Tag: statistics

Int J Qual Health Care. 2026 Jul 7:mzag094. doi: 10.1093/intqhc/mzag094. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: As the elderly population in Korea rapidly increases, issues related to lonely death have also emerged as a social concern. The purpose of this study is to identify factors influencing the subjectively perceived risk of lonely death among older adults living alone.

METHODS: This study employed a cross-sectional design using secondary data from the seventh wave (2024) of the Seoul Senior Citizen Survey. A total of 955 older adults aged ≥65 years living alone in Seoul were included in the analysis. Descriptive statistics, Rao-Scott chi-square tests, F-tests, and complex sample multinomial logistic regression were conducted using complex sample procedures.

RESULTS: Significant differences across the lonely death risk groups (low, moderate, and high) were observed in relation to gender, education, household income, economic satisfaction, housing satisfaction, frequency of in-person contact, eating alone, satisfaction with social relationships and social/cultural activities, depression, history of falls, instrumental activities of daily living, subjective health, and preparedness for dying alone. Factors significantly associated with the subjectively perceived risk of lonely death included low housing satisfaction, eating alone, dissatisfaction with social relationships, and preparedness for dying alone. The perceived risk of lonely death among older adults living alone varies according to a range of social, economic, and environmental factors.

CONCLUSION: The results of this study may serve as foundational resources for future research and policy development aimed at preventing lonely death.

PMID:42412537 | DOI:10.1093/intqhc/mzag094

Med Teach. 2026 Jul 7:1-12. doi: 10.1080/0142159X.2026.2681971. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The recent advances in Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI), from task-specific assistants to autonomous agentic artificial intelligence (AI) are changing how research is conceived, conducted, and written. Across this spectrum AI can now assist with literature searches and synthesis, protocol drafting, statistical analysis, and manuscript preparation, particularly in computational domains. Yet AI outputs remain error-prone, opaque, and carry real stakes for patients, learners, and equitable outcomes, making strong foundational research skills more important than ever.

PURPOSE: This article offers practical guidance for medical educators responsible for research training in an AI-augmented environment.

TIPS: Drawing on published work on biomedical research competencies and emerging scholarship on AI in medical education, and our own experience, twelve tips are organized around three themes: understanding the changing AI landscape, protecting non-delegable human responsibilities, and teaching new AI-era competencies.

CONCLUSIONS: AI-augmented research does not reduce the need for research education; it changes which skills deserve the most attention. Medical curricula should now emphasize critical appraisal, ethical reasoning, verification of AI outputs, and assessment strategies that distinguish independent mastery from AI-assisted performance.

PMID:42412521 | DOI:10.1080/0142159X.2026.2681971

J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2026 Jul 7:glag175. doi: 10.1093/gerona/glag175. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Early-life undernutrition may increase susceptibility to chronic kidney disease (CKD), but whether adult metabolic burden modifies this association remains unclear. We examined early-life famine exposure and CKD among middle-aged and older Chinese adults using two complementary national cohorts.

METHODS: We analyzed 7,238 participants from the 2023 to 2024 China National Health Survey (CNHS) and 8,273 from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). In CNHS, famine exposure was defined by birth cohort and prefecture-level cohort size shrinkage index, with age-balanced non-famine births as the reference group. Prevalent CKD was evaluated using Firth logistic regression and difference-in-differences models, including joint associations with adult meat consumption. In CHARLS, self-reported famine severity, waist circumference trajectories, and incident CKD were evaluated using Cox models.

RESULTS: In CNHS, the famine-CKD association increased with regional famine intensity, with an interaction odds ratio of 1.04 per unit increase in cohort size shrinkage index (95% confidence interval, 1.01-1.07). Severe famine exposure combined with frequent meat consumption was associated with higher odds of prevalent CKD (odds ratio, 2.09; 95% confidence interval, 1.16-3.76). In CHARLS, severe famine exposure combined with a high-stable waist circumference trajectory showed the highest risk of incident CKD (hazard ratio, 1.75; 95% confidence interval, 1.05-2.91), with an increasing trend across famine severity mainly in this trajectory group. Cumulative diabetes partly mediated this association.

CONCLUSIONS: Early-life famine exposure was associated with higher CKD risk, particularly among individuals with unfavorable adult metabolic profiles, supporting life-course metabolic vulnerability in CKD risk stratification.

PMID:42412516 | DOI:10.1093/gerona/glag175

J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2026 Jul 7:glag176. doi: 10.1093/gerona/glag176. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Polypharmacy is common in older adults with comorbidities. This study aims to estimate its global prevalence, temporal trends, and dose-response associations with adverse health outcomes.

METHODS: PubMed, Embase, The Cochrane Library, Web of Science and Scopus were searched from inception to June 30, 2025. Random-effects meta-analyses were used to pool prevalence estimates of polypharmacy based on mixed thresholds and relative risks. Study quality was assessed using Hoy’s method. Hazard ratios (HRs) from individual studies were synthesised using random-effects dose-response meta-analysis in studies that provided sufficient quantitative exposure information.

RESULTS: A total of 545 studies, providing 565 prevalence estimates, were included, comprising 16,620,414 older adults from 56 countries worldwide. The pooled global prevalence of polypharmacy was 50.4% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 48.2-52.7%; 95% prediction interval: 6.8-93.5%). It demonstrated a significant increasing temporal trend in polypharmacy prevalence over calendar years. Compared with non-polypharmacy, polypharmacy was associated with a significantly higher risk of multiple adverse outcomes. Dose-response meta-analyses showed a monotonic increase in risk with each additional medication for mortality (HR: 1.05, 95%CI: 1.03-1.06, P＜0.001), emergency (HR: 1.02, 95%CI: 1.02-1.03, P＜0.001), and hospital admission (HR: 1.04, 95%CI: 1.02-1.07, P＜0.001). Outcome-specific thresholds ranged from 4.55 to 5.46 medications. A pooled estimate of approximately five medications was obtained as a descriptive summary across outcomes.

CONCLUSION: Polypharmacy affects approximately half of older adults worldwide and has increased steadily over time. It is associated with an increased risk of multiple adverse health outcomes, with risks increasing progressively as medication burden rises.

PMID:42412515 | DOI:10.1093/gerona/glag176

Phys Rev Lett. 2026 Jun 19;136(24):247201. doi: 10.1103/95t3-rvxg.

ABSTRACT

We develop an ab initio approach to describe the statistical behavior of finite-size fluctuations in the deterministic Kuramoto-Sakaguchi model. We obtain explicit expressions for the covariance function of fluctuations of the complex order parameter and determine the variance of its magnitude entirely in terms of the equation parameters. Our results rely on an explicit complex-valued formula for the solution of the Adler equation. We present analytical results for both the sub- and the supercritical case. Moreover, our framework does not require any prior knowledge about the structure of the partially synchronized state. We corroborate our results with numerical simulations of the full Kuramoto-Sakaguchi model. The proposed methodology is sufficiently general such that it can be applied to other interacting particle systems.

PMID:42412468 | DOI:10.1103/95t3-rvxg

Phys Rev Lett. 2026 Jun 19;136(24):247102. doi: 10.1103/9hhg-2ddm.

ABSTRACT

First passage phenomena arise across physics, biology, and finance when stochastic processes first reach a threshold, triggering downstream events. Examples include the irreversible exit from a domain, a biochemical reaction, and a financial selloff. While typical formulations involve diffusive motion, many stochastic processes are better described as velocity jump processes, characterized by persistent motion interrupted by stochastic velocity changes. Despite their ubiquity, first passage properties of velocity jump processes remain underdeveloped in higher dimensions, especially under directional bias. We present a general framework to estimate the mean first passage time (MFPT) and higher moments of the survival probability for fixed-speed velocity jump processes where possible reorientations range from strong alignment to full angular anisotropy. For low Knudsen numbers, when the mean free path is small compared to the distance to the target, we derive a universal form for the MFPT in which two bias functions encode broad classes of angular distributions, including von Mises-Fisher, wrapped Cauchy, and elliptical families. In the narrow-capture limit of a vanishingly small target, directional persistence induces anomalous scaling, including regimes where the MFPT remains finite whereas standard diffusion would predict divergence. Finally, we obtain a Langevin representation that accurately reproduces first passage statistics. Analytical predictions are confirmed by numerical simulations.

PMID:42412457 | DOI:10.1103/9hhg-2ddm

Phys Rev Lett. 2026 Jun 19;136(24):243601. doi: 10.1103/1t2q-qm97.

ABSTRACT

Quantum non-Gaussian states, which cannot be written as mixtures of Gaussian states, are necessary to achieve a quantum advantage in continuous variable systems. They represent an important benchmark for the realization of an advanced quantum light source, as they cannot be made by simple means such as displacement and squeezing. We introduce an attenuation-resistant sufficient criterion for quantum non-Gaussian states based on the second- and third-order correlation functions, g^{(2)} and g^{(3)}. The general nonlinear bound for classical mixtures of Gaussian states is sqrt[g^{(3)}]+3sqrt[g^{(2)}]≥2. Any mixture of Gaussian states must fulfill this inequality, thus, the violation of it represents a direct confirmation of quantum non-Gaussianity. We experimentally show the non-Gaussianity of the state produced by a quantum dot single-photon source, where we obtain sqrt[g^{(3)}]+3sqrt[g^{(2)}]=0.174(13), which represents a statistical significance of more than 100 standard deviations.

PMID:42412451 | DOI:10.1103/1t2q-qm97

Phys Rev Lett. 2026 Jun 19;136(24):241901. doi: 10.1103/vcld-225s.

ABSTRACT

We report the first observation of the radiative decay D_{s0}^{*}(2317)^{+}→D_{s}^{*+}γ with a statistical significance exceeding 10 standard deviations. The signal is observed in the continuum e^{+}e^{-}→cc[over ¯] process, using combined data samples of 980.4 fb^{-1} from Belle and 427.9 fb^{-1} from Belle II, collected at the KEKB and SuperKEKB asymmetric-energy e^{+}e^{-} colliders, respectively. The branching fraction ratio B[D_{s0}^{*}(2317)^{+}→D_{s}^{*+}γ]/B[D_{s0}^{*}(2317)^{+}→D_{s}^{+}π^{0}] is measured to be [7.13±0.70(stat)±0.26(syst)]%. This result provides crucial discrimination between theoretical models of the D_{s0}^{*}(2317)^{+} structure.

PMID:42412448 | DOI:10.1103/vcld-225s

Phys Rev Lett. 2026 Jun 19;136(24):244001. doi: 10.1103/qf5l-xnln.

ABSTRACT

We adapt the microcanonical framework of equilibrium statistical mechanics to predict the statistics of short linear waves in inhomogeneous moving media. For steady inhomogeneities and background flow, we compute the wave spectrum at any location in the domain based on an ergodic prescription for the action density in phase space, constrained by conservation of absolute frequency. We illustrate the method for shallow-water waves subject to a background flow or to topographic inhomogeneities, and for deep-water surface capillary waves over a background flow, validating the predicted maps of root-mean-square surface elevation and interfacial slope against numerical simulations.

PMID:42412444 | DOI:10.1103/qf5l-xnln

JAMA Netw Open. 2026 Jul 1;9(7):e2621797. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.21797.

ABSTRACT

IMPORTANCE: Recurrent invasive pneumococcal disease (rIPD) constitutes a clinically relevant proportion of all IPD cases. Improved understanding of these cases can inform priorities for prevention through vaccination.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the incidence of rIPD and associated risk factors in adults with a primary episode of IPD.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This population-based, multicenter cohort study was performed during active surveillance for IPD in adults in Calgary and the Toronto-Peel regions of Canada from January 1, 2004, to December 31, 2022. rIPD was defined as IPD occurring 30 days or longer after a primary episode. Canadian reference laboratories performed serotyping; population data were obtained from Statistics Canada and the Alberta Interactive Health Data Application. Data were analyzed from September 3, 2024, to November 28, 2025.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Incidence of rIPD over time. Risk factors for rIPD were assessed using multivariable logistic regression.

RESULTS: From 2004 to 2022, 7006 adult patients survived a primary episode of IPD, 274 (3.9%) of whom had rIPD. The median age at primary infection in patients with rIPD was 53.6 (IQR, 41.4-66.0) years; 168 patients (61.3%) were male. The incidence rate ratio (IRR) of rIPD compared with primary IPD rate in surveillance populations was highest in the first year after primary IPD (IRR, 152; 95% CI, 124-185). From 5 to 17 years after primary IPD, the IRR was 15 (95% CI, 11-20). Factors associated with recurrent disease included history of stem cell transplant or hematologic cancer (odds ratio [OR], 5.17; 95% CI, 3.35-7.98), HIV infection (OR, 4.47; 95% CI, 2.84-7.04), experiencing homelessness (OR, 1.87; 95% CI, 1.30-2.69), and alcohol use disorder (OR, 1.50; 95% CI, 1.07-2.11). Primary infection with serotype 3 (OR, 0.33; 95%, 0.16-0.67) or serotype 7F (OR, 0.42; 95% CI, 0.21-0.87), and being 65 years or older (OR, 0.55; 95% CI, 0.34-0.90) were associated with reduced odds of rIPD. At the primary episode, 4812 of 5470 patients (88.0%) were eligible for pneumococcal vaccine, and 1344 of 4812 (27.9%) had been vaccinated. Of patients with known vaccine status between the first and second episodes, 167 of 229 (72.9%) were eligible for vaccine and only 37 of 167 (22.2%) received one.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this cohort study, the risk of rIPD was higher than the risk of primary IPD throughout 17 years of follow-up. Most patients with primary IPD had indications for pneumococcal vaccine but were unvaccinated. These findings suggest that patients with IPD should be prioritized to receive recommended vaccination doses.

PMID:42412432 | DOI:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.21797