Spatial analysis of the regional variation of reproductive tract infections and spousal migration correlates in Nepal.

Nepal has a diverse geographic landscape that could potentially create clustered subpopulations with regional socio-cultures that could result in differential health outcomes. With an alarming rise in married male populations migrating for work, it is possible that these migrants are engaged in risky sexual behaviour, putting their wives at risk for infectious disease outcomes, including reproductive tract infections (RTI), when they return home. The prevalence of male migration varies by geographic region in Nepal and this variation could potentially contribute to different RTI rates.

Spousal migration and human papillomavirus infection among women in rural western Nepal.

Background: In April 2014 we investigated the association of migration of a woman's husband with her high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) infection status and her abnormal cervical cytology status in the Achham district of rural Far-Western Nepal.

Methods: Women were surveyed and screened for HR-HPV during a health camp conducted by the Nepal Fertility Care Center. Univariate and multivariable statistical tests were performed to determine the association of a husband's migration status with HR-HPV infection and cervical cytology status.

Extended interval dosing of natalizumab in multiple sclerosis.

Background: Natalizumab (NTZ), a monoclonal antibody to human α4β1/β7 integrin, is an effective therapy for multiple sclerosis (MS), albeit associated with progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML). Clinicians have been extending the dose of infusions with a hypothesis of reducing PML risk. The aim of the study is to evaluate the clinical consequences of reducing NTZ frequency of infusion up to 8 weeks 5 days.

Prevalence of multiple sclerosis symptoms across lifespan: data from the NARCOMS Registry.

The North American Research Committee on Multiple Sclerosis is a voluntary patient registry with more than 38,000 registrants as of 2015. In a recent collaborative project, longitudinal data on patient-perceived impairment in 11 domains commonly affected by multiple sclerosis were examined and tabulated as a function of disease duration. The patterns of disability accumulation differed by domain.

Obesity is associated with race/sex disparities in diabetes and hypertension prevalence, but not cardiovascular disease, among HIV-infected adults.

Race/sex differences are observed in cardiometabolic disease (CMD) risk and prevalence in the context of treated, chronic HIV infection, and these differences could be exacerbated by disparities in obesity prevalence. We sought to determine the effect of obesity on these disparities among people living with HIV. Prevalence of CMD (dyslipidemia, cardiovascular disorders, hypertension, diabetes, chronic kidney disease) was determined for patients seen at the University of Alabama at Birmingham HIV clinic between 7/2010 and 6/2011.

Bifactor structure of clinical disability in relapsing multiple sclerosis.

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) can affect virtually every neurological function which complicates the conceptualization and assessment of disability. Similar challenges are encountered in other medical fields including child cognitive development and psychiatry, for instance. In these disciplines progress in diagnosis and outcome measurement has been recently achieved by capitalizing on the concept of bifactor model.

System-level factors as predictors of adherence to clinical appointment schedules in antiretroviral therapy in Cambodia.

Adherence to clinical appointment schedules by patients on antiretroviral therapy (ART) is necessary for the prevention of medication interruptions, viral rebound, and the development of drug resistance. An observational study conducted in 2010, Enablers and Adherence to Antiretroviral Therapy in Cambodia, sought to identify factors that predict on-time clinical appointment attendance by patients on ART. Clinical data, including appointment attendance across five consecutive visits, were collected from hospital records on a random sample of ART patients at government referral hospitals (RHs) in Battambang Province, Cambodia.

Quantitative Evaluation of an Instrument to Identify Chronic Pain in HIV-Infected Individuals.

A method to rapidly identify the presence of chronic pain would enhance the care of HIV-infected individuals, but such an instrument has not been assessed in this population to date. We assessed the construct validity of the two-question Brief Chronic Pain Questionnaire (BCPQ) in HIV-infected patients by assessing the association between BCPQ responses and known correlates of chronic pain. Participants in the University of Alabama Center for AIDS Research Network of Integrated Clinical Systems cohort completed the BCPQ, along with the EuroQOL to assess physical function, the PHQ-9 to assess depression, and the PHQ-anxiety module to assess anxiety.

Structural and sociocultural factors associated with cervical cancer screening among HIV-infected African American women in Alabama.

African American women have disproportionately high prevalence rates of HIV and cervical cancer. HIV-infected women are significantly less likely to obtain recommended cervical cancer screenings than HIV-uninfected women. The purpose of this study was to examine sociocultural and structural factors associated with cervical cancer screening among HIV-infected African American in Alabama.

Self-Report Measures in the Assessment of Antiretroviral Medication Adherence: Comparison with Medication Possession Ratio and HIV Viral Load.

Background: Adherence is a major determinant of the effectiveness of antiretroviral therapy (ART). We determined the association between self-reported adherence (SRA) and medication possession ratio (MPR), a pharmacy-based adherence measure, and their respective associations with viral load.

Methods: Adherence to ART was assessed by MPR over 6 months and by self-report which included a question with a Likert-type scale response, a visual analogue scale (VAS), and an inquiry about the last time the patients skipped any prescribed medications.

'Two pains together': patient perspectives on psychological aspects of chronic pain while living with HIV.

Objective: Chronic pain is common in HIV-infected individuals. Understanding HIV-infected patients' chronic pain experience not just from a biological, but also from a psychological perspective, is a critical first step toward improving care for this population. Our objective was to explore HIV-infected patients' perspectives on psychological aspects of chronic pain using in-depth qualitative interviews.

IV immunoglobulin confounds JC virus antibody serostatus determination.

Objective: To determine the impact of therapeutic infusion of IV immunoglobulin (IVIg) on John Cunningham virus antibody (JCV Ab) serostatus and level in serum.

Methods: We carried out a retrospective analysis of serum levels of JCV Ab among STRATIFY-2 trial enrollees from 2 multiple sclerosis centers who were exposed to IVIg during the trial. For the subset of eligible patients, we estimated mean linear trends while on IVIg and after stopping IVIg with a linear mixed-effects model.

Preference for human papillomavirus-based cervical cancer screening: results of a choice-based conjoint study in Zambia.

Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the conditions under which Zambian women with a history of cervical cancer screening by visual inspection with acetic acid might switch to human papillomavirus-based testing in the future.

Materials And Methods: We conducted a choice-based conjoint survey in a sample of women recently screened by visual inspection in Lusaka, Zambia. The screening attribute considered in hypothetical-choice scenarios included screening modality, sex and age of the examiner, whether screening results would be presented visually, distance from home to the clinic, and wait time for results.

Item response theory-based measure of global disability in multiple sclerosis derived from the Performance Scales and related items.

Background: The eight Performance Scales and three assimilated scales (PS) used in North American Research Committee on Multiple Sclerosis (NARCOMS) registry surveys cover a broad range of neurologic domains commonly affected by multiple sclerosis (mobility, hand function, vision, fatigue, cognition, bladder/bowel, sensory, spasticity, pain, depression, and tremor/coordination). Each scale consists of a single 6-to-7-point Likert item with response categories ranging from "normal" to "total disability". Relatively little is known about the performances of the summary index of disability derived from these scales (the Performance Scales Sum or PSS).

Assessment of high-risk human papillomavirus infections using clinician- and self-collected cervical sampling methods in rural women from far western Nepal.

Introduction: Nepal has one of the highest cervical cancer rates in South Asia. Only a few studies in populations from urban areas have investigated type specific distribution of human papillomavirus (HPV) in Nepali women. Data on high-risk HPV (HR-HPV) types are not currently available for rural populations in Nepal.

Derivation of a tuberculosis screening rule for sub-Saharan African prisons.

Setting: Lusaka Central Prison, Zambia.

Objective: To derive screening rules for tuberculosis (TB) using data collected during a prison-wide TB and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) screening program.

Design: We derived rules with two methodologies: logistic regression and classification and regression trees (C&RT).

Prevalence and correlates of cervico-vaginal clinical syndromes among women attending a health camp in Lalitpur district of Nepal.

Background: Sexual and reproductive health of women is a major public health problem in Nepal. Screening of cervico-vaginal clinical syndromes could potentially provide insights to the prevalence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), which is not known.

Objective: To investigate the prevalence and factors associated with cervico-vaginal clinical syndromes in the socio-behavioral, medical, and public health context of Nepal.

Qualitative investigation of a Brief Chronic Pain Screening tool in HIV-infected patients.

Unlabelled: Chronic pain in HIV-infected patients is prevalent but understudied. A limitation of HIV/chronic pain research to date is the lack of a widely used chronic pain screening tool. A Brief Chronic Pain Screening tool (BCPS) has been described, but has not yet been tested in a clinical population.

Natural history of multiple sclerosis symptoms.

The North American Research Committee on Multiple Sclerosis (NARCOMS) Registry is a database that contains information from over 35,000 patient volunteers on symptom severity in 11 domains commonly affected in multiple sclerosis (MS): mobility, hand function, vision, fatigue, cognition, bowel/bladder function, sensory, spasticity, pain, depression, and tremor/coordination. The Registry affords a unique opportunity to study the frequency and severity of domain-specific impairment in a contemporary, mostly treated MS cohort over the course of the disease. The objective of this work was to calculate symptom prevalence in each of the 11 domains for years 0 to 30 from symptom onset.

Pain is independently associated with impaired physical function in HIV-infected patients.

Introduction: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients in the current treatment era can achieve normal life expectancies but experience a high degree of medical and psychiatric comorbidity. Impaired physical function and pain, often in the context of mood disorders and substance abuse, are common in HIV-infected patients. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship of pain, a modifiable condition, to functional impairment in HIV-infected patients, independent of mood disorders and substance abuse.

Disability in multiple sclerosis: a reference for patients and clinicians.

Objective: To create a reference table of disability outcomes in multiple sclerosis (MS) that would enable patients to rank their disability relative to others' with similar disease duration and to develop a cost-effective research tool for comparing MS severity across patient populations and time periods.

Methods: The North American Research Committee on Multiple Sclerosis (NARCOMS) Registry collects disability data from patients with MS on a validated, 9-point Patient-Determined Disease Steps (PDDS) scale. We compiled the Disability Expectancy Table, which displays cumulative frequencies of PDDS scores for each year of disease duration, from 0 to 45 years.

Multimorbidity patterns in HIV-infected patients: the role of obesity in chronic disease clustering.

Background: Increases in multimorbidity and obesity have been noted in HIV-infected populations in the current treatment era. Patterns of multimorbid disease clustering and the impact of obesity on multimorbidity are understudied in this population.

Methods: We examined obesity and multimorbidity patterns among 1844 HIV-infected patients in the UAB 1917 Clinic.

Association between vancomycin-resistant Enterococci bacteremia and ceftriaxone usage.

Objective: Vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) have become a public health concern with implications for patient mortality and costs. Hospital antibiotic usage may impact VRE incidence, but the relationship is poorly understood. Animal investigations suggest that ceftriaxone may be associated with VRE proliferation.

Increasing age at disability milestones among MS patients in the MSBase Registry.

Objective: To analyze time-trends in age at disability milestones among MS patients who were enrolled into the MSBase International Registry during 1996-2010 period.

Methods: We used linear regression to describe the relationship between mean age at major EDSS benchmarks and calendar time. We then assessed time-trend in age at initial EDSS rating with a three level linear growth model specifying that patients were nested within each of 20 participating countries.