Tag: statistics

BMC Womens Health. 2024 Dec 21;24(1):652. doi: 10.1186/s12905-024-03488-z.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Primary ovarian insufficiency (POI) is a critical cause of infertility and is increasingly recognized as a complex metabolic disorder. Dietary factors may influence the risk of POI, but causal relationships remain unclear.

METHODS: We conducted an MR study using genetic instrumental variables for 83 dietary preferences from the UK Biobank, with the Inverse Variance Weighted method as the primary analysis.

RESULTS: Consumption of butter and full-fat dairy products was strongly associated with an increased risk of primary ovarian insufficiency (POI). Women who consumed butter had nearly ten times the risk of developing POI (OR = 9.54, p = 0.048), while full-cream milk was associated with an even greater risk (OR = 29.22, p = 0.018). Interestingly, semi-skimmed milk, despite its lower fat content, also showed a significant positive association with POI (OR > 100, p = 0.008). In contrast, dietary patterns including oily fish and pork were protective against POI. Oily fish, rich in omega-3 fatty acids, was linked to a 82% reduced risk of POI (OR = 0.18, p = 0.008), and pork consumption also showed a protective effect (OR = 0.13, p = 0.041). Additionally, women who did not consume eggs had a significantly lower risk of POI (OR < 0.001, p = 0.044).

CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that high-fat dairy products may increase the risk of POI, while oily fish and pork consumption could offer protective effects. These findings providing a foundation for future clinical and public health strategies targeting reproductive health.

PMID:39709418 | DOI:10.1186/s12905-024-03488-z

BMC Womens Health. 2024 Dec 21;24(1):658. doi: 10.1186/s12905-024-03490-5.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrine disorder in women of reproductive age. Body image distress (BID) refers to psychological distress caused by deviations in the individual’s self-aesthetic ability. The objectives of this study are to investigate the prevalence of psychological distress; and to assess the role of anxiety in the relationship between body image distress and quality of life (QoL) among women with polycystic ovary syndrome using a path analysis approach.

METHOD: A multi-center cross-sectional study design was conducted among 294 women with PCOS in 29 provinces in mainland China from July 2021 to December 2021, and the data were analyzed using path analysis. The Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire-Appearance Scales, Modified Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Questionnaire, and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale were administered to women who gave informed consent to participate.

RESULT: The results of path analysis are indicated that anxiety significantly mediated BID and QoL in women with PCOS (p < 0.05) and the structural equation model analysis further confirmed the statistical significance of this mediating effect. The fit indices CFI = 1.00, TLI = 1.00, and RMSEA = 0.00, indicating that the model represents the data well. A good fit of the proposed model to the observed data was obtained, which revealed that BID not only directly influenced QoL, but also had a significant indirect effect on QoL via anxiety.

CONCLUSION: Psychological counseling clinics is as well needed to provide patients with individualized psychological counseling and avoid mental health problems caused by body image troubles. Anxiety mediated the relationship between BID and QoL, adding to the paucity of research for women with polycystic ovary syndrome.

PMID:39709416 | DOI:10.1186/s12905-024-03490-5

Ann Med. 2025 Dec;57(1):2445192. doi: 10.1080/07853890.2024.2445192. Epub 2024 Dec 21.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Advancing the understanding of the pathophysiology of eosinophilic oesophagitis (EoE) and other eosinophilic gastrointestinal diseases (EGIDs) has spurred research into targeted biological therapies, while the conclusive therapeutic efficacy of biologics remains uncertain. In this review, we conducted a meta-analysis of all RCTS of biologics in the treatment of EoE to evaluate their efficacy and safety and discussed their treatment of non-EoE EGIDs.

METHODS: We searched the PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases. Double-blind randomized controlled trials comparing biologics with placebo in patients with EoE and non-EoE EGIDs were collected and further screened for inclusion and exclusion. The caliber of the included literature was evaluated using the Cochrane risk assessment tool findings. Data extraction and meta-analysis were conducted using RevMan 5.4 and Stata 17.0. Clinical response and histological remission were the major endpoints.

RESULTS: Our search retrieved 3,237 articles. There were seven trials in total, comprising 792 people with EoE. Key outcomes of this meta-analysis include the following: Anti-IL-5 biologics exhibited statistically significant benefits in histological remission (RR 2.03 [CI 1.45-2.85]; p < 0.0001) compared to the placebo, but there was no significant difference in symptom relief (RR 1.06 [CI 0.88 to 1.28]; p = 0.53); anti-IL-4/13 biologics had significant effects on histologic improvement (RR 10.48 [CI 5.54-19.82]; p < 0.00001) and symptom related score reduction (RR 1.44 [CI 1.08-1.93]; p = 0.01), with a better outcome for endoscopic remission than with placebo (SMD-1.06 [CI-1.26-0.86], p < 0.00001); no statistically significant differences in adverse effects were observed between the intervention and control groups.

CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that the biologics currently being investigated are considered safe and effective treatments for EoE, while their efficiency varies. However, the discussion of biologics in non-pharyngitis EGID is hampered by a lack of research, necessitating more research in high-quality trials.

PMID:39707826 | DOI:10.1080/07853890.2024.2445192

Stress Health. 2025 Feb;41(1):e3507. doi: 10.1002/smi.3507.

ABSTRACT

Increasing mental health problems among university students highlight the need for scalable, effective solutions. We have developed a transdiagnostic mobile intervention called ROOM, promoting adaptive emotion regulation (ER) skills among university students. Understanding how the intervention works and optimising content and delivery is essential for creating an effective and adaptive system. Therefore, this study aimed to optimise ROOM through a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design, combining a Micro-Randomized Trial (MRT), evaluating within-person effects using repeated randomisation, with user experience interviews. 161 university students (82% females) participated in a 3-week MRT to assess the intervention proximal outcomes, that is, participants’ positive and negative emotional states after completing intervention exercises. Additionally, we evaluated impact on distal outcomes (i.e., distress symptoms and ER skills), and user experience by combining objective (e.g., exercise completion rates) and subjective (e.g., exercise likability and helpfulness ratings) engagement patterns with insights from the semi-structured interviews (n = 18). Upon receiving the intervention, positive emotional states increased and negative ones decreased. The effect on positive emotional states gradually decreased over time while the effect on negative emotional states remained stable throughout the 3-week intervention period. Distress symptoms and ER skills either remained stable or improved over the 3 weeks, which indicated the intervention’s safety. Overall, engagement patterns and interview data show that the intervention was well received, students enjoyed this study design and found context-sensitive content recommendations highly relevant.

PMID:39707816 | DOI:10.1002/smi.3507

West J Nurs Res. 2024 Dec 21:1939459241306946. doi: 10.1177/01939459241306946. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Older adults are a heterogeneous group, and their care experience preferences are likely to be diverse and individualized. Thus, the aim of this study was to identify categories of older adults’ care experience preferences and to examine similarities and differences across different age groups.

METHODS: The initial categories of older adults’ care experience preferences were identified through a qualitative review of narrative text (n = 3134) in the ADVault data set. A natural language processing (NLP) algorithm was used to automatically and accurately define older adults’ care experience preference categories. Descriptive statistics were used to examine similarities and differences in care experience preference categories across different age groups.

RESULTS: The overall average performance of NLP algorithms was relatively high (average F-score = 0.88; range: 0.77-0.96). Through a qualitative review of 350 randomly selected texts, a total of 11 categories were identified. The most frequent category was music, followed by photographs, entertainment, family/friends, religion-related, atmosphere, flower/plants, pet, bed/bedding, hobby, and other. After applying the best performing NLP algorithm to each category, older adults’ care experience preference categories were music (41.32%), followed by photographs (28.47%), entertainment (13.46%), religion-related (n = 12.69%), pet (12.22%), flower/plants (11.51%), family/friends (8.45%), atmosphere (7.75%), bed/bedding (6.12%), and hobby (5.45%). Young-old and old-old adults had similar care experience preferences with music being the most frequent category while old-old adults had photographs as the most frequent category for their care experience preference.

CONCLUSION: Clinicians must understand the distinct categories of care experience preferences and incorporate them into personalized care planning.

PMID:39707813 | DOI:10.1177/01939459241306946

Laryngoscope. 2024 Dec 21. doi: 10.1002/lary.31969. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To conduct a systematic review and network meta-analysis to evaluate the safety and efficacy of intrapolyp steroid injection compared with oral steroids, nasal steroid wash, nasal steroid spray, and a control group in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP).

DATA SOURCES: PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Embase, and CENTRAL.

REVIEW METHODS: Both randomized and non-randomized clinical trials were included. For risk of bias assessment, we used the RoB-2 and ROBINS-I tools. Our outcomes focused on safety and efficacy, including rates of visual disturbance and bleeding, as well as improvements in nasal polyps evaluated through three domains: endoscopic, radiologic, and patient-reported assessments. Safety data were pooled as events (%), while efficacy data were pooled as mean difference (MD) or standardized mean difference (SMD).

RESULTS: Eight clinical trials involving 579 patients were analyzed. The pooled analyses showed low event rates for visual disturbances (event rate = 0.64%, 95% CI [0.00%, 2.23%]) and bleeding (event rate = 0.61%, 95% CI [0.00%, 2.25%]). Additionally, intrapolyp steroid injections were found to be comparable with oral steroids, with no statistically significant differences. Moreover, intrapolyp steroid injections demonstrated some superiority over nasal sprays, nasal washes, and the control group.

CONCLUSION: This network meta-analysis confirms that intrapolyp steroid injections have a favorable safety and efficacy profile as a viable management option for CRSwNP. The injections showed comparable efficacy with oral steroids and demonstrated certain advantages over other treatments, such as nasal sprays and washes. Further research with larger sample sizes and standardized protocols are needed. Laryngoscope, 2024.

PMID:39707800 | DOI:10.1002/lary.31969

Cell Mol Biol (Noisy-le-grand). 2024 Nov 27;70(11):16-30. doi: 10.14715/cmb/2024.70.11.3.

ABSTRACT

Breast cancer (BC) is a global health concern with a growing prevalence. Since BC is a heterogeneous cancer, transcriptome analyzes were carried out on breast tumor tissues relative to their corresponding normal tissues in order to identify gene expression signatures and perform meta-analysis. Five expression profiling by array data sets from breast tumor tissues and non-tumor neighboring tissues were retrieved following a search in the GEO database (GSE70947, GSE70905, GSE10780, GSE29044, and GSE42568). Meta-analysis of gene expression using the Network Analyst tool identified common differentially expressed genes and biological pathways in all data sets. Then, the DEGs were analyzed through PPI network construction, gene ontology, and pathway analysis. The detected hub genes underwent Kaplan-Meier (KM) plotter and UALCAN validation. Finally, Real-time PCR analysis was used on BC patients’ samples to determine mRNA levels of cAMP signaling pathway members ATP1A2, FXYD1, and ADCY3. Breast tumor tissues showed 710 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), with 392 overexpressed and 318 underexpressed, compared to normal marginal tissues. On the EnrichR library, GO, and KEGG pathway analyses were performed on the DEGs list. Progesterone-mediated oocyte maturation and the NF-kappa B signaling system were upregulated DEGs’ top deregulated signaling pathways. In contrast, pathways related to cancer and the cAMP signaling pathway were the most enriched terms for down-regulated genes. Next, Real-time PCR quantification of cAMP signaling cascade members ATP1A2, FXYD1, and ADCY3 was performed on 50 BC tumoral and non-tumoral tissues for validation. Results of meta-analyzed array data sets revealed DEGs representing BC gene signatures, and cAMP signaling pathway members as effective factors in BC. The results of our real-time PCR expression level determination for ATP1A2, FXYD1, and ADCY3 in breast tumor tissues relative to the normal margins contradicted our bioinformatics investigations, which found increased levels for these genes. Of these, only ATP1A2’s expression levels were statistically significant. This study focused on identifying gene expression signatures that provide an invaluable source of evidence for BC-related underlying mechanisms to provide new therapeutic targets and biomarkers.

PMID:39707785 | DOI:10.14715/cmb/2024.70.11.3

Cell Mol Biol (Noisy-le-grand). 2024 Dec 20;70(11):46-51. doi: 10.14715/cmb/2024.70.11.6.

ABSTRACT

Vaspin plays a regulatory role in lipid and glucose metabolism and is a therapeutic adipokine against impaired glucose intolerance in obese individuals. We aimed to investigate serum vaspin levels in patients with FMS and whether there was any relationship between vaspin levels and metabolic and clinical parameters in fibromyalgia. A total of 64 female patients who applied to an outpatient clinic due to widespread pain lasting more than three months were included in the study. The patients were divided into two groups: 32 in the fibromyalgia group and 32 in the healthy controls. The socio-demographic characteristics of the patients were evaluated with the standard evaluation form. Age, weight, height, blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, presence of menopause were recorded. Pain intensity was evaluated with visual analogue scale (VAS). The Fibromyalgia Impact Scale (FIS) was utilized to measure quality of life and functional status. Metabolic syndrome components were significantly different in the fibromyalgia group compared to the control group (p <0.05). While 22 patients (68.8%) in the fibromyalgia group met the diagnostic criteria for metabolic syndrome, three patients (9.4%) in the control group met these criteria. In the fibromyalgia intra-group correlation, vaspin was significantly positively correlated with BMI and waist circumference (p<0.05). In the control group, vaspin indicated a statistically significant positive correlation with BMI. This study elaborated that waist circumference, insulin, and insulin resistance were significantly higher in the fibromyalgia patients compared to the healthy control group. This was confirmed by the finding that significantly more patients met the diagnostic criteria for metabolic syndrome. Additionally, vaspin was considerably higher in fibromyalgia patients and thus it was positively correlated with BMI and waist circumference.

PMID:39707782 | DOI:10.14715/cmb/2024.70.11.6

Cell Mol Biol (Noisy-le-grand). 2024 Nov 27;70(11):109-114. doi: 10.14715/cmb/2024.70.11.16.

ABSTRACT

Considering the relatively high frequency of genetic disorders associated with negative pregnancy outcomes, in this research, adverse pregnancy outcomes in amniocentesis patients were compared between two groups with normal and abnormal maternal serum analytes. This retrospective cohort study was conducted on singleton pregnant women who underwent amniocentesis and had fetuses with normal chromosomes at the perinatology clinic in Rasht. Eligible patients were divided into two groups of 307 people with normal and abnormal maternal serum analytes based on laboratory screening results. Adverse pregnancy outcomes were compared between the two groups. In a total of 614 pregnant women, adverse pregnancy outcomes were observed in 24% of the abnormal analyte group and 15% of cases in the normal analyte group. The association between adverse pregnancy outcomes and both normal and abnormal analytes was found to be statistically significant (p<0.05). the most common adverse pregnancy outcome was hypertensive disorders, which was more prevalent in the abnormal analyte group (10.7%). The presence of abnormal levels of free beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (free β-hCG) and inhibin-A factors were found to be associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes. Specifically, for each unit increase in inhibin-A level, the likelihood of experiencing an adverse pregnancy outcome was reported to be 1.83 times higher (OR=1.83, P=0.028). Similarly, the presence of abnormal free β-hCG values was associated with a 3.12 times higher chance of adverse pregnancy outcomes (OR=3.115, P=0.03). The utilization of serum analytes for first and second-trimester screening can be beneficial in the prediction of adverse pregnancy outcomes, particularly hypertensive disorders during pregnancy.

PMID:39707773 | DOI:10.14715/cmb/2024.70.11.16

Cell Mol Biol (Noisy-le-grand). 2024 Nov 27;70(11):122-128. doi: 10.14715/cmb/2024.70.11.18.

ABSTRACT

Candida albicans is an opportunistic fungal pathogen. It’s a dimorphic fungus with hyphal form that can penetrate and proliferate the oral mucosa. Occlusal guard materials come into direct contact with the oral mucosa and saliva when worn for extended periods, the occlusal guard acts as a reservoir for C. albicans that imposes adverse oral or systemic effects, particularly in medically compromised patients. A randomized controlled trial was conducted among forty volunteers with a history of bruxism. The volunteers were divided into four groups, with each group assigned to wear occlusal guards made of one of the following materials: (Polyethylene Terephthalate-Glycol, Polymethyl methacrylate resin, Ethyl phenylphosphinate 3D printing resin and Chrome-Cobalt Alloy). The study samples were collected after one month, with an additional three months spent assessing C. albicans. A descriptive statistical analysis was performed and compared between groups with different time intervals. The statistical analysis revealed that C. albicans proliferation increased after three months of wearing the occlusal guards, however, the results showed non-significant differences (P = 0.914). Furthermore, the comparative analysis demonstrated that the highest proliferation of C. albicans was found with Polymethyl methacrylate and the least with Chrome-Cobalt Alloy. Within the limitations of this study, it was concluded that reducing wearing time will reduce pathogenic infection by C. albicans, and the occlusal guard with the chrome-cobalt alloy material was better than the other materials in this aspect.

PMID:39707771 | DOI:10.14715/cmb/2024.70.11.18