A comparison of pregnancy outcomes and congenital malformations in offspring between patients undergoing intracytoplasmic sperm injection and conventional in vitro fertilization: a retrospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: To explore whether intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) would increase the malformation risk in fetuses and live births compared with conventional in vitro fertilization (IVF). DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. PATIENT(S): Data were collected from couples who underwent conventional IVF or ICSI from January 2009 to December 2019 at the Center for Reproductive Medicine of Peking University Third Hospital in the People's Republic of China. A total of 46,167 conventional IVF fresh transfer cycles and 33,247 ICSI fresh transfer cycles were included. INTERVENTION(S): Intracytoplasmic sperm injection and conventional IVF. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): The primary outcomes were congenital abnormalities in live births. The secondary outcomes included the pregnancy outcomes, the malformations among the miscarriages, specific types of malformations in live births, birth weight, and sex. RESULT(S): The rates of congenital malformations in conventional IVF and ICSI were 5.44‰ and 5.78‰, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups, as indicated by the adjusted odds ratio of 1.098 (95% confidence interval 0.787, 1.532). The rates of specific malformations were comparable between ICSI and IVF. Additionally, no discernible disparities were noted in pregnancy outcomes, the malformations among the miscarriages,birth weight between the two groups. CONCLUSION: Our study suggested the safety of ICSI and provided novel evidence by comparing pregnancy outcomes and congenital malformations in offspring between patients undergoing conventional IVF and ICSI.

Reproductive Outcomes of Conventional In Vitro Fertilization and Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection in Patients with Non-Severe Male Infertility Across Poor and Different Sub-Optimal Ovarian Response Categories: A Cohort Study Based on 30,352 Fresh Cycles from 2009-2019.

Due to the influence of economic, social and many other factors, there are more and more reproductive problems. Originally introduced for managing male factor infertility, intracytoplasmic sperm injection had become the most commonly used fertilization treatment in the world, with broadened indications including low oocyte yield, prior fertilization failure with conventional in vitro fertilization etc. However, academic evidence for better live-birth outcomes of intracytoplasmic sperm injection over conventional in vitro fertilization is limited. Thus, we aimed to compare the reproductive outcomes of conventional in vitro fertilization and intracytoplasmic sperm injection in patients with non-severe male factor infertility across poor and different sub-optimal ovarian response categories. The fertility rate, implantation rate, clinical pregnancy rate, live birth rate and other obstetric outcomes were mainly compared. Our results showed that independent of the number of oocytes retrieved, intracytoplasmic sperm injection significantly increased the fertilization rate, while conventional in vitro fertilization cycles showed a higher implantation rate, clinical pregnancy rate, and live birth rate. No differences were observed in most obstetric outcomes. Our study indicates that poor ovarian response is not an indication for intracytoplasmic sperm injection in couples with non-severe male infertility.

Prevalence of eye and adnexal disorders among elderly inmates in Taiwan prisons.

BACKGROUND: Prisoner health is a topic of significant importance; however, it has received limited attention in epidemiological studies, likely because of challenges in obtaining relevant data. Specifically, research on ocular disorders among elderly prisoners is lacking. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of disorders of the eye and adnexa among elderly prisoners in Taiwan. METHODS: We investigated the presence of eye and adnexal disorders in elderly prisoners in Taiwan using data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. The ocular disorders were identified using the appropriate disease codes in the International Classification of Diseases, 9th revision Clinical Modification (codes 360-379). In addition, the most common types of eye and adnexal disorders among the prisoners were identified. RESULTS: A total of 2215 elderly prisoners (age ≥ 65 years; 2073 men and 142 women) were examined. The prevalence of eye and adnexal disorders among the prisoners was 18.87%. The elderly female prisoners exhibited a higher prevalence of eye and adnexal disorders than the elderly male prisoners. The most common disorders were disorders of the conjunctiva, cataract, and disorders of the lacrimal system. CONCLUSIONS: A considerable proportion of elderly prisoners have disorders of the eye and adnexa. The overall quality of life of elderly prisoners can be improved by addressing their visual health, which contributes to the fulfillment of their basic human rights.

Trends of underweight, overweight, and obesity among older adults in China from 2008 to 2018: a national observational survey.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to investigate the 10-year trends and disparities in underweight, overweight, and obesity among older adults aged 65 years and older in China from 2008 to 2018. METHODS: We used four waves (2008, 2011, 2014, and 2018) of data from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS), a national community-based cross-sectional survey conducted every 2-3 years. Body weight and height were measured by trained assessors following standardized procedures. BMI was calculated and divided into underweight (< 18.5 kg/m2), normal (18.5-24.9 kg/m2), overweight (25.0-29.9 kg/m2), obese (≥ 30.0 kg/m2) according to WHO reference. Multinomial logistic regression models were used to examine factors related with abnormal BMI groups, after adjusting for potential confounders. RESULTS: Among 46,543 older adults in China, the prevalence rates of underweight decreased with each survey year from 2008 to 2018, declining from 20.05 to 7.87% (p < 0.001). In contrast, the prevalence rates of overweight and obesity showed an increasing trend (all p < 0.001). Specifically, the prevalence of overweight rose from 12.82% to 2008 to 28.45% in 2018, and the prevalence of obesity increased from 1.62% to 2008 to 4.95% in 2018. In the multinomial logistic regression model, survey year, gender, residence, marital status, economic status, numbers of chronic diseases, smoking status, sleep quality, and functional disability were factors related with obesity. CONCLUSION: The prevalence rates of overweight and obesity were increasing while the prevalence of underweight and normal weight significantly decreased from 2008 to 2018 among older adults in China, which poses a huge challenge for chronic disease. There is an urgent need for intervention policy planning and early prevention of abnormal body weight for the preparation of an aging society.

Clinical outcome of different embryo transfer strategies after late rescue ICSI procedure: a 10-year total fertilisation failure cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Late rescue intracytoplasmic sperm injection (r-ICSI) has not been widely accepted as an alternative solution for unexpected total fertilisation failure (TFF) after in vitro fertilisation (IVF), due to the time-dependent in vitro deterioration of oocyte quality and endometrial growth not being synchronised with embryo development. This study aimed to evaluate the safety profile and effectiveness of freeze-all blastocyst transfer in combination with late r-ICSI. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study carried out at the Reproductive Centre of Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China. All participants received treatment between 2009 and 2019. 2,270 patients in the aggregate encountered unexpected TFF during 149,054 cycles of IVF and adopted a late r-ICSI procedure. Among these patients, 263 women did not have cleavage-stage embryos available for evaluation. The remaining patients were grouped according to different embryo transfer (ET) strategies (926 women in Group 1 underwent fresh ET, 365 women in Group 2 underwent freeze-all ET, 716 women in Group 3 experienced blastulation failure). Patients received different ET strategies after r-ICSI, with the main outcome measures included live birth rate (LBR), cumulative live birth rate (cLBR), and conservative cLBR. RESULTS: TFF occurred in 7.4% of all IVF cycles. Group 1 tended to be older at oocyte retrieval, with more infertile years, higher follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels, higher gonadotropin consumption, and fewer oocytes retrieved. Group 2 exhibited considerably better LBRs following the first ET cycle (37.53% vs. 4.64%) and cLBRs (52.60% vs. 8.21%). After adjustment for covariates using binary logistic regression analyses, Group 2 still showed better obstetric performance in LBRs [OR:11.77, 95% CI (8.42-16.45)], cLBRs (OR:11.29, 95% CI (7.84-16.27)], and conservative cLBRs (OR:2.55, 95% CI (1.83-3.55)]. Additionally, the two groups showed similar miscarriage rates, whilst no new-borns with malformations or congenital diseases were reported. CONCLUSIONS: Freeze-all blastocyst stage ET serves as an optimal strategy to support late r-ICSI. However, for women with limited oocytes available for r-ICSI use, weighing the benefits against the costs of the procedure might be prudent before implementing in vitro blastulation.

C-reactive protein and coronary atheroma regression following statin therapy: A meta-regression of randomized controlled trials.

Objective: Several clinical trials have indicated that statins stabilize and reverse atherosclerotic plaque. However, different studies have provided inconsistent findings regarding mechanisms and influencing factors of plaque regression under statin therapy. Apart from lipid-lowering effect, statins have pleiotropic effects including anti inflammation in humans. In this study, meta-analysis and meta-regression were used to determine the effects of statin medications on coronary plaque volume. Meanwhile, to assess whether statins promote plaque regression effect was related to their anti-inflammatory ability, the impact of CRP/hsCRP reduction during statin therapy on plaque regression was investigated. Methods: Up to June 15, 2022, a systematic PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane search was performed for randomized controlled trials that assessed treatment effect using total atheroma volume (TAV), percent atheroma volume (PAV), or plaque volume (PV). Only CRP/hsCRP and LDL-C values reported before and after treatment were considered. Results: 12 studies (2,812 patients with heart and/or vascular disease) fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were included in the systematic review. A meta-analysis of 15 statin-treated arms reported a significant reduction in change of TAV/PV [standardized mean difference (SMD): -0.27, 95% confidence intervals (-CI): -0.42, -0.12, p < 0.001], compared with the control arms. Another meta-analysis of 7 trials also found that patients in the intervention group had a significant reduction in change of PAV (SMD: -0.16, 95% CI: -0.29, -0.03, p = 0.019), compared with those in the control group. Meta-regressionanalysis revealed that the percent change of CRP/hsCRP was significantly associated with SMD in change of TAV/PV after adjusting for percent change of LDL-C, age, gender and study duration. Meta-regression analysis showed that percent change of CRP/hsCRP statistically influenced SMD in change of PAV, when percent change of CRP/hsCRP was included separately. However, the percent change of CRP/hsCRP was not significantly associated with SMD of PAV change after adjusting for all covariates. Conclusion: In conclusion, statin therapy is beneficial for plaque regression. Statins promote plaque regression, which might be associated to their anti-inflammatory ability.

A lipid metabolite lipidomics assay for prediction and severity evaluation of rotator cuff injury.

Objective: Rotator cuff injury can be caused by local inflammation and fibrosis of musculotendinous cuff. Hypercholesterolemia can lead to physiological changes of rotator cuff that resemble rotator cuff injury. However, the relationship between lipid metabolism and rotator cuff injury and its potential pathological mechanism remain unclear. Herein, we aimed to investigate the correlation between the plasma lipidome, rotator cuff injury, and successive fatty infiltration pathology, and hoped to identify biomarkers for predicting higher risk or higher severity rotator cuff injury by assessing metabolic perturbations and dyslipidemia using lipidomics. Methods: We quantitatively analyzed 60 lipids species of seven lipids classes and subclasses from 66 subjects using lipidomics. Subjects were divided into four groups: (1) normal rotator cuff with normal clinical routine serum lipid test results (NN group = 13); (2) normal rotator cuff with abnormal clinical routine serum lipid test results (NA group = 10); (3) rotator cuff tear with normal routine serum lipid test results (RN group = 30); (4) rotator cuff tear with abnormal routine serum lipid test results (RA group = 13). Independent-sample t-tests and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to compare lipid metabolite levels in serum between different groups in patients with rotator cuff tears. The orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) model was used to verify the ability of five lysophosphatidylcholines (LPCs) to distinguish rotator cuff injuries. In the rotator cuff tear group, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to classify fatty infiltration according to Goutallier's classification. Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to analyze molecular differences between high-grade (grade 3-4) and low-grade (grade 0-2) fatty infiltration groups. Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves were drawn for each diagnostic method via different metabolites. The area under the curve (AUC), cutoff, specificity, sensitivity, and accuracy of each diagnostic criterion were calculated. Results: Our results showed that some rotator cuff injury patients yielded unique lipidomic profiles. Based on Kruskal-Wallis tests, our results showed significant differences in three lipid molecules, 17:1 Lyso PI, 18:0-22:6 PE, and 18:3 (Cis) PC, among all four groups independent of clinical blood lipid levels. Also, independent of clinical blood lipid levels, two lipid molecules, 22:0 Lyso PC and 24:0 Lyso PC, were significantly different between the two groups based on Independent sample t-tests. Kruskal-Wallis test results showed that in the rotator cuff tear group, two metabolites (24:0 SM and 16:0 ceramide) differed between high-grade and low-grade fatty infiltration. The AUC values for 22:0 Lyso PC, 24:0 Lyso PC, 18:0-22:6 PE, 24:0 SM, and 16:0 ceramide were 0.6036, 0.6757, 0.6712, 0.8333, and 0.8981, respectively. Conclusion: The results provide insight into how the metabolic mechanisms associated with dyslipidemia impact rotator cuff diseases. Five lipid molecules, 17:1 Lyso PI, 18:0-22:6 PE, 18:3 (Cis) PC, 22:0 Lyso PC, and 24:0 Lyso PC, were closely related to rotator cuff tear based on two statistical analysis methods, independent of clinical routine serum lipid test results, which indicates that lipidomics assays are more sensitive than conventional lipid tests, and more suitable for studying rotator cuff lipid metabolism. In addition, two lipid metabolites, 24:0 SM and 16:0 ceramide, are potentially useful for predicting fatty infiltration severity. Further research with a larger number of samples is needed to verify whether these two metabolites can serve as potential markers of severe fatty infiltration. The findings illuminate how metabolic mechanisms associated with dyslipidemia affect rotator cuff disease.

Relationship between seasons and postpartum depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies.

OBJECTIVE: As the reproduction season's effect on the mental health status is unknown, this study aims to explore the association between seasons and postpartum depression. METHODS: A comprehensive search in databases, including PubMed, Cochrane Library, and EMBASE, was performed to identify studies reporting the relationship between reproduction season and postpartum depression. The latter was assessed using certain methods. Moreover, the study design and duration, sample size, the definition of four seasons, outcome assessment, method, and conclusion were extracted. Two independent authors screened the studies independently, and PRISMA 2020 was used as the reporting standard (PRISMA registration ID is 284524). RESULTS: A total of five studies including 103,986 participants met our criteria. In the sensitivity analysis, the result of the meta-analysis shows that women who gave birth in spring, summer, or autumn had a lower risk of postpartum depression compared to those who gave birth in winter (RR: 0.83; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.78-0.88). CONCLUSION: Women who gave birth in the other seasons were less likely to have postpartum depression compared to those who gave birth in winter. This result could help couples make overall decisions and help the puerpera take preventive measures against postpartum depression.