findings add to a growing body of evidence which suggests that behavioral changes that promote cardiovascular health may spread through social networks. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Background: Public health recommendations advocate breastfeeding in infancy as a means to reduce obesity in later life. Several prior studies relating breastfeeding to cardiovascular risk factors have been limited by lack of adjustment for maternal and participant confounding factors. Methods: We ascertained breastfeeding history via questionnaire from mothers enrolled in the Framingham Offspring Study. In their young to middle-aged adult children enrolled in the Framingham Third Generation, we examined the relations between maternal breastfeeding history (yes, no) and cardiovascular risk factors, including body mass index (BMI), high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, total cholesterol, triglycerides, fasting blood glucose, and systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels. We applied generalized estimating equations to account for sibling correlations and adjusted for maternal and participant lifestyle, education, and cardiovascular risk factors. Results: In Third Generation participants (n = 962, mean age = 41 years, 54% were women), 26% of their mothers reported breastfeeding. Compared with non-breastfed individuals, breastfed adult participants had lower multivariable-adjusted BMI (26.1 kg/m2 vs 26.9 kg/m2, P = .04) and higher HDL cholesterol levels (HDL 56.6 mg/dL vs 53.7 mg/dL, P = .01). On additional adjustment for BMI, the association between breastfeeding and HDL cholesterol was attenuated (P = .09). Breastfeeding was not associated with total cholesterol, triglycerides, fasting blood glucose, systolic blood pressure, or diastolic blood pressure. Conclusion: Breastfeeding in infancy is inversely associated with adult BMI and positively associated with HDL cholesterol. Associations between breastfeeding and BMI may mediate the association between breastfeeding and HDL cholesterol. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]