Suchergebnisse

<p class="Pa7"><strong>Objective: </strong>To examine the association of abdominal muscle area with coronary artery calcium (CAC) presence, extent, and pro­gression in a multi-ethnic cohort of older, community-dwelling post-menopausal women.</p><p class="Pa7"><strong>Design and Setting: </strong>Cross-sectional and longitudinal population-based cohort.</p><p class="Pa7"><strong>Participants: </strong>The sample comprised 179 non-Hispanic White women, 116 Filipina women and 144 African American women, all without known CVD, who underwent chest and abdominal computed tomography (CT) scans twice about four years apart for abdominal muscle and fat, as well as CAC.</p><p class="Pa7"><strong>Main Outcome Measures: </strong>CAC presence, extent and progression.</p><p class="Default"><strong>Results: </strong>There was a significant interaction of ethnicity with baseline oblique muscle area (p-for-interaction .01), and marginally significant interactions with baseline total and paraspinal muscle for change in CAC (p-for-interactions both .09). Among Fili­pina women, each standard deviation (SD) greater total muscle area was associated with a 26% (95% CI (-43%, -4%), <em>P</em>=.02) reduced rate of change in CAC; higher paraspinal and oblique muscle area were associated with a 24% (-38%, -6%, <em>P</em>=.01) and a 37% (-53%, -16%, <em>P</em>=.0002) reduced rate of change in CAC, respectively. These associations were not significant in African American or non-Hispanic White women. There were no significant associations of abdominal muscle with CAC presence or extent, nor were there significant ethnicity by muscle interactions in these models.</p><p class="Pa7"><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Among Filipina women, greater abdominal muscle mass is associated with a decreased rate of CAC progression. Higher muscle mass may be important for this group in reducing CVD outcomes. <em>Ethn Dis. </em>2015;25(4):435-442; doi:10.18865/ ed.25.4.435</p>

The California–Baja California border region is one of the most frequently traversed areas in the world with a shared population, environment, and health concerns. The Border Health Consortium of the Californias (the "Consortium") was formed in 2013 to bring together leadership working in the areas of public health, health care, academia, government, and the non-profit sector, with the goal of aligning efforts to improve health outcomes in the region. The Consortium utilizes a Collective Impact framework which supports a shared vision for a healthy border region, mutually reinforcing activities among member organizations and work groups, and a binational executive committee that ensures continuous communication and progress toward meeting its goals. The Consortium is comprised of four binational work groups which address human immunodeficiency virus, tuberculosis, obesity, and mental health, all mutual priorities in the border region. The Consortium holds two general binational meetings each year alternating between California and Baja California. The work groups meet regularly to share information, resources and provide binational training opportunities. Since inception, the Consortium has been successful in strengthening binational communication, coordination, and collaboration by providing an opportunity for individuals to meet one another, learn about each other systems, and foster meaningful relationships. With binational leadership support and commitment, the Consortium could certainly be replicated in other border jurisdictions both nationally and internationally. The present article describes the background, methodology, accomplishments, challenges, and lessons learned in forming the Consortium.