Joint modeling of longitudinal and competing risks for assessing blood oxygen saturation and its association with survival outcomes in COVID-19 patients.

BACKGROUND: The objective of the present study is to evaluate the association between longitudinal and survival outcomes in the presence of competing risk events. To illustrate the application of joint modeling in clinical research, we assessed the blood oxygen saturation (SPO2) and its association with survival outcomes in coronavirus disease (COVID-19). MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this prospective cohort study, we followed 300 COVID-19 patients, who were diagnosed with severe COVID-19 in the Rohani Hospital in Babol, the north of Iran from October 22, 2020 to March 5, 2021, where death was the event of interest, surviving was the competing risk event and SPO2 was the longitudinal outcome. Joint modeling analyses were compared to separate analyses for these data. RESULT: The estimation of the association parameter in the joint modeling verified the association between longitudinal outcome SPO2 with survival outcome of death (Hazard Ratio (HR) = 0.33, P = 0.001) and the competing risk outcome of surviving (HR = 4.18, P < 0.001). Based on the joint modeling, longitudinal outcome (SPO2) decreased in hypertension patients (ß = -0.28, P = 0.581) and increased in those with a high level of SPO2 on admission (ß = 0.75, P = 0.03). Also, in the survival submodel in the joint model, the risk of death survival outcome increased in patients with diabetes comorbidity (HR = 4.38, P = 0.026). CONCLUSION: The association between longitudinal measurements of SPO2 and survival outcomes of COVID-19 confirms that SPO2 is an important indicator in this disease. Thus, the application of this joint model can provide useful clinical evidence in the different areas of medical sciences.

Predictors of nonresponse to treatment and low adherence to internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy in depressed/anxious women facing the couple's fertility problems: a secondary analysis of a randomized control trial.

BACKGROUND: The study aimed to examine the predictors of treatment nonresponse and low adherence to Internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy and face-to-face therapy for treating depression and anxiety in women facing the couple's fertility problems. METHODS: This is a secondary analysis based on a previous randomized controlled trial including 152 depressed/anxious women facing the couple's fertility problems. The study defines low adherence as receiving less than 4 sessions (out of 8 sessions). Nonresponse to treatment refers to a < 50% reduction in the anxiety and depression total scores. RESULTS: A high level of anxiety/depression score before psychotherapy increases the risk of nonresponse to both Internet-based and face-to-face psychotherapies by 1.4 to 2 times in women facing the couple's fertility problems after the treatment and in the 6-month follow-up. However, 4 factors, including diagnosis of mixed anxiety and depression, low education level, long marriage duration, and infertility caused by mixed female/male factors, reduced the risk of nonresponse to psychotherapies. CONCLUSION: Women facing the couple's fertility problems with high depression and anxiety scores are at risk of poor prognosis in response to psychotherapy. Psychologists and healthcare providers of infertility centers should pay more attention to the timely identification and referral of depressed/anxious patients to psychologists.

Comparison of serum vitamin D levels between healthy and ADHD children.

Background: The most common psychiatric disorder in childhood is Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Researchers have studied the effects of micronutrients on ADHD in recent years, but vitamin D (vit D) deficiency has received less attention. In this study, serum vit D levels were compared between healthy and ADHD children. Methods: This case-control study was carried out, in 2020, on 6-to-12-years-old children. There were 45 children with ADHD in the case group and 45 healthy children in the control group. Intravenous blood samples were taken from each child to measure serum vitamin D levels. A p-value < 0.05 was considered as significant. Results: Mean serum vit D levels in children with ADHD (17.34±8.37 ng / ml) were significantly lower than those in the control group (23.02±10.97 ng / ml) (P= 0.007). There were no significant differences in mean serum levels of vit D due to ADHD subtypes. Mean serum vit D levels were not significantly associated with the gender of children with ADHD. There was an inverse correlation between vit D levels and the severity of ADHD, but it was not statistically significant. Conclusion: The present study showed that children with ADHD had significantly lower serum vit D levels than healthy controls.

The association between maternal infection and intellectual disability in children: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: There is arguing evidence regarding the association between maternal infections during pregnancy and the risk of intellectual disability (ID) in children. This systematic review and meta-analysis are essential to determine and address inconsistent findings between maternal infections during pregnancy and the risk of ID in children. METHODS: The MOOSE and PRISMA guidelines were followed to perform and report on this study. The Medline/PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Scopus databases were searched from inception up to March 15, 2023, to identify potentially eligible studies. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied, as well as the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was used to assess the methodological quality of studies included. The included studies were divided into two types based on the participants: (1) ID-based studies, which involved children with ID as cases and healthy children as controls and evaluated maternal infection in these participants; (2) infection-based studies, which assessed the prevalence or incidence of ID in the follow-up of children with or without exposure to maternal infection. We used Random-effects models (REM) to estimate the overall pooled odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). The between-studies heterogeneity was assessed with the χ2-based Q-test and I2 statistic. Subgroup and sensitivity analyses were applied to explore the source of heterogeneity and results consistency. RESULTS: A total of eight studies including 1,375,662 participants (60,479 cases and 1,315,183 controls) met the eligibility criteria. The REM found that maternal infection significantly increased the risk of ID in children (OR, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.21-1.46; I2 = 64.6). Subgroup analysis showed a significant association for both infection-based (OR, 1.27; 95%CI, 1.15-1.40; I2 = 51.2) and ID-based (OR, 1.44; 95%CI, 1.19-1.74; I2 = 77.1) studies. Furthermore, subgroup analysis based on diagnostic criteria revealed a significant association when maternal infection or ID were diagnosed using ICD codes (OR, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.20-1.48; I2 = 75.8). CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that maternal infection during pregnancy could be associated with an increased risk of ID in children. This finding is consistent across different types of studies and diagnostic criteria. However, due to the heterogeneity and limitations of the included studies, we recommend further longitudinal studies to confirm the causal relationship and the underlying mechanisms.

Evaluation of Time-Varying Biomarkers in Mortality Outcome in COVID-19: an Application of Extended Cox Regression Model.

Background: COVID-19 pandemic has created many challenges for clinicians. The monitoring trend for laboratory biomarkers is helpful to provide additional information to determine the role of those in the severity status and death outcome. Objective: This article aimed to evaluate the time-varying biomarkers by LOWESS Plot, check the proportional hazard assumption, and use to extended Cox model if it is violated. Methods: In the retrospective study, we evaluated a total of 1641 samples of confirmed patients with COVID-19 from October until March 2021 and referred them to the central hospital of Ayatollah Rohani Hospital affiliated with Babol University of medical sciences, Iran. We measured four biomarkers AST, LDH, NLR, and lymphocyte in over the hospitalization to find out the influence of those on the rate of death of COVID-19 patients. Results: The standard Cox model suggested that all biomarkers were prognostic factors of death (AST: HR=2.89, P<0.001, Lymphocyte: HR=2.60, P=0.004, LDH: HR=2.60, P=0.006, NLR: HR=1.80, P<0.001). The additional evaluation showed that the PH assumption was not met for the NLR biomarker. NLR biomarkers had a significant time-varying effect, and its effect increase over time (HR(t)=exp (0.234+0.261×log(t)), p=0.001). While the main effect of NLR did not show any significant effect on death outcome (HR=1.26, P=0.097). Conclusion: The reversal of results between the Cox PH model and the extended Cox model provides insight into the value of considering time-varying covariates in the analysis, which can lead to misleading results otherwise.

Prognostic accuracy of inflammatory markers in predicting risk of ICU admission for COVID-19: application of time-dependent receiver operating characteristic curves.

OBJECTIVE: Intensive care unit (ICU) admission occurs at different times during hospitalization among patients with COVID-19. We aimed to evaluate the time-dependent receive operating characteristic (ROC) curve and area under the ROC curve, AUC(t), and accuracy of baseline levels of inflammatory markers C-reactive protein (CRP) and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in predicting time to an ICU admission event in patients with severe COVID-19 infection. METHODS: In this observational study, we evaluated 724 patients with confirmed severe COVID-19 referred to Ayatollah Rohani Hospital, affiliated with Babol University of Medical Sciences, Iran. RESULTS: The AUC(t) of CRP and NLR reached 0.741 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.661-0.820) and 0.690 (95% CI: 0.607-0.772), respectively, in the first 3 days after hospital admission. The optimal cutoff values of CRP and NLR for stratification of ICU admission outcomes in patients with severe COVID-19 were 78 mg/L and 5.13, respectively. The risk of ICU admission was significantly greater for patients with these cutoff values (CRP hazard ratio = 2.98; 95% CI: 1.58-5.62; NLR hazard ratio = 2.90; 95% CI: 1.45-5.77). CONCLUSIONS: Using time-dependent ROC curves, CRP and NLR values at hospital admission were important predictors of ICU admission. This approach is more efficient than using standard ROC curves.

Marital Commitment and Mental Health in Different Patterns of Mate Selection: A Comparison of Modern, Mixed, and Traditional Patterns.

Objective: Marital commitments and mental health are the important indicators of marital quality. Considering the modern and mixed marriage pattern in recent years, compared to the traditional pattern, as well as the increase in divorce rates due to reduced marital commitment, the present study was conducted to compare marital commitment and mental health in various patterns of mate selection among married women. Method : This cross-sectional study was performed on 160 married women aged 15-49 years in Babol city, Iran, who were selected by convenience sampling from health centers under the auspices of Babol University of Medical Sciences. Data collection tools included the spouse-selecting style, marital commitment (Adams and Jones), and general health questionnaires. Data analysis was performed in SPSS V.25 software, using analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Chi square tests. Results: Results showed that the mean score of marital commitment and its three dimensions (commitment to spouse, commitment to marriage and sense of commitment); general health; physical, anxiety and sleep disorders; as well as social function of married women are not significantly different in traditional, mixed and modern marriage patterns. There was a significant difference in the mean score of depression between traditional, mixed and modern marriage patterns. Pairwise, ANOVA revealed that the mean of the depression score was significantly higher in traditional marriage than in the mixed marriage pattern (P = 0.012). Different marriage patterns had statistically significant differences in demographic variables such as age, the place of birth of the wife and the husband, duration of marriage, number of children and the level of education (P < 0.05). Conclusion: It seems that there is a kind of convergence in marital commitment in various patterns of marriage among married women in Babol city.

Verbal and oral apraxia in patients with acute stroke: Frequency, relationship, and some risk factors.

Verbal and oral apraxia are two possible consequences of stroke. It seems that there are not sufficient studies regarding the frequency of these disorders. This study aimed to evaluate the frequency of Verbal and oral apraxia. In addition, the relationship between apraxia and some variables such as age, gender, and education, as well as the relationship between types of apraxia with each other, and damaged areas of the brain in apraxia of the oral system in Persian-speaking patients with stroke were studied. In this descriptive-analytical study, 42 patients participated using the convenient sampling method. Verbal and oral apraxia were assessed using the oral and verbal apraxia tasks for adults test. Data were analyzed using independent t-test, Chi-square, and Fisher's exact test. The frequency of patients with oral apraxia was 35.7%, those with verbal apraxia was 2.3%, and the combination of both verbal and oral apraxia was 4.7%. People with apraxia were significantly older than those without apraxia. There was not any significant relationship between apraxia and gender, apraxia and education, and oral apraxia with verbal apraxia (p < 0.05). The present study's findings showed the high frequency of post-stroke apraxia and the high rate of its incidence with age.

Ophthalmologic outcome of premature infants with or without retinopathy of prematurity at 5-6 years of age.

PURPOSE: Vision is the main source of sensory information to the brain in most species of living and human beings and is one of the most important senses for the normal physical and mental development of children. Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) is one of the leading causes of blindness and visual impairment worldwide. Refractive errors such as myopia, astigmatism, and anisometropia are common in premature infants with or without ROP. METHODS: A prospective cohort study was performed on the population of premature infants. Screening for Retinopathy of Prematurity in neonatal period was performed according to the protocol of ophthalmologic examination and between 4 and 6 weeks after birth by retinal specialist. The case group included 90 children with or without ROP during infancy. Primary and measurable outcomes in the studied children, including visual acuity, refractive errors, strabismus, and amblyopia, were assessed by an optician and retina ophthalmologist. RESULTS: In our study, at the age of 5-6 years, 26.67% of case group and 48.89% of control group had visual impairment. Amblyopia 3.33%, strabismus 6.67% and refractive errors 16.67% were found in the case group. In control group amblyopia was reported 12.22%, strabismus 6.67%, and refractive errors 30%. In this study, visual impairment was higher in the control group than in the case group. CONCLUSION: Considering the high prevalence of visual impairment in the control group children who were all without ROP, it is necessary to emphasize the importance of careful visual examination of the children at a younger age and remind them of the importance of visual impairment.

Stress, Depression, Sexual Function, and Alexithymia in Infertile Females with and without Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: A Case-Control Study.

BACKGROUND: Infertile females experience some types of distress such as social stress, depression, and sexual dysfunction that may be exacerbated by polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). The current study aimed at comparing psychological profile of infertile females with PCOS with that of women without PCOS with respect to four domains: infertility stress, depression, sexual dysfunction, and alexithymia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The current case-control study was conducted on 240 infertile females (120 with PCOS and 120 without PCOS) in Fatemeh Azahra Infertility and Reproductive Health Research Center (Babol, Iran) from 2016 to 2017. The following questionnaires were used to collect data: the fertility problem inventory (FPI), the female sexual function index (FSFI), the Beck depression inventory-II (BDI-II), and the Toronto alexithymia scale (TAS-20). RESULTS: Females with PCOS had higher FPI total scores than the ones without PCOS (120.68 ± 29.42 vs. 112.83 ± 30.94). Of the subscales of infertility stress, the mean scores of social stress and rejection of a future life without a child were higher in females with PCOS than the ones without PCOS (P<0.05). Also, the mean total scores of alexithymia symptoms (TAS-20) in females with PCOS were significantly higher than those of the ones without PCOS (59.83 ± 11.36 vs. 55.69 ± 11.52). There was no significant difference between the two groups regarding the mean scores of depression symptoms and sexual function. CONCLUSION: Infertile females with PCOS experienced higher levels of infertility stress and inability to distinguish and describe their feelings compared with the ones without PCOS. It is suggested that infertility care providers should provide more psychosocial support for infertile females with PCOS.

Cytomegalovirus infection and risk of preeclampsia: A meta-analysis of observational studies.

BACKGROUND: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is one of the most common infectious diseases in pregnant women in terms of global impact and is related with many adverse health consequences during pregnancy. For the first time, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis study to evaluate the possible association between CMV infection and preeclampsia (PE). METHODS: A comprehensive literature search to identify the relevant papers published earlier than February 2018 was performed in PubMed, ISI (Web of Science), Google Scholar and SCOPUS databases. We followed the PRISMA (preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses) guidelines for design, analysis and interpretation of results. Pooled odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using a random-effects meta-analysis model. Heterogeneity was assessed with Q-test and I2 statistics. RESULTS: A total of 13 studies including 6158 pregnant women (2734 women with PE and 3424 healthy controls) met the eligibility criteria. The results of meta-analyses based on PCR (OR: 3.09; 95% CI:0.72-13.24; I2=57.3%), IgG-ELISA (OR: 1.24; 95% CI:0.83-1.85; I2=71%) and IgM-ELISA (OR: 1.04; 95% CI:0.66-1.65; I2=0.0%) demonstrated that CMV infection could not be a potential risk factor for PE. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, results of the present study demonstrated that CMV infection could not be a potential risk for developing PE. More epidemiological and experimental studies are needed to investigate the impact of CMV infection on the development of PE.