Category: Nevin Manimala

Orv Hetil. 2026 Apr 26;167(17):651-660. doi: 10.1556/650.2026.33525. Print 2026 Apr 26.

ABSTRACT

The authors provide an overview of the effects of physiotherapy on the immune response. Immunomodulation plays a decisive role in the analgesic and anti-inflammatory mechanisms underlying physiotherapy. Exercise is the most prominent physiotherapy treatment, for which the most evidence exists. The skeletal muscle is a secretory organ that releases myokines in response to movement. One of the best-known of these is irisin, a movement-induced myokine. Irisin plays an important role in inhibiting oxidative stress, reducing systemic inflammatory responses, and providing neuroprotection. It also has a positive effect on the functions of regulatory T cells, modulates immune cells, and increases the production of anti-inflammatory cytokines. Physiotherapy plays a significant role in improving the clinical condition of patients with autoimmune diseases. The beneficial tumor-immunological effects of regular physical activity are not accompanied by harmful side effects. Physiotherapy increases the number of natural killer cells, which play an important role in the defense against tumors. Massage, electrotherapy, and photomodulation treatments also affect the immune response. Following radon and sulfur bath treatments, statistically significant reductions in cytokine levels and other inflammatory biomarkers were observed. The anti-inflammatory effect of whole-body cryotherapy may also be due to a decrease in interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor levels. Knowledge of the effects of physiotherapy treatments on the immune response may be an important consideration when choosing a treatment strategy for these diseases. Orv Hetil. 2026; 167(17): 651-660.

PMID:42035409 | DOI:10.1556/650.2026.33525

G3 (Bethesda). 2026 Apr 24:jkag100. doi: 10.1093/g3journal/jkag100. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Identifying population structure from genetic data is a key challenge, for which several statistical methods have been developed, including F-statistics, which measure the average correlation in allele frequency differences between two pairs of populations. F-statistics are typically applied to a subset of genetic variation within the common allele frequency band, available through microarrays and SNP enrichment techniques. Recent advances in sequencing technology increasingly allow generating whole-genome sequencing data, both ancient and modern, which not only enable querying nearly every base of the genome, but also contain numerous rare variants. Rare variants, with their more population-specific distribution, allow detection of recent population structure with much finer resolution than common variants – an opportunity that has so far been under-exploited. Here, we develop a new statistical method, RAS (Rare Allele Sharing), for summarizing rare allele frequency correlations, similar to F-statistics but with flexible ascertainment on allele frequencies. We test RAS on both published and simulated data and find that RAS, with appropriate ascertainment, has better resolution than genome-wide F-statistics in identifying population structure caused by recent demographic events. Leveraging this, we further develop the use of RAS to compute ancestry proportions accurately in cases of recently diverged and closely-related source populations. We implemented the new statistical methods as an R package and a command line tool. In summary, our method can provide new perspectives to identify and model population structure, allowing us to understand more subtle relationships among populations in the recent human past.

PMID:42035364 | DOI:10.1093/g3journal/jkag100

IISE Trans Occup Ergon Hum Factors. 2026 Apr 26:1-11. doi: 10.1080/24725838.2026.2653520. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Occupational ApplicationsThis study protocol outlines a co-design approach to develop a workplace-based intervention for radiographers to prevent and manage work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSDs) and enhance overall well-being. By engaging radiographers, occupational health specialists, and other relevant stakeholders in the intervention design process, the resulting interventions will be tailored specifically to the physical, cognitive, and organizational demands of imaging work. Beyond radiography, the methodology offers a transferable, step-by-step framework for identifying occupation-specific risk factors and translating these findings into tailored, feasible solutions. The protocol advances ergonomics practice by shifting from a prescriptive, one-size-fits-all approach to a collaborative, context-specific design, thereby ensuring that any resulting intervention is both evidence-informed and operationally sustainable, and aligned with real-world workplace needs.

PMID:42035363 | DOI:10.1080/24725838.2026.2653520

Public Health Rep. 2026 Apr 26:333549261435518. doi: 10.1177/00333549261435518. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: Accurate mortality data for American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) people are critical for describing health disparities and program planning needs. We describe the rates of leading causes of death among non-Hispanic AI/AN as compared with non-Hispanic White populations living in the same area, by sex and Indian Health Service (IHS) Area in 2020.

METHODS: We used the 2020 US Cancer Statistics AI/AN Mortality Database and SEER*Stat software to calculate sex-specific age-adjusted death rates (per 100 000 population) for the 15 leading causes of death among non-Hispanic AI/AN and non-Hispanic White people in the United States overall (all areas combined), by IHS Area, and by age group. We restricted analyses to non-Hispanic AI/AN and non-Hispanic White people living in Purchased/Referred Care Delivery Area counties.

RESULTS: Death rates were higher among non-Hispanic AI/AN people than among non-Hispanic White people in the United States overall (rate ratio = 1.90) and in every IHS Area (rate ratio range = 1.11-2.78). Death rates also varied by sex and age. Death rates were nearly 4 times higher among non-Hispanic AI/AN people than among non-Hispanic White people in the 25- to 44-year age group. Leading causes of death among non-Hispanic AI/AN males and females included COVID-19, heart disease, unintentional injury, cancer, and chronic liver disease.

CONCLUSIONS: Death rates differed between non-Hispanic AI/AN and non-Hispanic White people by IHS Area, sex, and age when data corrected for racial misclassification were used. Our findings have important implications for guiding future public health practice to address disparities in mortality, particularly in the context of public health emergencies.

PMID:42035359 | DOI:10.1177/00333549261435518

West Afr J Med. 2025 Dec 30;42(9):747-754.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) and excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) are recognized contributors to road traffic accidents (RTAs). However, the association between OSA, EDS, and RTAs remains underexplored among Nigerian truck drivers.

METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 306 adult male long-distance truck drivers in Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria. The Berlin Questionnaire was used to assess the risk of OSA while the Epworth Sleepiness Scale evaluated excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), and self-reported previous RTAs were adapted in the questionnaire.

RESULTS: The mean age (SD) of the truck drivers was 42.3±9.1 years. The prevalence of snoring, excessive daytime sleepiness and dozing off while driving among the participants was 57%, 46.7% and 21% respectively. Overall, 43.5% of truck drivers were identified as having high risk for OSA. The risk factors associated with OSA were advanced age (50 years and above), self-reported systemic hypertension, obesity and increased neck circumference. In the three years preceding the study, approximately one-third of truck drivers reported being involved in RTAs which was associated with the use of stimulants aOR 11.63(95%CI 3.73 to 36.24, p=0.001), sleeping pills aOR 5.26(95%CI 1.50 to 18.40, p=0.001), high OSA risk aOR 2.21 (95%CI 1.60 to 4.80, p=0.03), EDS aOR 2.75(1.60 to 4.80, p=0.001) and extended working hours aOR 1.02(95%CI 1.00 to 1.04, p=0.03). More than 90% of the drivers were unaware that EDS constitutes a medical concern.

CONCLUSION: The high prevalence of excessive daytime sleepiness, and obstructive sleep apnoea among truck drivers highlights the underrecognized contributors to road traffic accidents. This underscores the need for targeted sleep disordered screening and regulatory interventions by policymakers to improve road safety in Nigeria.

PMID:42035348

Am J Ind Med. 2026 Apr 26. doi: 10.1002/ajim.70084. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Use of aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) is a source of exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) for firefighters working in aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF) settings. However, data characterizing the association between serum PFAS concentrations and exposure risk factors for ARFF firefighters are limited.

METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, ARFF firefighters (N = 193) from six U.S. commercial airports provided serum for quantification of nine PFAS and completed a survey in 2019-2020. A drinking water sample from each fire station was also analyzed for 29 PFAS. Serum PFAS concentrations were compared with demographically-similar participants from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2017-March 2020. Multivariable linear regression was used to identify factors associated with serum PFAS concentrations.

RESULTS: Geometric mean serum concentrations of perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) branched isomers, and perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUnDA) were statistically higher in ARFF firefighters compared with NHANES participants. PFAS were detected in tap water at three fire departments, but only one department was characterized by detection of select PFAS (perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), PFOS, and PFHxS) in both water and serum. Past employment, detection of PFAS in drinking water, and age were positively associated with select PFAS concentrations; a recent change in workplace AFFF behavior or practice, female sex, and Black race exhibited inverse associations.

CONCLUSIONS: Participants reporting changes in workplace behavior, policy, or practice had lower summed PFAS concentrations, suggesting these measures may help reduce exposure. Continued research is needed to evaluate exposure reduction strategies for firefighters, particularly those working in ARFF settings.

PMID:42035339 | DOI:10.1002/ajim.70084

Stat Med. 2026 May;45(10-12):e70570. doi: 10.1002/sim.70570.

ABSTRACT

With the advent of high-throughput techniques, multi-omics data and various clinical outcomes have been collected for a range of diseases. Multi-omics data play a crucial role in uncovering complex biological processes, yet simultaneous representation learning of such high-dimensional, heterogeneous multi-modality data along with clinical outcomes remains limited. To address this gap, we propose a supervised knowledge-guided Bayesian factor model for integrative analysis of multi-omics and clinical outcome data. The proposed method simultaneously extracts an informative low-dimensional representation and predicts one or more clinical outcomes of interest. The two-level adaptive shrinkage in the novel hierarchical priors allows for the identification of both active modalities and features, resulting in a biologically meaningful structural identification of the high-dimensional data. Moreover, the method is robust to noisy edges in biological graphs that do not align with ground truth. Finally, the proposed method can handle different data types including both continuous and categorical data. Extensive simulation studies and real data analyses of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) data demonstrate the advantages of the proposed approach over existing methods. Notably, our analysis of multi-omics and imaging phenotype data from ADNI provides meaningful insights into the underlying biological mechanisms of AD.

PMID:42035335 | DOI:10.1002/sim.70570

West Afr J Med. 2025 Dec 30;42(9):739-746.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The links between periodontal disease and a number of systemic diseases including respiratory diseases have been widely reported in the literature. The burden and prevalence of periodontal disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is increasing globally. Periodontitis is now recognised as an independent risk factor for COPD. In addition, these two chronic diseases have similar pathogenic mechanisms. Despite these facts, the role of prevention of periodontitis in the management of COPD had not been fully explored. The aim of the study was to look at the effect of non-surgical periodontal therapy on the control of symptoms of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) in our resource-limited settings.

METHODS: Sixty-nine COPD patients with concurrent periodontitis, who were at least 40 years old, were recruited from the Chest clinic of a tertiary institution in Ile Ife, Osun State, Nigeria between July 2021 and January 2023. Using GraphPad software, the participants were randomly categorised into two groups (control and intervention). The intervention group received non-surgical periodontal therapy (NSPT) and oral hygiene instructions (OHI) while the control group received oral hygiene instruction (OHI) only after the initial determination of the aMMP-8 assay and oral examinations. However, they had their non-surgical periodontal therapy after the three months follow-up. Clinical parameters such as COPD Assessment Test (CAT) scores, probing pocket depths (PPD), clinical attachment level (CAL) and a biomarker active matrix metalloproteinase-8 (aMMP-8) were recorded at baseline and after 3 months. Independent t-test was used for normally distributed variables for the two groups while Mann-Whitney U test was used for non-normally distributed variables. Paired t-test was used for the intra-group comparisons of the mean values and p value set at <0.05.

RESULTS: A total of 69 participants comprising 35 participants in the intervention group and 34 participants in the control group were enrolled in this study. The intervention group demonstrated statistically significant improvements in the CAT scores from 18.66 to 15.06 (p<0.04), aMMP-8 from 26.28ng/ml to 18.66ng/ml (p<0.001), mean PPD from 2.78mm to 2.64mm (p<0.05) and mean CAL from 4.64mm to 4.50mm (p<0.001) in comparison to the control group ( CAT scores from 18.91 to 17.59 p=0.07, aMMP-8 from 30.80ng/ml to 27.11ng/ml p=0.11, mean PPD from 2.82mm to 2.84mm p=0.37, and mean CAL from 4.88mm to 4.89mm p=0.69).

CONCLUSION: The results of this study emphasize the possible advantages of incorporating periodontal care into strategies for managing COPD.

PMID:42035331

West Afr J Med. 2025 Dec 30;42(9):733-738.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Tropical Diabetic Hand Syndrome (TDHS) is an acute, rapidly progressive hand infection affecting patients with diabetes mellitus (DM), often following trivial trauma. Unlike those with diabetic foot disease, neuropathy and vasculopathy play a minor role, while poor glycaemic control, delayed presentation, and minor injuries are key risk factors. TDHS is often not recognised in Nigeria despite its potential for disability and mortality. This study reviews the management outcomes of patients presenting with TDHS at a tertiary hospital in Nigeria.

METHODOLOGY: A retrospective review was conducted of all patients with DM managed for TDHS at the Jos University Teaching Hospital from 2015 to 2024. Data were extracted on socio-demographics, type and duration of diabetes, clinical presentation, treatment, and outcomes. Descriptive statistics were applied using SPSS version 25.

RESULTS: Thirteen patients were included: mean age 45.4 ± 11.2 years, with a female predominance (61.5%). Most (92.3%) had type 2 diabetes of a median duration of 6 years, and poor glycaemic control was observed in 86.6%. Abscesses (53.8%) and ulcers (30.8%) were the commonest presentations, predominantly affecting the digits (61.5%). Incision and drainage with dressings (that included the use of povidone iodine) was the main surgical treatment, while flap cover was rarely required. The mean hospital stay was 26.5 ± 23.9 days. Outcomes were favourable in 86.6% (discharged), with one death (7.7%) and one patient leaving against medical advice.

CONCLUSIONS: TDHS remains a preventable but serious complication of diabetes in Nigeria, predominantly affecting middle-aged women with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes. Prompt surgical and medical management yielded favourable outcomes, but prolonged hospitalisation and mortality highlight its burden. Strengthening diabetes care, patient education, and clinician awareness are vital to reducing incidence and improving outcomes.

PMID:42035327

J Health Psychol. 2026 Apr 26:13591053261437920. doi: 10.1177/13591053261437920. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Latent profile analysis (LPA) is an emerging approach to analyze the Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-R). LPA creates subgroups with similar illness perceptions. We used simulated data sets to provide suggestions and considerations for IPQ-R researchers implementing LPA. We explored 640 simulation parameters, varying sample size, IPQ-R distribution, covariance, and subscale means, simulating 3 distinct latent subgroups. We simulated 1000 samples for each setting via MClust package in R. Caution should be used when N < 100, as LPA only performs adequately (<50% detection). N ⩾ 100 still may not yield ideal performance depending on sample (e.g., subgroup sizes, within-group variance). With more differences between subgroups, LPA is more accurate. However, researchers have little control over mean differences, except indirectly (e.g., diverse sample). Researchers using LPA with IPQ-R data must carefully consider anticipated sample heterogeneity to establish appropriate sample size estimates. Resources provided in this manuscript can support these determinations.

PMID:42035326 | DOI:10.1177/13591053261437920