Publications by authors named "Paz Cook"
Article Synopsis
- * A study involving 82 patients with gallbladder dysplasia and 1843 with gallstones found that NSAID use was inversely associated with gallbladder dysplasia, suggesting lower risk for users (OR: 0.48).
- * Eight immune-related proteins showed an inverse association with dysplasia, indicating that further research is needed to explore the role of inflammation and NSAIDs in gallbladder health, ideally in future studies involving asymptomatic individuals.
Objective: To investigate factors associated with the prevalence and incidence of gallstone disease (GSD) in women and men of the MAUCO population-based prospective cohort.
Design: 8948 MAUCO participants (aged 38-74 years) underwent abdominal ultrasound at baseline (2015-2019); 4385 received follow-up ultrasound at years 2 or 4. Factors associated with prevalent GSD were assessed using Poisson multiple regression and with incident GSD using Cox regression models.
Article Synopsis
- Statins have been thought to lower the risk of gallstones due to their anti-inflammatory properties, but this study specifically looked at their effects on inflammation in Chilean women with gallstones.
- Researchers analyzed 400 women (200 with statin use and 200 without) to see if statins influenced 92 different inflammatory biomarkers.
- The results showed no significant links between statin use and inflammation markers, indicating that statins do not effectively reduce inflammation after gallstones have developed.
Objective: This review aimed to systematically examine the characteristics and outcomes of family-based psychosocial interventions offered to adult Latino patients with cancer and their caregivers.
Methods: We searched six databases from their inception dates through June 2022. Studies were eligible for inclusion if they (1) targeted both adult Latino patients diagnosed with cancer and their adult caregivers or reported subgroup analyses of Latino patients and caregivers; (2) included family-based psychosocial interventions; (3) used randomized controlled trial (RCT) or quasi-experimental designs; and (4) were published in English, Spanish or Portuguese.
Purpose: Gastric atrophy (GA), usually linked to chronic infection with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), may over time evolve into gastric malignancy. Besides H.
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- Chile has high rates of gallbladder cancer, especially among Amerindian women, who also frequently have gallstones.
- A study compared inflammatory biomarkers between Mapuche and non-Mapuche women with gallstones to investigate possible ethnic differences.
- Results showed higher levels of the inflammatory marker IL-8 in Mapuche women, while other markers did not differ significantly; this suggests that these biomarkers could highlight ethnic disparities in gallbladder disease.
Article Synopsis
- * The Chile Biliary Longitudinal Study (Chile BiLS) enrolled 4,726 women aged 50-74 with gallstones from southern-central Chile to investigate what triggers GBC development among these individuals.
- * Participants are being monitored for 6 years, with comprehensive data collection on health metrics and biosamples for research, aiming to enhance understanding of GBC causes and improve early detection methods in vulnerable populations.
Background: The presence of toxic metals in human populations is strongly associated with chronic diseases.
Aim: To determine levels of lead, chromium, cadmium, mercury and inorganic arsenic (AsIn) in the general population aged over 5 years in Antofagasta, Chile.
Material And Methods: People living in Urban Antofagasta for at least five years were considered eligible.
Background: Regional variations in gastric cancer incidence are not explained by prevalence of Helicobacter pylori, the main cause of the disease, with several areas presenting high H. pylori prevalence but low gastric cancer incidence. The IARC worldwide H.
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- Gallbladder dysplasia can lead to cancer and may increase the risk of cancer in other parts of the biliary tract, making its accurate identification crucial for understanding causes and for clinical management.
- A study of 140 cholecystectomy specimens from Chilean women found that 2% had incidental invasive cancer and high-grade dysplasia (HGD), while 10% had low-grade dysplasia (LGD), which often went unnoticed in limited samples.
- The research suggests that thorough sampling, especially from the fundus of the gallbladder, is essential to identify early cancer precursors, as many cases of LGD were not detected in standard diagnostic sections.
In Chile, where gallbladder cancer (GBC) rates are high and typhoid fever was endemic until the 1990s, we evaluated the association between Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi (S. Typhi) antibodies and GBC. We tested 39 GBC cases, 40 gallstone controls, and 39 population-based controls for S.
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- A study compared high-risk HPV (hrHPV) testing and cytology for cervical cancer screening, finding hrHPV testing had higher sensitivity but a lower positive predictive value than cytology.
- About 10.7% of over 8,000 women tested positive for hrHPV, with HPV16/18 genotyping identifying higher prevalence of CIN2+ lesions among positive cases.
- Using HPV16/18 genotyping reduces unnecessary referrals and colposcopies, allowing for better risk stratification, where positive cases warrant immediate referral while negative cases can be monitored more closely.
Article Synopsis
- A population-based trial in Santiago, Chile compared the effectiveness of HPV DNA testing with the traditional Papanicolaou (Pap) test for cervical cancer screening in women aged 25 to 64.
- Out of 8,265 women screened, 11.3% tested positive for cervical issues, with an observed prevalence of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 or worse (CIN2+) at 1.1%, and nine cases of invasive cervical cancer.
- HPV testing demonstrated significantly higher sensitivity (92.7%) for detecting CIN2+ compared to Pap testing (22.1%), indicating that the molecular test is not only feasible but may enhance cervical cancer screening programs in Chile.
Objective: To investigate the potential determinants of Helicobacter pylori infection between adults 21-65 years old.
Methods: Data are from the initial screening visit of a randomized clinical trial of three antibiotic regimens to eradicate H. pylori, conducted in seven sites (Santiago-Chile, Túquerres-Colombia, Guanacaste-Costa Rica, Copán-Honduras, Obregón and Tapachula-México, León-Nicaragua).