1,720,964 research outputs found
Correlations between pain in the back and neck/upper limb in the European Working Conditions Survey
No full textBackground: Recent research has suggested that wide international variation in the prevalence of disabling regional pain among working populations is driven largely by factors predisposing to musculoskeletal pain in general and not specific to individual anatomical sites. We sought to confirm this finding, using data from an independent source. Methods: Using data from the fifth (2010) and sixth (2015) European Working Conditions Surveys, we explored correlations between the one-year prevalence of pain in the back and neck/upper limb among people of working age across 33 European countries, and between changes in pain prevalence at the two anatomical sites from 2010 to 2015. Results: Each survey recruited ≥1000 participants per country, response rates ranging from 11 to 78%. In 2010, the estimated one-year population prevalence of back pain ranged from 23% in Ireland to 66% in Portugal, and that of pain in the neck/upper limb from 25% in Ireland to 69% in Finland, the prevalence of pain at the two anatomical sites being correlated across the 33 countries (r = 0.42). A similar pattern was apparent in 2015. For back pain, the percentage change in prevalence from 2010 to 2015 varied from - 41.4% (Hungary) to + 29.6% (Ireland), with a mean across countries of - 3.0%. For neck/upper limb pain, the variation was from - 41.0% (Hungary) to + 44.1% (Romania), with an average of - 0.1%. There was a strong correlation across countries in the change in pain prevalence at the two anatomical sites (r = 0.85). Conclusions: Our findings accord with the hypothesis that international variation in common pain complaints is importantly driven by factors that predispose to musculoskeletal pain in general
Application of epidemiological findings to individuals
No full textThree types of issues need to be considered in the application of epidemiology results to individuals. First, epidemiology results are subject to random error, and can be applied only to an ideal subject with average values of all variables under study, including potential confounders included in the regression models. Second, the observational nature of epidemiology makes it susceptible to systematic error, and any extrapolation to individuals would mirror the validity of the original results. Quantitative bias analysis has been proposed to assess the likelihood, direction and magnitude of bias, but this has not yet become part of the normal practice of epidemiology. Finally, external validity of the results (i.e., their application to individuals and populations other than those included in the underlying studies) needs to be addressed, including population-based factors, such as heterogeneity in exposure or disease circumstances, and individual-based factors, such as interaction of the risk factors of interest with other determinants of the disease. Similar considerations apply to the application of results of clinical trials to individual patients, although in these studies sources of systematic error are better controlled
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Interaction between occupational exposure to diesel exhaust and tobacco smoking in determining lung cancer risk: A meta-analysis
No full textBackground While an association between exposure to diesel exhaust (DE) and risk of lung cancer has been reported in several studies, its interaction with tobacco smoking in determining lung cancer risk is not well characterized. This study aims at performing a systematic review and meta-analysis of results of epidemiology studies on this. Methods Studies included in the systematic review were identified from PubMed, Scopus, and Embase, without limitation of year of publication or language. Two reviewers independently reviewed the studies and abstracted relevant data from selected studies, applied a customized quality assessment tool and calculated the relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the interaction between DE exposure and tobacco smoking on a multiplicative scale. Next, a random-effects meta-analysis of the interaction RR was conducted. Results Seven studies were included in the meta-analysis, of which two were cohort and five case-control studies. Results on the interaction were heterogeneous (I2=45.6%). The summary RR for interaction was 0.79 (95% CI, 0.42-1.46). There was no indication of publication bias. There was no increased risk of lung cancer among non-smoking workers exposed to DE. Conclusions This meta-analysis suggested a less-than-multiplicative effect between DE exposure and tobacco smoking in determining lung cancer risk, but the hypothesis of multiplicative interaction cannot be rejected. The small number of relevant studies and the high heterogeneity among them prevent from definite conclusions. European Journal of Cancer Prevention 31: 1-6 Copyright © 2020 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved
Multisite musculoskeletal pain in migrants from the Indian subcontinent to the UK: A cross-sectional survey
No full textBackground: Recent findings indicate that wide international variation in the prevalence of disabling regional musculoskeletal pain among working populations is driven by unidentified factors predisposing to pain at multiple anatomical sites. As a step towards identification of those factors, it would be helpful to know whether the prevalence of multisite pain changes when people migrate between countries with differing rates of symptoms; and if so, whether the change is apparent in first generation migrants, and by what age it becomes manifest. Methods: To address these questions, we analysed data from an earlier interview-based cross-sectional survey, which assessed the prevalence of musculoskeletal pain and risk factors in six groups of workers distinguished by the nature of their work (non-manual or manual) and their country of residence and ethnicity (UK white, UK of Indian subcontinental origin and Indian in India). Prevalence odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated by logistic regression. Results: Among 814 participants (response rate 95.4%), 20.6% reported pain at ≥3 anatomical sites. This outcome was much less frequent in Indian manual workers than among white non-manual workers in the UK (adjusted OR 0.06, 95%CI 0.01-0.36), while rates in Indian non-manual workers were intermediate (OR 0.29, 95%CI 0.12-0.72). However, within the UK, there were only small differences between white non-manual workers and the other occupational groups, including those of Indian sub-continental origin. This applied even when analysis was restricted to participants aged 17 to 34 years, and when second and later generation migrants were excluded. Conclusions: The observed differences in the prevalence of multisite pain seem too large to be explained by healthy worker selection or errors in recall, and there was no indication of bias from differences in understanding of the term, pain. Our findings suggest that whatever drives the higher prevalence of musculoskeletal pain in the UK than India is environmental rather than genetic, affects multiple anatomical sites, begins to act by fairly early in adult life, and has impact soon after people move from India to the UK
The role of seizures in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease.
No full textEpilepsy in Alzheimer Disease animal model and prevention of seizure by AED administration reduces cognitive deficits (compared to alzheimer animals with seizures untreated with AED
Systematic review and meta-analysis of recent high-quality studies on exposure to particulate matter and risk of lung cancer
No full textBackground: Several aspects of the association between exposure to air pollution and risk of lung cancer remain unclear. Objective: We aimed at performing a meta-analysis of high-quality cohort studies on exposure to particulate matter (PM) 10 and PM2.5 and risk of lung cancer. Methods: We identified cohort studies published since 2004, that reported risk estimates of lung cancer for exposure to PM2.5 and PM10 adjusted for tobacco smoking and socioeconomic status, and conducted a meta-analysis based on random-effects models, including stratification by outcome, sex, country, tobacco smoking, and age. Results: Results on PM2.5 exposure were available from 15 studies; the summary relative risk (RR) for an increase of 10 μg/m3 was 1.16 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.09, 1.23). The corresponding RR for PM10 exposure was 1.23 (95 CI 1.05, 1.40; seven studies). A higher risk was suggested in studies based on lung cancer mortality and in studies conducted in East Asia, while no difference was shown according to sex, smoking status or age. There was no suggestion of publication bias. Conclusions: Our meta-analysis supported the hypothesis of an association between exposure to PM2.5 or PM10 and risk of lung cancer, and provided evidence that the magnitude of the risk might be higher than previously estimated, and might be modified by outcome and geographic region
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
- …
