Tag: pubmed

Wellcome Open Res. 2023 Sep 21;7:244. doi: 10.12688/wellcomeopenres.18394.2. eCollection 2022.

ABSTRACT

Background: The Born in Bradford’s Better Start (BiBBS) interventional birth cohort study was designed as an innovative cohort platform for efficient evaluation of early life interventions delivered through the Better Start Bradford programme. There are a growing number of interventional cohorts being implemented internationally. This paper provides an interim analysis of BiBBS in order to share learning about the feasibility and value of this method. Methods: Recruitment began in January 2016 and will complete in December 2023 with a target sample of 5,000 pregnancies. An interim analysis was completed for all pregnancies recruited between January 2016 and November 2019 with an expected due date between 1 ^st April 2016 and 8 ^th March 2020. Descriptive statistics were completed on the data. Results: Of 4,823 eligible pregnancies, 2,626 (54%) pregnancies were recruited, resulting in 2,392 mothers and 2,501 children. The sample are representative of the pregnant population (61% Pakistani heritage; 12% White British; 8% other South Asian and 6% Central and Eastern European ethnicity). The majority of participants (84%) live in the lowest decile of the Index of Multiple Deprivation, and many live in vulnerable circumstances. A high proportion (85%) of BiBBS families have engaged in one or more of the Better Start Bradford interventions. Levels of participation varied by the characteristics of the interventions, such as the requirement for active participation and the length of commitment to a programme. Conclusions: We have demonstrated the feasibility of recruiting an interventional cohort that includes seldom heard families from ethnic minority and deprived backgrounds. The high level of uptake of interventions is encouraging for the goal of evaluating the process and outcomes of multiple early life interventions using the innovative interventional cohort approach. BiBBS covers a period before, during and after the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic which adds scientific value to the cohort.

PMID:37830108 | PMC:PMC10565418 | DOI:10.12688/wellcomeopenres.18394.2

Ann Appl Stat. 2023 Sep;17(3):1958-1983. doi: 10.1214/22-aoas1701. Epub 2023 Oct 7.

ABSTRACT

Recent advances in biological research have seen the emergence of high-throughput technologies with numerous applications that allow the study of biological mechanisms at an unprecedented depth and scale. A large amount of genomic data is now distributed through consortia like The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), where specific types of biological information on specific type of tissue or cell are available. In cancer research, the challenge is now to perform integrative analyses of high-dimensional multi-omic data with the goal to better understand genomic processes that correlate with cancer outcomes, e.g. elucidate gene networks that discriminate a specific cancer subgroups (cancer sub-typing) or discovering gene networks that overlap across different cancer types (pan-cancer studies). In this paper, we propose a novel mixed graphical model approach to analyze multi-omic data of different types (continuous, discrete and count) and perform model selection by extending the Birth-Death MCMC (BDMCMC) algorithm initially proposed by Stephens (2000) and later developed by Mohammadi and Wit (2015). We compare the performance of our method to the LASSO method and the standard BDMCMC method using simulations and find that our method is superior in terms of both computational efficiency and the accuracy of the model selection results. Finally, an application to the TCGA breast cancer data shows that integrating genomic information at different levels (mutation and expression data) leads to better subtyping of breast cancers.

PMID:37830084 | PMC:PMC10569451 | DOI:10.1214/22-aoas1701

Open Res Eur. 2023 Sep 4;3:54. doi: 10.12688/openreseurope.15701.2. eCollection 2023.

ABSTRACT

Context: International comparisons of the health of mothers and babies provide essential benchmarks for guiding health practice and policy, but statistics are not routinely compiled in a comparable way. These data are especially critical during health emergencies, such as the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. The Population Health Information Research Infrastructure (PHIRI) project aimed to promote the exchange of population data in Europe and included a Use Case on perinatal health. Objective: To develop and test a protocol for federated analysis of population birth data in Europe. Methods: The Euro-Peristat network with participants from 31 countries developed a Common Data Model (CDM) and R scripts to exchange and analyse aggregated data on perinatal indicators. Building on recommended Euro-Peristat indicators, complemented by a three-round consensus process, the network specified variables for a CDM and common outputs. The protocol was tested using routine birth data for 2015 to 2020; a survey was conducted assessing data provider experiences and opinions. Results: The CDM included 17 core data items for the testing phase and 18 for a future expanded phase. 28 countries and the four UK nations created individual person-level databases and ran R scripts to produce anonymous aggregate tables. Seven had all core items, 17 had 13-16, while eight had ≤12. Limitations were not having all items in the same database, required for this protocol. Infant death and mode of birth were most frequently missing. Countries took from under a day to several weeks to set up the CDM, after which the protocol was easy and quick to use. Conclusion: This open-source protocol enables rapid production and analysis of perinatal indicators and constitutes a roadmap for a sustainable European information system. It also provides minimum standards for improving national data systems and can be used in other countries to facilitate comparison of perinatal indicators.

PMID:37830050 | PMC:PMC10565425 | DOI:10.12688/openreseurope.15701.2

R Soc Open Sci. 2023 Oct 11;10(10):230615. doi: 10.1098/rsos.230615. eCollection 2023 Oct.

ABSTRACT

The gender and ethnicity pay gaps are well publicised for academics. The majority of research relies on observations representing a point in time or uses models to consider a standard academic lifespan. We use a stochastic mathematical model to ask what drives differences in lifetime earnings of university academics and highlight a new question: how best should we quantify a working lifetime? The model observes and accounts for patterns in age when entering and leaving the workforce, and differing salary trajectories during an academic career. It is parameterized with data from a national dataset in Aotearoa New Zealand. We compare the total lifetime earnings of different gender and ethnicity groups with and without accounting for the different lengths of time spent in academia. The lifetime earnings gaps are considerably larger when we account for different hiring and leaving ages. We find that overall, for every ethnicity, women have shorter careers and are more likely to leave academia. All minority ethnic groups-and women-earn considerably less than their male white, European colleagues.

PMID:37830027 | PMC:PMC10565367 | DOI:10.1098/rsos.230615

R Soc Open Sci. 2023 Oct 11;10(10):231305. doi: 10.1098/rsos.231305. eCollection 2023 Oct.

ABSTRACT

The gut microbiome has a well-documented relationship with host fitness. Greater microbial diversity and abundance of specific microbes have been associated with improved fitness outcomes. Intestinal microbes also may be associated with patterns of social behaviour. However, these associations have been largely studied in captive animal models; we know less about microbiome composition as a potential driver of individual social behaviour and position in the wild. We used linear mixed models to quantify the relationship between fecal microbial composition, diversity and social network traits in a wild population of yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventer). We focused our analyses on microbes previously linked to sociability and neurobehavioural alterations in captive rodents, primates and humans. Using 5 years of data, we found microbial diversity (Shannon-Wiener and Faith’s phylogenetic diversity) has a modest yet statistically significant negative relationship with the number of social interactions an individual engaged in. We also found a negative relationship between Streptococcus spp. relative abundance and two social network measures (clustering coefficient and embeddedness) that quantify an individual’s position relative to others in their social group. These findings highlight a potentially consequential relationship between microbial composition and social behaviour in a wild social mammal.

PMID:37830026 | PMC:PMC10565414 | DOI:10.1098/rsos.231305

Huan Jing Ke Xue. 2023 Oct 8;44(10):5498-5510. doi: 10.13227/j.hjkx.202211122.

ABSTRACT

TheWudu River is a typical mining-type watershed in the karst mountainous area of western Guizhou Province. Based on the collection of the main stream, tributaries, spring water, and mine water samples in Wudu River Basin, the hydrochemical characteristics and control factors of Wudu River Basin were studied using Gibbs diagram, Piper diagram, and mathematical statistics analysis, and the solute contribution rate of different sources was calculated. The results revealed that the pH value of the water in the Wudu River Basin ranged from 7.87 to 8.52, with an average of 8.14. The TDS values ranged from 135 to 243 mg·L^-1, with an average of 191.7 mg·L^-1. The major cations in natural river and spring water were Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺, the major anion was HCO₃^–, and the hydrochemical type was HCO₃-Ca. However, owing to the influence of mining activities, the major cations in some tributaries were Ca²⁺ and Na⁺, and the hydrochemical types transitioned to HCO₃·SO₄-Ca and HCO₃·SO₄-Ca·Na. The ion components of river water in Wudu River Basin were affected by mine water discharge and cation exchange, carbonate rock weathering, silicate rock weathering, and agricultural fertilization. The high concentration of SO₄^2- and Na⁺in mine water was the primary source of SO₄^2- and Na⁺in the tributaries of the Wudu River. The method for calculating chemical material balance showed that the contribution rate of carbonate rock weathering ranged from 44.12% to 86.92%, with an average of 74.32%. The contribution rate of mining activities ranged from 3.28% to 37.07%, with an average of 11.61%. Carbonate rock weathering was the main controlling factor of hydrochemical components in the Wudu River Basin; meanwhile, mining activities also had a certain impact on river water chemistry but they showed spatial heterogeneity. The average contribution rates of atmospheric precipitation, silicate rock weathering, agricultural activities, and domestic sewage were 3.75%, 4.67%, 2.85%, and 2.81%, respectively, which had a limited impact on the hydrochemical components of the basin.

PMID:37827767 | DOI:10.13227/j.hjkx.202211122

BMJ Open. 2023 Oct 12;13(10):e073536. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-073536.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The diabetes prevalence is escalating in Jordan; as a consequence, the risk of developing diabetic kidney diseases is also increasing.

OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated the effect of risk factors and comorbidities on kidney function in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

DESIGN: A cross-sectional, survey-based study.

SETTING: Participants were recruited from the endocrinology and cardiology clinics of a tertiary hospital in Jordan.

PARTICIPANTS: Patients with T2DM aged 18 years and more who had undergone a kidney function test within a year before data collection.

OUTCOME MEASURES: The estimated GFR (eGFR) mean values and proteinuria presence were used to evaluate the impact of risk factors on kidney function. Descriptive and analytical statistical approaches were used to calculate mean, prevalence and correlations. The SPSS software was used with a p value<0.05 for significance.

RESULTS: Of the total 331 study participants, 54.1% were men and 45.9% were women. The mean age was 60 years. The eGFR mean values were significantly reduced in patients with T2DM with hypertension, hyperlipidaemia and proteinuria (p<0.01). The correlation analysis results showed that the eGFR was positively correlated with hypertension and hyperlipidaemia presence (r_s=0.253, 0.220), and negatively correlated with age, body mass index and diabetes duration (r_s=-0.395, -0.151, -0.221), respectively. However, the eGFR did not corelate with income, sex, smoking and anaemia. Of note, about 68% of the patients with T2DM had uncontrolled diabetes.

CONCLUSIONS: Kidney function were severely affected in patients with T2DM in the presence of risk factors and comorbidities. It is highly recommended to control diabetes through medications and life style, and to regularly check for kidney function to halt the deteriorations in kidney function.

PMID:37827749 | DOI:10.1136/bmjopen-2023-073536

BMJ Open. 2023 Oct 12;13(10):e074080. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-074080.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to compare the mental health status of patients with diabetes before and after the COVID-19 pandemic and to determine the effect of COVID-19 on their mental health status. This study was the first to investigate the relationship between diabetes and mental health in the Korean population during the COVID-19 pandemic.

DESIGN: This retrospective cross-sectional study investigated the prevalence of mental health problems before (2018-2019) and during (2020-2021) the COVID-19 pandemic in individuals with diabetes aged 40 years or older who participated in the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Mental health problems were assessed using self-reported experiences of depression diagnosis, stress perception and suicide ideation. Depression was assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Clinically significant depression requiring treatment was determined using an optimal cut-off score of 10 out of a total of 27 points.

PARTICIPANTS: There were 824 men and 763 women in the 2018-2019 survey and 882 men and 887 women in 2020-2021.

RESULTS: In the unadjusted analysis, women had a statistically significantly higher prevalence of suicide ideation in 2020-2021 (2.9, 95% CI: 1.5 to 4.2) than in 2018-2019 (1.0, 95% CI: 0.4 to 1.7, but p<0.0067). There was no statistically significant difference in both men and women in 2018-2019 after adjusting for age, education, economic activity, hypoglycaemic drug intake or insulin injection, current alcohol consumption, hypertension and hypercholesterolaemia. A comparison of the results of the PHQ-9 survey conducted in 2018-2019 and 2020-2021 found no statistically significant difference in the prevalence of depressive disorder among both men and women.

CONCLUSIONS: Long-term, retrospective observations and studies on the effects of COVID-19 on the mental health of patients with diabetes should be conducted in the future.

PMID:37827739 | DOI:10.1136/bmjopen-2023-074080

BMJ Open. 2023 Oct 12;13(10):e075274. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-075274.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: We will launch a national survey in Serbia to document the prevalence of two types of questionable health behaviours: (1) intentional non-adherence to medical recommendations and (2) use of traditional, complementary and alternative medicine practices, as well as the relation between the two. We will also investigate their psychological roots, including (a) ‘distal’ predictors such as HEXACO personality traits (plus Disintegration) and thinking dispositions (rational/experiential thinking and cognitive reflexivity), and (b) ‘proximal’ predictors under the umbrella ‘irrational mindset’ (set of unfounded beliefs consisting of conspiratorial thinking, superstition, magical health beliefs as well as selected cognitive biases), which have more content-wise overlap with the health behaviours.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS: In this cross-sectional study, a research agency will collect data from a nationally representative sample (n=1043; age 18-75 years; estimated start/end-June/November 2021) recruited online (approximately, 70% of the sample, aged 18-54; 11 years) and face-to-face (approximately, 30% of the sample, aged 55-75 years). Participants will complete a battery of tests assessing questionable health behaviours, basic personality traits, thinking dispositions, irrational mindset, sociopolitical beliefs, sociodemographic and health-related variables. Prevalence rates will be calculated using descriptive statistics. To explore the relation between (psychological) predictors and questionable health behaviours, we will use hierarchical regression and partial mediation models (path analysis or full SEM models).

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethical Committees of the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade (#935/1), Faculty of Special Education and Rehabilitation (#139/1) and Faculty of Media and Communications (#228) approved the protocol. Only participants who provide informed consent will participate in the study. A research report based on the study results will be submitted to peer-reviewed journals and results will be made available to stakeholders through reports on the project website https://reasonforhealth.f.bg.ac.rs/en/ and disseminated via social media.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT05808660.

PMID:37827738 | DOI:10.1136/bmjopen-2023-075274

BMJ Open. 2023 Oct 12;13(10):e074995. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-074995.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Investigating elective and emergency caesarean section (CS) separately is important for a better understanding of birth delivery modes in the sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region and identifying bottlenecks that prevent favourable childbirth outcomes in SSA. This study aimed at evaluating the prevalences of both CS types, determining their associated socioeconomic factors and their association with early neonatal mortality in SSA.

METHODS: SSA countries Demographic and Health Surveys data that had collected information on the CS’ timing were included in our study. A total of 21 countries were included in this study, with a total of 155 172 institutional live births. Prevalences of both CS types were estimated at the countries’ level using household sampling weights. Multilevel models were fitted to identify associated socioeconomic factors of both CS types and their associations with early neonatal mortality.

RESULTS: The emergency CS prevalence in SSA countries was estimated at 4.6% (95% CI 4.4-4.7) and was higher than the elective CS prevalence estimated at 3.4% (95% CI 3.3-3.6). Private health facilities’ elective CS prevalence was estimated at 10.2% (95% CI 9.3-11.2) which was higher than the emergency CS prevalence estimated at 7.7% (95% CI 7.0-8.5). Conversely, in public health facilities, the emergency CS prevalence was estimated at 4.0% (95% CI 3.8-4.2) was higher than the elective CS prevalence estimated at 2.7% (95% CI 2.6-2.8). The richest women were more likely to have birth delivery by both CS types than normal vaginal delivery. Emergency CS was positively associated with early neonatal mortality (adjusted OR=2.37, 95% CI 1.64-3.41), while no association was found with elective CS.

CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest shortcomings in pregnancy monitoring, delivery preparation and postnatal care. Beyond antenatal care (ANC) coverage, more attention should be put on quality of ANC, postnatal care, emergency obstetric and newborn care for favourable birth delivery outcomes in SSA.

PMID:37827732 | DOI:10.1136/bmjopen-2023-074995