Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

Ind Health 2022 May 19. Epub 2022 May 19.

MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing, University College London, United Kingdom.

Little is known about the relationship between homeworking and mental health during the Covid-19 pandemic and how it might differ by keyworker status. To understand this relationship, we use longitudinal data collected over three time points during the pandemic from three British cohort studies born in 1958 (National Child Development Study), 1970 (British Cohort Study) and 1989-90 (Next Step) as well as from a population-based study stratified by four age groups (Understanding Society). We estimate the association between life satisfaction, anxiety, depression, and psychological distress and homeworking by key worker status using mixed effects models with maximum likelihood estimation to account for repeated measurements across the pandemic, allowing intercepts to vary across individuals after controlling for a set of covariates including pre-pandemic home working propensities and loneliness. Read More

J Atheroscler Thromb 2022 May 18. Epub 2022 May 18.

Public Health, Department of Social Medicine, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine.

Aim: In this study, we aimed to evaluate the association between age at menarche and risk of cardiovascular disease mortality.

Methods: In total, 54,937 women aged 40-79 years old between 1988 and 1990 without a history of cardiovascular disease were eligible for analysis and were followed through December 2009. We used the Cox proportional hazards models to examine the association between age at menarche and risk of cardiovascular disease. Read More

Neurology 2022 May 18. Epub 2022 May 18.

The Framingham Heart Study, Framingham, MA, USA.

Background And Objectives: The association between vascular risk factors and dementia varies with age making generalisability of dementia risk prediction rules to individuals of different ages challenging. We determined the most important vascular risk factors for inclusion in age-specific dementia risk scores.

Methods: Framingham Heart Study Original and Offspring cohort participants with available data on the Framingham Stroke Risk Profile (FSRP) at mid-life(age 55; n=4899, 57% women), late-life(ages 65 or 70), or later-life(ages 75 or 80[n=2386, 62% women]) were followed for 10-year incident dementia risk from ages 65, 70, 75 and 80. Read More

Neurology 2022 May 18. Epub 2022 May 18.

Department of Public Health Sciences, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA, USA.

Background: The impact of new onset seizures in young stroke survivors on the subsequent development of dementia is poorly understood. This study aimed to assess the association between new onset of seizure and dementia in a population-based study of stroke patients.

Methods: The IBM Watson Health MarketScan® Commercial Claims and Encounters database, for the years 2005-2014 served as the data source for this study. Read More

Neurology 2022 May 18. Epub 2022 May 18.

Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.

Background And Objectives: Changes in social behavior are common symptoms of frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) and Alzheimer's disease syndromes. For early identification of individual patients and differential diagnosis, sensitive clinical measures are required that are able to assess patterns of behaviors and detect syndromic differences in both asymptomatic and symptomatic stages. We investigated whether the examiner-based Social Behavior Observer Checklist (SBOCL) is sensitive to early behavior changes and reflects disease severity within and between neurodegenerative syndromes. Read More

J Neurointerv Surg 2022 May 18. Epub 2022 May 18.

Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Brain Center, University Medical Centre Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands.

Background: Successful recanalization and good collateral status are associated with good clinical outcomes after endovascular treatment (EVT) for acute ischemic stroke, but the relationships among them are unclear.

Objective: To assess if collateral status is associated with recanalization after EVT and if collateral status modifies the association between successful recanalization and functional outcome.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed data from the MR CLEAN Registry, a multicenter prospective cohort study of patients with a proximal anterior occlusion who underwent EVT in the Netherlands. Read More

Expert Rev Vaccines 2022 May 18. Epub 2022 May 18.

Department of Infectious Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.

Background: The waning of the protective effect of COVID-19 vaccines and timing of booster doses are debated.

Methods: Population-based cohort study in the largest Health Authority of Lazio region, Italy, on 946,156 residents aged 12+ (study period: January 1, 2021-January 10, 2022). Vaccine Effectiveness (VE) against any SARS-CoV-2 infection (symptomatic or asymptomatic) was estimated through multivariable negative binomial models using unvaccinated person-time as reference. Read More

Br J Sports Med 2022 May 18. Epub 2022 May 18.

Cardiovascular Performance Program, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Objectives: Persistent or late-onset cardiopulmonary symptoms following COVID-19 may occur in athletes despite a benign initial course. We examined the yield of cardiac evaluation, including cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET), in athletes with cardiopulmonary symptoms after COVID-19, compared CPETs in these athletes and those without COVID-19 and evaluated longitudinal changes in CPET with improvement in symptoms.

Methods: This prospective cohort study evaluated young (18-35 years old) athletes referred for cardiopulmonary symptoms that were present>28 days from COVID-19 diagnosis. Read More

BMJ Open 2022 May 18;12(5):e060639. Epub 2022 May 18.

International Medical Corps, Santa Monica, California, USA.

Objectives: Our study described demographic characteristics, exposures and symptoms, and comorbidities to evaluate risk factors of hospitalisation and mortality among cases in Juba, South Sudan (SSD) and North and South Kivu in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Design: Prospective observational cohort of COVID-19 cases.

Methods: Individuals presenting for care at one of five study facilities in SSD (n=1) or DRC (n=4) or referred from home-based care by mobile medical teams between December 2020 and June 2021 were eligible for enrolment. Read More

BMJ Open 2022 May 18;12(5):e054975. Epub 2022 May 18.

School of Public Health, College of Health and Medical Sciences, Haramaya University, Harar, Ethiopia

Objective: Perinatal mortality is an important outcome indicator for newborn care and directly mirrors the quality of prenatal, intra partum and newborn care. Therefore, this study was aimed at estimating perinatal mortality and its predictors in Eastern Ethiopia using data from Kersa Health and Demographic Surveillance System (KHDSS).

Design, Settings And Participants: An open dynamic cohort design was employed among pregnant women from 2015 to 2020 at KHDSS. Read More

BMJ Open 2022 May 18;12(5):e050450. Epub 2022 May 18.

Electronic Health Information Laboratory, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Objective: To examine sex and gender roles in COVID-19 test positivity and hospitalisation in sex-stratified predictive models using machine learning.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: UK Biobank prospective cohort. Read More

J Immunother Cancer 2022 May;10(5)

Pediatrics, New York Medical College, Valhalla, New York, USA

Background: Cure rates for Hodgkin's lymphoma are excellent, but excess short-term and long-term morbidities from treatment remain a concern. Immunotherapy targeting both tumor antigens and the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment in children, adolescents, and young adults with Hodgkin's lymphoma may improve early response rates and eliminate toxic chemotherapy and radiation, thus minimizing toxicity. We conducted a phase II study to evaluate the safety and overall response rate of brentuximab vedotin and rituximab in combination with risk-adapted chemotherapy in children, adolescents, and young adults with newly diagnosed classic Hodgkin's lymphoma (cHL). Read More

BMJ 2022 May 18;377:e069676. Epub 2022 May 18.

National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare Associated Infections and Antimicrobial Resistance, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.

Objective: To estimate associations between covid-19 vaccination and long covid symptoms in adults with SARS-CoV-2 infection before vaccination.

Design: Observational cohort study.

Setting: Community dwelling population, UK. Read More

J Plast Surg Hand Surg 2022 May 18:1-6. Epub 2022 May 18.

Department of Burn and Plastic Surgery, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.

Background: Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy involves breathing pure oxygen or a high oxygen concentration above atmospheric (ATM) pressure in an enclosed chamber. Studies on pathological scars have demonstrated that HBO can inhibit the formation of pathological scars.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of HBO in the treatment of pathological scars meta-analysis. Read More

Appl Clin Inform 2022 Mar 18;13(2):504-515. Epub 2022 May 18.

Department of Pediatrics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.

Background:  Helping parents quit smoking is a public health priority. However, parents are rarely, if ever, offered tobacco use treatment through pediatric settings. Clinical decision support (CDS) systems developed for the workflows of pediatric primary care may support consistent screening, treatment, and referral. Read More

Am J Med 2022 May 15. Epub 2022 May 15.

Division of Nephrology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University; National Clinical Research Center for Kidney Disease; State Key Laboratory of Organ Failure Research; Guangdong Provincial Institute of Nephrology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Renal Failure Research, Guangzhou Regenerative Medicine and Health Guangdong Laboratory; Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Kidney Disease, Guangzhou, China; Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, China; Institute of Biomedicine, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China. Electronic address:

Background: The association between domestic physical activity and the risk of hypertension remains uncertain. We aimed to evaluate the prospective relation of domestic physical activity and new-onset hypertension among Chinese males and females.

Methods: A total of 9254 adults who were free of hypertension at baseline were enrolled from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS). Read More

Spine J 2022 May 15. Epub 2022 May 15.

Department of Neurosurgery, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany.

Background Context: Navigation and robotic systems have been increasingly applied to spinal instrumentation but dedicated screw planning is a time-consuming prerequisite to tap the full potential of these techniques.

Purpose: To develop and validate an automated planning tool for lumbosacral pedicle screw placement using a convolutional neural network (CNN) to facilitate the planning process.

Study Design/setting: Retrospective analysis and processing of CT and screw planning data randomly selected from a consecutive registry of CT-navigated instrumentations from a single academic institution. Read More

Urology 2022 May 15. Epub 2022 May 15.

Department of Urology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.

Objective: To determine the utility of post-operative imaging after ureteroneocystostomy and whether long-term symptom or radiographic surveillance aided in the detection of recurrent obstruction.

Methods: Adult patients were identified who underwent a ureteroneocystostomy with or without psoas hitch or Boari flap between January 2012 and June 2021. Patients who underwent a bilateral procedure, had active malignancy or immediate failure, or did not have 6 months of follow-up with 2 imaging studies were excluded. Read More

Gerontology 2022 May 18:1-8. Epub 2022 May 18.

Division of Neurosurgery, Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.

Introduction: Radiological indicators in head computed tomography (CT) scan have emerged as tools to evaluate sarcopenia using the sectional area and thickness of the temporal muscle. They can be obtained by standardized measurements in preoperative image assessment of patients with brain aneurysms. We aimed to evaluate the association between functional outcomes after interventions for intracranial aneurysms (IAs) and temporal muscle thickness (TMT) and area (TMA), as surrogates of sarcopenia. Read More

Obes Facts 2022 May 18. Epub 2022 May 18.

Introduction: Few studies have deciphered whether lean body mass (LBM) or fat mass (FM) is predominantly responsible for the body mass index (BMI)-hypertension association. This study aimed to assess the associations of predicted LBM and FM with hypertension risk among Chinese male adults.

Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted among 2,812 male participants free of hypertension in the Fangchenggang Area Males Health and Examination Survey in 2009. Read More

Int Arch Allergy Immunol 2022 May 18:1-10. Epub 2022 May 18.

Institute of Immunology & Infection Research, Ashworth Laboratories, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.

Background: Exposure to fungal allergens poses a serious threat to human health, especially to mould-allergic individuals. The prevalence of fungal allergic disease is increasing globally but is poorly studied in Africa. Here, we aimed to identify and characterize fungal proteins that were immunoreactive against serum samples from fungal-sensitized Zimbabweans from Shamva district to inform the development of diagnostics and therapeutics. Read More

Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol 2022 May 11;274:56-61. Epub 2022 May 11.

Academic Department of Gynaecological Oncology, Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust, Surrey, UK. Electronic address:

For those with certain recurrent gynaecological cancers where primary management such as chemo-radiotherapy has failed, or in cases of recurrence following primary surgery, pelvic exenteration (PE) is considered the only curative option. Whilst initially considered a morbid procedure, improved surgical techniques, advancing technology, and nuanced reconstructive options have facilitated more radical resections and improved morbidity and mortality. Open PE remains the gold standard approach, however, minimally invasive techniques for PE may lessen morbidity whilst achieving the same oncological outcomes. Read More

Rev Assoc Med Bras (1992) 2022 May;68(5):670-674

Universidade Federal do Ceará, Maternidade Escola Assis Chateaubriand, Serviço de Medicina Fetal - Fortaleza (CE), Brazil.

Objective: To assess the prevalence of maternal alloantibodies in pregnant women at a maternity hospital in northeastern Brazil and describe their perinatal outcomes.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study reviewed maternal and newborn medical records between January 2017 and October 2018 to assess for the presence of maternal alloantibodies.

Results: The following maternal alloantibodies were found in the 41 cases surveyed: anti-D, 28 cases (45%); anti-C, 7 cases (11%); anti-c, 1 case (1. Read More

Rev Assoc Med Bras (1992) 2022 May;68(5):568-573

Universidade Federal de Sergipe, Programa de Pós-graduação em Gestão, Informação e Tecnologia em pesquisa - Aracaju (SE), Brazil.

Objective: The primary objective was to analyze and report on the complications that occurred in the cochlear implant surgeries performed at a large philanthropic teaching hospital located in a low-income area of Brazil.

Methods: A historical cohort study that analyzed surgical records of 432 patients of all age groups and both genders who received unilateral cochlear implant in a tertiary referral center that serves only Brazil's Public Health Care System patients, from February 2009 to December 2017.

Results: A total of 67 (15. Read More

J Bras Pneumol 2022 13;48(2):e20210515. Epub 2022 May 13.

. Servizio di Epidemiologia Clinica delle Malattie Respiratorie, Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri - IRCCS - Tradate, Italia.

Objective: To evaluate lung function in a cohort of patients with a history of pulmonary tuberculosis in Brazil, as well as to evaluate the decline in lung function over time and compare it with that observed in similar cohorts in Mexico and Italy.

Methods: The three cohorts were compared in terms of age, smoking status, pulmonary function test results, six-minute walk test results, and arterial blood gas results. In the Brazilian cohort, pulmonary function test results, six-minute walk test results, and arterial blood gas results right after the end of tuberculosis treatment were compared with those obtained at the end of the follow-up period. Read More

Einstein (Sao Paulo) 2022 16;20:eAO6781. Epub 2022 May 16.

Centro Universitário FMABC, Santo André, SP, Brazil.

Objective: To compare in-hospital outcomes between small-for-gestational-age and appropriate-for-gestational-age preterm neonates who needed intensive care.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study with preterm newborns, from January to December 2017. The results are presented as median, frequency, and odds ratio. Read More

Einstein (Sao Paulo) 2022 6;20:eAO6353. Epub 2022 May 6.

Sanofi Pharmaceuticals, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.

Objective: To determine under which health conditions metamizole (dipyrone) is used as a single drug or as fixed-dose combination.

Methods: Two retrospective cohorts of Brazilian patients treated with metamizole between January 2015 and December 2017 were analyzed: a metamizole-based cohort (Cohort 1) and a symptoms-based cohort (Cohort 2). Anonymized patient data was obtained from Amil Clinical Data Warehouse. Read More

Rev Bras Enferm 2022 9;75(5):e20210586. Epub 2022 May 9.

Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto Alegre. Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.

Objective: To analyze the critical alarms predictors of clinical deterioration/sepsis for clinical decision making in patients admitted to a reference hospital complex.

Methods: An observational retrospective cohort study. The Machine Learning (ML) tool, Robot Laura®, scores changes in vital parameters and lab tests, classifying them by severity. Read More

Blood Adv 2022 May 18. Epub 2022 May 18.

University of Washington, United States.

Survivors of hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) are at risk for neurocognitive impairments, which can negatively impact quality of life. Given limited studies, we aimed to describe the neurocognitive outcomes in a cohort of long-term adult HCT survivors. Eligible survivors (age ≥21y at HCT and alive ≥2y following HCT) completed a 60-question survey of neurocognitive function and quality of life, which included the Neuro-Quality of Life Cognitive Function Short Form (Neuro-QoL) and the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study Neurocognitive Questionnaire (NCQ). Read More

JCO Precis Oncol 2022 May;6:e2100540

Institute for Human Genetics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA.

Purpose: variants in tumors are important to recognize, as multiple mechanisms may give rise to biallelic variants. Both deletions and copy-neutral loss of heterozygosity (LOH) are potential mechanisms of loss, distinct from point mutations, and additional genes altered may drive different tumor types. This study investigates whether tumors from individuals with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) demonstrate additional gene variants and detects second hits using paired germline and somatic sequencing. Read More