Placental weight and mortality in premenopausal breast cancer by tumor characteristics

Placental weight may be regarded as an indirect marker of hormone exposures during pregnancy. There is epidemiological evidence that breast cancer mortality in premenopausal women increases with placental weight in the most recent pregnancy. We investigated if this association differs by tumor characteristics, including expression of estrogen and progesterone receptors. In a Swedish population-based cohort, we followed 1,067 women with premenopausal breast cancer diagnosed from 1992 to 2006. Using Cox regression models, we estimated hazard ratios for the association between placental weight and risk of premenopausal breast cancer mortality. In stratified analyses, we estimated mortality risks in subjects with different tumor stages, estrogen receptor (ER) or progesterone receptor (PR) status. Compared with women with placental weight less than 600 g, women with a placental weight between 600 and 699 g were at a 50 % increased risk of mortality, however, not significant change in risk was observed for women with placental weight �700 g. Mortality risks associated with higher placental weight were more pronounced among ER- and PR- breast cancer tumors, where both a placental weight 600-699 g and �700 g were associated with a more than doubled mortality risks compared with tumors among women with placental weight less than 600 g. Moreover, stratified analyses for joint receptor status revealed that a consistent increased mortality risk by placental weight was only apparent in women with ER-/PR- breast cancer. The increased mortality risk in premenopausal breast cancer associated with higher placental weight was most pronounced among ER- and PR- tumors. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media New York

Breast cancer risk in opposite-sexed twins: Influence of birth weight and co-twin birth weight

Most, but not all, studies report a positive association between birth weight, as an indirect marker of prenatal hormone exposure, and offspring breast cancer risk, particularly premenopausal breast cancer. Females from opposite-sexed twin pairs may also be prenatally exposed to androgens from their twin brothers. A Swedish study of opposite-sexed twins with a small sample size found a very strong positive association between female birth weight and breast cancer risk. In this case-control study, nested within a cohort of female opposite-sexed twins, we included 543 breast cancer case subjects diagnosed in the period from 1972 to 2008 and 2715 matched control subjects. Conditional logistic regression estimated the breast cancer risk associated with birth weight and other birth characteristics, including gestational age and co-twin birth weight. All statistical tests were two-sided. There was no association between birth weight (odds ratio = 1.01; 95% confidence interval = 0.70 to 1.46) or twin brother's birth weight and risk of breast cancer, which suggests the previously reported strong positive association may have been a chance finding. © The Author 2013

Birth size in the most recent pregnancy and maternal mortality in premenopausal breast cancer by tumor characteristics

The main aim of this study was to investigate possible associations between measures of offspring size at birth in the most recent pregnancy before premenopausal breast cancer diagnosis and the risks of maternal breast cancer mortality, taking tumor characteristics into account. We also aimed to investigate if these associations are modified by age at childbirth, time since childbirth, parity, and age at diagnosis. We followed 6,019 women from their date of premenopausal breast cancer (diagnosed from 1992 to 2008) until emigration, death or December 31st, 2009, whichever occurred first. We used Cox proportional hazard regression models, adjusted for parity, age at diagnosis, and education level, to estimate associations between women pregnancy, cancer characteristics and offspring birth characteristics, and mothers' mortality risk. In stratified analyses, mortality risks were estimated by tumor stage, ER or PR status. There was no association between offspring birth weight (HR = 1.00, 95 % CI 0.99-1.01, when used as a continuous variable), birth weight for gestational age or ponderal index, and premenopausal breast cancer mortality. Similarly, in analyses stratified by tumor stage, receptor status, and time difference between last pregnancy and date of diagnosis, we found no associations between birth size and breast cancer mortality. Our findings suggest that the hypothesis that "premenopausal breast cancer mortality is associated with offspring birth characteristics in the most recent pregnancy before the diagnosis" may not be valid. In addition, these associations are not modified by tumor characteristics. © 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York

Effect of Helicobacter pylori eradication on glycaemia control in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and comparison of two therapeutic regimens

Background and study aims: The eradication rate of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) has been reported as being lower in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) than in those without DM. The aim of the study was to assess the efficacy of the two H. pylori eradication regimens in patients without and with type 2 DM and to study the effect of H. pylori treatment on glycaemia control. Patients and Methods: A total of 93 consecutive type 2 DM (non-insulin users) and 98 non-diabetic age- and sex-matched patients were enrolled. Patients were randomly assigned to one of the two treatment protocols all given twice daily: (a) a 14-day quadruple therapy comprising of omeprazole 20mg, metronidazole 500mg, amoxicillin 1g and bismuth subcitrate 240mg (OMAB) and (b) a 14-day triple regimen comprising of omeprazole 20mg plus clarithromycin 500mg and amoxicillin 1g (OCA). Cure was defined as a negative 13C-urea breath test at least 6weeks after treatment. Results: The H. pylori eradication rate with the OCA regimen was 63% in patients with type 2 DM (non-insulin users) and 87.7% in the control group (p=0.017). The H. pylori eradication rate with the OMAB regimen was 38.2% in patients with type 2 DM and 55.1% in the control group (p<0.001). Mean decrease of fasting plasma glucose and HbA1c level shows no statistically significant difference after H. pylori eradication. Conclusion: This study suggests that the eradication rate of H. pylori with OCA or OMAB treatment is lower in patients with type 2 diabetes than in non-diabetics and H. pylori treatment in patients with type 2 DM has no role in the control of the glycaemia. The triple therapy (OCA) is superior to the quadruple protocol (OMAB) in H. pylori eradication of both DM and non-DM cases. © 2013 Arab Journal of Gastroenterology

Comparison of drug prescribing before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-national European study

Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic had an impact on health care, with disruption to routine clinical care. Our aim was to describe changes in prescription drugs dispensing in the primary and outpatient sectors during the first year of the pandemic across Europe. Methods: We used routine administrative data on dispensed medicines in eight European countries (five whole countries, three represented by one region each) from January 2017 to March 2021 to compare the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic with the preceding 3 years. Results: In the 10 therapeutic subgroups with the highest dispensed volumes across all countries/regions the relative changes between the COVID-19 period and the year before were mostly of a magnitude similar to changes between previous periods. However, for drugs for obstructive airway diseases the changes in the COVID-19 period were stronger in several countries/regions. In all countries/regions a decrease in dispensed DDDs of antibiotics for systemic use (from −39.4% in Romagna to −14.2% in Scotland) and nasal preparations (from −34.4% in Lithuania to −5.7% in Sweden) was observed. We observed a stockpiling effect in the total market in March 2020 in six countries/regions. In Czechia the observed increase was not significant and in Slovenia volumes increased only after the end of the first lockdown. We found an increase in average therapeutic quantity per pack dispensed, which, however, exceeded 5% only in Slovenia, Germany, and Czechia. Conclusions: The findings from this first European cross-national comparison show a substantial decrease in dispensed volumes of antibiotics for systemic use in all countries/regions. The results also indicate that the provision of medicines for common chronic conditions was mostly resilient to challenges faced during the pandemic. However, there were notable differences between the countries/regions for some therapeutic areas

Peaceful coexistence between human and novel coronavirus-2019; where do researchers stand

COVID-19, as an emerging viral disease, has rapidly become a new pandemic in human life. According to the similarities between novel coronavirus-2019 and Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) virus, the initial assumptions were about the temporary spread of the disease and its rapid control. Nevertheless, increasing human knowledge of the characteristics of the new coronavirus, as well as how the disease has spread, has questioned these assumptions. Currently, it seems that the virus has entered the human life cycle, and individuals should adhere to new lifestyles to return to their normal life. We should select those lifestyles to reduce the risk of contact with the virus and getting COVID-19 as well as to lead a normal life. It is believed that basic medical scientists could play an important role in identifying the most appropriate lifestyles by considering the characteristics of the virus and the desires of different social groups. They could also provide the best answers to the countless questions concerning how to live peacefully, considering the novel COVID-2019. © 2020, Middle East Journal of Rehabilitation and Health Studies. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits copy and redistribute the material just in noncommercial usages, provided the original work is properly cited

The occurrence of metabolic risk factors stratified by psoriasis severity: A Swedish population-based matched cohort study

Purpose: To assess the relative risk of metabolic risk factors in patients stratified by psoriasis severity compared with population controls. Patients and Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using national Swedish registers. Adult patients with psoriasis were selected if they had a dispensing of anti-psoriasis prescription (2007�2013) and at least one diagnosis within five years before the dispensing date. The patients with psoriasis were matched 1:10 to controls from the general population on birth year, sex, and county. The cohort was further divided into three disease severity groups (mild, moderate, or severe) based on their dispensed anti-psoriasis medication. Subjects were followed from the index date until censoring. We applied flexible parametric modeling to understand the risks of the incident comorbidities hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and diabetes mellitus among patients with psoriasis from 6 months through 10 years. Hazard ratios and predicted risk (ie, 1 minus the survival probability) of comorbidities were reported. Results: The hazard of hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and diabetes mellitus is higher among psoriasis patients compared with population controls, and the hazard ratio increases with psoriasis severity. For example, HRs of hypertension for patients with mild, moderate, and severe psoriasis are 1.29 (95 CI: 1.27�1.32), 1.35 (95 CI: 1.32�1.38), and 1.73 (95 CI: 1.64�1.82), respectively. The predicted risk of hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and diabetes mellitus among patients with severe psoriasis at year ten was 0.58 (95 CI: 0.56, 0.59), 0.33 (95 CI: 0.32, 0.35), and 0.21 (95 CI: 0.20, 0.23), respectively, while it was 0.42 (0.41, 0.43), 0.23 (0.22, 0.23), 0.11 (0.10, 0.11) among controls, respectively. The predicted risk at year ten was similar among patients with mild or moderate psoriasis. Conclusion: The HRs and predicted risks of metabolic risk factors are higher among patients with psoriasis compared with matched controls and are more prominent among the severe psoriasis group. © 2020 Hajiebrahimi et al

Risk factors, endoscopic findings, and treatments in upper gastrointestinal bezoars: Multi-center experience in Iran

Aim: The current study aimed to investigate the risk factors, endoscopic findings, and treatments of upper gastrointestinal bezoars. Background: Bezoars are compact masses formed by the accumulation of dietary fiber, undigested food, hair, or medications. The majority of bezoars are asymptomatic, but they may cause serious symptoms or even life-threatening events such as bleeding, obstruction, or perforation Methods: This retrospective study was conducted in three gastroenterology clinics between January 2016 and December 2019. Bezoars were detected in 109 of 15,830 endoscopy records (0.68). Results A total of 103 patients (52.4 male) were enrolled in this study. Mean patient age was 60.5±11.3 years. The most frequent risk factors were history of gastric surgery (25.2), diabetes mellitus (21.3), hypothyroidism (15.5), trichophagia (5.8), and anxiety disorders (2.9), respectively. The most common endoscopic findings were peptic ulcers (34.9), erosive gastritis/duodenitis (12.6), and reflux esophagitis (10.6). While bezoars were most commonly observed in the stomach (84.4), the majority of them were phytobezoars (92.2). The mean number of endoscopic interventions for each patient was 1.5 (range, 1-4). Endoscopy was successful in removing bezoars in 85.4. Conclusion: The synergistic effect of multiple factors for a long time, such as gastrointestinal surgery, diabetes mellitus or psychiatric disorders, may lead to bezoar formation. These risk factors should be avoided or treated in order to prevent bezoar formation and subsequent life-threatening complications. © 2021 RIGLD, Research Institute for Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases

Mortality trends for multiple sclerosis patients in Sweden from 1968 to 2012

Objective: To assess trends in mortality and causes of death for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) relative to those without MS in Sweden. Methods: Patients with an MS diagnosis in Sweden between 1964 and 2012 were identified with the Patient Register and the Multiple Sclerosis Register. For this cohort study, each patient with MS (n = 29,617) was matched with 10 individuals without MS (n = 296,164) on sex, year of birth, vital status, and region of residence at the time of MS diagnosis with the Total Population Register. The Causes of Death Register was used to identify causes of death. Cox proportional hazard models were constructed to assess whether risk of mortality was increased for patients with MS. Results: The hazard ratio (HR) for patients with MS was 2.92 (95 confidence interval CI 2.86-2.99) for all-cause mortality over the entire study period. The largest differences between the cohorts were death resulting from respiratory (HR 5.07, 95% CI 4.87-5.26) and infectious (HR 4.07, 95% CI 3.70-4.47) diseases. Overall and for each specific cause, there have been improvements for the MS group and a subsequent reduction in the HR. The HR decreased from 6.52 (95% CI 5.79-7.34) for the period of 1968 to 1980 to 2.08 (95% CI 1.95-2.22) for the time period of 2001 to 2012. An interaction between time period and MS exposure showed that the decrease in mortality over time was statistically significant, with a larger decrease for patients with MS than their matched comparators. Conclusions: There has been a substantial improvement in mortality overall and for each specified cause of death for patients with MS compared with individuals without MS; however, large differences still remain. © 2017 American Academy of Neurology

Preoperative esophagogastroduodenoscopy findings and effects on laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass in area with high prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection: multi-center experience in Iran

Aim: The current study aimed to evaluate EGD findings effects on laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) plan and time in areas with a high prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection. Background: Esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) and Helicobacter pylori testing are routine parts of preoperative assessment of bariatric surgery at many centers Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of all patients underwent EGD and histopathological examination before laparoscopic RYGB in three gastroenterology centers in Iran between January 2018 and December 2020. Results In total, 637 patients (52.4 female) were enrolled, of which 46.8 had no abnormal mucosal appearance. In 1.7, surgery was canceled (gastric adenocarcinoma, gastric intestinal metaplasia, GIST, and esophageal varices). The prevalence of H. pylori was 61.5, and there was no statistical difference between groups of normal and abnormal EGD; however, surgery was postponed after H. pylori eradication in both groups. Overall, 44.4 of patients with esophagitis (any grade), peptic ulcer disease, erosive and non-erosive gastritis/duodenitis, and short segment Barret's esophagus needed medical management. Small- or medium-sized sliding hiatal hernias were seen in 18.7 of patients with no effect on surgery. Moreover, 88.8 of patients with normal mucosal appearance were asymptomatic, but 92.6 in the group with abnormal EGD were symptomatic (p=0.01). Changes in surgical plan and time occurred in 63.6, but after eliminating H. pylori eradication, it was 15.4. Conclusion: Considering gastric cancer and the high prevalence of H. pylori in Iran, using EGD and histopathological examination as an investigation in the preoperative assessment would have a significant impact on patients undergoing RYGB surgery. © 2022 RIGLD