Tag: statistics

PLoS One. 2022 Sep 15;17(9):e0274684. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0274684. eCollection 2022.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to estimate the prevalence of insomnia symptoms and to examine the associations of body mass index (BMI), chronic diseases, and lifestyle factors with self-reported insomnia symptoms among older people in India.

METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study using data from the baseline wave of the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI) that was collected during 2017-18. A sample of 31,358 older adults aged 60 and above was included in the analyses. Descriptive statistics and bivariate and multivariable analyses were performed to obtain the results.

RESULTS: In this study, insomnia symptoms were reported by around 36 percent of older adults aged 60 and above. After controlling for socio-demographic factors, insomnia symptoms were positively associated with the risk of being underweight [AOR: 1.289, CI: 1.211-1.372] and negatively associated with obesity/overweight [AOR: 0.928, CI: 0.872-0.990] as compared to older adults with normal BMI. The odds of insomnia symptoms were higher among those who reported the following chronic conditions, i.e., hypertension [AOR:1.356, CI:1.278-1.438], diabetes [AOR:1.160, CI:1.074-1.254], chronic lung diseases [AOR:1.485, CI:1.351-1.632], bone-related diseases [AOR:1.561, CI:1.458-1.670] and any psychiatric disorders [AOR:1.761, CI:1.495-2.074]. In addition, older adults who were physically active [AOR: 0.850, CI:0.804-0.900] were less likely to report insomnia symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS: The study suggests a high prevalence of insomnia symptoms among the older population in India. Early identification of the signs of insomnia in older population is crucial, as is timely treatment for any kind of sleep problems. In addition, nutrition-based interventions and individual disease-specific management programs may help minimize the stressful situations in later life and develop a good night’s sleep for the older population.

PMID:36108066 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0274684

Adv Physiol Educ. 2022 Sep 15. doi: 10.1152/advan.00017.2022. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Misalignment in teaching pedagogies between secondary schools and tertiary institutions have exacerbated educational disparities amongst students from different backgrounds. Given the variation in students’ educational background and competencies there was a need to develop an Anatomy and Physiology (A&P) Foundational Knowledge Assessment to establish the levels of preparedness of first-year medical students. Previous work that focused on the development of the assessment showed it to be effective in measuring students’ foundational knowledge in human anatomy and physiology. ​The aim of this study is to assess the validity of the A&P Foundational Knowledge Assessment in determining students’ prior knowledge and predicting academic performance of first-year students in their anatomy and physiology studies. Three hundred and seventy first-year students, across two cohort years 2017 and 2018, completed the A&P Foundational Knowledge Assessment. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics, analysis of variance, and Pearson’s correlation. Results show that for both cohorts, approximately 30% of students scored less than or equal to 55% and were potentially at risk of performing poorly in their anatomy and physiology studies. Pearson’s correlation showed a significant relationship between students’ performance on the foundational knowledge assessment and their anatomy and physiology assessments. For both cohorts more than 10% of students identified by the A&P Foundational Knowledge Assessment were either at risk of failing the course, entering an extended degree programme, or being excluded from the programme. Results indicate that the assessment is a good predictor for differentiating medical students’ performance in first-year anatomy and physiology.

PMID:36108059 | DOI:10.1152/advan.00017.2022

Science. 2022 Sep 16;377(6612):1304-1310. doi: 10.1126/science.abl4476. Epub 2022 Sep 15.

ABSTRACT

The authors analyzed data from multiple large-scale randomized experiments on LinkedIn’s People You May Know algorithm, which recommends new connections to LinkedIn members, to test the extent to which weak ties increased job mobility in the world’s largest professional social network. The experiments randomly varied the prevalence of weak ties in the networks of over 20 million people over a 5-year period, during which 2 billion new ties and 600,000 new jobs were created. The results provided experimental causal evidence supporting the strength of weak ties and suggested three revisions to the theory. First, the strength of weak ties was nonlinear. Statistical analysis found an inverted U-shaped relationship between tie strength and job transmission such that weaker ties increased job transmission but only to a point, after which there were diminishing marginal returns to tie weakness. Second, weak ties measured by interaction intensity and the number of mutual connections displayed varying effects. Moderately weak ties (measured by mutual connections) and the weakest ties (measured by interaction intensity) created the most job mobility. Third, the strength of weak ties varied by industry. Whereas weak ties increased job mobility in more digital industries, strong ties increased job mobility in less digital industries.

PMID:36107999 | DOI:10.1126/science.abl4476

PLoS One. 2022 Sep 15;17(9):e0273666. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0273666. eCollection 2022.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Paediatric early warning systems (PEWS) are a means of tracking physiological state and alerting healthcare professionals about signs of deterioration, triggering a clinical review and/or escalation of care of children. A proactive end-to-end deterioration solution (the DETECT surveillance system) with an embedded e-PEWS that included sepsis screening was introduced across a tertiary children’s hospital. One component of the implementation programme was a sub-study to determine an understanding of the DETECT e-PEWS in terms of its clinical utility and its acceptability.

AIM: This study aimed to examine how parents and health professionals view and engage with the DETECT e-PEWS apps, with a particular focus on its clinical utility and its acceptability.

METHOD: A prospective, closed (tick box or sliding scale) and open (text based) question, e-survey of parents (n = 137) and health professionals (n = 151) with experience of DETECT e-PEWS. Data were collected between February 2020 and February 2021.

RESULTS: Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics and qualitative data with generic thematic analysis. Overall, both clinical utility and acceptability (across seven constructs) were high across both stakeholder groups although some challenges to utility (e.g., sensitivity of triggers within specific patient populations) and acceptability (e.g., burden related to having to carry extra technology) were identified.

CONCLUSION: Despite the multifaceted nature of the intervention and the complexity of implementation across a hospital, the system demonstrated clinical utility and acceptability across two key groups of stakeholders: parents and health professionals.

PMID:36107953 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0273666

PLoS One. 2022 Sep 15;17(9):e0273734. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0273734. eCollection 2022.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Anticipated stigma related to chronic illness patients undermines diagnosis, treatment, and successful health outcomes. The study aimed to assess the magnitude and factors associated with anticipated stigma among patients with chronic illness attending follow-up clinics in Amhara Region Referral Hospitals, Ethiopia.

METHODS: A cross-sectional institution-based study was conducted in Amhara Region Referral Hospitals from 01 March to 15 April 2021. A simple random sampling technique was used to select the three Referral Hospitals in the region and study subjects. Data were collected using a pre-tested interview-based questionnaire. Data were entered and cleaned with Epi-Info version 6 and exported for analysis STATA version 14. Multiple linear regression was used to show the association between anticipated stigma and potential factors. Associations were measured using ß coefficients and were considered statistically significant if the p-value > 0.05.

RESULTS: A total of 779 patients were included for analysis with a response rate of 97%. Their mean (Standard deviation) of anticipated stigma was estimated at 1.86 and 0.5, respectively. After running an assumption test for multiple linear regression; educational status, cigarette smoking, psychological distress, medication adherence, alcohol consumption, and social part of the quality of life were statically significantly associated with anticipated stigma.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION: The result showed a high level of anticipated stigma reported among the participants. Emphasizing improving their social part of the quality of life, avoiding risky behaviors like alcohol consumption and cigarette smoking, access to health education for chronically ill patients, integrating mental health in all types of chronic disease, and developing strategies and protocols which will help to improve patient medication adherence to their prescribed medication will be crucial. This can provide a foundation for government andnon-governmental organizations, and researchers implementing evidence-based interventions and strategies on chronic care to address factors related to anticipated stigma.

PMID:36107943 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0273734

Prep Biochem Biotechnol. 2022 Sep 15:1-6. doi: 10.1080/10826068.2022.2119573. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Experiments were carried out to illustrate the effect of UV light on the course of the enzymatic reaction of the coumarin derivative. Only the pulsating light of the UV diode gives the correct results for the determination of the kinetic constants of the enzymatic reaction. The enzyme concentration limit was found where the description of the M-M model breaks. It was shown that the system determines the kinetic parameters of enzymatic reactions: V_max-the maximum rate of reaction and K_M–the Michaelis constant. This method produces kinetic constants calculated from the changes in enzyme product concentration using the Michaelis-Menten model. To verify the results, we used a statistical analysis that checks the correctness of the model used.

PMID:36107636 | DOI:10.1080/10826068.2022.2119573

Medicine (Baltimore). 2022 Sep 2;101(35):e30121. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000030121.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Activation of venous flow has been shown with different types of electrical stimulation. The aim of this study is to compare the hemodynamic effects of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES), and sham stimulation on healthy young people.

METHODS: This randomized crossover study was conducted during June 2018 in the Faculty of Physical Therapy of A Coruña (Spain). Twenty-four university students (50% male) received in a randomized order 5 Hz-TENS, NMES, and sham stimulation on soleus muscle. Flow volume (FV) and peak velocity (PV) from popliteal vein were recorded via Doppler ultrasound, and relative changes from baseline were determined. Discomfort among the 3 stimulations was also compared.

RESULTS: The differences among the 3 stimulations were assessed using the ANOVA for repeated measured, the Friedman test and the Kendall tau test, according to the type of measurement to be compared. FV (mL/min) and PV (cm/s) increased significantly after NMES (percentual increase 37.2 ± 62.0%, P = .002; 264.4 ± 152.2%, P < .001, respectively) and TENS (226.2 ± 190.3%, P < .001; 202.7 ± 144.6%, P < .001, respectively). These percentual changes from basal level in hemodynamics were statistically different to those after placebo, which was ineffective enhancing hemodynamics. The improvements in FV were statistically higher with TENS than with NMES (P < .001), but there was no statistical difference in PV (P = .531). Despite NMES was applied at a significantly lower amplitude than TENS (P < .001), NMES protocol was the worst tolerated, though the differences in discomfort were not statistically significant.

CONCLUSION: Both active electrical protocols but not sham stimulation increased hemodynamics in healthy people. TENS obtained higher flow volume increase from baseline than NMES, considered globally at not only in its on-time.

PMID:36107611 | DOI:10.1097/MD.0000000000030121

Medicine (Baltimore). 2022 Sep 2;101(35):e30382. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000030382.

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to investigate the value of the product of peripheral blood platelet and serum C-reactive protein (P-CRP), an inflammatory indicator, for the prognosis of patients with osteosarcoma. Patients with osteosarcoma who were diagnosed and treated at the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, China, between January 2012 and December 2019 were included in this retrospective study. Receiver operating characteristic curves were used to calculate the optimal cut-off values for inflammatory indicators such as P-CRP, the C-reactive protein/albumin ratio (CRP/Alb), the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and the platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) in the peripheral blood of patients before treatment. Based on the cut-off values, the patients were divided into high P-CRP and low P-CRP groups, high CRP/Alb and low CRP/Alb groups, high NLR and low NLR groups, and high NLR and low NLR groups; the Kaplan-Meier method was used to compare the overall survival (OS) rates and OS times of the above groups. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression models were used to analyze the effects of various factors on the prognosis of osteosarcoma and to determine the independent influencing factors. The Kaplan-Meier survival analysis results suggested that the OS rate of the high P-CRP group was significantly lower than that of the low P-CRP group (14.0% vs 67.2%, P < .001). The univariate analysis results suggested that tumor volume, tumor stage, NLR, PLR, P-CRP and CRP/Alb were factors that affected the prognosis of patients with osteosarcoma, and the differences were statistically significant (P < .05). The multivariate analysis results showed that tumor volume (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.061; 95% CI, 1.001-1.125; P = .046) and preoperative P-CRP (HR, 1.037; 95% CI, 1.024-1.050; P < .01) were independent prognostic factors affecting the OS rate after osteosarcoma surgery. The results of our study showed that P-CRP is a novel and promising prognostic indicator for patients with osteosarcoma. The higher the P-CRP level in the peripheral blood of patients is before treatment, the worse the prognosis might be.

PMID:36107592 | DOI:10.1097/MD.0000000000030382

Medicine (Baltimore). 2022 Sep 2;101(35):e30148. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000030148.

ABSTRACT

The lack of knowledge on health literacy affects all segments of society, particularly health workers. The objectives were to identify nursing students’ means of accessing information during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, their level of health literacy, and the factors that affect it. This cross-sectional study was conducted in Turkey among 398 nursing students of Çukurova University and Van Yüzüncü Yil University between June 1 and June 30, 2020. As a data collection tool, E-Health Literacy Scale was used, with students’ characteristics and personal information form related to Internet use. These forms were converted to the online format. The survey link was sent to the students’ smartphones and/or e-mails to ask them to participate. Majority of participants were Van Yüzüncü Yil University nursing students (63.8%). E-SYO score average of all students was found to be 29.42 ± 4.39 (min = 14, max = 40); it was is found be at a good level. They used the Internet as the first source of information about coronavirus disease 2019 (65.1%).Among the participants, 65.8% stated that it was important to access the health resource on the Internet and 19.1% of the participants thought that it was very important. It was found that Internet use was being used for >3 times a day (72.9%). The age, class, gender, family type, income level, high school from which they graduated from, and their working status significantly were statistically affecting their health literacy (P < .05). The health literacy scale scores were significant and higher than those who did not know the concept of health literacy, and those who perceived Internet skills well and very well than those who perceived them poorly (P < .05). Nursing students were found to have good average health literacy averages. Improving the health literacy is important for making individuals healthier.

PMID:36107588 | DOI:10.1097/MD.0000000000030148

Medicine (Baltimore). 2022 Sep 2;101(35):e30338. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000030338.

ABSTRACT

Acupuncture manipulation with needling direction is important for the therapeutic effect based on traditional Chinese medicine theory. However, there is controversy over directional manipulation and therapeutic effect, despite some research showing that acupuncture manipulations may have something to do with therapeutic effect. Moreover, research usually focuses on the therapeutic effects on the acupoints and acupuncture time rather than exploring the manipulation method. This study applies a semiconductor analyzer to investigate the effects of acupuncture manipulation. 10 healthy participants were recruited for the study. We used a cross-over design to compare the effect of different manipulation on individuals. This study employed an Agilent B1500A semiconductor analyzer to investigate the electric characteristics of meridians under directional supplementation and draining manipulation. We measured the electric current of meridians under different manipulation, and compared the difference between supplementation and draining manipulation in healthy individuals. The electric current was significantly larger in supplementation manipulation compared to draining manipulation in the meridians (P < .001). The measured electric current in the same manipulation methods did not show a statistical difference between meridians (P = .094). The different directional manipulation result in different electric currents in humans. Our finding implies that the supplementation and draining manipulation may result in different therapeutic effects clinically as the description of traditional Chinese medicine theory. Therefore, directional manipulation may need to be taken into consideration in future acupuncture studies and clinical management.

PMID:36107585 | DOI:10.1097/MD.0000000000030338