Age- and region-specific hepatitis B prevalence in Turkey estimated using generalized linear mixed models: a systematic review

Toy M, Önder FO, Wörmann T, et al. Age- and region-specific hepatitis B prevalence in Turkey estimated using generalized linear mixed models: a systematic review. BMC infectious diseases. 2011;11(1): 337.BACKGROUND: To provide a clear picture of the current hepatitis B situation, the authors performed a systematic review to estimate the age- and region-specific prevalence of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) in Turkey. METHODS: A total of 339 studies with original data on the prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) in Turkey and published between 1999 and 2009 were identified through a search of electronic databases, by reviewing citations, and by writing to authors. After a critical assessment, the authors included 129 studies, divided into categories: 'age-specific'; 'region-specific'; and 'specific population group'. To account for the differences among the studies, a generalized linear mixed model was used to estimate the overall prevalence across all age groups and regions. For specific population groups, the authors calculated the weighted mean prevalence. RESULTS: The estimated overall population prevalence was 4.57, 95% confidence interval (CI): 3.58, 5.76, and the estimated total number of CHB cases was about 3.3 million. The outcomes of the age-specific groups varied from 2.84, (95% CI: 2.60, 3.10) for the 0-14-year olds to 6.36 (95% CI: 5.83, 6.90) in the 25-34-year-old group. CONCLUSION: There are large age-group and regional differences in CHB prevalence in Turkey, where CHB remains a serious health problem

Assessment of fatigue in nurses: A sample from a university hospital in Turkey

WOS: 00041438980600

Hybrid designs in studies [Araştirmalarda melez tasarimlar.]

PubMed ID: 19851970The traditional cohort and case-control designs offer a number of advantages but they have several important limitations. There are some alternative study designs for coping with limitations of conventional study designs. These studies are hybrid designs that are economical and efficient in studying risk factors for rare diseases or drug adverse reactions. Hybrid designs are increasingly commonly used in studies. In this paper, hybrid designs including nested case-control, case-cohort, case crossover and case-time control designs were presented

Fear of blood/injection in healthy and unhealthy adults admitted to a teaching hospital

WOS: 000244243500023PubMed ID: 17313613Blood/injury phobia is one of the specific phobias. The aim of this study was to determine the fear of injection and blood in patients and healthy people. This study was carried out at Tepecik Hospital, Clinical Biochemistry Laboratory and Blood Center. Data were collected from 1500 adults who agreed to participate in the study (237 patients with chronic diseases and 1263 healthy people) during the period from January 2003 to February 2005. All participants completed two self-administered questionnaires (17-item Symptom Questionnaire and 20-item Blood/Injection Fear Scale) after giving blood samples by blood donation. 30.1% of the patients and 19.5% of the healthy adults reported that they had fear of blood/injection. Symptoms related to having blood drawn or injection were more frequently reported among women than men. Patients' educational level was also associated with the Symptom Questionnaire and fear of blood/injection scores. Fear of blood/injection was significantly higher in patients with chronic diseases. Fear of blood/injection should be considered by healthcare professionals as it is important for assessing the treatment-seeking individuals