Tag: statistics

Braz J Psychiatry. 2022 Sep 30;44(6):644-649. doi: 10.47626/1516-4446-2022-2601.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Multimorbidity, or the occurrence of two or more chronic conditions, is a global challenge, with implications for mortality, morbidity, disability, and life quality. Psychiatric disorders are common among the chronic diseases that affect patients with multimorbidity. It is still not well understood whether psychiatric symptoms, especially depressive symptoms, moderate the effect of multimorbidity on cognition.

METHODS: We used a large (n=2,681) dataset to assess whether depressive symptomatology moderates the effect of multimorbidity on cognition using structural equation modelling.

RESULTS: It was found that the more depressive symptoms and chronic conditions, the worse the cognitive performance, and the higher the educational level, the better the cognitive performance. We found a significant but weak (0.009; p = 0.04) moderating effect.

CONCLUSION: We have provided the first estimate of the moderating effect of depression on the relation between multimorbidity and cognition, which was small. Although this moderation has been implied by many previous studies, it was never previously estimated.

PMID:36709433 | DOI:10.47626/1516-4446-2022-2601

Andrology. 2023 Jan 28. doi: 10.1111/andr.13396. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Since the 1970s, several studies found that sperm concentration (SC) and total sperm count (TSC) constantly worsened over time, mainly in high-income countries.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate whether the decreasing trend in sperm count is continuing in Western European countries and USA, we performed a systematic review and meta-regression analysis.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Embase and Pubmed/Medline were searched for papers published in English in the 2000-2020 period limiting the search to data collected in the USA and in Western European countries.

RESULTS: We identified 62 articles and pooled information on 24,196 men (range 10-2,523), collected from 1993 to 2018. Considering all the studies, random-effects meta-regression analyses showed no significant trend for SC (slope per year -0.07 mil/mL, p-value = 0.86). Negative trends of SC were detected in Scandinavian countries (slope per year -1.11 mil/mL, 95%CI: -2.40 to +0.19; p-value = 0.09), but the findings were statistically not significant. No significant trends of SC were detected in Central Europe (slope per year +0.23, 95%CI -2.51 to +2.96; p-value = 0.87), the USA (slope per year +1.08, 95%CI -0.42 to +2.57; p-value = 0.16) and Southern Europe (slope per year +0.19, 95%CI -0.99 to +1.37; p-value = 0.75). We have analysed separately findings from studies including sperm donors, fertile men, young unselected men (unselected men, study mean age<25 years) and unselected men (unselected men, study mean age≥25 years). No significant trends of SC were observed among sperm donors (slope per year -2.80, 95%CI -6.76 to +1.17; p-value 0.16), unselected men (slope per year -0.23, 95%CI -1.58 to +1.12; p-value 0.73), young unselected men (slope per year -0.49, 95%CI -1.76 to +0.79; p-value 0.45), fertile men (slope per year +0.29, 95%CI -1.09 to +1.67; p-value 0.68).

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The results of this analysis show no significant trends in SC in USA and selected Western European countries. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

PMID:36709405 | DOI:10.1111/andr.13396

J Perinatol. 2023 Jan 28. doi: 10.1038/s41372-023-01622-7. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To determine the anesthetic approach with the least adverse events and better cardiorespiratory stability profile, used in infants undergoing laser photocoagulation for retinopathy of prematurity.

STUDY DESIGN: A systematic review was conducted. PubMed, Scopus, and Cochrane Library were searched until 27^th October 2021. Reference lists of relevant studies, and abstract books of international annual meetings of pediatric Οphthalmology for the years 2020 and 2021 were also looked at, as well as Clinical trials registry ( https://clinicaltrials.gov/ ).

RESULT: Overall 18 primary studies (3 randomized controlled trials, 3 cohorts, 12 case series) were included, investigating different anesthetic modalities. Cardiopulmonary instability was more common, and hypothermia was less common in the sedation groups of pentazocine/midazolam and fentanyl/midazolam, compared to the general anesthesia group of air/oxygen/sevoflurane (AOS). Cardiorespiratory instability was also more common in sedation with propofol/ketamine compared to general anesthesia with AOS, while postoperative mechanical ventilation was more frequently needed in the latter. Αpnea, need for supplemental oxygen and cardiorespiratory instability was more frequent in infants receiving fentanyl as opposed to ketamine. Fentanyl compared to morphine presented no differences in safety parameters. Finally, topical anesthesia showed the greatest instability with a higher mean postoperative cardiorespiratory index, compared to both sedation and general anesthesia. Episodes of life-threatening events were reported after topical anesthesia, while hypothermia and oliguria presented less often after topical, compared to general anesthesia and sedation.

CONCLUSION: Significant heterogeneity among studies precludes direct comparisons and generalizability of the results. No specific anesthetic modality for treatment of ROP with laser photocoagulation was shown to be superior in terms of safety. Well-designed studies are required to establish the optimal anesthetic approach, considering that laser photocoagulation still remains one of the main therapeutic modalities for ROP.

PMID:36709402 | DOI:10.1038/s41372-023-01622-7

Commun Biol. 2023 Jan 28;6(1):116. doi: 10.1038/s42003-023-04497-8.

NO ABSTRACT

PMID:36709395 | DOI:10.1038/s42003-023-04497-8

Sci Rep. 2023 Jan 28;13(1):1561. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-28442-1.

ABSTRACT

The current multiphase, invitro study developed and validated a 3-dimensional convolutional neural network (3D-CNN) to generate partial dental crowns (PDC) for use in restorative dentistry. The effectiveness of desktop laser and intraoral scanners in generating data for the purpose of 3D-CNN was first evaluated (phase 1). There were no significant differences in surface area [t-stat(df) = – 0.01 (10), mean difference = – 0.058, P > 0.99] and volume [t-stat(df) = 0.357(10)]. However, the intraoral scans were chosen for phase 2 as they produced a greater level of volumetric details (343.83 ± 43.52 mm³) compared to desktop laser scanning (322.70 ± 40.15 mm³). In phase 2, 120 tooth preparations were digitally synthesized from intraoral scans, and two clinicians designed the respective PDCs using computer-aided design (CAD) workflows on a personal computer setup. Statistical comparison by 3-factor ANOVA demonstrated significant differences in surface area (P < 0.001), volume (P < 0.001), and spatial overlap (P < 0.001), and therefore only the most accurate PDCs (n = 30) were picked to train the neural network (Phase 3). The current 3D-CNN produced a validation accuracy of 60%, validation loss of 0.68-0.87, sensitivity of 1.00, precision of 0.50-0.83, and serves as a proof-of-concept that 3D-CNN can predict and generate PDC prostheses in CAD for restorative dentistry.

PMID:36709380 | DOI:10.1038/s41598-023-28442-1

Sci Rep. 2023 Jan 28;13(1):1619. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-28683-0.

ABSTRACT

Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning is a public health concern in developing countries especially in China with a high disease burden. We aimed to focus on non-occupational CO poisoning caused by household coal heating secular trends based on registry data in Jinan, China, and we aim to provide further evidence and suggestions for public health policy. We analyzed the occurrence and development trend and assess the spatial-temporal epidemiological characteristics of non-occupational CO poisoning caused by household coal heating in Jinan between 2007 and 2021. Among total of 6588 CO poisoning, 5616 cases (85.25%) and 180 deaths caused by household coal heating was identified during study period. The cumulative incidence rate was 5.78 per 100,000 person-years and the mortality rate was 0.19 per 100,000 person-years. The incidence in urban areas (6.55 per 100,000 person-years) was higher than rural areas (5.04 per 100,000 person-years), and there was a statistical difference between urban and rural (P < 0.001) (P < 0.001). The poisoning time point mainly occurs in the sleep stage. In Jinan, socioeconomic status, accessibility to health services and rural status are determinants for CO poisoning incidence and mortality. Implementation of urban and rural central heating renovation is an effective way to further reduce the disease burden of CO poisoning in the future.

PMID:36709374 | DOI:10.1038/s41598-023-28683-0

Sci Rep. 2023 Jan 28;13(1):1567. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-27934-4.

ABSTRACT

In the face of the global pandemic caused by the disease COVID-19, researchers have increasingly turned to simple measures to detect and monitor the presence of the disease in individuals at home. We sought to determine if measures of neuromotor coordination, derived from acoustic time series, as well as phoneme-based and standard acoustic features extracted from recordings of simple speech tasks could aid in detecting the presence of COVID-19. We further hypothesized that these features would aid in characterizing the effect of COVID-19 on speech production systems. A protocol, consisting of a variety of speech tasks, was administered to 12 individuals with COVID-19 and 15 individuals with other viral infections at University Hospital Galway. From these recordings, we extracted a set of acoustic time series representative of speech production subsystems, as well as their univariate statistics. The time series were further utilized to derive correlation-based features, a proxy for speech production motor coordination. We additionally extracted phoneme-based features. These features were used to create machine learning models to distinguish between the COVID-19 positive and other viral infection groups, with respiratory- and laryngeal-based features resulting in the highest performance. Coordination-based features derived from harmonic-to-noise ratio time series from read speech discriminated between the two groups with an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.94. A longitudinal case study of two subjects, one from each group, revealed differences in laryngeal based acoustic features, consistent with observed physiological differences between the two groups. The results from this analysis highlight the promise of using nonintrusive sensing through simple speech recordings for early warning and tracking of COVID-19.

PMID:36709368 | DOI:10.1038/s41598-023-27934-4

Sci Rep. 2023 Jan 28;13(1):1604. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-28652-7.

ABSTRACT

Fusing data from different medical perspectives inside the operating room (OR) sets the stage for developing intelligent context-aware systems. These systems aim to promote better awareness inside the OR by keeping every medical team well informed about the work of other teams and thus mitigate conflicts resulting from different targets. In this research, a descriptive analysis of data collected from anaesthesiology and surgery was performed to investigate the relationships between the intra-abdominal pressure (IAP) and lung mechanics for patients during laparoscopic procedures. Data of nineteen patients who underwent laparoscopic gynaecology were included. Statistical analysis of all subjects showed a strong relationship between the IAP and dynamic lung compliance (r = 0.91). Additionally, the peak airway pressure was also strongly correlated to the IAP in volume-controlled ventilated patients (r = 0.928). Statistical results obtained by this study demonstrate the importance of analysing the relationship between surgical actions and physiological responses. Moreover, these results form the basis for developing medical decision support models, e.g., automatic compensation of IAP effects on lung function.

PMID:36709360 | DOI:10.1038/s41598-023-28652-7

Sci Rep. 2023 Jan 28;13(1):1600. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-28685-y.

ABSTRACT

The efficacy and safety of self-expanding metallic stent (SEMS) placement as a bridge to elective surgery versus emergency surgery to treat malignant colonic obstruction is debated. This study aimed to evaluate the outcomes of patients with malignant colonic obstruction treated using different procedure. Subjects admitted to the authors’ department with colonic obstruction (n = 87) were studied. They underwent colonic stenting as a bridge to elective surgery (SEMS group: n = 14) or emergency surgery (ES group: n = 22).Their demographic characteristics, stoma rate, laparoscopy rate and postoperative complications were analyzed, and the potential risk factors of postoperative complications and the optimal time interval from SEMS implantation to elective surgery were explored. The stoma rate was 15.4% in the SEMS group versus 60.0% in the ES group (P = 0.015), and the postoperative complication rate was 7.7% in the SEMS group versus 40.0% in the ES group (P = 0.042). The proportion of patients undergoing laparoscopy in SEMS group was significantly higher than that in ES group (69.2% vs. 15.0%; P = 0.003).The effect of ASA grade on postoperative complications was statistically significant (OR = 24.565; P = 0.008). The Receiving operating characteristic (ROC) curve could not determine the optimal time interval between SEMS implantation and elective surgery (AUC = 0.466). SEMS implantation has the advantages of lower temporary stoma rate, less postoperative complications and higher laparoscopy rate compared with ES in the treatment of left malignant intestinal obstruction. ASA grade is a risk factor for postoperative complications. However, larger sample size prospective randomized controlled trials (RCT) are still needed to confirm long-term oncological outcomes.

PMID:36709359 | DOI:10.1038/s41598-023-28685-y

BMC Public Health. 2023 Jan 28;23(1):193. doi: 10.1186/s12889-023-15114-y.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Sexual and reproductive health is crucial to a normal and healthy female life. However, little interest has been placed on this subject particularly in the resource-limited settings of Cameroon. The study assessed the sexual and reproductive health of women in union, resident in the Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC) plantation camps, Cameroon.

METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study carried out from December 2019 to February 2020 in which a multi-stage sampling was applied in two purposively selected CDC plantation camps (Tiko and Penda Mboko). Out of the 16 clusters making up the camps, 8 were randomly selected using simple balloting. The main street junctions of the sampled clusters were identified and a direction of sampling randomly chosen. All houses left to the data collectors were sampled for eligible participants (one participant per household) and data were collected using validated interviewer-administered questionnaires. The number of participants per cluster was proportionate to population size of cluster. Data was analysed using SPSS 16 and statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. Regression analysis was used to determine predictors of unmet need for family planning.

RESULTS: Out of the 414 participants included, primary education was the highest level of education for a majority (43.0%). Most of the participants (44.7%) earned between 44.5-89.0USD/month. Relatively high proportions of some sexual and reproductive indicators like early sexual contacts (before 15 years) [87(21.0%)], grand multiparity [41(9.9%)], and abortion ≥ 3 [8(1.9%)] were recorded in the study. Two hundred and seventy-eight (278) participants (67.1%) [95%CI:62.4-71.7] used contraceptives and 90 (21.7%) [95%CI:17.9-26.0] had an unmet need for family planning with 3 major reasons for non-use of contraception among them being fear of side effects, discouragement from the partner, and lack of sufficient information on contraception. Of the different predictors of unmet need for family planning assessed, nulliparity/primiparity were protective for unmet need, and this was statistically significant (AOR = 0.284[0.086-0.934]).

CONCLUSION: The sexual and reproductive health of CDC plantation camp residents is poor, and a health intervention is needed to improve it.

PMID:36709297 | DOI:10.1186/s12889-023-15114-y