Observations on the effects of different chemotherapy strategies on the transmission of Schistosoma mansoni in Machakos District, Kenya, measured by long-term snail sampling and cercariometry

SUMMARYTransmission of Schistosoma mansoni was monitored by routine snail sampling for Biomphalaria pfeifferi and by supplementary cercariometric measurements in 4 neighbouring study areas in Machakos District, Kenya. After 1 year, extensive, population-based chemotherapy with a single dose of praziquantel was given in 3 areas, but only minimal treatment in the fourth. In the year preceding treatment, seasonal transmission of S. mansoni and other non-human trematodes occurred in all 4 areas, despite some ecological differences and the effects of earlier treatment campaigns in 1 of the study areas. After treatment of all infected subjects in one area in which there had been earlier chemotherapy campaigns, S. mansoni transmission remained very low. It was reduced for at least 2 years after chemotherapy targeted at either all heavily infected subjects or all infected school children, but it was unaffected in an area where treatment was restricted to those few very heavily infected cases at risk of developing, disease. Nowhere was transmission entirely eliminated by chemotherapy and that of non-human trematodes continued unabated. The snail data correspond well with the human, parasitological data. Targeting school children was as effective as more extensive campaigns, but chemotherapy alone never stopped S. mansoni transmission: reinfection was inevitable, at rates determined by ecological factors affecting snail populations.

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Factors affecting long-term mortality rate after diagnosis of syringomyelia in disabled spinal cord injury patients: a population-based study

Spinal Cord ◽

10.1038/s41393-019-0363-4 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 58 (4) ◽

pp. 402-410

Author(s):

Chien-Min Chen ◽

Wei-Chao Huang ◽

Yao-Hsu Yang ◽

Shih-Shin Huang ◽

Kuan-Yu Lu

Keyword(s):

Spinal Cord ◽

Spinal Cord Injury ◽

Mortality Rate ◽

Population Based ◽

Population Based Study ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

Cord Injury ◽

Long Term Mortality

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Long-term dynamics of natural populations of Schistosoma mansoni among Rattus rattus in patchy environment

Parasitology ◽

10.1017/s0031182000061734 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 104 (2) ◽

pp. 291-298 ◽

Cited By ~ 40

Author(s):

A. Théron ◽

J. P. Pointier ◽

S. Morand ◽

D. Imbert-Establet ◽

G. Borel

Keyword(s):

Schistosoma Mansoni ◽

Rattus Rattus ◽

Natural Populations ◽

Ecological Factors ◽

Temporal Variations ◽

Distribution Analysis ◽

Patchy Environment ◽

Human Parasite ◽

Spatio Temporal

SUMMARYDynamics of natural populations of Schistosoma mansoni were studied during 8 consecutive years among Rattus rattus populations from 8 transmission sites of the marshy forest focus of Guadeloupe (French West Indies). The schistosome population is over-dispersed (k = 0·119) within the murine hosts and ecological factors linked to the patchy environment may be responsible for such aggregated distribution. Analysis of the spatio-temporal variations in prevalences, intensities and abundances showed limited variations of the infection during the 8 years at the level of the whole parasite population but great spatial heterogeneity at the level of local schistosome populations. Inter-populational genetic variability linked to the degree of adaptation of this human parasite to the murine host may explain differences in transmission dynamics between the local populations of S. mansoni.

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Short- and long-term outcomes of infective endocarditis admission in adults: A population-based registry study in Finland

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0254553 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (7) ◽

pp. e0254553

Author(s):

Elina Ahtela ◽

Jarmo Oksi ◽

Tero Vahlberg ◽

Jussi Sipilä ◽

Päivi Rautava ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Infective Endocarditis ◽

Large Population ◽

Temporal Trends ◽

Population Based ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

Comorbidity Burden ◽

Hospital Stays ◽

Population Based Registry ◽

Long Term Mortality

Infective endocarditis (IE) is associated with high mortality. However, data on factors associated with length of stay (LOS) in hospital due to IE are scarce. In addition, long-term mortality of more than 1 year is inadequately known. In this large population-based study we investigated age and sex differences, temporal trends, and factors affecting the LOS in patients with IE and in-hospital, 1-year, 5-year and 10-year mortality of IE. Data on patients (≥18 years of age) admitted to hospital due to IE in Finland during 2005–2014 were collected retrospectively from nationwide obligatory registries. We included 2166 patients in our study. Of the patients 67.8% were men. Women were older than men (mean age 63.3 vs. 59.5, p<0.001). The median LOS was 20.0 days in men and 18.0 in women, p = 0.015. In the youngest patients (18–39 years) the median LOS was significantly longer than in the oldest patients (≥80 years) (24.0 vs. 16.0 days, p = 0.014). In-hospital mortality was 10% with no difference between men and women. Mortality was 22.7% at 1 year whereas 5- and 10-year mortality was 37.5% and 48.5%, respectively. The 5-year and 10-year mortality was higher in women (HR 1.18, p = 0.034; HR 1.18, p = 0.021). Both in-hospital and long-term mortality increased significantly with aging and comorbidity burden. Both mortality and LOS remained stable over the study period. In conclusion, men had longer hospital stays due to IE compared to women. The 5- and 10-year mortality was higher in women. The mortality of IE or LOS did not change over time.

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Extraintestinal Manifestations of Celiac Disease: Early Detection for Better Long-Term Outcomes

Nutrients ◽

10.3390/nu10081015 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 10 (8) ◽

pp. 1015 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Pilvi Laurikka ◽

Samuli Nurminen ◽

Laura Kivelä ◽

Kalle Kurppa

Keyword(s):

Celiac Disease ◽

Gastrointestinal Symptoms ◽

Great Majority ◽

Gastrointestinal Diseases ◽

Population Based ◽

Extraintestinal Manifestations ◽

Term Outcome ◽

Long Term Outcome ◽

Factors Affecting

Population-based screening studies have shown celiac disease to be one of the most common chronic gastrointestinal diseases. Nevertheless, because of the diverse clinical presentation, the great majority of patients remain unrecognized. Particularly difficult to identify are the multifaceted extraintestinal symptoms that may appear at variable ages. Although the pathogenesis and long-term outcome of these manifestations are still poorly established, there is some evidence that unrecognized celiac disease predisposes to severe complications if not diagnosed and prevented with an early-initiated gluten-free diet. Therefore, it is of utmost importance that physicians of different disciplines learn to recognize celiac disease in individuals with non-gastrointestinal symptoms. In the future, more studies are needed to clarify the factors affecting development and prognosis of the extraintestinal manifestations.

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Concurrent comorbidities substantially alter long-term health behaviours and outcomes of headache patients

10.1101/2020.10.16.20213819 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Anthony Nash ◽

Sarah Goodday ◽

Qiang Liu ◽

Alice Fuller ◽

Clare Bankhead ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Prediction Models ◽

Social Deprivation ◽

Health Behaviours ◽

Population Based ◽

Practice Research ◽

Clinical Practice Research Datalink ◽

Recurrent Headache ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

Headache Patients

AbstractObjectivesTo investigate factors affecting the long-term health behaviours and outcomes of headache patients and to design a risk-stratification tool.MethodsA population based observational-longitudinal cohort study using primary care electronic healthcare records from the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink. 550,103 participants with a headache or migraine diagnosis of which 170,336 patients were identified as having recurrent headache-related events. Univariate and multivariable survival analysis was performed to determine factors influencing remission and a neural network classifier was developed.ResultsThere were almost twice as many female patients (352,330) as males (197,802). The median age at which a patient first saw their GP in males was 38 years, and in females was 37 years. Whilst age, gender and social deprivation significantly influenced the likelihood of seeing a GP, these factors had little effect on likelihood of remission from a period of recurrent headache-related events. In contrast, a comorbidity during the recurrent headache period reduced the risk of remission and increased median survival time from approximately 400-days up 1600. Increasing numbers of comorbidities progressively reduced the hazard risks for remission. The prediction models on remission within two and five years, demonstrated high precision and recall, with an F1 score of 0.795 and 0.887, respectively.InterpretationHeadache patients who suffer comorbidities have a substantively reduced likelihood of remission, highlighting an opportunity to considerably improve health outcomes in recurrent headache patients through addressing multi-morbidity more effectively. The prediction model could be used to help stratify patients most at risk of poor long-term outcomes.

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Long-term symptoms after SARS-CoV-2 infection in school children: population-based cohort with 6-months follow-up. Short Report

10.1101/2021.05.16.21257255 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Thomas Radtke ◽

Agne Ulyte ◽

Milo Alan Puhan ◽

Susi Kriemler

Keyword(s):

School Children ◽

Venous Blood ◽

Population Based ◽

Short Report ◽

Serological Testing ◽

Serological Analysis ◽

History Of ◽

Low Prevalence

Although nobody doubts the existence of long COVID in children, it is still unclear to what extent children are affected. The Ciao Corona study is a longitudinal cohort investigating SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence and clustering of cases among around 2500 children from 55 randomly selected primary and secondary schools in the canton of Zurich in Switzerland. Between June 2020 and April 2021, we completed three testing phases where we collected venous blood for serological analysis (ABCORA 2.0 test) and asked about symptoms with online questionnaires. We compared children who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in October/November 2020 with those who tested negative. Children who were seronegative in October/November 2020 and seroconverted or were not retested by March/April 2021 were excluded from the analysis (n=256). In March-May 2021 we assessed the presence of symptoms occurring since October 2020, lasting for at least 4 weeks, and persisting for either >4 weeks or >12 weeks. Overall, 1355 of 2503 children with a serology result in October/November 2020 and follow up questionnaire in March/April 2021 were included. Among seropositive and seronegative 6- to 16-year-old children and adolescents, 9% versus 10% reported at least one symptom beyond 4 weeks, and 4% versus 2% at least one symptom beyond 12 weeks. None of the seropositive children reported hospitalization after October 2020. This study suggests a very low prevalence of long COVID in a randomly selected population-based cohort of children followed over 6 months after serological testing. Importantly, seropositive children, all with a history of pauci-symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection, did not report long COVID more frequently than seronegative children.

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No relation between biomarkers at age 47–49 and aortic diameter after 14–19 years of follow-up – a population-based study

VASA ◽

10.1024/0301-1526/a000632 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 46 (4) ◽

pp. 291-295 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Soumia Taimour ◽

Moncef Zarrouk ◽

Jan Holst ◽

Olle Melander ◽

Gunar Engström ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Population Based ◽

Aortic Diameter ◽

Aortic Dilatation ◽

Population Based Study ◽

Reactive Protein ◽

Abdominal Aortic ◽

Long Term Follow Up ◽

Old Men

Abstract. Background: Biomarkers reflecting diverse pathophysiological pathways may play an important role in the pathogenesis of abdominal aortic aneurysm (aortic diameter ≥30 mm, AAA), levels of many biomarkers are elevated and correlated to aortic diameter among 65-year-old men undergoing ultrasound (US) screening for AAA. Probands and methods: To evaluate potential relationships between biomarkers and aortic dilatation after long-term follow-up, levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), proneurotensin (PNT), copeptin (CPT), lipoprotein-associated phospholipase 2 (Lp-PLA2), cystatin C (Cyst C), midregional proatrial natriuretic peptide (MR-proANP), and midregional proadrenomedullin (MR-proADM) were measured in 117 subjects (114 [97 %] men) aged 47–49 in a prospective population-based cohort study, and related to aortic diameter at US examination of the aorta after 14–19 years of follow-up. Results: Biomarker levels at baseline did not correlate with aortic diameter after 14–19 years of follow up (CRP [r = 0.153], PNT [r = 0.070], CPT [r = –.156], Lp-PLA2 [r = .024], Cyst C [r = –.015], MR-proANP [r = 0.014], MR-proADM [r = –.117]). Adjusting for age and smoking at baseline in a linear regression model did not reveal any significant correlations. Conclusions: Tested biomarker levels at age 47–49 were not associated with aortic diameter at ultrasound examination after 14–19 years of follow-up. If there are relationships between these biomarkers and aortic dilatation, they are not relevant until closer to AAA diagnosis.

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