Is exercise protective against influenza-associated mortality?

Background: Little is known about the effect of physical exercise on influenza-associated mortality. Methods and Findings: We collected information about exercise habits and other lifestyle, and socioeconomic and demographic status, the underlying cause of death of 24,656 adults (21% aged 30-64, 79% aged 65 or above who died in 1998 in Hong Kong, and the weekly proportion of specimens positive for influenza A (H3N1 and H1N1) and B isolation during the same period. We assessed the excess risks (ER) of influenza-associated mortality due to all-natural causes, cardiovascular diseases, or respiratory disease among different levels of exercise: never/seldom (less than once per month), low/moderate (once per month to three times per week), and frequent (four times or more per week) by Poisson regression. We also assessed the differences in ER between exercise groups by case-only logistic regression. For all the mortality outcomes under study in relation to each 10% increase in weekly proportion of specimens positive for influenza A+B, never/seldom exercise (as reference) was associated with 5.8% to 8.5% excess risks (ER) of mortality (P<0.0001), while low/moderate exercise was associated with ER which were 4.2% to 6.4% lower than those of the reference (P<0.001 for all-natural causes; P=0.001 for cardiovascular; and P=0.07 for respiratory mortality). Frequent exercise was not different from the reference (change in ER -0.8% to 1.7%, P=0.30 to 0.73). Conclusion: When compared with never or seldom exercise, exercising at low to moderate frequency is beneficial with lower influenza-associated mortality. © 2008 Wong et al.published_or_final_versio

Assessing the human immune system through blood transcriptomics

Blood is the pipeline of the immune system. Assessing changes in transcript abundance in blood on a genome-wide scale affords a comprehensive view of the status of the immune system in health and disease. This review summarizes the work that has used this approach to identify therapeutic targets and biomarker signatures in the field of autoimmunity and infectious disease. Recent technological and methodological advances that will carry the blood transcriptome research field forward are also discussed

Weekly Iron-Folic Acid Supplementation with Regular Deworming Is Cost-Effective in Preventing Anaemia in Women of Reproductive Age in Vietnam

BACKGROUND: To estimate the cost and cost-effectiveness of a project administering de-worming and weekly iron-folic acid supplementation to control anaemia in women of reproductive age in Yen Bai province, Vietnam. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Cost effectiveness was evaluated using data on programmatic costs based on two surveys in 2006 and 2009 and impact on anaemia and iron status collected in 2006, 2007, and 2008. Data on initial costs for training and educational materials were obtained from the records of the National Institute of Malariology, Parasitology and Entomology and the Yen Bai Malaria Control Program. Structured questionnaires for health workers at district, commune and village level were used to collect ongoing distribution and monitoring costs, and for participants to collect transport and loss of earnings costs. The cost per woman treated (defined as consuming at least 75% of the recommended intake) was USD0.76 per annum. This estimate includes financial costs (for supplies, training), and costs of health care workers' time. Prevalence of anaemia fell from 38% at baseline, to 20% after 12 months. Thus, the cost-effectiveness of the project is assessed at USD 4.24 per anaemia case prevented per year. Based on estimated productivity gains for adult women, the benefit:cost ratio is 6.7∶1. Cost of the supplements and anthelminthics was 47% of the total, while costs of training, monitoring, and health workers' time accounted for 53%. CONCLUSION: The study shows that weekly iron-folic acid supplementation and regular de-worming is a low-cost and cost-effective intervention and would be appropriate for population-based introduction in settings with a high prevalence of anaemia and iron deficiency and low malaria infection rates

Weekly Iron-Folic Acid Supplementation with Regular Deworming Is Cost-Effective in Preventing Anaemia in Women of Reproductive Age in Vietnam

To estimate the cost and cost-effectiveness of a project administering de-worming and weekly iron-folic acid supplementation to control anaemia in women of reproductive age in Yen Bai province, Vietnam