scholarly journals Marginal selenium status in northern Tasmania

2011 ◽  
Vol 106 (5) ◽  
pp. 718-724 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey M. Beckett ◽  
Madeleine J. Ball

Se plays many important roles in humans. Marginal Se status has been associated with adverse health effects including an increased risk of chronic disease such as cancer. There are few Australian data, but the population of Tasmania, Australia, is potentially at risk of marginal Se status. A cross-sectional study of 498 men and women aged 25–84 years was undertaken to assess the Se status of the northern Tasmanian population. Se status was assessed using dietary estimates and measures of serum Se and glutathione peroxidase (GPx). Mean Se intakes were 77·4 (sd31·3) and 65·1 (sd23·7) μg/d for men and women, respectively; 27 % of the subjects consumed less than the Australian/New Zealand estimated average requirement. Mean serum Se concentration was 89·1 (sd15·1) μg/l; 83 % of the study subjects had serum Se concentrations below 100 μg/l and 60 % had serum Se concentration below 90 μg/l, suggesting that Se status in many subjects was inadequate for maximal GPx activity. This was supported by the positive association between serum Se and serum GPx (P < 0·001), indicating that enzyme activity was limited by Se concentrations. The lowest mean serum Se concentrations were observed in the oldest age ranges; however, the prevalence of marginal Se status was similar across age ranges and did not appear to be influenced by sex or socio-economic status. The prevalence of marginal Se status was high in all sex and age subgroups, suggesting that the northern Tasmanian population could benefit from increasing Se intakes.

BMJ Open ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (10) ◽  
pp. e005413 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takuya Fukuda ◽  
Masahide Hamaguchi ◽  
Takao Kojima ◽  
Yasuhiro Ohshima ◽  
Akihiro Ohbora ◽  
...  

ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between serum γ-glutamyltranspeptidase (GGT) and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) as an indicator for atherosclerosis in Japanese men and women after adjusting for fatty liver.DesignA cross-sectional study.SettingA health check-up centre in Japan.Participants912 Japanese men and women aged 24–84 years recruited from people who received a medical health check-up programme with a standardised questionnaire and an automatic waveform analyser to measure baPWV.Main outcome measuresWe measured serum GGT concentrations and baPWV. Fatty liver was diagnosed by standardised criteria using abdominal ultrasonography. The postmenopausal state was defined as beginning 1 year after the cessation of menses.ResultsIn women, log2 GGT was positively associated with baPWV (β=0.11, 95% CI 0.02 to 0.19, p<0.05), independent of age, body mass index, systolic blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose, triglycerides, estimated glomerular filtration rate, fatty liver, menopausal state and parameters of lifestyles. However, in men, the positive association of log2 GGT with baPWV was not significant (β=−0.04, 95% CI −0.10 to 0.03, p=0.28) in multivariable linear regression analyses.ConclusionsThe serum GGT level was associated with baPWV, independently of covariates including fatty liver or menopausal state just in women, but not in men.


Author(s):  
Shikha Sharma

Background: Unplanned pregnancy have emerged as one of key public health indicator affecting women, their families and societies at large. Globally, an estimated 40% pregnancies in 2012 were unplanned jeopardising health of millions of women and children. Unplanned pregnancies are also associated with increased risk of low birth weight and high infant mortality. Need of the study was to obtain information which can lead to improvement in use of available products and resources by addressing social determinants of reproductive health affecting pregnancy intensions.Methods: Cross- sectional study was conducted in DSS (Demographic Surveillance Site), RD Gardi Medical College, Ujjain. Study included all consenting eligible couples excluding couples not available at time of interview and sterilized couples. “The London Measures of Unplanned Pregnancy” questionnaire (tested and validated for Indian settings) was used to assess pregnancy outcomes.Results: According to scores 8% pregnancy came out as unplanned, 79% planned and 13% ambivalent. Occurrence of unplanned pregnancy was significantly associated with age (χ2=14.216, p=0.027), socio-economic status (χ2=19.757, p=0.003) and housing (χ2=22.337, p=0.000) conditions of study participants. But when the above factors were further analysed using regression analysis, none was significantly associated.Conclusions: Prevalence of unplanned pregnancy came out to be 8%. Further, none of the studied social determinants came out to be significantly associated with the occurrence of unplanned pregnancy. More studies with a qualitative nature will be needed to know the reasons for unplanned pregnancy.


Thorax ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 75 (12) ◽  
pp. 1089-1094 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrian Shields ◽  
Sian E Faustini ◽  
Marisol Perez-Toledo ◽  
Sian Jossi ◽  
Erin Aldera ◽  
...  

ObjectiveTo determine the rates of asymptomatic viral carriage and seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in healthcare workers.DesignA cross-sectional study of asymptomatic healthcare workers undertaken on 24/25 April 2020.SettingUniversity Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHBFT), UK.Participants545 asymptomatic healthcare workers were recruited while at work. Participants were invited to participate via the UHBFT social media. Exclusion criteria included current symptoms consistent with COVID-19. No potential participants were excluded.InterventionParticipants volunteered a nasopharyngeal swab and a venous blood sample that were tested for SARS-CoV-2 RNA and anti-SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein antibodies, respectively. Results were interpreted in the context of prior illnesses and the hospital departments in which participants worked.Main outcome measureProportion of participants demonstrating infection and positive SARS-CoV-2 serology.ResultsThe point prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 viral carriage was 2.4% (n=13/545). The overall seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies was 24.4% (n=126/516). Participants who reported prior symptomatic illness had higher seroprevalence (37.5% vs 17.1%, χ2=21.1034, p<0.0001) and quantitatively greater antibody responses than those who had remained asymptomatic. Seroprevalence was greatest among those working in housekeeping (34.5%), acute medicine (33.3%) and general internal medicine (30.3%), with lower rates observed in participants working in intensive care (14.8%). BAME (Black, Asian and minority ethnic) ethnicity was associated with a significantly increased risk of seropositivity (OR: 1.92, 95% CI 1.14 to 3.23, p=0.01). Working on the intensive care unit was associated with a significantly lower risk of seropositivity compared with working in other areas of the hospital (OR: 0.28, 95% CI 0.09 to 0.78, p=0.02).Conclusions and relevanceWe identify differences in the occupational risk of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 between hospital departments and confirm asymptomatic seroconversion occurs in healthcare workers. Further investigation of these observations is required to inform future infection control and occupational health practices.


BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. e037608
Author(s):  
Mario Martín-Sánchez ◽  
Richard Case ◽  
Christopher Fairley ◽  
Jane S Hocking ◽  
Catriona Bradshaw ◽  
...  

ObjectivesIn the 2010s, there has been an increase in sexually transmitted infections (STI) in men who have sex with men (MSM) in Australia, and since 2015 also in urban heterosexuals. Men who have sex with both men and women (MSMW) have characteristics that may differ from both men who have sex with men only (MSMO) and heterosexual men. We aimed to compare the sexual practices and the trends in HIV/STI positivity between MSMO and MSMW.DesignRepeated cross-sectional study.SettingA sexual health centre in Melbourne, Australia.ParticipantsMSM aged 18 years and above who attended the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre for the first time between 2011 and 2018. This includes 12 795 MSMO and 1979 MSMW.Primary outcome measuresDemographic characterics, sexual practices and HIV/STI positivity.ResultsCompared with MSMW, MSMO were more likely to practice anal sex and to have condomless receptive anal sex with casual male partners, and less likely to have a current regular relationship. Over the 8-year period, there was an increase in condomless receptive anal sex with casual male partners for both groups (MSMO: from 46.2% to 63.3%, ptrend <0.001; MSMW: from 41.3% to 57.9%, ptrend=0.011). Syphilis positivity increased in MSMO (from 5.5% to 7.9%, ptrend=0.012) and MSMW (from 0.9% to 6.4%, ptrend=0.004) and HIV remained stable. Gonorrhoea increased among MSMO from 2011 to 2014 (from 6.7% to 9.6%, ptrend=0.002), and remained stable from 2015 to 2018. MSMO had higher odds of testing positive for gonorrhoea (adjusted OR (aOR) 1.36, 95% CI 1.13 to 1.64), chlamydia (aOR 1.39, 95% CI 1.16 to 1.67), syphilis (aOR 1.74, 95% CI 1.37 to 2.22) and HIV (aOR 4.60, 95% CI 2.43 to 8.70) than MSMW.ConclusionsMSMW have overall lower condomless sex and lower HIV/STI positivity. In the last years, changes in sexual practices in MSM have affected both MSMW and MSMO leading to an increased STI risk.


BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. e049967
Author(s):  
Karen Sól Saevarsdóttir ◽  
Hildur Ýr Hilmarsdóttir ◽  
Ingibjörg Magnúsdóttir ◽  
Arna Hauksdóttir ◽  
Edda Bjork Thordardottir ◽  
...  

ObjectiveTo test if patients recovering from COVID-19 are at increased risk of mental morbidities and to what extent such risk is exacerbated by illness severity.DesignPopulation-based cross-sectional study.SettingIceland.ParticipantsA total of 22 861 individuals were recruited through invitations to existing nationwide cohorts and a social media campaign from 24 April to 22 July 2020, of which 373 were patients recovering from COVID-19.Main outcome measuresSymptoms of depression (Patient Health Questionnaire), anxiety (General Anxiety Disorder Scale) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD; modified Primary Care PTSD Screen for DSM-5) above screening thresholds. Adjusting for multiple covariates and comorbidities, multivariable Poisson regression was used to assess the association between COVID-19 severity and mental morbidities.ResultsCompared with individuals without a diagnosis of COVID-19, patients recovering from COVID-19 had increased risk of depression (22.1% vs 16.2%; adjusted relative risk (aRR) 1.48, 95% CI 1.20 to 1.82) and PTSD (19.5% vs 15.6%; aRR 1.38, 95% CI 1.09 to 1.75) but not anxiety (13.1% vs 11.3%; aRR 1.24, 95% CI 0.93 to 1.64). Elevated relative risks were limited to patients recovering from COVID-19 that were 40 years or older and were particularly high among individuals with university education. Among patients recovering from COVID-19, symptoms of depression were particularly common among those in the highest, compared with the lowest tertile of influenza-like symptom burden (47.1% vs 5.8%; aRR 6.42, 95% CI 2.77 to 14.87), among patients confined to bed for 7 days or longer compared with those never confined to bed (33.3% vs 10.9%; aRR 3.67, 95% CI 1.97 to 6.86) and among patients hospitalised for COVID-19 compared with those never admitted to hospital (48.1% vs 19.9%; aRR 2.72, 95% CI 1.67 to 4.44).ConclusionsSevere disease course is associated with increased risk of depression and PTSD among patients recovering from COVID-19.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 1211
Author(s):  
Li-Te Lin ◽  
Kuan-Hao Tsui

The relationship between serum dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEA-S) and anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) levels has not been fully established. Therefore, we performed a large-scale cross-sectional study to investigate the association between serum DHEA-S and AMH levels. The study included a total of 2155 infertile women aged 20 to 46 years who were divided into four quartile groups (Q1 to Q4) based on serum DHEA-S levels. We found that there was a weak positive association between serum DHEA-S and AMH levels in infertile women (r = 0.190, p < 0.001). After adjusting for potential confounders, serum DHEA-S levels positively correlated with serum AMH levels in infertile women (β = 0.103, p < 0.001). Infertile women in the highest DHEA-S quartile category (Q4) showed significantly higher serum AMH levels (p < 0.001) compared with women in the lowest DHEA-S quartile category (Q1). The serum AMH levels significantly increased across increasing DHEA-S quartile categories in infertile women (p = 0.014) using generalized linear models after adjustment for potential confounders. Our data show that serum DHEA-S levels are positively associated with serum AMH levels.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Julien Fakhoury ◽  
Claudine Burton-Jeangros ◽  
Liala Consoli ◽  
Aline Duvoisin ◽  
Delphine Courvoisier ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Undocumented migrants live and work in precarious conditions. Few studies have explored the mental health consequences of such environment. The objective of this study is to describe the mental health of migrants at different stages of a regularization program. Methods This cross-sectional study included migrants undocumented or in the process of regularization. We screened for symptoms of anxiety, depression and sleep disturbance using validated tools. We created a composite outcome of altered mental health including these components plus self-report of a recent diagnosis of mental health condition by a health professional. Results We enrolled 456 participants of whom 246 (53.9%) were undocumented. They were predominantly women (71.9%) with a median age of 43.3 (interquartile range: 15.5) years, from Latin America (63.6%) or Asia (20.2%) who had lived in Switzerland for 12 (IQR: 7) years. Overall, 57.2% presented symptoms of altered mental health. Prevalence of symptoms of anxiety, depression and sleep disturbance were 36% (95% confidence interval: 31.6–40.6%), 45.4% (95% CI: 40.8–50.1%) and 23% (95% CI: 19.2–27.2), respectively. Younger age (adjusted odd ratio: 0.7; 95% CI: 0.5–0.9 for each additional decade), social isolation (aOR: 2.4; 95% CI: 1.4–4.2), exposure to abuse (aOR: 1.9; 95% CI: 1.1–3.5), financial instability (aOR: 2.2; 95% CI: 1.4–3.7) and multi-morbidity (aOR: 3.2; 95% CI: 1.7–6.5) were associated with increased risk of having altered mental health while being in the early stages of the process of regularization had no effect (aOR: 1.3: 95% CI: 0.8–2.2). Conclusions This study highlights the need for multi-pronged social and health interventions addressing the various domains of undocumented migrants living difficulties as complement to legal status regularization policies. Protection against unfair working conditions and abuse, access to adequate housing, promoting social integration and preventive interventions to tackle the early occurrence of chronic diseases may all contribute to reduce the burden of altered mental health in this group. More research is needed to assess the long-term impact of legal status regularization on mental health.


Healthcare ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 342
Author(s):  
Bum Jung Kim ◽  
Lin Chen ◽  
Ling Xu ◽  
Yura Lee

This study examines the influence of self-rated health and subjective economic status on the life satisfaction of older Chinese immigrants in the United States. Data were obtained from a cross-sectional survey of 205 older Chinese immigrants aged 66 to 90 years living in Los Angeles and Honolulu. Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression analysis was employed to explore the independent effects of self-rated health and subjective economic status. The results demonstrated that self-rated health and subjective economic status were positively associated with life satisfaction. This cross-sectional study provides empirical evidence that self-rated health and subjective economic status are directly associated with subjective life satisfaction among older Chinese immigrants.


Author(s):  
Joong Seob Lee ◽  
Tae Jun Kim ◽  
Sung Kwang Hong ◽  
Chanyang Min ◽  
Dae Myoung Yoo ◽  
...  

This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the association between hyperuricemia and the frequency of coffee, tea, and soft drink consumption, based on data from the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study (KoGES) (2004–2016). We used the KoGES health examinee data, obtained from urban residents aged ≥ 40 years. Information on the participants’ medical history, nutrition (total calorie, protein, fat, and carbohydrate intake), frequency of alcohol consumption, smoking status, household income, and frequency of coffee/green tea/soft drink intake was collected. A logistic regression model was used to analyze the data. Subgroup analyses were performed according to the participant’s age and sex. Among 173,209 participants, there were 11,750 and 156,002 individuals with hyperuricemia and non-hyperuricemia controls, respectively. In an adjusted model, frequent coffee and green tea consumption did not increase the risk of hyperuricemia, compared to the “no intake” reference group. However, an adjusted odds ratio of hyperuricemia was 1.23 (95% confidence interval, 1.11–1.35, p < 0.001) for participants who reported consuming soft drinks ≥ 3 times per day, compared to the respective “no drink” reference group. Even after adjusting for nutritional and sociodemographic factors, frequent soft drink intake was associated with an increased risk of hyperuricemia. Meanwhile, neither coffee nor green tea intake was associated with an increased risk of hyperuricemia.


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