ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To examine the prevalence of cancer-related cognitive impairment (CRCI) and its contributing factors in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and explore the relationship between various assessment methods. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 367 patients with NPC between March 2022 and April 2024 at Chongqing University Cancer Hospital. The data gathered from the demographic questionnaire, Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Cognitive Function (FACT-Cog), Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), and Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) were analyzed using logistic regression. RESULTS: Out of 367 participants, males accounted for 271 (73.84%). There were 217 (59.13%) individuals aged between 35-55 years. Cognitive impairment incidence was 58.04% using MoCA and 47.98% using FACT-Cog. Years of education, work condition, age and time since diagnosis (≥ 11 months) were all significantly associated with cognitive impairment using MoCA, the strongest being time since diagnosis (≥ 11 months) (OR = 2.672, 95% CI = 1.191-5.997, P = 0.017). Gender, marital status (married), place of residence (township), place of residence (city), alcohol history, SAS and SDS were all significantly associated with FACT-Cog, the strongest being marital status (married) (OR = 4.100, 95% CI = 1.130-14.87, P = 0.032). CONCLUSION: Patients diagnosed with NPC exhibit susceptibility to CRCI. There was a weak correlation between some aspects of the subjective tests and the objective test scores. Advanced age and disease diagnosis longer than 10 months are associated with a heightened risk of objective cognitive impairment. Furthermore, residing in rural areas, female, married, alcohol history, SAS and SDS increases the likelihood of subjective cognitive impairment. These findings highlight the need to select appropriate assessment scales for different needs and take targeted interventions to address CRCI in patients with NPC.
ABSTRACT
Chronic urticaria (CU) is a prevalent skin disorder greatly impacting the patients' life quality, in which immune dysregulation mediated by gut microbiome plays a significant role. Several studies have found the gut dysbiosis exists in patients with CU. In addition, infection may also be one of the causes of CU. The primary treatment currently used for CU is the second-generation non-sedating H1-antihistamines (nsAH). However, there are some limitations in current therapies. Based on the latest evidence, this review provides an updated overview of how the gut dysbiosis influences CU development, explores potential therapeutic approaches based on the gut microbiota and summarizes the interaction between gut microbiota and current treatment.