8 research outputs found

    A preliminary investigation of the suitability of the WAIS-III for Afrikaans-speaking South Africans

    No full text
    The standardised version of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-III (WAIS-III) for English-speaking South Africans is currently widely used. Although an Afrikaans translation of the verbal subtests of the WAIS-III is provided in the manual, this translation has not been standardised. This preliminary investigation of the suitability of the translation for use with Afrikaans-speaking South Africans indicated comparability of the performance of an urbanised sample with good quality education and similar groups tested with the English version. The results also revealed significant differences between the urbanised Afrikaans speakers and a relatively non-urbanised group of Afrikaans speakers with inadequate quality education. There were no significant relationships of performance with gender and age. University graduates/students obtained higher scores than college graduates/ students and subjects without tertiary education. Multivariate analyses of the contribution of demographic variables to variations in scores confirmed the significant effect of quality of education on test performance. The reliabilities for the verbal subtests ranged from acceptable to good, and intersubtest correlations were at the expected level. An analysis of item difficulty revealed the expected sequence of progressively more difficult items, but with some exceptions. While some scoring criteria may need to be re-examined, inconsistencies also appear to be related to the role of schooling and social background. Limitations of the study pertain to the design and the small sample size that do not allow for conclusive evidence in terms of construct validity and in terms of measurement equivalence between the Afrikaans and English versions

    Effects of bariatric surgery on kidney diseases, cardiovascular diseases, mortality and severe hypoglycaemia among patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus

    No full text
    BACKGROUND:Bariatric surgery has been widely indicated for the management of obesity and related comorbidities. However, there are uncertainties pertaining to the risks of post-bariatric severe hypoglycaemia (SH), cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), end-stage kidney diseases (ESKDs) and all-cause mortality in obese patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), especially among Asian populations. METHODS:A retrospective population-based cohort of 1702 obese T2DM patients who were free of CVD and ESKD were assembled based on the 2006-17 Hospital Authority database. One-to-five propensity-score matching was used to balance baseline covariates between patients in bariatric surgery and control groups. Incidence rates (IRs) of SH, CVD, Stage 4/5 chronic kidney diseases (CKD), ESKD and all-cause mortality events for two groups were calculated. Hazard ratios (HR) for SH, CVD and Stage 4/5 CKD events were assessed using Cox-proportional hazard models. Changes in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and urine albumin-creatinine ratio (UACR) were measured up to 60 months. RESULTS:Over a mean follow-up period of 32 months with 5725 person-years, cumulative incidences of mortality, CVD, Stage 4/5 CKD, ESKD and SH were 0, 0.036, 0.050, 0.017 and 0.020, respectively. The surgery group had a significant reduction in risk of CVD events (HR = 0.464, P = 0.015) and no occurrence of mortality events. However, there were no significant differences in risks of SH [HR = 0.469, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.204-1.081], Stage 4/5 CKD (HR =0.896, 95% CI: 0.519-1.545) and ESKD (HR = 0.666, 95% CI: 0.264-1.683) between two groups, although IRs were lower in the surgery group. Surgical patients had significantly higher eGFR within 12 months and had significantly lower UACR until 48 months. CONCLUSIONS:Among obese T2DM patients, bariatric surgery lowered the risk of CVD and mortality, and was beneficial towards the kidney outcomes

    Immunoglobulin E sensitization to mammalian oligosaccharide galactose-alpha-1,3 (alpha-Gal) is associated with noncalcified plaque, obstructive coronary artery disease, and ST-segment-elevated myocardial infarction

    No full text
    Background: Treating known risk factors for coronary artery disease (CAD) has substantially reduced CAD morbidity and mortality. However, a significant burden of CAD remains unexplained. Immunoglobulin E sensitization to mammalian oligosaccharide galactose-α-1,3-galactose (α-Gal) was recently associated with CAD in a small observational study. We sought to confirm that α-Gal sensitization is associated with CAD burden, in particular noncalcified plaque. Additionally, we sort to assess whether that α-Gal sensitization is associated with ST-segment–elevated myocardial infarction (STEMI) Methods: We performed a cross-sectional analysis of participants enrolled in the BioHEART cohort study. We measured α-Gal specific-immunoglobulin E antibodies in serum of 1056 patients referred for CT coronary angiography for suspected CAD and 100 selected patients presenting with STEMI, enriched for patients without standard modifiable risk factors. CT coronary angiograms were assessed using coronary artery calcium scores and segmental plaque scores. Results: α-Gal sensitization was associated with presence of noncalcified plaque (odds ratio, 1.62 [95% CI, 1.04–2.53], P=0.03) and obstructive CAD (odds ratio, 2.05 [95% CI, 1.29-3.25], P=0.002), independent of age, sex, and traditional risk factors. The α-Gal sensitization rate was 12.8-fold higher in patients with STEMI compared with matched healthy controls and 2.2-fold higher in the patients with STEMI compared with matched stable CAD patients (17% versus 1.3%, P=0.01 and 20% versus 9%, P=0.03, respectively). Conclusions: α-Gal sensitization is independently associated with noncalcified plaque burden and obstructive CAD and occurs at higher frequency in patients with STEMI than those with stable or no CAD. These findings may have implications for individuals exposed to ticks, as well as public health policy.Stephen T. Vernon, Katharine A. Kott, Thomas Hansen, Meghan Finemore, Karl W. Baumgart, Ravinay Bhindi, Jean Yang, Peter S. Hansen, Stephen J. Nicholls, David S. Celermajer, Michael R. Ward, Sheryl A. van Nunen, Stuart M. Grieve, Gemma A. Figtre

    The comparative effects of metabolic surgery, SGLT2i, or GLP-1RA in patients with obesity and type 2 diabetes: a retrospective cohort study Corresponding

    No full text
    Background: New antidiabetic agents (sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitor [SGLT2i] and glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist [GLP-1RA]) and metabolic surgery have protective effects on metabolic syndromes. Objectives: To compare the changes of metabolic parameters and costs among patients with obesity and type 2 diabetes undergoing metabolic surgery and initiating new antidiabetic agents over 12 months. Setting: Hong Kong Hospital Authority database from 2006 to 2017. Methods: This is a population-wide retrospective cohort study consisting of 2,616 patients (1,810 SGLT2i, 528 GLP-1RA, 278 metabolic surgery). Inverse probability treatment weighting of propensity score was applied to balance baseline covariates of patients with obesity and type 2 diabetes who underwent metabolic surgery, or initiated SGLT2i or GLP-1RA. Metabolic parameters and direct medical costs were measured and compared from baseline to 12 months in bariatric surgery, SGLT2i, and GLP-1RA groups. Results: Patients in all 3 groups had improved metabolic parameters over a 12-month period. Patients with metabolic surgery achieved significantly better outcomes in BMI (-5.39, -0.56, -0.40 kg/m2, p<0.001), % total weight loss (15.16%, 1.34%, 1.63%, p<0.001), systolic (-2.21, -0.59, 1.28 mmHg, p<0.001) and diastolic (-1.16, 0.50, -0.13 mmHg, p<0.001) blood pressure, HbA1c (-1.80%, -0.77%, -0.80%, p<0.001), triglycerides (-0.64, -0.11, -0.09 mmol/L, p<0.001), and estimated glomerular filtration rate (3.08, -1.37, -0.41 ml/min/1.73m2, p<0.001) after 12-month compared with patients with SGLT2i and GLP1-RA. Although the metabolic surgery group incurred the greatest direct medical costs (US33,551,US33,551, US10,945, US$10,627, p<0.001), largely due to the surgery itself, the total monthly direct medical expenditure of metabolic surgery group became lower than that of SGLT2i and GLP1RA groups at 7 months. Conclusions: Beneficial weight loss and metabolic outcomes at 12-months were observed in all 3 groups, among which the metabolic surgery group showed the most remarkable effects but incurred the greatest medical costs. However, studies with a longer follow-up period are warranted to show long-term outcomes

    The Effect of Belongingness on Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder in the Use of Online Social Networks

    No full text
    corecore