Repeatability and Learning Effect in the 6MWT in Preoperative Cancer Patients Undergoing a Prehabilitation Program

Objective the main objective was to assess repeatability and learning effect of the six-minute walk test (6MWT) in a cohort of preoperative cancer patients referred to a prehabilitation program. As a secondary objective we aimed to identify determinants of improvement in the second test. Materials and Methods secondary analysis from a large prospective study on the implementation of a multimodal prehabilitation program in a real-life scenario. Eligible patients were assessed at baseline before starting the prehabilitation program. The 6MWT was conducted according to the American Thoracic Society (ATS)/ European Respiratory Society (ERS) guidelines with two tests being performed under identical conditions separated by 30 minutes. The distance covered (in meters) and the physiological responses (heart rate, oxygen saturation, fatigue and dyspnea) to each test were recorded and compared. Results 170 patients (60.9%) were analyzed. Repeatability of the distance covered with the 6MWT was excellent (ICC = 0.98; 95% CI: 0.92 – 0.99), but a mean increase of +19.5 meters (95% CI: 15.6 - 23.5m; p=<.001) in the second test was found, showing a learning effect with limits of agreement between -31.3 and 70.4m. Coefficient of variation was 4%. No clinical factor was found to be associated with an improvement in the second test. Conclusions the 6MWT showed excellent repeatability in preoperative cancer patients, but a significant learning effect is present. No associated factors with a clinically meaningful improvement in the second test were identified. In light of these findings, two attempts of the 6MWT should be encouraged in this population.

The risk of chronic kidney disease in relation to anthropometric measures of obesity: A Swedish cohort study

Background It has been shown that individuals with obesity have a higher risk for chronic kidney disease (CKD). However, it is unclear which measure of obesity is most useful for prediction of CKD in the general population. The aim of this large prospective study was to explore the association between several anthropometric measures of obesity, i. e., body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist circumference to height ratio (WHtR), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), percentage of body fat (BF%), weight, height and incidence of hospitalizations due to CKD, in a population-based cohort study. Methods The ‘Malmö Diet and Cancer Study (MDCS)’ cohort in Sweden was examined during 1991 to 1996. A total of 28,449 subjects underwent measurement of anthropometric measures and blood pressure and filled out a questionnaire. Incidence of in- and outpatient hospital visits for CKD was monitored from the baseline examination over a mean follow-up of 18 years. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to explore the association between anthropometric measures and incidence of CKD, with adjustments for risk factors. Results The final study population included 26,723 subjects, 45-73 years old at baseline. Higher values of BMI, WC, WHR, WHtR and weight were associated with an increased risk of developing CKD in both men and women. Only in women, higher values of BF% was associated with higher risk of CKD. Comparing the 4th vs 1st quartile of the obesity measure, the highest hazard ratio (HR) for CKD in men was observed for BMI, HR 1.51 (95% CI: 1.18-1.94) and weight (HR 1.52 (95% CI: 1.19-1.94). For women the highest HR for CKD was observed for BF%, HR 2.01 (95% CI: 1.45-2.78). Conclusions In this large prospective study, all anthropometric measures of obesity were associated with a substantially increased incidence of CKD, except for BF% in men. Some measures were slightly more predictive for the risk of CKD than others such as BMI and weight in men and BF% in women. In clinical daily practice use of all anthropometric measures of obesity might be equally useful to assess the risk of developing CKD. This study supports the strong evidence for an association between obesity and CKD.

Breast Implants in A Woman Associated With Low-Voltage Electrocardiogram (ECG)

Breast Implants (BIs) in women are associated with several Electrocardiogram (ECG) modifications. However, the association between BIs and low-voltage ECG has not been reported yet. A 44-year-old woman with a history of breast implant surgery visited our outpatient cardiology clinic complaining of atypical chest pain. A standard ECG showed low voltage in all precordial and most of the limb leads. Physical examination and echocardiography showed no pathology. Nothing other than BIs was found as a cause of low-voltage ECG in the woman. Breast implant-induced ECG modification can mislead clinicians resulting in diagnostic challenges and unnecessary tests. Low-voltage ECG is one of the modifications associated with BIs, which has not been reported before. A large prospective study is required to investigate the impacts of BIs on ECG thoroughly.

Depression, anxiety, psychotropic drugs, and acute myocardial infarction: large prospective study of United Kingdom women

Background Reported associations between depression and myocardial infarction in some studies might be explained by use of psychotropic drugs, residual confounding, and/or reverse causation (whereby heart disease precedes depression). We investigated these hypotheses in a large prospective study of UK women with no previous vascular disease. Methods At baseline in median year 2001 (IQR 2001–2003), Million Women Study participants reported whether or not they were currently being treated for depression or anxiety, their self-rated health, and medication use during the previous 4 weeks. Follow-up was through linkage to national hospital admission and mortality databases. Cox regression yielded adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the first myocardial infarction event in those reporting treatment for depression or anxiety (subdivided by whether or not the treatment was with psychotropic drugs) v. not, and stratified by self-reported health and length of follow-up. Results During mean follow-up of 13.9 years of 690 335 women (mean age 59.8 years) with no prior heart disease, stroke, transient ischaemic attack, or cancer, 12 819 had a first hospital admission or death from myocardial infarction. The aHRs for those reporting treatment for depression or anxiety with, and without, regular use of psychotropic drugs were 0.96 (95% CI 0.89–1.03) and 0.99 (0.89–1.11), respectively. No associations were found separately in women who reported being in good/excellent or poor/fair health or by length of follow-up. Conclusion The null findings in this large prospective study are consistent with depression not being an independent risk factor for myocardial infarction.

Lower response to BNT162b2 vaccine in patients with myelofibrosis compared to polycythemia vera and essential thrombocythemia

In a population of 42 Philadelphia negative myeloproliferative neoplasm patients, all on systemic active treatment, the likelihood of responding to anti-SARS-CoV-2 BNT162b2 vaccine at 2 weeks after the second dose was significantly lower in the ten patients with myelofibrosis compared to the 32 with essential thrombocythemia (n = 17) and polycythemia vera (n = 15) grouped together, both in terms of neutralizing anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG titers and seroprotection rates (32.47 AU/mL vs 217.97 AU/mL, p = 0.003 and 60% vs 93.8%, p = 0.021, respectively). Ruxolitinib, which was the ongoing treatment in five patients with myelofibrosis and three with polycythemia vera, may be implicated in reducing vaccine immunogenicity (p = 0.076), though large prospective study is needed to address this issue.

Progression of myopia in children and teenagers: a nationwide longitudinal study

BackgroundData on myopia prevalence and progression in European children are sparse. The aim of this work was to evaluate the progression of myopia in children and teenagers in a large prospective study.MethodsA prospective study involving a nationwide cohort. Myopia was defined as a spherical equivalent (SE) of ≤ –0.50 diopters (D). Data on refractive error, gender and age were collected in 696 optical centres in France between 2013 and 2019, including 136 333 children (4–17 years old) in the analysis.Progression of myopia was assessed between the first visit and the last visit over up to 6.5 years.ResultsMean age was 11.3±3.8 years (55.0% of female). The proportion of children progressing more than –0.50 D per year was higher in age groups 7–9 years and 10–12 years and in children with SE ≤ –4.00 D at first visit, representing 33.1%, 29.4% and 30.0% of these groups, respectively. In multivariate analysis, progression during the first 11–24 months was higher in the 7–9 and 10–12 age groups (–0.43 D and –0.42 D, respectively), for higher SE at baseline (at least –0.33 D for SE ≤ –1 D) and for girls (–0.35 D).ConclusionThis is the first French epidemiological study to investigate myopia progression in a large-scale cohort of children. Sex, age groups and myopia severity are associated with differing rates of progression.