Tag: cardiovascular risk

Categories : Metabolic Disorders Surgeries & ProceduresTags :

Study Shows Greater Long-Term Benefits of Bariatric Surgery Compared to GLP-1 RAs

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Sleeve gastrectomy. Credit: Scientific Animations CC4.0

A large Cleveland Clinic study has found that people with obesity and type 2 diabetes who undergo weight-loss surgery live longer and face fewer serious health problems compared with those treated with GLP-1 receptor agonist medicines alone.

Patients who had weight-loss surgery (also known as bariatric or metabolic surgery) lost more weight, achieved better blood sugar control, and relied less on diabetes and heart medications over 10 years. The research is published in Nature Medicine.

“Even with today’s best medicines, metabolic surgery offers unique and lasting benefits for people with obesity and diabetes,” said Ali Aminian, MD, director of Cleveland Clinic’s Bariatric & Metabolic Institute and primary investigator of the study. “The benefits we observed went beyond weight loss. Surgery was linked to fewer heart problems, less kidney disease, and even lower rates of diabetes-related eye damage.”

GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) receptor agonists are a class of medications widely used to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity and to reduce health risks. Both metabolic surgery and GLP-1 medicines improve cardiovascular health and metabolism.

The M6 study (Macrovascular and Microvascular Morbidity and Mortality after Metabolic Surgery versus Medicines) followed 3932 adults with diabetes and obesity who received care at Cleveland Clinic for up to 10 years. Among them, 1657 underwent metabolic surgery (including gastric bypass or sleeve gastrectomy), while 2275 were treated with GLP-1 medicines (including liraglutide, dulaglutide, exenatide, semaglutide, and tirzepatide).

At the end of the study, patients who had metabolic surgery had a:

  • 32% lower risk of death
  • 35% lower risk of major heart problems (such as heart attack, heart failure, or stroke)
  • 47% lower risk of serious kidney disease
  • 54% lower risk of diabetes-related eye damage (retinopathy)

On average, people who had metabolic surgery lost 21.6% of their body weight over 10 years, compared with 6.8% weight loss in people who took GLP-1 medicines. Hemoglobin A1c, a marker of average blood sugar, improved more with surgery (-0.86%) than with GLP-1 medicines (-0.23%). Patients in the surgery group also required fewer prescriptions for diabetes, blood pressure, and cholesterol.

“Even in the era of these powerful new drugs to treat obesity and diabetes, metabolic surgery may provide additional benefits, including a survival advantage,” said Steven Nissen, MD, Chief Academic Officer of the Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute at Cleveland Clinic and senior author of the study.

“Our findings indicate that surgery should remain an important treatment option for obesity and diabetes,” said Dr Aminian. “These long-term benefits are harder to achieve with GLP-1 medicines alone, as many patients stop using the medications over time.”

According to the authors, the study has some limitations. It was observational rather than a randomized comparison of drugs and surgery, and it did not focus exclusively on the newest and most effective GLP-1 medicines. The researchers note that future studies should directly compare surgery with newer GLP-1 therapies, such as semaglutide and tirzepatide, to further guide treatment decisions.

Source: Cleveland Clinic

Categories : Ageing Cardiovascular DiseaseTags :

New Research Finds Visceral Fat is Linked to Heart Ageing

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Photo by Anna Shvets

Excessive amounts of visceral fat, the hidden fat surrounding organs, is linked with faster ageing of the heart, a new study has found. Ageing is the biggest risk factor for heart disease but why some people age faster than others isn’t fully understood.

The scientists leading the research, which is published in the European Heart Journal, say that visceral body fat could play an important role in accelerating ageing of the heart and blood vessels. This type of fat is known to be harmful to health and this study now links it to faster heart ageing.

Sex differences

The study, led by scientists from the Medical Research Council (MRC) Laboratory of Medical Sciences, also found differences between men and women. They discovered that fat around the hips and thighs could potentially slow heart ageing in women. The scientists analysed data from 21 241 participants in UK Biobank, which includes whole body imaging to map the amount of fat and where it is located in the body. The study was

Determining an individual’s ‘heart age’

The UK Biobank data also includes detailed imaging of the heart and blood vessels. Artificial intelligence (AI) was used to analyse these images to capture signs of organ ageing such as tissues becoming stiff and inflamed. An individual was given a ‘heart age’ which can be compared to their actual age at the time of the scan.

The risks of ‘hidden’ fat

The researchers found that faster heart ageing was linked to having more visceral adipose tissue. Visceral adipose tissue is fat found deep inside the abdomen around organs such as the stomach, intestines, and liver. This type of fat cannot be seen from the outside, and some people can have large amounts of visceral fat despite having a healthy weight.

Premature ageing

The researchers found signs on blood tests that visceral fat is linked to increased inflammation in the body, which is a potential cause of premature ageing. They also found differences between the sexes. Male-type fat distribution, which is fat around the belly and often called ‘apple-shaped’, was particularly predictive of early ageing in men.

The role of hormones

In contrast, a genetic predisposition to female-type fat, primarily fat on the hips and thighs, often called ‘pear-shaped’, was protective against heart ageing in women. The researchers also found a link between higher oestrogen levels in pre-menopausal women and a slowing of heart ageing. They suggested that this could indicate a role for hormones in protecting against heart ageing.

Increasing healthy lifespan

Professor Declan O’Regan, who led the research at the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences and Imperial College London, said:

We have known about the apple and pear distinction in body fat, but it hasn’t been clear how it leads to poor health outcomes. Our research shows that ‘bad’ fat, hidden deep around the organs, accelerates ageing of the heart.

But some types of fat could protect against ageing, specifically fat around the hips and thighs in women.

We also showed that body mass index wasn’t a good way of predicting heart age which underscores the importance of knowing where fat is stored in the body and not just total body weight.

The goal of our research is to find ways to increase healthy lifespan. While being active is important, we found that hidden fat could still be harmful even in fit people.

In the future, we plan to investigate how drug therapies, such as GLP-1 inhibitors (for example, Ozempic) could improve not just diabetes and obesity but target the ageing effects of hidden visceral fat.

Source: UK Research Institute

Categories : Cardiovascular Disease PaediatricsTags :

Higher Blood Pressure in Childhood Linked to Earlier Adulthood Heart Disease Mortality

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Blood pressure matters at all ages. Children with higher blood pressure at age 7 may be at an increased risk of dying of cardiovascular disease by their mid-50s,  according to preliminary research presented at the American Heart Association’s Hypertension Scientific Sessions 2025. The study is simultaneously published in JAMA.

“We were surprised to find that high blood pressure in childhood was linked to serious health conditions many years later. Specifically, having hypertension or elevated blood pressure as a child may increase the risk of death by 40% to 50% over the next five decades of an individual’s life,” said Alexa Freedman, Ph.D., lead author of the study and an assistant professor in the department of preventive medicine at the Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. “Our results highlight the importance of screening for blood pressure in childhood and focusing on strategies to promote optimal cardiovascular health beginning in childhood.”

Previous research has shown that childhood blood pressure is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease in adulthood, and a 2022 study found that elevated blood pressure in older children (average age of 12 years) increased the risk of cardiovascular death by middle age (average age of 46 years). The current study is the first to investigate the impact of both systolic (top number) and diastolic (bottom number) blood pressure in childhood on long-term cardiovascular death risk in a diverse group of children. Clinical practice guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend checking blood pressure at annual well-child pediatric appointments starting at age 3 years.

“The results of this study support monitoring blood pressure as an important metric of cardiovascular health in childhood,” said Bonita Falkner, MD, FAHA, an American Heart Association volunteer expert. “Moreover, the results of this study and other older child cohort studies with potential follow-up in adulthood will contribute to a more accurate definition of abnormal blood pressure and hypertension in childhood.” Falkner, who was not involved in this study, is emeritus professor of paediatrics and medicine at Thomas Jefferson University.

The researchers used the National Death Index to follow up on the survival or cause of death as of 2016 for approximately 38,000 children who had their blood pressures taken at age 7 years as part of the Collaborative Perinatal Project (CPP), the largest US study to document the influence of pregnancy and post-natal factors on the health of children. Blood pressure measured in the children at age 7 years were converted to age-, sex-, and height-specific percentiles according to the American Academy of Pediatrics clinical practice guidelines. The analysis accounted for demographic factors as well as for childhood body mass index, to ensure that the findings were related to childhood blood pressure itself rather than a reflection of children who were overweight or had obesity.

After follow-up through an average age of 54 years, the analysis found: 

  • Children who had higher blood pressure (age-, sex-, and height-specific systolic or diastolic blood pressure percentile) at age 7 were more likely to die early from cardiovascular disease as adults by their mid-50s. The risk was highest for children whose blood pressure measurements were in the top 10% for their age, sex and height.
  • By 2016, a total of 2,837 participants died, with 504 of those deaths attributed to cardiovascular disease.
  • Both elevated blood pressure (90-94th percentile) and hypertension (≥ 95th percentile) were linked with about a 40% to 50% higher risk of early cardiovascular death in adulthood.
  • Moderate elevations in blood pressure were also important, even among children whose blood pressure was still within the normal range. Children who had blood pressures that were moderately higher than average had a 13% (for systolic) and 18% (for diastolic) higher risk of premature cardiovascular death.
  • Analysis of the 150 clusters of siblings in the CPP found that children with the higher blood pressure at age 7 had similar increases in risk of cardiovascular death when compared to their siblings with the lower blood pressure readings (15% increase for systolic and 19% for diastolic), indicating that their shared family and early childhood environment could not fully explain the impact of blood pressure.

“Even in childhood, blood pressure numbers are important because high blood pressure in children can have serious consequences throughout their lives. It is crucial to be aware of your child’s blood pressure readings,” Freedman said.

The study has several limitations, primarily that the analysis included one, single blood pressure measurement for the children at age seven, which may not capture variability or long-term patterns in childhood blood pressure. In addition, participants in the CPP were primarily Black or white, therefore the study’s findings may not be generalisable to children of other racial or ethnic groups. Also, children today are likely to have different lifestyles and environmental exposures than the children who participated in the CPP in the 1960s and 1970s.

Study details, background and design:  

  • 38 252 children born to mothers enrolled at one of 12 sites across the U.S. as part of the Collaborative Perinatal Project between 1959-1965. 50.7% of participants were male; 49.4% of mothers self-identified as Black, 46.4% reported as white; and 4.2% of participants were Hispanic, Asian or other groups.
  • This analysis reviewed blood pressure taken at age 7, and these measures were converted to age-, sex-, and height-specific percentiles according to the American Academy of Pediatrics Clinical Practice Guideline for Screening and Management of High Blood Pressure in Children and Adolescents.
  • Survival through 2016 and the cause of death for the offspring of CPP participants in adulthood were retrieved through the National Death Index.
  • Survival analysis was used to estimate the association between childhood blood pressure and cardiovascular death, adjusted for childhood body mass index, study site, and mother’s race, education and marital status.
  • In addition, the sample included 150 groups of siblings, and the researchers examined whether the sibling with higher blood pressure was more likely to die of cardiovascular disease than the sibling with lower blood pressure. This sibling analysis allowed researchers to ask how much shared family and early childhood factors might account for the mortality risk related to blood pressure.  

Source: American Heart Association

Categories : Cardiovascular DiseaseTags :

Inflammation Marker May ID Unaccounted-for Cardiovascular Risk in Women

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Cardiologists have long known that up to half of all heart attacks and strokes occur among apparently healthy individuals who do not smoke and do not have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes, the “standard modifiable risk factors” which doctors often call “SMuRFs.” How to identify risk among the “SMuRF-Less” has been an elusive goal in preventive cardiology, particularly in women who are often under-diagnosed and under-treated.

A new study by Mass General Brigham researchers that leverages data from the Women’s Health Study has found hsCRP, a marker of inflammation, can help identify women who are at risk but are missed by current screening algorithms. Results are presented at a late-breaking clinical science session at the European Society of Cardiology Congress (ESC) and simultaneously published in The European Heart Journal.

“Women who suffer from heart attacks and strokes yet have no standard modifiable risk factors are not identified by the risk equations doctors use in daily practice,” said Paul Ridker, MD, MPH, a preventive cardiologist at Mass General Brigham’s Heart and Vascular Institute. “Yet our data clearly show that apparently healthy women who are inflamed are at substantial lifetime risk. We should be identifying these women in their 40s, at a time when they can initiate preventive care, not wait for the disease to establish itself in their 70s when it is often too late to make a real difference.”

As part of the federally funded study, researchers studied 12 530 initially healthy women with no standard modifiable risk factors who had the inflammatory biomarker hsCRP measured at study entry and who were then followed over 30 years. Despite the lack of traditional risks, women who were inflamed as defined by hsCRP levels > 3 mg/L had a 77% increased lifetime risk of coronary heart disease, a 39% increased lifetime risk of stroke, and a 52% increased lifetime risk of any major cardiovascular event.

Additionally, researchers released a new analysis of randomised trial data showing that “SMuRF-Less but Inflamed” patients can reduce their risk of heart attack and stroke by 38% using statin therapy.

“While those with inflammation should aggressively initiate lifestyle and behavioural preventive efforts, statin therapy could also play an important role in helping reduce risk among these individuals,” said Ridker.

Source: Mass General Brigham

Categories : Cardiovascular Disease Mental HealthTags :

A Connection Between Mental Health and Heart Disease, Increased Mortality Risks

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Every 34 seconds, someone in the United States dies from heart disease. As nearly half of the country suffers from some form of cardiovascular disease (CVD), another 1 in 4 adults experience a mental health disorder in their lifetime, signalling an inevitable overlap.

Now, a new report from Emory University shows that certain mental health conditions escalate the risk of developing heart disease by 50–100% – and adverse outcomes from existing heart conditions by 60–170%.

The report, published in The Lancet Regional Health-Europe, summarises cardiovascular health disparities among those diagnosed with depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, bipolar and post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD). The article is part of a series aiming to raise awareness around disparities in CVD health in four populations: women, the elderly, racial minorities and those with mental health conditions.

Emory University professor Viola Vaccarino, MD, PhD, led this metareview linking mental health conditions to CVD, along with co-authors Amit Shah, MD, and Douglas Bremner, MD, also Emory professors.

The report associated the following conditions and their corresponding risks of developing CVD:

  • Major depression, 72%
  • PTSD, 57%
  • Bipolar disorder, 61%
  • Panic disorder, 50%
  • Phobic anxiety, 70%
  • Schizophrenia, nearly 100%

The research also shows that these conditions are associated with a poorer prognosis, greater risk for readmission and higher mortality from existing heart conditions. For example, major depression more than doubles the mortality rate in those with existing CVD.

Additionally, the report emphasises a bidirectional relationship. “More than 40 percent of those with cardiovascular disease also have a mental health condition,” adds Vaccarino.

The physiology of stress

According to the report, a well-documented relationship exists among depression, schizophrenia, PTSD, and abnormal stress responses in the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal axis (HPA).

The former allows the brain to manage involuntary responses, such as functions of the liver, heart, sweat glands, and eye muscles. ANS also manages both acceleration and deceleration of these functions, regulating inflammatory responses. Since most major organs have ANS nerve endings, this system impacts most bodily functions.

The hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal axis (HPA) also influences immune response and metabolism, which can impact cardiovascular function.

According to the report, dysregulation of these systems creates “adverse downstream effects that can affect cardiovascular risk chronically, including increased inflammation, metabolic abnormalities, high blood pressure, enhanced systemic vascular resistance and autonomic inflexibility.” Inflammation has also been implicated in both the development of heart disease and mental health conditions.

Social determinants and quality of care

The role of social determinants of health in CVD disparities is critical. Those with mental health conditions may face disruptions and barriers in the continuum of care, such as affordability and accessibility. Compromised health literacy or communication can also impede access to health screenings and treatment.

Clinicians could also be challenged to care for patients with certain mental conditions, which can be compounded by stigma and existing models that fragment mental and physical health care. Stigmas are also present in the field of clinical research, where having a mental health condition is often an exclusionary criterion in randomised trials.

Moreover, according to the report, current prediction models don’t account for mental health disorders when forecasting the risk of developing heart disease.

Next steps toward a healthier future

To address the disparities of CVD among people with mental health disorders, the authors recommend an integrated approach with interdisciplinary care encompassing behavioural, mental and cardiovascular health.

“The tight connection between cardiovascular and psychological health warrants changes in the health care system that are more amenable to patients with comorbidities,” says Vaccarino. “A clinical team would be ideal for the care of these patients – a team of specialists, social workers, and nursing staff who work in collaboration to provide multidisciplinary care and resources.” 

The report concludes that closing the health disparity gap upholds the rights of those living with a mental health condition to achieve the highest level of health and fully participate in society. 

Source: Emory University

Categories : Cardiovascular Disease Metabolic DisordersTags :

Study Finds Higher Cardiovascular Risk for One Particular Sulfonylurea

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New research from investigators at Mass General Brigham suggests that a commonly used type 2 diabetes medication is linked to a higher rate of heart-related conditions compared to medications that hit other targets. The study examined nationwide data from nearly 50,000 patients treated with different sulfonylureas and found that glipizide – the most widely used drug in the US within this category, but not available in South Africa – was linked to higher incidence of heart failure, related hospitalisation and death compared to dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors. Results are published in JAMA Network Open.

“Patients with type 2 diabetes are at heightened risk of adverse cardiovascular incidents such as stroke and cardiac arrest,” said corresponding author Alexander Turchin, MD, MS, of the Division of Endocrinology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH), a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system. “While sulfonylureas are popular and affordable diabetes medications, there is a lack of long-term clinical data on how they affect cardiac health in comparison to more neutral alternatives like dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitors.”

Turchin and co-authors emulated a target trial by analysing electronic health records and insurance claims data from the BESTMED consortium. The cohort included 48 165 patients with type 2 diabetes and moderate cardiovascular risk who received care at 10 different study sites across the country, including BWH, as well as those covered by two different national health insurance plans.

The researchers studied the five-year risk of major adverse cardiovascular events in patients treated with different sulfonylureas (glimepiride, glipizide or glyburide) or DPP4i in addition to metformin, a primary diabetes medication. They found that glipizide was associated with a 13% increase in cardiovascular risk when compared to DPP4i, while glimepiride and glyburide led to relatively smaller and less clear effects, respectively. The authors propose that further research is needed to uncover the underlying mechanisms.

“Our study underscores the importance of evaluating each drug in a particular pharmacological class on its own merits,” said Turchin. 

Source: Mass General Brigham

Categories : Cardiovascular DiseaseTags :

P2Y12 Drugs Preferable to Aspirin for CVD Prevention in Coronary Artery Disease

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Findings support use of P2Y12 therapy instead of aspirin for long term prevention

Source: Wikimedia CC0

Giving a P2Y12 inhibitor anti-clotting drug to patients with coronary artery disease is associated with lower rates of cardiovascular death, heart attack and stroke compared with traditional aspirin, with no increased risk of major bleeding, finds a study published by The BMJ.

P2Y12 inhibitors are often given to patients alongside aspirin (“dual therapy”) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) – a procedure to widen or unblock a coronary artery – to help prevent cardiovascular events including heart attack and stroke.

After several months, patients are usually switched from dual therapy to lifelong aspirin, but some trials have suggested that a P2Y12 inhibitor may be more effective for long term prevention than aspirin.

To explore this further, researchers analysed individual patient data from five randomised clinical trials involving 16 117 patients (average age 65; 24% women) who were assigned to a P2Y12 inhibitor (clopidogrel or ticagrelor) or aspirin after completing dual therapy following PCI.

After an average follow-up period of around 4 years, P2Y12 inhibitor therapy was associated with a 23% lower risk of an outcome that combined cardiovascular death, heart attack, or stroke, compared with aspirin, with no significant difference in major bleeding. This means that for every 46 patients taking a P2Y12 inhibitor instead of aspirin after dual therapy, one cardiovascular death, heart attack, or stroke would be prevented.

When considering outcomes individually, P2Y12 inhibitor therapy reduced heart attacks and stroke compared with aspirin. However, all-cause death, cardiovascular death, and stent thrombosis were similar between the treatments.

The researchers acknowledge that some changes in the original design of some trials were needed to create uniform data, and that certain characteristics of individual trial populations may reduce the generalisability of the findings.

But they say no significant difference in major bleeding between groups was seen, and results were consistent after further analyses accounting for factors such as age, sex, geographical region, smoking, previous heart attack or stroke, underlying conditions and medication history, suggesting they are robust.

“Overall, this study supports preferential P2Y12 inhibitor monotherapy prescription over aspirin due to reductions in major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) without increasing major bleeding in the medium term,” say researchers in a linked editorial.

However, they note that “medium term efficacy does not necessarily extend lifelong, which is the duration we advise patients to continue these medications.”

As such, they suggest that “a large-scale globally representative trial directly comparing different monotherapy strategies (including discontinuation) with extended follow-up would benefit our understanding of the long-term impact of P2Y12 inhibitor monotherapy across the treatment class for secondary prevention following PCI.”

Source: BMJ Group

Categories : Cardiovascular Disease Obstetrics & GynaecologyTags :

Premenstrual Symptoms Linked to Increased Risk of Cardiovascular Disease

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Women diagnosed with premenstrual symptoms have a slightly increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease later in life. This is shown by a new study from Karolinska Institutet published in Nature Cardiovascular Research.

Premenstrual symptoms include premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and the more severe form, premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). The symptoms, which appear a few days before menstruation and then subside, can be both psychological and physical.

The study included more than 99 000 women with premenstrual symptoms who were followed for up to 22 years. The researchers compared their health with women without these symptoms – both in the general population and by comparing them with their own sisters to take into account hereditary factors and upbringing.

The results show that women with premenstrual symptoms had about a ten per cent higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease. When the researchers also looked at different types of cardiovascular disease, they found that the link was particularly strong for heart rhythm disorders (arrhythmias), where the risk was 31 per cent higher, and for stroke caused by a blood clot, where the risk was 27 per cent higher. Even after the researchers took into account other factors such as smoking, BMI and mental health, the link between premenstrual symptoms and increased disease risk remained.

”The increased risk was particularly clear in women who were diagnosed before the age of 25 and in those who had also experienced postnatal depression, a condition that can also be caused by hormonal fluctuations,” says first author Yihui Yang, PhD student at the Institute of Environmental Medicine.

Research has not yet identified the cause of this link, but the researchers behind the study suggest three possible explanations. One is that women with premenstrual symptoms may have a disrupted regulation of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS), which controls blood pressure and fluid balance in the body, among other things. The second is that these women have increased levels of inflammation in the body, which is a known risk factor for atherosclerosis and other heart problems. Finally, it may be because women with premenstrual symptoms may have metabolic abnormalities, which are linked to an increased risk of both stroke and heart attack.

”We hope that our findings will contribute to greater awareness that premenstrual disorders not only affect daily life but can also have consequences for long-term health,” says last author Donghao Lu, associate professor at the same department.

Source: Karolinska Institutet

Categories : Obstetrics & GynaecologyTags :

Age at Menarche Can Offer Clues About Long-term Health Risks

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Photo by Marta Branco

The age of menarche can offer valuable clues about a woman’s long-term risk for conditions like obesity, diabetes, heart disease and reproductive health issues, according to a study being presented Sunday at ENDO 2025, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in San Francisco.

The Brazilian study found that both early and late menarche – the age when women first get their period– are linked to different health risks. Women who had their first period before age 10 were more likely to develop obesity, hypertension, diabetes, heart problems and reproductive issues like pre-eclampsia later in life. Women who started their period after age 15 were less likely to be obese but had a higher risk of menstrual irregularities and certain heart conditions.

“We now have evidence from a large Brazilian population that confirms how both early and late puberty can have different long-term health impacts,” said study author Flávia Rezende Tinano of the University of Sao Paulo in Sao Paulo, Brazil. “While early menarche increases the risk for multiple metabolic and heart problems, late menarche may protect against obesity but increase certain heart and menstrual issues. Most women can remember when they had their first period, but they might not realise that it could signal future health risks. Understanding these links can help women and their doctors be more proactive about preventing conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease.” 

Tinano said the study is one of the largest of its kind in a developing country, providing valuable data on a topic that has mostly been studied in wealthier countries. “It highlights how early and late puberty can affect a woman’s long-term health, especially in underrepresented populations like those in Latin America,” she said.

The study was part of the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brazil) and evaluated data from 7623 women ages 35 to 74. The age of their first period was categorised as early (less than 10 years old), typical (ages 10 to 15) or late (older than 15). They assessed the women’s health through interviews, physical measurements, lab tests and ultrasound imaging.

“Our findings suggest that knowing a woman’s age at her first period can help doctors identify those at higher risk for certain diseases,” Tinano said. “This information could guide more personalised screening and prevention efforts. It also emphasises the importance of early health education for young girls and women, especially in developing countries.”

Source: The Endocrine Society

Categories : Cardiovascular DiseaseTags :

Whether It’s Smoking or Edibles, Marijuana Is Bad for the Heart

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A new study led by UC San Francisco researchers finds that chronic cannabis use, whether it’s smoked or consumed in edible form, is associated with significant cardiovascular risks.

The report, published in JAMA Cardiology, found that people who regularly used marijuana in either form had reduced blood vessel function that was comparable to tobacco smokers. Vascular function in those who used cannabis by either means was reduced roughly by half compared to those who did not use it.

Decreased vascular function is associated with a greater risk of heart attack, hypertension, and other cardiovascular conditions.

The researchers recruited 55 people between October 2021 and August 2024 who were outwardly healthy and either regularly smoked marijuana or consumed edibles containing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the primary psychoactive compound found in cannabis.

The participants, none of whom used any form of nicotine, consumed cannabis at least three times a week for at least a year. Smokers averaged 10 years of chronic use, and those who took edibles averaged five years.

Along with decreased vascular function, marijuana smokers had changes in their blood serum that were harmful to endothelial cells, which form the inner lining of all blood and lymphatic vessels. Those who took edibles containing THC, however, did not display these changes in blood serum.

It’s unclear how THC damages blood vessels. But the researchers said it must be happening in a way that does not involve those changes to blood serum.

These results suggest smoking marijuana negatively affects vascular function for different reasons than ingesting THC does, according to first author Leila Mohammadi, MD, PhD, and senior author Matthew L. Springer, PhD.

Source: University of California – San Francisco