Critical analysis on tuberculosis mortality during 2005-2011 in Batticaloa district, Sri Lanka

Tuberculosis (TB) is a significant public health problem throughout the world and in Sri Lanka too. It is poses a continuing threat to the health and development of the people. Around 8500 – 9500 cases are detected annually in Sri Lanka. In the recent past, the TB mortality rate has significantly increased in Batticaloa district in comparison to the national value (Mortality rate in 2009, National figure 2.4/100,000 Population and 3.35/100,000 Population for Batticaloa district but in 2010 rate was 4.51/100,000 Population for Batticaloa district however National figure is 2.5/100,000 Population).This investigation aimed to, identify the age group vulnerable for death due to TB, recognize the areas in Batticaloa district that are more prone to contracting TB, determine the influence of predisposing factors and co- morbidities contribute to the death and designed to analyze the diagnostic criteria of tuberculosis at Chest Clinic and Teaching Hospital,Batticaloa. Data obtained from chest clinic records and by interviewer administered questionnaire of close relatives of the diseased cases. Statistical analysis was performed by statistical software (SPSS 16.0) and the p-value < 0.05 was considered significant for all analyses. The most vulnerable age group of death identified as 55– 64 years (30.4%). The significant higher death rate (27.3%) occurred in Kaluwanchikudy Medical Officer of Health (MOH) division. Smoking habit and alcohol consumption were recognized as significant predisposing factors of death. The significant co-morbid to the death was bronchial asthma (45.5%). Death due to tuberculosis has been found to be higher than the national figures in the years under study. A typical laboratory dedicated for detection of TB should be established in Batticaloa as it is essential to perform all diagnostic tests for TB to avoid the unnecessary delay in diagnosing the disease and initiating treatment to avoid unwanted death

Genetically Determined Height and Risk of Non-hodgkin Lymphoma

Although the evidence is not consistent, epidemiologic studies have suggested that taller adult height may be associated with an increased risk of some non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) subtypes. Height is largely determined by genetic factors, but how these genetic factors may contribute to NHL risk is unknown. We investigated the relationship between genetic determinants of height and NHL risk using data from eight genome-wide association studies (GWAS) comprising 10,629 NHL cases, including 3,857 diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), 2,847 follicular lymphoma (FL), 3,100 chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), and 825 marginal zone lymphoma (MZL) cases, and 9,505 controls of European ancestry. We evaluated genetically predicted height by constructing polygenic risk scores using 833 height-associated SNPs. We used logistic regression to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for association between genetically determined height and the risk of four NHL subtypes in each GWAS and then used fixed-effect meta-analysis to combine subtype results across studies. We found suggestive evidence between taller genetically determined height and increased CLL risk (OR = 1.08, 95% CI = 1.00\u20131.17, p = 0.049), which was slightly stronger among women (OR = 1.15, 95% CI: 1.01\u20131.31, p = 0.036). No significant associations were observed with DLBCL, FL, or MZL. Our findings suggest that there may be some shared genetic factors between CLL and height, but other endogenous or environmental factors may underlie reported epidemiologic height associations with other subtypes

Genetically Determined Height and Risk of Non-hodgkin Lymphoma

Although the evidence is not consistent, epidemiologic studies have suggested that taller adult height may be associated with an increased risk of some non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) subtypes. Height is largely determined by genetic factors, but how these genetic factors may contribute to NHL risk is unknown. We investigated the relationship between genetic determinants of height and NHL risk using data from eight genome-wide association studies (GWAS) comprising 10,629 NHL cases, including 3,857 diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), 2,847 follicular lymphoma (FL), 3,100 chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), and 825 marginal zone lymphoma (MZL) cases, and 9,505 controls of European ancestry. We evaluated genetically predicted height by constructing polygenic risk scores using 833 height-associated SNPs. We used logistic regression to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for association between genetically determined height and the risk of four NHL subtypes in each GWAS and then used fixed-effect meta-analysis to combine subtype results across studies. We found suggestive evidence between taller genetically determined height and increased CLL risk (OR = 1.08, 95% CI = 1.00–1.17, p = 0.049), which was slightly stronger among women (OR = 1.15, 95% CI: 1.01–1.31, p = 0.036). No significant associations were observed with DLBCL, FL, or MZL. Our findings suggest that there may be some shared genetic factors between CLL and height, but other endogenous or environmental factors may underlie reported epidemiologic height associations with other subtypes