Tag: pubmed

Am J Audiol. 2026 Aug 28:1-12. doi: 10.1044/2026_AJA-25-00220. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: This study aimed to assess the subjective listening effort in daily life situations of adult cochlear implant (CI) users in a clinical setting using a questionnaire designed for hearing aid (HA) users.

METHOD: The listening effort of CI users with progressive sensorineural hearing loss was measured using the Listening Effort Questionnaire (LEQ). In addition, speech comprehension results and demographic data were recorded in order to statistically examine correlations with the LEQ results.

RESULTS: A total of 112 participants-unilateral CI users with bilateral deafness, bilateral CI users, unilateral CI users with single-sided deafness (SSD), and bimodal users (CI + HA)-were included in the study (M_age = 56.5 years, SD = 13.6). The median listening effort score (scale ranges from 0 = no effort to 10 = maximum effort) was 5.7 for situations affected by the signal-to-noise ratio, 6.6 for situations with low sound quality, and 3.8 for quiet situations with lipreading. The differences in listening effort between the three types of situations were significant. Speech comprehension in noise was associated with listening effort in noisy situations. In situations with low sound quality and quiet situations with lipreading, less listening effort was required by participants with SSD than by bilateral CI users and bimodal users.

CONCLUSIONS: The LEQ appears to be suitable for measuring adult CI users’ subjective listening effort in daily life. The highest listening effort was experienced in situations with low sound quality, while the lowest effort was experienced in situations involving speech perception in quiet and lipreading.

PMID:42663607 | DOI:10.1044/2026_AJA-25-00220

J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2026 Aug 28:glag210. doi: 10.1093/gerona/glag210. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Mounting evidence points to the protective role of adult child education in older parents’ health, including their risk of ADL and IADL difficulties. Yet, little is known whether this association varies cross-nationally due to contextual differences in intergenerational transfers, family dynamics, and other factors. This study examines the relationship between adult child education and parents’ functional health outcomes across countries, using comparable population-based datasets.

METHODS: We used harmonized data from seven population-based studies accessed through the Gateway to Global Aging Data. Our analytic sample included 88,683 adults 60 years and older from 24 countries. We estimated and meta-analyzed associations between adult child education and respondents’ (parents’) difficulty with basic and instrumental activities of daily living (ADL and IADLs), controlling for respondents’ own education and other socio-demographic characteristics. We also considered heterogeneity across parent and child demographics (e.g. parent gender, child gender).

RESULTS: Across all studies, each additional year of education averaged across adult children was associated with a 3% lower risk of difficulty with both ADLs (95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 0.95, 0.98) and IADLs (95% CI: 0.95, 0.98). Statistical heterogeneity appeared to be driven by one study (e.g. I2 = 78.94% when the study was included vs. I2 = 0.04% when excluded). Results suggest limited heterogeneity across demographic subgroups.

CONCLUSION: “Upward” intergenerational benefits of higher adult child education for parents’ late-life ADL and IADL difficulties appear to be relatively consistent across a range of global settings. Further research is needed to uncover the mechanisms driving these cross-national associations.

PMID:42663587 | DOI:10.1093/gerona/glag210

J Forensic Odontostomatol. 2026 Aug 27;44(2):57-66. doi: 10.5281/zenodo.21849300.

ABSTRACT

Age assessment is essential in forensic practice when the chronological age of living individuals is unknown, particularly in legal, civil, migration, and asylum contexts requiring the judicial determination of age-related rights and responsibilities. This study aimed to evaluate the performance of two cervical vertebral methods in a Portuguese reference subadult population (6-23 years), ethnically homogeneous, using the analysis of the fourth cervical vertebra (C4) on lateral cephalometric radiographs. Two approaches were applied: Baccetti’s qualitative morphological staging of C2-C4 and Cameriere’s morphometric ratio of C4. A total of 528 lateral cephalometric radiographs, balanced by age and sex, were analysed independently by trained observers. Intra- and inter-observer reliability were evaluated using Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) and weighted Cohen’s kappa (κ). Statistical procedures included correlation analyses, multiple linear regression, Classification Trees (CT), and Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves to assess performance at legally relevant thresholds (12, 14, 16, 18 years). Baccetti’s method explained 75.3% (coefficient of determination R²=0.753) of chronological age variability, with a mean error of approximately two years and high accuracy for thresholds of 12-16 years. Cameriere’s ratio showed lower explanatory capacity (R²=0.568) and a mean error of 2.7 years, although its ROC curves demonstrated good discriminatory performance across all age cut-offs. The combination of both methods showed a slight increase in predictive performance (R²=0.784), although this combined approach was not formally evaluated as an independent model. Females reached skeletal maturity earlier, although error rates were similar between sexes. Reliability was excellent across methods. Both approaches proved applicable for forensic age assessment, offering complementary advantages: Baccetti’s method provides broader morphological interpretation, whereas Cameriere’s morphometric ratio offers objectivity and reproducibility. These population-specific reference data support the forensic use of cervical vertebral analysis as part of a multimodal age estimation framework.

PMID:42663583 | DOI:10.5281/zenodo.21849300

J Forensic Odontostomatol. 2026 Aug 27;44(2):35-42. doi: 10.5281/zenodo.21849045.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The increasing sophistication of restorative materials in replicating natural tooth fluorescence poses a challenge for both antemortem and postmortem dental charting. This study evaluated the efficacy of various discrete excitation wavelengths, including those from common forensic torches, in differentiating modern restorative materials from tooth.

METHODS: Conducted within the Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing (IPAS) laboratory framework, six extracted human molars and five contemporary A3-shade restorative materials were examined via spectrophotometry across five excitation wavelengths: 266, 300, 365, 395 and 426nm. Canonical Discriminant Analysis (CDA) was applied to Peak Intensity and Peak Emission Wavelength data to quantify the multivariate statistical separation between groups.

RESULTS: UV-A wavelengths of 365nm and 395nm produced the most robust group separation. While 365nm excitation produced the highest absolute emission intensities for visual detection, 395nm excitation elicited unique spectral red-shifts in composite resins, providing the highest mathematical discrimination. Visible violet excitation at 426nm was the least reliable differentiator.

CONCLUSION: For forensic practitioners, UV-A torches (365-395 nm) remain effective for detecting the tooth-coloured restorations tested here. While 365nm is optimal for rapid visual screening 395nm provides a more distinctive spectral fingerprints for formal characterisation. Despite improved fluorescence matching under visible light, the modern restorative materials tested here retain unique spectral signatures under UV-A illumination, though variable fluorescence intensity influenced detectability and may limit generalisation to other restorations or teeth.

PMID:42663581 | DOI:10.5281/zenodo.21849045

J Forensic Odontostomatol. 2026 Aug 27;44(2):23-34. doi: 10.5281/zenodo.21849228.

ABSTRACT

Forensic dentistry focuses on identifying individuals through distinctive characteristics of their dental structures. There is a lack of documentation of dental records in developing countries, particularly in Ghana. Therefore, the study aimed to generate detailed baseline data on the sexually dimorphic features of the canine tooth. A convenience sampling technique was employed to recruit a total of 280 participants (140 males and 140 females) aged 18-42 years. Ethical approval was obtained from the Committee on Human Research, Publications and Ethics, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. Informed consent was sought from the participants. Dental impressions were made using alginate powder, and study models were prepared using dental stone. Measurements of right and left mesiodistal width of the mandibular and maxillary canines, and Intercanine distances were taken using Digital Vernier Calipers. The means of the Right and Left Mandibular, Maxillary Mesiodistal Widths, Intercanine Distances, and the Right Mandibular Canine index were sexually dimorphic. Binary logistic regression analyses showed that models employing the Right and Left Mandibular Mesiodistal Width, Mandibular Intercanine Distance, Maxillary Intercanine Distance, Right and Left Maxillary Mesiodistal Width, and Right Mandibular Canine Index were good and statistically significant in predicting sex. The best-performing model was the Left Maxillary Mesiodistal Width, which correctly predicted 65% of males and 67.9% of females, with an overall prediction accuracy of 66.40%. Microdont was the predominant tooth type for left and right maxillary canines, followed by mesodont and microdont among both sexes. The results of this study indicate sexual dimorphism, providing a baseline for further research. Canine dimensions, combined with other dental and skeletal indicators, can enhance the accuracy of sex estimation.

PMID:42663580 | DOI:10.5281/zenodo.21849228

J Forensic Odontostomatol. 2026 Aug 27;44(2):16-22. doi: 10.5281/zenodo.21849188.

ABSTRACT

Clinicians and lecturers often use clinical photographs of actual patients for teaching purposes, in congress presentations and for scientific publications. It has been customary practice to blank out the eyes on clinical photographs to ensure anonymity. Researchers have become increasingly concerned that merely covering the eyes is not an effective way to conceal identity especially if the photograph is of a person that may be known to the observer. This study blanked out the eyes of 15 photographs of staff members and well-known public figures as per routine practice in maintaining anonymity. The images were presented to dental students in the final two years of their study, and they were asked to try and identify the individuals. The students were then shown the same images in a different order with no blanked-out eyes and again asked to identify the people. Students were advised that spelling of names was not important. The results were analysed using descriptive statistics to determine the number of correct answers per illustration and in total for both the blanked out and unaltered series of photographs. The results revealed that despite the eyes being blanked out, 75% of the students were able to identify the same number of faces in both series, 21% only had 1 image they could not identify in the blanked out images, and 4% misidentified 2 images. This study confirmed the suspicion that mere blanking out the eyes of an image is ineffectual in ensuring anonymity. It is also evident that most journals are aware of this limitation, and are insisting on confirmation of consent before publishing facial photographs. However, the authors suggest that all lecturers, presenters at study groups and organisers of conferences ensure there is a declaration slide included in the presentation, in which they assure the audience they have gained consent from the respective subjects in their presentations.

PMID:42663579 | DOI:10.5281/zenodo.21849188

J Forensic Odontostomatol. 2026 Aug 27;44(2):2-15. doi: 10.5281/zenodo.21848953.

ABSTRACT

In forensic contexts, incomplete or fragmented bones are frequently encountered due to post-mortem damage and taphonomic changes, and teeth can be considered a valid and reliable source for sex estimation, as they are among the most resistant structures of the human body. Methods based on metric and non-metric dental traits are commonly used for sex estimation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of sexual dimorphism in a Brazilian population through metric and non-metric analysis of teeth. A total of 73 individuals aged between 18 and 25 years were evaluated. All analyses were conducted on the upper jaw. The metric analysis consisted of obtaining buccolingual and mesiodistal measurements of the clinical crown of the teeth. In addition to measurements for each tooth, the maxillary dental arch perimeter and intercanine distance were also considered. The non-metric analysis consisted of observing and describing traits present or absent in the teeth, using the ASUDAS. Intraobserver error was assessed using the paired t-test and the Dahlberg method. Parametric or non-parametric tests were applied according to the data distribution. The mesiodistal and buccolingual dimensions proved effective for identifying sex differences, except for teeth 12/22 (mesiodistal) and 13/23 (buccolingual). The maxillary dental arch perimeter and intercanine distance were significantly larger in males. Regarding non-metric traits, the results were less significant; only a few teeth presented traits associated with sexual dimorphism: the lingual tubercle (tooth 22), the mesial marginal ridge tubercle (tooth 26), and the hypocone cusp (teeth 17 and 27). It is concluded that the findings, although relevant, should be interpreted with caution, as their consistency still needs to be confirmed. Therefore, additional studies with larger samples from different regions of Brazil are necessary to validate these parameters and consider them reliable in anthropological and forensic contexts.

PMID:42663578 | DOI:10.5281/zenodo.21848953

J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2026 Aug 28:glag209. doi: 10.1093/gerona/glag209. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Telomere length (TL) is a well-established biomarker of cellular senescence, yet the metabolic profile of TL and its associations with aging-related phenotypes and responses to modifiable lifestyle factors remain unclear.

METHODS: TL was measured using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) in 282 participants from the West China Health and Aging Cohort (WCHAC). Plasma metabolites were analyzed using Liquid Chromatography-tandem Mass Spectrometry. TL-associated metabolic signatures (Met-TL) were identified through elastic net regression models. Associations between Met-TL and aging-related phenotypes and modifiable lifestyle factors were evaluated using linear and logistic regression models in a larger, non-overlapping sample of 5,957 WCHAC participants. Furthermore, we employed mediation analysis to explore the mediating effects of Met-TL between lifestyle factors and aging-related diseases.

RESULTS: We identified a plasma metabolite signature comprising 26 metabolites explaining 17.5% of TL variance. Met-TL significantly associated with aging-related phenotypes (44 Bonferroni-corrected associations) and modifiable lifestyle factors (4 associations). Notably, Met-TL showed robust associations with steatohepatitis and hepatic biomarkers. Mediation analysis revealed that Met-TL partially explained the protective association between healthy lifestyle and steatohepatitis, with a mediation proportion of 8.2%.

CONCLUSION: These findings provide novel insights into the metabolic profile of TL in older adults. The Met-TL may serve as a promising biomarker of cellular aging, particularly in identifying liver dysfunction, facilitating the development of personalized aging monitoring and anti-aging intervention strategies.

PMID:42663576 | DOI:10.1093/gerona/glag209

Ann Am Thorac Soc. 2026 Aug 28:aaoag264. doi: 10.1093/annalsats/aaoag264. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Fall-related injuries are a common cause of morbidity and impaired quality of life among patients with severe respiratory disease. Use of long-term oxygen therapy (LTOT) may be associated with a further increased risk.

METHODS: This was a longitudinal study of patients starting LTOT between 2006 and 2023 in the Swedish DISCOVERY cohort. Rates of healthcare contact due to three types of fall-related injuries (distal radius fracture, hip fracture, and skull trauma) were compared to those of age- and sex-matched population controls using nationwide registries. For patients on LTOT, pre-identified potentially predictive factors were analyzed against a composite outcome of any fall-related injury using Cox and Fine-Gray regression, independently, adjusting for age, sex and Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), and in a joint model adjusting for all predictive factors.

RESULTS: A total 16,915 patients with LTOT (mean age 76±9 years, 57% female, 63% underlying COPD) and an equal number of matched controls were included. Compared with controls, LTOT patients had increased overall rates of both hospitalizations (15.5 vs 7.3 per 100 patient-years) and outpatient (16.9 vs 13.6 per 100 patient-years) healthcare contacts due to fall-related injuries, driven by hip fractures and skull trauma, whereas distal radius fractures were more common among patients without LTOT. The strongest independent predictive factors for fall-related injury during LTOT were history of previous fall-related injury (HR1.8; 95% confidence interval 1.7-2.0) and increased CCI. The overall predictive capability of the model was poor (C-statistic 0.65).

CONCLUSION: Patients on LTOT have a high rate of health care contacts due to hip fractures and skull trauma, but whether this increase is caused by use of oxygen equipment or underlying frailty remains unknown. While individual falls were difficult to predict, indicators such as previous fall injury and comorbidities, may inform optimized follow-up and interventions aimed at mitigating risk.

PMID:42663560 | DOI:10.1093/annalsats/aaoag264

Ann Plast Surg. 2026 Aug 28. doi: 10.1097/SAP.0000000000004719. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Acute compartment syndrome (ACS) is a time-sensitive diagnosis, with mortality rates as high as 15%. Diagnosis relies on clinical evaluation and intracompartmental pressure (ICP) measurements, which are only 68% accurate. Microdialysis has been shown to be reliable in detecting flap ischemia before clinically evident. Therefore, we hypothesized that intramuscular (IM) microdialysis could detect early ACS with high diagnostic test accuracy (DTA). Given IM perforators supply overlying skin, we further hypothesized that subcutaneous (SC) biomarkers closely correlate with IM metabolic changes and can detect ACS in a swine model.

METHODS: Eleven Yorkshire swine (male, ~50 kg) were used to model tourniquet-induced ACS in the bilateral anterior hind limbs (n=22). ACS was induced for 6 hours. Microdialysis probes were placed in both IM and SC tissue compartments to collect interstitial fluid for analysis of glucose, pH, and lactate. Tissue oxygenation (SrO2) and hindlimb temperature were also monitored. Maximal diagnostic test accuracy and correlation coefficients were calculated for these metrics.

RESULTS: ICP increased immediately after tourniquet inflation [preinflation: 15.6±4.7 mm Hg vs. postinflation: 53.0±38.2 mm Hg (P=0.0012)]. IM glucose decreased significantly at hour 2, while SC glucose decreased significantly at hour 3. SC glucose below 6.6 mg/dL had a DTA of 75%. Both IM and SC pH decreased significantly at hour 2. SC pH below 7.17 had a DTA of 78%. IM and SC lactate increased over the course of the experiment, but these changes were not statistically significant. SC lactate above 3.85 mg/dL had a DTA of 70%. SrO2 decreased significantly immediately after tourniquet inflation (DTA 100% below 58.5%), and hindlimb temperature decreased significantly within 30 minutes (DTA 99.6% below 27.8 °C). SC and IM glucose had the closest correlation (R2=0.931), followed by pH (R2=0.911), while lactate showed a less reliable correlation (R2=0.667).

CONCLUSIONS: In a porcine model of ACS, SC biomarkers closely correlate with IM biomarkers and exhibit a high DTA with pH, having the highest accuracy. SrO2, and surface temperature also decreased rapidly and significantly. Future research should investigate these modalities in pilot clinical trials.

PMID:42663554 | DOI:10.1097/SAP.0000000000004719