The Association of Coal-Fired Power Plants and the Mortality of COVID-19

With the outbreak and spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (COVID-19), the world was ushered into a global pandemic. One of the most alarming aspects of the disease is the high mortality rate. Previous research has shown that long term exposure to air pollution has been correlated with the mortality rate of respiratory diseases. The focus of this study was to determine if there was any association between the mortality of COVID-19 and one of the primary producers of air pollution, coal-fired power plants. Using data from the US Energy Information Administration, John Hopkins University, and census department, a chi-square test and a poisson regression analysis were conducted to determine if living in proximity to coal-fired power plants had any effects on the mortality of COVID-19. The chi-square test results showed that there was no statistical significance as the variables showed independence. These results illustrate that there is no association between coal-fired power plants and the mortality rate of COVID-19. To expand on the results of the chi-square test, a poisson regression analysis was performed to account for the presence of confounding variables. This analysis showed similar results to the chi-square test, but due to issues with outliers in the data causing overdispersion, the model was unable to be accurately conducted, making all results inconclusive. With the inconclusive results of the poisson regression analysis, the conclusions drawn from the chi-square test were not able to be generalized as they were not verified in the presence of confounding variables.

Mortality by opioid poisoning in children and teenagers and opioid prescriptions

Background No comparisons between mortality from opioids in children and teenagers and opioid prescription patterns have been made in England. Aim To investigate if an association exists between mortality rates from opioid poisoning in persons aged 19 years old and under and community opioid prescription in England. Methods A retrospective analysis was undertaken for 2016 to 2019, comparing community opioid prescriptions and mortality rates from opioid poisoning. Results The number of opioid prescriptions decreased over the study period (− 2.4%, p < 0.001). Most deaths due to opioid poisoning in children and teenagers were seen in those under one year old and those aged between 15 and 19 years old (Kruskal-Wallis: p = 0.12; Dunn’s test: p = 0.01). Deaths in all age ranges did not change significantly (Poisson Regression Analysis: p > 0.05). Conclusion Despite the reduction in community opioid prescriptions, there was no decrease in the number of deaths in children and teenagers due to opioid poisoning.

Tuberculosis trend among native and foreign-born people over a 17 year period (2004–2020) in a large province in Northern Italy

Tuberculosis (TB) incidence should decline by 20% in the Europe in 2015–2020, in line with End-TB milestones. We retrospectively evaluated TB notifications in the province of Brescia from 2004 to 2020. Cases were classified per patient origin and entitlement to Health Assistance for foreign born people: Italians (ITA), Foreigners permanently entitled (PEF) or Temporarily Entitled (TEF) to Health Regional Assistance. Poisson regression analysis was performed to assess associations between incidence and age, sex, continent of origin and year of notification. Overall 2279 TB cases were notified: 1290 (56.6%) in PEF, 700 (30.7%) in ITA and 289 (12.7%) in TEF. Notifications declined from 15.2/100,000 in 2004 to 6.9/100,000 in 2020 (54.6% reduction, temporary increase in 2013–2018 for TEF). Age (Incidence Risk Ratio, IRR, 1.02, 1.019–1.024 95%CI), sex (IRR 1.22, 1.12–1.34 95%CI), and continent of origin were positively associated with notifications (IRR 34.8, 30.8–39.2 95%CI for Asiatic, and IRR 20.6, 18.1–23.4 95%CI for African origin), p < 0.001. Notification decline was sharper in 2020, especially among TEF. End-TB milestone for 2020 was reached, but foreigners continue to represent a high risk group for the disease. Discontinuation of services due to the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with a sharp decrease in TB notification in 2020.

Low Level of Perfectionism as a Possible Risk Factor for Suicide in Adolescents With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Introduction: Suicide is one of the leading causes of death among adolescents. Although it is known that both perfectionism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (‘ADHD’) are important risk factors for suicide, there are no studies that have investigated the relationship between suicidal behavior and perfectionism among people with ADHD.Aim: The current study investigates the association between perfectionism and suicide in adolescents with ADHD.Method: Subjects included 88 adolescents with ADHD and 96 non-clinical control adolescents. We used the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale to evaluate perfectionism as well as its separate traits, and the Mini International Neuropsychologic Interview Kid to evaluate psychiatric disorders and suicidal behavior. Differences between the groups were statistically evaluated using t-tests, a Poisson regression analysis with suicide as a discrete variable, and a logistic regression analysis with suicide as a binary variable.Results: Compared to the control group, the ADHD group showed a significantly lower level on the adaptive ‘Organization’ trait of perfectionism, but not on any other trait, and a significantly higher level of suicidal behavior.Logistic regression results indicated a significant association for perfectionism in general (OR = 0.93, p = 0.003), and for the ‘Personal Standards’ trait (OR: 0.82, p = 0.039).Poisson regression analysis also showed a significant association with perfectionism in general (IRR = 0.90; p &lt; 0.001) and with the ‘Personal standards’ trait model (IRR = 0.81, p = 0.019).Discussion: Our results indicate that a low level of perfectionism, in particular ‘Personal standards’, may be a risk factor for suicidal behavior in adolescents with ADHD. We recommend that psychoeducation and therapy of adolescents with ADHD should consider focusing on adaptive perfection as a possible risk factor for suicide as well.

Fertility Behavior of Turkish Migrant Men in Europe Compared to Stayers at Origin

This paper addresses the fertility behavior of Turkish men in Europe from a context of origin perspective. Men of the first and subsequent migrant generations are compared with “stayers” from the same regions of origin in Turkey. We pay special attention to the men’s reasons for migration by distinguishing between work and nonwork motivations for migration. We use data from the 2000 Families Study, which was conducted in 2010 and 2011 in Turkey and in western European countries; the sample consists of about 3,500 men. We analyze the transitions to fatherhood as well as to second and third births using event-history analyses; and we investigate the cumulated number of children using Poisson regression analysis. As the men were aged 18–92 at the data collection, we carry out separate models for birth cohort groups. Our findings provide support for the hypothesis of the interrelatedness of events. First-generation migrant men show elevated first birth transitions, which are closely linked to marriage and migration. However, in contrast to the pattern that is often found for women, this effect is observed for labor as well as for nonwork migrants. The rates of transition to a second and a third birth differ less from those of stayers. Analyses of cumulated fertility at age 41 or older further suggest that the migrants’ overall numbers of children are smaller than those of the stayers in Turkey. Thus, our findings indicate that there are dissimilation processes and crossover trends among emigrant men characterized by higher rates of transition to family formation linked to migration but lower overall fertility.

Changes in tobacco depictions after implementation of tobacco-free film and TV rules in Bollywood films in India: a trend analysis

BackgroundIndia’s tobacco-free film and TV rules were implemented from 2012. To assess the effect of the rules, we studied tobacco depictions in top-grossing Bollywood films released between 2006 and 2017 and rule compliance after 2012.MethodsTobacco incidents and brand appearances were coded in 240 top-grossing Bollywood films (2006–2017) using the Breathe California method. Trends in number of tobacco incidents per film per year were studied before and after implementation of the rules using Poisson regression analysis. Compliance with rules over the years was studied using Pearson product-moment correlations.ResultsForty-five films were U-rated (all ages), 162 were UA-rated (below age 12 years must be adult-accompanied), and 33 were A-rated (age 18+ years only). Before implementation of the rules, the number of tobacco incidents per film was increasing by a factor of 1.1/year (95% CI 1.0 to 1.2, p=0.002). However, beginning year 2013, the number of incidents per film started falling significantly by a factor of 0.7/year (95% CI 0.6 to 0.9; p=0.012) compared with the previous increasing trend. The percentage of youth-rated (U and UA) films with any tobacco incidents also declined from a peak of 76% in 2012 to 35% in 2017. The percentage of films complying with the rules (audio-visual disclaimers, health spots, static warnings) did not change significantly from 2012 to 2017.ConclusionIndia’s 2012 rules were followed by a reduction in tobacco depictions in Bollywood films. Enhanced monitoring of compliance is needed to ensure the continued effectiveness of the rules.

Community-Level Participation in Volunteer Groups and Individual Depressive Symptoms in Japanese Older People: A Three-Year Longitudinal Multilevel Analysis Using JAGES Data

Background: The current study aimed to investigate the contextual effect of volunteer group participation on subsequent depressive symptoms in older people. Methods: We analyzed the longitudinal data of 37,552 people aged 65 years and older in 24 municipalities surveyed in the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study. Volunteer group participation of older people was assessed in 2013 by one question and depressive symptoms were assessed by the Geriatric Depression Scale 15 in 2016. To investigate a contextual effect, we aggregated individual-level volunteer group participation by each residence area as a community-level independent variable. We conducted a two-level multilevel Poisson regression analysis using the Random Intercepts and Fixed Slopes Model. Results: The average proportion of community-level volunteer group participation was 10.6%. The results of the Poisson regression analysis showed that community-level volunteer group participation reduced the risk for the onset of depressive symptoms by 13% with a 10 percentage point increase in participation, after adjusting for sex, age, population density, total annual sunshine hours and annual rainfall (incident rate ratio, 0.87; 95% confidence interval, 0.78–0.98). Conclusions: Older people living in areas with higher volunteer group participation had a lower risk of developing depressive symptoms regardless of whether or not they participated in a volunteer group.

CHRONIC NEUROLOGICAL DISEASE AS AN INDEPENDENT RISK FACTOR FOR DEATH IN SEVERE COVID-19 CASES

COVID-19 is a multisystemic disease with a wild severity range, being some chronic diseases risk factors for unfavorable evolution. It has been suggested are chronic neurological diseases are associated to higher mortality in COVID-19 patients; such association however, has not been described enough. In this context, this study seeks to evaluate whether the presence of previous chronic neurological disease is a factor associated with higher mortality in hospitalized severe cases of COVID-19. For this, the association between those variables was investigated in 87,871 patients through univariate (risk ratio and χ2 test) and multivariate (Poisson regression) analysis. It was found that the mortality rate for patients presenting chronic neurological disease was 23% higher (),this being an independent and statistically significant association (RR = 1.23, 95% CI = 1.2-1.3; p-value < 0.001). Therefore, more studies are needed to better characterize this association.

Relative age effect? No “flipping” way! Apparatus dependent inverse relative age effects in elite, women’s artistic gymnastics

In contrast to research on team-sports, delayed maturation has been observed in higher-skilled gymnasts, leading to atypical distributions of the relative age effect. Recent studies have reported intra-sport differences in the relative age effect and given the task demands across gymnastics apparatus, we expected to find evidence for the influence of apparatus specialism. We examined the presence of a relative age effects within a sample of elite, international, women’s artistic gymnasts (N = 806, Ncountries = 87), and further sampled our data from vault, bars, beam, and floor major competition finalists. Poisson regression analysis indicated no relative age effect in the full sample (p = .55; R2 adj. = .01) but an effect that manifested when analysing apparatus independently. The Index of Discrimination (ID) analysis provided evidence of an inverse relative age effect identified for beam (p = .01; ID = 1.27; R2 adj. = .12), a finding that was corroborated by a marginal effect in our vault finalists (p = .08; ID = 1.21; R2 adj. = .06). These novel findings can be attributed to the integrated influence of self-fulfilling prophecy upon coach and gymnast expectations, as well as the technical mechanisms underpinning skill development involved in the underdog hypothesis.