Katherine Mills

• Tulane University

During the COVID-19 pandemic, hypertensive patients had increased infection and healthcare disruption in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) with limited vaccine access. The objective of this report is to describe COVID-19 experiences and vaccination uptake among hypertensive patients in Colombia and Jamaica. A cross-sectional study of pa...

Background: Uncontrolled hypertension is a major public health challenge in low- and middle-income countries. The Hypertension Control Program in Argentina (HCPIA) showed that a community health worker-led multicomponent intervention was effective for blood pressure (BP) reduction in resource-limited settings, but whether the intervention was equa...

BACKGROUND Systolic blood pressure (SBP) lowering reduces major cardiovascular disease (CVD) and all-cause mortality. However, the optimal target for SBP lowering remains controversial. METHODS We included trials with random allocation to an SBP <130 mm Hg treatment target and CVD as the primary outcome. Data were extracted from each study indepen...

BACKGROUND Globally, only 13.8% of patients with hypertension have their blood pressure (BP) controlled. Trials testing interventions to overcome barriers to BP control have produced mixed results. Type of health care professional delivering the intervention may play an important role in intervention success. The goal of this meta-analysis is to de...

Background Higher cardiovascular health (CVH) score is associated with lower risks of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality in the general population. However, it is unclear whether cumulative CVH is associated with CVD, end‐stage kidney disease (ESKD), and death in patients with chronic kidney disease. Methods and Results Among individuals f...

Background Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, and Black populations are disproportionately affected. Black populations also have high rates of religiosity, which may be an important health motivator, but mechanisms are unclear. Objective We examined the relationship between perceived religious influence on h...

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of mortality in the United States and disproportionately impacts Black adults. Effective implementation of interventions to improve cardiovascular health in the Black community is needed to reduce health inequities. The Church-Based Health Intervention to Eliminate Health Inequalities in Cardiovascu...

Objective Black communities bear a disproportionate burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Barriers and facilitators for improving cardiovascular health (CVH) in churches with predominantly black congregations were explored through a qualitative needs assessment. Methods Four focus groups with church members (n=21), 1 with wellness coordinators (...

Introduction: Recent studies have shown that social determinants of health (SDoH) are related to all-cause and cardiovascular (CVD) mortality. However, the attribution of SDoH to all-cause and CVD mortality beyond behavioral and metabolic risk factors has not been quantified in the US general population. Methods: National Health and Nutrition Exami...

Introduction: Quantifying the contributions of 8 social determinants of health (SDOH) to US population-level premature cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality will aid in developing and implementing strategies to reduce the burden of CVD mortality for diverse populations. Hypothesis: Levels of unfavorable SDOH are more common in Black and Hispanic a...

Background: Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are at an increased risk for blood electrolyte imbalances and compromised cardiac and renal regulatory functions. Our objective is to characterize serum potassium trajectories in patients with CKD. Methods: Data from the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort Study were used to analyze 5,625 partic...

Introduction: Obesity in midlife is associated with an increased risk of cognitive decline. It remains unclear if there is a difference in cognitive function between individuals with obesity and metabolic dysfunction (metabolically abnormal obesity - MAO) versus those with metabolically healthy obesity (MHO). We assessed the relationship between MH...

Background: Despite the growing interest in the role of isolated left ventricular (LV) diastolic dysfunction in cardiac remodeling, little is known about its association with cognitive performance in midlife, prior to the onset of dementia. Hypothesis: We hypothesized that LV diastolic dysfunction and cardiac remodeling will be associated with cogn...

Background: Mitral regurgitation (MR) is more common in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) compared to the general population, However, longitudinal associations of MR and adverse outcomes in CKD, such as mortality and heart failure (HF), have not been well studied yet. Hypothesis/Aim: We aim to investigate the prevalence of MR and its asso...

Background: In 2022, the American Heart Association (AHA) updated the list of modifiable lifestyle factors most important for cardiovascular health to include sleep. Sleep disturbances, such as insomnia and sleep apnea, have been associated with an increased risk of incident cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, the relationship between sleep dura...

Background: Little is known about the relationship between carotid plaque formation and cognitive function in a middle-aged population. Hypothesis: We hypothesize that there will be an association between carotid atherosclerotic burden and cognitive function in middle-aged adults. Aim: The purpose of the present study is to examine the relationship...

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality is persistently higher in the Black population than in other racial and ethnic groups in the United States. Objective: To examine the degree to which social, behavioral, and metabolic risk factors are associated with CVD mortality and the extent to which racial differences in CVD mortality persi...

Background: The aim of this study was to pilot implementation of a postpartum 8-week Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP)-like intervention in Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) clinics. Methods: Participants had gestational diabetes mellitus in their most recent pregnancy, delivered 6 weeks-12 months prior t...

Background: Racial and ethnic disparities in mortality persist in the US population. We studied the contribution of social determinants of health (SDoH) to racial and ethnic disparities in premature death. Methods: A nationally representative sample of individuals aged 20-74 years who participated in the US National Health and Nutrition Examinat...

Background: Church-based interventions have been shown to reduce cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors and could reduce health disparities in groups with a high burden of CVD. We aim to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to determine the effectiveness of church-based interventions for CVD risk factor improvement and to examine the t...

Introduction: Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is a major risk factor for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and premature death. It remains unclear if abnormal serum potassium is associated with CKD progression. We assessed the prospective relationship between serum potassium with both CKD progression and all-cause mortality among participants with CKD in...

Introduction: CVD is the leading cause of death in the US. Black populations are disproportionately affected by CVD. Further, Black populations have substantially high rates of religiosity. Previous research has demonstrated a positive correlation between religiosity and health, but the mechanisms are unclear. In this study, we describe the relatio...

Introduction: Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are at an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) compared to the general population. The role that abnormal serum potassium plays in the risk of CVD in patients with CKD is unclear. Our objective is to examine the association of hypokalemia and hyperkalemia with risk for cardiovascula...

Introduction: Favorable neighborhood-level social determinants of health (SDOH) are associated with less cardiovascular disease risk, but there is limited research evaluating their influence on cardioprotective behaviors. We evaluated the association between neighborhood-level SDOH and cardioprotective behaviors among members of predominantly Black...

Introduction: Albuminuria, an early marker of kidney damage, is a risk factor for chronic kidney disease (CKD) progression, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and death. Dietary sodium is a risk factor for elevated blood pressure, CVD, and all cause-mortality. It is particularly important in patients with CKD due to increased salt-sensitivity. It is unc...

Introduction: Low-carbohydrate diets lead to weight loss and improvement in hemoglobin A1c and other cardiometabolic outcomes. However, there is limited research on how much of the glycemic effects of low-carbohydrate diets are mediated by weight loss. Hypothesis: The effect of a low-carbohydrate dietary intervention on hemoglobin A1c would be medi...

Introduction: Poor medication adherence is a major contributor to uncontrolled hypertension, the leading preventable risk factor for CVD and mortality worldwide. Simple and accessible tools are needed to quantify medication adherence. We developed a novel two-question adherence scale in the Implementation of Multifaceted Patient-Centered Treatment...

Background: Traditional cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors contribute to racial disparities in CVD mortality. However, there are scarce data on the role of social determinants in these disparities. Methods: A nationally representative sample of 50,808 individuals aged ≥20 years from NHANES 1999-2018 were included in the analysis. Data on soc...

Importance Low-carbohydrate diets decrease hemoglobin A 1c (HbA 1c ) among patients with type 2 diabetes at least as much as low-fat diets. However, evidence on the effects of low-carbohydrate diets on HbA 1c among individuals with HbA 1c in the range of prediabetes to diabetes not treated by diabetes medications is limited. Objective To study the...

Background: Low-carbohydrate diets decrease hemoglobin A1c among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. However, evidence on effects of low-carbohydrate diets on hemoglobin A1c among individuals with prediabetes is limited. Methods: We conducted a randomized parallel-group trial of 150 adults aged 40-70 years with untreated hemoglobin A1c from 6.0...

Objective: To describe the NHLBI sponsored Disparities Elimination through Coordinated Interventions to Prevent and Control Heart and Lung Disease (DECIPHeR) Alliance to support late-stage implementation research aimed at reducing disparities in communities with high burdens of cardiovascular and/or pulmonary disease. Study setting: NHBLI funded...

Background: New estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) equations removed race adjustment, but the impact of its removal on prediction of end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) is unknown. Objective: To compare the ESKD prediction performance of different eGFR equations. Design: Observational, prospective cohort study. Setting: 7 U.S. clinical...

Deceleration in the decline of cardiovascular disease mortality has been observed recently in the US. We aimed to examine the recent secular trends of cardiovascular health metrics in the US general population. A total of 32,832 adults aged ≥20 years from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys 2007 to 2018 were included in this analy...

Background The inclusion of race in equations to estimate the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) has become controversial. Alternative equations that can be used to achieve similar accuracy without the use of race are needed. Methods In a large national study involving adults with chronic kidney disease, we conducted cross-sectional analyses of base...

Introduction: Prorenin, a precursor of renin, and renin play an important role in regulation of the renin-angiotensin system. More recently, receptor-bound prorenin has been shown to activate intracellular signaling pathways that mediate fibrosis, independent of angiotensin II. Prorenin and renin may thus be of physiologic significance in CKD, but...

Introduction Management of CKD entails high medical complexity and often results in high hospitalization burden. There are limited data on the associations of longitudinal hospital utilization patterns with adverse clinical outcomes in individuals with CKD. Methods We derived cumulative all-cause hospitalization trajectory groups using latent clas...

Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality globally. Strong evidence supports the importance of diet and other lifestyle factors in preventing T2DM. Among individuals with T2DM, low-carbohydrate diets lead to decreases in hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c). However, research on the effects of low-carbohydrate diets...

Background The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic disproportionately affects individuals with hypertension and health disparities. Methods and Results We assessed experiences and beliefs of low‐income and minority patients with hypertension during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Participants (N=587) from the Implementation of Multifaceted Patient...

• Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality globally. Strong evidence supports the importance of diet and other lifestyle factors in preventing T2DM. Among individuals with T2DM, low-carbohydrate diets lead to decreases in hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c). However, research on the effects of low-carbohydrate diet...

Introduction: Globally, only 13.8% of hypertensive patients have their blood pressure (BP) controlled. Trials testing implementation strategies to overcome barriers to BP control have produced mixed results. Providers who deliver the intervention may play an important role in implementation strategy success. This meta-analysis aimed to determine wh...

Importance: Despite extensive knowledge of hypertension treatment, the prevalence of uncontrolled hypertension is high and increasing in low- and middle-income countries. Objective: To test whether a community health worker-led multicomponent intervention would improve blood pressure (BP) control among low-income patients with hypertension. Des...

Importance Clinical trials have documented that lowering blood pressure reduces cardiovascular disease and premature deaths. However, the optimal target for reduction of systolic blood pressure (SBP) is uncertain. Objective To assess the association of mean achieved SBP levels with the risk of cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality in adul...

Introduction: Globally, only 13.8% of adults with hypertension have controlled blood pressure (BP). Effective strategies are needed to overcome barriers to BP control. The overall objective is to determine the comparative-effectiveness of implementation strategies to reduce BP in adults with hypertension. Methods: We searched Medline and Embase (th...

In Reply In response to Dr Hursitoglu, we found that the urinary sodium to potassium excretion ratio was not significantly associated with CVD in our study (P for trend = .11). This is likely due to the lack of an inverse association between urinary potassium and CVD among patients with CKD. We additionally adjusted for urinary potassium excretion...

This report presents findings of an ad hoc working group assembled by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) to assess research needs to improve prevention, treatment, and control of hypertension among African Americans. Non-Hispanic Blacks (African American and Black will be used for US and international studies, respectively) tend...

Background: Hypertension is the leading preventable cause of premature death worldwide. We examined global disparities of hypertension prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control in 2010 and compared secular changes from 2000 to 2010. Methods: We searched MEDLINE from 1995 through 2014 and supplemented with manual searches of retrieved article...

Colorectal cancer is one of the most common cancers worldwide. However, it is unclear what influence body mass index (BMI) has on colorectal cancer prognosis. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies to examine the association of BMI with colorectal cancer outcomes. We searched MEDLINE and EMBASE databases from in...

Importance: Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are at an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) compared with the general population. Prior studies have produced contradictory results on the association of dietary sodium intake with risk of CVD, and this relationship has not been investigated in patients with CKD. Objective: To e...

Introduction: Hypertension is the leading preventable cause of premature death worldwide. We aimed to examine the global disparities of hypertension prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control in 2010 and compare secular changes in these disparities from 2000 to 2010. Methods: We searched MEDLINE from January 1995 to December 2014 and supplemente...

CKD is a major risk factor for ESRD, cardiovascular disease, and premature death. Whether dietary sodium and potassium intake affect CKD progression remains unclear. We prospectively studied the association of urinary sodium and potassium excretion with CKD progression and all-cause mortality among 3939 patients with CKD in the Chronic Renal Insuff...

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a major risk factor for end-stage renal disease, cardiovascular disease, and premature death. Here we estimated the global prevalence and absolute burden of CKD in 2010 by pooling data from population-based studies. We searched MEDLINE (January 1990 to December 2014), International Society of Nephrology Global Outrea...

The interrelationship of multiple endothelial biomarkers and chronic kidney disease (CKD) has not been well studied. We measured asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), L-arginine, soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1), soluble vascular adhesion molecule-1 (sVCAM-1), soluble E-selectin (sE-selectin), von Willebrand factor (vWF), flow-medi...

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a major risk factor for end-stage renal disease, cardiovascular disease, and premature death. Objective: We studied the association of urinary sodium and potassium excretion with CKD progression and all-cause mortality. Method: The Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort Study is a multicenter prospective coho...

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a major risk factor for end-stage renal disease, cardiovascular disease and premature death. We estimated the global prevalence and absolute burden of CKD in 2010 by pooling data from population-based studies. Methods: We searched MEDLINE (January 1990 to June 2014), International Society of Nephrology Gl...

Background: Hypertension is the leading preventable cause of premature death worldwide. Objective: We estimated the prevalence, awareness, treatment and control of hypertension worldwide in 2010 and compared the global burden of hypertension in 2000 and 2010. Method: We searched MEDLINE for published reports from January 2001 to June 2014 and suppl...

Background: Hypertension is an important global health challenge due to its high prevalence and resulting cardiovascular disease and chronic kidney disease. Hypertension is the leading preventable risk factor for premature death and disability worldwide. Objective: We estimated the prevalence, awareness, treatment and control of hypertension worldw...

Introduction: Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are at an increased risk of CVD compared to the general population. Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is an independent risk factor for CVD in the general population and in CKD patients. In the general population, sodium (Na) excretion is directly associated with LVH. However, this associati...

: Although the efficacy and effectiveness of lifestyle modifications and antihypertensive pharmaceutical treatment for the prevention and control of hypertension and concomitant cardiovascular disease have been demonstrated in randomized controlled trials, this scientific knowledge has not been fully applied in the general population, especially in...

Introduction: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients are at an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) compared to the general population. Prior studies have produced contradictory results for the associations of sodium and potassium intake with the risk of CVD. In addition, these associations have not been investigated in patients with CKD....

Introduction: Observational studies have reported that a decrease in blood pressure (BP) within the first several days after stroke onset was associated with poorer, better, or no difference in adverse clinical outcomes among patients with acute ischemic stroke. Hypothesis: We investigated the association of immediate BP lowering in acute ischemic...

Exaggerated blood pressure (BP) reactivity to the cold pressor test (CPT) has been associated with increased risk of hypertension and cardiovascular disease. We examined the association between estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and BP reactivity to the CPT among the participants of the Genetic Epidemiology Network of Salt Sensitivity (Gen...

Introduction: Chronic kidney disease is a major risk factor for end-stage renal disease, cardiovascular disease, and premature death. There are scarce data on the effects of dietary sodium and potassium intake on the development and progression of chronic kidney disease. Hypothesis: We investigated the prospective association of urinary sodium and...

This study aimed to examine genomic loci of type 2 diabetes (T2D) initially identified by genome-wide association studies in populations of European ancestry for their associations with T2D and quantitative glycemic traits, as well as their effects on longitudinal change in fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and T2D development, in the Chinese population...

Introduction: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients are at an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) compared to the general population. Prior studies have produced contradictory results for the associations of sodium and potassium intake with the risk of CVD. In addition, these associations have not been investigated in patients with CKD....

Diabetes mellitus is associated with an increased incidence of colorectal cancer, but the impact of diabetes mellitus on colorectal cancer prognosis is not clear. We conducted a meta-analysis of observational studies to examine the association between preexisting diabetes mellitus and colorectal cancer all-cause mortality, cancer-specific mortality...

Adipokines have been associated with atherosclerotic heart disease, which shares many common risk factors with chronic kidney disease (CKD), but their relationship with CKD has not been well characterized. We investigated the association of plasma leptin, resistin and adiponectin with CKD in 201 patients with CKD and 201 controls without. CKD was d...

In the Genetic Epidemiology Network of Salt Sensitivity (GenSalt) study, we observed that blood pressure (BP) responses to dietary sodium and potassium interventions and the cold pressor test (CPT) varied greatly among individuals. We conducted a replication study to confirm our previous findings among 695 study participants. The dietary interventi...

Blood pressure responses to dietary sodium and potassium interventions vary among individuals. We studied the long-term reproducibility of blood pressure responses to dietary sodium and potassium intake. We repeated the dietary sodium and potassium interventions among 487 Chinese adults 4.5 years after the original dietary intervention. The identic...

BACKGROUND Blood pressure (BP) response to the cold pressor test (CPT) has been associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease. We studied risk factors associated with BP response to CPT.METHODS We conducted the CPT among 2,682 individuals in rural north China. BP was measured using a standard mercury sphygmomanometer prior to and at 0, 1...

The cold pressor test (CPT), which measures the response of blood pressure (BP) to the stimulus of external cold, has long been a standard test to characterize sympathetic nervous system activity and has been documented to predict cardiovascular risk. We conducted a CPT among 1,998 Han Chinese in 2003-05 and followed the study participants in 2008-...

It is well known that blood pressure (BP) responses to dietary sodium and potassium intakes vary among individuals (salt- and potassium-sensitivity). However, it is unknown whether salt- and/or potassium-sensitivity predict the risk of hypertension. We conducted a dietary sodium and potassium intervention study among 1,906 Han Chinese in 2003-05 an...

Transplanting single pediatric donor kidneys into adult recipients has an increased risk of hyperfiltration injury and graft loss. It is unknown if renin-angiotensin system (RAS) blockers are beneficial in this setting. We retrospectively analyzed 94 adults who received single kidneys from donors <10 years old during 1996-2009. The recipients were...

The effects of low-carbohydrate diets (≤45% of energy from carbohydrates) versus low-fat diets (≤30% of energy from fat) on metabolic risk factors were compared in a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Twenty-three trials from multiple countries with a total of 2,788 participants met the predetermined eligibility criteria (from January 1...

Background/aims: Plasma fluorescent oxidation products (FLOP) constitute a stable and easily measured biomarker of cumulative oxidative stress. However, their association with chronic kidney disease (CKD) has not been studied. Methods: We examined the association of FLOP and CKD in 201 CKD patients and 201 controls without CKD from the community...

FTO affects changes in BMI during both childhood and adulthood. However, its effect on onset age of overweight in adulthood is not known. To address this question, we conducted a study to examine effects of FTO tag SNPs on censored age of overweight in the longitudinal Bogalusa Heart Study (BHS) cohort, which began in 1973-1974. Of participating su...

Angiogenesis may play an important role in the renal repair process after injury. We investigated the association between plasma endostatin, an endothelial-specific antiangiogenic factor, and chronic kidney disease (CKD). We compared plasma endostatin levels in 201 CKD patients and 201 controls. CKD was defined as estimated glomerular filtration ra...

Obesity is a major public health problem in the US population. Low carbohydrate diets are popular as a means of weight loss; however, there is concern for adverse effects on cardiovascular (CV) risk factors. We conducted a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials comparing the effect of low carbohydrate diets (≤45% of energy from carbohydrates...

Recent studies have found a link between obesity and chronic kidney disease (CKD). However, the mechanism for this association is not well understood. Obesity-related CKD may be partially mediated by adipocytokines, including leptin, resistin, and adiponectin. In this study we investigated the association of plasma leptin, resistin and adiponectin...

The effect of intrarenal renin-angiotensin system (RAS) activity on risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD) has not been well studied in human subjects. We investigated the association between urinary angiotensinogen, a reliable biomarker of intrarenal RAS activity, and risk of CKD in 201 patients and 201 controls. CKD was defined as estimated glomeru...

Oral non-absorbable antibiotics work by decreasing intraluminal bacterial content after mechanical bowel preparation. The advantage of adding oral non-absorbable antibiotics to intravenous antibiotics to decrease surgical site infection (SSI) after colorectal surgery is not well known. We conducted a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (R...

Studies examining the health effects of particulate matter <or= 2.5 microm in aerodynamic diameter (PM2.5) commonly use ambient PM2.5 concentrations measured at distal monitoring sites as proxies for personal exposure and assume spatial homogeneity of ambient PM2.5. An alternative proxy-the residential outdoor PM2.5 concentration measured adjacent...

Several methods have been used to account for measurement error inherent in using ambient concentration of particulate matter < 2.5 microm/m(3) (PM(2.5)) as a proxy for personal exposure. Such methods commonly rely on the estimated correlation between ambient and personal PM(2.5) concentrations (r). However, studies of r have not been systematicall...

Although studies of the accuracy of heart failure (HF) classification scoring systems are available, few have examined their performance when restricted to self-reported items. We evaluated the association between a simplified version of the Gothenburg score, a validated HF score comprised of cardiac and pulmonary signs and symptoms and medication...

Acute organophosphate and carbamate pesticide poisonings result in adverse cardiac outcomes. The cardiac effects of chronic low-level pesticide exposure have not been studied. The authors analyzed self-reported lifetime use of pesticides reported at enrollment (1993-1997) and myocardial infarction mortality through 2006 and self-reported nonfatal m...