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Current U.S. guidelines recommend integrase strand transfer inhibitor (INSTI)-based antiretroviral therapy (ART) as initial treatment for people with HIV (PWH). We assessed long-term effects of INSTI use on lipid profiles in routine HIV care. We analyzed medical record data from the HIV Outpatient Study's participants in care from 2007 to 2021. Hyperlipidemia was defined based on clinical diagnoses, treatments, and laboratory results. We calculated hyperlipidemia incidence rates and rate ratios (RRs) during initial ART and assessed predictors of incident hyperlipidemia by using Poisson regression. Among 349 eligible ART-naïve PWH, 168 were prescribed INSTI-based ART (36 raltegravir (RAL), 51 dolutegravir (DTG), and 81 INSTI-others (elvitegravir and bictegravir)) and 181 non-INSTI-based ART, including 68 protease inhibitor (PI)-based ART. During a median follow-up of 1.4 years, hyperlipidemia rates were 12.8, 22.3, 22.7, 17.4, and 12.6 per 100 person years for RAL-, DTG-, INSTI-others-, non-INSTI-PI-, and non-INSTI-non-PI-based ART, respectively. In multivariable analysis, compared with the RAL group, hyperlipidemia rates were higher in INSTI-others (RR = 2.25; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.29–3.93) and non-INSTI-PI groups (RR = 1.89; CI: 1.12–3.19) but not statistically higher for the DTG (RR = 1.73; CI: 0.95–3.17) and non-INSTI-non-PI groups (RR = 1.55; CI: 0.92–2.62). Other factors independently associated with hyperlipidemia included older age, non-Hispanic White race/ethnicity, and ART without tenofovir disoproxil fumarate. PWH using RAL-based regimens had lower rates of incident hyperlipidemia than PWH receiving non-INSTI-PI-based ART but had similar rates as those receiving DTG-based ART, supporting federal recommendations for using DTG-based regimens as the initial therapy for ART-naïve PWH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The 2017 American College of Cardiology / American Heart Association Guideline for blood pressure (BP) management newly classifies millions of Americans with elevated BP or stage 1 hypertension for recommended lifestyle modification alone (without pharmacotherapy). This study characterized these adults, including their cardiovascular disease risk factors, barriers to lifestyle modification, and healthcare access. METHODS This cross-sectional study examined nationally representative National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data, 2013–2016, on 10,205 US adults aged ≥18, among whom 2,081 had elevated BP or stage 1 hypertension and met 2017 ACC/AHA BP Guideline criteria for lifestyle modification alone. RESULTS An estimated 22% of US adults (52 million) would be recommended for lifestyle modification alone. Among these, 58% were men, 43% had obesity, 52% had low-quality diet, 95% consumed excess sodium, 43% were physically inactive, and 8% consumed excess alcohol. Many reported attempting lifestyle changes (range: 39%–60%). Those who reported receiving health professional advice to lose weight (adjusted prevalence ratio 1.21, 95% confidence interval 1.06–1.38), reduce sodium intake (2.33, 2.00–2.72), or exercise more (1.60, 1.32–1.95) were significantly more likely to report attempting changes. However, potential barriers to lifestyle modification included 28% of adults reporting disability, asthma, or arthritis. Additionally, 20% had no health insurance and 22% had no healthcare visits in the last year. Conclusions One-fifth of US adults met 2017 ACC/AHA BP Guideline criteria for lifestyle modification alone, and many reported attempting behavior change. However, barriers exist such as insurance gaps, limited access to care, and physical impairment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Application of the 2017 ACC/AHA Hypertension Guideline expands the number of US adults requiring blood pressure (BP) management. The authors use 2011-2014 NHANES data to describe the population groups most affected by the new guideline, compared with the previous JNC-7 guideline, and describe the previous interaction with the health care sector among those adults recommended new or intensified pharmacologic treatment and/or lifestyle modification. The 2017 Hypertension Guideline reclassifies 32.3 million US adults as newly hypertensive and recommends BP-related treatment of 133.7 million adults, including 57.8 million with uncontrolled BP recommended to initiate or intensify pharmacologic treatment and 50.5 million newly recommended lifestyle modification alone. An estimated 13.1 million (22.7%) adults recommended to initiate or intensify pharmacologic treatment, and 20.6 million (40.8%) adults newly recommended lifestyle modification alone report not having established health care linkages. Among the adults newly recommended lifestyle modification alone, the odds of reclassification from no recommended intervention, under JNC-7, to recommended lifestyle modification alone were lower for adults with established linkages to care (aOR: 0.78 [95% CI: 0.67-0.91]) compared to those without, decreased with increasing age, were greater for men (1.72 [1.52-1.94]) compared to women and were greater for obese adults (1.23 [1.00-1.53]) compared with normal or underweight adults. Application of the 2017 Hypertension Guideline increases the number and alters the distribution of US adults in need of initiating or intensifying BP treatment. This includes identifying millions of US adults who previously had limited interaction with health care and are now recommended new or intensified pharmacologic treatment and/or lifestyle modification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Coenzyme Q10 (Co Q10 also called ubiquinone) is an antioxidant that has been postulated to improve functional status in congestive heart failure (CHF). Several randomized controlled trials have examined the effects of Co Q10 on CHF with inconclusive results. Objective: The objective of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the impact of Co Q10 supplementation on the ejection fraction (EF) and New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional classification in patients with CHE Design: A systematic review of the literature was conducted by using databases including MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and manual examination of references from selected studies. Studies included were randomized controlled trials of CoQ10 supplementation that reported the EF or NYHA functional class as a primary outcome. Information on participant characteristics, trial design and duration, treatment, dose, control, EF, and NYHA classification were extracted by using a standardized protocol. Results: Supplementation with CoQ10 resulted in a pooled mean net change of 3.67% (95% CI: 1.60%, 5.74%) in the EF and -0.30 (95% CI: -0.66, 0.06) in the NYHA functional class. Subgroup analyses showed significant improvement in EF for crossover trials, trials with treatment duration ≤ 12 wk in length, studies published before 1994, and studies with a dose ≤100 mg CoQ10/d and in patients with less severe CHE These subgroup analyses should be interpreted cautiously because of the small number of studies and patients included in each subgroup. Conclusions: Pooled. analyses of available randomized controlled trials suggest that CoQ10 may improve the EF in patients with CHF. Additional well-designed studies that include more diverse populations are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is an important cause of morbidity and mortality among HIV-infected adults. Calculating an individual's excess heart age, or the difference between their chronological age and predicted heart age, can be useful in describing their risk for developing CVD and motivating behavior change to decrease their CVD risk. The overall mean excess heart age is 7.8 and 5.4 years among U.S. men and women, respectively. We evaluated excess heart age among HIV-infected adults in medical care using sex-specific, cholesterol-based models developed from Framingham general CVD risk prediction equations. Included were HIV Outpatient Study (HOPS) participants aged 30-74 y, who had ≥2 HOPS clinic visits during 2010-2014, had no prior CVD at the start of observation, had >1 y of follow-up, and had non-missing data for all covariates. Age-standardized (2010 U.S. census) and weighted means, prevalence and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated for participant chronological age, predicted heart age, and excess heart age. From 5,088 HOPS participants assessed for eligibility, 1905 men and 584 women were included in the analysis. Heart age exceeded chronological age by 11.3 and 11.9 y among men and women, respectively (Table). Excess heart age was greatest among non-Hispanic Blacks, persons aged 50-59 y, those with less than high school education, and women with a median CD4+ count ≥500 cells/μL. Predicted heart age was higher than chronological age among HIV-infected men and women and surpassed excess heart age estimates observed in the general U.S. population. Greater excess heart age among HIV-infected adults might result from demographic differences, higher frequency of CVD risk factors including smoking, diabetes, HIV-associated excess chronic inflammation, and possibly lower use rates of antihypertensive or statin drugs. Routine clinical use of heart age calculation may help optimize CVD risk communication and interventions for aging HIV-infected persons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To review the literature systematically and perform meta-analyses to address these questions: 1) Is there evidence that self-measured blood pressure (BP) without other augmentation is superior to office-based measurement of BP for achieving better BP control or for preventing adverse clinical outcomes that are related to elevated BP? 2) What is the optimal target for BP lowering during antihypertensive therapy in adults? 3) In adults with hypertension, how do various antihypertensive drug classes differ in their benefits and harms compared with each other as first-line therapy?Methods: Electronic literature searches were performed by Doctor Evidence, a global medical evidence software and services company, across PubMed and EMBASE from 1966 to 2015 using key words and relevant subject headings for randomized controlled trials that met eligibility criteria defined for each question. We performed analyses using traditional frequentist statistical and Bayesian approaches, including random-effects Bayesian network meta-analyses.Results: Our results suggest that: 1) There is a modest but significant improvement in systolic BP in randomized controlled trials of self-measured BP versus usual care at 6 but not 12 months, and for selected patients and their providers self-measured BP may be a helpful adjunct to routine office care. 2) systolic BP lowering to a target of <130 mm Hg may reduce the risk of several important outcomes including risk of myocardial infarction, stroke, heart failure, and major cardiovascular events. No class of medications (i.e., angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, angiotensin-receptor blockers, calcium channel blockers, or beta blockers) was significantly better than thiazides and thiazide-like diuretics as a first-line therapy for any outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To meet the educational, physical, social, and emotional needs of children, many U.S. schools opened for in-person learning during fall 2020 by implementing strategies to prevent transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 (1,2). To date, there have been no U.S. studies comparing COVID-19 incidence in schools that varied in implementing recommended prevention strategies, including mask requirements and ventilation improvements* (2). Using data from Georgia kindergarten through grade 5 (K-5) schools that opened for in-person learning during fall 2020, CDC and the Georgia Department of Public Health (GDPH) assessed the impact of school-level prevention strategies on incidence of COVID-19 among students and staff members before the availability of COVID-19 vaccines. † Among 169 K-5 schools that participated in a survey on prevention strategies and reported COVID-19 cases during November 16-December 11, 2020, COVID-19 incidence was 3.08 cases among students and staff members per 500 enrolled students. § Adjusting for county-level incidence, COVID-19 incidence was 37% lower in schools that required teachers and staff members to use masks, and 39% lower in schools that improved ventilation, compared with schools that did not use these prevention strategies. Ventilation strategies associated with lower school incidence included methods to dilute airborne particles alone by opening windows, opening doors, or using fans (35% lower incidence), or in combination with methods to filter airborne particles with high-efficiency particulate absorbing (HEPA) filtration with or without purification with ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) (48% lower incidence). Multiple strategies should be implemented to prevent transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in schools (2); mask requirements for teachers and staff members and improved ventilation are important strategies that elementary schools could implement as part of a multicomponent approach to provide safer, in-person learning environments. Universal and correct mask use is still recommended by CDC for adults and children in schools regardless of vaccination status (2)., Competing Interests: All authors have completed and submitted the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors form for disclosure of potential conflicts of interest. No potential conflicts of interest were disclosed.

Hypertension is a major cardiovascular disease risk factor (1,2). Advice given by health professionals can result in lower sodium intake and lower blood pressure (3).The 2017 Hypertension Guideline released by the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association emphasizes nonpharmacologic approaches, including sodium reduction, as important components of hypertension prevention and treatment (4). Data from 50,576 participants in the sodium module of the 2015 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) in nine states and Puerto Rico were analyzed to determine the prevalence of reported sodium reduction advice and action among participants with and without self-reported hypertension. Among participants with self-reported hypertension, adjusted prevalence of receiving sodium reduction advice from a health professional was 41.9%, compared with 12.8% among participants without hypertension. Among those with hypertension, adjusted prevalence of reported action to reduce sodium intake was 80.9% among participants who received advice and 55.7% among those who did not receive advice. Among participants without hypertension, adjusted prevalence of taking action to reduce sodium intake was 72.7% among those who received advice and 46.9% among those who did not receive advice. The provision of advice on sodium reduction by health professionals is associated with respondent action to watch or reduce sodium intake. Fewer than half of patients with hypertension received this advice from their health professionals, a circumstance that represents a substantial missed opportunity to promote hypertension prevention and treatment., Competing Interests: No conflicts of interest were reported.