Publications by authors named "Nigus Asefa"

Biological clocks and other molecular biomarkers of aging are difficult to implement widely in a clinical setting. In this study, we used routinely collected hematological markers to develop an aging clock to predict blood age and determine whether the difference between predicted age and chronologic age (aging gap) is associated with advanced aging in mice. Data from 2,562 mice of both sexes and three strains were drawn from two longitudinal studies of aging.

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Background And Aims: Arterial stiffness (AS), quantified by pulse wave velocity (PWV), arises due to impaired arterial elastic tissue and smooth muscle dysfunction. We aimed to examine the longitudinal association of genetic, lipid and inflammation biomarkers with PWV and how these associations may change with aging.

Materials And Methods: We utilized genotype and four time-point biomarker data from the SardiNIA cohort [ = 6,301; mean baseline age 43.

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Purpose: To investigate the association of commonly used systemic medications with glaucoma and intraocular pressure (IOP) in the European population.

Design: Meta-analysis of 11 population-based cohort studies of the European Eye Epidemiology Consortium.

Participants: The glaucoma analyses included 143 240 participants and the IOP analyses included 47 177 participants.

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Background: Primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) is the most prevalent glaucoma subtype, but its exact etiology is still unknown. In this study, we aimed to prioritize the most likely ‘causal’ genes and identify functional characteristics and underlying biological pathways of POAG candidate genes. Methods: We used the results of a large POAG genome-wide association analysis study from GERA and UK Biobank cohorts.

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Aims: To build a questionnaire-based myopia proxy and to validate the proxy by confirming its association with educational attainment and a Polygenic Risk Score (PRS) for myopia.

Methods: Data were collected between 2014 and 2017 from 88 646 Dutch adults from the LifeLines Cohort. First, we performed principal component analysis (PCA) to responses of five refraction-status questions.

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Purpose: We investigated relationship of glaucoma with measurements related to autonomic dysfunction, including heart rate variability (HRV) and blood pressure (BP).

Methods: Glaucoma was defined using a questionnaire-based algorithm for 86,841 LifeLines Cohort Study participants. Baseline HRV (root mean square of successive differences [RMSSD]) was calculated from resting electrocardiograms; systolic BP (SBP), diastolic BP (DBP), mean arterial pressure (MAP), and pulse pressure (PP) were oscillometric-based measurements.

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Dysregulation of the cardiac autonomic nervous system, as indexed by reduced heart rate variability (HRV), has been associated with the development of high blood pressure (BP). However, the underlying pathological mechanisms are not yet fully understood. This study aimed to estimate heritability of HRV and BP and to determine their genetic overlap.

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Aim: To investigate the association between initiation of breastfeeding within 1 hour after birth (TIBF) and maternal educational status, paternal educational status, household income, marital status, media exposure and parity in Ethiopia.

Methods: We searched PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, SCOPUS, CINAHL and WHO Global health library databases. All studies were conducted in Ethiopia and published from 2000 to 2019 were included.

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We have systematically extracted all available heritability (h) estimates of glaucoma and related endophenotypes from the literature and summarized the evidence by meta-analysis. Glaucoma endophenotypes were classified into 10 clusters: intraocular pressure, anterior chamber size, central corneal thickness, cup-to-disc ratio, disc size, cup size, corneal hysteresis, retinal nerve fiber layer thickness, cup shape, and peripapillary atrophy. Random-effects meta-analyses were performed for each cluster.

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Objectives: The aims of this overview are to assess the trend of narrative and systematic reviews in Ethiopia, examine their methodological quality, and suggest future directions for improvement.

Study Design And Setting: All narrative reviews and systematic reviews with or without a meta-analysis on topics associated with Ethiopia irrespective of the place of publication and authors' affiliation were included. The International Narrative Systematic Assessment for narrative reviews and A MeaSurement Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews for systematic reviews with or without a meta-analysis were used for quality appraisal.

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Introduction: Glaucoma is the second leading cause of age-related vision loss worldwide; it is an umbrella term that is used to describe a set of complex ocular disorders with a multifactorial aetiology. Both genetic and lifestyle risk factors for glaucoma are well established. Thus far, however, systematic reviews on the heritability of glaucoma have focused on the heritability of primary open-angle glaucoma only.

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Objectives: The 2013 World Health Organization Status Report on Road Safety estimated that approximately 1.24 million deaths occur annually due to road traffic crashes with most of the burden falling on low- and middle-income countries. The objective of this research is to study the prevalence of road traffic crashes in Mekelle, Tigray, Northern Ethiopia and to identify risk factors with the ultimate goal of informing prevention activities and policies.

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