Category: Statistics

Aesthet Surg J. 2025 Sep 19:sjaf187. doi: 10.1093/asj/sjaf187. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Labiaplasty improves women’s genital self-image, sexual function, and mental well-being, while enhancing male partners’ sexual satisfaction and overall couple sexual harmony.

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to evaluate the effects of labiaplasty on women’s genital self-perception, sexual function, psychological state and sexual satisfaction levels of male partners in women with physical and functional complaints about labium minus.

METHODS: 97 women and their partners who underwent labiaplasty between January 2021 and June 2024 were included in the study. Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI), Quality of Sexual Experience Scale (QSES), Female Genial Self-Image Scale (FSGIS), Sexual Quality of Life – Female (SQoL-F) questionnaires were applied to women before and after labiaplasty. Male Sexual Health Questionnaire-Ejaculatory Dysfunction (MSHQ-Ejd), Golombok-Rust Sexual Satisfaction Scale (GRISS), New Sexual Satisfaction Scales (NSSS) were applied to male partners. Preoperative and postoperative data were compared with participants who were one year postoperatively.

RESULTS: In female participants, significant improvements were found in genital self-perception, sexual function, sexual pleasure, lubrication, orgasm and overall quality of sexual life, and a statistically significant decrease in depression scores was observed. In male partners, ejaculatory function remained constant, but positive changes were found in general sexual satisfaction, impotence, premature ejaculation and satisfaction levels.

CONCLUSIONS: Labiaplasty operation provides significant gains not only in terms of aesthetics but also psychological and sexual well-being in women, and indirectly positively affects the quality of sexual life of male partners. It is thought that surgical intervention can increase sexual harmony in couple relationship as well as individual satisfaction.

PMID:40974005 | DOI:10.1093/asj/sjaf187

Aust J Rural Health. 2025 Oct;33(5):e70089. doi: 10.1111/ajr.70089.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative condition with no known cure. The prevalence of PD and barriers to accessing clinical care increase with distance from major cities. Understanding factors associated with health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in PD has important clinical and public health implications.

METHOD: In a national survey of Australian adults diagnosed with PD, we examined the influence of location on HRQoL and demographics, symptom course and diagnosis, treatment utilisation and preferences, and satisfaction with current services. Final data included 87 respondents from six states in Australia, with 55 identified as living in regional areas and 32 in major cities. Measures also included the Parkinson’s Disease Questionnaire (PDQ-39) and self-reported Hoehn and Yahr scale for disease severity.

RESULTS: Time to obtain a diagnosis was significantly longer for regional respondents than major city counterparts. There were also significant differences in prioritising 10 statements relating to PD. In an overall analysis examining the impact of all the above variables on HRQoL as determined by the PDQ-39, only the Hoehn and Yahr scores explained significant variance; there was no significant difference between regional and metropolitan respondents after accounting for the other variables.

CONCLUSION: Individuals living in regional areas experienced longer delays in obtaining a diagnosis of PD. Both groups highly rated better access to neurologists and the need for better diagnosis as priorities. Location, disease duration and satisfaction with services were not significantly associated with HRQoL.

PMID:40973986 | DOI:10.1111/ajr.70089

Occup Med (Lond). 2025 Aug 1;75(6):341-347. doi: 10.1093/occmed/kqaf023.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: An extensive health and social services reform was implemented in Finland at the beginning of 2023.

AIMS: To describe the working conditions and well-being of persons preparing extensive organizational changes, to compare their results to the reference group, to analyse whether unreasonable workload impacted work recovery, psychosocial distress, work ability and work performance, and to analyse whether the changes in work recovery, psychosocial distress and work ability were associated with a change in work performance.

METHODS: Data were collected by four surveys from reform preparers in 2022 in open cohort settings. Descriptive statistics were used to report the preparers’ situation and in relation to the reference group at the endpoint. Further, covariance and linear regression analyses were performed to study the associations between start and endpoint data (N = 340).

RESULTS: While putting in significant effort, decreasing proportions of preparers experienced leader support, participatory safety and opportunities for innovation. Many preparers had unreasonable workload, a significant proportion working long hours and doing preparation work alongside their main responsibilities. Their situation was notably worse on various work-related indicators compared to the reference group. Unreasonable workload and adverse changes in working conditions decreased the well-being of many preparers, impacting their work performance.

CONCLUSIONS: When preparing for extensive organizational changes, the focus should be on leading preparers’ collaboration and work processes. Leadership should support innovation, foster a positive team climate, ensure participatory safety and provide a reasonable workload to support well-being. Good working conditions are important as they promote better well-being, work ability and performance.

PMID:40973973 | DOI:10.1093/occmed/kqaf023

Occup Med (Lond). 2025 Aug 1;75(6):369-376. doi: 10.1093/occmed/kqaf064.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The aftermath of the 2008 recession created conditions in which precarious employment may have become more common in the UK. We characterized two distinct periods: high unemployment/lower income (2011-5) and lower unemployment/stagnant income (2015-9).

AIMS: We aimed to describe the prevalence and persistence of these dimensions of precarious employment over two time periods (2011-5 and 2015-9) and investigate the prevalence of precarious employment patterns, poor self-rated health and common mental disorder.

METHODS: We used the UK Longitudinal Household Study to create employment history sequences for three dimensions of precarious employment using two four-wave samples. We applied latent class analysis to sequenced data to identify people persistently exposed to each dimension of precarious employment. We calculated age-sex standardized prevalence of poor self-rated health and common mental disorder by latent class for each precarious employment dimension.

RESULTS: Our analysis included 16 161 (2011-15) and 12 963 (2015-19) individuals. We found a latent class representing persistent exposure to each of the three precarity dimensions, but little overlap between these classes. Latent classes were very similar for both study periods. Prevalence of poor self-rated health and common mental disorder increased for most latent classes between 2011-15 and 2015-19. Employment discontinuity had the highest prevalence out of the precariously employed latent classes for both outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS: A minority of workers in the UK were in a state of chronic precarity, which did not change substantially between the two time periods. Experiencing persistent employment discontinuity was the dimension of precarity with the highest levels of poor health.

PMID:40973972 | DOI:10.1093/occmed/kqaf064

BMC Gastroenterol. 2025 Sep 19;25(1):642. doi: 10.1186/s12876-025-04235-w.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Pakistan has one of the highest rates of chronic liver disease (CLD) burden in the world. Poor and underserved patients of CLD in the country may suffer from limited health-seeking behaviors, but there is not much research in this area. The aim of this study is to better plan support for CLD patients by identifying: (i) Health-seeking behaviors (HSB) according to patient-type; and (ii) the relationship of HSB with patient socio-demographic variables and independent study domains.

METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study. Data was collected over a four-month period from May 2022 to August 2022. A total of 850 patients visiting the Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute and Research Centre were part of the study. We used correlation tests and multivariate logistic regression to investigate the relationship between the health-seeking behavior and the independent study domains (economic stability, health literacy, social support, experiencing grief, mental health, healthcare service quality, and coping strategies).

RESULTS: Main results suggest that patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, non-viral liver disease, and cirrhosis have less HSB, compared to patient with chronic viral hepatitis. Multivariate logistic regression results reveal that the following groups have lower odds for health-seeking behavior: (i) illiterate people; (ii) those living in rented homes; (iii) those belonging to nuclear families; and (iv) those with low monthly household income. The following study domains also show lower odds for HSB: (i) health illiteracy; (ii) low health service quality; (iii) low ability to use coping strategies; (iv) grief; (v) lack of social support; (vi) mental health challenges; and (vii) economic instability.

CONCLUSIONS: Our study highlights that the majority of CLD patients are poor, illiterate, or semi-literate and in urgent need of holistic care with respect to health literacy, mental health counseling, financial help, and improved support from provider and families. This is only possible through the integration of social policy officers and social workers in the tertiary health sector of the country.

PMID:40973962 | DOI:10.1186/s12876-025-04235-w

Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2025 Sep 20;29(1):158. doi: 10.1007/s10006-025-01459-8.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: This study aimed to assess the clinical and radiographic outcomes of transcrestal maxillary sinus lifting using Densah burs in combination with activated plasma albumin gel (APAG) during simultaneous implant placement in cases with severely limited residual bone height (3-5 mm).

METHODS: A total of six patients with missing posterior maxillary teeth and insufficient alveolar bone height were treated using the osseodensification technique with Densah burs and APAG. CBCT scans were obtained preoperatively and six months postoperatively to evaluate changes in bone height and peri-implant bone density. Bone density was estimated using CBCT gray values derived from OnDemand 3D software, recognizing that these values provide relative rather than absolute measurements and are subject to inherent limitations.

RESULTS: No post-operative complications were recorded, and the sinus membrane remained intact in all cases. After six months, a statistically significant bone height gain was observed (mean 5.28 ± 0.70 mm; p < 0.001), along with a significant increase in bone density (mean difference 255.15 ± 95.69 HU; p < 0.001). Implant stability showed no statistically significant difference between primary and secondary ISQ values (mean difference 1.17 ± 4.31; p = 0.54).

CONCLUSION: The combined use of Densah burs and activated plasma albumin gel for transcrestal sinus lifting appears to be a safe and minimally invasive technique, promoting substantial bone height gain and improved peri-implant bone density. The bioactive plasma gel played a key role in effective sinus membrane elevation and vertical bone augmentation.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: This trial was retrospectively registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (ID: NCT06360263) in July 2023.

PMID:40973834 | DOI:10.1007/s10006-025-01459-8

Nat Metab. 2025 Sep 19. doi: 10.1038/s42255-025-01371-1. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

A systematic characterization of metabolic profiles in human health and disease enhances precision medicine. Here we present a comprehensive human metabolome-phenome atlas, using data from 274,241 UK Biobank participants with nuclear magnetic resonance metabolic measures. This atlas links 313 plasma metabolites to 1,386 diseases and 3,142 traits, with participants being prospectively followed for a median of 14.9 years. This atlas uncovered 52,836 metabolite-disease and 73,639 metabolite-trait associations, where the ratio of cholesterol to total lipids in large low-density lipoprotein percentage was found as the metabolite associated with the highest number (n = 526) of diseases. In addition, we found that more than half (57.5%) of metabolites showed statistical variations from healthy individuals over a decade before disease onset. Combined with demographics, the machine-learning-based metabolic risk score signified the top 30 (around 10%) metabolites as biomarkers, yielding favourable classification performance (area under the curve > 0.8) for 94 prevalent and 81 incident diseases. Finally, Mendelian randomization analyses provided support for causal relationships of 454 metabolite-disease pairs, among which 402 exhibited shared genetic determinants. Additional insights can be gleaned via an accessible interactive resource ( https://metabolome-phenome-atlas.com/ ).

PMID:40973818 | DOI:10.1038/s42255-025-01371-1

Mol Psychiatry. 2025 Sep 19. doi: 10.1038/s41380-025-03235-2. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is persistent over time, thus identifying risk factors for chronic PTSD is crucial for clinical research. Trauma exposure severity and polygenic liability are two established predictors of PTSD onset and severity, but their contributions to the long-term course of PTSD remain largely unknown. In this prospective longitudinal cohort study, we tested whether severity of trauma exposure and polygenic risk for symptoms of PTSD independently predict long-term trajectories of PTSD symptoms. Data included 49,402 observations, spanning July 2002 to December 2022, from n = 5687 World Trade Center responders who had predominately European ancestry (baseline mean age = 37.74, SD = 8.19, range = 16-75; 92.89% male). First, the best-fitting model of 20-year PTSD trajectories was determined. Next, a polygenic risk score and a sum score of traumatic exposures were included as predictors of individual differences in intercepts (initial levels) and slopes (rates of change), adjusting for demographic covariates. The polygenic risk score significantly predicted rates of change in PTSD symptoms, independent of the intercept, such that higher polygenic risk was associated with more rapid increases in the years after trauma and a steeper arch-shaped trajectory. Exposure severity predicted initial levels and rates of change in symptoms, with more pronounced effects on initial levels. These findings indicate that polygenic liability and exposure severity predict the long-term prognosis of PTSD and have the potential to inform future clinical studies in trauma-exposed populations.

PMID:40973784 | DOI:10.1038/s41380-025-03235-2

Eye (Lond). 2025 Sep 19. doi: 10.1038/s41433-025-04025-4. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Monitoring neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) is a significant contributor to ophthalmology demands in the NHS, with clinical capacity struggling to meet the demand. This task depends upon interpreting retinal optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging, where artificial intelligence (AI) could rebalance clinical demand and capacity. However, evidence of safety and effectiveness in nAMD monitoring is lacking.

METHODS: Using a published non-inferiority design protocol, 521 pairs of ipsilateral retinal OCTs from consecutive visits for nAMD treatment were collected from two NHS ophthalmology services. Real-world binary assessments of nAMD disease activity or stability were compared to an independent ophthalmic reading centre reference standard. An AI system capable of retinal OCT segmentation analysed the OCTs, applying thresholds for intraretinal and subretinal fluid to generate binary assessments. The relative negative predictive value (rNPV) of AI versus real-world assessments was calculated.

RESULTS: Real-world assessments of nAMD activity showed a NPV of 81.6% (57.3-81.6%) and a positive predictive value (PPV) of 41.5% (17.8-62.3%). Optimised thresholds for intraretinal fluid increase (>1,000,000 µm³) and subretinal fluid increase (>2,000,000 µm³) for the AI system assessments produced an NPV of 95.3% (85.5-97.9%) and PPV of 57.8% (29.4-76.0%). The rNPV of 1.17 (1.11-1.23) met predefined criteria for clinical and statistical superiority and accompanied an rPPV of 1.39 (1.10-1.76).

CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that the same thresholds for interpreting OCT-based AI analysis could reduce undertreatment and overtreatment in nAMD monitoring at different centres. Interventional research is needed to test the potential of supportive or autonomous AI assessments of nAMD disease activity to improve the quality and efficiency of services.

PMID:40973777 | DOI:10.1038/s41433-025-04025-4

Leukemia. 2025 Sep 19. doi: 10.1038/s41375-025-02644-0. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The outcome of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) worsens with increasing age. Dichotomization into “younger” and “older” patients is clinically routine and often dictates treatment options. We aimed to delineate whether molecular genetic features and/or outcome measures support assorting patient populations by age, including division into “younger” and “older” groups. We analyzed 2823 adult AML patients enrolled onto frontline chemotherapy-based clinical protocols of two cooperative study groups from USA and Germany who were profiled molecularly via targeted sequencing platforms. Frequencies of gene mutations and cytogenetic findings were depicted in 5-year age increments. Clinical outcomes of 2756 AML patients were analyzed with respect to molecular features, genetic-risk groups and age. Age-associated distributions of gene mutations and cytogenetic abnormalities were similar in both cohorts. There was almost linear shortening of overall survival with increasing age among all patients (P < 0.001) and within 2022 European LeukemiaNet-defined genetic-risk groups, with survival decreasing as age increased (favorable-risk, P < 0.001; intermediate-risk, P < 0.001; adverse-risk, P < 0.001). Although mutational profiles and outcomes of the youngest patients differed from those of older patients, there was no age cut-off identifying “younger” and “older” patients. These findings support more age-associated flexibility for drug approval and trial eligibility.

PMID:40973764 | DOI:10.1038/s41375-025-02644-0