Early Dental Caries and Their Associated International Classifications of Disease Morbidity: A 16-Year Population Study

Objective: The study objective was to examine the relationship between dental caries diagnosed before the age of four and ICD diseases over a 16-year period. Methods: The sample of approximately 33,531 (48% female) individuals having a total of 2,864,790 physician diagnoses over 16 years comprised a the cohort two groups, one with (2.7% of the sample) and one without dental caries (dependent variable) that were under the age of four years in the first two years of the sample data. Categories of dental caries and associated gingivitis and periodontal disease were based on the International Classification of Disease (ICD Version 9) diagnostic codes 521-523. The sample was described. Odds ratios comparing those with and without dental caries and the main ICD classes were calculated. Additionally, the ratio of each ICD diagnosis frequency comparing the cohort groups were calculated and represented the diagnoses assigned over the first 15 physician visits. Results: Males had proportionally more dental caries diagnosed. Diagnoses were made predominantly by general practitioners. Within the dental caries cohort group, associated ICD diagnoses were over-represented in both odds ratios and within individual ICD diagnoses on the first diagnosis and over the first 15 diagnoses in time. Conclusion: Dental caries diagnosed in very young children before the age of four are associated with multi-morbidity over subsequent years. Sex differences and patterns of associated morbidity may contribute to a better understanding of early life vulnerability to dental caries and their sequelae.

Shoulder Function and Fatty Infiltration on MRI in Older Adults During Rehabilitation for Rotator Cuff Tear

Rotator cuff tear is highly prevalent in older adults, with supraspinatus tendon tear (STT) the most common. Shoulder rehabilitation is a major treatment strategy, but supraspinatus-muscle-fatty infiltration (FI) and shoulder function in older adults with rotator cuff tear primarily managed by physical therapy (PT) is inadequately documented. We tested the hypothesis that older adults receiving usual-care PT when stratified by supraspinatus tear-status differ in supraspinatus FI [by quantitative Dixon fat fraction (FF) and semi-quantitative Goutallier grade (GG) on MRI] and shoulder function [by the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons score (ASES-score)] over time. Longitudinal cohort study (pilot): adults 60-85 years, PT-cohort (n=15) and control-cohort (n=25). Participants completed both shoulder MRI and ASES survey at baseline and follow-up visits. Kruskal-Wallis test compared within cohort among 3 groups: no tear (no-STT), partial-thickness tear (pt-STT), full-thickness tear (ft-STT). Mann-Whitney U test compared equivalent groups between cohorts. Baseline PT-cohort groups differed for GG (p=0.033) [no tear, 0.50±0.50;pt-STT, 1.11±0.22;ft-STT, 1.50±0.50] without difference in age, BMI, comorbidity, or ASES-score. Baseline control-cohort groups differed for FF (p=0.034) [no-tear, 5.77%±1.16%;pt-STT, 7.14%±6.26%;ft-STT, 21.44%±10.44%], without difference in age, BMI, comorbidity, or ASES-score. Baseline no-tear groups for ASES-score (p=0.049) differed between cohorts: PT-cohort (58.87±8.21) versus control-cohort (83.98±21.89). Both cohorts showed no difference in Δ-FF or Δ-GG over time. PT-cohort groups differed for Δ-ASES-score over time (p=0.042)[no-tear, 16.65±4.69;pt-STT, -7.24±0.94;ft-STT, 4.48±3.45], but control-cohort groups did not (p>0.050). Our results suggest differences exist for supraspinatus FI and self-reported shoulder function among older adults receiving PT for rotator cuff tear when stratified by supraspinatus tear-status.

A randomized community trial to advance digital epidemiological and mHealth citizen scientist compliance: A smart platform study

Background This study aims to understand how participants’ compliance and response rates to both traditional validated surveys and ecological momentary assessments (EMAs) vary across 4 cohorts who participated in the same mHealth study and received the same surveys and EMAs on their smartphones, however with cohort-specific time-triggers that differed across the 4 cohorts. Methods As part of the Smart Platform, adult citizen scientists residing in Regina and Saskatoon, Canada, were randomly assigned to 4 cohorts in 2018. Citizen Scientists provided a complex series of subjective and objective data during 8 consecutive days using a custom-built smartphone application. All citizen scientists responded to both validated surveys and EMAs that captured physical activity. However, using Smart Platform, we varied the burden of responding to validated surveys and EMAs across cohorts by using different time-triggered push notifications. Participants in Cohort 1 (n = 10) received the full baseline 209-item validated survey on day 1 of the study; whereas participants in cohorts 2 (n = 26), 3 (n = 10), and 4 (n = 25) received the same survey in varied multiple sections over a period of 4 days. We used weighted One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) tests and weighted, linear regression models to assess for differences in compliance rate across the cohort groups controlling for age, gender, and household income. Results Compliance to EMAs that captured prospective physical activity varied across cohorts 1 to 4: 50.0% (95% Confidence Interval [C.I.] = 31.4, 68.6), 63.0% (95% C.I. = 50.7, 75.2), 37.5% (95% C.I. = 18.9, 56.1), and 61.2% (95% C.I. = 47.4, 75.0), respectively. The highest completion rate of physical activity validated surveys was observed in Cohort 4 (mean = 97.9%, 95% C.I. = 95.5, 100.0). This was also true after controlling for age, gender, and household income. The regression analyses showed that citizen scientists in Cohorts 2, 3, and 4 had significantly higher compliance with completing the physical activity validated surveys relative to citizen scientists in cohort group 1 who completed the full survey on the first day. Conclusions & significances The findings show that maximizing the compliance rates of research participants for digital epidemiological and mHealth studies requires a balance between rigour of data collection, minimization of survey burden, and adjustment of time- and user-triggered notifications based on citizen or patient input.

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.

Pneumococcal nasopharyngeal carriage in Indonesia infants and toddlers post-PCV13 vaccination in a 2+1 schedule: A prospective cohort study

Background The PCV13 immunization demonstration program began in October 2017 in Indonesia. The aim of this study is to assess the dynamic changes of pneumococcal serotype before and after PCV13 administration, with two primary and one booster doses. Methods The prospective cohort study was conducted as a follow up study measuring the impact of PCV13 demonstration program by the Indonesian Ministry of Health in Lombok Island, West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia, from March 2018 to June 2019. The subjects were two-month-old healthy infants who were brought to the primary care facility for routine vaccination and followed until 18 months of age. We use convenience sampling method. There were 115 infants in the control group and 118 infants in the vaccine group, and the PCV immunization was given on a 2+1 schedule. Nasopharyngeal (NP) swabs were collected four times during the vaccination periods by trained medical staff. Specimens were analyzed by culture methods to detect S. pneumonia colonization and multiplex polymerase chain reaction (mPCR) to determine serotype. The most frequently detected serotypes will be named as dominant serotypes. Descriptive analysis of demographic characteristics, the prevalence of overall and serotype colonization, and the distribution of serotypes were performed. The prevalence of both cohort groups were compared using chi-square test. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. Results Two hundred and thirty three infants age two months old were recruited, with 48.9% of the subjects were male and 51.1% of the subjects were female. Sociodemographic data in both cohort groups were relatively equal. Nasopharyngeal pneumococcal colonization before PCV13 administration occurred in 19.1% of the control and 22.9% of the vaccine group. The prevalence increased with increasing age in both groups. The prevalence of VT serotypes in control groups aged 2 months, 4 months, 12 months, and 18 months was 40.9%, 44.2%, 53.8%, and 54.3%, respectively, and in the vaccine group, 25.9%, 40.4%, 38.0%, and 22.6%, respectively. The most common VT serotypes in both groups were 6A/6B, 19F, 23F, and 14. The prevalence of VT serotypes decreased significantly compared to non-vaccine type serotypes after three doses of the PCV13 vaccine (p < 0.001). Another notable change was the decline in prevalence of serotype 6A/6B after PCV13 administration using the 2+1 schedule. Conclusions This study shows lower prevalence of VT and 6A/6B serotypes in the nasopharynx among children who were PCV13 vaccinated compared with those who were unvaccinated. The result from this study will be the beginning of future vaccine evaluation in larger population and longer period of study.

The Differences in Leadership Styles Among Generations

Studies show that there are differences among generations in terms of characteristics and work attitudes and values, and these differences in their work values and attitudes as well as their characteristics affect their leadership styles at the workplaces. However, little research has been produced from the perspective of leaders. This research's purpose of the project is to set forth whether the leaders in different generations are adapting different leadership styles according to the generations or not in order to be successful during their leadership. The study was conducted in automotive industry in Turkey. Two mixed focus group discussions were conducted with leaders representing each generational cohort groups. The study's results support that there are more differences than the similarities among the generations, which is in compliance with many studies conducted by the researchers. Also, the leaders tend to adapt different leadership styles according to the generations of their subordinates.

Promoting Social Learning in Higher Education

Successful completion of a doctoral degree often depends on the support a candidate receives from faculty and classmates. e-portfolios are an application of social learning pedagogy that promotes collaboration among peers while simultaneously archiving an individual's academic accomplishments. In this study, 10 cohort groups of Ph.D. students at a small liberal arts university were tasked with creating and sharing an e-portfolio throughout their doctoral program. The doctors invited all current and former Ph.D. students to participate in a survey about their e-portfolio experience: a potential sample of 140 participants. Thirty-seven current or former students completed the survey. Fifty-six percent of the responses indicated a positive reaction to the e-portfolio project. Specifically, respondents stated that the e-portfolio project promoted an increased sense of self-efficacy, encouraged relationship-building within cohort groups, and helped students to develop their research agendas.

Inter-cohort wealth development in Finland, 1987–2016

This article examines inter-cohort wealth development in Finland during the period 1987–2016. As previous research has stated that annual variation has increased over time, we aim toimprove previous research by focusing on gross, net, and financial wealth gaps betweencohorts. The opening of the Finnish financial markets and the introduction of new types ofinvestment instruments since the late 1980s created entirely new circumstances for businessand financial markets. We utilise the time series of the Official Statistics of Finland’s (OFS)Household Assets. We use the marginal effects method with a generalised linear model (GLM),and interaction terms. The results show that inter-cohort wealth inequality in gross- and netwealth has not increased over time, and all differences are attributed to within-year variations.As a new finding, financial wealth shows variations among three distinct investment groups,and higher investment interest can be associated with decreasing initial investment ages amongyounger cohorts. It seems that younger cohorts embraced new financial instruments much morein early age than did their older counterparts. Overall, the results show that financialderegulation considerably increased investment in financial assets among all cohort groups.

Connected Mental Health: Systematic Mapping Study

Background Although mental health issues constitute an increasing global burden affecting a large number of people, the mental health care industry is still facing several care delivery barriers such as stigma, education, and cost. Connected mental health (CMH), which refers to the use of information and communication technologies in mental health care, can assist in overcoming these barriers. Objective The aim of this systematic mapping study is to provide an overview and a structured understanding of CMH literature available in the Scopus database. Methods A total of 289 selected publications were analyzed based on 8 classification criteria: publication year, publication source, research type, contribution type, empirical type, mental health issues, targeted cohort groups, and countries where the empirically evaluated studies were conducted. Results The results showed that there was an increasing interest in CMH publications; journals were the main publication channels of the selected papers; exploratory research was the dominant research type; advantages and challenges of the use of technology for mental health care were the most investigated subjects; most of the selected studies had not been evaluated empirically; depression and anxiety were the most addressed mental disorders; young people were the most targeted cohort groups in the selected publications; and Australia, followed by the United States, was the country where most empirically evaluated studies were conducted. Conclusions CMH is a promising research field to present novel approaches to assist in the management, treatment, and diagnosis of mental health issues that can help overcome existing mental health care delivery barriers. Future research should be shifted toward providing evidence-based studies to examine the effectiveness of CMH solutions and identify related issues.

Connected Mental Health: Systematic Mapping Study (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Although mental health issues constitute an increasing global burden affecting a large number of people, the mental health care industry is still facing several care delivery barriers such as stigma, education, and cost. Connected mental health (CMH), which refers to the use of information and communication technologies in mental health care, can assist in overcoming these barriers. OBJECTIVE The aim of this systematic mapping study is to provide an overview and a structured understanding of CMH literature available in the Scopus database. METHODS A total of 289 selected publications were analyzed based on 8 classification criteria: publication year, publication source, research type, contribution type, empirical type, mental health issues, targeted cohort groups, and countries where the empirically evaluated studies were conducted. RESULTS The results showed that there was an increasing interest in CMH publications; journals were the main publication channels of the selected papers; exploratory research was the dominant research type; advantages and challenges of the use of technology for mental health care were the most investigated subjects; most of the selected studies had not been evaluated empirically; depression and anxiety were the most addressed mental disorders; young people were the most targeted cohort groups in the selected publications; and Australia, followed by the United States, was the country where most empirically evaluated studies were conducted. CONCLUSIONS CMH is a promising research field to present novel approaches to assist in the management, treatment, and diagnosis of mental health issues that can help overcome existing mental health care delivery barriers. Future research should be shifted toward providing evidence-based studies to examine the effectiveness of CMH solutions and identify related issues.