Search results for "Confidence Interval"

Prevalence and Potential Risk Factors of Helicobacter pylori Infection among Asymptomatic Individuals in Kazakhstan

2021

Background: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection is associated with several risk factors such as demographic, socioeconomic status and personal habits, which vary in different populations. This is the most up-to-date data on H. pylori prevalence and potential risk factors for H. pylori infection among asymptomatic middle-aged individuals in Kazakhstan. Methods: Apparently healthy individuals aged 40 to 64, who took part in the health control in the outpatient clinic, were invited to participate in the study; answered a questionnaire, donated a blood sample. The antibodies to H. pylori were analysed by latex agglutination method. The baseline characteristics of study subjects with or wi…

Ovarian stimulation for oocyte vitrification does not modify disease-free survival and overall survival rates in patients with early breast cancer

2019

Research question: Does ovarian stimulation for oocyte vitrification affect disease-free survival and overall survival rates in women with early breast cancer? Design: This cohort study included 259 patients with early breast cancer; 148 patients underwent ovarian stimulation, whereas 111 patients did not. Patients were treated between January 2008 and December 2016. To calculate the disease-free survival time and overall survival rate, the time of definitive surgery was defined as the starting point. The follow-up was conducted up to 5 years. Results: Exposed and non-exposed groups were comparable in tumour, node and metastases classification, Nottingham grade, hormonal receptor status, tu…

Preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy in patients with partial X monosomy using their own oocytes: is this a suitable indication?

2019

Objective To describe the outcome of preimplantation genetic testing (PGT-A) using their own oocytes in patients with mosaic Turner Syndrome (MTS). The impact of the assisted reproduction technique (ART) performed (PGT-A or oocyte donation) and the type of absence of the X chromosome (total or partial) were considered. Design Retrospective observational multicenter study. Setting University-affiliated private in vitro fertilization center. Patient(s) Fifty-six patients with MTS with whom 65 ovarian stimulation cycles for PGT-A (fluorescence in situ hybridization/arrays-next generation sequencing) were performed. The study included 90 women with MTS and 20 women with pure Turner Syndrome (PT…

Number needed to freeze: cumulative live birth rate after fertility preservation in women with endometriosis

2021

Research question: How does the number of oocytes used affect the cumulative live birth rate in endometriosis patients who had their oocytes vitrified for fertility preservation (FP)? Design: Retrospective observational study including data from 485 women with endometriosis who underwent FP from January 2007 to July 2018. Survival curves and Kaplan-Meier plots were used to analyse the cumulative live birth rate (CLBR) according to the number of vitrified oocytes used. Data were stratified according to age, stage of the disease and ovarian surgery prior to FP (operated vs. non-operated). Endometriosis curves were compared to plots developed using elective fertility preservation (EFP) patient…

Telomere length and health outcomes: An umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses of observational studies.

2019

The aim of the present study was to map and grade evidence for the relationships between telomere length with a diverse range of health outcomes, using an umbrella review of systematic reviews with meta-analyses. We searched for meta-analyses of observational studies reporting on the association of telomere length with any health outcome (clinical disease outcomes and intermediate traits). For each association, random-effects summary effect size, 95% confidence interval (CI), and 95% prediction interval were calculated. To evaluate the credibility of the identified evidence, we assessed also heterogeneity, evidence for small-study effect and evidence for excess significance bias. Twenty-one…

Magnesium Status in Alzheimer's Disease: A Systematic Review

2016

The interest in poor magnesium (Mg) status as risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD) is increasing due to its antioxidant and neuroprotective properties. A systematic PubMed literature search of studies investigating Mg status was undertaken comparing AD to healthy controls (HCs) or patients with medical illness (medical controls [MCs]). Standardized mean differences (SMDs) ± 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated for all outcomes. Of 192 potentially eligible studies, 13 were included (559 patients with AD, 381 HCs, and 126 MCs). Compared to HCs, patients with AD had significantly lower Mg in cerebrospinal fluid (2 studies; SMD = -0.35; P =.02) and in hair (2 studies; SMD = -0.75;…

Quantitative and qualitative profiles of circulating monocytes may help identifying tuberculosis infection and disease stages

2017

Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the most important cause of morbidity and death among infectious diseases, and continuous efforts are needed to improve diagnostic tools and therapy. Previous published studies showed that the absolute cells number of monocytes or lymphocytes in peripheral blood or yet the ratio of monocytes to lymphocytes displayed the ability to predict the risk of active TB. In the present study we evaluated the ratio of monocytes to lymphocytes variation and we also analyzed the ex-vivo expression of CD64 on monocytes as tools to identify biomarkers for discriminating TB stages. Significant differences were found when the average ratio of monocytes to lymphocytes of active TB…

2020

BACKGROUND Women experience drastic hormonal changes during midlife due to the menopausal transition. Menopausal hormonal changes are known to lead to bone loss and potentially also to loss of lean mass. The loss of muscle and bone tissue coincide due to the functional relationship and interaction between these tissues. If and how physical activity counteracts deterioration in muscle and bone during the menopausal transition remains partly unresolved. This study investigated differences between premenopausal, early perimenopausal, late perimenopausal, and postmenopausal women in appendicular lean mass (ALM), appendicular lean mass index (ALMI), femoral neck bone mineral density (BMD) and T …

Should we continue to use prediction tools to identify patients at risk of Candida spp. infection? If yes, why?

2016

Background Given the predominance of invasive fungal disease (IFD) amongst the non-immunocompromised adult critically ill population, the potential benefit of antifungal prophylaxis and the lack of generalisable tools to identify high risk patients, the aim of the current study was to describe the epidemiology of IFD in UK critical care units, and to develop and validate a clinical risk prediction tool to identify non-neutropenic, critically ill adult patients at high risk of IFD who would benefit from antifungal prophylaxis. Methods Data on risk factors for, and outcomes from, IFD were collected for consecutive admissions to adult, general critical care units in the UK participating in the…

Parental risk factors of anorectal malformations: Analysis with a regional population-based control group

2015

BACKGROUND Adequate evidence on environmental risk factors for anorectal malformations (ARMs) is very limited. We assessed maternal body weight and several prenatal exposures of the parents to tobacco, pregestational diabetes, chronic cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, periconceptional folic acid and multivitamin intake. METHODS Data from the German Network for Congenital Uro-REctal malformations (CURE-Net) were compared with data from the Malformation Monitoring Centre Saxony-Anhalt of the Otto-von-Guericke University in Magdeburg, Germany. Controls were matched to cases by gender and birth year of the child. Crude and adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) were calculated f…