TESTING THE EFFECT OF THE EPIDEMIOLOGIC PARADOX: BIRTH WEIGHT OF NEWBORNS OF IMMIGRANT AND NON-IMMIGRANT MOTHERS IN THE REGION OF VALENCIA, SPAIN

2013 ◽  
Vol 46 (5) ◽  
pp. 635-650 ◽  
Author(s):  
CARLES SIMÓ ◽  
SALVADOR MÉNDEZ

SummaryThe epidemiological paradox and ‘healthy migrant effect’ refer to the favourable health outcomes in unprivileged groups under unfavourable socioeconomic conditions. Weight at birth is associated with the epidemiological paradox. However, differences in fertility structure (mainly mother's age and first maternity) might be the cause of the difference in weight at birth between children of immigrant and non-immigrant mothers. This paper aims to analyse the impact of the epidemiologic paradox by distinguishing between the factors related to fertility structure, in addition to other socio-cultural factors. The importance of fertility structure as the cause of weight-at-birth differences of the newborns of immigrant and non-immigrant women, and between those of subgroups of immigrant mothers, is tested. Based on data from birth registries for the period 1998–2009, a variance analysis was performed for Spanish mothers and for those of five major immigrant subgroups living in the region of Valencia, Spain, which experienced significant migrant inflows within a short period of time. A Scheffé test between pairs of nationalities was carried out. Finally, linear regression models were built. The results suggest that the most relevant factors are those related to fertility structure, and that consequently the epidemiological paradox does not apply for immigrant mothers as a whole, although Bolivian immigrant offspring may be an exception. This unexpected result requires further research to test to what extent this is due to the special adaptation of multigenerational high-altitude populations in pregnancy. The factors associated with fertility structure must be controlled when trying to relate birth weight differences between ethnic groups to socioeconomic factors.

Author(s):  
Chia-Liang Wu ◽  
Chien-Lin Chen ◽  
Shu-Hui Wen

Given the frequent concomitance between depression and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), it is important to evaluate the change of depression in patients with GERD, especially considering the presence of esophageal mucosal breaks (MB). This study aimed to examine the change in the levels of depression in patients with GERD during proton-pump inhibitors (PPI) therapy. We designed a prospective cohort study to explore the profile of the alteration in depression with respect to the impact of esophageal MB. This study recruited 172 eligible patients with GERD between February 2016 and May 2018. The change in depression was defined as the difference between the respective Taiwanese Depression Questionnaire (TDQ) scores obtained at baseline and after PPI therapy. Multivariate linear regression models were used to estimate the factors associated with the change in depression. The results revealed statistically significant improvements in the TDQ score (mean score: baseline = 13.2, after PPI therapy = 10.9, p < 0.01, Cohen’s d = 0.30) during PPI therapy for GERD. Moreover, the MB was an independent variable associated with changes in the TDQ score [B = 3.31, 95% confidence interval (CI): (1.12, 5.51), p < 0.01] and the improvement in depression [odds ratio = 0.38, 95% CI: (0.17, 0.86), p = 0.02]. Our findings revealed that depressive symptoms improved slightly following PPI therapy. Moreover, MB was an unfavorable prognostic factor for the improvement in depression.


Author(s):  
Nishu Bhushan ◽  
Surinder Kumar ◽  
Dinesh Kumar ◽  
Reema Khajuria

Background: The incidence of obesity has increased to pandemic proportions over the last 20 years. Obesity is a chronic illness which is associated with metabolic disease, nutritional deficiency, musculoskeletal complications and carcinomas. The aim of the study was to evaluate and compare the maternal and perinatal outcome in patients with BMI 20-24.9 kg/m2 (normal), with BMI 25-29.9 kg/m2 (overweight) and with BMI >30 kg/m2 (obese).Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 300 singleton pregnant women with gestational age>37 weeks with cephalic presentation. The selected women were categorized into three groups of 100 each according to their BMI: Category I included normal women (BMI 20-24.9 kg/m2), Category II included overweight women (BMI 25-29.9 kg/m2) and Category III included obese women (BMI >30 kg/m2).Results: There was increased incidence of antepartum complications in obese women. The difference in the occurrence of pre-eclampsia among the three categories was statistically significant (p=0.001). Similarly, more obese women had eclampsia (5%) and gestational diabetes mellitus (6%) as compared to overweight and normal women and the difference was statistically significant in both these complications (p=0.02 for each). The risk of induction of labour was highest in obese women and so was the incidence of caesarean and instrumental deliveries and the difference was statistically significant. The difference in the onset of labour as well as mode of delivery among the three categories was statistically significant (p<0.05). In perinatal outcomes, the difference in mean birth weight of the babies among three categories was statistically significant (p<0.0001). The difference in incidence of low birth weight (<2.5 kg) as well as macrosomia (>4 kg) among babies of three BMI categories was statistically significant (p<0.05). The difference in the incidence of NICU admissions was statistically significant (p=0.02).Conclusions: Obesity is an independent risk factor for adverse pregnancy outcomes and hence preventable steps should be taken for reducing the maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annelore H van Dalen-Kok ◽  
Marjoleine J C Pieper ◽  
Margot W M de Waal ◽  
Jenny T van der Steen ◽  
Erik J A Scherder ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Understanding if and how pain influences activities of daily living (ADL) in dementia is essential to improving pain management and ADL functioning. This study examined the relationship between the course of pain and change in ADL functioning, both generally and regarding specific ADL functions. Methods Participants were Dutch nursing home residents (n = 229) with advanced dementia. ADL functioning was assessed with the Katz ADL scale, and pain with the Dutch version of the Pain Assessment Checklist for Seniors with Limited Ability to Communicate (PACSLAC-D). Changes of PACSLAC-D and Katz ADL scores were computed based on the difference in scores between baseline, 3-month and 6-month follow-up. Multivariate linear regression models were used to assess the relationships between change in pain score, change in total ADL score and specific ADL item scores during follow-up. Results At baseline, residents had a median ADL score of 18 (interquartile range 13–22, range 6–24) and 48% of the residents were in pain (PACSLAC-D ≥ 4). Residents with pain were more ADL dependent than residents without pain. A change in pain score within the first 3 months was a significant predictor for a decline in ADL functioning over the 6-month follow-up (B = 0.10, SE = 0.05, P = 0.045), and specifically, a decline on the items ‘transferring’ over the 6-month follow-up and ‘feeding’ during the first 3 months of follow-up. Conclusions Pain is associated with ADL functioning cross-sectionally, and a change in pain score predicts a decline in ADL functioning, independent of dementia severity. Awareness of (changes in) ADL activities is clearly important and might result in both improved recognition of pain and improved pain management.


2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (15) ◽  
pp. 2937-2947 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xin Yang ◽  
Shishi Liu ◽  
Yinuo Liu ◽  
Xifeng Ren ◽  
Hang Su

Abstract. The photochemical reflectance index (PRI) has emerged to be a pre-visual indicator of water stress. However, whether the varying shaded-leaf fractions, which may be caused by multiple view angles or the changing crop density in the field, affect the performance of PRI in detecting water stress of crops is still uncertain. This study evaluated the impact of the varying shaded-leaf fractions on estimating relative water content (RWC) across growth stages of winter wheat using seven formulations of PRI. Results demonstrated that for the control treatment the mean PRI of sunlit leaves was slightly higher than those of shaded leaves, but the difference between PRI of sunlit and shaded leaves increased as water resources became more limiting. Despite the difference between PRI of sunlit and shaded leaves, the significance of the linear relationship between RWC and most studied formulations of PRI did not show obvious variations with shadow fractions, except for the 100 % shaded-leaf condition. Among the studied formulations of PRI, PRI3 based on reflectance at 512 nm as the reference band provided the most accurate estimates of RWC with varying shaded-leaf fractions, except for the 100 % shaded-leaf condition. The slope and the intercept of linear regression models with PRI3 also showed minimized variations with shaded-leaf fractions. We then applied a uniform RWC prediction model to the data of varying shaded-leaf fractions and found that the accuracy of RWC predictions was not significantly affected in the mixture of sunlit and shaded leaves. However, RWC estimated with PRI of the 100 % shaded-leaf condition had the highest root mean square error (RMSE), implying that PRI of the pure shaded leaves may yield inaccurate estimates of plant water status.


2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 418-430
Author(s):  
Ján Dvorský ◽  
Aleksandr Ključnikov ◽  
Jiří Polách

The article aims to determine the difference in the perception of selected business risks and their impact on the future of business concerning the entrepreneur’s experience with business bankruptcy. The case study involved 73 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with experience of business bankruptcy and 381 SMEs without the experience of business bankruptcy from the Czech Republic (CR). Linear regression models were used to verify statistically significant causal relationships between selected indicators of the most significant business risks and respondents’ perceptions of the future of business. The results brought interesting findings. The attitudes of entrepreneurs show that personnel, market, and financial risk are among the three most significant business risks. Experience with business failure is not a significant factor in determining the impact of market indicators on the business’s perceived future. The adequacy of sales of services and products has the greatest impact. The experience of the bankruptcy of SMEs is important in financial risk attitudes. According to entrepreneurs who have no experience with bankruptcy, the perception of financial performance has the greatest direct impact on the future of business. Conversely, for entrepreneurs who have experienced bankruptcy, the ability to properly manage financial risk on the company’s future has the greatest direct impact.


Author(s):  
Aleksandr Tsereniuk ◽  
Irina Martyniuk ◽  
Aleksandr Akimov ◽  
Natalya Shkavro ◽  
Marek Babicz

The aim of the research was to study the effect of sow and boar age on average weight of newly born piglets, considering the season of the year and the age of the animals. The studies were conducted in the research farm of SE “Gontarivka”, Volchansky district, Kharkiv region. Natural breeding of sows is used for reproduction on the farm. The insemination of sows was carried out according to the scheme of studies. 35 head of sows and 4 boars of different ages and live weights were selected. Four groups of sows were formed. In order to study the impact of the season of the year on sow productivity, the first series of studies were conducted in the autumn, the second series - in the spring according to the same scheme. In different groups of animals, average weight of newly born piglets ranged from 1.10 to 1.21 kg. The average value of this indicator for all sows for both studied seasons was 1.16 kg. The magnitude (for all sows of the period) in winter farrowing was 1.74 % higher than the summer farrowing (for all sows of the period), although the difference between these groups was not probable. Between the sows of different ages, inseminated by boars of different ages, in winter, the higher values were given to young sows that were inseminated by young boars (p<0.01 compared to young sows that were inseminated by full-grown boars). Among the sows of different ages, inseminated by boars of different ages, in the summer, the highest values were middle-aged, which were inseminated by middle-aged boars (p<0.01 compared to young sows in winter, inseminated by full boars and p<0.05 compared to young sows in summer, which were inseminated by adult boars). During the summer period the middle-aged sows, which were inseminated by middle-aged boars, received maximum values of average weight of newly born piglets, which were higher than sows of other groups by 10.00-0.83 %. The most consolidated high-birth-weight rates were obtained in winter for young sows that were inseminated by adult boars. In the summer, the most consolidated were young sows inseminated by young boars.


2021 ◽  
pp. BJGP.2020.1030
Author(s):  
Thomas Round ◽  
Mark Ashworth ◽  
Veline L'Esperance ◽  
Henrik Møller

Background: There is substantial variation in use of urgent suspected cancer referral (two week wait/2WW) between practices. Aim: To examine change in use of 2WW referrals in England over ten years (2009/10 to 2018/19) and practice and population factors associated with cancer detection. Design and Setting: Retrospective cross-sectional study of English general practices and their 2WW referral and cancer waiting times (CWT) detection data (all cancers other than non melanoma skin cancers) 2009/10 to 2018/19. Methods: Descriptive statistics of changes over ten years in 2WW referral data. Yearly linear regression models to determine the association between cancer detection rates and quintiles of practice and population characteristics. Predicted cancer detection rates were calculated and the difference between lowest (Q1) to highest (Q5) quintiles. Results: Over the ten years studied there were 14.89m 2WW referrals (2.2m 2018/19), 2.68m new cancer diagnoses of which 1.26m were detected following 2WW. The detection rate increased from 41% to 52%. In 2018/19 an additional 66,172 cancers were detected via 2WW compared to 2009/10. Higher cancer detection via 2WW referrals was associated with larger practices and those with younger GPs. From 2016/17 onwards more deprived practice populations were associated with decreased cancer detection. Conclusions: From 2009/10 to 2018/19 2WW referrals increased on average by 10% year on year. Higher cancer detection was found in larger practices, with relatively younger GPs and more recently, less deprived populations. COVID-19 has led to significant impacts on 2WW referral activity and the impact on patient outcomes will need to be studied.


2016 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 195-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Lago-Peñas ◽  
María A. Fernández-Villarino ◽  
Iván González-García ◽  
Patricio Sánchez-Fernández ◽  
Jaime Sampaio

AbstractThe aim of the current study was (i) to identify how important was a good season start in relation to elite handball teams’ performance, and (ii) to examine if this impact was related to the clubs’ financial budget. The match performances and annual budgets of all teams were collected from the Spanish Professional Handball League during ten seasons. The dependent variable was the difference between the ranking of each team in accordance to the annual budget and the ranking of each team at the end of the season. A k-means cluster analysis classified the clubs according to their budget as High Range Budget Clubs (HRBC), Upper-Mid Range Budget Clubs (UMRBC), Lower-Mid Range Budget Clubs (LMRBC) and Low Range Budget Clubs (LRBC). Data were examined through linear regression models. Overall, the results suggested that the better the team performance at the beginning of the season, the better the ranking at the end of the season. Each position in the ranking above expected in accordance to the budget of the teams in Rounds 3, 4 or 5 improved by 0.47, 0.50 or 0.49, respectively, in the ranking at the end of the season (p<0.05). However, the impact of the effect depended on the clubs’ annual budget. For UMRBC, LMRBC and LRBC a good start to the season had a positive effect on the final outcome (p<0.05). Nevertheless, for HRBC, a good or a bad start of the season did not explain their final position. These variables can be used to develop accurate models to estimate final rankings. UMRBC, LMRBC and LRBC can benefit from fine-tuning preseason planning in order to accelerate the acquisition of optimal performances.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frédéric Dierick ◽  
Ekaterina Galtsova ◽  
Clara Lauer ◽  
Fabien Buisseret ◽  
Anne-France Bouché ◽  
...  

AbstractPurposeThis study evaluates the impact of a 3-week period of intensive pelvic floor muscles training (PFMT), with or without instrumentation, on clinical and static magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) changes ofpuborectalis(PR) andiliococcygeus(IL) muscles.Methods24 healthy young 5 women were enrolled in the study and 17 achieved the 9 sessions of 30 minutes training exercises and conducted all assessments. Participants were randomly assigned in two training groups: voluntary contractions combined with hypopressive exercises (HYPO) or biofeedback exercises combined with transvaginal electrical stimulations (ELEC). Clinical and T2-weighted MRI assessments io were realized before and after training.ResultsModified Oxford Grading System (MOGS) scores for left PR and perineal body significantly increased in the two groups (p=0.039,p=0.008), but MOGS score for right PR significantly increased only in HYPO (p=0.020). Muscle volumes of right and left IL significantly decreased (p=0.040,p=0.045) after training as well as signal i5 intensities of right and left PR (p=0.040,p=0.021) and thickness of right and left IL at mid-vagina location (p=0.012,p=0.011).ConclusionsA short period of intensive PFMT induces clinical and morphological changes in PFMs at rest suggesting a decrease in IL volume and adipose content of PR. Given the difference in cost and accessibility between HYPO and ELEC approaches, PFMT should be based primarily on non-instrumented exercises.


2019 ◽  
pp. 109-123
Author(s):  
I. E. Limonov ◽  
M. V. Nesena

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of public investment programs on the socio-economic development of territories. As a case, the federal target programs for the development of regions and investment programs of the financial development institution — Vnesheconombank, designed to solve the problems of regional development are considered. The impact of the public interventions were evaluated by the “difference in differences” method using Bayesian modeling. The results of the evaluation suggest the positive impact of federal target programs on the total factor productivity of regions and on innovation; and that regional investment programs of Vnesheconombank are improving the export activity. All of the investments considered are likely to have contributed to the reduction of unemployment, but their implementation has been accompanied by an increase in social inequality.


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