Severity stages of obesity-related breathing disorders – a cross-sectional cohort study

Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at increased risk of infection by the virulent severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). Though data exist on the positivity rate of the SARS-CoV-2 reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test as well as COVID-19-related deaths amongst HCWs in South Africa, the overall infection rate remains underestimated by these indicators. It is also unclear whether the humoral immune response after SARS-CoV-2 infection offers durable protection against reinfection. This study will assess the SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence amongst HCWs in the Eastern Cape (EC) and examine the longitudinal changes (rate of decay) in the antibody levels after infection in this cohort. Using a multi-stage cluster sampling of healthcare workers in selected health facilities in the EC, a cross-sectional study of 2250 participants will be recruited. In order to assess the community infection rate, 750 antenatal women in the same settings will be recruited. Relevant demographic and clinical characteristics will be obtained by a self-administered questionnaire. A chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay (CMIA) will be used for the qualitative detection of IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein. A nested cohort study will be conducted by performing eight-weekly antibody assays (X2) from 201 participants who tested positive for both SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR and serology. Logistic regression models will be fitted to identify the independent risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 infection. The cumulative SARS-CoV-2 infection rate and infection fatality rate among the frontline HCWs will be estimated. In addition, the study will highlight the overall effectiveness of infection prevention and control measures (IPC) per exposure sites/wards at the selected health facilities. Findings will inform the South African Department of Health’s policies on how to protect HCWs better as the country prepares for the second wave of the SARS-CoV pandemic.

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Diet quality in relation to the risk of hypertension among Iranian adults: cross-sectional analysis of Fasa PERSIAN cohort study

Nutrition Journal ◽

10.1186/s12937-021-00717-1 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 20 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Amir Motamedi ◽

Maryam Ekramzadeh ◽

Ehsan Bahramali ◽

Mojtaba Farjam ◽

Reza Homayounfar

Keyword(s):

Blood Pressure ◽

Cohort Study ◽

Diet Quality ◽

Dietary Diversity ◽

Antihypertensive Drugs ◽

Healthy Eating Index ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Common Chronic Disease ◽

History Of ◽

Prevention Of Hypertension

Abstract Background Hypertension is a common chronic disease with various complications and is a main contributing factor to cardiovascular disease (CVD). This study aimed to assess the association of diet quality, assessed by dietary diversity score (DDS), Mediterranean dietary score (MDS), diet quality index-international (DQI-I), and healthy eating index-2015 (HEI-2015) with the risk of hypertension. Methods This study recruited a total of 10,111 individuals (45.14% male) with mean age of 48.63 ± 9.57 years from the Fasa Cohort Study, Iran. Indices of diet quality, including MDS, HEI-2015, DQI-I, and DDS were computed by a 125-item Food Frequency Questionnaire. Participants were diagnosed as hypertensive if they had a diastolic blood pressure (DBP) ≥90 mmHg, systolic blood pressure (SBP) ≥140 mmHg,, or used antihypertensive drugs. Results Hypertension was prevalent in 28.3% of the population (21.59% in males and 33.74% in females). In the whole population, after adjustment for potential covariates, including daily energy intake, age, gender, physical activity, smoking, family history of hypertension, body mass index, and the level of education, higher adherence to the MDS (OR: 0.86, 95%CI = 0.75–0.99) and HEI-2015 (OR: 0.79, 95%CI = 0.68–0.90) was significantly associated with decreased risk of hypertension. The protective effect of HEI-2015 against hypertension remained significant for both males (OR: 0.80, 95%CI = 0.64–0.99) and females (OR: 0.78, 95%CI = 0.66–0.94), while, for MDS, this relationship disappeared in the subgroup analysis by gender. DQI-I and DDS were not related to the odds of hypertension. Conclusions Adhering to MDS and HEI-2015 diets could contribute to the prevention of hypertension.

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The Effect of Prophylactic HPV Vaccines on Oral and Oropharyngeal HPV Infection—A Systematic Review

Viruses ◽

10.3390/v13071339 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (7) ◽

pp. 1339

Author(s):

Kristoffer Juul Nielsen ◽

Kathrine Kronberg Jakobsen ◽

Jakob Schmidt Jensen ◽

Christian Grønhøj ◽

Christian Von Buchwald

Keyword(s):

Cohort Study ◽

Oropharyngeal Cancer ◽

Hpv Infection ◽

Case Control ◽

Igg Antibodies ◽

Hpv Vaccines ◽

Case Control Studies ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Post Vaccination ◽

Cross Sectional Studies

Human papillomavirus (HPV) imposes an increased risk of developing cervical, anal and oropharyngeal cancer. In the Western world, HPV infection is currently the major cause of oropharyngeal cancer. The effectiveness of HPV vaccines for oral or oropharyngeal HPV infection is yet to be determined. This study conducted a systematic literature search in Pubmed and Embase. Studies investigating the impact of HPV vaccines on oral or oropharyngeal HPV infection were enrolled. This review reports the relative prevention percentage (RPP), including a risk of bias assessment as well as a quality assessment study. Nine studies were included (48,777 participants): five cross-sectional studies; one randomized community trial study (RCT); one longitudinal cohort study; and two case-control studies. A significant mean RPP of 83.9% (66.6–97.8%) was calculated from the cross-sectional studies, 82.4% in the included RCT and 83% in the longitudinal cohort study. Further, two case-control studies that measured antibody response in participants immunized with HPV vaccines were included. Respectively, 100% and 93.2% of participants developed HPV-16 Immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies in oral fluids post-vaccination. Analysis of the studies identified a significant decrease in vaccine-type oral or oropharyngeal HPV infections in study participants immunized with HPV vaccines across study designs and heterogenous populations. Further, a significant percentage of participants developed IgG antibodies in oral fluid post-vaccination.

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The Association of Periodontitis and Peripheral Arterial Occlusive Disease in a Prospective Population-Based Cross-Sectional Cohort Study

Journal of Clinical Medicine ◽

10.3390/jcm10102048 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (10) ◽

pp. 2048

Author(s):

Nicole Jacobi ◽

Carolin Walther ◽

Katrin Borof ◽

Guido Heydecke ◽

Udo Seedorf ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cohort Study ◽

Peripheral Arterial Occlusive Disease ◽

Ankle Brachial Index ◽

Population Based ◽

Arterial Occlusive Disease ◽

Occlusive Disease ◽

Health Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Severe Periodontitis ◽

Peripheral Arterial

Objectives: Peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD) and periodontitis are common chronic diseases, which together affect almost 1 billion people worldwide. There is growing evidence suggesting a relationship between chronic inflammatory conditions such as periodontitis and PAOD. This study aims to determine an association between both entities using high quality research data and multiple phenotypes derived from an epidemiological cohort study. Design: This population-based cross-sectional cohort study included data from 3271 participants aged between 45 and 74 years enrolled in the Hamburg City Health Study (NCT03934957). Material & Methods: An ankle-brachial-index below 0.9, color-coded ultrasound of the lower extremity arteries, and survey data was used to identify participants with either asymptomatic or symptomatic PAOD. Periodontitis data was collected at six sites per tooth and included the probing depth, gingival recession, clinical attachment loss, and bleeding on probing index. Multivariate analyses using logistic regression models were adjusted for variables including age, sex, smoking, education, diabetes, and hypertension. Results: The baseline characteristics differed widely between participants neither affected by periodontitis nor PAOD vs. the group where both PAOD and severe periodontitis were identified. A higher rate of males, higher age, lower education level, smoking, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease was observed in the group affected by both diseases. After adjusting, presence of severe periodontitis (odds ratio 1.265; 97.5% CI 1.006–1.591; p = 0.045) was independently associated with PAOD. Conclusion: In this cross-sectional analysis of a prospective cohort study, an independent association between periodontitis and PAOD was revealed. The results of the current study emphasize a potential for preventive medicine in an extremely sensitive target population. Future studies should determine the underlying factors modifying the relationship between both diseases.

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Costs of Early Stage Alzheimer’s Disease in the United States: Cross-Sectional Analysis of a Prospective Cohort Study (GERAS-US)1

Journal of Alzheimer s Disease ◽

10.3233/jad-191212 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 75 (2) ◽

pp. 437-450

Author(s):

Rebecca L. Robinson ◽

Dorene M. Rentz ◽

Jeffrey Scott Andrews ◽

Anthony Zagar ◽

Yongin Kim ◽

...

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Alzheimer’S Disease ◽

Cohort Study ◽

Prospective Cohort Study ◽

Prospective Cohort ◽

Early Stage ◽

The United States ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Cross Sectional Analysis ◽

Sectional Analysis

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Fine or Gross Motor Index as a Simple Tool for Predicting Cognitive Impairment in Elderly People: Findings from The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA)

Journal of Alzheimer s Disease ◽

10.3233/jad-210704 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-8

Author(s):

Xiao Liu ◽

Ayiguli Abudukeremu ◽

Yuan Jiang ◽

Zhengyu Cao ◽

Maoxiong Wu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cohort Study ◽

Cognitive Impairment ◽

Longitudinal Study ◽

Cognitive Function ◽

Prospective Cohort Study ◽

Prospective Cohort ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Simple Tool

Background: Several kinds of motor dysfunction can predict future cognitive impairment in elderly individuals. However, the ability of the fine motor index (FINEA) and gross motor index (GROSSA) to predict the risk of cognitive impairment has not been assessed. Objective: We investigated the associations between FINEA/GROSSA and cognitive impairment. Methods: The data of 4,745 participants from The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) were analyzed. Cognitive function was assessed using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). We first assessed the correlation between the FINEA GROSSA and MMSE in a cross-sectional study. Then, we further investigated the predictive role of the incidence of cognitive impairment in a prospective cohort study. Results: We found that both FINEA and GROSSA were negatively correlated with MMSE in both the unadjusted (FINEA: B = –1.00, 95%confidence intervals (CI): –1.17, –0.83, t = –11.53, p < 0.001; GROSSA: B = –0.85, 95%CI: –0.94, –0.76, t = –18.29, p < 0.001) and adjusted (FINEA: B = –0.63, 95%CI: –0.79, –0.47, t = –7.77, p < 0.001; GROSSA: B = –0.57, 95%CI: –0.66, –0.48, t = –12.61, p < 0.001) analyses in a cross-sectional study. In a prospective cohort study, both high FINEA and high GROSSA were associated with an increased incidence of cognitive function impairment (FINEA: adjusted odds ratios (OR) = 2.35, 95%CI: 1.05, 5.23, p = 0.036; GROSSA adjusted OR = 3.00, 95%CI: 1.49, 6.03, p = 0.002) after 2 years of follow-up. Conclusion: Higher FINEA and GROSSA scores were both associated with an increased incidence of cognitive impairment. FINEA or GROSSA might be a simple tool for identifying patients with cognitive impairment.

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An evaluation of peri-implant marginal bone loss according to implant type, surgical technique and prosthetic rehabilitation: a retrospective multicentre and cross-sectional cohort study

Odontology ◽

10.1007/s10266-020-00587-9 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Lizett Castellanos-Cosano ◽

Alba Carrasco-García ◽

José-Ramón Corcuera-Flores ◽

Javier Silvestre-Rangil ◽

Daniel Torres-Lagares ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cohort Study ◽

Surgical Technique ◽

Bone Loss ◽

Prosthetic Rehabilitation ◽

Marginal Bone Loss ◽

Cross Sectional

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Internal consistency and factor structure of Jenkins Sleep Scale: cross-sectional cohort study among 80 000 adults

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2020-043276 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. e043276

Author(s):

Juhani Juhola ◽

J P A Arokoski ◽

Jenni Ervasti ◽

Mika Kivimäki ◽

Jussi Vahtera ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Factor Analysis ◽

Cohort Study ◽

Internal Consistency ◽

Common Factor ◽

Secondary Outcome ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Healthy Working ◽

Confirmatory Factor ◽

Working Age ◽

Working Age Population

ObjectivesTo assess the internal consistency and construct validity of the Finnish translation of the Jenkins Sleep Scale (JSS) in a large healthy working-age population with diverse work characteristics.DesignSurvey-based cross-sectional cohort study.SettingSurvey conducted by an institute of occupational health.ParticipantsEmployees of 10 towns and 6 hospital districts.Primary and secondary outcome measuresThe internal consistency defined by a Cronbach’s alpha. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses to evaluate the construct structure of the JSS.ResultsOf 81 136 respondents, 14 890 (18%) were men and 66 246 (82%) were women. Their average age was 52.1 (13.2) years. Of the respondents, 41 823 (52%) were sleeping 7 or less hours per night. The mean JSS total score was 6.4 (4.8) points. The JSS demonstrated high internal consistency with an alpha of 0.80 (lower 95% confidence limit 0.80). Exploratory factor analysis supported a one-factor solution with eigenvalue of 1.94. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that all four items were positively correlated with a single common factor explaining 44%–61% of common factor’s variance.ConclusionsThe Finnish translation of JSS was found to be a unidimensional scale with good internal consistency. As such, the scale may be recommended as a practicable questionnaire when studying sleep difficulties in a healthy working-age population.

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Psychosocial and health behavioural impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on adults in the USA: protocol for a longitudinal cohort study

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2020-044642 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (12) ◽

pp. e044642

Author(s):

Hoda Badr ◽

Abiodun Oluyomi ◽

Maral Adel Fahmideh ◽

Syed Ahsan Raza ◽

Xiaotao Zhang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cohort Study ◽

Online Survey ◽

Assessment Tools ◽

Alternative Methods ◽

Longitudinal Cohort Study ◽

Unhealthy Lifestyle ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Longitudinal Cohort ◽

Modifiable Factors ◽

The Usa

IntroductionAlthough social distancing may help contain the spread of COVID-19, the social isolation and loneliness it causes can heighten stress, contribute to unhealthy lifestyle behaviours and have deleterious effects on social relationships. This ongoing longitudinal cohort study aims to (1) characterise the psychological, social and health behavioural impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic over a 12-month period in the USA; (2) determine whether these impacts differ for certain subgroups based on sociodemographics and other individual-level factors; and (3) explore whether there are modifiable factors (eg, coping, social support) that moderate the effects of the pandemic over time.Methods and analysisAdults (aged ≥18 years) who were fluent in either English or Spanish were recruited via social media and invited to complete an online survey during the 8-week period from 13 April to 8 June 2020 (baseline). Follow-up surveys will be conducted 6 and 12 months after baseline. Data transformations, non-parametric tests or other alternative methods will be used when appropriate. Descriptive statistics and cross-sectional analyses will be performed. Longitudinal associations will be analysed using multilevel modelling with time-variant and time-invariant predictors of change in trajectory over the study period.Ethics and disseminationResearch ethics approval was received from the Baylor College of Medicine Institutional Review Board (H-47505). Overall, this study will provide timely information that can be used to inform public health messaging strategies and guide development of assessment tools and interventions to support vulnerable individuals dealing with the long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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