Sex difference and intra-operative tidal volume: Insights from the LAS VEGAS study

BACKGROUND: One key element of lung-protective ventilation is the use of a low tidal volume (VT). A sex difference in use of low tidal volume ventilation (LTVV) has been described in critically ill ICU patients.OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to determine whether a sex difference in use of LTVV also exists in operating room patients, and if present what factors drive this difference.DESIGN, PATIENTS AND SETTING: This is a posthoc analysis of LAS VEGAS, a 1-week worldwide observational study in adults requiring intra-operative ventilation during general anaesthesia for surgery in 146 hospitals in 29 countries.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Women and men were compared with respect to use of LTVV, defined as VT of 8 ml kg-1 or less predicted bodyweight (PBW). A VT was deemed 'default' if the set VT was a round number. A mediation analysis assessed which factors may explain the sex difference in use of LTVV during intra-operative ventilation.RESULTS: This analysis includes 9864 patients, of whom 5425 (55%) were women. A default VT was often set, both in women and men; mode VT was 500 ml. Median [IQR] VT was higher in women than in men (8.6 [7.7 to 9.6] vs. 7.6 [6.8 to 8.4] ml kg-1 PBW, P < 0.001). Compared with men, women were twice as likely not to receive LTVV [68.8 vs. 36.0%; relative risk ratio 2.1 (95% CI 1.9 to 2.1), P < 0.001]. In the mediation analysis, patients' height and actual body weight (ABW) explained 81 and 18% of the sex difference in use of LTVV, respectively; it was not explained by the use of a default VT.CONCLUSION: In this worldwide cohort of patients receiving intra-operative ventilation during general anaesthesia for surgery, women received a higher VT than men during intra-operative ventilation. The risk for a female not to receive LTVV during surgery was double that of males. Height and ABW were the two mediators of the sex difference in use of LTVV.TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study was registered at Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT01601223

Analysis of Household Expenditure on Education in Cyprus

This paper investigates household expenditure on education in Cyprus and analyses factors affecting the level of education using data from the Family Expenditure Surveys 1996/7, 2002/3 and 2008/9. The results obtained show that the level of education expenditure increases with income across years. In addition, the proportion of households spending on private tutorials range between 60-90% at primary and secondary education levels, while the variation of this proportion over income groups is almost nonexistent. In empirical analysis the most profound factors affecting the level of household expenditure on education are income, number of children in household, region of residence and head‟s age and education. However, education and age of head appears to diminish over time. The findings can have implications for a wide range of issues regarding educational policies in Cyprus

The Borrowing Behaviour of Households: Evidence from the Cyprus Family Expenditure Surveys

This study investigates how various factors affect households demand for borrowing in Cyprus using data from the Family Expenditure Surveys for the years 2002/03 and 2008/09. The descriptive statistics show that middle income households with a younger age head have relatively high gross debt-to-income ratios; whereas upper income households with an older age head tend to have relatively high gross deposits-to-income ratios. The econometric analysis uses smooth (over the life cycle) income to investigate the extent to which household borrowing at a given point in time conforms to long term expectations about future income. The results conform to theoretical expectation insofar as demand for loans is determined by smooth, not current, income. This can be interpreted as an indication that the borrowing behavior of households in Cyprus is rational. Nevertheless, the results in the paper need to be confirmed by further analysis to also account for the dynamics of the borrowing-saving behavior of households. This will be possible when the Household Finance and Consumption Survey is available in Cyprus, hopefully in the near future

Analysis of Household Expenditure on Education in Cyprus

This paper investigates household expenditure on education in Cyprus and analyses factors affecting the level of education using data from the Family Expenditure Surveys 1996/7, 2002/3 and 2008/9. The results obtained show that the level of education expenditure increases with income across years. In addition, the proportion of households spending on private tutorials range between 60-90% at primary and secondary education levels, while the variation of this proportion over income groups is almost nonexistent. In empirical analysis the most profound factors affecting the level of household expenditure on education are income, number of children in household, region of residence and head‟s age and education. However, education and age of head appears to diminish over time. The findings can have implications for a wide range of issues regarding educational policies in Cyprus

Consumers’ valuation of academic and deprivation-compensating aspects of school performance in England

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the willingness of households to pay for academic and deprivation-compensating components of the Contextual Value Added (CVA) indicator of school quality used in England in order to locate themselves in the catchment area of state schools. Deprivation-compensating school performance, defined as the difference in the disadvantaged intake between two schools with the same academic performance. Design/methodology/approach – The empirical analysis, based on data drawn from three independent UK data sources, used parametric and non-parametric analysis approaches. The analysis conducted separately for primary and secondary schools, because household behaviour can differ between these two levels of education. Findings – Consumers are willing to pay for houses in the catchment area of primary and secondary schools with high academic achievement, as measured by the mean score; whereas, the component of the CVA indicating deprivation-compensating aspects of school performance is found to have a positive effect only on the price of houses in the catchment area of primary schools in London; its impact on the price of houses elsewhere is mostly negative. Practical implications – The analysis in this study suggested that the recently adopted practice of using CVA as a measure of school quality in England can encourage government and Local Authorities to pay more attention to raising the deprivation-compensating aspects of school performance of their schools. Originality/value – This is the first study to explore the value which households attach to deprivation-compensating outcomes, at a given level of academic performance using the CVA indicator

The Borrowing Behaviour of Households: Evidence from the Cyprus Family Expenditure Surveys

This study investigates how various factors affect households demand for borrowing in Cyprus using data from the Family Expenditure Surveys for the years 2002/03 and 2008/09. The descriptive statistics show that middle income households with a younger age head have relatively high gross debt-to-income ratios; whereas upper income households with an older age head tend to have relatively high gross deposits-to-income ratios. The econometric analysis uses smooth (over the life cycle) income to investigate the extent to which household borrowing at a given point in time conforms to long term expectations about future income. The results conform to theoretical expectation insofar as demand for loans is determined by smooth, not current, income. This can be interpreted as an indication that the borrowing behavior of households in Cyprus is rational. Nevertheless, the results in the paper need to be confirmed by further analysis to also account for the dynamics of the borrowing-saving behavior of households. This will be possible when the Household Finance and Consumption Survey is available in Cyprus, hopefully in the near future

Consumers’ valuation of academic and deprivation-compensating aspects of school performance in England

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the willingness of households to pay for academic and deprivation-compensating components of the Contextual Value Added (CVA) indicator of school quality used in England in order to locate themselves in the catchment area of state schools. Deprivation-compensating school performance, defined as the difference in the disadvantaged intake between two schools with the same academic performance. Design/methodology/approach – The empirical analysis, based on data drawn from three independent UK data sources, used parametric and non-parametric analysis approaches. The analysis conducted separately for primary and secondary schools, because household behaviour can differ between these two levels of education. Findings – Consumers are willing to pay for houses in the catchment area of primary and secondary schools with high academic achievement, as measured by the mean score; whereas, the component of the CVA indicating deprivation-compensating aspects of school performance is found to have a positive effect only on the price of houses in the catchment area of primary schools in London; its impact on the price of houses elsewhere is mostly negative. Practical implications – The analysis in this study suggested that the recently adopted practice of using CVA as a measure of school quality in England can encourage government and Local Authorities to pay more attention to raising the deprivation-compensating aspects of school performance of their schools. Originality/value – This is the first study to explore the value which households attach to deprivation-compensating outcomes, at a given level of academic performance using the CVA indicator

The Borrowing Behaviour of Households: Evidence from the Cyprus Family Expenditure Surveys †

Abstract This study investigates how various factors affect households demand for borrowing in Cyprus using data from the Family Expenditure Surveys for the years 2002/03 and 2008/09. The descriptive statistics show that middle income households with a younger age head have relatively high gross debt-to-income ratios; whereas upper income households with an older age head tend to have relatively high gross deposits-to-income ratios. The econometric analysis uses smooth (over the life cycle) income to investigate the extent to which household borrowing at a given point in time conforms to long term expectations about future income. The results conform to theoretical expectation insofar as demand for loans is determined by smooth, not current, income. This can be interpreted as an indication that the borrowing behavior of households in Cyprus is rational. Nevertheless, the results in the paper need to be confirmed by further analysis to also account for the dynamics of the borrowing-saving behavior of households. This will be possible when the Household Finance and Consumption Survey is available in Cyprus, hopefully in the near future

The development of the gluten free healthy food basket in Cyprus. Is it affordable among low-income adults diagnosed with celiac disease?

Background: Gluten free (GF) diets are not only restrictive but also costly. The main aim of this study was to evaluate the acceptability, cost and affordability of a Gluten Free Healthy Food Basket (GFHFB) and further examine whether low-income Cypriots diagnosed with celiac disease (CD) experience food stress. Methods: GFHFBs were constructed for adult women and adult men (±40 years) diagnosed with CD. Feasibility and acceptability was tested through three focus groups. Affordability was defined as the cost of the GFHFB as a percentage of the Guaranteed Minimum Income (GMI). Results: The GFHFB was 33.6 and 47 euros/month more expensive compared to the HB (Healthy Basket) for women and men, respectively. The total budget for GF-manufactured products were 27.81 and 28.5% of the total food budget, for women and men, respectively. For low-income people receiving the GMI, the proportion of income that would need to be spent on the GFHFB ranges from around 42 to 60%. Conclusions: The GFHFB is costly and not affordable among low-income Cypriots diagnosed with CD; thus, they are likely to suffer from food stress. As such, the risk of reducing their adherence to a GF diet is high and thus compromises their long-term health

The development of the gluten free healthy food basket in Cyprus. Is it affordable among low-income adults diagnosed with celiac disease?

Background: Gluten free (GF) diets are not only restrictive but also costly. The main aim of this study was to evaluate the acceptability, cost and affordability of a Gluten Free Healthy Food Basket (GFHFB) and further examine whether low-income Cypriots diagnosed with celiac disease (CD) experience food stress. Methods: GFHFBs were constructed for adult women and adult men (±40 years) diagnosed with CD. Feasibility and acceptability was tested through three focus groups. Affordability was defined as the cost of the GFHFB as a percentage of the Guaranteed Minimum Income (GMI). Results: The GFHFB was 33.6 and 47 euros/month more expensive compared to the HB (Healthy Basket) for women and men, respectively. The total budget for GF-manufactured products were 27.81 and 28.5% of the total food budget, for women and men, respectively. For low-income people receiving the GMI, the proportion of income that would need to be spent on the GFHFB ranges from around 42 to 60%. Conclusions: The GFHFB is costly and not affordable among low-income Cypriots diagnosed with CD; thus, they are likely to suffer from food stress. As such, the risk of reducing their adherence to a GF diet is high and thus compromises their long-term health