Tag: statistics

Vopr Kurortol Fizioter Lech Fiz Kult. 2022;99(3):25-31. doi: 10.17116/kurort20229903125.

ABSTRACT

Epilepsy is a chronic disease characterized by recurrent, mostly unprovoked seizures with impaired motor, autonomic, mental or mental functions that occur as a result of excessive neuronal discharges in the gray matter of the cerebral cortex. The problem of the activity of medical rehabilitation for epilepsy in the professional community remains debatable, despite the obviousness of the arguments and judgments presented.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: Development of an effective and safe complex for the rehabilitation of young children with epilepsy, accompanied by impaired movement function.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study included 123 young children (from 9 to 24 months) with epilepsy accompanied by impaired motor function. By the method of simple randomization, all patients were divided into 4 groups: 3 main groups and a comparison group. All children of the study groups, except for the comparison group, received medical rehabilitation: in the 1st group – classical massage with the exception of the cervical-collar zone; in the 2nd group – kinesitherapy according to the method of V. Voigt; in the 3rd group – a complex effect, including classical massage with the exclusion of the neck-collar zone and kinesitherapy according to the method of V. Voigt. Children of the comparison group received basic therapy. The effectiveness of medical rehabilitation was analyzed using the Gross motor function classification system (GMFCS) and the Griffiths intellectual development scale.

RESULTS: Differences in GMFCS scores before and after medical rehabilitation were statistically significant in group 3. In patients with impaired movement function and suffering from epilepsy, the positive dynamics during complex rehabilitation was more pronounced than when using one isolated technique.

CONCLUSION: Complexity in planning and prescribing a course of rehabilitation determines the greatest efficiency in reducing the deficit of physical activity. With an increase in the index of epileptiform activity according to electroencephalography data without any clinical manifestations, it is not required to cancel rehabilitation measures, it is necessary to strengthen control over the patient.

PMID:35700373 | DOI:10.17116/kurort20229903125

Vopr Kurortol Fizioter Lech Fiz Kult. 2022;99(3):10-15. doi: 10.17116/kurort20229903110.

ABSTRACT

The increase in the number of cerebral strokes is accompanied by the accumulation of patients with hemiparesis. It is especially difficult to restore the function of the upper limb, in particular the hand, which significantly limits the social, domestic and labor adaptation of patients. This makes it relevant to search for new methods for restoring the functions of the hand. Today, mirror therapy is becoming increasingly popular, which, however, does not eliminate myogenic contractures in the joints of a paralyzed limb.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: Rationale for the use of mirror therapy in combination with myofascial stretching and postisometric relaxation in patients with hemiparesis.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: 277 patients with hemiparesis were examined, of which 68 patients were included in the main group; 209 – to the comparison group. All patients underwent a course of rehabilitation treatment for 10 days. Patients of the main group additionally received mirror therapy in combination with myofascial stretching and post-isometric relaxation: course – 10 individual sessions, session duration – 30 minutes. Upon admission and before discharge, patients were evaluated for neurological status, severity of spastic and pain syndromes; the strength of the muscles of the paralyzed upper limb according to the Lovett scale; tested self-service skills in accordance with the International Classification of Functioning, Disabilities and Health.

RESULTS: In patients of both groups, the severity of spastic and pain syndromes decreased, muscle strength increased. In the main group, these changes were more pronounced; 35 patients of the main group mastered new types of grip, which statistically significantly improved their social adaptability.

CONCLUSION: Mirror therapy in combination with soft manual therapy techniques is able to restore precise targeted movements in the joints of the hand and fingers, form different grip options, which expands the possibilities of self-care for patients.

PMID:35700371 | DOI:10.17116/kurort20229903110

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2022 Jun 21;119(25):e2202491119. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2202491119. Epub 2022 Jun 14.

ABSTRACT

Whether the size of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) in humans is disproportionate when compared to other species is a persistent debate in evolutionary neuroscience. This question has left the study of over/under-expansion in other structures relatively unexplored. We therefore sought to address this gap by adapting anatomical areas from the digital atlases of 18 mammalian species, to create a common interspecies classification. Our approach used data-driven analysis based on phylogenetic generalized least squares to evaluate anatomical expansion covering the whole brain. Our main finding suggests a divergence in primate evolution, orienting the stereotypical mammalian cerebral proportion toward a frontal and parietal lobe expansion in catarrhini (primate parvorder comprising old world monkeys, apes, and humans). Cerebral lobe volumes slopes plotted for catarrhini species were ranked as parietal∼frontal > temporal > occipital, contrasting with the ranking of other mammalian species (occipital > temporal > frontal∼parietal). Frontal and parietal slopes were statistically different in catarrhini when compared to other species through bootstrap analysis. Within the catarrhini’s frontal lobe, the prefrontal cortex was the principal driver of frontal expansion. Across all species, expansion of the frontal lobe appeared to be systematically linked to the parietal lobe. Our findings suggest that the human frontal and parietal lobes are not disproportionately enlarged when compared to other catarrhini. Nevertheless, humans remain unique in carrying the most relatively enlarged frontal and parietal lobes in an infraorder exhibiting a disproportionate expansion of these areas.

PMID:35700361 | DOI:10.1073/pnas.2202491119

J Community Psychol. 2022 Jun 14. doi: 10.1002/jcop.22896. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

South Africa alongside other low-middle-income countries have been some of the hardest hit by the substance use scourge. The study sought to identify and measure treatment barriers among young adults (18-29 years) living with substance use disorders, and then examine the role of gender in the perception of treatment barriers, with a view to establish gender-based treatment specialty facilities as a strategy to promote treatment seeking among young South African women. Quantitative method was used for this study, employing simple random sampling. Exploratory factor analysis and independent samples t-tests were used as statistical measures. The identified treatment barriers were found to have a larger effect on females than males. Women were considered less likely to utilise treatment services compared to males. Health promotion practitioners and policymakers can alleviate the situation by establishing gender-based treatment facilities. that respond better to women’s needs.

PMID:35700337 | DOI:10.1002/jcop.22896

Scand J Work Environ Health. 2022 Jun 14:4036. doi: 10.5271/sjweh.4036. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to examine the association between work-unit level leadership quality and individual-level long-term sickness absence (LTSA) in the hospital sector and effect modification by chronic disorders.

METHODS: This longitudinal analysis included 33 025 Danish public hospital employees who were followed-up for one year after baseline in March 2014. Leadership quality was assessed by questionnaire with mean responses aggregated by work-unit and characterized in tertiles. LTSA during follow-up was determined from employer records. Chronic disorders at baseline was assessed from the Danish hospital and prescription registers. We performed multilevel logistic regression to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) adjusting for potential confounders. We evaluated interaction between chronic illness and low leadership quality on multiplicative and additive scales.

RESULTS: We identified employees as healthy (60.8%) or with somatic (31.6%), mental (3.3%), or both somatic and mental (4.3%) disorders. During follow-up, 6% of employees registered a LTSA. Medium and high leadership quality were associated with lower risk of LTSA with OR of 0.84 (95% CI 0.76-0.94) and 0.73 (95% CI 0.65-0.82) respectively, compared to low leadership quality. Associations were similar for healthy employees and employees with only somatic disorders, whereas no association was observed for employees with mental disorders (in presence or absence of somatic disorders). No statistically significant (α=0.05) interactions between leadership quality and chronic disorders on LTSA were observed.

CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that the quality of leadership in work units is associated with risk of long-term sick leave in the Danish public hospital sector and that strong leadership protects employees against LTSA.

PMID:35700335 | DOI:10.5271/sjweh.4036

Pediatr Diabetes. 2022 Jun 14. doi: 10.1111/pedi.13383. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND/ OBJECTIVES: Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease that affects many body systems, including the nervous and auditory systems. It is noted that there is a scarcity of research on the effect of diabetes on cognitive functions in particular and auditory functions in general in children with type 1 diabetes. Therefore, this study was designed to assess cognitive and auditory functions in children with type 1 diabetes mellitus and to correlate the reflection of diabetes control on cognitive functions.

METHODS: This study is a case-control study that included 100 children divided into two groups, the patient group, which includes 50 children with type 1 diabetes, and the control group, which consists of 50 healthy children. Subjects in the current study were submitted to pure tone audiometry, speech recognition threshold test, immittancemetry study, and measurement of cortical auditory evoked and P300 potentials (CAEPs and P300). These audiometric measures were statistically analyzed and correlated with the clinical characteristics of the study group.

RESULTS: The latency of P300 and CAEPs was significantly increased while the amplitude of P300 and CAEPs was significantly decreased in the patient group compared to the control group (p <0.001). P300 and CAEPs latency has a positive correlation with HbA1c levels (r = 0.460). Also, there was significant differences between the two groups regarding the hearing threshold at 8000 Hz, and 28% of patients had bilateral sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) at 8 kHz.

CONCLUSION: The prolonged P300 and CAEPs latency and decreased amplitude in patients indicate a cognitive decline in individuals with type 1 diabetes compared to healthy individuals. HbA1c levels may increase the risk of cognitive impairment in children. In addition, the risk of bilateral sensorineural hearing loss increased at 8 kHz in children with type 1 diabetes mellitus. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

PMID:35700327 | DOI:10.1111/pedi.13383

Environ Sci Technol. 2022 Jun 14. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.2c01633. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Wild birds are known to harbor and discharge antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) and their associated antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). However, assessments of their contribution to the dissemination of antibiotic resistance in the environment are limited to culture-dependent bacterial snapshots. Here, we present a high-throughput sequencing study that corroborates extensive ARG exchange between wild bird feces and their habitats and implies the need to scrutinize high-mobility birds as potential vectors for global propagation of ARGs. We characterized the resistome (281 ARGs) and microbiome of seven wild bird species and their terrestrial and aquatic habitats. The resistomes of bird feces were influenced by the microbial community structure, mobile genetic elements (MGEs), and residual antibiotics. We designated 33 ARGs found in more than 90% of the bird fecal samples as core ARGs of wild bird feces, among which 16 ARGs were shared as core ARGs in both wild bird feces and their habitats; these genes represent a large proportion of both the bird feces (35.0 ± 15.9%) and the environmental resistome (29.9 ± 21.4%). One of the most detected β-lactam resistance genes (bla_TEM, commonly harbored by multidrug resistant “superbugs”) was used as molecular marker to demonstrate the high interconnectivity of ARGs between the microbiomes of wild birds and their habitats. Overall, this work provides a comprehensive analysis of the wild bird resistome and underscores the importance to consider genetic exchange between animals and the environment in the One Health approach.

PMID:35700319 | DOI:10.1021/acs.est.2c01633

J Periodontal Res. 2022 Jun 14. doi: 10.1111/jre.13006. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Periodontal disease is a major threat to oral health and would further contribute to systemic diseases without timely control. We aimed to evaluate the relation between periodontal disease, periodontal treatment and carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) based on available epidemiological and clinical evidence. PubMed and Scopus were searched for relevant studies through May 2021. Observational studies reporting risk estimates with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) for the association between periodontal disease (including periodontitis and gingivitis) and risk of increased CIMT (defined as CIMT value that exceeded the cut-off value of clinical and prognostic significance), as well as interventional studies providing mean values with standard deviations of CIMT before and after periodontal intervention, were included. Random-effect models for meta-analysis were used to calculate the summary effect estimates with 95% CIs. A total of 406 citations were retrieved from electronic databases and 45 full-text articles were screened, leaving 11 articles using ultrasound to measure CIMT with 8744 participants included. Pooled results of seven cross-sectional studies involving 8558 participants indicated that compared to those without periodontitis, patients with periodontitis and those with severe periodontitis had an odds ratio of 1.42 (95% CI: 1.16, 1.75) and 1.70 (95% CI: 1.24, 2.33) for increased CIMT, respectively. Although publication bias was detected in these results, odds ratios corrected by the trim-and-fill method were still statistically significant. Results of four non-randomized controlled trials with 186 patients suggested that periodontal intervention may help reduce CIMT in patients with periodontal disease in the short term. Periodontitis, especially severe periodontitis, was significantly associated with the risk of increased CIMT. Periodontal intervention might help slow the progression of carotid intima-media thickening in patients with periodontal disease in the short term.

PMID:35700316 | DOI:10.1111/jre.13006

Biometrics. 2022 Jun 14. doi: 10.1111/biom.13706. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

We provide statistical analysis methods for samples of curves in two or more dimensions, where the image, but not the parametrization of the curves, is of interest and suitable alignment/registration is thus necessary. Examples are handwritten letters, movement paths or object outlines. We focus in particular on the computation of (smooth) means and distances, allowing e.g. classification or clustering. Existing parametrization invariant analysis methods based on the elastic distance of the curves modulo parametrization, using the square-root-velocity framework have limitations in common realistic settings where curves are irregularly and potentially sparsely observed. We propose using spline curves to model smooth or polygonal (Fréchet) means of open or closed curves with respect to the elastic distance and show identifiability of the spline model modulo parametrization. We further provide methods and algorithms to approximate the elastic distance for irregularly or sparsely observed curves, via interpreting them as polygons. We illustrate the usefulness of our methods on two datasets. The first application classifies irregularly sampled spirals drawn by Parkinson’s patients and healthy controls, based on the elastic distance to a mean spiral curve computed using our approach. The second application clusters sparsely sampled GPS tracks based on the elastic distance and computes smooth cluster-means to find new paths on the Tempelhof field in Berlin. All methods are implemented in the R-package “elasdics” and evaluated in simulations. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

PMID:35700308 | DOI:10.1111/biom.13706

Trop Med Int Health. 2022 Jun 14. doi: 10.1111/tmi.13792. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To determine the burden and management of filarial lymphoedema and its associated factors in Lindi district, Tanzania.

METHODS: Cross-sectional study involving 954 community members who were screened for filarial lymphoedema by using a checklist. Moreover, lymphoedema patients were examined for the presence of entry lesions, staging of disease, and interviewed on acute dermatolymphangioadenitis (ADLA) attacks, and their current practices on lymphoedema management. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression analyses were performed. A p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant.

RESULTS: The prevalence of filarial lymphoedema was 7.8%, with the majority in the early stage of lymphoedema (78.4%). The large majority (98.6%) of the patients had lower limb lymphoedema and 46% of lymphoedema patients had entry lesions. More than a half (60.8%) of those lymphoedema patients had experienced ADLA attacks; close to two-thirds (64.8%) had one or two attacks in the past six months. Generally, patients had inappropriate hygiene care practices for filarial lymphoedema management. Inappropriate hygiene care practice for lymphoedema management was associated with an increased risk for the development of advance stage of lymphoedema (AOR= 7.379 95%, CI: 3.535-16.018, p = 0.04).

CONCLUSION: Though LF transmission has drastically declined, chronic manifestations of lymphoedema persist in Lindi district. The recommended disease management practices are deficient, which calls for a programmatic approach for mapping the burden of lymphoedema and implementing its management.

PMID:35700223 | DOI:10.1111/tmi.13792