Spin-echo and diffusion-weighted MRI in differentiation between progressive massive fibrosis and lung cancer

PURPOSEWe aimed to investigate the value of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based parameters in differentiating between progressive massive fibrosis (PMF) and lung cancer.METHODSThis retrospective study included 60 male patients (mean age, 67.0±9.0 years) with a history of more than 10 years working in underground coal mines who underwent 1.5 T MRI of thorax due to a lung nodule/mass suspicious for lung cancer on computed tomography. Thirty patients had PMF, and the remaining ones had lung cancer diagnosed histopathologically. The sequences were as follows: coronal single-shot turbo spin echo (SSH-TSE), axial T1- and T2-weighted spin-echo (SE), balanced turbo field echo, T1-weighted high-resolution isotropic volume excitation, free-breathing and respiratory triggered diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI). The patients’ demographics, lesion sizes, and MRI‐derived parameters were compared between the patients with PMF and lung cancer.RESULTSApparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values of DWI and respiratory triggered DWI, signal intensities on T1-weighted SE, T2-weighted SE, and SSH-TSE imaging were found to be significantly different between the groups (p < 0.001, for all comparisons). Median ADC values of free-breathing DWI in patients with PMF and cancer were 1.25 (0.93–2.60) and 0.76 (0.53–1.00) (× 10-3 mm2/s), respectively. Most PMF lesions were predominantly iso- or hypointense on T1-weighted SE, T2-weighted SE, and SSH-TSE, while most malignant ones predominantly showed high signal intensity on these sequences.CONCLUSIONMRI study including SE imaging, specially T1-weighted SE imaging and ADC values of DWI can help to distinguish PMF from lung cancer

Maternal age, education level and migration: Socioeconomic determinants for smoking during pregnancy in a field study from Turkey

WOS: 000279909900003PubMed ID: 20534133Background: Smoking during pregnancy has been associated with socioeconomic determinants and it is recognized as the most important preventable risk factor for an unsuccessful pregnancy outcome. Turkey has national data on the prevalance of smoking during pregnancy; however there is no data on the characteristics of the high-risk population. This is a field study that aims to identify socioeconomic determinants for smoking during pregnancy as well as differentiating the daily and occasional smokers. Method: Cross sectional study was conducted among women with 0-5 year old children living in the area served by Primary Health Care Center (PHCC) in Burhaniye, Turkey. Face-to-face interviews were conducted by the researchers during January-March 2008 at the home of the participants with 83.7% response rate (n = 256). The relation of "smoking during pregnacy" and "daily smoking during pregnancy" with the independent variables was determined with chi(2) tests. Women's age, educational level, number of previous births, place of origin, migration, partner's educational level, poverty, perceived income, social class were evaluated. Statistical significance was achieved when the p value was less than 0.05. The variables in relation with the dependent variables in the chi(2) tests were included in the forward-stepwise logistic analysis. Results: Prevalance of smoking during pregnancy was 22.7%. The majority (74.1%) were daily smokers. Young mothers (< 20), low educated women and migrants were at increased risk for smoking during pregnancy. Low education and being a migrant were risk factors for daily consumption (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Systematic attention should be paid to socioeconomic determinants in smoking for pregnant women, especially in countries like Turkey with high rates of infant and mother mortality and substantial health inequalities. Young mothers (< 20), low educated women and migrants are important groups to focus on

Health effects of wind turbines: a review of the literature between 2010-2020

Although wind power is more acceptable in terms of its environmental impact, possible risks to human health are still being discussed. The aim of this study is to systematically evaluate the methodology and the outcomes of the articles that investigate the health effects of wind turbines on humans. Combinations of keywords were entered into the PubMed database. The search resulted in a total of 141 hits, 22 were included. It had been noticed that the most common problems in those living around the wind turbines are noise annoyance(n=18), risk perception and attitude towards wind turbines(n=11), general health symptoms and quality of life(n=11), sleep disturbance(n=10), annoyance(n=7) and shadow flicker effect(n=4). General annoyance is adversely affected by the noise level and sensitivity to noise. We can conclude that the knowledge of and attitude towards wind turbines can turn into annoyance and symptoms if the audio-visual effects of turbines limit daily life activities

Evaluation of risk perception related with environmental noise among residents living in different vicinities of wind turbines

This cross-sectional study assessed residents' risk perceptions and associated factors in three rural areas by administering a face-to-face questionnaire to 282 subjects. The association between the perception of risk related to wind turbines and related factors such as noise and annoyance was analysed. Outdoor A-weighted sound pressure levels were measured for all. According to regression analysis, age (B: -0.008, 95% CI: -0.015/-0.002), education (B: 0.415, 95% CI: 0.148/-0.682), noise level day (B: -0.040, 95% CI: -0.068/-0. 013), noise annoyance indoors (B: 0.504, 95% CI: 0.227/0.781) and distance (B: 0.000, 95% CI: 0.000/0.000) had a significant effect on high risk perception (p 0.05). This demonstrates that, in addition to noise, non-acoustic factors also influence risk perception. Ensuring community participation and considering distance before installation could prevent negative risk perceptions and annoyance.Ege University- Scientific Research Projects Coordination- Research Foundation [TTU-2019 20559]In the residential noise level data collection process, environmental noise measurements was supported financially by Ege University- Scientific Research Projects Coordination- Research Foundation (project no: TTU-2019 20559)

Health Literacy Among University Students and Associated Factors: A Cross-Sectional Survey Among Pharmacy Students

Health literacy is an important topic for both healthcare service providers and recipients to ensure cost-efficient utilization of healthcare services and to improve health outputs. The study intended to identify health literacy of students at the faculty of pharmacy, who are future healthcare professionals. This cross-sectional study comprises 691 undergraduate students enrolled in the Faculty of Pharmacy at Ege University. Health Literacy Scale of Turkey was used to measure health literacy, which is the dependent variable of the study; and the questionnaire, which was used as the data collection tool, was implemented through face-to-face interviews. Correlation between categorical data was identified by chi-square test and logistic regression analysis. 548 students responded to the questionnaire (Response rate=79.3%). Students attending 1st year had 2.53 (95%CI=1.47-4.36) times higher odds of having inadequate health literacy; those who did not exercise ran 1.98 times (95%0=1.32-2.97) higher odds of having inadequate health literacy. The odds of having inadequate health literacy were 3.44 times (95% CI=1.02-12.35) higher among the students residing abroad as opposed to those living in a metropolitan city, and it was 1.70 times (95% CI=1.13-2.55) higher among those living in city centers. Identified health literacy rates were low when compared to the health literacy rates of pharmacy students in other countries. These results will contribute to incorporate the concept of health literacy into pharmacy education, particularly through adjustments to be made on the curriculum for new students

Adolescents' risk perceptions on mobile phones and their base stations, their trust to authorities and incivility in using mobile phones: a cross-sectional survey on 2240 high school students in Izmir, Turkey

WOS: 000315967100001PubMed ID: 23351724Background: Use of mobile phones has rapidly risen among adolescents despite a lack of scientific certainty on their health risks. Risk perception is an important determinant of behavior, and studies on adolescents' risk perceptions of mobile phones or base stations are very scarce. This study aims to evaluate high school students' risk perceptions on mobile phones and base stations, their trust to authorities, their opinions regarding incivility while using mobile phones and to assess associated factors. Methods: For this cross-sectional study, 2530 students were chosen with stratified cluster sampling among 20,493 high school students studying in Bornova district of Izmir, Turkey, among whom 2240 (88.5%) participated. Risk perceptions and opinions were questioned with a 5-point Likert scale for 24 statements grouped under four dimensions. The mean responses to the four dimensions were categorized as = 3.5 (high) and the determinants were analyzed with logistic regression. Results: Mean risk perception scores for the mobile phone, base station, trust to authority and incivility dimensions were 3.69 +/- 0.89, 4.34 +/- 0.78, 3.77 +/- 0.93, 3.16 +/- 0.93 and the prevalence of high risk perception was 65.1%, 86.7%, 66.2%, 39.7%, respectively. In the mobile phone dimension; students attending industrial technical high school had lower risk perceptions while female students, lower mothers' education groups and students not using mobile phones (OR = 2.82, 95% CI = 1.80-4.40) had higher risk perceptions. In the base station dimension girls had higher risk perceptions (OR = 1.68, 95% CI = 1.20-2.37). Girls and students attending industrial technical high school had significantly lower risk perception however 11-12th grade group perceived the risk higher (OR = 1.45 95% CI = 1.15-1.84) in the trust to authority dimension. For the incivility dimension, female students (OR = 1.44, 95% CI = 1.14-1.82), illiterate/only literate mothers (OR = 1.79, 95% CI = 1.04-2.75) and students not using mobile phones (OR = 2.50, 95% CI = 1.62-3.87) perceived higher risk. Conclusions: Understanding the effects of these determinants might aid in developing more effective educational interventions to specific subgroups on this topic. As debates on the health consequences of electromagnetic fields continue, it would be cautious to approach this issue with a preventive perspective. Efforts should be made to equalize the varying level of knowledge and to ensure that students are informed accurately.Turkish National and Scientific Research Council (TUBITAK)Turkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik Arastirma Kurumu (TUBITAK) [109S287 (SBAG-HD-488)]We would like to thank the Turkish National and Scientific Research Council (TUBITAK) for funding this study with the project no. 109S287 (SBAG-HD-488). We are very grateful to the National Education Directorate in Bornova and the Provincial Directorate of National Education for providing permission to conduct this study. We are especially thankful to the directors and teachers of the participating schools who kindly cooperated for the data collection

Socioeconomic inequalities in current daily smoking in five Turkish regions

WOS: 000334269100005PubMed ID: 23695546To assess whether socioeconomic inequalities in smoking in five regions across in Turkey have the same pattern as observed in southern Europe. Cross-sectional data of the World Health Survey 2002 from Turkey were analyzed (5,951 women and 4,456 men) to evaluate the association of smoking with wealth and education. Age-standardized prevalence rates and odds ratios were calculated separately by sex, region and age groups. Smoking prevalence was 16.7 % for women and 51.4 % for men. Smoking risk was increased in higher wealth and education groups among women in all regions and for both younger and older generations. In the East, Middle and Black Sea regions this female pattern was most pronounced. For men, smoking was less prevalent in the two highest wealth groups. Unlike among women, socioeconomic differences in smoking were approximately equally large in all regions. Patterns of inequalities in smoking across the five regions strongly resemble those observed in southern Europe. This fits the patterns predicted by the smoking epidemic model. Particular attention should be given to highly educated women, who may perceive smoking as a symbol of modernity, emancipation and independence

Frailty prevalence and its associations with socioeconomic factors, health status, and healthcare utilization among elderly home care clients

AimThis study aims to determine the prevalence of frailty and its associations with socioeconomic factors, health status, and healthcare service utilization among the elderly who receive home care services.Subject and methodsThe elderly were included in this cross-sectional study with a sample size of 298 and using a systematic sampling method. The FRAIL scale was used to determine frailty. Chi-square, Student's t-test, and backward stepwise logistic regression were performed in the analyses.ResultsFrailty was associated with illiteracy (OR = 2.70, 95% CI: 1.02-7.20), insufficient income perception (OR = 7.36, 95% CI: 1.84-29.38), increase in the number of drugs used (OR = 1.22, 95% CI: 1.06-1.42), days hospitalized (OR = 1.27, 95% CI: 1.06-1.51), health service admission (OR = 1.06 95% CI: 1.00-1.12), and decrease in instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) score (OR = 0.37, 95% CI: 0.27-0.50).ConclusionThe elderly who are socioeconomically disadvantaged and more dependent, use a higher number of drugs, and use more health services are at high risk for frailty. It is recommended that these risk groups be prioritized in home care-based interventions to prevent frailty.The authors thank all health professionals working in the Bornova Municipality Health Affairs Directorate for their support of the study.Bornova Municipality Health Affairs Directorat

Medical students' risk perceptions on decreased attention, physical and social risks in using mobile phones and the factors related with their risk perceptions

###EgeUn###The aim of this cross-sectional study is to determine the mobile phone use, risk perception and related factors among the medical students. The study population was 1465 medical students. The dependent variable was the risk perception on mobile phones. The risk perception was assessed in three dimensions: decreased attention, physical risks and social risks. The exploratory factor analysis was used for the success of the scale, and the factor loadings were calculated using the varimax rotation method. Logistic Regression Analysis was applied to determine the factors associated with risk perception. The presented results are based on 1079 students (Access rate = 73.7%). In all dimensions of risk perception, more than half of the medical students had high risk perceptions. Female students and lower social classes had high risk perceptions. An understanding of the determinants and mobile phone utilization characteristics might help in developing effective risk communication to these subgroups