Worldwide distribution of the DCDC2 READ1 regulatory element and its relationship with phoneme variation across languages

DCDC2 is a gene strongly associated with components of the phonological processing system in animal models and in multiple independent studies of populations and languages. We propose that it may also influence population-level variation in language component usage. To test this hypothesis, we investigated the evolution and worldwide distribution of the READ1 regulatory element within DCDC2, and compared its distribution with variation in different language properties. The mutational history of READ1 was estimated by examining primate and archaic hominin sequences. This identified duplication and expansion events, which created a large number of polymorphic alleles based on internal repeat units (RU1 and RU2). Association of READ1 alleles was studied with respect to the numbers of consonants and vowels for languages in 43 human populations distributed across five continents. Using population-based approaches with multivariate ANCOVA and linear mixed effects analyses, we found that the RU1-1 allele group of READ1 is significantly associated with the number of consonants within languages independent of genetic relatedness, geographic proximity, and language family. We propose that allelic variation in READ1 helped create a subtle cognitive bias that was amplified by cultural transmission, and ultimately shaped consonant use by different populations over time.

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Antimicrobial resistance in human populations: challenges and opportunities

Global Health Epidemiology and Genomics ◽

10.1017/gheg.2017.4 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 2 ◽

Cited By ~ 30

Author(s):

S. Allcock ◽

E. H. Young ◽

M. Holmes ◽

D. Gurdasani ◽

G. Dougan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Antimicrobial Resistance ◽

Sustainable Use ◽

Population Level ◽

Population Based ◽

Human Populations ◽

Antimicrobial Use ◽

Global Public Health ◽

Burden Distribution ◽

Public Health Threat ◽

Challenges And Opportunities

AbstractAntimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global public health threat. Emergence of AMR occurs naturally, but can also be selected for by antimicrobial exposure in clinical and veterinary medicine. Despite growing worldwide attention to AMR, there are substantial limitations in our understanding of the burden, distribution and determinants of AMR at the population level. We highlight the importance of population-based approaches to assess the association between antimicrobial use and AMR in humans and animals. Such approaches are needed to improve our understanding of the development and spread of AMR in order to inform strategies for the prevention, detection and management of AMR, and to support the sustainable use of antimicrobials in healthcare.

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Transmission Biases in Linguistic Epidemiology

Journal of Language Contact ◽

10.1163/000000008792525273 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 299-310 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Nicholas Enfield

Keyword(s):

Cultural Transmission ◽

Language Contact ◽

Level Structure ◽

Population Level ◽

Population Based ◽

Social Processes ◽

Model Bias ◽

Structural Context ◽

Cultural Epidemiology ◽

Individual Cognition

AbstractThere is growing interest in approaching research on language contact and change through an epidemiological, population-based model which takes 'linguistic items' or equivalent as a key unit of analysis. This paper explores a number of elements of such a model, with particular attention to a set of biases which may act as conduits or filters for the transmission of linguistic items in populations. These include a number of such biases introduced in recent models of cultural transmission: a threshold bias, a sociometric bias, a model bias, a conformity bias, and a frequency bias. A further bias is of particular relevance to language, but is argued to be equally important for models of cultural transmission in general. This is a context bias, which takes into account the kind of structural context which a given item or variant presupposes for its function. The presence or absence of a relevant structural context will determine the likelihood that the item will be transmitted, and if so to what degree of faithfulness. These biases may help toward characterising an anatomy of cultural epidemiology which makes explicit the relation between individual cognition, social processes, and population-level structure.

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Studying Populations of Online Communities

The Oxford Handbook of Networked Communication ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190460518.013.8 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 173-193

Author(s):

Benjamin Mako Hill ◽

Aaron Shaw

Keyword(s):

Online Communities ◽

Information Diffusion ◽

Diffusion Processes ◽

Empirical Studies ◽

Population Level ◽

Study Groups ◽

Population Based ◽

Large Majority ◽

Community Processes ◽

Published Research

While the large majority of published research on online communities consists of analyses conducted entirely within individual communities, this chapter argues for a population-based approach, in which researchers study groups of similar communities. For example, although there have been thousands of papers published about Wikipedia, a population-based approach might compare all wikis on a particular topic. Using examples from published empirical studies, the chapter describes five key benefits of this approach. First, it argues that population-level research increases the generalizability of findings. Next, it describes four processes and dynamics that are only possible to study using populations: community-level variables, information diffusion processes across communities, ecological dynamics, and multilevel community processes. The chapter concludes with a discussion of a series of limitations and challenges.

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Prevalence and predictors of persistent HIV viremia and viral rebound following universal test and treat: a population-based study

The Journal of Infectious Diseases ◽

10.1093/infdis/jiab021 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

M Kate Grabowski ◽

Eshan U Patel ◽

Gertrude Nakigozi ◽

Victor Ssempijja ◽

Robert Ssekubugu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Population Level ◽

Population Based ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Hiv Positive ◽

Viral Rebound ◽

Hiv Viral Load ◽

Test And Treat ◽

Universal Test ◽

Persistent Viremia ◽

Universal Test And Treat

Abstract Background There are limited data on individual HIV viral load (VL) trajectories at the population-level following the introduction of universal test and treat (UTT) in sub-Saharan Africa. Methods HIV VLs were assessed among HIV-positive participants at three population-based surveys in four Ugandan fishing communities surveyed between November 2011 and August 2017. The unit of analysis was a visit-pair (two consecutive person-visits), which were categorized as exhibiting durable VL suppression, new/renewed suppression, viral rebound, or persistent viremia. Adjusted relative risks (adjRRs) and 95%CIs of persistent viremia were estimated using multivariate Poisson regression. Results There were 1,346 HIV-positive participants (n=1,883 visit-pairs). The population-level prevalence of durable VL suppression increased from 29.7% to 67.9% during UTT rollout, viral rebound declined from 4.4% to 2.7%, and persistent viremia declined from 20.7% to 13.3%. Younger age (15-29 vs. 40-49 years, adjRR=1.80 [95%CI=1.19-2.71]), male sex (adjRR=2.09 [95%CI=1.47-2.95]), never being married (vs. currently married; adjRR=1.88 [95%CI=1.34-2.62]), and recent migration to the community (vs. long-term resident; adjRR=1.91 [95%CI=1.34-2.73]) were factors associated with persistent viremia. Conclusions Despite increases in durable VL suppression during roll-out of UTT in hyperendemic communities, a substantial fraction of the population, whose risk profile tended to be younger, male, and mobile, remained persistently viremic.

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A population-based analysis in 375,233 cases of heart failure stages A, B and C. Real world epidemiology of prevalence and temporal trends in South-European populations

European Heart Journal ◽

10.1093/ehjci/ehaa946.0960 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 41 (Supplement_2) ◽

Author(s):

S Jimenez ◽

M Cainzos-Achirica ◽

D Monterde ◽

L Garcia-Eroles ◽

C Enjuanes ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Heart Failure ◽

Chronic Conditions ◽

Temporal Trends ◽

Population Level ◽

Population Based ◽

Relative Increase ◽

Funding Source ◽

Private Company ◽

Healthcare Database ◽

Evolutionary Changes

Abstract Background Prevalence of congestive heart failure (CHF) and predisposing conditions has described previously. Most of these studies evaluated centre-European or north-American populations. However, the prevalence and evolutionary changes of Heart Failure stages A, B and C has not been fully elucidated in Mediterranean cohorts. Purpose To estimate the prevalence of CHF (HF Stage C) and four additional key chronic cardiovascular, metabolic and renal conditions predisposing to the development of CHF (HF Stages A and B) at a population level in a south-European healthcare area. We analysed the evolutionary changes in the prevalence in these five conditions. Methods In a healthcare area of 1,3Millions inhabitants, we extracted health related information of all individuals ≥55 years old. We analysed data of 375,233 individuals included in the population-based healthcare database of a public Institute of Health between 2015 and 2017. The conditions of interest were CHF, chronic kidney disease (CKD), diabetes mellitus (DM), ischemic heart disease (IHD) and hypertension (HTN). Results The prevalence of chronic conditions was high, particularly of HTN (48.2–48.9%) and DM individuals (14.6–14.8%). The other conditions were less frequent, with prevalence around 2–4% for IHD, 5–9% for CKD and 2–4% for CHF (Table). However, the less frequent conditions had a striking upward trend with over 1,500 new prevalent cases per year between 2015 and 2017 for CHF (45% relative increase), more than 2,500 new prevalent cases for IHD (67% relative increase) and more than 4,000 new prevalent cases per year for CKD (44% relative increase). Conclusion In this south European cohort, there were a high prevalence of HTN and DM as risk factors and a significant trend of increasing prevalence in high cost chronic conditions such as CHF, IHD and CKD. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: Private company. Main funding source(s): The present study was funded by an unrestricted research grant from Vifor Pharma.

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Modeling Hearing Loss Progression and Asymmetry in the Older Old: A National Population-Based Survey

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igaa057.693 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 214-215

Author(s):

Rahul Sharma ◽

Anil Lalwani ◽

Justin Golub

Keyword(s):

Hearing Loss ◽

Pure Tone ◽

Population Level ◽

Population Based ◽

National Database ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Adult Lifespan ◽

Pure Tone Average ◽

Age Related ◽

Public Datasets

Abstract The progression and asymmetry of age-related hearing loss has not been well characterized in those 80 years of age and older because public datasets mask upper extremes of age to protect anonymity. We aimed to model the progression and asymmetry of hearing loss in the older old using a representative, national database. This was a cross-sectional, multicentered US epidemiologic analysis using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Study (NHANES) 2005-2006, 2009-2010, and 2011-2012 cycles. Subjects included non-institutionalized, civilian adults 80 years and older (n=621). Federal security clearance was granted to access publicly-restricted age data. Outcome measures included pure-tone average air conduction thresholds and the 4-frequency pure tone average (PTA). 621 subjects were 80 years old or older (mean=84.2 years, range=80-104 years), representing 10,600,197 Americans. Hearing loss exhibited constant acceleration across the adult lifespan at a rate of 0.0052 dB/year2 (95% CI = 0.0049, 0.0055). Compounded over a lifetime, the velocity of hearing loss would increase five-fold, from 0.2 dB loss/year at age 20 to 1 dB loss/year at age 100. This model predicted mean PTA within 2 dB of accuracy for most ages between 20 and 100 years. There was no change in the asymmetry of hearing loss with increasing age over 80 years (linear regression coefficient of asymmetry over age=0.07 (95% CI=-0.01, 0.24). In conclusion, hearing loss steadily and predictably accelerates across the adult lifespan to at least age 100, becoming near-universal. These population-level statistics will guide treatment and policy recommendations for hearing health in the older old.

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Retinopathy of Prematurity: A New Epidemic?

PEDIATRICS ◽

10.1542/peds.83.4.486 ◽

1989 ◽

Vol 83 (4) ◽

pp. 486-492

Author(s):

Donna L. Gibson ◽

Samuel B. Sheps ◽

Martin T. Schechter ◽

Sandra Wiggins ◽

Andrew Q. McCormick

Keyword(s):

British Columbia ◽

Birth Weight ◽

Retinopathy Of Prematurity ◽

Population Level ◽

Population Based ◽

Standardized Incidence Ratio ◽

Canadian Province ◽

Annual Population ◽

Diagnostic Changes ◽

Increases In Risk

This study provides the first empiric evidence for the existence of a new epidemic of retinopathy of prematurity-induced blindness. Data from a population-based register of handicapping conditions in the Canadian province of British Columbia, and a birth weight-specific census of live-born infants in British Columbia, were used to determine annual, population-level incidences of retinopathy of prematurity-induced blindness during 1952 to 1983. Changes in incidence since the end of the original epidemic (1954) were determined by subdividing the 29-year period (1955 to 1983) into two intervals (1955 to 1964 and 1965 to 1983). Standardized incidence ratio analyses revealed a marginally significant increase in the overall incidence of retinopathy of prematurity-induced blindness in the later as compared with the earlier period. Infants weighing 750 to 999 g at birth had a significantly increased standardized incidence ratio of 3.07 (95% confidence interval 1.26, 11.06). No increases in risk were observed in heavier or lighter weight infants. Because ascertainment and diagnostic changes do not explain the weight-specific increases in incidence, these results provide the first population-level evidence for a new epidemic.

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Physician-related predictors of referral for multidisciplinary paediatric obesity management: a population-based study

Family Practice ◽

10.1093/fampra/cmab019 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Nicole D Gehring ◽

Maryam Kebbe ◽

Sarah Rathwell ◽

Arnaldo Perez ◽

Chenhui Peng ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Management Strategies ◽

Family Physicians ◽

Population Level ◽

Population Based ◽

Overweight And Obesity ◽

Obesity Management ◽

Logistic Regression Models ◽

Physician Characteristics ◽

Paediatric Obesity ◽

Multivariable Regression

Abstract Background It is recommended that primary care-based physicians refer children with overweight and obesity to multidisciplinary paediatric obesity management, which can help to improve weight and health. Objective To determine predictors of referral to multidisciplinary paediatric obesity management. Methods This retrospective, population-level study included physicians who could refer 2–17 years old with a body mass index ≥85th percentile to one of three multidisciplinary paediatric obesity management clinics in Alberta, Canada. Physician demographic and procedural data were obtained from Practitioner Claims and Provider Registry maintained by Alberta Health from January 2014 to December 2017. Physician characteristics were compared based on whether they did or did not refer children for obesity management. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression models analysed associations between physician characteristics and referral making. Results Of the 3863 physicians (3468 family physicians, 395 paediatricians; 56% male; 49.3 ± 12.2 years old; 22.3 ± 12.6 years since graduation) practicing during the study period, 1358 (35.2%) referred at least one child for multidisciplinary paediatric obesity management. Multivariable regression revealed that female physicians (versus males) [odds ratio (OR): 1.68, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.46–1.93; P < 0.0001], paediatricians (versus family physicians) (OR: 4.89, 95% CI: 3.85–6.21; P < 0.0001) and urban-based physicians (versus non-urban-based physicians) (OR: 2.17, 95% CI: 1.79–2.65; P < 0.0001) were more likely to refer children for multidisciplinary paediatric obesity management. Conclusions Approximately one-third of family physicians and paediatricians referred children for multidisciplinary paediatric obesity management. Strategies are needed to improve referral practices for managing paediatric obesity, especially among male physicians, family physicians and non-urban-based physicians as they were less likely to refer children.

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Association of Conventional Cardiovascular Risk Factors with Carotid Atherosclerosis Prevalence in General Population

Rational Pharmacotherapy in Cardiology ◽

10.20996/1819-6446-2018-14-4-552-557 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 14 (4) ◽

pp. 552-557

Author(s):

V. S. Kaveshnikov ◽

V. N. Serebryakova ◽

I. A. Trubacheva ◽

S. A. Shalnova

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Regression Analysis ◽

Carotid Atherosclerosis ◽

Population Level ◽

Educational Status ◽

Population Based ◽

High Density Lipoproteins ◽

Ultrasound Screening ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Working Age

Material and methods. In the cross-sectional population-based study of general unorganized population of Tomsk aged 25-64 years ultrasound screening examination of the carotid arteries was done for detection of atherosclerotic plaques (plaque). As potential plaque determinants the following factors were studied: age, gender, smoking, low and high density lipoproteins (LDL-C and HDL-C), triglycerides, arterial hypertension, body mass index (BMI), low educational status (LES), high-sensitive C-reactive protein, glucose, diabetes mellitus, antihypertensive and hypolipidemic therapy. Study of relationships was carried out with logistic regression analysis. The error probability of less than 5% was considered statistically significant.Results. In the crude analysis most of the determinants under study showed statistically significant relationship with plaque presence. After adjustment for age and sex, LDL-C, smoking and LES were associated with CAS prevalence. In multivariable regression analysis 9 risk factors appeared to be independently associated with plaque presence, wherein age, male sex, LDL-C, BMI and HDL-C were the most significant. In the participants of 50 years and older the smoking effect was the next in significance after LDL-C.Conclusion. The results obtained focus attention on the comparative value of the major atherogenic risk factors and suggest that currently effective and timely control of LDL-C is of primary importance for prevention of carotid atherosclerosis in the general working-age population. As well the findings of the study evidence that at the population level smoking is still one of the leading atherogenic risk factors.

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Population-based virucidal phthalocyanine gargle/rinse protocol to reduce the risk of coronavirus disease-2019: a community trial

10.21203/rs.3.rs-1065834/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Verônica Caroline Brito Reia ◽

Roosevelt da Silva Bastos ◽

Fabiano Vieira Vilhena ◽

Heitor Marques Honório ◽

Lucas Marques da Costa Alves ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Relative Risk ◽

Disease Risk ◽

Phase 1 ◽

Population Level ◽

Population Based ◽

Phase 2 ◽

Control Community ◽

And Control ◽

Official Information ◽

Community Trial

Abstract Purpose: In this community trial, the objective was to evaluate the incidence of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) cases in two similar communities in three distinct phases: phase 1 (before the intervention), 2 (during the intervention), and 3 (after the intervention).Methods: The test community received the oral antiseptic intervention (experimental), while the control community did not. The official information agency provided the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases. Data were analyzed according to the three phases per epidemiological week (epi) using the R Core Team (2021) program. The relative risk and 95% confidence intervals between the cumulative incidence values of the test and control communities were calculated for each period. In the test community, a total of 995 residents, over 10 years of age, received two bottles containing 600 ml of mouthwash with antiviral phthalocyanine derivative (APD). The participants were asked to gargle/rinse with of 5 mL of the mouthwash with ADP 3 to 5 times a day, for 1 min, until the end of the bottles. Results: In phases 1 and 3, disease risk between the two communities did not differ significantly (p> 0.05), while in phase 2, disease risk was 54% lower in the test community than in the control community. Conclusion: The use of the APD mouthwash protocol seems to reduce the COVID-19 incidence at the population level, and further studies are needed to confirm its protective effect in different contexts.

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