scholarly journals 103 Periodontal Health and Sarcopenia: Cross-Sectional Evidence From A Cohort of 2040 Twin Volunteers

2021 ◽  
Vol 50 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. i12-i42
Author(s):  
M B Zazzara ◽  
P M Wells ◽  
R C E Bowyer ◽  
M N Lochlainn ◽  
E J Thompson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Model ◽  
Linear Mixed Model ◽  
Frailty Index ◽  
Muscle Quality ◽  
Low Grade ◽  
Periodontal Health ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Age Related ◽  
European Working ◽  
Generalised Linear Mixed Model

Abstract Introduction Periodontitis is a chronic inflammatory disease affecting the periodontium, ultimately leading to looseness and/or loss of teeth. Sarcopenia refers to age-related reduction in muscle mass and strength. Similar to periodontitis, chronic low-grade inflammation is thought to play a key role in its development. In addition, both increase in prevalence with advancing age. Despite known associations with other diseases involving a dysregulated inflammatory response, for example rheumatoid arthritis,, the relationship between periodontitis and sarcopenia, and whether they could be driven by similar processes, remains uncertain. The aim of this study was to explore the association between periodontitis and sarcopenia. Methods Observational study of 2040 adult volunteers [age 67.18 (12.17)] enrolled in the TwinsUK cohort study. Presence of tooth mobility and number of teeth lost were used to assess periodontal health. A binary variable was created to define periodontitis. Measurements of muscle strength, muscle quality/quantity and physical performance were used to assess sarcopenia. A categorical variable was created according to the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP2) consensus, to define sarcopenia (1: probable; 2: positive; 3: severe). Generalised linear mixed model analysis used on complete cases and age-matched (n = 1,288) samples to ascertain associations between periodontitis and sarcopenia. Results No significant association was found between periodontitis and sarcopenia in both the complete cases analysis and age-matched analysis. Results were consistent when analysis was adjusted for potential confounders including body mass index, frailty index, Mini Mental State Examination smoking, nutritional status and educational level. Conclusions This study found no significant association between periodontitis and sarcopenia in a cohort of 2040 adults. Although both periodontitis and sarcopenia have been linked to a dysregulated immune response and demonstrate an increase in prevalence with increasing age, our work is inconclusive due to the plethora of possible aetiopathogenetic pathways.

scholarly journals Alcohol and drug use as factors for high-school learners’ absenteeism in the Western Cape

2021 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Godswill N. Osuafor
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Alcohol Consumption ◽  
Drug Use ◽  
Mixed Model ◽  
Linear Mixed Model ◽  
School Absenteeism ◽  
Western Cape ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Alcohol And Drug Use ◽  
Generalised Linear Mixed Model

Background: School absenteeism has been studied in detail in relation to health risk behaviours using cross sectional studies.Aim: The aim of this longitudinal study was to examine the association amongst alcohol, drug use and high-school learners’ absenteeism.Setting: This study was set in the Western Cape.Methods: Data were collected at three separate time points from 2950, 2675 and 2230 grade 8 learners aged 13–18 years old on school absenteeism, alcohol and drug use and sociodemographic characteristics. Associations between school absenteeism, alcohol and cannabis and sociodemographic factors use were examined using descriptive and chi-square analyses. Binary logistic regression was performed using generalised linear mixed model analyses.Results: Results revealed that 9.3% of the learners were absent for 2 weeks in the 15 weeks of the school year. Alcohol consumption (X2 = 34.1, p 0.001; odds ratio [OR]: 1.64 (1.38–1.94), p 0.001) and smoking cannabis (X2 = 49.9, p 0.001; OR: 2.01 (1.65–2.45), p 0.001) were associated with school absenteeism at bivariate and multivariate analyses. Furthermore, alcohol (OR: 1.42 (1.06–1.89), p 0.05) and cannabis (OR: 1.57 (1.11–2.22), p 0.05) use remained robust in predicting learners school absenteeism after adjusting for age, sex and socioeconomic status.Conclusion: These findings suggest that alcohol consumption and smoking cannabis are contemporary factors associated with school absenteeism. Therefore, interventions to ensure learners’ consistent attendance to school should integrate prevention of alcohol and cannabis use.

scholarly journals Australian Health Professionals’ Attitudes toward Voluntary Assisted Dying: A Cross-Sectional Survey

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 429
Author(s):  
Moira O’Connor ◽  
Charlene Martin ◽  
Lindy Wilmott ◽  
Darren Haywood ◽  
Blake J. Lawrence ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Professionals ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Mixed Model ◽  
Linear Mixed Model ◽  
Survey Design ◽  
Assisted Dying ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Australian Health ◽  
Generalised Linear Mixed Model

Voluntary assisted dying (VAD) is when a terminally ill person with decision-making capacity consensually ends their life with assistance from an authorised professional. Many countries have legalised VAD, and health professionals’ roles within VAD frameworks are varied. Health professionals must be well informed of their legal obligations to ensure they practice within the legal boundaries, and those professionals with objections toward VAD should ensure that their eligible patients have equitable access. Given the current landscape of VAD, it is important to understand different health professionals’ attitudes toward VAD and what may underpin these attitudes. We explored (a) Australian health professionals’ attitudes toward VAD; (b) the psychological components that underpin those attitudes; (c) health professionals’ level of knowledge about VAD; (d) health professionals’ most common beliefs, emotions, and experiences related to VAD. A cross-sectional correlational survey design was used. A total of 182 Australian health professionals participated in the online survey based on a tripartite model of attitudes. We conducted a binomial logistic regression through a Generalised Linear Mixed Model and found polarised attitudes toward VAD between health professionals. Attitudes were accounted for by beliefs, emotions, education, and strength of religious beliefs. Knowledge of VAD was low, but not associated with overall attitude in our model. We highlight the importance of reflexive practice to help health professionals identify their values and feelings related to VAD, and to understand how these may affect their clinical practice. Low knowledge of VAD suggests that legislative and procedural training should be mandatory.

scholarly journals Changes in the intracranial volume from early adulthood to the sixth decade of life: A longitudinal study

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaron Caspi ◽  
Rachel M. Brouwer ◽  
Hugo G. Schnack ◽  
Marieke E. van de Nieuwenhuijzen ◽  
Wiepke Cahn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Model ◽  
Linear Mixed Model ◽  
Brain Aging ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Direct Calculation ◽  
Normal Brain ◽  
Intracranial Volume ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Fourth Decade

AbstractNormal brain-aging occurs at all structural levels. Excessive pathophysiological changes in the brain, beyond the normal one, are implicated in the etiology of brain disorders such as severe forms of the schizophrenia spectrum and dementia. To account for brain-aging in health and disease, it is critical to study the age-dependent trajectories of brain biomarkers at various levels and among different age groups.The intracranial volume (ICV) is a key biological marker, and changes in the ICV during the lifespan can teach us about the biology of development, aging, and gene X environment interactions. However, whether ICV changes with age in adulthood is not resolved.Applying a semi-automatic in-house-built algorithm for ICV extraction on T1w MR brain scans in the Dutch longitudinal cohort (GROUP), we measured ICV changes. Individuals between the ages of 16 and 55 years were scanned up to three consecutive times with 3.32±0.32 years between consecutive scans (N=482, 359, 302). Using the extracted ICVs, we calculated ICV longitudinal aging-trajectories based on three analysis methods; direct calculation of ICV differences between the first and the last scan, fitting all ICV measurements of individuals to a straight line and applying a global linear mixed model fitting. We report statistically significant increases in the ICV in adulthood until the fourth decade of life (average change +0.03%/y, or about 0.5 ml/y, at age 20), and decreases in the ICV afterward (−0.09%/y, or about −1.2 ml/y, at age 55). To account for previous cross-sectional reports of ICV changes, we analyzed the same data using a cross-sectional approach. Our cross-sectional analysis detected ICV changes consistent with the previously reported cross-sectional effect. However, the reported amount of cross-sectional changes within this age range was significantly larger than the longitudinal changes. We attribute the cross-sectional results to a generational effect.In conclusion, the human intracranial volume does not stay constant during adulthood but instead shows a small increase during young adulthood and a decrease thereafter from the fourth decade of life. The age-related changes in the longitudinal setup are smaller than those reported using cross-sectional approaches and unlikely to affect structural brain imaging studies correcting for intracranial volume considerably. As to the possible mechanisms involved, this awaits further study, although thickening of the meninges and skull bones have been proposed, as well as a smaller amount of brain fluids addition above the overall loss of brain tissue.

Factors influencing the occurrence of high ultimate pH in three muscles of lamb carcasses in Australia

2014 ◽  
Vol 54 (10) ◽  
pp. 1853 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. G. McPhail ◽  
J. L. Stark ◽  
A. J. Ball ◽  
R. D. Warner
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Model ◽  
Linear Mixed Model ◽  
Rectus Femoris ◽  
Carcass Weight ◽  
Mixed Model Analysis ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Generalised Linear Mixed Model ◽  
Processing Plants ◽  
Few Data

Chilled lamb meat exported from Australia has, on occasions, been rejected by importing countries due to greening, after only 6 weeks of storage time. Greening is known to be more prevalent in high ultimate pH (pHu) beef meat (>5.9). There are few data available for lamb carcasses in Australia on the occurrence of high pHu meat, which may have an impact on the understanding and control of quality and greening during storage. The aim of this project was to determine the prevalence of, and influencing factors for, high pHu meat in a range of muscle types in lamb carcasses in Australia. Muscle pHu data were collected from a total of 1614 carcasses from 78 lots at four lamb processing plants in Victoria and New South Wales in autumn and spring of 2013. The pHu of the knuckle (rectus femoris), rack (longissimus) and blade (infraspinatus) was measured and data on carcass and lot characteristics were recorded. Data were subjected to restricted maximum likelihood and generalised linear mixed model analysis. The mean pHu of the knuckle, rack and shoulder were 6.06, 5.79 and 6.12 respectively, and the main factors influencing muscle pHu and occurrence of dark-cutting were breed, season, electrical stimulation and carcass weight. Merino lambs had a higher pHu in the blade and knuckle than did other breeds (P < 0.05, P < 0.01 respectively). Lambs processed in autumn had a higher predicted pHu in the blade and knuckle and a higher percentage dark-cutting (DC; pHu >6.0) for those muscles, than did those processed in spring (P < 0.05). Carcasses that had been electrically stimulated had a higher %DC and a higher pHu in all three muscles (P < 0.05). Carcass weight had a significant effect on the pHu of all three muscles (P < 0.001), with heavier carcasses having a lower pHu and lower %DC. The pHu of the rack was not a reliable predictor for the pHu in other muscles of the lamb carcass. In conclusion, the high occurrence of DC in the muscles, particularly the blade and knuckle, suggests that these muscles may be at risk for producing greening in the vacuum bag during storage.

Early life factors as predictors of age-associated deficit accumulation across 17 years from midlife into old age

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Markus J Haapanen ◽  
Juulia Jylhävä ◽  
Lauri Kortelainen ◽  
Tuija M Mikkola ◽  
Minna Salonen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Old Age ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Mixed Model ◽  
Linear Mixed Model ◽  
Frailty Index ◽  
Rate Of Change ◽  
Birth Cohort Study ◽  
Maternal Body Mass Index ◽  
Early Life Factors ◽  
Early Life Exposures

Abstract Background Early life exposures have been associated with the risk of frailty in old age. We investigated whether early life exposures predict the level and rate of change in a frailty index (FI) from midlife into old age. Methods A linear mixed model analysis was performed using data from three measurement occasions over 17 years in participants from the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study (n=2000) aged 57-84 years. A 41-item FI was calculated on each occasion. Information on birth size, maternal body mass index (BMI), growth in infancy and childhood, childhood socioeconomic status (SES), and early life stress (wartime separation from both parents), was obtained from registers and healthcare records. Results At age 57 years the mean FI level was 0.186 and the FI levels increased by 0.34 percent/year from midlife into old age. Larger body size at birth associated with a slower increase in FI levels from midlife into old age. Per 1kg greater birth weight the increase in FI levels per year was -0.087 percentage points slower (95% CI=-0.163, -0.011; p=0.026). Higher maternal BMI was associated with a higher offspring FI level in midlife and a slower increase in FI levels into old age. Larger size, faster growth from infancy to childhood, and low SES in childhood were all associated with a lower FI level in midlife but not with its rate of change. Conclusions Early life factors seem to contribute to disparities in frailty from midlife into old age. Early life factors may identify groups that could benefit from frailty prevention, optimally initiated early in life.

scholarly journals Bayesian spatial and spatio-temporal approaches to modelling dengue fever: a systematic review

2018 ◽  
Vol 147 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Aswi ◽  
S. M. Cramb ◽  
P. Moraga ◽  
K. Mengersen
Keyword(s):  
Dengue Fever ◽  
Random Effects ◽  
Mixed Model ◽  
Linear Mixed Model ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
Random Effect ◽  
Temperature And Precipitation ◽  
Generalised Linear Mixed Model ◽  
Spatio Temporal

AbstractDengue fever (DF) is one of the world's most disabling mosquito-borne diseases, with a variety of approaches available to model its spatial and temporal dynamics. This paper aims to identify and compare the different spatial and spatio-temporal Bayesian modelling methods that have been applied to DF and examine influential covariates that have been reportedly associated with the risk of DF. A systematic search was performed in December 2017, using Web of Science, Scopus, ScienceDirect, PubMed, ProQuest and Medline (via Ebscohost) electronic databases. The search was restricted to refereed journal articles published in English from January 2000 to November 2017. Thirty-one articles met the inclusion criteria. Using a modified quality assessment tool, the median quality score across studies was 14/16. The most popular Bayesian statistical approach to dengue modelling was a generalised linear mixed model with spatial random effects described by a conditional autoregressive prior. A limited number of studies included spatio-temporal random effects. Temperature and precipitation were shown to often influence the risk of dengue. Developing spatio-temporal random-effect models, considering other priors, using a dataset that covers an extended time period, and investigating other covariates would help to better understand and control DF transmission.

scholarly journals Exome-wide association studies in general and long-lived populations identify genetic variants related to human age

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Sin-Chan ◽  
Nehal Gosalia ◽  
Chuan Gao ◽  
Cristopher V. Van Hout ◽  
Bin Ye ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Exome Sequencing ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Mixed Model ◽  
Linear Mixed Model ◽  
Association Studies ◽  
Model Systems ◽  
P Value ◽  
Ashkenazi Jews ◽  
Association Analyses ◽  
Age Related

SUMMARYAging is characterized by degeneration in cellular and organismal functions leading to increased disease susceptibility and death. Although our understanding of aging biology in model systems has increased dramatically, large-scale sequencing studies to understand human aging are now just beginning. We applied exome sequencing and association analyses (ExWAS) to identify age-related variants on 58,470 participants of the DiscovEHR cohort. Linear Mixed Model regression analyses of age at last encounter revealed variants in genes known to be linked with clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential, which are associated with myelodysplastic syndromes, as top signals in our analysis, suggestive of age-related somatic mutation accumulation in hematopoietic cells despite patients lacking clinical diagnoses. In addition to APOE, we identified rare DISP2 rs183775254 (p = 7.40×10−10) and ZYG11A rs74227999 (p = 2.50×10−08) variants that were negatively associated with age in either both sexes combined and females, respectively, which were replicated with directional consistency in two independent cohorts. Epigenetic mapping showed these variants are located within cell-type-specific enhancers, suggestive of important transcriptional regulatory functions. To discover variants associated with extreme age, we performed exome-sequencing on persons of Ashkenazi Jewish descent ascertained for extensive lifespans. Case-Control analyses in 525 Ashkenazi Jews cases (Males ≥ 92 years, Females ≥ 95years) were compared to 482 controls. Our results showed variants in APOE (rs429358, rs6857), and TMTC2 (rs7976168) passed Bonferroni-adjusted p-value, as well as several nominally-associated population-specific variants. Collectively, our Age-ExWAS, the largest performed to date, confirmed and identified previously unreported candidate variants associated with human age.

scholarly journals Thalamic white matter macrostructure and subnuclei volumes in Parkinson’s disease depression

2022 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Bhome ◽  
A. Zarkali ◽  
G. E. C. Thomas ◽  
J. E. Iglesias ◽  
J. H. Cole ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
White Matter ◽  
Mixed Model ◽  
Linear Mixed Model ◽  
Neural Structure ◽  
Generalised Linear Mixed Model ◽  
Antidepressant Use ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractDepression is a common non-motor feature of Parkinson’s disease (PD) which confers significant morbidity and is challenging to treat. The thalamus is a key component in the basal ganglia-thalamocortical network critical to the pathogenesis of PD and depression but the precise thalamic subnuclei involved in PD depression have not been identified. We performed structural and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) on 76 participants with PD to evaluate the relationship between PD depression and grey and white matter thalamic subnuclear changes. We used a thalamic segmentation method to divide the thalamus into its 50 constituent subnuclei (25 each hemisphere). Fixel-based analysis was used to calculate mean fibre cross-section (FC) for white matter tracts connected to each subnucleus. We assessed volume and FC at baseline and 14–20 months follow-up. A generalised linear mixed model was used to evaluate the relationship between depression, subnuclei volume and mean FC for each thalamic subnucleus. We found that depression scores in PD were associated with lower right pulvinar anterior (PuA) subnucleus volume. Antidepressant use was associated with higher right PuA volume suggesting a possible protective effect of treatment. After follow-up, depression scores were associated with reduced white matter tract macrostructure across almost all tracts connected to thalamic subnuclei. In conclusion, our work implicates the right PuA as a relevant neural structure in PD depression and future work should evaluate its potential as a therapeutic target for PD depression.

scholarly journals The SARS-CoV-2 Alpha variant is associated with increased clinical severity of disease

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J Pascall ◽  
Guy Mollett ◽  
Rachel Blacow ◽  
Naomi Bulteel ◽  
Robyn Campbell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Cohort Study ◽  
Mixed Model ◽  
Linear Mixed Model ◽  
Transmission Rate ◽  
Severe Disease ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Clinical Severity ◽  
Generalised Linear Mixed Model ◽  
The Impact

Background The Alpha (B.1.1.7) SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern has been associated with increased transmission and increased 28-day mortality. We aimed to investigate the impact of infection on clinical severity of illness, including the need for oxygen or ventilation in a national cohort study. Methods In this prospective clinical cohort study, 1475 SARS-CoV-2 sequences were obtained from patients infected in Scotland, UK between the 1st November 2020 and 30th January 2021 and matched to clinical outcomes as the lineage became dominant in Scotland. We modelled the association between B.1.1.7 infection and severe disease using a cumulative generalised linear mixed model employing a 4-point scale of maximum severity based on requirement of respiratory support at 28 days. We also estimated the growth rate of B.1.1.7-associated infections as it emerged in Scotland using a phylogenetic exponential growth rate population model. Results The B.1.1.7 lineage was responsible for a third wave of SARS-CoV-2 infection in Scotland in association with a transmission rate 5-fold higher than the preceding second wave B.1.177 lineage. Of 1475 patients, 364 were infected with B.1.1.7, 1030 with B.1.177 and 81 with other lineages. Our analysis found a positive association between increased clinical severity and lineage (B.1.1.7 versus non-B.1.1.7; cumulative odds ratio: 1.40, 95% CI: 1.02, 1.93). Viral load was higher in B.1.1.7 samples than in non-B.1.1.7 samples, as measured by cycle threshold (Ct) value (mean Ct change: -2.46, 95% CI: -4.22, -0.70). Conclusions The B.1.1.7 lineage was associated with more severe clinical disease in Scottish patients than co-circulating lineages.

scholarly journals The association of socio-demographic and environmental factors on childhood diarrhea in Cambodia

F1000Research ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 303
Author(s):  
Vong Pisey ◽  
Pannee Banchonhattakit
Keyword(s):  
Maternal Age ◽  
Mixed Model ◽  
Linear Mixed Model ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Childhood Diarrhea ◽  
Public Health Concern ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
One Year

Background: Diarrhea is still the leading cause of childhood death worldwide, as well as a major cause for concern in developing countries. This study was conducted to investigate the factors related to childhood diarrhea in Cambodia. Methods: A cross-sectional study of the secondary data from the Cambodia Demographic and Health Survey 2014 was conducted using the combination of household data and children’s data. A generalized linear mixed model was used to analyze the determinant factors of childhood diarrhea. Results: The surveys included 2,828 children, aged 12 to 35 months. The prevalence of diarrhea in the last 2 weeks was 16.44% (95% CI: 14.72%-18.31%). Factors with statistically significant associations with childhood diarrhea in Cambodia were: maternal  unemployment, compared with being in employment (AOR = 1.43; 95% CI: 1.14-1.78); the child being male (AOR = 1.25; 95%CI: 1.02-1.53); the presence of unimproved toilet facilities (AOR = 1.17; 95%CI: 1.05-1.31) compared with improved toilet facilities; and unhygienic disposal of children’s stools (AOR = 1.32; 95%CI: 1.06-1.64) compared with hygienic disposal of children’s stools when controlling for other covariates. Both maternal age (one year older; AOR = 0.85; 95%CI: 0.78– 0.93) and child age (one month older; AOR = 0.86; 95%CI: 0.78-0.94) had significant negative associations with the occurrence of childhood diarrhea. Conclusion: Childhood diarrhea remains a public health concern in Cambodia. The probability of diarrhea occurring is shown to be increased by maternal unemployment, the sex of the child being male, lack of provision of improved toilet facilities, and the unhygienic disposal of children’s stools; whereas increasing maternal age and child’s age were associated with a reduced chance of diarrhea occurring. On the basis of these results, we recommend provision of programs focusing on reducing diarrhea through the construction of improved toilet facilities and the promotion of behavior to improve hygiene, specifically targeting younger mothers.

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