Tag: pubmed

BMC Med Educ. 2025 Oct 9;25(1):1386. doi: 10.1186/s12909-025-07854-9.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming healthcare, including dentistry, through its applications in diagnosis, prosthetic planning, and oral disease detection. As future professionals, dental students play a vital role in integrating AI into clinical practice. However, little is known about their attitudes toward AI, particularly in low-resource settings such as Palestine.

METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 305 dental students from four Palestinian universities using a validated 22-item questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and chi-square tests (p < 0.05).

RESULTS: Among the 305 participants (232 females, 73 males), 77% reported basic knowledge of AI, with social media being the most common source (66.2%). Female students were significantly more likely than males to believe that AI will bring major advancements to dentistry (p = 0.04), and that it can be used for diagnostic (p = 0.030), prognostic (p = 0.045), and treatment planning purposes (p = 0.015), as well as in postgraduate training (p = 0.017). Those with prior AI knowledge or awareness of its dental applications showed greater enthusiasm for its diagnostic use (p = 0.004) and integration into dental education (p = 0.004 and p = 0.009, respectively).

CONCLUSION: Palestinian dental students demonstrate strong awareness and positive attitudes toward the use of AI in dentistry. Gender-based differences and ethical concerns emphasize the need for structured, inclusive, and responsible AI training within dental curricula.

PMID:41068696 | DOI:10.1186/s12909-025-07854-9

BMC Surg. 2025 Oct 9;25(1):468. doi: 10.1186/s12893-025-03202-2.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: To study the medical history, diagnosis, management, and treatment results of piriformis syndrome (PS).

METHODS: Articles published between 1980 and 2024 reporting cases of PS or piriformis muscle sciatica (PMs) case/case series were included. We excluded articles that did not report anagraphic data for singular cases, diagnostic procedure, therapy, and outcome for each case. We searched PubMed database and we retrieved articles from references. We used the Preferred Reporting Items of Systematic Reviews (PRISMA) guidelines to conduct a systematic review of the literature to identify all published cases of PS or piriformis muscle sciatica (PM). Data for all cases were collected in a database and analysed using statistical software (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences for Windows).

RESULTS: Of the 235 articles screened, 97 were included. Data from 212 patients (117 females and 95 males, mean age 43.6 ± 14.8) were collected. 38.2% of the patients in this study had a history of blunt / indirect pelvic trauma or piriform muscle (PM) stress due to vigorous physical activity/sport. 9.0% (19/212) of the patients had previously failed lumbar spine surgery. Before treatment, the diagnosis of PS/PMs was corroborated in 29.7% of patients by intrapelvic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI); 50.5% of the patients had a PS clinical diagnosis. Conservative treatments were effective in treating PS/PMs in 41.1% of patients; 58.9% of patients required surgical treatments. In the group of patients with PS diagnosis made without instrumental finding, the OR of surgical treatment failure occurrence was 5.3. After treatment, the most frequent causes of PS/PMs identified by intraoperative or instrumental findings were the anatomical variant of PM or SN (12.7%) followed by pyomyositis (9.4%) and PM hypertrophy (7.5%). 47.6% of the patients had no instrumental or intraoperative findings.

CONCLUSIONS: Intrapelvic MRI was the instrumental examination most frequently used to confirm the diagnosis of PS/PMs prior to treatment. The PS causes most frequently identified were the anatomical variant of PM or SN. In the group of patients with PS diagnosis made without instrumental finding, the OR of surgical treatment failure occurrence was 5.3. To reduce the number of cases of persistent pain after treatment for suspected PS, it is advisable to support the clinical diagnosis through all available instrumental diagnostic procedures. However, considering all the risks that SN surgery can cause, all nonsurgical treatments should be encouraged prior to surgery. TRIAL REGISTRATION: PROSPERO Reg. No. CRD42025641061.

PMID:41068685 | DOI:10.1186/s12893-025-03202-2

BMC Psychiatry. 2025 Oct 9;25(1):957. doi: 10.1186/s12888-025-07445-4.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Although antidepressant monotherapy is recommended for patients with major depressive disorder (MDD), they often do not respond to it, necessitating alternatives such as electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). However, maintenance pharmacotherapy after ECT has remained unestablished. This study, conducted at 240 facilities throughout Japan, aimed to explore maintenance pharmacotherapy after ECT for 3,749 inpatients with MDD.

METHODS: The patients were divided into two groups, one that underwent ECT (ECT group, N = 521) and another that did not (non-ECT group, N = 3,273), for the comparison of clinical characteristics and prescription details at discharge. The primary outcome of this study was the prescription rate of antidepressant monotherapy at discharge, while the secondary outcomes included prescription rates of specific combination regimens, such as antidepressant plus lithium.

RESULTS: We identified 198 prescription patterns involving antidepressants in the ECT group. Analysis by drug category revealed distinctive patterns: there was no statistically significant difference in prescription rates for antidepressant monotherapy between the ECT and non-ECT groups (N = 118, 22.6% vs. N = 932, 28.4%). In contrast, the prescription rate for the combination of antidepressant and antipsychotic medications was significantly higher in the ECT group (N = 188, 36.0% vs. N = 941, 28.7%). The combination of antidepressant and mood stabilizer was also more frequent in the ECT group (N = 35, 6.7% vs. N = 130, 3.9%), although this difference did not reach statistical significance after Bonferroni correction. At the drug level, additional distinctive patterns emerged: among antidepressant monotherapies, nortriptyline use was significantly more common in the ECT group (N = 9, 1.7% vs. N = 11, 0.3%). For mood stabilizers, restricting the analysis to lithium revealed a markedly higher rate in the ECT group (N = 30, 5.7% vs. N = 35, 1.0%).

CONCLUSIONS: These findings highlight the complexity of treatment decisions managing of MDD after ECT and emphasize the need for structured prospective research on the effectiveness of specific maintenance pharmacotherapies after ECT.

PMID:41068670 | DOI:10.1186/s12888-025-07445-4

BMC Gastroenterol. 2025 Oct 9;25(1):710. doi: 10.1186/s12876-025-04247-6.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Chronic Proton Pump Inhibitor (PPI) use after anti-reflux surgery (ARS) remains common. Which patient factors contribute to chronic PPI use after surgery is unclear. The primary aim was to provide a long-term outcome of ARS by evaluating PPI use in the years after surgery and identify determinants of chronic PPI use after surgery.

METHODS: Patients aged ≥ 18 years who underwent ARS between 2011 and 2020 in a single referral center were eligible. Patient data were retrospectively assessed by medical record review. PPI data were acquired from primary care pharmacies. Chronic PPI use was defined as ≥ 180 Defined Daily Doses (DDD) per year. Patient characteristics predisposing chronic PPI use were identified. Statistical analysis included descriptive statistics and multivariable logistic regressions and a Kaplan-Meier curve.

RESULTS: Only 45 out of 364 eligible patients (12%) had complete data for analysis. Chronic PPI use was present in 79.5% before surgery compared to 29.5% at 1 and 2 years and 32.0% for 5 years after surgery. A median difference in PPI use of -257 DDD was found for the year after surgery compared to the year before surgery. Male gender was associated with chronic PPI use after surgery but no other determinants were found.

CONCLUSION: Approximately a third of the patients use PPIs up to 5 years after surgery. Although ARS is recommended when PPI treatment fails or to avert lifelong PPI use, quality of life and PPI use may not correlate linearly. Adequate patient selection and expectation management before surgery is paramount.

PMID:41068664 | DOI:10.1186/s12876-025-04247-6

BMC Infect Dis. 2025 Oct 9;25(1):1262. doi: 10.1186/s12879-025-11595-x.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Diarrhea is a public health challenge, the leading cause of malnutrition, morbidity, and mortality for children under five years globally. The disease is more common in low and middle-income countries such as Asia and Africa. While several studies were conducted on the prevalence of diarrheal disease among children under five, none of them showed the pooled prevalence of diarrheal disease. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the pooled prevalence and its determinants of diarrhea among children under five in East Africa.

METHODS: We searched articles published between January 01/2020, to October 31/2024, on the prevalence of diarrheal disease among children under five years old using different databases such as PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, and Google Scholar. We included studies that were published only in the English language and report the prevalence of diarrhea among children under five in East African countries. To get the total number of children under the age of five in our study, we summed the sample sizes from chosen studies.We checked the quality of each study using the Newcastle Ottawa Scale (NOS) quality assessment scale, and we performed the analysis by random effect model using statistical software STATA version 17 and R version 4.4.2.

RESULT: A total of 162,388 children under five years were included in this review. About 93.33% of studies were conducted using cross-sectional study designs. The overall pooled prevalence of diarrhea among children under five in East Africa was 24.6% (95% CI: 22.7%, 26.6%). Improper waste disposal mechanism (OR = 1.67, 95% CI: 1.10, 2.53), large family size (OR = 1.38, 95% CI: 1.10, 1.72), two and above children under five years (OR = 1.6, 95% CI: 1.27, 2.03), unprotected source of water (OR=1.92, 95% CI: 1.39, 2.65), not vaccinated from rotavirus (OR = 2.06, 95% CI: 1.10, 3.85), unprotected toilet type (OR = 1.11, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.21), and households who spent more than thirty minutes to fetch water (OR = 1.35 95% CI: 1.05, 1.73) were risk factors responsible for the prevalence of diarrheal disease among children under five years.

CONCLUSIONS: The pooled prevalence of diarrhea among children under five in East Africa is still at a high level. The finding of this study recommends intervention on family planning initiatives, improving sanitation practices, increasing access to healthcare, providing access to clean water, rotavirus vaccination, and well-established waste disposal mechanisms, which could be the critical issues to reduce the prevalence of diarrheal disease among children under five years.

PMID:41068656 | DOI:10.1186/s12879-025-11595-x

BMC Public Health. 2025 Oct 9;25(1):3444. doi: 10.1186/s12889-025-24424-2.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Understanding the contraceptive preferences of currently married women who are not using any method but intend to do so in the future is critical for addressing unmet need and informing targeted family planning strategies. In Bangladesh, despite progress in contraceptive uptake, disparities persist across socio-demographic groups and geographic regions. This study examines the determinants of preferred future contraceptive methods among non-using but intending women in Bangladesh using a multilevel analytic framework.

METHODS: We used data from the 2014 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS), focusing on 3,662 currently married women aged 15-49 who were not using any contraceptive method but intended to adopt one in the future. The outcome variable, preferred future contraceptive method, was categorized into three groups: Pill (reference), Injection, and Other methods (e.g., condom, sterilization, Norplant). A two-level multinomial logistic regression model was applied, with women (level 1) nested within administrative divisions (level 2), using a Bayesian estimation approach.

RESULTS: The Pill was the most preferred method overall (49%), followed by Other methods (30%) and Injection (21%). Preference patterns varied by age, education, parity, wealth, and place of residence. Women with higher education had significantly greater odds of preferring other methods over pills (OR = 1.68, 95% CI: 1.14-2.51), while those with more children were more likely to prefer injections. Urban women were more inclined to prefer other methods compared to rural women (OR = 1.38, 95% CI: 1.14-1.71). The analysis revealed significant variation across divisions, highlighting contextual influences on contraceptive preferences.

CONCLUSIONS: Contraceptive preferences among non-using but intending women in Bangladesh are shaped by a complex interplay of individual and regional factors. Programs aiming to reduce unmet need and method discontinuation should adopt tailored strategies that consider age, education, parity, and regional disparities. Enhancing method choice, promoting female education, and improving service delivery in underserved regions are essential for achieving reproductive health equity and advancing national and global family planning goals.

PMID:41068653 | DOI:10.1186/s12889-025-24424-2

BMC Cardiovasc Disord. 2025 Oct 9;25(1):726. doi: 10.1186/s12872-025-05161-1.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have demonstrated that the triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index in combination with the estimated glucose disposal rate (eGDR) could predict mortality risks in the normal population. Our studies have focused on their additive effects on patients with cardiovascular-kidney metabolic syndrome (CKM) syndrome stages 0-3.

METHODS: Participants were sourced from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 1999 to 2018. The restricted cubic spline (RCS) curves modeled the associations between the TyG index, eGDR, and mortality. Cox proportional regression models, Kaplan-Meier (KM) curve and subgroup analysis were performed to investigate the combined association. Machine learning was used in the development of predictive models.

RESULTS: A total of 11,206 participants with CKM syndrome stages 0-3 were involved. The median follow-up time was 104 days, in which 1,079 cases of all-cause death and 299 cases of cardiovascular death were recorded. The RCS curve proved that the associations of the TyG index and eGDR with mortality followed a J-shape and an L-shape, respectively. Compared with the low TyG/high eGDR group, the all-cause mortality rate in TyG ≥ 8.72 and eGDR < 10.8 group was 14.9%, with a hazard ratio (HR) of 3.338 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.448-7.696), while the cardiovascular mortality rate was 4.8%, with an HR of 1.786 (95% CI: 1.023-3.119).

CONCLUSIONS: In individuals with CKM syndrome stages 0-3, it is more advisable to integrate the TyG index and eGDR when assessing insulin resistance and predicting the risks of long-term mortality.

PMID:41068649 | DOI:10.1186/s12872-025-05161-1

Acta Psychol (Amst). 2025 Oct 8;260:105652. doi: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105652. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Amid rising academic pressures and heightened job market demands, college students increasingly experience mental health challenges.

AIMS: This study explores how physical exercise affects ego depletion among college students, using the self-control resource model to understand the underlying processes.

METHODS: The study included two parts. First, we surveyed 1032 college students (average age: 20.29 years; 592 males, 440 females) to examine the relationships among negative life events, self-control, physical exercise, and ego depletion. In the second part, 104 students (average age: 19.89 years; 54 males, 50 females) participated in a four-week exercise intervention. They completed three 18-minute high-intensity exercise sessions per week, totaling 12 sessions, to assess changes in self-control and ego depletion.

RESULTS: The survey results showed that negative life events were linked to increased ego depletion and lower self-control. Self-control partially explained how negative life events affected ego depletion. Additionally, regular physical exercise reduced the negative impact of stressful life events on self-control, especially at higher levels. The exercise intervention significantly improved students’ self-control and reduced ego depletion.

CONCLUSIONS: Physical exercise serves as a protective factor that helps students maintain self-control and resist ego depletion under stress. By integrating large-scale survey data with an experimental intervention, this study uniquely provides both correlational evidence and preliminary causal insight into the role of exercise in mitigating ego depletion among college students.

PMID:41066864 | DOI:10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105652

Acta Psychol (Amst). 2025 Oct 8;260:105649. doi: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105649. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The proposed meta-analysis study examines the pedagogical role of artificial intelligence (AI)-based interventions in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) education through a synthesis of empirical evidence of 23 peer-reviewed experimental and quasi-experimental experiments published in 2019-2025. Scheduling a strict systematic review process in accordance with the PRISMA principles, the work investigates AI solutions, including chatbots, automated writing assessment platforms and virtual reality applications, assessing their effectiveness in relation to various demographic groups of learners, teaching environments, and language achievements. The effects sizes were calculated using the Comprehensive Meta-Analysis (CMA) software and g of Hedge on a random-effects model. The combined findings reported a statistically significant and large overall effect (g = 1.10, SE = 0.18, 95 % CI [0.75, 1.44]) that means that AI-ready pedagogies improve EFL learning outcomes significantly, especially regarding such aspects as the accuracy of writing, fluency in speaking, and motivation of the learners. In addition, other beneficial affective effects of using AI included the reduction of anxiety and motivation and enjoyment among the learners. Subgroup analyses also indicated that the kind of measurement tool had a pronounced moderating effect on effect size, with affective variables (e.g., motivation, engagement) having stronger increases than only quantitative variables (e.g., word count). Heterogeneity was high (I2 = 92.66) in order to highlight the role of contextual and methodological differences. The findings are part of the increasing literature on AI in language learning that provides empirical data on informing educational practices to guide further studies on the adoption of the concept of intelligent technologies in EFL teaching.

PMID:41066858 | DOI:10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105649

J Neuroimmunol. 2025 Oct 4;409:578767. doi: 10.1016/j.jneuroim.2025.578767. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the causal relationship between monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) levels and risk of neuropsychiatric disorders (NPDs), including Alzheimer’s disease (AD), vascular dementia (VD), depression, schizophrenia (SCZ), and anxiety disorders, using two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR).

METHODS: Summary statistics from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) were utilized to examine the relationship between MCP-1 levels and NPDs. MCP-1 summary data were obtained from the IEU OpenGWAS database, while GWAS summary statistics for NPDs were primarily sourced from the FinnGen consortium, with additional replication datasets from the IEU OpenGWAS and UK Biobank. The primary analytical approach was the inverse-variance weighted (IVW) method, complemented by weighted median, MR-Egger regression, and both weighted and simple mode methods in bidirectional MR analyses. Heterogeneity was assessed using Cochran’s Q test, and horizontal pleiotropy was evaluated using MR-Egger regression and the MR-PRESSO test. Results from multiple GWAS sources were synthesized using meta-analysis to provide robust and comprehensive estimates.

RESULTS: In primary MR analysis, IVW results indicated a statistically significant association between elevated MCP-1 levels and increased risk of AD (OR: 1.108; 95 % CI: 1.003-1.224; P_IVW = 0.044) and SCZ (OR: 1.245, 95 % CI: 1.014-1.529, P_IVW = 0.036). No evidence of horizontal pleiotropy was observed (P > 0.05), and leave-one-out sensitivity analysis supported the robustness of these findings. However, no causal associations were identified in replication MR analyses for MCP-1 with any of the NPDs (P_IVW > 0.05). Meta-analysis further confirmed the significant association between MCP-1 levels and AD risk (OR: 1.096, 95 % CI: 1.017-1.182, P = 0.017), while no significant causal relationships were observed for the other NPDs.

CONCLUSION: Elevated MCP-1 levels are causally associated with Alzheimer’s disease risk but not with other NPDs, indicating a disease-specific role and therapeutic potential in AD.

PMID:41066853 | DOI:10.1016/j.jneuroim.2025.578767