Defining incident cases of epilepsy in administrative data.

Purpose: To determine the minimum enrollment duration for identifying incident cases of epilepsy in administrative data.

Methods: We performed a retrospective dynamic cohort study using Ohio Medicaid data from 1992 to 2006 to identify a total of 5037 incident epilepsy cases who had at least 1 year of follow-up prior to epilepsy diagnosis (epilepsy-free interval). The incidence for epilepsy-free intervals from 1 to 8 years, overall and stratified by pre-existing disability status, was examined.

The relationship of blood lead with immunoglobulin E, eosinophils, and asthma among children: NHANES 2005-2006.

Early life lead exposure may alter immune function and predispose a child to develop asthma. In an initial exploration of this hypothesis, we examined the association between blood lead, and serum immunoglobulin E (IgE), eosinophils, and asthma prevalence in a cross-sectional study of 1788 children from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2005-2006. Geometric mean blood lead, serum IgE, and percent eosinophils were 1.

Activity change in response to bad air quality, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2007-2010.

Air pollution contributes to poor respiratory and cardiovascular health. Susceptible individuals may be advised to mitigate effects of air pollution through actions such as reducing outdoor physical activity on days with high pollution. Our analysis identifies the extent to which susceptible individuals changed activities due to bad air quality.

The effect of prenatal and postnatal exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls and child neurodevelopment at age twenty four months.

We examined the association between prenatal and postnatal exposure to PCBs and development at age 24 months as measured by the Bayley Scales of Infant Development II. 44 (85%) of 52 children had information available. When prenatal and postnatal exposure were modeled together, we found no association between total PCB exposure and the mental development index (MDI) or the physical development index (PDI).

Polycystic ovary syndrome and diabetes screening: a survey of gynecologists and reproductive endocrinologists.

Objectives: Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus. The purpose of this study was to assess self-reported methods used by specialists in obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN) and in reproductive endocrinology and infertility (REI) to screen for type 2 diabetes in women with PCOS.

Study Design: We analyzed responses to a web-based survey of from 123 OB/GYN and 223 REI physician members of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.

Evaluation of the recommended core components of cardiac rehabilitation practice: an opportunity for quality improvement.

Purpose: Guidelines have been established that describe recommended core components for cardiac rehabilitation (CR) programs; yet, there are no national efforts to monitor the integration of the guidelines. The purpose of this research was to describe incorporation of core components in CR programs.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study using the Ohio Phase II Cardiac Rehabilitation Survey.

Premature thelarche in infants and toddlers: prevalence, natural history and environmental determinants.

Study Objective: The aim of this study was to measure the prevalence of premature thelarche in infant and toddler girls and to determine if environmental sources of estrogen were associated with early breast development.

Design: Observational with mixed methods: Retrospective chart review, cross-sectional component involving an interview survey, along with longitudinal follow-up of girls with thelarche up to six months.

Setting: A general pediatric clinic within a teaching hospital located in a large Midwestern city.

Preterm labor and chorioamnionitis are associated with neonatal T cell activation.

Background: Preterm parturition is characterized by innate immune activation and increased proinflammatory cytokine levels. This well established association leads us to hypothesize that preterm delivery is also associated with neonatal T lymphocyte activation and maturation.

Methodology/principal Findings: Cord blood samples were obtained following term, preterm, and deliveries complicated by clinical chorioamnionitis.

Assessment of benefits of a universal screen for maternal alcohol use during pregnancy.

Introduction: The objective of this report is to estimate the benefits of universal meconium screening for maternal drinking during pregnancy. Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), including its most severe manifestation fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), is preventable and remains a public health tragedy. The incidences of FAS and FASD have been conservatively estimated to be 0.

Metabolic syndrome: identification and management in cardiac rehabilitation.

Purpose: The prevalence of metabolic syndrome in cardiac rehabilitation (CR) makes CR an ideal place to offer interventions to address metabolic syndrome–related risk. There is a lack of research related to the metabolic syndrome practices in CR. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to describe practices to assess CR patients for metabolic syndrome, interventions specific to metabolic syndrome, and staff knowledge and beliefs related to metabolic syndrome.

Association between bone turnover, micronutrient intake, and blood lead levels in pre- and postmenopausal women, NHANES 1999-2002.

Background: Blood lead levels (BLLs) have been shown to increase during periods of high bone turnover such as pregnancy and menopause.

Objectives: We examined the associations between bone turnover and micronutrient intake with BLLs in women 20-85 years of age (n = 2,671) participating in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1999-2002.

Methods: Serum bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (BAP) and urinary cross-linked N-telopeptides (NTx) were measured as markers of bone formation and resorption, respectively.

Cardiac rehabilitation, health behaviors, and body mass index post-myocardial infarction.

Purpose: Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is a multifactorial program that encourages healthy behaviors in persons with a recent cardiovascular event or procedure. Research on the association between CR and health-behavior maintenance has focused on physical activity. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to examine the association of health behaviors (fruit/vegetable consumption and physical activity) and body mass index (BMI) with CR attendance and time since participation in respondents reporting history of myocardial infarction (MI).

Prenatal and postnatal exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls and child size at 24 months of age.

Research suggests that exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) may result in decreased child growth, though the critical window(s) are unclear. We investigated the association between PCBs and child size at age 24 months (n=44). PCBs were measured in first trimester serum, breast milk, and child serum at age 24 months, and dichotomized at the median.

Consumption of alcoholic beverages among pregnant urban Ugandan women.

The World Health Organization estimated alcohol consumption in Uganda to be one of the highest in the world. We examined alcohol consumption among Ugandan women prior to and after learning of pregnancy. We developed a screening algorithm using factors that predicted alcohol consumption in this study.

Estimation of the day-specific probabilities of conception: current state of the knowledge and the relevance for epidemiological research.

Conception, as defined by the fertilisation of an ovum by a sperm, marks the beginning of human development. Currently, a biomarker of conception is not available; as conception occurs shortly after ovulation, the latter can be used as a proxy for the time of conception. In the absence of serial ultrasound examinations, ovulation cannot be readily visualised leaving researchers to rely on proxy measures of ovulation that are subject to error.

Inter-rater agreement of assessed prenatal maternal occupational exposures to lead.

Background: Industrial hygienists' assessments of prenatal occupational exposures based on parental job histories is a promising approach for population-based case-control studies of birth defects and other perinatal outcomes. However, evaluations of inter-rater agreement of such assessments have been limited.

Methods: We examined inter-rater agreement of occupational lead exposure assessments of maternal job reports by industrial hygienists in a population-based case-control study of parental occupational lead exposure and low birth weight.

Spouses of Persian Gulf War I veterans: medical evaluation of a U.S. cohort.

Ten years after the 1991 Persian Gulf War (GW I), a comprehensive evaluation of a national cohort of deployed veterans (DV) demonstrated a higher prevalence of several medical conditions, in comparison to a similarly identified cohort of nondeployed veterans (NDV). The present study determined the prevalence of medical conditions among nonveteran spouses of these GW I DV and NDV. A cohort of 490 spouses of GW I DV and 537 spouses of GW I NDV underwent comprehensive face-to-face examinations.

Preconception maternal polychlorinated biphenyl concentrations and the secondary sex ratio.

The secondary sex ratio is the ratio of male to female live births and historically has ranged from 102 to 106 males to 100 females. Temporal declines have been reported in many countries prompting authors to hypothesize an environmental etiology. Blood specimens were obtained from 99 women aged 24-34 prior to attempting pregnancy and quantified for 76 polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners using dual column gas chromatography with electron capture detection.

Chronic multisymptom illness complex in Gulf War I veterans 10 years later.

Prior research has demonstrated that shortly after the 1991 Gulf War (Gulf War I), chronic multisymptom illness (CMI) was more common among deployed veterans than among nondeployed veterans. The aims of the current study were to determine the prevalence of CMI among deployed and nondeployed veterans 10 years after Gulf War I, compare the distribution of comorbid conditions, and identify prewar factors associated with CMI. Cross-sectional data collected from 1,061 deployed veterans and 1,128 nondeployed veterans examined between 1999 and 2001 were analyzed.

Gulf War veterans' health: medical evaluation of a U.S. cohort.

Background: United States military personnel reported various symptoms after deployment to the Persian Gulf during the 1991 Gulf War. However, the symptoms' long-term prevalence and association with deployment remain controversial.

Objective: To assess and compare the prevalence of selected medical conditions in a national cohort of deployed and nondeployed Gulf War veterans who were evaluated by direct medical and teledermatologic examinations.

Parental lead exposure and total anomalous pulmonary venous return.

Background: Investigators from the Baltimore-Washington Infant Study (BWIS) reported an association between self-reported maternal lead exposure and total anomalous pulmonary venous return (TAPVR) in their offspring. This association was further evaluated in the BWIS population using a more sensitive exposure estimate.

Methods: Cases included 54 live-born infants with TAPVR; controls were a stratified random sample of 522 live-born infants from the BWIS control group.