Association between acetaminophen use and vitiligo in US women and men

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES

Exposure to chemical phenols, which can act as tyrosine analogues and result in anti-melanocyte autoimmunity, has been associated with vitiligo. Acetaminophen (N-acetyl-p-aminophenol) is an over-the-counter analgesic of phenolic origin. The risk of vitiligo with systemic exposure to acetaminophen has not yet been evaluated.

METHODS

We examined the risk of vitiligo with regular use acetaminophen in women, the Nurses' Health Study (NHS) and in men, the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (HPFS). Regular acetaminophen use was asked biennially from 1990 in NHS and from 1986 in HPFS, and the year of clinician-diagnosed vitiligo was asked retrospectively in 2012 in the cohorts.

RESULTS

In NHS, a total of 161 vitiligo cases were identified during a follow-up of 571,724 person-years; in HPFS, a total of 183 vitiligo cases were identified during a follow-up of 680,313 person-years. Regular use of acetaminophen was associated with an increased vitiligo risk in NHS but not HPFS. The multivariable relative risk (RR) was 1.52 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.03-2.25) in NHS and 1.09 (95% CI 0.76-1.55) in HPFS. The higher risk of vitiligo was similar by duration of acetaminophen use in women; the multivariable RRs were 1.47 (95% CI 0.98-2.21) for acetaminophen use under 5 years, and 1.78 (95% CI 1.11-2.84) for acetaminophen use over 5 years.

CONCLUSIONS

Acetaminophen may be associated with a higher risk of vitiligo in women.

Transition to a first suicide attempt among young and middle-aged males with a history of suicidal thoughts: A two-year cohort study

INTRODUCTION

Although many studies have examined the risk and protective factors associated with suicidal behavior, little is known about the probability of transition from suicidal thoughts to suicidal attempts and the factors that distinguish those who have suicidal thoughts from those who progress to a suicide attempt.

OBJECTIVES

To determine the probability and predictors of transition to a suicide attempt among young and middle-aged males with a history of suicidal thoughts but no prior history of attempting suicide.

METHODS

We used data from the first two waves of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Male Health, approximately two years apart. We followed the cohort of males aged 18-55 years who, at wave 1, reported a lifetime history of suicidal ideation but no history of a prior suicide attempt. We report transition probabilities to a first suicide attempt at Wave 2 and used logistic regression models to examine baseline predictors of transition to a first suicide attempt over the two-year period among males aged 18 years and older.

RESULTS

From the 1,564 males with suicidal thoughts at wave 1,140 participants (8.9%; 95% CI:7.6,10.5) reported to have had their first suicide attempt in the two-year period. In multivariate analyses, males aged 30-39 (OR=0.31; 95% CI: 0.16,0.60), 40-49 (OR=0.47; 95% CI:0.24,0.91) and 50-55 (OR=0.31; 95% CI: 0.13,0.73) all had lower odds of a first suicide attempt compared to males aged 18-29 years. The odds of a first suicide attempt were significantly higher for males who were: living in inner regional areas (ref: major cities) (OR=2.32; 95% CI: 1.33,4.04); homosexual or bisexual (OR=2.51; 95% CI: 1.17,5.36); working night shift as their main job (OR=1.75; 95% CI: 1.05,2.91); and, living with a disability (OR=1.99; 95% CI: 1.07,3.65). Clinical indicators such as symptoms of depression and illicit substance use were not significant predictors of transition to a first suicide attempt in multivariate models, nor were indicators of social connection.

CONCLUSION

We estimated that 8.9% of Australian males aged 15-55 years with a history of suicidal thoughts and no prior history of suicide attempts will progress to a first suicide attempt within two-years. Neither psychological distress, illicit substance use nor social connection indicators were correlated with transition to a first suicide attempt. Rather, it was socio-demographic indicators that were associated with transition to a first suicide attempt.

Neurofilament light as a predictive biomarker of unresolved chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy in subjects receiving paclitaxel and carboplatin

Management of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) remains a significant challenge in the treatment of cancer. Risk mitigation for CIPN involves preemptive reduction of cumulative dose or reduction of dose intensity upon emergence of symptoms, despite the risk of reduced tumor efficacy. A predictive biomarker for dose-limiting CIPN could improve treatment outcomes by allowing providers to make informed decisions that balance both safety and efficacy. To identify a predictive biomarker of CIPN, markers of neurodegeneration neurofilament-light (NfL), glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), tau and ubiquitin c-terminal hydrolase L1 (UCHL1) were assessed in serum of up to 88 subjects drawn 21 days following the first of 6 treatments with chemotherapeutics paclitaxel and carboplatin. Serum NfL and GFAP were increased with chemotherapy. Further, NfL change predicted subsequent onset of grade 2–3 CIPN during the remainder of the trial (mean treatment duration = 200 days) and trended toward stronger prediction of CIPN that remained unresolved at the end of the study. These results confirm previous reports that serum NfL is increased in CIPN and provide the first evidence that NfL can be used to identify subjects susceptible to dose-limiting paclitaxel and carboplatin induced CIPN prior to onset of symptoms.

Implementation of Evidence-Based Practices within Treatment-As-Usual and Evidence-Based Practice Initiatives

Publicly funded initiatives are underway to improve implementation of evidence-based practices (EBP) in youth mental health services. However, we know little about the success of these initiatives or about EBP implementation independent of such initiatives. We examined EBP implementation in a treatment as usual (TAU) state and in six states with publicly funded EBP initiatives (EBPIs). In Study 1, we examined providers' use of practices derived from the evidence base (PDEB) and their predictors among 780 providers in a TAU state. In Study 2, we conducted a systematic review of implementation strategies, outcomes, and predictors of EBP use in six state funded EBPIs. Study 1 suggests TAU providers use PDEB alongside practices without consistent research support; provider racial/ethnic minority status, learning theory orientation, and manual use predict greater PDEB use. Study 2 indicates EBPIs employ multiple recommended implementation strategies with variable outcomes across studies and measurement approaches. Predictors of EBP use in EBPIs also varied, though training, setting, and youth age were consistent predictors across studies. While sample differences and inconsistent measurement across studies made direct comparisons somewhat tenuous, rates of PDEB use in the TAU sample appeared similar to those in publicly funded EBPIs. However, two states reported comparisons with TAU samples and found higher EBP implementation under EBPI. Different predictors impacted EBP use in TAU versus EBPIs. Our findings highlight the need for improved evaluation of EBPIs including clear reporting standards for outcomes and more consistent, standardized measurement of EBP use in order to better understand and improve EBPIs.

Clinical Feasibility of Ultrafast Contrast-Enhanced T1-Weighted 3D-EPI for Evaluating Intracranial Enhancing Lesions in Oncology Patients: Comparison with Standard 3D MPRAGE Sequence

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Contrast-enhanced 3D T1WI is a preferred sequence for brain tumor imaging despite the long scan time. This study investigated the clinical feasibility of ultrafast contrast-enhanced T1WI by 3D echo-planar imaging compared with a standard contrast-enhanced 3D MPRAGE sequence for evaluating intracranial enhancing lesions in oncology patients.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Sixty-one patients in oncology underwent brain MR imaging including both contrast-enhanced T1WI, 3D-EPI and 3D MPRAGE, in a single examination session for evaluating intracranial tumors. Two neuroradiologists evaluated image quality, lesion conspicuity, diagnostic confidence, number and size of the lesions, and contrast-to-noise ratio measurements from the 2 different sequences.

RESULTS

Ultrafast 3D-EPI T1WI did not reveal significant differences in diagnostic confidence, contrast-to-noise ratio_{lesion/parenchyma}, and the number of enhancing lesions compared with MPRAGE (P > .05). However, ultrafast 3D-EPI T1WI revealed inferior image quality, inferior anatomic delineation and greater susceptibility artifacts with fewer motion artifacts than images obtained with MPRAGE. The mean contrast-to-noise ratio_WM/GM and visual conspicuity of the lesion on ultrafast 3D-EPI T1WI were lower than those of MPRAGE (P < .001).

CONCLUSIONS

Ultrafast 3D-EPI T1WI showed comparable diagnostic performance with sufficient image quality and a 7-fold reduction in scan time for evaluating intracranial enhancing lesions compared with standard MPRAGE, even though it was limited by an inferior image quality and frequent susceptibility artifacts. Therefore, we believe that ultrafast 3D-EPI T1WI may be a viable option in oncology patients prone to movement during imaging studies.

A whole-brain connectivity map of mouse insular cortex

The insular cortex (IC) plays key roles in emotional and regulatory brain functions and is affected across psychiatric diseases. However, the brain-wide connections of the mouse IC have not been comprehensively mapped. Here, we traced the whole-brain inputs and outputs of the mouse IC across its rostro-caudal extent. We employed cell-type-specific monosynaptic rabies virus tracings to characterize afferent connections onto either excitatory or inhibitory IC neurons, and adeno-associated viral tracings to label excitatory efferent axons. While the connectivity between the IC and other cortical regions was highly bidirectional, the IC connectivity with subcortical structures was often unidirectional, revealing prominent cortical-to-subcortical or subcortical-to-cortical pathways. The posterior and medial IC exhibited resembling connectivity patterns, while the anterior IC connectivity was distinct, suggesting two major functional compartments. Our results provide insights into the anatomical architecture of the mouse IC and thus a structural basis to guide investigations into its complex functions.

Genetic variants in the folate metabolic pathway genes predict cutaneous melanoma-specific survival

BACKGROUND

Folate metabolism plays an important role in DNA methylation and nucleic acid synthesis and thus may function as a regulatory factor in cancer development. Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have identified some single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with cutaneous melanoma-specific survival (CMSS), but no SNPs were found in genes involved in the folate metabolic pathway.

OBJECTIVES

To examine associations between SNPs in folate metabolic pathway genes and CMSS.

METHODS

We comprehensively evaluated 2645 (422 genotyped and 2223 imputed) common SNPs in folate metabolic pathway genes from a published GWAS of 858 patients from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and performed the validation in another GWAS of 409 patients from the Nurses' Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-up Study, in which 95/858 (11·1%) and 48/409 (11·7%) patients died of cutaneous melanoma, respectively.

RESULTS

We identified two independent SNPs (MTHFD1 rs1950902 G>A and ALPL rs10917006 C>T) to be associated with CMSS in both datasets, and their meta-analysis yielded an allelic hazards ratio of 1·75 (95% confidence interval 1·32-2·32, P = 9·96 × 10^-5 ) and 2·05 (1·39-3·01, P = 2·84 × 10^-4 ), respectively. The genotype-phenotype correlation analyses provided additional support for the biological plausibility of these two variants' roles in tumour progression, suggesting that variation in SNP-related mRNA expression levels is likely to be the mechanism underlying the observed associations with CMSS.

CONCLUSIONS

Two possibly functional genetic variants, MTHFD1 rs1950902 and ALPL rs10917006, were likely to be independently or jointly associated with CMSS, which may add to personalized treatment in the future, once further validated. What is already known about this topic? Existing data show that survival rates vary among patients with melanoma with similar clinical characteristics; therefore, it is necessary to identify additional complementary biomarkers for melanoma-specific prognosis. A hypothesis-driven approach, by pooling the effects of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in a specific biological pathway as genetic risk scores, may provide a prognostic utility, and genetic variants of genes in folate metabolism have been reported to be associated with cancer risk. What does this study add? Two genetic variants in the folate metabolic pathway genes, MTHFD1 rs1950902 and ALPL rs10917006, are significantly associated with cutaneous melanoma-specific survival (CMSS). What is the translational message? The identification of genetic variants will make a risk-prediction model possible for CMSS. The SNPs in the folate metabolic pathway genes, once validated in larger studies, may be useful in the personalized management and treatment of patients with cutaneous melanoma.

Association of blood mercury levels with nonmelanoma skin cancer in the U.S.A. using National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data (2003-2016)

BACKGROUND

Some studies have reported increased incidence or mortality of lung and brain cancers associated with occupations involving potential mercury exposure. Epidemiological evidence related to skin cancer is also limited.

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the association between blood mercury (Hg) levels and nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC).

METHODS

We used National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data from 2003 to 2016. The exposures were blood total (tHg), inorganic (iHg) and methylmercury (MeHg). The outcome was a self-reported diagnosis of NMSC. We included participants aged ≥ 20 years who had information on blood mercury and sociodemographic factors. We conducted a logistic regression analysis to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the risk of NMSC associated with quartiles of blood Hg, after adjusting for the sociodemographic factors and survey year.

RESULTS

The number of participants was 29 413; mean age was 49 years and 52% were female. Compared with those with a tHg ≤ 0·47 μg L^-1 (Q1), those with a tHg > 1·74 μg L^-1 (Q4) had nearly double the odds of NMSC (OR 1·79, 95% CI 1·19-2·71; P_trend = 0·004). Similarly, those in the highest quartile of MeHg (> 1·44 μg L^-1 ) had 1·7 times greater odds of NMSC (OR 1·74, 95% CI 1·13-2·70; P_trend = 0·01) than those in the lowest quartile (≤ 0·21 μg L^-1 ). iHg levels were nonsignificantly positively associated with NMSC (P_trend = 0·08).

CONCLUSIONS

We found that higher blood tHg and MeHg levels were associated with a higher prevalence of NMSC. Linked Comment: Taylor. Br J Dermatol 2020; 183:413-414.

Do severe maternal morbidity and adequate prenatal care affect the delivery cost? A nationwide cohort study for 11 years with follow up

OBJECTIVE

To explore whether severe maternal morbidity (SMM) and adequate prenatal care (PNC) affect delivery cost.

DESIGN

Population-based retrospective cohort study.

SETTING

National Health Insurance Service National Sample Cohort in Korea.

POPULATION

A total of 90 035 deliveries in 2003 and 2013.

METHODS

Severe maternal morbidity was determined using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's algorithm. Delivery medical costs were calculated by estimating claimed total medical costs using year-specific inflation adjustment factors. Adequate PNC was estimated by the Kessner Adequacy of Prenatal Care Index. To estimate adjusted mean delivery medical costs related to SMM, we applied a generalised estimating equation model with log link and γ distribution, by adjusting for all covariates.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Delivery cost was calculated by estimating claimed total medical cost during delivery hospitalisation using year-specific inflation.

RESULTS

Of the 90 035 deliveries, 2041 (2.27%) involved SMM. Women with SMM had a greater adjusted mean cost of delivery (US$ 1,263, 95% CI US$ 1,196-1,334) than those without (US$ 740, 95% CI US$ 729-750). Interestingly, women who had inadequate PNC had higher delivery medical costs than those with adequate PNC, adjusted for all covariates.

CONCLUSION

Delivery involving SMM was associated with nearly doubled medical costs. Additionally, inadequate PNC increased the medical costs of delivery. The current study confirmed the burden of SMM and found that adequate PNC might be a useful preventive factor in reducing medical costs.

TWEETABLE ABSTRACT

We found that women with severe maternal morbidity and inadequate prenatal care had increased medical costs during delivery hospitalisation.

Diagnosis validation and clinical characterization of atopic dermatitis in Nurses' Health Study 2

BACKGROUND

Epidemiologic studies of atopic dermatitis (AD) are often limited by case definitions that have not been validated.

OBJECTIVE

In this study, we assessed the accuracy of self-report of AD in a large cohort of US female nurses, the Nurses' Health Study 2 (NHS2). We also provide clinical characteristics of AD in the cohort.

METHODS

We sent an electronic questionnaire to NHS2 participants who previously reported ever having a diagnosis of AD. This questionnaire was designed to confirm cases of AD using previously validated algorithms with >85% specificity. We assessed the association of AD with asthma, comparing the results when different definitions of AD were applied. We also inquired about various aspects of participants' AD.

RESULTS

Responses were received from 2509 of 5126 (49%) nurses who were sent the questionnaire, with an average age of 62. Most participants (1996/2509, 80%) reiterated their previously reported clinician diagnosis of AD. Application of the two diagnostic algorithms yielded confirmation of 1538 and 1293 prevalent cases, respectively. The association of AD with asthma was stronger when more stringent AD case definitions were applied. Participants generally reported mild disease (92% with ≤10% maximal body surface area involved) and a high proportion (57%) reported adult-onset disease.

CONCLUSIONS

Self-report of AD diagnosis has good reliability, and future analyses will be strengthened by our ability to conduct sensitivity analyses with refined confirmed AD subgroups.

Transient effect of mossy fiber stimulation on spatial firing of CA3 neurons

Strong hippocampal mossy fiber synapses are thought to function as detonators, imposing "teaching" signals onto CA3 neurons during new memory formation. For an empirical test of this long-standing view, we examined effects of optogenetically stimulating mossy fibers on spatial firing of CA3 neurons in freely-moving mice. We found that spatially restricted mossy fiber stimulation drives novel place-specific firing in some CA3 pyramidal neurons. Such neurons comprise only a minority, however, and many more CA3 neurons showed inhibited spatial firing during mossy fiber stimulation. Also, changes in spatial firing induced by mossy fiber stimulation, both activated and inhibited, reverted immediately upon stimulation termination, leaving CA3 place fields unaltered. Our results do not support the traditional view that mossy fibers impose teaching signals onto CA3 network, and show robustness of established CA3 spatial representations.

Gender differences, UV exposure and risk of lentigo maligna in a nationwide healthcare population cohort study

BACKGROUND

Our understanding of the relationship between ultraviolet (UV) radiation exposure and lentigo maligna (LM) has been largely derived from epidemiologic/clinical studies based on invasive melanoma. Recent studies have shown gender differences in melanocytic tumours incidence.

OBJECTIVE

To examine the association of UV light with LM by gender remains unclear.

METHODS

Two prospective cohort study [Nurses' Health Study (1980-2012)] and [Health Professionals Follow-up Study (1986-2010)] were analysed. All participants with LM or MIS, non-LM type were included in analysis. UV index at birth, age 15, and age 30 were calculated by gender. Lifetime UV flux was calculated. Hazard ratios (HRs) were calculated.

RESULTS

A total of 110 485 women from NHS and 41 015 men from HPFS were examined. A total of 281 LM and 776 melanoma in situ (MIS), non-LM cases were reported. Risk of LM increased with increasing UV flux exposure in multivariate-adjusted models for men (P for trend = 0.04), but not for women (P for trend = 0.91).

CONCLUSIONS

UV flux may be associated with LM in men but not in women.

Alcohol intake and risk of nonmelanoma skin cancer: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis

Nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC) comprises mainly basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC). The association between alcohol intake and NMSC has been inconclusive; therefore the objective of this study is to quantify the relationship between alcohol intake and NMSC using meta-analyses. A systematic literature search of PubMed and Embase was performed on 30 October 2016. Eligible articles were case-control or cohort studies that examined alcohol intake and risk of BCC or cSCC and reported relative risks (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Of the 307 articles identified, 13 case-control and cohort studies were included in the systematic review, including 95 241 NMSC cases (91 942 BCC and 3299 cSCC cases). A random-effects model was used to obtain summary RRs and 95% CIs for dose-response meta-analyses. For every 10-gram increase in ethanol intake per day, a positive association was found for both BCC (summary RR of 1·07; 95% CI 1·04-1·09) and cSCC (summary RR of 1·11; 95% CI 1·06-1·16). While there was evidence suggesting a nonlinear association for BCC, it may be due to the sparse data at higher alcohol intake levels. This meta-analysis found evidence that alcohol drinking is positively associated with both BCC and cSCC risk in a dose-dependent manner. These results should be interpreted with caution due to potential residual confounding. Nonetheless, because alcohol drinking is a prevalent and modifiable behaviour, it could serve as an important public health target to reduce the global health burden of NMSC.

Incident alopecia areata and vitiligo in adult women with atopic dermatitis: Nurses' Health Study 2

We aimed to determine the risk of alopecia areata (AA) and vitiligo associated with atopic dermatitis (AD) in a large cohort of US women, the Nurses' Health Study 2. We used logistic regression to calculate age- and multivariate-adjusted odds ratios to determine the risk of incident AA and vitiligo associated with AD diagnosed in or before 2009. A total of 87 406 and 87 447 participants were included in the AA and vitiligo analyses, respectively. A history of AD in 2009 was reported in 11% of participants. There were 147 incident cases of AA and 98 incident cases of vitiligo over 2 years of follow-up. AD was associated with increased risk of developing AA (OR 1.80, 95% CI 1.18-2.76) and vitiligo (OR 2.14, 95% CI 1.29-3.54) in multivariate models. In this study of US women, AD was associated with increased risk of incident vitiligo and AA in adulthood.

Abstract P5-14-10: Weekly doxorubicin and daily oral cyclophosphamide followed by nab-paclitaxel for adjuvant therapy of high-risk localized breast cancer

BACKGROUND: The addition of taxanes to anthracycline-based adjuvant chemotherapy has improved disease free survival (DFS) in women with high-risk early-stage breast cancer. Many studies have sought to optimize the dose intensity and density of these agents to produce improvements in outcome and tolerability. The purpose of this study was to assess the use of metronomic doxorubicin plus daily oral cyclophosphamide (AC) for 12 weeks followed by nab-paclitaxel (nP) for 12 weeks in this population. Those patients with Her2 positive disease were also given adjuvant trastuzumab.

METHODS: A non-randomized phase II clinical trial was designed to (1) test the DFS at 2 years compared to historical controls, (2) assess dose intensity delivered, (3) assess use of nP in the adjuvant setting, and (4) evaluate toxicities associated with the regimen. Overall survival (OS) was a secondary outcome. The dosing of A was 24mg/m2 IV qweek and C was 60mg/m2 oral daily; nP, 100mg/m2 IV qweek.

RESULTS: Sixty patients were enrolled on the study with a median follow-up of 6 years and a median age of 50 (range 30-69). 58% of patients had node positive disease. Receptor categories included hormone receptor positive (ER positive or PR positive) and HER2 negative (n=24; 40%); ER negative, PR negative, and HER2 negative (triple negative; n=19; 32%); or HER2 positive (n=17; 28%). DFS at 2 years was 93% (1 death, 3 recurrence) and at 6 years was 82%, comparable to historical controls. OS at 2 years and 6 years was 98% and 88%, respectively. Mean dose intensity was greater than 90% for AC and 88% for nP. Treatment was well-tolerated with the most common grade ≥3 toxicity being neutropenia and a 2% incidence of febrile neutropenia.

Disease-free survival and overall survival at 2 and 6 years 2 year 6 year  DFS %OS %DFS %OS %All patients93988288ER+ or PR+, HER2-921007979Triple negative89957989HER2+10010088100

CONCLUSSIONS: Patients achieved similar DFS to that seen in historical controls with similar rates of adverse events. Since nP dosing was 100 mg/m2, even with 88% dose intensity, the delivered taxane dose is greater than standard weekly paclitaxel. Notably disease control was particularly impressive in the triple negative subtype, which has been shown to benefit from nP over standard paclitaxel in the neoadjuvant setting in the GeparSepto (GBG 69) trial. Metronomic AC followed by nP is a safe, effective option for delivery of adjuvant chemotherapy for high-risk patients.

Citation Format: Cho E, Wu Q, Rubinstein L, Linden H, Gralow J, Specht J, Gadi V, Ellis G. Weekly doxorubicin and daily oral cyclophosphamide followed by nab-paclitaxel for adjuvant therapy of high-risk localized breast cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2016 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2016 Dec 6-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P5-14-10.

Atopic dermatitis is not independently associated with nonfatal myocardial infarction or stroke among US women

We aimed to determine the association between atopic dermatitis (AD) and cardiovascular events in the Nurses' Health Study 2, a cohort of US women. We used logistic regression models to calculate age- and multivariate-adjusted odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the associations between history of AD and nonfatal MI and nonfatal stroke. Of the 78 702 participants in our analysis, 7916 (10%) had a history of AD. There were 392 and 391 cases of nonfatal MI and stroke, respectively. AD was not associated with MI in age- or multivariate-adjusted analyses. AD was significantly associated with stroke in the age-adjusted analysis (OR 1.38, 95% CI 1.03-1.85). This was no longer significant in multivariate models that adjusted for hypertension, hypercholesterolemia and diabetes (OR 1.31, 95% CI 0.98-1.76) and atopic comorbidities (OR 1.17, 95% CI 0.86-1.58). AD was not independently associated with nonfatal MI or stroke in this study.