Study on the epidemiology of foot and mouth disease in Ethiopia

Summary This study was designed to describe the status of foot and mouth disease (FMD) in Ethiopia, through analysis of FMD outbreak reports and the detection of antibodies, to address the possibility of establishing a disease-free zone. The serum samples were tested using the 3ABC enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit, to identify antibodies against FMD. From a total of 4,465 sera, 10.5% (n = 467) tested positive. The highest seroprevalence was detected in samples from the Eastern zone of Tigray with 41.5%; followed by the Guji zone of Oromia and Yeka district of the city of Addis Ababa, with 32.7% and 30%, respectively. Antibodies specific to FMD virus were not detected in Gambella or Benishangul. The effects of cattle, sheep and goat density, both separately and together, were analysed with a spatial regression model, but did not have a significant effect on seroprevalence. This indicates that other factors, such as farming systems and livestock movement, play a significant role in the occurrence of FMD. Based on these study findings, it might be appropriate to establish disease-free zones in Gambella and Benishangul

Agreement of self-reported physician diagnosis of migraine with international classification of headache disorders-II migraine diagnostic criteria in a cross-sectional study of pregnant women

Background: Migraine, a common chronic-intermittent disorder among reproductive age women, has emerged as a novel risk factor for adverse perinatal outcomes. Diagnostic reliability of self-report of physician-diagnosed migraine has not been investigated in pregnancy cohort studies. We investigated agreement of self-report of physician-diagnosed migraine with the diagnostic criteria promoted by the International Classification of Headache Disorders, 2nd edition (ICHD-II). Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted among 500 women who provided information on a detailed migraine questionnaire that allowed us to apply all ICHD-II diagnostic criteria. Results: Approximately 92% of women reporting a diagnosis of migraine had the diagnosis between the ages of 11 and 40 years (40 years 1.0%). We confirmed self-reported migraine in 81.6% of women when applying the ICHD-II criteria for definitive migraine (63.1%) and probable migraine (18.5%). Conclusion: There is good agreement between self-reported migraine and ICHD-II-based migraine classification in this pregnancy cohort. We demonstrate the feasibility of using questionnaire-based migraine assessment according to full ICHD-II criteria in epidemiological studies of pregnant women

Concordance between self-reported pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) and BMI measured at the first prenatal study contact

El Institute 2009 de Medicina (IOM) recomendaciones de peso gestacional se adaptan a índice de masa corporal previo al embarazo de las mujeres (IMC). Las pruebas limitadas existe en métodos para la estimación pre-embarazo índice de masa corporal de las mujeres, especialmente para las mujeres que viven en países de bajos y medianos ingresos. Utilizando los datos de recogida entre las mujeres embarazadas peruanas, se comparó la concordancia entre la percepción subjetiva de IMC antes del embarazo con el IMC medido en la visita de estudio prenatal temprana.Los datos fueron de la Embarazo resultados maternos y neonatales Estudio (Promis), una cohorte de mujeres embarazadas en el Instituto Nacional Materno Perinatal (INMP) en Lima, Perú. 2605 mujeres de 18 a 49 años (media ± desviación estándar de edad gestacional = 10,9 ± 3,3 semanas) fueron incluidos en el estudio. Auto-reporte de peso antes del embarazo y la altura y el peso medido y la altura se recogieron en el primer contacto estudio prenatal. Se midió la concordancia entre el IMC medido y la percepción subjetiva de; y, el acuerdo entre los indicadores del estado nutricional obtenida utilizando el IMC medido y auto-reportados

Waist Circumference, Body Mass Index, and Other Measures of Adiposity in Predicting Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors among Peruvian Adults

Objectives. To examine the extent to which measures of adiposity can be used to predict selected components of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and elevated C-reactive protein (CRP). Methods. A total of 1,518 Peruvian adults were included in this study. Waist circumference (WC), body mass index (BMI), waist-hip ratio (WHR), waist-height ratio (WHtR), and visceral adiposity index (VAI) were examined. The prevalence of each MetS component was determined according to tertiles of each anthropometric measure. ROC curves were used to evaluate the extent to which measures of adiposity can predict cardiovascular risk. Results. All measures of adiposity had the strongest correlation with triglyceride concentrations (TG). For both genders, as adiposity increased, the prevalence of Mets components increased. Compared to individuals with low-BMI and low-WC, men and women with high-BMI and high- WC had higher odds of elevated fasting glucose, blood pressure, TG, and reduced HDL, while only men in this category had higher odds of elevated CRP. Overall, the ROCs showed VAI, WC, and WHtR to be the best predictors for individual MetS components. Conclusions. The results of our study showed that measures of adiposity are correlated with cardiovascular risk although no single adiposity measure was identified as the best predictor for MetS

Maternal Early Pregnancy Serum Metabolomics Profile and Abnormal Vaginal Bleeding as Predictors of Placental Abruption: A Prospective Study

Background & Objective Placental abruption, an ischemic placental disorder, complicates about 1 in 100 pregnancies, and is an important cause of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality worldwide. Metabolomics holds promise for improving the phenotyping, prediction and understanding of pathophysiologic mechanisms of complex clinical disorders including abruption. We sought to evaluate maternal early pregnancy pre-diagnostic serum metabolic profiles and abnormal vaginal bleeding as predictors of abruption later in pregnancy. Methods Maternal serum was collected in early pregnancy (mean 16 weeks, range 15 to 22 weeks) from 51 abruption cases and 51 controls. Quantitative targeted metabolic profiles of serum were acquired using electrospray ionization liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (ESI-LC-MS/MS) and the Absolute IDQ® p180 kit. Maternal sociodemographic characteristics and reproductive history were abstracted from medical records. Stepwise logistic regression models were developed to evaluate the extent to which metabolites aid in the prediction of abruption. We evaluated the predictive performance of the set of selected metabolites using a receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve analysis and area under the curve (AUC). Results Early pregnancy vaginal bleeding, dodecanoylcarnitine/dodecenoylcarnitine (C12 / C12:1), and phosphatidylcholine acyl-alkyl C 38:1 (PC ae C38:1) strongly predict abruption risk. The AUC for these metabolites alone was 0.68, for early pregnancy vaginal bleeding alone was 0.65, and combined the AUC improved to 0.75 with the addition of quantitative metabolite data (P = 0.003). Conclusion Metabolomic profiles of early pregnancy maternal serum samples in addition to the clinical symptom, vaginal bleeding, may serve as important markers for the prediction of abruption. Larger studies are necessary to corroborate and validate these findings in other cohorts

Association between insulin resistance and c-reactive protein among Peruvian adults

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Objective</p> <p>Insulin resistance (IR), a reduced physiological response of peripheral tissues to the action of insulin, is one of the major causes of type 2 diabetes. We sought to evaluate the relationship between serum C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker of systemic inflammation, and prevalence of IR among Peruvian adults.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This population based study of 1,525 individuals (569 men and 956 women; mean age 39 years old) was conducted among residents in Lima and Callao, Peru. Fasting plasma glucose, insulin, and CRP concentrations were measured using standard approaches. Insulin resistance was assessed using the homeostasis model (HOMA-IR). Categories of CRP were defined by the following tertiles: <0.81 mg/l, 0.81-2.53 mg/l, and >2.53 mg/l. Logistic regression procedures were employed to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Elevated CRP were significantly associated with increased mean fasting insulin and mean HOMA-IR concentrations (p < 0.001). Women with CRP concentration >2.53 mg/l (upper tertile) had a 2.18-fold increased risk of IR (OR = 2.18 95% CI 1.51-3.16) as compared with those in the lowest tertile (<0.81 mg/l). Among men, those in the upper tertile had a 2.54-fold increased risk of IR (OR = 2.54 95% CI 1.54-4.20) as compared with those in the lowest tertile.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our observations among Peruvians suggest that chronic systemic inflammation, as evidenced by elevated CRP, may be of etiologic importance in insulin resistance and diabetes.</p

Risk of glucose intolerance and gestational diabetes mellitus in relation to maternal habitual snoring during early pregnancy

Background: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) or habitual snoring is known to be associated with impaired glucose tolerance and type 2 diabetes among both men and non-pregnant women. We examined the association of habitual snoring during early pregnancy with risk of impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Methods: A cohort of 1,579 women was interviewed during early pregnancy. We collected information about snoring frequency during early pregnancy. Results from screening and diagnostic tests for IGT and GDM were abstracted from medical records. Multivariate logistic regression models were fitted to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) of IGT and GDM associated with snoring in early pregnancy. Results: Overall, women who snored “most or all of the time” had a 2.1-fold increased odds of IGT (OR 2.10; 95% CI 1.31–3.35) and a 2.5-fold increased odds of GDM (OR 2.50; 95% CI 1.34–4.67) as compared with women who never snored. Compared with lean women (pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) <25 kg/m2) who did not snore, lean snorers had a 2-fold increased odds of GDM (OR = 1.99, 95% CI: 1.07–3.68). The odds of GDM risk was particularly elevated among overweight women (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2) who snored (OR = 5.01; 95% CI 2.71–9.26). However, there was no evidence of an interaction between overweight and snoring with GDM risk (p-value = 0.144). Conclusions: These findings, if confirmed, may have important implications for tailoring prenatal care for overweight pregnant women, and /or those with a history of habitual snoring in early pregnancy