Eliseo Guallar

Chair and Professor of the Department of Epidemiology

Professional overview

Dr. Guallar is an epidemiologist whose research is focused on the study of cardiovascular disease epidemiology and prevention, with an emphasis on evaluating the role of environmental and nutritional exposures in the development of cardiovascular disease. This research has made critically important and novel contributions to our understanding of risk factors for chronic disease both in the US and globally. He has published seminal articles and is a leading figure in an emerging field highlighting the risks of exposure to levels of metals previously considered safe for cardiovascular health. In addition to his work in toxic metals, Dr. Guallar has made important contributions to understanding the effects of certain micronutrients and vitamin supplements on cardiovascular disease risk and outcomes. Publications in this area were influential in changing consumer habits and attitudes towards these products. Much of this research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the American Heart Association, the CDC, and other funders.

Dr. Guallar was the founding director of the Center for Clinical Epidemiology at the Samsung Medical Center and a lead investigator of the Kangbuk Samsung Cohort Study at the Kangbuk Samsung Hospital since its inception in 2010. Dr. Guallar has published over 500 research papers in peer-reviewed journals. He is also a Deputy Editor for Methods at the Annals of Internal Medicine and a past member and Chair of the Cancer, Heart, and Sleep Study Section at the National Institutes of Health.

Prior to teaching at NYU, Dr. Guallar was a Professor of Epidemiology and Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health and a core faculty member of the Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology, and Clinical Research at Johns Hopkins. In the Department of Epidemiology, Dr. Guallar was the Director of the Environmental and Occupational Area of Concentration and the Co-Director of the PhD Program. Dr. Guallar was also an adjunct Professor at the Department of Clinical Research Design and Evaluation of the Samsung Advanced Institute for Health Science and Technology, Sungkyunkwan University, in Seoul, Korea.

Education

Diploma of English, Spanish Official School of Languages at Zaragoza (Escuela Oficial de Idiomas de Zaragoza), Zaragoza, Spain

MD, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain

MPH, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN

DrPH, Harvard University, Boston, MA

Honors and awards

Six Honor Calls in the MD Program, University of Zaragoza School of Medicine (1981)

Fellow of Spain’s Program of Training of Graduate Research of the Ministry of Education and Science, University of Zaragoza (1988)

Fulbright Scholar, sponsored by Spain’s Ministry of Health and Consumer Affairs (1989)

Faculty Innovation Award, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health (2001)

Scientist Development Award, American Heart Association (2002)

Fellow of the American Heart Association, Council on Epidemiology and Prevention (2013)

Advising, Mentoring, and Teaching Recognition Award 2014 – 2015, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health (2015)

High Impact Research Icon, University of Malaya (2015)

Publications

Publications

Vitamin-mineral supplementation and the progression of atherosclerosis : A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Bleys, J., Miller, E. R., Pastor-Barriuso, R., Appel, L. J., & Guallar, E. (n.d.).

Publication year

2006

Journal title

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

Volume

84

Issue

4

Page(s)

880-887

10.1093/ajcn/84.4.880

Abstract

Abstract

Background: Laboratory and observational studies suggest that antioxidant and B vitamin supplementation may prevent atherosclerosis. Although trials have not shown a benefit of these supplements on clinical cardiovascular events, it is unknown whether they affect the progression of atherosclerosis as measured by imaging techniques. Objective: The objective was to perform a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials of the effect of vitamin-mineral supplementation on atherosclerosis progression. Design: We searched the MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CENTRAL databases for relevant studies. No language restrictions were applied. We separately analyzed trials using antioxidants (vitamins E and C, β-carotene, or selenium) and trials using B vitamins (folate, vitamin B-6, or vitamin B-12). The progression of atherosclerosis was evaluated by B-mode ultrasound, intravascular ultrasound, or angiography. Effect sizes were calculated for the difference in slope of atherosclerosis progression between participants assigned to supplements and those assigned to the control group. Results: In trials not involving percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty, the pooled effect size was -0.06 (95% CI: -0.20, 0.09; 7 trials) for antioxidants and -0.93 (95% CI: -2.11, 0.26; 4 trials) for B vitamins. In trials involving percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty, the pooled relative risk of restenosis was 0.82 (95% CI: 0.54, 1.26; 3 trials) for antioxidants and 0.84 (95% CI: 0.34, 2.07; 2 trials) for B vitamins. Conclusion: Our meta-analysis showed no evidence of a protective effect of antioxidant or B vitamin supplements on the progression of atherosclerosis, thus providing a mechanistic explanation for their lack of effect on clinical cardiovascular events.

Weight Change and Development of Subclinical Carotid Atherosclerosis Among Metabolically Healthy Adults : A Cohort Study

Sinn, D. H., Kang, D., Cho, S. J., Chang, Y., Ryu, S., Song, Y. B., Paik, S. W., Hong, Y. S., Zhao, D., Guallar, E., Cho, J., & Gwak, G. Y. (n.d.).

Publication year

2020

Journal title

Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism

Volume

105

Issue

3

10.1210/clinem/dgz040

Abstract

Abstract

Background: The benefit of weight loss for reducing cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in metabolically healthy obese people is unknown. Objectives: We evaluated the association between weight change and incident subclinical carotid atherosclerosis (SCA) in metabolically healthy but overweight or obese subjects. Methods: Cohort study of 3117 metabolically healthy overweight or obese adults who did not have any metabolic syndrome components or insulin resistance at baseline. SCA was assessed using carotid artery ultrasonography. The study outcome was the development of incident SCA among participants free of the disease at baseline. Results: During 12 248 person-years of follow-up (median 3.42 years), 747 participants developed SCA. The proportions of participants with no reduction or increased weight, reduction in weight from 0.1% to 4.9%, and reduction in weight ≥ 5% during follow-up were 47.0%, 44.4%, and 8.6%, respectively. The fully-adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) for incident SCA in participants with a reduction in weight of 0.1% to 4.9% and ≥ 5% compared with those with no reduction or increased weight were 0.84 (95% CI, 0.72-0.98) and 0.66 (95% CI, 0.50-0.87), respectively. Conclusions: In a large cohort study of metabolically healthy but overweight or obese adult men and women, weight reduction was associated with a lower incidence of SCA. Our findings suggest that metabolically healthy overweight or obese subjects may benefit from weight reduction in terms of CVD risk.

Weight change and resolution of fatty liver in normal weight individuals with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Sinn, D. H., Kang, D., Cho, S. J., Paik, S. W., Guallar, E., Cho, J., & Gwak, G. Y. (n.d.).

Publication year

2021

Journal title

European Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology

Volume

33

Issue

1

Page(s)

E529-E534

10.1097/MEG.0000000000002158

Abstract

Abstract

Objectives Obesity is a well-known risk factor for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and weight reduction is primarily recommended for managing the disease. However, some NAFLD patients have a normal weight (lean NAFLD), and whether weight reduction is also recommendable for lean NAFLD patients remains unclear. Methods We conducted a longitudinal study of 16 738 adults (average age, 50.5 years; lean NAFLD, 2383 participants) with NAFLD at baseline who underwent repeated health check-up examinations, including bodyweight measurements and abdominal ultrasonography from January 2003 through December 2013. Results During 68 389 person-years of follow-up (median follow-up of 3.00 years), 5819 patients had a fatty liver resolution. Compared with participants who had no weight reduction or increased weight, the fully adjusted hazard ratios for fatty liver resolution in participants with 0-4.9, 5-9.9 and 10% or more weight reduction were 1.67 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.57-1.77], 3.36 (95% CI, 3.09-3.65) and 5.50 (95% CI, 4.83-6.27), respectively. The association between weight reduction and the fatty liver resolution was stronger in overweight/obese NAFLD participants but was also evident in lean NAFLD participants in a dose-dependent manner. In spline regression models, the association between weight change and the fatty liver resolution was linear among participants with normal weight. Conclusion There was a dose-dependent association between weight reduction and fatty liver resolution in both lean and overweight/obese NAFLD patients. This finding suggests weight reduction as a primary recommendation for lean NAFLD patients as in overweight/obese NAFLD patients.

Whole-exome sequencing in 415,422 individuals identifies rare variants associated with mitochondrial DNA copy number

Pillalamarri, V., Shi, W., Say, C., Yang, S., Lane, J., Guallar, E., Pankratz, N., & Arking, D. E. (n.d.).

Publication year

2023

Journal title

Human Genetics and Genomics Advances

Volume

4

Issue

1

10.1016/j.xhgg.2022.100147

Abstract

Abstract

Inter-individual variation in the number of copies of the mitochondrial genome, called mitochondrial DNA copy number (mtDNA-CN), reflects mitochondrial function and has been associated with various aging-related diseases. We examined 415,422 exomes of self-reported White ancestry individuals from the UK Biobank and tested the impact of rare variants, at the level of single variants and through aggregate variant-set tests, on mtDNA-CN. A survey across nine variant sets tested enrichment of putatively causal variants and identified 14 genes at experiment-wide significance and three genes at marginal significance. These included associations at known mtDNA depletion syndrome genes (mtDNA helicase TWNK, p = 1.1 × 10−30; mitochondrial transcription factor TFAM, p = 4.3 × 10−15; mtDNA maintenance exonuclease MGME1, p = 2.0 × 10−6) and the V617F dominant gain-of-function mutation in the tyrosine kinase JAK2 (p = 2.7 × 10−17), associated with myeloproliferative disease. Novel genes included the ATP-dependent protease CLPX (p = 8.4 × 10−9), involved in mitochondrial proteome quality, and the mitochondrial adenylate kinase AK2 (p = 4.7 × 10−8), involved in hematopoiesis. The most significant association was a missense variant in SAMHD1 (p = 4.2 × 10−28), found on a rare, 1.2-Mb shared ancestral haplotype on chromosome 20. SAMHD1 encodes a cytoplasmic host restriction factor involved in viral defense response and the mitochondrial nucleotide salvage pathway, and is associated with Aicardi-Goutières syndrome 5, a childhood encephalopathy and chronic inflammatory response disorder. Rare variants were enriched in Mendelian mtDNA depletion syndrome loci, and these variants implicated core processes in mtDNA replication, nucleoid structure formation, and maintenance. These data indicate that strong-effect mutations from the nuclear genome contribute to the genetic architecture of mtDNA-CN.

ω-3 Polyunsaturated fatty acid biomarkers and coronary heart disease : Pooling project of 19 cohort studies

Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology (CHARGE) Fatty Acids and Outcomes Research Consortium (FORCe), A., Del Gobbo, L. C., Imamura, F., Aslibekyan, S., Marklund, M., Virtanen, J. K., Wennberg, M., Yakoob, M. Y., Chiuve, S. E., Dela Cruz, L., Frazier-Wood, A. C., Fretts, A. M., Guallar, E., Matsumoto, C., Prem, K., Tanaka, T., Wu, J. H., Zhou, X., Helmer, C., … Mozaffarian, D. (n.d.).

Publication year

2016

Journal title

JAMA internal medicine

Volume

176

Issue

8

Page(s)

1155-1166

10.1001/jamainternmed.2016.2925

Abstract

Abstract

Importance: The role of ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids for primary prevention of coronary heart disease (CHD) remains controversial. Most prior longitudinal studies evaluated self-reported consumption rather than biomarkers. Objective: To evaluate biomarkers of seafood-derived eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; 20:5 ω-3), docosapentaenoic acid (DPA; 22:5 ω-3), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; 22:6 ω-3) and plant-derived α-linolenic acid (ALA; 18:3 ω-3) for incident CHD. Data Sources: A global consortium of 19 studies identified by November 2014. Study Selection: Available prospective (cohort, nested case-control) or retrospective studies with circulating or tissue ω-3 biomarkers and ascertained CHD. Data Extraction and Synthesis: Each study conducted standardized, individual-level analysis using harmonized models, exposures, outcomes, and covariates. Findings were centrally pooled using random-effects meta-analysis. Heterogeneity was examined by age, sex, race, diabetes, statins, aspirin, ω-6 levels, and FADS desaturase genes. Main Outcomes and Measures: Incident total CHD, fatal CHD, and nonfatal myocardial infarction (MI). Results: The 19 studies comprised 16 countries, 45 637 unique individuals, and 7973 total CHD, 2781 fatal CHD, and 7157 nonfatal MI events, with ω-3 measures in total plasma, phospholipids, cholesterol esters, and adipose tissue. Median age at baselinewas 59 years (range, 18-97 years), and 28 660 (62.8%)were male. In continuous (per 1-SD increase) multivariable-adjusted analyses, the ω-3 biomarkers ALA, DPA, and DHAwere associated with a lower risk of fatal CHD, with relative risks (RRs) of 0.91 (95%CI, 0.84-0.98) for ALA, 0.90 (95%CI, 0.85-0.96) for DPA, and 0.90 (95%CI, 0.84-0.96) for DHA. Although DPA was associated with a lower risk of total CHD (RR, 0.94; 95%CI, 0.90-0.99), ALA (RR, 1.00; 95%CI, 0.95-1.05), EPA (RR, 0.94; 95%CI, 0.87-1.02), and DHA (RR, 0.95; 95%CI, 0.91-1.00)were not. Significant associations with nonfatal MIwere not evident. Associations appeared generally stronger in phospholipids and total plasma. Restricted cubic splines did not identify evidence of nonlinearity in dose responses. Conclusions and Relevance: On the basis of available studies of free-living populations globally, biomarker concentrations of seafood and plant-derived ω-3 fatty acids are associated with a modestly lower incidence of fatal CHD.