Category: Statistics

Qual Life Res. 2026 Aug 29;35(10):269. doi: 10.1007/s11136-026-04361-2.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To develop and validate mapping algorithms that estimate EQ-5D health state utility values (HSUVs) from two diabetes-specific patient-reported outcome measures, the Problem Areas in Diabetes (PAID) and Diabetes Distress Scale (DDS), to support economic evaluations when EQ-5D data are unavailable.

METHODS: Data from 662 adults with diabetes in Germany included PAID-20, DDS-17, and EQ-5D-5L responses. Direct mapping models predicted EQ-5D utilities using Tobit and censored least absolute deviation (CLAD) regressions, while indirect mapping models used proportional and partial proportional odds regressions to predict EQ-5D dimensions. Six model specifications were tested, incorporating PAID and DDS items with covariates (age, sex, diabetes type), with selection of predictors guided by item correlations and backward stepwise procedure to retain statistically relevant variables. Model performance was assessed using a selection of performance metrics including root mean square error (RMSE) and mean absolute error (MAE). Internal validation of the models employed 10-fold cross-validation.

RESULTS: The strongest-performing direct mapping models consisted of a model with a selection of PAID-20 items and covariates (Tobit regression; RMSE: 0.159; MAE: 0.117) and a model that incorporated PAID-20, DDS-17, and covariates (CLAD regression; RMSE: 0.146; MAE: 0.09), and a model based on DDS-17 items and covariates (Tobit regression; RMSE: 0.164; MAE: 0.121). Indirect mapping models demonstrated higher prediction errors overall (RMSE: 0.187-0.21; MAE: 0.124-0.141) than their counterparts.

CONCLUSIONS: We present novel algorithms that enable estimation of EQ-5D utilities from PAID and DDS scores, facilitating economic evaluation in diabetes. Preferred models demonstrated predictive accuracy comparable to published mapping studies.

PMID:42667522 | DOI:10.1007/s11136-026-04361-2

Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2026 Aug 29;28(1):66. doi: 10.1007/s11920-026-01714-z.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Growing evidence suggests that adverse childhood experiences (ACE) increase the risk for reproductive mood disorders (RMD), i.e. premenstrual syndrome, premenstrual dysphoric disorder, postpartum and perimenopausal depression, and might be associated with symptom severity in these disorders. However, evidence for the specific impact of ACE subtypes remains scarce. This review investigates whether certain ACE subtypes are more prevalent among women with RMDs, whether women exposed to ACE have a higher risk to develop such disorders and if the degree of exposure is associated with the symptom severity.

RECENT FINDINGS: We conducted a literature search across electronic data bases and reviewed a final selection of 16 studies that differentiated between ACE subtypes.

RESULTS: The findings indicate that emotional abuse tends to be the subtype most clearly associated with these disorders. While emotional abuse was consistently linked to adverse outcomes, the complexities of ACE co-occurrence and the potential differing impacts of other subtypes such as different forms of abuse and neglect are underscored. The review highlights the variability in study populations, methodologies, and assessment tools. The interplay between hormonal fluctuations and emotional dysregulation is discussed as potential mediators in the development of RMDs, suggesting that emotional abuse may exacerbate sensitivity to hormonal changes. Future research is called for to clarify subtype-specific mechanisms, age-related effects, and genetic predispositions to hormonal sensitivity following ACE. Overall, this article contributes to the understanding of how ACE subtypes intersect with the etiology of RMDs in women, emphasizing the need for tailored approaches in research and clinical interventions.

PMID:42667511 | DOI:10.1007/s11920-026-01714-z

Qual Life Res. 2026 Aug 29;35(10):274. doi: 10.1007/s11136-026-04379-6.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: We examined whether cognitive function statistically accounted for associations between stroke and quality of life (QOL).

METHODS: A cross-sectional survey included adults aged ≥ 60 years in Segamat, Malaysia. Cognition was assessed using the Identification and Intervention for Dementia in Elderly Africans instrument, and QOL was assessed using the WHOQOL-BREF. Stroke survivors were matched 1:3 with non-stroke participants by propensity scores based on age, sex, and education. Stroke status was the exposure, cognition the proposed statistical mediator, and four QOL domains, overall QOL, and overall health the outcomes. Models were adjusted for sociodemographic and vascular factors, accounted for matching and multiple testing, and p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

RESULTS: Among 596 participants, 149 reported stroke; the mean age was 70.36 years (SD 6.81); 41.6% female; 58.4% male. An indirect association between stroke and physical QOL via cognition was observed (β = -0.67, 95% CI – 1.30 to – 0.18; BH-adjusted p = 0.018). A residual correlation of ρ = 0.16 between cognition and physical-QOL models would attenuate this association to the null. The indirect association did not differ by sex (index β = -0.49, 95% bootstrap CI – 1.48 to 0.18; p = 0.164). Item-level physical-QOL analysis identified an indirect association with greater pain interference through lower cognition (β = -0.051, 95% CI – 0.113 to – 0.009; BH-adjusted p = 0.028).

CONCLUSION: Reduced cognition partly accounted for associations of stroke with reduced physical QOL and greater pain interference. Findings were sensitive to modest unmeasured confounding but require confirmation from longitudinal studies.

PMID:42667483 | DOI:10.1007/s11136-026-04379-6

J Robot Surg. 2026 Aug 29;20(1):902. doi: 10.1007/s11701-026-03776-w.

ABSTRACT

Robotic-assisted total hip arthroplasty (ra-THA) has received increasing academic attention. This bibliometric study aimed to identify the 100 most-cited English-language articles related to ra-THA indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection (WOSCC) and to characterize their citation patterns, evidence levels, research themes, and collaboration networks. The WOSCC was searched for English-language articles and reviews related to ra-THA. The retrieved records were ranked by total citation count, screened according to predefined eligibility criteria, and the 100 most-cited articles were included for analysis. Data on publication year, citation count, journal, authorship, country, institution, keywords, document type, and level of evidence were extracted. Citation density, year-normalized citation indicators, Mann-Kendall trend analysis, Spearman correlation analysis, and bibliometric visualizations were used to evaluate citation patterns, temporal trends, research themes, and collaboration networks. The 100 included articles were published between 2008 and 2025. Publication output and citation frequency showed increasing tendencies within this highly cited cohort. The United States contributed the largest number of articles and citations, followed by China and the United Kingdom. The Journal of Arthroplasty, Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research, and The Bone & Joint Journal were major publication sources. Keyword analysis indicated that surgical accuracy, navigation, clinical outcomes, and procedure-related risks were frequent research themes. No statistically significant association was observed between level of evidence and citation count within the selected cohort. Among the 100 most-cited English-language WOSCC-indexed articles retrieved using the specified search strategy, ra-THA research showed increasing citation attention over time. The most frequently represented themes were surgical accuracy, navigation, clinical outcomes, and procedure-related risks. These findings provide a bibliometric overview of the influential citation landscape and thematic development of ra-THA research.

PMID:42667481 | DOI:10.1007/s11701-026-03776-w

Brain Imaging Behav. 2026 Aug 29;20(5):125. doi: 10.1007/s11682-026-01186-y.

ABSTRACT

Developmental stuttering is a neurodevelopmental speech disorder characterized by speech disfluency and variable persistence into adolescence. While white matter and functional connectivity abnormalities have been widely reported, the topological organization of gray matter (GM) networks in affected children remains unclear. This study investigated GM morphological network alterations in children with persistent developmental stuttering (CWS) and examined their relationships with stuttering severity. Thirty-three CWS and thirty age- and sex-matched healthy controls underwent T1-weighted MRI. Individual GM morphological networks were constructed using Kullback-Leibler divergence of voxel-based morphometry data across 90 brain regions. Graph-theoretical analyses quantified global and local topological properties, and network-based statistics (NBS) were used to identify alterations in morphological connectivity. Both groups exhibited small-world topology; however, CWS showed significantly higher clustering coefficient(Cp), local efficiency (E_loc), and modularity (Q) (P < 0.05), indicating a hyper-segregated GM organization. NBS revealed reduced morphological connectivity within a subnetwork encompassing the default mode, sensorimotor, basal ganglia-thalamic, and visual regions. Greater network segregation (Cp, E_loc, Q) was positively correlated with stuttering severity, whereas reduced subnetwork connectivity was negatively correlated with stuttering severity (FDR-corrected P < 0.05). These findings suggest that children with persistent stuttering exhibit excessive local specialization and decreased interregional integration, reflecting a network-level imbalance that may underlie the persistence and severity of stuttering. Altered GM network topology may represent a potential neurostructural biomarker for early identification and targeted intervention.

PMID:42667480 | DOI:10.1007/s11682-026-01186-y

J Comput Aided Mol Des. 2026 Aug 29;40(1):219. doi: 10.1007/s10822-026-00929-9.

ABSTRACT

Molecular docking is one of the most established methods in computational drug discovery, due to its balance of speed and accuracy. However, the accuracy of docking results depends on a number of different parameters, and systematic reference data for comparisons to more advanced methods for binding affinity prediction are still scarce. This study assesses the impact of key parameters on the accuracy of binding free energy estimates from docking, using nine benchmark systems with 278 high-affinity ligands. Using the Molecular Operating Environment (MOE), we evaluated combinations of three receptor structures (two crystal structures, one AlphaFold2 model), two force fields, two scoring functions, two receptor flexibility settings, and two statistical evaluation schemes. The performance of the docking approaches is measured based on the squared Pearson’s correlation coefficient (R²), the root mean square error (RMSE) with respect to the experimental binding affinities, as well as the mean signed error (MSE) and Kendall’s tau for individual targets and the full dataset. The results show that the scoring function and the protein structure are the most important factors for binding affinity accuracy in rigid docking with the MOE software. Amber10:EHT and MMFF94x force fields had the same average R_mean² value, but Amber10:EHT had a lower average RMSE_mean. AlphaFold2 protein models yielded lower binding affinity accuracy and higher errors compared to experimental crystal structures, although induced fit docking improved results. Using the original benchmark, we also compared several docking programs. DOCK6 and MOE performed best, with mean R² values of about 0.49 and 0.40, respectively. The remaining docking programs did not outperform a molecular weight regression baseline. For a subset of four targets (CDK2, JNK1, P38, TYK2) evaluated in previous work, the performance of the optimized DOCK6 and MOE protocols produced correlation coefficients similar to those reported for certain MM/PBSA, FMO, and Boltz2 implementations evaluated on the same target subset. This raises questions about potential dataset biases, the structural preparation, or the implementation of those methods. Docking therefore should be considered as an important and computationally inexpensive reference baseline for binding affinity prediction.

PMID:42667474 | DOI:10.1007/s10822-026-00929-9

Sleep Breath. 2026 Aug 29;30(5):245. doi: 10.1007/s11325-026-03789-7.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: While the high prevalence and health impacts of sleep in hemodialysis patients are well-documented, there has been limited exploration of multidimensional sleep health in Chinese cohorts. This study aimed to investigate the association between multidimensional sleep health and fatigue among patients undergoing hemodialysis in China.

METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in patients undergoing hemodialysis at a hospital in Nanjing, China. The Fatigue Scale-14 and RU_SATED 2.0 were administered to measure fatigue and sleep health, respectively. Sociodemographic and lifestyle characteristics and disease-related laboratory indices were concurrently collected. Multivariable linear regression was employed to examine the relationship between multidimensional sleep health and fatigue, with an interaction term included to assess the moderating effects of age.

RESULTS: A total of 249 patients (69.1% male, 56.5 years old on average) completed the survey. Participants scored 7.15 ± 3.27 and 7.53 ± 2.57 on fatigue and sleep health, respectively. After adjusting for sociodemographic and lifestyle characteristics and disease-related indices, multidimensional sleep health demonstrated a statistically significant association with fatigue (B = – 0.36, 95% CI: -0.50, – 0.21, P < 0.001), physical fatigue (B = – 0.22, 95% CI: -0.34, – 0.11, P < 0.001) and mental fatigue (B = – 0.13, 95% CI: -0.20, – 0.06, P < 0.001). Moreover, age exhibited a significant moderation effect on the relationship between sleep health and fatigue (B = 0.02, 95%CI: 0.01, 0.03, P = 0.017) and mental fatigue (B = 0.01, 95%CI: 0.00, 0.01, P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS: Better composite sleep health was associated with lower levels of fatigue, highlighting the potential clinical relevance of sleep health in relation to fatigue.

PMID:42667469 | DOI:10.1007/s11325-026-03789-7

Mol Biol Rep. 2026 Aug 29;53(1):1498. doi: 10.1007/s11033-026-12682-1.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is a major cause of mortality, and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is considered a potential contributor to cancer development. EBV nuclear antigen 1 (EBNA1) plays a vital role in viral persistence. This study aimed to investigate the association among EBNA1 C-terminal variations and severity of invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC).

METHOD: A total of 60 female participants, were included in this study. EBV positive biopsy samples (N = 30) were obtained from the breast cancer patients while 30 healthy females served as control. The C-terminal region of EBNA1 gene was amplified and sequenced. Statistical analysis was carried out using SPSS v25.

RESULT: Among the breast cancer patients, 97% had IDC and 3% had ductal carcinoma in situ. Regarding tumor grade, 3% of the patients had grade I, 63% had grade II and 33% had grade III tumors. The P-Thr (70%) and its co-infection with V-leu (30%) were observed predominantly in patients with higher grade; however, no significant association was observed. A total of 15 consensus single-nucleotide polymorphisms were observed along with six random mutations. No significant association was reported among random SNPs with breast cancer severity. Phylogenetic analysis shows that our sequences of P-Thr exhibited high similarity with reference sequence NC_009334. All control samples were EBV negative.

CONCLUSION: P-Thr was the predominant EBNA1 prototype in study population. However, no significant association was found between EBNA1 variations with breast cancer severity.

PMID:42667440 | DOI:10.1007/s11033-026-12682-1

Eur J Nutr. 2026 Aug 29;65(6):247. doi: 10.1007/s00394-026-04087-4.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The beneficial effects of Mediterranean Diet (MD) during pregnancy are well established. However, validated tools adapted to assess adherence to the MD during pregnancy and across different cultural contexts remain limited. This study aimed to translate, cross-culturally adapt, and validate an Italian version of the pregnancy-adapted Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener (ITpreg-MEDAS), derived from the original Spanish preg-MEDAS questionnaire. We hypothesized that the ITpreg-MEDAS would show adequate construct validity and would be associated with markers of diet quality during pregnancy.

METHODS: The preg-MEDAS is a 17-item questionnaire designed to assess adherence to the MD among pregnant women. The Italian version was developed following a six steps process in accordance with established methodological guidelines: forward translation, synthesis I, blind-back translation, synthesis II, pre-testing, and validation. Psychometric properties were evaluated by assessing internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and construct validity, in a sample of Italian pregnant women.

RESULTS: The preg-MEDAS was translated and cross-cultural adapted, requiring some semantic revisions. All 25 Italian pregnant women involved in the pre-testing in pre-testing found it clear and comprehensible. A total of 116 Italian pregnant women participated in the validation phase, with a mean ITpreg-MEDAS score of 7.2 ± 2.5 out of 17, indicating medium adherence to the MD. Reliability was confirmed by good test-retest correlation (r = 0.756) and acceptable internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = 0.623).

CONCLUSION: The ITpreg-MEDAS is a reliable and valid Italian version of the preg-MEDAS questionnaire, providing a simple tool to assess adherence to the Mediterranean Diet during pregnancy in both clinical practice and research.

PMID:42667436 | DOI:10.1007/s00394-026-04087-4

Eur J Nutr. 2026 Aug 29;65(6):245. doi: 10.1007/s00394-026-04085-6.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Whereas an increasing number of families choose a vegan or a vegetarian diet, the effects of a plant-based nutrition on height and BMI of children and their IGF-1- and IGFBP-3-serum concentrations as measures for growth and development are not entirely described.

METHODS: 7344 serum samples were investigated from 2,508 healthy participants in the age of 3 months to 19 years. Anthropometric measurements as well as IGF-1-, and IGFBP-3-serum concentrations were compared between dietary groups using optimal 1:3 pair matching (from the age of 10).

RESULTS: Vegan children were shorter than vegetarians after adjustment for pubertal status (β = -0.59, p = 0.006) but the height of vegetarians was not different from omnivores. Vegans showed lower BMI-SDS than vegetarians, most prominently in the TS-adjusted model (β = -1.01, p = 0.009). Omnivores had the highest BMI-SDS (0.32 SDS). Vegans had lower IGF-1 levels than vegetarians and omnivores in the age-adjusted model (ß = -0.52, p = 0.031). Vegetarians exhibited lower IGF-1 concentrations than omnivores in age- and TS- adjusted models. Vegans showed significantly lower IGFBP-3-SDS than vegetarians in TS-adjusted models (β = -0.75, p = 0.042). IGFBP-3 values were lower in vegetarians than in omnivores after adjustment for age (β = -0.18, p = 0.005).

CONCLUSION: Children following a vegan diet are significantly smaller and have a lower BMI than their peers. Both, vegetarian and vegan diets are associated with lower BMIs and lower IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 values. These findings highlight the potential relevance of dietary composition for growth childhood.

CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: LIFE Child is registered with Clinical Trials.gov (NCT02550236) since October 2010. https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT02550236.

PMID:42667434 | DOI:10.1007/s00394-026-04085-6