Category: Statistics

Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. 2022 May 1;23(5):1547-1553. doi: 10.31557/APJCP.2022.23.5.1547.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire-Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy 20-item scale (EORTC QLQ-CIPN20) is the common method for determining taxane-induced peripheral neuropathy (TIPN) symptoms. However, there have been no studies on the psychometric properties of the Thai Version of EORTC QLQ-CIPN20. The aim of this study was to evaluate the test-retest reliability, concurrent validity, and contrasting group validity of the Thai Version of EORTC QLQ-CIPN20 among women with breast cancer who received taxane-based chemotherapy.

METHODS: Twenty-eight breast cancer patients and 28 healthy controls participated in the study. Internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and inter-rater reliability were assessed using Cronbach α and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Concurrent validity was assessed via the Spearman correlation coefficient of the total scale of the EORTC QLQ-CIPN20 and the Total Neuropathy Score clinical version (TNSc), and contrasting group validity was assessed via the Mann-Whitney U test.

RESULTS: The internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and inter-rater reliability of the Thai Version of EORTC QLQ-CIPN20 was high to excellent (Cronbach α = 0.89, ICC = 0.84-0.95 and 0.78-0.94, respectively). However, the concurrent validity between the Thai Version of EORTC QLQ-CIPN20 and TNSc was not considered statistically significant. Contrasting group validity demonstrated statistically significant differences between breast cancer patients and healthy controls.

CONCLUSIONS: The results support that the Thai Version of EORTC QLQ-CIPN20 is reliable and valid in measuring TIPN symptoms in Thai women with breast cancer. The findings suggest that the Thai Version of EORTC QLQ-CIPN20 may be used to distinguish TIPN symptoms between healthy controls and women with breast cancer undergoing taxane-based chemotherapy.

PMID:35633537 | DOI:10.31557/APJCP.2022.23.5.1547

Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. 2022 May 1;23(5):1523-1528. doi: 10.31557/APJCP.2022.23.5.1523.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: The previous systematic reviews evaluating the association between diabetes history and gastric cancer risk showed inconsistent results. The aim was to check through a meta-epidemiological study that the conclusions of systematic reviews evaluating the association between diabetes history and gastric cancer risk might differ by the type of follow-up study.

METHODS: The potential study subjects were follow-up studies selected from the seven systematic reviews obtained by searching PubMed using diabetes and gastric cancer keywords. The selection criterion was defined as a follow-up study for evaluating the association between the history of type 2 diabetes mellitus and the incidence of gastric cancer. And the values of RR and its 95%CI, which adjusted for the most confounders in each paper, were extracted for meta-analysis. A random-effects model meta-analysis by types of the follow-up study and sex group was performed.

RESULTS: A total of 25 follow-up studies were finally selected for meta-analysis. They were classified into 16 retrospective and 9 prospective studies in types of follow-up study. The statistical significance between diabetes history and gastric cancer risk was found in retrospective studies (sRR=1.17, 95%CI: 1.02-1.34, I-squared =91.0%) but disappeared in prospective studies (sRR=1.09, 95%CI: 0.91-1.29, I-squared = 68.6%). Even in the analysis of subgroups by sex, statistical significance was not found in the prospective study, consistently.

CONCLUSION: The main reason for the previous meta-analysis’s diverse results for the association between diabetes history and gastric cancer risk was that the type of follow-up study was not reflected. According to the meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies, it could be concluded that there is no association between diabetes history and gastric cancer risk.

PMID:35633534 | DOI:10.31557/APJCP.2022.23.5.1523

Vet Rec. 2022 May 28:e1731. doi: 10.1002/vetr.1731. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: On dairy farms, the prophylactic use of antibiotics at drying-off is being increasingly challenged. The objective of this study was to examine the effect of antibiotic dry-cow therapy (DCT) or non-antibiotic DCT on dairy cow performance and udder health.

METHODS: Holstein cows (n = 285) with low risk of intramammary infection (<200,000 cells/ml) were assigned to one of two treatments, either antibiotic DCT (A + TS; antibiotic treatment in combination with internal and external teat sealants) or non-antibiotic DCT (TS; internal and external teat sealant only).

RESULTS: There was no statistically significant (p > 0.05) difference between treatments for mean cow milk yield, composition or energy corrected milk yield. Mean somatic cell count was 0.16 log_e higher in the TS treatment (95% confidence interval [CI]: -0.00 log_e to -0.33 log_e ) compared to A + TS treatment (p = 0.047). A 50% increase in the number of mastitis cases was observed in the A + TS treatment compared to TS treatment (odds ratio = 1.5, 95% CI: 0.80%-3.01%), although this was not significant. There was no statistical evidence (p > 0.05) that treatment had any effect on colostrum quality and composition.

CONCLUSION: Results indicate that non-antibiotic DCT can be adopted in ‘low-risk’ cows who were offered grass silage-based diets in cubicle accommodation, with low risk of adverse effects on performance or udder health.

PMID:35633519 | DOI:10.1002/vetr.1731

Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. 2022 May 1;23(5):1497-1504. doi: 10.31557/APJCP.2022.23.5.1497.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: A systematic review and meta-analysis were carried out to assess the pooled proportion of women screened for cervical cancer before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHODS: After ruling out registered or ongoing systematic reviews in the PROSPERO database regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in cervical cancer screening, the protocol of our systematic review and meta-analysis was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42021279305). The electronic databases were searched for articles published in English between January 2020 and October 2021and the study was designed based on PRISMA guidelines updated in 2020. Meta-analysis was accomplished in STATA version 13.0 (College Station, Texas 77,845 USA). The pooled proportion of women who had undergone cervical cancer screening was reported with 95% CI. In order to quantify the heterogeneity, Chi2 statistic (Q statistic) and I2 index were used.

RESULTS: The meta-analysis included seven studies from Slovenia, Italy, Ontario (Canada), Scotland, Belgium, and the USA, comprising 403,986 women and 199,165 women who were screened for cervical cancer before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019 and during the pandemic in 2020, respectively. The pooled proportion of women screened for cervical cancer in 2019 was 9.79% (95% CI 6.00%-13.59%, 95% prediction interval 0.42%-23.81%). During the pandemic, the pooled proportion of screened women declined to 4.24% (95% CI 2.77%-5.71%, 95% prediction interval 0.9%-17.49%).

CONCLUSION: There was a substantial drop in the cervical cancer screening rate due to lockdowns and travel restrictions to curb the COVID-19 pandemic. Scaling up cervical cancer screening strategies is essential to prevent the long-term impact of cervical cancer burden.

PMID:35633530 | DOI:10.31557/APJCP.2022.23.5.1497

Nurs Open. 2022 May 28. doi: 10.1002/nop2.1253. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

AIM: This study aimed to assess the prevalence and associated contextual factors of compassion fatigue in nurses in Kampala.

DESIGN: This study employed a cross-sectional study design.

METHODS: Participants included 395 nurses. They provided details about their demographic information. Stamm’s Professional Quality of Life V-5 was used to assess the levels of compassion fatigue. Statistical analysis included Pearson’s chi-square and Fischer’s exact test, bivariate and multivariate logistic regression. A p-value of <.05 was considered statistically significant.

RESULTS: Of the total 395 participants, 58.23% (N = 230) were female, 39.76% had a diploma, 47.09% were single, 43.54% had worked for 11-15 years, 54.94% had an exposure to COVID-19 cases and 43.54% worked for more than 10 hr a day. 49.11% had high levels of compassion fatigue. The predictors of compassion fatigue were working experience (p-value = <.001), exposure to COVID-19 (p-value = <.019), long working hours (p-value = .003) and remuneration (p-value = <.001).

PMID:35633514 | DOI:10.1002/nop2.1253

J Epidemiol Glob Health. 2022 May 28. doi: 10.1007/s44197-022-00045-5. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Hunan Province is a region in China with a high prevalence of intracerebral hemorrhage, especially primary intracerebral hemorrhage (PICH). The objective of this observational study was to assess the disease burden of PICH.

METHODS: We searched the Hunan Provincial Health Statistics Direct Reporting and Decision Analysis System to retrieve PICH inpatient and outpatient data and all-population all-cause deaths in Hunan Province in 2018. DisMod II was used to estimate the disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) due to PICH in 2018.

RESULTS: In 2018, 30,400 new PICH cases were recorded in Hunan Province. The incidence was higher among men (51.6 per 100,000) than women (29.3 per 100,000). The DALYs due to PICH were 478,000 patient-years, the years of life lost (YLLs) were 452,000 patient-years and the years lived with disability (YLDs) were 27,000 patient-years. In 2018, the rate of DALYs due to PICH was 6.4 patient-years per 1000 individuals, the rate of YLLs was 6.1 patient-years per 1000 individuals, and the rate of YLDs was 0.3 patient-years per 1000 individuals.

CONCLUSION: We estimated the DALYs due to PICH in Hunan Province in 2018, thereby providing relevant data for the development of policies and measures for the management of PICH disease burden.

PMID:35633483 | DOI:10.1007/s44197-022-00045-5

Int Ophthalmol. 2022 May 28. doi: 10.1007/s10792-022-02332-3. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To correlate optical coherence tomography (OCT)-based morphological patterns of diabetic macular edema (DME), biomarkers and grade of diabetic retinopathy (DR) in patients with various stages of chronic kidney disease (CKD) secondary to diabetes.

DESIGN: Multicentric retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted at seven centers across India.

METHODS: Data from medical records of patients with DME and CKD were entered in a common excel sheet across all seven centers. Staging of CKD was based on estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR).

RESULTS: The most common morphological pattern of DME was cystoid pattern (42%) followed by the mixed pattern (31%). The proportion of different morphological patterns did not significantly vary across various CKD stages (p = 0.836). The presence of external limiting membrane-ellipsoid zone (ELM-EZ) defects (p < 0.001) and foveal sub-field thickness (p = 0.024) showed a direct correlation with the stage of CKD which was statistically significant. The presence of hyperreflective dots (HRD) and disorganization of inner retinal layers (DRIL) showed no significant correlation with the stage of CKD. Sight threatening DR was found to increase from 70% in CKD stage 3 to 82% in stages 4 and 5 of CKD, and this was statistically significant (p = 0.03).

CONCLUSION: Cystoid morphological pattern followed by mixed type was the most common pattern of DME on OCT found in patients suffering from stage 3 to 5 of CKD. However, the morphological patterns of DME did not significantly vary across various CKD stages. ELM-EZ defects may be considered as an important OCT biomarker for advanced stage of CKD.

PMID:35633427 | DOI:10.1007/s10792-022-02332-3

Tech Coloproctol. 2022 May 28. doi: 10.1007/s10151-022-02632-x. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Sacral neuromodulation (SNM) is a common treatment for patients with urinary and faecal incontinence. A close contact of the tined lead electrode with the targeted nerve is likely to improve functional outcome. The aim of this study was to compare the position of the SNM lead in relation to the sacral nerve by comparing different implantation techniques.

METHODS: This cadaver study was conducted at the Division of Anatomy of Vienna’s Medical University in October 2020. We dissected 10 cadavers after bilateral SNM lead implantation (n = 20), using two different standardized implantation techniques. The cadavers were categorized as group A (n = 10), representing the conventional guided implantation group and group B (n = 10), where SNM implantation was conducted with the novel fluoroscopy-guided “H”-technique. The primary goal was to assess the distance between the sacral nerve and the lead placement.

RESULTS: The electrodes were inserted at a median angle of 58.5° (46-65°) in group A and 60° (50-65°) in group B, without reaching statistical significance. In 8 cadavers, the lead entered the S3 foramen successfully. The median distance of the lead to the nerve did not show a significant difference between both groups (E0: Group A: 0.0 mm vs. Group B: 0.0 mm, p = 0.969; E1: Group A: 0.0 mm vs. Group B: 0.5 mm p = 0.754; E2: Group A: 2.5 mm vs. Group B: 2.5 mm p = 1.000; E3: Group A: 3.5 mm vs. Group B: 4.0 mm p = 0.675). In 2 cases (20%) of the conventional group A, the lead was misplaced and located at the gluteal muscle. Perforation of the presacral fascia was observed in one lead placement in group A and in two placements in group B.

CONCLUSIONS: Both standardized implantation techniques may ensure close electrode proximity to the targeted nerve. Misplacement of the electrode was more often observed with the conventional implantation technique.

PMID:35633425 | DOI:10.1007/s10151-022-02632-x

Rheumatol Int. 2022 May 28. doi: 10.1007/s00296-022-05148-7. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

To examine the association between common comorbidities, eGFR and loci involved in the hyperuricaemia-gout transition. This study was conducted in people with gout from the UK Biobank. Logistic regression was used to examine the association between self-reported physician-diagnosed hypertension, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia and ischaemic heart disease (IHD) with the following variants: rs1260326(GCKR), rs16890979(SLC2A9), rs2231142(ABCG2), rs1229984(ADH1B) and rs2078267(SLC22A11) and adjusted for age, sex and 10-principal components. Linear regression was used to examine the association with eGFR. 7,049 participants with gout were included. After adjusting for multiple testing, there was a statistically significant positive association between urate lowering allele at SLC2A9 and hypertension, and negative association between urate raising allele at ABCG2 and hypertension (OR 1.17 and OR 0.86, respectively). Number of urate lowering risk alleles associated with hypertension [OR (95%CI) 1.13 (1.06-1.21)]. High eGFR associated with urate raising allele at rs2231142 (β = 1.38). The SNP in ADH1B that protects from alcohol excess showed a negative association with IHD (OR 0.53). Unlike in general population studies urate lowering genetic variants associate with hypertension in gout patients with dose-response. This may be due to high prevalence of other risk factors of hypertension such as obesity, poor diet etc. and needs validation in independent datasets.

PMID:35633389 | DOI:10.1007/s00296-022-05148-7

Wiad Lek. 2022;75(4 pt 1):865-870. doi: 10.36740/WLek202204121.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: The aim: The purpose of this article was to study the impact of Tae-Bo on the development of motor potential of students and its effectiveness in the process of extracurricular activities.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: Materials and methods: The experiment was conducted in the conditions of the educational process. An experimental group was formed, which was engaged in the traditional educational program of physical education and additionally three times a week, attended training in Tae-Bo. The control group was engaged in the traditional educational program on physical education in HEI. The following methods were used in the work to solve the research tasks: method of analysis and generalization of literature; surveys, questionnaires; methods of pedagogical observation and experiment; method of testing indicators of physical fitness; methods of mathematical statistics.

RESULTS: Results: When comparing the indicators of external manifestation of physical qualities of students of control (n = 60) and experimental (n = 60) groups at the end of the formative experiment, statistically significant differences (p <0.05 and p <0.01) were recorded in tests to determine coordination, strength, endurance, flexibility.

CONCLUSION: Conclusions: Thus, the introduction of a developed Tae-Bo training system in the extra-curricular process of HEI students contributed to the positive development of their motor abilities. Experimental work allowed to determine the place and role of modern Tae-Bo training in the extra-curricular process of HEI students.

PMID:35633362 | DOI:10.36740/WLek202204121