Category: Statistics

BMC Public Health. 2024 Feb 27;24(1):626. doi: 10.1186/s12889-024-18046-3.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Numerous studies have demonstrated that high-risk fertility behaviour (HRFB), which includes maternal age below 18 or above 34 years, short birth intervals (less than 24 months), and high parity (birth order above 4), is associated with adverse maternal and child health outcomes. There is a substantial research gap in the domain of high-risk fertility behaviour in the Indian context. Therefore, this study is designed to investigate the current trends and patterns in the prevalence of high-risk births among Indian women, with a primary focus on identifying contributing factors associated with this prevalence.

METHODS: The study utilized data from the nationally representative National Family Health Survey (NFHS), which has been conducted in five rounds since 1992-93. Data from all rounds were used to assess the overall trend. However, data from the most recent round of NFHS, conducted during 2019-21, were employed to evaluate current levels and patterns of HRFB prevalence and to identify socio-economic and demographic predictors of HRFB using binomial and multinomial logistic regression models.

RESULTS: The prevalence of HRFB has exhibited a consistent decreasing pattern from 1992 to 93 to 2019-21 in India. However, 29.56% of married women continue to experience high-risk births with notably higher rates in several states (e.g., 49.85% in Meghalaya and 46.41% in Bihar). Furthermore, socio-demographic factors like wealth index, educational level, social group, religion, mass media exposure, family size, age at marriage, type and region of residence, and reproductive factors like birth intention, place and type of delivery, ANC visits and current contraceptive use were identified as significant predictors of high-risk births among women in India.

CONCLUSION: Despite a 20.4 percentage point decline in HRFB prevalence over the past three decades, a significant proportion of women in specific regions and demographic subgroups continue to experience high-risk births. Therefore, the present study recommends interventions aimed at preventing high-risk births among women in India, with particular emphasis on states with high HRFB prevalence and women from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds.

PMID:38413929 | DOI:10.1186/s12889-024-18046-3

BMC Pediatr. 2024 Feb 27;24(1):142. doi: 10.1186/s12887-024-04627-z.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Neonatal asphyxia is one of preventable causes of neonatal mortality throughout the world. It could be improved by early detection and control of the underlying causes. However, there was lack of evidence on it in the study setting. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess the magnitude and predictors of neonatal asphyxia among newborns at public hospitals of Wolaita Zone in Southern Ethiopia.

METHOD: A facility-based cross-sectional study was done among 330 mothers with neonates in selected public hospitals. A systematic random sampling technique was used to select the study participants. Data were collected through an interviewer-administered questionnaire and checklist. The collected data were entered into EpiData version 4.6 and exported to SPSS version 26 for analysis. Logistic regression was fitted to examine the association between explanatory variables and outcome variable. In multivariable logistic regression, AOR with 95% CI was reported, and p < 0.05 was used to declare statistically significant variables.

RESULTS: The magnitude of neonatal asphyxia was 26.4% with 95% CI: (21.8, 30.9). In multivariable logistic regression analysis primiparity (AOR = 2.63 95%CI 1.47, 4.72), low-birth-weight (AOR = 3.45 95%CI 1.33, 8.91), preterm birth (AOR = 3.58 95%CI 1.29, 9.92), and premature rupture of membranes (AOR = 5.19 95%CI 2.03, 13.26) were factors significantly associated with neonatal asphyxia.

CONCLUSIONS: In this study, the magnitude of neonatal asphyxia was high. From the factors, premature rapture of the membrane, parity, birth weight of the newborn, and gestational age at birth were significantly associated with neonatal asphyxia. Attention should be given to early detection and prevention of neonatal asphyxia from complicated labor and delivery.

PMID:38413908 | DOI:10.1186/s12887-024-04627-z

BMC Pediatr. 2024 Feb 28;24(1):145. doi: 10.1186/s12887-024-04557-w.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Globally, 257 million people have chronic hepatitis. Even though a safe and effective prophylactic vaccine against HBV infection has been available, it causes significant morbidity and mortality. HBV vaccines were designed to improve or modulate the host immune responses. The effectiveness of the vaccine is determined by measuring serum hepatitis B surface antibody (Anti-HBs) level. Therefore, this systematic review aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of hepatitis B vaccine among vaccinated children.

METHODS: Preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis (PRISMA) guidelines was applied for systematically searching of different databases. Only cross-section studies measuring the level of anti-HBs of vaccinated children were included. The seroprotective level with anti-HBs > 10mIU/ml was extracted. The meta-analysis was performed using statistical software for data sciences (STATA) version 14. Effectiveness estimates were reported as a proportion of anti-HBs level. The heterogeneity between studies was evaluated using the I² test, and I² > 50% and/or P < 0.10 was considered significant heterogeneity. Significant publication bias was considered when Egger’s test P-value < 0.10. The new castle Ottawa scale was used to assess the quality of the studies.

RESULTS: A pooled sample size of the included papers for meta-analysis was 7430. The pooled prevalence of seroprotected children was 56.95%, with a heterogeneity index (I²) of 99.4% (P < 0.001). 35% of the participants were hypo-responders (10-99mIU/ml) and 21.46% were good responders (> 100mIU/ml). Based on subgroup analysis using country of studies conducted, the highest prevalence of anti-HBs was 87.00% (95% CI: 84.56, 89.44), in South Africa, and the lowest was 51.99% (95% CI: 20.41-83.58), with a heterogeneity index I² = 70.7% (p = 0.009) in Ethiopia.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS: Hepatitis B vaccine seroprotective level in the current pooled analysis have suboptimal, which failed to demonstrate consistent effectiveness for global hepatitis B virus elimination plan in 2030. Using consistent age group may have a significant value for the decision of the HB vaccine effectiveness. A significant heterogeneity was observed both in studies conducted in Ethiopia and Egypt. Therefore, the impact of HB vaccination on the prevention of hepatitis B virus infection should be assessed regularly in those countries. Future meta-analysis is needed to investigate all possible vaccines in a separate way of reviewing, which will lead to a strong conclusion and recommendations.

PMID:38413906 | DOI:10.1186/s12887-024-04557-w

BMC Psychiatry. 2024 Feb 27;24(1):167. doi: 10.1186/s12888-024-05587-5.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 pandemic causes serious threats to people’s mental health, particularly it has huge negative mental health outcomes for adolescents. However, there is lack of studies examining COVID-19-related anxiety among adolescents in Ethiopia. Hence, this study was aimed to examine COVID-19-related dysfunctional anxiety and its associated factors among adolescents in Mettu town.

METHODS: Community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from September 1 to 30, 2020 among 847 adolescents selected by stratified sampling technique. IBM SPSS Statistics Version 26.0 was used for analysis. Descriptive statistics such as frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation were computed. Bivariate and multivariate binary logistic regression analyses were done to identify factors associated with COVID-19-related dysfunctional anxiety. The statistical significance was declared at p ≤ 0.05; and the strength of association was described in terms of adjusted odds ratio.

RESULTS: Out of the total sample, 819 adolescents participated in this study. The mean age of the participants was 14.9 (SD = 2.798) years. The magnitude of COVID-19-related dysfunctional anxiety was found to be 20.9% (95% CI (18.1, 23.9)). The finding indicates that sex [(AOR (95% CI)); (0.724 (0.502, 1.043))], having both parents deceased [(AOR (95% CI)); (2.981 (1.138, 7.814))], living alone [(AOR (95% CI)); (2.363 (1.050, 5.321))], having unemployed mothers [(AOR (95% CI)); (1.943 (1.194, 3.163))], absence of close friend [(AOR (95% CI)); (0.377 (0.225, 0.630))], and medical problem [(AOR (95% CI)); (0.408 (0.278, 0.597))] were significantly associated with COVID-19-related anxiety.

CONCLUSION: The magnitude of COVID-19-related dysfunctional anxiety was found to be high in the study area. The findings have shown that the likelihood of developing COVID-19-related dysfunctional anxiety was linked to several factors. Provision of continued psychological support for adolescents is extremely encouraged.

PMID:38413896 | DOI:10.1186/s12888-024-05587-5

BMC Med Res Methodol. 2024 Feb 27;24(1):50. doi: 10.1186/s12874-024-02183-9.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: The determination of identity factors such as age and sex has gained significance in both criminal and civil cases. Paranasal sinuses like frontal and maxillary sinuses, are resistant to trauma and can aid profiling. We developed a deep learning (DL) model optimized by an evolutionary algorithm (genetic algorithm/GA) to determine sex and age using paranasal sinus parameters based on cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT).

METHODS: Two hundred and forty CBCT images (including 129 females and 111 males, aged 18-52) were included in this study. CBCT images were captured using the Newtom3G device with specific exposure parameters. These images were then analyzed in ITK-SNAP 3.6.0 beta software to extract four paranasal sinus parameters: height, width, length, and volume for both the frontal and maxillary sinuses. A hybrid model, Genetic Algorithm-Deep Neural Network (GADNN), was proposed for feature selection and classification. Traditional statistical methods and machine learning models, including logistic regression (LR), random forest (RF), multilayer perceptron neural network (MLP), and deep learning (DL) were evaluated for their performance. The synthetic minority oversampling technique was used to deal with the unbalanced data.

RESULTS: GADNN showed superior accuracy in both sex determination (accuracy of 86%) and age determination (accuracy of 68%), outperforming other models. Also, DL and RF were the second and third superior methods in sex determination (accuracy of 78% and 71% respectively) and age determination (accuracy of 92% and 57%).

CONCLUSIONS: The study introduces a novel approach combining DL and GA to enhance sex determination and age determination accuracy. The potential of DL in forensic dentistry is highlighted, demonstrating its efficiency in improving accuracy for sex determination and age determination. The study contributes to the burgeoning field of DL in dentistry and forensic sciences.

PMID:38413856 | DOI:10.1186/s12874-024-02183-9

Phlebology. 2024 Feb 27:2683555241236824. doi: 10.1177/02683555241236824. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To compare femoral endovenectomy with the creation of an arteriovenous fistula (FE + AVF), versus iliofemoral endovenous stenting with the concurrent extended femoral vein (FV-S) stenting in patients with chronic iliofemoral venous obstruction (IFVO).

MATERIALS AND METHODS: In a randomized prospective single-center study, 48 received (FV-S), while the other 54 had (FE + AVF).

RESULTS: There were no statistically significant differences in the primary outcomes between the two groups (FV-S) and (FE + AVF) (59% vs 56.8%, 75% vs 79.1%, respectively). At a median of 13 months after the treatment. However, the FV-S group’s patients experienced fewer postoperative problems (p = .012), shorter procedures (p = .001), and shorter stays in the hospital (p = .025).

CONCLUSION: There is no difference between the efficacy and symptomatic resolution of the FV-S group and the FE + AVF group at the same time, FV-S has lower postoperative complications and a shorter procedure duration and hospital stay.

PMID:38413852 | DOI:10.1177/02683555241236824

Med Probl Perform Art. 2024 Mar;39(1):38-48. doi: 10.21091/mppa.2024.1005.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to translate, culturally adapt, and test the psychometric properties of the Musculoskeletal Pain Intensity and Interference Questionnaire for Musicians (MPIIQM) in an Italian population of professional and amateur musicians.

METHODS: The translation and cultural adaptation process followed international guidelines, while the reliability and validity of the questionnaire were assessed against the COSMIN checklist. The internal consistency was calculated using Cronbach’s alpha (a) coefficient. Construct validity was analyzed using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) with principal axis factoring (PAF) extraction. The sample adequacy and data suitability were assessed through the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) and Bartlett’s sphericity tests, respectively. Concurrent validity was analyzed by assessing Pearson’s correlation coefficient with the Italian version of the Musculoskeletal Health Questionnaire (MSK-HQ-I). Finally, the cross-cultural validity was investigated by analyzing score differences between amateur and professional musicians, and differences based on musical practice habits.

RESULTS: The tool was administered to 311 subjects recruited from across Italy. The MPIIQM-IT was found to have high levels of internal consistency for the entire tool and each of the two subscales (Cronbach’s a = 0.875, 0.877, and 0.845, respectively). The recruited sample was found to be adequate (KMO = 0.810) and the data suitable (C2 = 341.040, p < 0.001) for factor analysis, which produced 9 items contained in two main factors. Pearson’s correlation coefficients showed a positive, statistically significant correlation between the MSK-HQ-I and the two subscales of the MPIIQM-IT with p < 0.01. Analysis of Student’s t-test for independent samples and the ANOVA test for continuous variables showed statistically significant differences between male and female, professional and non-professional musicians, and conservatory and non-conservatory students.

CONCLUSIONS: The MPIIQM-IT is a valid and reliable tool, useful for investigating the presence of pain and playing-related musculoskeletal disorders (PRMDs) in both professional and non-professional musicians.

PMID:38413829 | DOI:10.21091/mppa.2024.1005

Maturitas. 2024 Feb 17;183:107946. doi: 10.1016/j.maturitas.2024.107946. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: After the 2002 Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) study, the global use of menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) declined, and despite subsequent studies indicating a low risk of breast cancer, concerns about MHT usage persist. We examined the relationship between changes in MHT use and changes in the incidence of breast cancer from 2002 to 2020 in South Korea.

STUDY DESIGN: This study used tumor registry information from 2002 to 2020 from the Korean Statistical Information Service and analyzed the incidence rate of invasive breast cancer in women, who were divided into two age groups: <50 and >50 years. The numbers of MHT prescriptions in Korea between 2002 and 2020 was determined from pharmacy data.

RESULTS: The incidence of breast cancer per 100,000 women in South Korea increased from 34.3 in 2002 to 96.4 in 2020. Breast cancer incidence rates increased annually in both groups of women (those aged under and over 50 years), with no significant difference between the two (p = 0.614). Prescriptions for estrogen therapy (ET) in 2020 were 52.7 % lower than those in 2002. Prescriptions for estrogen-progesterone therapy (EPT) decreased by 27.9 % over the same period. Conversely, tibolone prescriptions, which had initially decreased by 25.4 % in 2004, subsequently showed a steady increase and were 93.6 % higher in 2020 than in 2002.

CONCLUSION: The incidence of breast cancer increased annually in Korean women of all ages; however, the use of ET and EPT for MHT has declined since 2002, particularly the use of EPT after 2010. MHT, especially EPT, did not significantly increase the incidence of breast cancer in Korean women.

PMID:38412593 | DOI:10.1016/j.maturitas.2024.107946

Behav Res Ther. 2024 Feb 22;175:104499. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2024.104499. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Problematic anger is linked with multiple adverse smoking outcomes, including cigarette dependence, heavy smoking, and cessation failure. A smoking cessation intervention that directly targets anger and its maintenance factors may increase rates of smoking cessation. We examined the efficacy of an interpretation bias modification for hostility (IBM-H) to facilitate smoking cessation in smokers with elevated trait anger. Participants were 100 daily smokers (mean age = 38, 62% female, 55% white) with elevated anger were randomly assigned to eight computerized sessions of either IBM-H or a health and relaxation video control condition (HRVC). Participants in both conditions attempted to quit at mid-treatment. Measures of hostility, anger, and smoking were administered at pre-, mid-, post-treatment, as well as at up to three-month follow-up. Compared to HRVC, IBM-H led to greater reductions in hostile interpretation bias, both at posttreatment and follow-up. IBM-H also led to statistically significant reductions in hostility only at posttreatment, and trait anger only at three-month follow-up. Both conditions experienced reductions in smoking, although they did not differ in quit success. We discuss these findings in the context of literature on anger and smoking cessation and provide directions for future research.

PMID:38412574 | DOI:10.1016/j.brat.2024.104499

Sleep Med. 2024 Feb 17;116:27-31. doi: 10.1016/j.sleep.2024.02.021. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a disease that may cause many medical conditions. Neurocognitive disorders may be triggered by OSA. In recent studies, selectively decreased gray matter tissue was observed in patients with OSA. We aimed to determine if there was a substantial difference in patients with extreme OSA by comparing the microstructural changes in different gray matter sub-areas with healthy controls using diffusion-weighted imaging methods.

METHODS: We studied 15 diagnosed severe OSA subjects before any treatment and 32 healthy control subjects. High resolution Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) T1 and T2-weighted scans were visually examined to assess any major brain lesions.

RESULTS: There were no statistically significant differences of age and gender between the groups.The left and right globus pallidus, putamen and thalamus values did not differ significantly between OSA and control subjects. Right putamen values was negatively correlated with Apnea Hypopnea Index (AHI), supine AHI and non-REM AHI in OSA subjects, but no correlations appeared with left putamen values. The other gray matter parameters did not show any correlations with PSG parameters. AHI, Supine AHI, Non-Supine AHI, REM and NON-REM AHI values was not show any correlation with Right and Left Putamen volume sizes.

CONCLUSIONS: We made a morphological comparison of various gray matter areas of OSA patients and healthy volunteers in our study. We observed a significant decrease in right putamen gray matter volumes in patients with higher AHI values. Decreased cognitive functions are found in patients with OSA. In order to demonstrate this cognitive loss in patients with morphologically there is a need for further prospective studies with larger sample sizes.

PMID:38412571 | DOI:10.1016/j.sleep.2024.02.021