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ABSTRACT We conducted a spatial case-control study nested in a dengue incidence cohort to explore the role of the spatial and socioeconomic factors in the proportion of symptomatic (cases) and inapparent primary dengue virus infections (controls). Cohort participants were children and adolescents (2 to 16 years of age) at the beginning of the follow-up. Case definitions were, for symptomatic cases, fever plus a positive lab result for acute dengue (NS1, RT-PCR, ELISA IgM/IgG), and for inapparent infection a positive result for dengue IgG (ELISA) in subjects without symptoms and with a previously negative result at baseline. The covariates included sociodemographic factors, residential location, and socioeconomic context variables of the census tracts of residence of cases and controls. We used principal component analysis to reduce the contextual covariates, with the component values assigned to each one based on their residences. The data were modeled in a Bayesian context, considering the spatial dependence. The final sample consisted of 692 children, 274 cases and 418 controls, from the first year of follow-up (2014-2015). Being male, older age, higher educational level of the head of the family and having a larger number of rooms in the household were associated with a greater chance of presenting dengue symptomatic infection at the individual level. The contextual covariates were not associated with the outcome. Inapparent dengue infection has extensive epidemiological consequences. Relying solely on notifications of symptomatic dengue infections underestimates the number of cases, preserves a silent source of the disease, potentially spreading the virus to unaffected areas.
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Background: Breast Cancer is the most common cancer in the world and a leading cause of cancer deaths. The incidence and mortality vary widely. Multiple factors are found to be associated with the development of breast cancer. Aims and Objectives: To study the role of drugs and other selected factors in the development of carcinoma breast. Materials and Methods: A case–control study was done at Government Medical College Thrissur. Selected 125 cases and 250 controls. Data were collected by interview using a semi-structured proforma. The role of drugs, Body Mass Index (BMI), lifestyle, and reproductive factors were studied. Results: The cases and controls were matching in their sociodemographic characteristics. The mean age of cases was 53 years (SD = 11.5) and that of controls was 51.74 years (SD = 11.5). Hysterectomy was found to be a risk factor of breast cancer, Odds Ratio 2.3 (1.05–5.05). Heavy work, with an Odds Ratio 0.89 (0.12–0.66), and milk consumption with an odds ratio 0.46 (0.27–0.78) were found to be protective factors. contraceptive pill, hormone replacement therapy, prolonged drug intake, BMI, age of menarche, parity, abortion, or infertility were not found to have significant association. Conclusion: The history of drug intake is not having a role in the development of breast cancer. Hysterectomy is a risk factor while heavy work and milk consumption are protective factors in breast cancer development.
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Resumen Antecedentes: Las infecciones asociadas a la atención de la salud (IAAS) son causa frecuente de morbilidad y mortalidad. Objetivo: Identificar los factores de riesgo para el desarrollo de IAAS en recién nacidos (RN) sometidos a cirugía. Material y métodos: Estudio de casos y controles anidado en una cohorte. Los casos fueron RN sometidos a cirugía, con IAAS y los controles, RN sometidos a cirugía sin IAAS. Se registraron datos perinatales, uso de profilaxis antimicrobiana, de catéter venoso central (CVC), ventilación mecánica, nutrición parenteral y sondas; edad y peso al momento de la cirugía, tipo de cirugía, clasificación de la herida quirúrgica, duración de la cirugía, número de procedimientos quirúrgicos y tipo de infección. Se realizó análisis univariado y multivariado. Resultados: Se incluyeron 71 casos y 142 controles. Las IAAS más frecuentes fueron las infecciones sanguíneas (36.6 %); los principales microorganismos aislados en hemocultivos fueron cocos grampositivos. Los factores de riesgo asociados a IAAS en el análisis multivariado fueron duración del CVC > 8 días (RMa = 17.2), ≥ 2 intervenciones quirúrgicas (RMa = 16.5) y cirugía abdominal (RMa = 2.6). Conclusiones: Los RN sometidos a cirugía, principalmente aquellos con factores de riesgo, requieren vigilancia estrecha durante el posoperatorio. El CVC debe ser retirado tan pronto sea posible.
Abstract Background: Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are a common cause of morbidity and mortality. Objective: To identify the risk factors for the development of HAIs in newborns (NBs) undergoing surgery. Material and methods: Nested case-control study. Cases were NBs undergoing surgery with HAIs, while controls were NBs undergoing surgery with no HAIs. Perinatal data, use of antimicrobial prophylaxis, use of central venous catheter (CVC), mechanical ventilation, parenteral nutrition, and other medical devices were recorded, as well as age and weight at the time of surgery, type of surgery, surgical wound classification, duration of surgery, number of surgical procedures, and type of infection. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed. Results: Seventy-one cases and 142 controls were included. The most frequent HAI was bloodstream infection (36.6%); the main microorganisms isolated in blood cultures were gram-positive cocci. The risk factors associated with HAIs in the multivariate analysis were CVC duration > 8 days (aOR = 17.2), ≥ 2 surgical interventions (aOR = 16.5) and abdominal surgery (aOR = 2.6). Conclusions: NBs undergoing surgery, mainly those with risk factors, require close monitoring during the postoperative period. CVC should be withdrawn as soon as possible.
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Background: Skin lesions are the most common early symptoms of leprosy, often ignored by patients at an early stage and misdiagnosed as other dermatological diseases by healthcare personnel, leading to delay in diagnosis and treatment of leprosy precipitating permanent neurological deficit, deformities and serious disabilities. Aims: The objective is to evaluate the duration of delay and factors responsible for the delay in reporting of patients, among the newly detected leprosy cases (Grade 1 and Grade 2 disability patients). Methods: A case-control study was conducted during 2014–2016 in three major states of India (Delhi, Gujarat and West Bengal) in 140 randomly recruited newly registered adult leprosy patients (aged 18 years and above) with Grade 2/1 disabilities (cases) and 140 Grade 0 disability patients (controls) in each of these Indian states. Results: It is established that the major contributors for the delay in the early diagnosis of leprosy have been patient-related factors. The median patient delay in the three states of Delhi, Gujarat and West Bengal were five months (0.7–1.8), 2.8 months (2–14) and 12 months (2–24), respectively. Limitations: The study design is case-control and has an inbuilt reporting bias due to the retrospective nature of data collection but the data collection was carried with caution to reduce the recall bias. As the study is carried out in three states, generalisation of interpretation was cautiously executed. The matching ratio of cases and controls was 1:1 in this study, but we could not increase the controls due to operational feasibility during the conduct of the study. Conclusion: Patient delay is a crucial factor responsible for the disability among new leprosy cases. A higher patient delay in these three states reflects that the community is not aware about the signs and symptoms of leprosy. Reducing patient delay is very important for reducing disabilities in the newly diagnosed cases.
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Objective:To analyze the risk factors for premature infants with hemodynamically significant patent ductus arteriosus (hs-PDA) requiring surgical treatment, and to explore the indications for surgical treatment in premature infants with hs-PDA.Methods:A nested case-control study was conducted.The data of premature infants with gestational age<30 weeks who were diagnosed with hs-PDA in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of Peking Union Medical College Hospital from January 2007 to May 2020 were analyzed retrospectively.The hs-PDA patients treated surgically were included in the operation group.The hs-PDA patients of the same gestational age and gender who were not treated surgically were taken as the control group.The ratio of the case number between the operation and control groups was 1∶2.The clinical data during pregnancy, at birth and after birth of premature infants were compared between the 2 groups.The measurement data were tested by the independent sample t test or Mann- Whitney U test.The classification and enumeration data were compared by the Fisher′ s exact probability method.The risk factors for premature infants with hs-PDA requiring surgical treatment were analyzed by the conditional Logistic regression method. Results:A total of 182 premature infants with hs-PDA were enrolled in the study, including 10 in the operation group and 20 in the control group.The patients underwent PDA ligation 30.5(22.7, 37.0) d after birth, and the median preo-perative invasive ventilation duration was 9.7(17.5, 27.2) d. Compared with the control group(20 cases), the preterm infants in the operation group had a lower birth weight [(891.5±118.0) g vs.(1 054.4±230.2) g, t=2.091], a wider arterial duct diameter [3.2(2.8, 4.0) mm vs.2.0(2.0, 3.0) mm, Z=-3.300], and longer invasive ventilation duration [25.0(18.7, 38.2) d vs.3.0(1.0, 7.5) d, Z=-3.688]. Besides, the operation group applied the pulmonary surfactant for more times [2(1, 3) times vs.1(1, 2) times, Z=-2.440], and inhaled a higher concentration of oxygen on the 14 th day after birth [29(25, 36)% vs.21(21, 29)%, Z=-2.358] than the control group.Moreover, compared with the control group, the operation group took longer to achieve adequate enteral feeding [48.2(51.5, 63.5) d vs.42.5(23.5, 48.0) d, Z=2.789], and gained a higher maximum vasoactive inotropic score (VIS) [3.0(0, 3.5) points vs.0(0, 0) points, Z=-2.630]. The difference in all the above-mentioned indicators between the 2 groups was statistically significant (all P<0.05). Univariate Logistic regression analysis showed that the arterial duct diameter, application times of the pulmonary surfactant, the maximum VIS score, and the time taken to achieve sufficient enteral feeding were all related to the need for surgical treatment of hs-PDA in the operation group (all P<0.05). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis revealed that the invasive ventilation duration ( OR=0.747, 95% CI: 0.560-0.998, P=0.048) was an independent risk factor for hs-PDA premature infants requiring surgical treatment. Conclusions:The factors related to the need for surgical treatment in preterm infants with hs-PDA include a wide arterial duct diameter, multiple applications of the pulmonary surfactant, a high concentration of inhaled oxygen on the 14 th day, and the long time to achieve sufficient enteral feeding.The independent risk factor for the surgical treatment in hs-PDA children is the long invasive ventilation duration.
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Objective:To explore the clinical characteristics of poisoned patients with poisons purchase online.Methods:A retrospective case-control study was conducted on poisoned patients purchased poisons online from 1st January 2021 to 31th May 2022 in the Emergency Department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University. The clinical data including sex, age, way of medical treatment, cause of poisoning, exposure routes, category of toxic drugs, gastric lavage, toxic detection and prognosis of patients were collected and compared with those patients obtained poisons at stores as the control group.Results:Totally 318 poisoned patients were included in this study, of which 44 (13.8%) were obtained poisons online. Compared with the patients obtained poisons at stores, the patients obtained poisons online were younger ( P<0.001), and had higher proportion of suicide intention ( P=0.006), more oral route exposure ( P=0.029), and more proportions of receiving gastric lavage before transfer to the hospital ( P=0.001). Pesticides and fertilizers with organic heterocycles were the main types of poisons in the online group, and there was no statistical difference in the distribution of poisons compared with the control group. Mixed drug poisoning was the leading cause in both online group (27.8%) and control group (38.8%) in drug overdose poisoned types, followed by dextromethorphan (16.7%) and estazolam (15.5%) in the online group. Conclusions:Young people are the main group getting poisons through the Internet. Health education should be strengthened for this group, and online shopping platforms should pay attention to the poisoning risk of potential overdose drugs or poisons transactions.
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Objective@#To investigate the risk factors for yersiniosis, so as to provide insights into prevention of yersiniosis.@*Methods@#The patients with yersiniosis admitted to the clinics in the surveillance site of Chengbei Township of Jin'an District and Chengnan Township of Yu'an District in Lu'an City from 2013 to 2021 were included as the case group, and the healthy family members matched to cases were selected as the family control group, while normal residents with a 1︰2 match in the same village, gender, and age difference within 5 years were included in the community control group. Participants' demographics, hand-washing and eating habits, living environment hygiene, poultry and livestock feeding were collected using questionnaire surveys, and factors affecting yersiniosis were identified using a multivariable conditional logistic regression model.@*Results@#There were 43 cases in the case group, with a median (interquartile range) age of 45 (34) years, 91 cases in the family control group, with a median (interquartile range) age of 36 (36) years and 86 cases in the community control group, with a median (interquartile range) age of 46 (34) years. Multivariable conditional logistic regression analysis showed that compared with the family control group, the habit of drinking unboiled water (OR=6.721, 95%CI: 1.765-25.588), and direct consumption of food stored in the refrigerator (OR=7.089, 95%CI: 1.873-26.829) were risk factors for yersiniosis in the case group; and compared with the community control group, not washing hands after contacting with poultry and livestock (OR=50.592, 95%CI: 2.758-927.997), habit of eating raw vegetables and fruits (OR=5.340, 95%CI: 1.022-27.887), direct consumption of food stored in the refrigerator (OR=19.973, 95%CI: 2.118-188.336), and unclean refrigerator (OR=12.692, 95%CI: 1.992-80.869) were risk factors for yersiniosis in the case group. Compared with the family and community control groups, not washing hands after contacting with poultry and livestock (OR=4.075, 95%CI: 1.427-11.637), habit of drinking unboiled water (OR=4.153, 95%CI: 1.331-12.957), habit of eating raw vegetables and fruits (OR=4.744, 95%CI: 1.609-13.993), and direct consumption of food stored in the refrigerator (OR=5.051, 95%CI: 1.773-14.395) were risk factors for yersiniosis in the control group.@*Conclusion@#Unhealthy habits such as eating raw vegetables and fruits, drinking unboiled water, direct consumption of food stored in the refrigerator, unclean refrigerator, and not washing hands after contacting poultry and livestock may increase the risk of yersiniosis.
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BACKGROUND@#Congenital heart disease (CHD) is one of the most common congenital malformations in humans. Inconsistent results emerged in the existed studies on associations between air pollution and congenital heart disease. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association of gestational exposure to air pollutants with congenital heart disease, and to explore the critical exposure windows for congenital heart disease.@*METHODS@#The nested case-control study collected birth records and the following health data in Tianjin Women and Children's Health Center, China. All of the cases of congenital heart disease from 2013 to 2015 were selected matching five healthy controls for each case. Inverse distance weighting was used to estimate individual exposure based on daily air pollution data. Furthermore, the conditional logistic regression with distributed lag non-linear model was performed to identify the association between gestational exposure to air pollution and congenital heart disease.@*RESULTS@#A total of 8,748 mother-infant pairs were entered into the analysis, of which 1,458 infants suffered from congenital heart disease. For each 10 µg/m3 increase of gestational exposure to PM2.5, the ORs (95% confidence interval, 95%CI) ranged from 1.008 (1.001-1.016) to 1.013 (1.001-1.024) during the 1st-2nd gestation weeks. Similar weak but increased risks of congenital heart disease were associated with O3 exposure during the 1st week and SO2 exposure during 6th-7th weeks in the first trimester, while no significant findings for other air pollutants.@*CONCLUSIONS@#This study highlighted that gestational exposure to PM2.5, O3, and SO2 had lag effects on congenital heart disease. Our results support potential benefits for pregnancy women to the mitigation of air pollution exposure in the early stage, especially when a critical exposure time window of air pollutants may precede heart development.
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Infant , Pregnancy , Child , Humans , Female , Air Pollutants/analysis , Case-Control Studies , Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects/epidemiology , Heart Defects, Congenital/etiology , China/epidemiology , Particulate Matter/adverse effects , Maternal Exposure/adverse effectsABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE@#This study prospectively investigates the association between immunoglobulin G (IgG) N-glycan traits and ischemic stroke (IS) risk.@*METHODS@#A nested case-control study was conducted in the China suboptimal health cohort study, which recruited 4,313 individuals in 2013-2014. Cases were identified as patients diagnosed with IS, and controls were 1:1 matched by age and sex with cases. IgG N-glycans in baseline plasma samples were analyzed.@*RESULTS@#A total of 99 IS cases and 99 controls were included, and 24 directly measured glycan peaks (GPs) were separated from IgG N-glycans. In directly measured GPs, GP4, GP9, GP21, GP22, GP23, and GP24 were associated with the risk of IS in men after adjusting for age, waist and hip circumference, obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and dyslipidemia. Derived glycan traits representing decreased galactosylation and sialylation were associated with IS in men (FBG2S2/(FBG2 + FBG2S1 + FBG2S2): odds ratio ( OR) = 0.92, 95% confidence interval ( CI): 0.87-0.97; G1 n: OR = 0.74, 95% CI: 0.63-0.87; G0 n: OR = 1.12, 95% CI: 1.03-1.22). However, these associations were not found among women.@*CONCLUSION@#This study validated that altered IgG N-glycan traits were associated with incident IS in men, suggesting that sex discrepancies might exist in these associations.
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Male , Humans , Female , Immunoglobulin G/metabolism , Ischemic Stroke , Case-Control Studies , Cohort Studies , Glycosylation , PolysaccharidesABSTRACT
Background The prevalence of osteoporosis and osteopenia is higher among underground coal miners than surface workers. The special underground work environment and unhealthy habits such as smoking, drinking, and a high-salt diet may lead to changes in bone metabolism, increasing the risk of fragility fractures and placing a heavy economic burden on individuals and society. Objective To identify potential factors influencing fragility fractures among coal miners in different working environments and to provide a basis for targeted preventive measures to reduce the occurrence of fragility fractures. Methods Male participants who attended at least one of the physical examinations in Kailuan Group between June 2006 and December 2020 were included in the study. The participants were divided into two groups based on their working environment: surface or underground. A case-control study was conducted, where patients with new fragility fractures served as the case group and participants without fragility fractures served as the control group. The two groups were matched with a case:control ratio of 1:4 by age (±1 year) and the same year of physical examination. The matching process was repeated twice, once for the surface working population and once for the underground working population. The analysis of risk factors was conducted using conditional logistic regression models. Results Among a total of 113138 employees in Kailuan Group, 82631 surface workers and 30507 underground workers were included, respectively. The number of individuals who suffered fragility fractures was 1375, accounting for 1.22% of the total population. The incidence of fragility fractures in underground workers was significantly higher than that in surface workers (1.63%>1.07%, P<0.001). The results of conditional logistic regression model showed that current smoking (OR=1.26, 95%CI: 1.05, 1.51), manual labor (OR=1.37, 95%CI: 1.06, 1.78), diabetes (OR=1.26, 95%CI: 1.04, 1.54), sinus tachycardia (OR=1.81, 95%CI: 1.23, 2.66), history of stroke (OR=1.51, 95%CI: 1.09, 2.09), education at college and above (OR=0.65, 95%CI: 0.45, 0.95), high income level (OR=0.69, 95%CI: 0.54, 0.90), elevated hemoglobin (OR=0.91, 95%CI: 0.85, 0.98), and elevated total cholesterol (OR=0.90, 95%CI: 0.82, 0.99) were associated with fragility fractures in the surface working population of coal mines; current smoking (OR=1.48, 95%CI: 1.17, 1.87), current drinking (OR=1.26, 95%CI: 1.01, 1.56), manual labor (OR=2.64, 95%CI: 1.41, 4.94), history of dust exposure (OR=1.28, 95%CI: 1.03, 1.58), and obesity (OR=0.72, 95%CI: 0.52, 0.96) were associated with fragility fractures in the underground working population of coal mines. Conclusion In preventing fragility fractures, special attention should be paid to the bone health of underground workers engaged in manual labor or having a history of dust exposure. It is important to correct their unhealthy behaviors in a timely manner, such as smoking and drinking, and to appropriately increase body weight to prevent fragility fractures. For surface workers, particular attention should be given to the high-risk group for fragility fractures, such as low family income per capita, manual labor, and having a history of stroke or diabetes; in addition, close monitoring of their resting heart rate, hemoglobin levels, and total cholesterol levels may help prevent fragility fractures.
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Objective@#To investigate the risk factors of sarcopenia among the elderly, so as to provide insights into prevention of sarcopenia among the elderly.@*Methods@#A case-control study was conducted. A total of 371 patients with sarcopenia at ages of 60 years and older admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University were selected as the case group, while 1∶1 matching healthy volunteers by gender, age and ethnicity in the hospital during the study period served as controls. Participants' demographics, disease history and nutrition were collected using questionnaire surveys, and factors affecting the development of sarcopenia were identified using a multivariable conditional logistic regression model. @*Results@#Participants in the case group included 171 men (46.09%), 254 Han ethnic populations (68.46%) and had a mean age of (73.04±7.83) years. Univariable conditional logistic regression analysis showed that participants with smoking, alcohol consumption, hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, thyroid dysfunction and malnutrition had higher risk of developing sarcopenia (all P<0.05). Multivariable conditional logistic regression analysis identified hypertension (OR=1.851, 95%CI: 1.344-2.549), diabetes (OR=1.537, 95%CI: 1.068-2.213), dyslipidemia (OR=1.542, 95%CI: 1.112-2.140) and thyroid dysfunction (OR=2.575, 95%CI: 1.838-3.609) as risk factors of sarcopenia among the elderly. @*Conclusion@#Hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia and thyroid dysfunction may be risk factors of sarcopenia among the elderly.
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ObjectiveTo explore the risk factors of stroke， and to provide reference for the prevention and health management of stroke. MethodsFrom February 2022 to March 2022， four community residents over 60 years old with stroke in Shanghai were randomly selected as the case group （n=100）， and non-stroke residents were selected as the control group （n=100）. The survey was in the form of questionnaires to record and compare the age， body mass index （BMI）， blood lipids， blood pressure-related indicators， family history of other diseases， living habits， mood and sleep conditions of all subjects. The value of predicting the incidence of stroke among the elderly in Shanghai community was analyzed by receiver operating characteristic （ROC）， and the influencing factors of stroke were analyzed by logistic model. ResultsBMI， hypertension， heart disease， diabetes， transient ischemic attack （TIA）， dyslipidemia， family history of stroke， smoking， lack of exercise or only light physical labor， SBP， DBP， TG levels were significantly higher in the case group （P<0.05）. The level of HDL-C was significantly lower than that in the control group （P<0.05）. BMI， SBP， DBP， TG， HDL-C predicted the incidence of stroke by ROC analysis （P<0.05）. Logistic regression analysis showed that BMI≥23.820 kg·m-2， heart disease， diabetes， TIA， dyslipidemia， family history of stroke， smoking， lack of exercise or only light physical labor， SBP≥139.535 mmHg， DBP≥89.605 mmHg， TG≥1.565 mmol·L-1 and HDL-C≤1.105 mmol·L-1 were risk factors for stroke （P<0.05）. ConclusionPhysical health status including blood lipids and blood pressure， family history of certain diseases， and living habits could be important risk factors for stroke in the elderly in Shanghai community. Preventive intervention measures for the above factors have important clinical significance.
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【Objective】 To investigate the relationship between maternal oral health behavior during pregnancy and premature birth. 【Methods】 A total of 248 preterm and 700 non-preterm pregnant women who delivered in Northwest Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Shaanxi Province from January to December 2022 were included in case group and control group, respectively. General demographic characteristics and oral health behavior during pregnancy were collected by questionnaires, and the oral health impact profile-14 (OHIP-14) was used to assess the oral health related life quality of pregnant women. Logistic regression model was used to analyze the relationship between maternal oral health behavior during pregnancy and premature birth. 【Results】 During pregnancy, maternal frequent eating after brushing teeth (OR=1.62, 95% CI: 1.03-2.57), unused fluoride toothpaste (OR=2.03, 95%CI: 1.25-3.05), late visit to the doctor for oral discomfort (OR=1.41, 95%CI: 1.02-1.96), brushing teeth less than twice one day (OR=1.77, 95%CI: 1.13-2.78) or less than 3 minutes each time (OR=1.52, 95%CI: 1.09-2.11), and elevated OHIP-14 score (OR=1.07, 95%CI: 1.04-1.10) increased the risk of premature birth. 【Conclusion】 Poor oral health behavior during pregnancy may increase the risk of premature birth. Therefore, more efforts should be made to publicize oral health knowledge and guide pregnant women to establish good oral health habits so as to improve oral health and promote maternal and child health.
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【Objective】 To conduct a case-control study on precocious puberty as an example to introduce the establishment and design of the electronic Data capture and management platform using Research Electronic data Capture (REDCap) system and support the development of clinical research. 【Methods】 Based on the clinical REDCap system, the case-control research project of precocious puberty was created, the case report forms were designed, the user rights were set, and the data quality control rules were formulated. 【Results】 We established the electronic data capture and management platform for our research, which had 15 case report forms, to collect the data of the participants, including sociodemographic information, time for rest and activities, diet, exposure to environmental internal-secretion interfering-substances, physical examination and biochemical indicators. We conducted project management by setting up features such as user permissions and workgroups, and added data quality verification rules to control data quality. The data could be exported in various file formats for analysis and sharing. 【Conclusion】 The application of REDCap to establish the data capture and management platform of precocious puberty case-control study has promoted the efficient implementation of clinical research, which can be further popularized and applied to clinical researches in other fields.
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Objective:The study aimed to investigate the association between lesion location and post-stroke depression (PSD) in acute ischemic stroke patients.Methods:In this case-control study, acute ischemic stroke patients were recruited from the Department of Neurology, First Affiliated Hospital of the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), between September 2020 and June 2021. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) criteria, the patients were divided into the PSD and non-PSD groups. The 24-item Hamilton Rating Scale (HAMD) was used to evaluate the severity of depression. The Student′s t-test, Mann-Whitney test, and Chi-square test were used to compare the clinical baseline characteristics of PSD and non-PSD groups. Voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping (VLSM) was applied to investigate the association between lesion location and depression occurrence and severity. Results:A total of 70 and 173 patients were admitted to the PSD and non-PSD groups, respectively. The mean age of patients was 59 years (23-86). There were 153 males and 90 females. Univariate analysis showed a significant difference only in Hamilton Anxiety ( P=0.025) and Depression ( P<0.001) scores between the PSD and non-PSD groups. VLSM analysis identified clusters within the anterior cingulate gyrus ( Z=-3.05, P<0.001), left hippocampus ( Z=-3.15, P<0.001), and left lingual lobe ( Z=-3.08, P<0.001) where lesions were significantly associated with PSD. Additionally, the severity of PSD was associated with damage in the anterior cingulate gyrus ( Z=-3.64, P<0.001), left hippocampus ( Z=-3.51, P<0.001), left lingual lobe ( Z=-4.18, P<0.001), and pericalcarine cortex ( Z=-3.65, P<0.001). Conclusion:VLSM demonstrated that lesion location could be used to predict the occurrence of PSD in patients with acute ischemic stroke.
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Objective:To analyze the relationship between dietary composition of residents in endemic fluorosis areas and skeletal fluorosis.Methods:A case-control study was used to analyze the difference of dietary composition between patients with skeletal fluorosis (case group) and residents without skeletal fluorosis (control group). In August 2019, taking the drinking water-borne endemic fluorosis area in Wenshui County, Lvliang City, Shanxi Province as the survey site, a cluster sampling method was adopted to select local residents aged over 18 years old, and a questionnaire survey was conducted by face-to-face interview. The survey contents included gender, age and consumption frequency of various foods. Binary logistic regression was used to analyze the relationship between food consumption frequency and skeletal fluorosis. The diagnosis of skeletal fluorosis was made by using portable digital radiography (DR) to take X-ray films of forearm and lower leg, combining with clinical signs, and according to the Diagnostic Standard for Endemic Skeletal Fluorosis (WS/T 192-2008) to determine.Results:A total of 1 061 subjects were included in this study, including 376 in the case group and 685 in the control group. The age composition of patients in the case group (≤60, > 60 years old: 162, 214 cases) was significantly different from that in the control group (≤60, > 60 years old: 423, 261 cases, χ 2 = 34.52, P < 0.001). There was no statistically significant difference in gender ratio (χ 2 = 1.37, P = 0.251). The proportion of patients in the case group who ate meat and eggs > 1 time/week was lower than that in the control group (χ 2 = 8.06, 5.46, P < 0.05), the proportion of patients who ate milk > 1 time/week was higher than that in the control group (χ 2 = 4.01, P = 0.046), and the proportion of patients who ate seafood ≥1 time/week was lower than that in the control group (χ 2 = 4.16, P = 0.046). The results of binary logistic regression analysis showed that after adjusting for age, sex, and urinary fluoride, the frequency of eating meat, eggs or milk > 1 time/week and the frequency of eating seafood ≥1 time/week were not related to the risk of skeletal fluorosis ( P > 0.05); however, in the group ≤60 years old, the frequency of eating eggs > 1 time/week was associated with the risk of skeletal fluorosis [odds ratio ( OR) = 0.59, 95% confidence interval ( CI): 0.39, 0.88]. Conclusions:The consumption frequency of meat, milk, eggs and seafood is significantly different between the skeletal fluorosis patients and the control people. In the population ≤60 years old, consumption frequency of eggs > 1 time/week may reduce the risk of skeletal fluorosis.
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Objective:To investigate the association between gene polymorphisms in vitamin D receptor(VDR) and Tourette syndrome (TS).Methods:The genetic contributions of VDR FokI (rs2228570), BsmI (rs1544410), and Cdx2 (rs11568820) polymorphisms were genotyped by TaqMan allelic discrimination real-time (RT)-PCR, which evaluated by a case-control analysis in 417 TS patients and 442 healthy controls, and followed by a family-based study in 417 TS trios.Chi-square test and relative risk analysis were conducted by IBM SPSS 23.0 software.Results:FokI (rs2228570) had three genotypes(CC=109, CT=235, TT=73); BsmI (rs1544410) had three genotypes(AA=2, AG=45, GG=370); Cdx2 (rs11568820) had three genotypes(AA=71, AG=200, GG=146). No significant difference in genotype ( χ2=5.516, P=0.063; χ2=3.466, P=0.177; χ2=0.561, P=0.755, respectively) or allele frequencies( χ2=0.840, P=0.359; χ2=3.376, P=0.066; χ2=0.051, P=0.822, respectively)of FokI, BsmI and Cdx2 were identified between TS patients and control groups.No significant over-transmission was identified for these three polymorphisms among 417 TS trios in the family-based study (TDT for FokI: χ2=0.009, P=0.962; for BsmI: χ2=1.220, P=0.320; and for Cdx2: χ2=0.260, P=0.646). Haplotype relative risk (HRR) analysis and haplotype-based haplotype relative risk (HHRR) analysis showed no significant difference in allele frequencies distribution of FokI, BsmI and Cdx2 (all P>0.05). Conclusion:VDR receptor gene polymorphism has no effect on TS susceptibility in the Chinese Han population. However, a potential role of VDR should be explored in more polymorphisms, different populations and larger samples.
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Background Exposure to uranium can result in multi-organ toxicity in humans. Some experimental studies have shown that uranium presents a damaging effect on liver, but no relevant population studies have been reported. Objective To investigate a potential association of plasma uranium exposure with liver injury. Methods The inhabitants of two representative areas of heavy metal pollution in northern and southern Hunan were selected as the research subjects. A total of 740 participants were recruited through 1∶1 paired case-control design based on a pre-determined diagnostic criterion for liver injury (defined as two or more anomalies among alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, and total bilirubin in the health examination) and the principle of case-control comparability. Information such as general demographic characteristics and medical history were collected through questionnaires and physical examination. Plasma uranium and liver function were determined by laboratory tests. Spearman correlation was applied to assess the association between plasma uranium concentration and liver injury indexes, and restricted cubic spline model was used to evaluate the dose-response relationship between plasma uranium concentration and liver injury. The participants were divided into four groups from Q1 to Q4 according to the quartile values of plasma uranium concentration of the control group after natural logarithmic transformation (with the Q1 group as the reference group), and the association between plasma uranium concentration and liver injury was evaluated by conditional logistic regression. Results The plasma uranium level in M (P25, P75) of the case group was 10.89 (6.78-18.53) ng·L−1, higher than that in the control group, 9.26 (5.01-14.38) ng·L−1 (P<0.001). The results of Spearman correlation analysis showed that alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase were positively correlated with plasma uranium level (rs=0.138, rs=0.167; P<0.001). The restricted cubic spline model showed that the risk of liver injury increased with the increase of plasma uranium concentration (overall effect P<0.001). After adjusting for confounding factors such as gender, age, smoking, alcohol consumption, and prevalence of hypertension and hyperlipidemia, the results of conditional logistic regression analysis showed that the risks of liver injury in the Q2 group, the Q3 group, and the Q4 group were 2.043 (95%CI: 1.135-3.680), 2.246 (95%CI: 1.238-4.075), and 3.536 (95%CI: 1.955-6.397) times higher than that of the Q1 group respectively. Conclusion Plasma uranium exposure is associated with liver injury. This study is the first to provide population-level evidence of such an association.
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Background Current evidence on whether occupational sulfur dioxide (SO2) exposure affects the risk of hypertension is still limited, and the research results of the effect of environmental SO2 exposure on risk of hypertension remain inconsistent. Objective To analyze the association between self-reported occupational exposure to SO2 and the risk of hypertension, and the potential dose-response relationship between the years of exposure to SO2 and the risk of hypertension. Methods Based on the Jinchang cohort, a nested case-control study design was adopted. A total of 841 newly diagnosed hypertension patients were followed up as the case group, and the control group was selected with 1∶1 individual matching based on non-occupational factors and occupational factors, respectively. The former matching conditions included age ±2 years old, same gender, working age ±2 years, and home address in the same sub-district. The latter was limited to working in the same workshop on the basis of the former conditions. Finally, the former included 717 controls and the latter included 488 controls. A unified questionnaire was used to collect general demographic characteristics, lifestyle habits, history of diabetes, family history of hypertension, and information on occupational exposure to SO2 (self-reported history of occupational exposure to SO2 and years of exposure to SO2). Conditional logistic regression model was used to analyze the association between occupational exposure to SO2 and hypertension, and the dose-response relationship between the years of SO2 exposure and the risk of hypertension. Results In the nested case-control study matching with the non-occupational factors, the OR of hypertension in workers with self-reported occupational exposure to SO2 was 2.39 (95%CI: 1.68-3.39); while when matching with the occupational factors, the OR of hypertension in workers with self-reported occupational exposure to SO2 was 1.48 (95%CI: 1.04-2.12). The results of the dose-response relationship showed that as the SO2 exposure years increased from 1-9 years, 10-19 years, 20-29 years, and 30 years and above, in the nested case-control study matching with non-occupational factors, the ORs of hypertension were 1.85 (95%CI: 0.68-5.08), 1.46 (95%CI: 0.58-3.67), 1.64 (95%CI: 1.00-2.67), and 4.95 (95%CI: 2.63-9.31), respectively; in the nested case-control study matching with occupational factors, the ORs of hypertension were 0.98 (95%CI: 0.40-2.41), 1.84 (95%CI: 0.72-4.70), 1.37 (95%CI: 0.82-2.29), and 2.44 (95%CI: 1.37-4.35), respectively. The two dose-response relationships were positive by χ2 trend test (Ptrend<0.05). Conclusion Self-reported occupational exposure to SO2 is associated with the risk of hypertension in the study population, and the hypertension risk increases with the increase of SO2 exposure years.
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OBJECTIVE@#To compare clinical efficacy of scarf osteotomy and double metatarsal osteotomy(DMO) in treating moderate to severe hallux valgus.@*METHODS@#Fifty patients (81 feet) with moderate to severe hallux valgus deformity were treated from January 2017 to December 2019, and were divided into Scarf osteotomy (SO) group or DMO group according to different osteotomy methods. There were 26 patients (44 feet) in SO group, including 1 male and 25 females, aged from 48 to 65 years old with an average of (55.5±4.67) years old;18 patients (30 feet) with moderate and 8 patients (14 feet) with severe. There were 24 patients(37 feet) in DMO group, including 1 male and 23 females, aged from 45 to 62 years old with an average of (52.1±6.8) years old;there were 14 patients (24 feet) with moderate and 10 patients (13 feet) with severe. Hallux valgus angle (HVA), intermetatarsal angle (IMA), distal metatarsal articular angle (DMAA) and relative length of the first metatarsal(RLFM) on weight-bearing anteroposterior radiographs before and after operation were compared. American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) hallux, metatarsal, and interphalangeal joint scores was used for evaluate clinical effects. Weight bearing time and complications were observed.@*RESULTS@#Fivty patients were followed up. The follow-up time in SO group ranged from 12 to 36 months with an average of(20.50±6.22) months and from 16 to 28 months with an avaerge of(19.80±2.44) months in DMO group while there was no significant difference between two groups(P>0.05). All incision healed at stage I, and osteotomy healed at (20.31±3.17) months after operation. One patient occurred hallux adduction deformity, without transferred metatarsalgia;2 patients occurred metastatic metatarsalgia in DMO group. There were no significant difference in HVA, IMA, DMAA, and AOFAS scores between two groups(P>0.05) before and after operation. There was no significant difference in RLFM between two groups(P>0.05), while had significant difference in RLFM between two groups at final follow-up (P<0.05). Partial weight-bearing time and full weight-bearing time in SO group were significantly earlier than those in DMO group (P<0.05).@*CONCLUSION@#Both of Scarf osteotomy and the first metatarsal biplane osteotomy could effectively treat moderate to severe hallux valgus deformity, with similar imaging and clinical evaluation. However, the relative length of the first metatarsal bone in SO group was longer than that in DMO group after operation, and the time of weight bearing in Scarf osteotomy is earlier than that of double metatarsal osteotomy of the first metatarsal.