Search results for "population study"
showing 10 items of 210 documents
Polypharmacy in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes receiving oral antidiabetic treatment
2016
Aim: Polypharmacy in older diabetics can have detrimental effects linked to poor adherence and the risk of drug interaction or more serious/frequent side effects. The aim of this study was to identify the characteristics associated with polypharmacy in a cohort of elderly diabetic patients being treated with oral hypoglycemic agents. Methods: The study population consisted of 1342 diabetic patients consecutively enrolled in 57 diabetes centers in Italy participating in the METABOLIC Study. Patients meeting the following inclusion criteria were enrolled: diagnosis of type 2 diabetes mellitus, age ≥65 years, and receiving oral antidiabetic treatment. Data concerning diabetes duration and comp…
Vascular risk factors in glaucoma: The results of a national survey
2007
Background The role of vascular risk factors in glaucoma is still being debated. To assess the importance of vascular risk factors in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG), data from the medical history of 2,879 POAG patients and 973 age-matched controls were collected and analyzed. Methods Design: observational survey. Setting: 35 Italian academic centers. Study population: POAG patients and age-matched controls. In order to reduce bias consecutive patients were included. Observation procedures: data concerning vascular risk factors were collected for all patients with a detailed questionnaire. A complete ophthalmological examination with assessment of intraocular pressure (IOP)…
Effect of high-caloric nutrition on serum neurofilament light chain levels in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
2020
Recent publications showed that circulating neurofilaments (Nfs) may be used as a diagnostic biomarker distinguishing amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) from ALS mimics with high sensitivity and specificity.1–3 Furthermore, it has been shown that patients with higher Nf levels show faster disease progression1 and shorter survival.2 3 Nf levels remain rather stable during the course of disease.2 Current literature suggests that the diagnostic value of neurofilament light chains (NfL) and phosphorylated neurofilament heavy chains in cerebrospinal fluid is about equal, whereas in blood NfL seems to be superior.4 In this study, we investigated the effect of a high-caloric fatty diet (HCFD) on …
Interleukin 6 plasma levels predict with high sensitivity and specificity coronary stenosis detected by coronary angiography
2007
SummaryIn recent years new biomarkers able to measure the coronary atherosclerotic burden have been investigated. The aim of the present study was: i) to measure plasma levels of four biomarkers: C reactive protein (CRP), soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1), interleukin 6 (IL-6), 8-isosprostane (8-ISO),in a series of patients undergoing coronary angiography; ii) to assess the power of the biomarkers to predict critical coronary stenosis detected by angiography. The study population consisted of a group of 438 subjects undergoing coronary angiography; 160 patients with 0, 1, 2, or 3 critical vessels were selected, and biomarkers plasma levels were measured in plasma samples o…
Urinary (1)H-NMR and GC-MS metabolomics predicts early and late onset neonatal sepsis.
2014
The purpose of this article is to study one of the most significant causes of neonatal morbidity and mortality: neonatal sepsis. This pathology is due to a bacterial or fungal infection acquired during the perinatal period. Neonatal sepsis has been categorized into two groups: early onset if it occurs within 3-6 days and late onset after 4-7 days. Due to the not-specific clinical signs, along with the inaccuracy of available biomarkers, the diagnosis is still a major challenge. In this regard, the use of a combined approach based on both nuclear magnetic resonance (H-1-NMR) and gas-chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) techniques, coupled with a multivariate statistical analysis, may hel…
Comorbidity between obesity and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder: Population study with 13–15-year-olds
2006
Objective: This study analyzes whether obese children have a higher risk of attention deficit/hyperactivity “characteristics” (AD/HD) than do children with other nutritional states. Method: This study included 35,403 participants from 486 community schools. They completed the AD/HD scale of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and were weighed and measured. 2879 of the participants were obese and 78 were morbidly obese (BMI >40). Results: A discrete, nonsignificant, increment was found in the AD/HD characteristics of male participants with morbid obesity, as compared with the other nutritional states. Among morbidly obese females, the prevalence of AD/HD characteristics was sl…
Applicability of Echocardiographic Strict Negative Criteria for Suspected Infective Endocarditis.
2021
Echocardiography is the cornerstone imaging technique in the diagnosis of infective endocarditis (IE) but is often misused in clinical practice. Recently, strict negative criteria have been proposed to avoid unnecessary follow-up echocardiograms. We aimed to evaluate the use of echocardiography in real-world clinical daily practice and the usefulness of these criteria in the diagnosis of IE. We retrospectively retrieved every echocardiogram performed in our center for suspected IE between 2014 and 2018, including 905 transthoracic echocardiograms (TTEs). Of these, 451 (49.8%) fulfilled the strict negative criteria (group 1). In this group, IE was seldom diagnosed (n = 4, 0.9%). In 338 patie…
Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of pro-inflammatory/anti-inflammatory and thrombotic/fibrinolytic genes in patients with acute ischemic stroke…
2011
Abstract Background The genetic basis of complex diseases like ischemic stroke probably consists of several predisposing risk factors, such as genes involved in inflammation and thrombotic pathways. On this basis the aim of our study was to evaluate the role of SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms) of some pro-inflammatory/anti-inflammatory and coagulation/fibrinolytic genes in patients with acute ischemic stroke. Methods The study population consisted of 144 consecutive Caucasian adult patients who were hospitalized in the Internal Medicine Department at the University of Palermo between November 2006 and January 2008, and who met inclusion criteria. The cases were patients admitted with …
Exposure to mercury among Spanish preschool children: Trend from birth to age four
2013
The purpose of this study is to describe the total hair mercury concentrations and their determinants in preschool Spanish children, as well as to explore the trend in mercury exposure from birth to the age four. This evolution has been scarcely studied in other birth cohort studies. The study population was 580 four year old children participating in the INMA (i.e. Childhood and Environment) birth cohort study in Valencia (2008–2009). Total mercury concentration at age four was measured in hair samples by atomic absorption spectrometry. Fish consumption and other covariates were obtained by questionnaire. Multivariate linear regression models were conducted in order to explore the associat…
Walnut Consumption, Plasma Metabolomics, and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease
2021
BACKGROUND: Walnut consumption is associated with lower risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D) and cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, it is unknown whether plasma metabolites related to walnut consumption are also associated with lower risk of cardiometabolic diseases. OBJECTIVES: The study aimed to identify plasma metabolites associated with walnut consumption and evaluate the prospective associations between the identified profile and risk of T2D and CVD. METHODS: The discovery population included 1833 participants at high cardiovascular risk from the PREvención con DIeta MEDiterránea (PREDIMED) study with available metabolomics data at baseline. The study population included 57% women (baseli…