title: Overall Cardiovascular Health Is Associated With All-Cause and Cardiovascular Disease Mortality Among Older Community-Dwelling Men and Women.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The objective of this study was to assess the associations between cardiovascular health and all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality among community-dwelling elderly.
  
  
  METHODS
  Secondary data analysis was performed using data collected as part of the InCHIANTI cohort procedures and included 928 participants (55% female) aged 65 years and older. Overall cardiovascular health was assessed using seven health behaviors and factors, scored 0 to 14, with higher scores indicating better cardiovascular health, modeled categorically as tertiles. Vitality status was ascertained using registry information. Cox proportional hazards models were used to examine the associations between cardiovascular health and all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After an average follow-up of 9.1 years, better overall cardiovascular health (highest tertile) was inversely associated with all-cause (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.68, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [0.51, 0.92]) and cardiovascular disease mortality (HR = 0.61, 95% CI = [0.38, 0.97]) compared with the lowest tertile.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Cardiovascular health, even in the elderly, is inversely associated with mortality.
authors.affiliation: 1 The George Washington University, USA.
authors.forename: Yichen
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.affiliation: 2 National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Toshiko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.affiliation: 3 Azienda Sanitaria di Firenze, Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bandinelli
authors.affiliation: 2 National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ferrucci
authors.affiliation: 1 The George Washington University, USA.
authors.forename: Sameera A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Talegawkar
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D057187:Independent Living; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D009026:Mortality / Q000639:trends; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D036301:Qualitative Research
keywords: InCHIANTI study; cardiovascular health; elderly; mortality