Richard Bauer

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs | VA

Background: Elevated serum uric acid is associated with several cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors such as hypertension, inflammation, endothelial dysfunction, insulin resistance, dyslipide-mia, and obesity. However, the role of uric acid as an independent risk factor for CVD is not yet clear.

We previously detected strong evidence for linkage of forearm bone mineral density (BMD) to chromosome 4p (lod=4.3) in a set of 29 large Mexican American families. Fibroblast growth factor binding protein 1 (FGFBP1) is a strong candidate gene for bone homeostasis in this region. We sequenced the coding region of FGFBP1 in a subset of our Mexican Am...

To assess the effect of a telephone intervention to improve quality of life among patients with congestive heart failure (CHF). Prospective randomized study. Single-site recruitment of 458 patients using Veterans Health Administration care into a randomized controlled trial with a 1-year preintervention data collection period and a 1-year intervent...

Little is known about the progression of bone loss during young adulthood and whether it differs between men and women. As part of the San Antonio Family Osteoporosis Study we tested whether bone mineral density (BMD) changed over time in men or women, and whether the rate of BMD change differed between the sexes. BMD of the proximal femur, spine,...

Bone loss occurs as early as the third decade and its cumulative effect throughout adulthood may impact risk for osteoporosis in later life, however, the genes and environmental factors influencing early bone loss are largely unknown. We investigated the role of genes in the change in bone mineral density (BMD) in participants in the San Antonio Fa...

Elevated serum uric acid is associated with several cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors such as hypertension, inflammation, endothelial dysfunction, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, and obesity. However, the role of uric acid as an independent risk factor for CVD is not yet clear. The aim of the study was to localize quantitative trait loci...

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) phenotypes such as albuminuria measured by urinary albumin creatinine ratio (ACR), elevated serum creatinine (SrCr) and/or decreased creatinine clearance (CrCl) and glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) are major risk factors for renal and cardiovascular diseases. Epidemiological studies have reported that CKD phenotypes cl...

The genetic contribution to age-related bone loss is not well understood. We estimated that genes accounted for 25-45% of variation in 5-year change in bone mineral density in men and women. An autosome-wide linkage scan yielded no significant evidence for chromosomal regions implicated in bone loss. The contribution of genetics to acquisition of p...

Insulin resistance is a major biochemical defect underlying the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Mexican-Americans are known to have an unfavorable cardiovascular profile. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the genetic effect on variation in HOMA-IR and to evaluate its genetic correlations with other phenotypes related to r...

Elevated serum uric acid level is associated with obesity, insulin resistance, diabetes, nephropathy, and hypertension. Epidemiologic studies suggest that serum uric acid levels are heritable. We sought to identify chromosomal regions harboring quantitative trait loci that influence serum uric acid in Mexican Americans using data from 644 participa...

An association has been reported between cardiovascular disease (CVD) and osteoporosis, perhaps attributable to the presence of common risk factors. To assess this possibility, we measured areal bone mineral density (BMD) and carotid artery intimal medial thickness (IMT), a measure of preclinical atherosclerosis, in 535 women and 335 men from the S...

Microalbuminuria, defined as urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio of 0.03 to 0.299 mg/mg, is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Several genetic epidemiological studies have established that microalbuminuria clusters in families, suggesting a genetic predisposition. We estimated heritability of microalbuminuria and performed a genome-wide...

Low bone mineral density (BMD) is a predictor of cardiovascular mortality, suggesting that osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease may share common risk factors. We assessed the relationship between BMD and intimal medial thickening (IMT) of the common carotid artery, a marker of sub-clinical atherosclerosis, in 471 women examined as part of the Sa...

We performed a genome scan using BMD data of the forearm and hip on 664 individuals in 29 Mexican-American families. We obtained evidence for QTL on chromosome 4p, affecting forearm BMD overall, and on chromosomes 2p and 13q, affecting hip BMD in men. The San Antonio Family Osteoporosis Study (SAFOS) was designed to identify genes and environmental...

Osteoporosis is a major cause of disability in the United States. Numerous factors contribute to the decline in bone mineral density (BMD) that characterizes this disease, and the importance of heredity is now widely appreciated. We evaluated the joint contributions of genes and environmental factors on variation in BMD in 895 participants of the S...

Our purpose was to determine whether type 2 diabetes is associated with altered bone mineral density (BMD) and whether fasting serum insulin levels are correlated with BMD. In a population-based family study of Mexican-Americans, we obtained measurements of BMD, diabetes status (by 2-h oral glucose tolerance test), obesity, and serum insulin concen...

Osteocalcin (OC) is an important constituent of bone that is synthesized by osteoblasts. Serum levels of OC have been used as a biochemical marker of bone turnover. To identify the genes influencing variation in serum OC levels, we conducted a genome-wide scan in 429 individuals comprising 10 large multigenerational families. OC levels were measure...

To assess the effect of an ambulatory care experience on medical students' perceptions of internal medicine and their choices of careers (as measured by residency selections). In 1990-91, the 196 third-year students enrolled in the 12-week internal medicine clerkship at the University of Texas Medical School at San Antonio were randomized to a curr...

Obese subjects have increased bone density relative to non-obese subjects, yet this relationship is not fully understood. We examined whether alterations in glucose or insulin concentrations might explain the effect of obesity on bone density in 317 women from the San Antonio Heart Study, a population-based study of diabetes. We measured fasting an...

Obese subjects have increased bone density relative to non-obese subjects yet this relationship is not fully understood. We examined whether alterations in sex hormones or binding proteins might explain the effect of obesity on osteoporosis in 83 premenopausal women from the San Antonio Heart Study, a population-based study of diabetes. We measured...

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of external factors on physicians' life-support decisions. "External factors" are those factors that promote the interests of people other than the patient. Examples of external factors include physician legal liability and family wishes about patient care. A nationwide sample consisted of 300 r...

To confirm a previous report of lower risks of hip fracture in Mexican Americans, we calculated the incidence of hip fractures among Hispanics, blacks, and non-Hispanic whites residing in Bexar County, Texas, during 1980. A total of 576 residents with hip fracture not due to severe trauma were identified. The 1980 census data were used to calculate...

To confirm a previous report of lower risks of hip fracture in Mexican Americans, we calculated the incidence of hip fractures among Hispanics, blacks, and non-Hispanic whites residing in Bexar County, Texas, during 1980. A total of 576 residents with hip fracture not due to severe trauma were identified. The 1980 census data were used to calculate...

• Ethnicity is important in assessing risk for osteoporotic fractures, and should be considered in decision-making about the use of prophylactic treatments. Few data are available, however, on fracture risks among Hispanic patients. To assess the risk of vertebral fracture in Mexican Americans, we determined the prevalence of vertebral fracture amo...

Ethnicity is important in assessing risk for osteoporotic fractures, and should be considered in decision-making about the use of prophylactic treatments. Few data are available, however, on fracture risks among Hispanic patients. To assess the risk of vertebral fracture in Mexican Americans, we determined the prevalence of vertebral fracture among...

Maintaining compliance with medications is important in the management of patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. We examined correlates of medication compliance in 77 patients followed up prospectively for 24 weeks. Of the demographic, socioeconomic, and clinical variables examined, only older age and greater education were related...

To assess the risk of hip fracture in Mexican Americans, the ethnicity of 80 women aged 50 years and over admitted with hip fractures to a Texas hospital was compared with that of age-matched women hospitalized for other reasons. The risk of fracture for Mexican Americans was only 35 per cent that of Whites (95% CI = 19 per cent, 65 per cent). This...

The contribution of private physicians to medical student education in ambulatory care was determined by a questionnaire directed to departments of family practice, internal medicine, and pediatrics in 124 U.S. medical schools and their branch campuses. The response rate was 84 percent. Of the responding departments, 82 percent offered an ambulator...

Fifty-two pharmacologically treated hypertensive patients were randomized to one of four treatment groups: (1) diastolic blood pressure biofeedback, (2) progressive deep muscle relaxation training, (3) self-directed relaxation training, or (4) medication alone. Data collection occurred during baseline, treatment, and 1-year follow-up phases in a la...

Fifty-two pharmacologically treated hypertensive patients were randomized to one of four treatment groups: (1) diastolic blood pressure biofeedback, (2) progressive deep muscle relaxation training, (3) self-directed relaxation training, or (4) medication alone. Data collection occurred during baseline, treatment, and 1-year follow-up phases in a la...

Ten of the original 24 factories from the United Kingdom Heart Disease Prevention Project were resurveyed in 1983 to assess the long-term (12-year) effects of an education program on diet, smoking, and exercise. These 10 factories had previously been grouped into five pairs matched for size, location, and nature of industry, with one of each pair r...

Medication compliance may be a problem in the management of patients with diabetes. Some physicians initially treat patients having non-insulin-dependent diabetes with oral sulfonylureas because they fear greater compliance problems with insulin therapy. We compared compliance with insulin and chlorpropamide in patients newly beginning medication f...