Category: Statistics

Environ Monit Assess. 2025 May 13;197(6):652. doi: 10.1007/s10661-025-14073-8.

ABSTRACT

Due to the toxicity and persistence of trace chemical elements, soil contamination has become a crucial issue for its sensitive impact on biodiversity and human health. It is of interest to assess and understand the distribution and sources of potentially toxic elements in the soil, particularly in regions with high topographical and geological diversity. This research represents the first attempt to create a consistent spatial database of the topsoil quality across Albania. Seventy-five topsoil samples were collected at a density of one site every 380 km² and analyzed for 13 chemical elements. The content of potentially toxic elements has been assessed and compared with the neighboring and European regions, as well as the recommended threshold and guideline values. Concentration and geochemically normalized data were used to distinguish between the natural and anthropogenic origins of elements, determine their background levels, and map out the contaminated areas. The content of elements from natural sources remained essentially constant and revealed small variation, while those of anthropogenic and geogenic origins exhibited relatively high variability. Elevated content and significant variation were observed for Cr, Ni, and Co, with an increasing trend, particularly in the eastern part. The geochemical normalization of the data yielded significant insights into the natural and anthropogenic sources and the baseline levels of trace elements in this study area. Factor analysis indicated notable differences between the structure of the concentration and normalized data and identified the same outliers, primarily linked to geological and human-related sources.

PMID:40358823 | DOI:10.1007/s10661-025-14073-8

Phys Eng Sci Med. 2025 May 13. doi: 10.1007/s13246-025-01542-0. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV) is a prevalent vestibular disorder encountered in clinical settings. Diagnosis of this condition primarily relies on the observation of nystagmus, which involves monitoring the eye movements of patients. However, existing medical equipment for collecting and analyzing nystagmus data has notable limitations and deficiencies. To address this challenge, a comprehensive BPPV nystagmus data collection and intelligent analysis framework has been developed. Our framework leverages a neural network model, Egeunet, in conjunction with mathematical statistical techniques like Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), enabling precise segmentation of eye structures and accurate analysis of eye movement data. Furthermore, an eye movement analysis method has been introduced, designed to enhance clinical decision-making, resulting in more intuitive and clear analysis outcomes. Benefiting from the high sensitivity of our eye movement capture and its robustness in the face of environmental conditions and noise, our BPPV nystagmus data collection and intelligent analysis framework has demonstrated outstanding performance in BPPV detection.

PMID:40358819 | DOI:10.1007/s13246-025-01542-0

J Neurooncol. 2025 May 13. doi: 10.1007/s11060-025-05065-2. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Embryonal tumor with multilayered rosettes (ETMR) is a rare pediatric CNS embryonal tumor with poor survival. The Pediatric Proton/Photon Consortium Registry (PPCR) was queried for outcomes data from prospectively consenting pediatric patients with ETMR treated with proton radiation therapy (RT).

METHODS: 20 patients (2013-2021) at 9 institutions had ETMR; 2 with prior RT were excluded from statistical analyses (PPCR ETMR, N = 18). Overall Survival (OS) and Event Free Survival (EFS) analyses were performed using the Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank values. Median follow-up was calculated using the reverse Kaplan-Meier method.

RESULTS: Median age at RT was 3.0 years (1.7-12.2); median follow-up was 55.5 months (2.6-119.4). 8 patients (44%) expired and 6 patients (33%) are surviving ≥ 55 months. 11 (61%) patients received systemic therapy with stem cell support. The majority (89%) had focal RT (median dose 54 Gy), while 2 patients received craniospinal irradiation (CSI, 30.6-36 Gy). 4-year OS and EFS were 59.6% and 54.2%, respectively. Local control (LC) at 4 years was 81%. No differences in OS or EFS were observed for receipt of systemic therapy with stem cell support (p = 0.361, p = 0.57), progression prior to RT (p = 0.127, p = 0.18), or surgery to RT ≥ 200 days (p = 0.35, p = 0.254). Symptomatic radionecrosis was not reported.

CONCLUSION: Focal proton RT provided effective local control as part of multimodality therapy for ETMR, with encouraging survival for this rare and often infant age tumor. Outcomes for CSI were limited to 2 patients treated upfront, and 1 patient receiving salvage CSI for disseminated relapse after focal RT who is surviving > 1 year.

TRIAL REGISTRATION: DFCI protocol 12-103, clinicaltrials.gov NCT01696721, date of registration 9/27/2012.

PMID:40358803 | DOI:10.1007/s11060-025-05065-2

Eur J Popul. 2025 May 13;41(1):12. doi: 10.1007/s10680-025-09733-x.

ABSTRACT

Couple relations are a key determinant of mental and physical well-being in old age. However, we do not know how the advantages and disadvantages associated with partnership histories vary between socioeconomic groups. We create relationship history typologies for the cohorts 1945-1957 using the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe and examine, for the first time, how relationship histories relate to multiple indicators of well-being by educational attainment. The results show that stable marriages predict greater well-being, compared to single and less stable partnership histories. The positive outcomes are similar across all educational groups. Those with lower education who have divorced experience even lower well-being in old age. The interaction analyses suggest that individuals with fewer resources could suffer more from losing a partner. The findings underscore that current and past romantic relationships are linked to well-being in old age and help policymakers identify vulnerable subgroups among the ageing population.

PMID:40358790 | DOI:10.1007/s10680-025-09733-x

Monaldi Arch Chest Dis. 2025 Mar 31;95(1). doi: 10.4081/monaldi.2024.2913. Epub 2024 Apr 30.

ABSTRACT

As a chronic illness, tuberculosis is known to negatively affect patients’ day-to-day functioning. Therefore, evaluating all aspects of their health is imperative to improve their quality of life. The current study was conducted to assess the quality of life of patients receiving tuberculosis therapy and to identify the associated risk factors. A prospective, cross-sectional study of 6 months was planned and conducted in 66 Mycobacterium tuberculosis-infected patients who met the pre-defined inclusion criteria. All pertinent data about the patients were collected in a precisely created data collection form. Further, the brief version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire was used to evaluate the patient’s quality of life. Of the 66 patients who were enrolled, 42 (63.6%) were male, and 14 (21.2%) belonged to the age group of 61-70 years. The domains of physical, psychological, social relationships, and environment had mean scores of 46.76±20.15 standard deviation (SD), 55.02±16.12 SD, 54.83±13.91 SD, and 64.92±14.59 SD, respectively. All four quality-of-life domains were found to have statistically significant associations with a variety of sociodemographic and treatment-related variables. This study gives healthcare practitioners an insight into the need to evaluate patients’ health-related quality of life, particularly for individuals with chronic illnesses.

PMID:40357675 | DOI:10.4081/monaldi.2024.2913

J Am Heart Assoc. 2025 May 13:e036525. doi: 10.1161/JAHA.124.036525. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Research studies of spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) have been primarily focused on European-ancestry individuals, with limited recognition and investigation in non-European-ancestry individuals. While SCAD has not been well ascertained in non-European-ancestry groups, pleiotropic associated traits identified in those of European ancestry have been assessed in individuals of other ancestries. Whether these traits are associated with the complex genetic architecture of SCAD in those of non-European ancestry has not been previously investigated.

METHODS: We investigated the associations of an established SCAD polygenic score with multiple vascular diseases in ≈900 000 ancestrally diverse participants of large-scale studies. Individual-level data from the UK Biobank and the Million Veteran Program and summary statistics of publicly available databases were analyzed.

RESULTS: A set of associations between SCAD polygenic score and related vascular diseases were replicated in non-European samples. Notable associations with the SCAD polygenic score included (1) coronary artery disease, myocardial infarction, and migraine headache in a Hispanic group (coronary artery disease: odds ratio [OR], 0.93 [95% CI, 0.90-0.95]; P=2.35×10^-7; myocardial infarction: OR, 0.88 [95% CI, 0.80-0.96]; P=5.73×10^-3; migraine headache: OR, 1.03 [95% CI, 1.01-1.06]; P=1.86×10^-2) of the Million Veteran Program; (2) headache in an African-ancestry group (OR, 1.22 [95% CI, 1.06-1.41]; P=6.94×10^-3) and a South Asian-ancestry group (OR, 1.18 [95% CI, 1.02-1.37]; P=2.43×10^-2) of the UK Biobank; and (3) coronary artery disease, myocardial infarction, and migraine headache in East Asian-ancestry cohorts (coronary artery disease: OR, 0.95 [95% CI, 0.93-0.98]; P=2.66×10^-3; myocardial infarction: OR, 0.86 [95% CI, 0.83-0.89]; P=9.51×10^-16; migraine headache: OR, 1.27 [95% CI, 1.10-1.47]; P=1.03×10^-3).

CONCLUSIONS: Pleiotropic associations of SCAD polygenic risk with related vascular diseases previously identified in European-ancestry groups showed notable, largely consistent patterns in non-European-ancestry groups.

PMID:40357661 | DOI:10.1161/JAHA.124.036525

Clin Nucl Med. 2025 May 9. doi: 10.1097/RLU.0000000000005940. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Radioactive iodine therapy (RAI) ≥100 mCi (3.7 GBq) is commonly recommended for papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) patients with extranodal extension (ENE). However, no study has evaluated whether RAI ≥100 mCi is effective in reducing the recurrence of PTC with ENE.

METHODS: This retrospective cohort study enrolled 191 PTC patients with ENE who underwent total thyroidectomy and RAI. Recurrence according to RAI activity (<100 vs. ≥100 mCi) was compared before and after propensity score matching (PSM) (1:2) using Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox proportional hazards regression models. Subgroup analyses according to mass size (<4 and ≥4 cm), gender, blood vessel invasion, lymph node (LN) number (≤5 and >5), and stimulated Tg (sTg) level (<10 and ≥10 ng/mL) before and after PSM were performed.

RESULTS: During about 116 months, 5 (12.5%) and 19 (12.6%) before PSM, five (12.5%) and 3 (3.8%) after PSM recorded recurrence in <100 and ≥100 mCi groups, respectively. The impact of RAI ≥100 mCi on reducing recurrence was not significant before [log-rank P = 0.915, adjusted hazard ratio (HR) 0.49 (0.12-1.85); P = 0.294) and after PSM (log-rank P = 0.077). Subgroup analysis after PSM demonstrated the impact of RAI ≥100 mCi on lowering recurrence only in ENE patients with mass size ≥4 cm (log-rank P = 0.008), LN >5 (log-rank P = 0.007), and sTg ≥10 ng/mL (log-rank P = 0.039).

CONCLUSIONS: In PTC patients with ENE, mass size ≥4 cm, LN >5, or sTg ≥10 ng/mL had a benefit from RAI ≥100 mCi compared with RAI <100 mCi.

PMID:40357638 | DOI:10.1097/RLU.0000000000005940

Nurs Open. 2025 May;12(5):e2204. doi: 10.1002/nop2.2204.

ABSTRACT

AIM: This study aimed to determine the relationship between spiritual well-being and perceived social support (PSS) in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).

DESIGN: This was a cross-sectional study.

PATIENT CONTRIBUTION: This study was conducted on 120 patients with MS in Isfahan in 2021. The participants were over 18 years of age and referred to the MS Clinic.

METHODS: The subjects were selected using convenience sampling. Data were collected using Cheraghi and Davari Dolatabadi’s Perceived Social Support and Paloutzian and Ellison’s Spiritual Well-Being (SWB) questionnaires and analysed using descriptive (number and percentage, mean and standard deviation) and inferential (Pearson’s test, linear regression) statistics in SPSS software.

RESULTS: Pearson correlation test indicated that there was a direct relationship between spiritual well-being and the total score of perceived social support (r = 0.415, p < 0.001) and the emotional (r = 0.328, p = 0.004) and informational (r = 0.311, p = 0.006) dimensions; this relationship was not significant in the instrumental dimension (r = 0.197, p = 0.081). Moreover, linear logistic regression analysis showed that in MS patients, the chance of spiritual well-being among MS patients will be increased by 59.2% per unit increase in emotional support. Also, the chance of spiritual well-being increases by 34.1% for each score increase in the age of MS patients.

CONCLUSIONS: It is necessary that age and perceived emotional support, as a strong predictor of spiritual health status, are considered in designing health promotion interventions for patients with MS.

PMID:40357588 | DOI:10.1002/nop2.2204

Am J Hypertens. 2025 May 13:hpaf072. doi: 10.1093/ajh/hpaf072. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Both anxiety and obesity have been implicated in hypertension development, with emerging evidence suggesting metabolic risk factors as potential mediators. Notably, obesity may partially mediate the link between anxiety and hypertension. However, the causal relationships among these factors remain unclear. To address this, we conducted a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis to elucidate their causal relationship.

METHODS: We conducted a two-sample MR analysis using genome-wide association study (GWAS) summary statistics from European ancestry cohorts. The inverse-variance weighted (IVW) method was used as the primary analytical approach, with sensitivity analyses and heterogeneity tests conducted to ensure robustness. Additionally, a two-step MR approach was conducted to quantify the proportion of the anxiety-hypertension association mediated through obesity-related pathways.

RESULTS: The two-sample MR analysis demonstrated significant causal effects of anxiety (OR=1.025, 95% CI 1.011-1.038; P<0.001) and obesity (OR=1.010, 95% CI 1.007-1.013; P<0.001) on hypertension risk. Bidirectional analysis revealed a unidirectional causal association between anxiety and obesity (OR=1.518, 95% CI 1.044-2.206; P=0.029), with no evidence of reverse causation from obesity to anxiety (OR=1.014, 95% CI 0.990-1.039; P=0.268). Mediation analysis estimated that 17.4% (95% CI 5.3-29.5%) of anxiety’s total effect on hypertension risk was mediated through adiposity-related pathways.

CONCLUSION: The two-sample MR analysis in this study confirmed a causal relationship between anxiety and hypertension. Obesity was found to partially mediate this association. Our causal estimates support weight management interventions as an effective psychosomatic strategy for preventing hypertension in individuals with anxiety, particularly due to the modifiable nature of obesity-related risk factors.

PMID:40357578 | DOI:10.1093/ajh/hpaf072

Acta Odontol Scand. 2025 May 13;84:241-249. doi: 10.2340/aos.v84.43600.

ABSTRACT

AIM: The aim of this study is to classify accessory mandibular canals (AMC) and investigate their association with the dimensions of the mandibular canal (MC) to enhance surgical planning and prevent complications in dental treatments.

METHODS: Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) images were evaluated. AMC’s frequency, length, and diameter, including dental, superior, inferior, forward-open, forward-closed, and retromolar types, were determined. Additionally, the dimensions of the MC, including its length and diameter, were measured, and the relationship between the AMC and MC was statistically analyzed. Descriptive statistics, chi-square test, independent samples t-test (for normally distributed data), Kruskal-Wallis test (for non-normally distributed data), and Tamhane post hoc test were used for statistical analysis of the data.

RESULTS: AMC was identified in 82 of the 222 hemimandibles examined (36.9%). It was found that the length and diameter of AMCs varied significantly depending on the AMC type (p = 0.000). The diameter of the dental type AMCs (mean 0.40 ± 0.22 mm) was considerably smaller than that of other AMC types (mean 0.86 ± 0.37 mm). The length and diameter of the MC were measured as 69.20 ± 5.10 mm and 2.96 ± 0.57 mm, respectively. While MC length was not found to influence the presence of AMC (p = 0.785), MC diameter was significantly associated with the occurrence of AMC (p = 0.000).

CONCLUSIONS: AMC, which is critical for improving surgical planning and reducing the risk of complications in dental procedures, is not uncommon. Their presence should be carefully evaluated, particularly in cases where the MC has a larger diameter.

PMID:40357575 | DOI:10.2340/aos.v84.43600