Epidemiology

One of the basic building blocks of understanding disease is epidemiologic research. In this science, researchers seek to understand how often a condition occurs in [...]

ROCHESTER, Minn.— After celebrating its 50th anniversary in May 2016, the Rochester Epidemiology Project team is not stopping to rest. Instead, they are marking the [...]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aA_8jbqIIiw&feature=youtu.be&hd=1 Journalists: Sound bites with Dr. Rocca are in the downloads. ROCHESTER, Minn. — A collaborative study by researchers from Mayo Clinic, Olmsted Medical Center and Johns Hopkins University has measured multimorbidity — multiple diseases or medical conditions co-occurring in a single patient — and has determined which combinations of medical conditions are more prevalent by age, sex, and race/ethnicity in a geographically-defined Midwestern population. Investigators say that their findings, published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, are valuable in light of the aging population, the need to plan and prioritize health care interventions, and have broad implications for clinical research. Using a list of 20 medical conditions developed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the research team accessed records for over 138,000 persons who lived in Olmsted County, Minnesota, during 2010 via the Rochester Epidemiology Project. They concluded that multimorbidity is fairly common in the general population; it increases steeply with older age; has different combinations in men and women; and varies by race/ethnicity. MEDIA CONTACT: Robert Nellis, Mayo Clinic Public Affairs, 507-284-5005, newsbureau@mayo.edu

Method may shed light on how to better gauge heart health in lupus, other inflammatory diseases Rochester, Minn. — Rheumatoid arthritis patients overall are twice as likely as the average person to develop heart problems. Pinpointing which rheumatoid arthritis patients need stepped-up heart disease prevention efforts has been a challenge; research by Mayo Clinic and others has found that standard heart disease risk assessment tools may underrate the danger a particular person faces. To better pinpoint rheumatoid arthritis patients’ heart disease risk, an international team that includes Mayo researchers has created a heart disease risk calculator tailored to rheumatoid arthritis. Details on the new method, known as the Transatlantic Cardiovascular Risk Calculator for Rheumatoid Arthritis, or ATACC-RA, were presented at the European League Against Rheumatism annual meeting June 11-14 in Paris. The research team includes institutions from around the United States, Canada, Mexico, South Africa and Europe; Mayo is gathering and analyzing the group’s data.

ROCHESTER, Minn. — March 11, 2014 — People who develop diabetes and high blood pressure in middle age are more likely to have brain cell loss and other damage to the brain, as well as problems with memory and thinking skills, than people who never have diabetes or high blood pressure or who develop it in old age, according to a new study published in the March 19, 2014, online issue of Neurology. Middle age was defined as age 40 to 64 and old age as age 65 and older. “Potentially, if we can prevent or control diabetes and high blood pressure in middle age, we can prevent or delay the brain damage that occurs decades later and leads to memory and thinking problems and dementia,” says study author and Mayo Clinic epidemiologist Rosebud Roberts M.B., Ch.B. For the study, the thinking and memory skills of 1,437 people with an average age of 80 were evaluated. The participants had either no thinking or memory problems or mild memory and thinking problems called mild cognitive impairment. They then had brain scans to look for markers of brain damage that can be a precursor to dementia. Participants’ medical records were reviewed to determine whether they had been diagnosed with diabetes or high blood pressure in middle age or later.

Journalists: Mayo experts are available for interviews. Contact  507-284-5005 or email:newsbureau@mayo.edu According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) most of the country is now experiencing high levels of influenza-like-illness.  Mayo Clinic specialists are offering advice and dispelling some misconceptions about the influenza to help people stay healthy. Here are some tips for avoiding illness:

• Wash your hands thoroughly and frequently with water and soap or alcohol-based hand sanitizer. This is particularly important before leaving the bathroom, eating or touching your face. A good rule of thumb is to wash your hands for 20 seconds, about as long as it takes to sing "Happy Birthday." Use a paper towel to shut off the faucet and open the door while in a public restroom. This will keep you from recontaminating your hands.
• Cover your cough with the crook of your elbow.
• Avoid others who are sick, and stay home from work or school if you are ill. Dr. Bhide recommends visiting the doctor if you are part of the high-risk group for flu or around someone who is at risk.
• Don't smoke.
• Keep your vaccines up to date. Aside from the seasonal flu shot, the most important vaccines include measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) and the relatively new Tdap, for tetanus, diphtheria and acellular pertussis (whooping cough).

The 18 tender points associated with fibromyalgia occur in symmetrical pairs from the back of your head to your inner [...]

It's the medical resource behind discoveries that have affected patients around the globe, treasured by researchers and funded by the National Institutes of Health for [...]

People over age 70 who eat high levels of carbohydrates are at higher risk of developing mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Consuming large amounts of sugar also seem to increase the risk [...]

You can add lower gastrointestinal problems like ulcers, bleeding and perforations to the list of serious complications facing many rheumatoid arthritis patients.  In a recent [...]

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Researchers involved in the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging reported today that more than 6 percent of Americans age 70 to 89 develop mild cognitive impairment (MCI) every year. Also, the condition appears to affect men and those who only have a high school education more than women and those who have completed some higher education. People with MCI are at the stage between suffering the normal forgetfulness associated with aging and developing dementia, such as that caused by Alzheimer's disease.

VIDEO ALERT: Additional audio and video resources, including excerpts from an interview with Dr. Roberts describing the research, are available on the Mayo Clinic News Blog.

The study, "The Incidence of MCI Differs by Subtype and is Higher in Men," which was published in the Jan. 25, 2012, issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, reports that 296 of the 1,450 study participants developed MCI, an incidence rate of 6.4 percent per year overall. Among men, the incidence rate was 7.2 percent, compared with 5.7 percent per year for women. "While incidence rates for MCI have been reported previously, ours is one of the few studies designed specifically to measure the incidence of MCI and its subtypes using published criteria," says lead author Rosebud O. Roberts, M.B., Ch.B., of the Mayo Clinic Division of Epidemiology. "The statistically significant difference between incidence rates among men and women represents an important finding for those evaluating patients for MCI." The study also looked in more detail at patients with MCI, dividing them according to whether they developed amnestic MCI (aMCI) — in which the condition affects the memory domain — or non-amnestic MCI (naMCI).

Robert McWilliams, M.D., a Mayo Clinic medical oncologist and Gloria Petersen, PhD, a Mayo Clinic epidemiologist, published an editorial in the June 24 issue of [...]