94 research outputs found
Breast cancer risk by age at birth, time since birth and time intervals between births: exploring interaction effects
In a Norwegian, prospective study we investigated breast cancer risk in relation to age at, and time since, childbirth, and whether the timing of births modified the risk pattern after delivery. A total of 23â890 women of parity 5 or less were diagnosed with breast cancer during follow-up of 1.7 million women at ages 20â74 years. Results, based on Poisson regression analyses of person-years at risk, showed long-term protective effects of the first, as well as subsequent, pregnancies and that these were preceded by a short-term increase in risk. The magnitude and timing of this adverse effect differed somewhat by birth order, maternal age at delivery and birth spacing. No transient increase in risk was seen shortly after a first birth below age 25 years, but an early first birth did not prevent a transient increase in risk after subsequent births. In general, the magnitude of the adverse effect was strongest after pregnancies at age 30 years or older. A wide birth interval was also related to a more pronounced adverse effect. Increasing maternal age at the first and second childbirth was associated with an increase in risk in the long run, whereas no such long-term effect was seen with age at higher order births
Twin births, sex of children and maternal risk of ovarian cancer: a cohort study in Norway
In a follow-up of 1â208â001 women aged 20â74 years, no significant association was found between twin births (112 cases) and risk, though those with twin girls had a non-significantly higher risk than those with singleton births; among the latter, those with girls only had a higher risk of endometrioid tumours (incidence rate ratio 1.35; 95% confidence interval 1.03â1.76, based on 475 cases) than women with boys only
Seasonality of birth in children with central nervous system tumours in Denmark, 1970â2003
We investigated possible seasonal variation of births among children <20 years with a central nervous system tumour in Denmark (N=1640), comparing them with 2â582â714 children born between 1970 and 2003. No such variation was seen overall, but ependymoma showed seasonal variation
Preventing foot ulceration in diabetes:systematic review and meta-analyses of RCT data
Aims/hypothesis:
Foot ulceration is a serious complication for people with diabetes that results in high levels of morbidity for individuals and significant costs for health and social care systems. Nineteen systematic reviews of preventative interventions have been published, but none provides a reliable numerical summary of treatment effects. The aim of this study was to systematically review the evidence from RCTs and, where possible, conduct meta-analyses to make the best possible use of the currently available data.
Methods:
We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of RCTs of preventative interventions for foot ulceration. OVID MEDLINE and EMBASE were searched to February 2019 and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials to October 2018. RCTs of interventions to prevent foot ulcers in people with diabetes who were free from foot ulceration at trial entry were included. Two independent reviewers read the full-text articles and extracted data. The quality of trial reporting was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool. The primary outcome of foot ulceration was summarised using pooled relative risks in meta-analyses.
Results:
Twenty-two RCTs of eight interventions were eligible for analysis. One trial of digital silicone devices (RR 0.07 [95% CI 0.01, 0.55]) and meta-analyses of dermal infrared thermometry (RR 0.41 [95% CI 0.19, 0.86]), complex interventions (RR 0.59 [95% CI 0.38, 0.90], and custom-made footwear and offloading insoles (RR 0.53 [95% CI 0.33, 0.85]) showed beneficial effects for these interventions.
Conclusions/interpretation:
Four interventions were identified as being effective in preventing foot ulcers in people with diabetes, but uncertainty remains about what works and who is most likely to benefit
Genetic Risk Score for Intracranial Aneurysms:Prediction of Subarachnoid Hemorrhage and Role in Clinical Heterogeneity
BACKGROUND: Recently, common genetic risk factors for intracranial aneurysm (IA) and aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (ASAH) were found to explain a large amount of disease heritability and therefore have potential to be used for genetic risk prediction. We constructed a genetic risk score to (1) predict ASAH incidence and IA presence (combined set of unruptured IA and ASAH) and (2) assess its association with patient characteristics. METHODS: A genetic risk score incorporating genetic association data for IA and 17 traits related to IA (so-called metaGRS) was created using 1161 IA cases and 407â392 controls from the UK Biobank population study. The metaGRS was validated in combination with risk factors blood pressure, sex, and smoking in 828 IA cases and 68â568 controls from the Nordic HUNT population study. Furthermore, we assessed association between the metaGRS and patient characteristics in a cohort of 5560 IA patients. RESULTS: Per SD increase of metaGRS, the hazard ratio for ASAH incidence was 1.34 (95% CI, 1.20-1.51) and the odds ratio for IA presence 1.09 (95% CI, 1.01-1.18). Upon including the metaGRS on top of clinical risk factors, the concordance index to predict ASAH hazard increased from 0.63 (95% CI, 0.59-0.67) to 0.65 (95% CI, 0.62-0.69), while prediction of IA presence did not improve. The metaGRS was statistically significantly associated with age at ASAH (ÎČ=-4.82Ă10(-3) per year [95% CI, -6.49Ă10(-3) to -3.14Ă10(-3)]; P=1.82Ă10(-8)), and location of IA at the internal carotid artery (odds ratio=0.92 [95% CI, 0.86-0.98]; P=0.0041). CONCLUSIONS: The metaGRS was predictive of ASAH incidence, although with limited added value over clinical risk factors. The metaGRS was not predictive of IA presence. Therefore, we do not recommend using this metaGRS in daily clinical care. Genetic risk does partly explain the clinical heterogeneity of IA warranting prioritization of clinical heterogeneity in future genetic prediction studies of IA and ASAH
Hormone replacement therapy and risks of oesophageal and gastric adenocarcinomas
Oesophageal and gastric adenocarcinoma share an unexplained male predominance, which would be explained by the hypothesis that oestrogens are protective in this respect. We carried out a nested caseâcontrol study of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) among 299 women with oesophageal cancer, 313 with gastric cancer, and 3191 randomly selected control women, frequency matched by age and calendar year in the General Practitioners Research Database in the United Kingdom. Data were adjusted for age, calendar year, tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption, body mass index, hysterectomy, and upper gastrointestinal disorders. Among 1â619â563 person-years of follow-up, more than 50% reduced risk of gastric adenocarcinoma was found among users of HRT compared to nonusers (odds ratio (OR), 0.48, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.29â0.79). This inverse association appeared to be stronger for gastric noncardia (OR 0.34, 95% CI 0.14â0.78) and weaker for gastric cardia tumours (OR 0.68, 95% CI 0.23â2.01). There was no association between HRT and oesophageal adenocarcinoma (OR 1.17, 95% CI 0.41â3.32)
Genome-wide meta-analysis of 158,000 individuals of European ancestry identifies three loci associated with chronic back pain
Back pain is the #1 cause of years lived with disability worldwide, yet surprisingly little is known regarding the biology underlying this symptom. We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) meta-analysis of ch
Association studies of up to 1.2 million individuals yield new insights into the genetic etiology of tobacco and alcohol use
Tobacco and alcohol use are leading causes of mortality that influence risk for many complex diseases and disorders 1 . They are heritable 2,3 and etiologically related 4,5 behaviors that have been resistant to gene discovery efforts 6â11 . In sample sizes up to 1.2 million individuals, we discovered 566 genetic variants in 406 loci associated with multiple stages of tobacco use (initiation, cessation, and heaviness) as well as alcohol use, with 150 loci evidencing pleiotropic association. Smoking phenotypes were positively genetically correlated with many health conditions, whereas alcohol use was negatively correlated with these conditions, such that increased genetic risk for alcohol use is associated with lower disease risk. We report evidence for the involvement of many systems in tobacco and alcohol use, including genes involved in nicotinic, dopaminergic, and glutamatergic neurotransmission. The results provide a solid starting point to evaluate the effects of these loci in model organisms and more precise substance use measures
Awareness, concern and willingness to adopt biosecure behaviours: public perceptions of invasive tree pests and pathogens in the UK
The growing incidence of invasive tree
pest and disease outbreaks is recognised as an
increasing threat to ecosystem services and human
wellbeing. Linked to global trade, human movement
and climate change, a number of outbreaks have
attracted high public and media attention. However,
there is surprisingly little evidence characterising the
nature of public attentiveness to these events, nor how
publics might respond to evolving outbreaks and the
management actions taken. This paper presents findings
from an online questionnaire involving 1334
respondents nationally-representative of the British
public to assess awareness, concern and willingness to
adopt biosecure behaviours. Despite revealing low
levels of awareness and knowledge, the results indicate
that the British public is concerned about the
health of trees, forests and woodlands and is moderately
willing to adopt biosecure behaviours. A key
finding is that membership of environmental organisations
and strong place identity are likely to engender
higher awareness and levels of concern about tree
pests and diseases. Further, those who visit woodlands
regularly are likely to be more aware than non-visitors,
and gardeners are more likely to be concerned than
non-gardeners. Women, older respondents, those with
strong place identity and dependence, members of
environmental organisations, woodland visitors and
gardeners were most likely to express a willingness to
adopt biosecure behaviours. A comparison with findings
from a survey conducted by the authors 3 years
previously shows a decline over time in awareness,
concern and willingness
- âŠ