Age Related Disparities in Colorectal Cancer Patients

Background: There is an evident change in the colorectal cancer demographic over the period. This change is more marked in the age distribution and location of the tumor. It has practical implications, in regards to develop cancer awareness programs and screening protocols. Keeping in view that Pakistan is one of the countries with a high number of the young population this study is carried out to make a comparative analysis of this trend in our population. Material and methods: Colorectal cancer patients presented in Sindh Institute of urology and transplantation from January 2011 till December 2020 was reviewed retrospectively. All patients were divided into two groups, Group A young age population and Group B old age population. Subgroup analysis of study period was performed to check the progressive change in the trend of stage and clinical characteristics of colorectal cancer patients. Data reviewed from the patient’s files and collected as per Proforma requirement. Result: Total of 612 patients with colorectal cancer presented between 2011 till 2020.Among these patients 243 (39.7%) presented between January 2011 till December 2015. Patients age 50 years and younger were 410 (66.8%). Results showed a statistically significant association between and patient’s age and location of tumor such that left-sided colonic cancer and rectal cancer were more common in the young population. Subgroup analysis according to the study period showed that there is a change in the trend of disease presentation. Right-sided colonic cancer presentation decreased in the younger population over the period while simultaneously left-sided colonic cancer and rectal cancer presentation increased. Conclusion: The incidence of left-sided colonic and rectal cancer has been increased in the younger population over the specified period while there was no association between right-sided colon cancer and age noticed.

Population subgroup differences in the use of a COVID-19 chatbot

COVID-19 chatbots are widely used to screen for symptoms and disseminate information about the virus, yet little is known about the population subgroups that interact with this technology and the specific features that are used. An analysis of 1,000,740 patients invited to use a COVID-19 chatbot, 69,451 (6.94%) of which agreed to participate, shows differences in chatbot feature use by gender, race, and age. These results can inform future public health COVID-19 symptom screening and information dissemination strategies.

Occupation- and age-associated risk of SARS-CoV-2 test positivity, the Netherlands, June to October 2020

High coronavirus incidence has prompted the Netherlands to implement a second lockdown. To elucidate the epidemic’s development preceding this second wave, we analysed weekly test positivity in public test locations by population subgroup between 1 June and 17 October 2020. Hospitality and public transport workers, driving instructors, hairdressers and aestheticians had higher test positivity compared with a reference group of individuals without a close-contact occupation. Workers in childcare, education and healthcare showed lower test positivity.

Internet connectivity among people experiencing poverty and deprivation

Access to the digital world can have a positive impact on people’s standard of living, life capabilities, sense of inclusion and wellbeing, and is fast becoming an ‘essential of life’ in developed countries. While the majority of Australians enjoy the benefits that access to the Internet can provide, millions are still missing out on important online services and opportunities. In-depth research is starting to uncover a range of factors that can influence digital inclusion among non-users of the Internet generally. Results from a 2013 Hardship Survey show the disparity in Internet connectivity between people experiencing poverty and deprivation and Australians generally. The paper presents detailed findings from the survey on Internet connectivity. It concludes with suggestions to enhance smartphone usage that might help bridge the ‘digital divide’ for this population subgroup.

Consumer Characteristics and Consumption Analytics of Frequently Consumed Food Categories in Mining Areas

The WHO/FAO have requested data on food consumption to better understand the increasing toxicological results of foodstuffs. The aim of this study was to determine the food consumption characteristics of the consumers living in small-scale mining areas. Commonly consumed food crops of each category: fruit, cereals, vegetables, legumes and root tubers were selected. In all, 308 consumers were sampled using a one-week dietary recall tool and a stratified sampling method of the consumers. The @Risk Microsoft add-in was used to analyze the data. The results show that the adolescents (10-17 years) consumed cowpea (233.90 g/day) and cassava (666.96g/day) at a relatively higher level compared to children (3-9 years) and adults (18-64 years). Likewise, adults consumed yam (136.65g/day), maize (1739.37g/day), rice (1272.40g/day), pineapple (184.97g/day) and watermelon (656.55g/day) at a relatively higher level compared to children and adolescents. On the contrary, whereas children generally consumed lower quantities of food, they presented higher exposure frequency to cowpea (364 days/year), root tubers (36-364 days/year) and grains (286-364 days/year) compared to adults and adolescents. Both adolescent and adult population subgroups presented higher exposure frequency to vegetables (364 days/year) relative to children (104-364 days/year). The findings further show that, in increasing order rice and maize are the most consumed crops. The adult population subgroup, in the study area may be vulnerable to contaminants in maize grains than other dishes categories due to the high mass consumed and high exposure duration. Children may be vulnerable to contaminants in maize grains because of the high exposure frequency.

Measuring the Magnitude of Health Inequality Between 2 Population Subgroup Proportions

In this paper, we evaluate 11 measures of inequality, d(p1, p2), between 2 proportions p1 and p2, some of which are new to the health disparities literature. These measures are selected because they are continuous, nonnegative, equal to 0 if and only if |p1 − p2| = 0, and maximal when |p1 − p2| = 1. They are also symmetrical [d(p1, p2) = d(p2, p1)] and complement-invariant [d(p1, p2) = d(1 − p2, 1 − p1)]. To study intermeasure agreement, 5 of the 11 measures, including the absolute difference, are retained, because they remain finite and are maximal if and only if |p1 − p2| = 1. Even when the 2 proportions are assumed to be drawn at random from a shared distribution—interpreted as the absence of an avoidable difference—the expected value of d(p1, p2) depends on the shape of the distribution (and the choice of d) and can be quite large. To allow for direct comparisons among measures, we propose a standard measurement unit akin to a z score. For skewed underlying beta distributions, 4 of the 5 retained measures, once standardized, offer more conservative assessments of the magnitude of inequality than the absolute difference. We conclude that, even for measures that share the highlighted mathematical properties, magnitude comparisons are most usefully assessed relative to an elicited or estimated underlying distribution for the 2 proportions.

Hypertension Awareness, Treatment, and Control in US Adults: Trends in the Hypertension Control Cascade by Population Subgroup (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1999–2016)

Examination of changes in hypertension awareness, treatment, and control (i.e., the hypertension control cascade) by population subgroup can inform targeted efforts to improve hypertension control and reduce disparities. We analyzed 1999–2016 data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and examined trends across 6-year periods in hypertension awareness, treatment, and control by age, sex, and race/ethnicity. We included 39,589 participants (16,141 with hypertension). Hypertension awareness, treatment, and control increased from 1999 to 2016 among all age groups. However, there were few changes after 2010. Across all time periods, awareness, treatment, and control were higher among younger women (ages 25–44 years) than among younger men, while control was higher among older men (ages ≥65 years) than among older women. Hypertension control was persistently lower for blacks than for whites of all ages, and awareness, treatment, and control were lower among younger Hispanics. There have been few changes in hypertension awareness, treatment, and control since 2010. Disparities in hypertension control by sex highlight the need for effective interventions among younger men and older women. Concerted efforts are also needed to reduce persistent racial/ethnic disparities, particularly to improve treatment control among blacks and to further address gaps at all stages among younger Hispanics.

Numerical investigation of the lower airway exposure to indoor particulate contaminants

Inhalation exposure to indoor particulate contaminants contributes as one of the leading threats to public health. Most existing airway morphometry models are either theoretical or semi-empirical; these are developed for predicting deposition fractions for an averaged general population subgroup. It is difficult to customize a fast and accurate prediction on individual basis. This study aims to analyse the regional particle deposition along an anatomically correct airway model, which is developed from a healthy volunteer’s computer tomography images. Computational fluid dynamics simulation results show that the majority of particles are deposited in the bronchi. Accumulation particles (0.1–2.0 μm) have the smallest deposition fraction in the lower airways. An increase in the aerodynamic diameter >2.0 μm of the particles elevated the deposition fraction. These findings inspire future investigations into control methods that minimize the negative health impact of indoor emissions.