Maternal zinc supplementation reduces diarrheal morbidity in peruvian infants.

Objective: To test whether zinc supplementation during pregnancy would reduce infant morbidity rates.

Study Design: A double-blind, randomized controlled trial of prenatal zinc supplementation was conducted from 1995 to 1997 in a periurban slum of Lima, Peru. Participants were randomly assigned to receive daily supplementation with zinc (15 mg zinc + 60 mg iron + 250 microg folic acid) or placebo (60 iron + 250 microg folic acid) from 10 to 24 weeks gestation until 1 month postpartum.

Ethnic disparities in prevalence and impact of risk factors of chronic kidney disease.

Background: There is substantial heterogeneity in literature regarding the epidemiology for chronic kidney disease (CKD) in different Asian populations. We aimed to assess the prevalence and risk factors of CKD in a multi-ethnic Asian population in Singapore.

Methods: We examined 4499 participants of Chinese, Malay and Indian ethnicity, aged 24-95 years, who participated in the Singapore Prospective Study Program.

Aminoglycoside-induced deafness during treatment of acute leukaemia.

Three unrelated children from ethnically diverse backgrounds who were treated for acute leukaemia became profoundly and irreversibly deaf during treatment. Aminoglycoside levels were within the therapeutic range. Genetic testing showed all three to have a maternally inherited mutation of mitochondrial DNA, m.

Association of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) with uric acid among adults with elevated community exposure to PFOA.

Background: Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) are compounds that do not occur in nature, have been widely used since World War II, and persist indefinitely in most environments. Median serum levels in the United States are 4 ng/mL for PFOA and 21 ng/mL for PFOS. PFOA has been associated with elevated uric acid in two studies of chemical workers.

Health-related behaviors in older adults relationships with socioeconomic status.

Background: There is limited information about the clustering of health behaviors in older people.

Purpose: This study aims to examine clustering of smoking, low levels of physical activity, and risky drinking in older adults and the relationship of these behaviors with measures of SES.

Methods: Data on health behaviors were analyzed from 11,214 individuals aged > or =50 years (mean age=65.

Altered function of the SCN1A voltage-gated sodium channel leads to gamma-aminobutyric acid-ergic (GABAergic) interneuron abnormalities.

Voltage-gated sodium channels are required for the initiation and propagation of action potentials. Mutations in the neuronal voltage-gated sodium channel SCN1A are associated with a growing number of disorders including generalized epilepsy with febrile seizures plus (GEFS+),(7) severe myoclonic epilepsy of infancy, and familial hemiplegic migraine. To gain insight into the effect of SCN1A mutations on neuronal excitability, we introduced the human GEFS+ mutation SCN1A-R1648H into the orthologous mouse gene.

Association between serum gamma-glutamyltransferase and chronic kidney disease among US adults.

Background/aim: Serum gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT), a biomarker of oxidative stress, is associated with an increased risk of diabetes and hypertension. However, it is not known whether higher serum GGT is independently associated with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Therefore, we examined the association between serum GGT levels and CKD in a representative sample of US adults.

The C8 health project: design, methods, and participants.

Background: The C8 Health Project was created, authorized, and funded as part of the settlement agreement reached in the case of Jack W. Leach, et al. v.

Quantitative diffusion weighted MRI: a functional biomarker of nodal disease in Hodgkin lymphoma?

Purpose: This study explores the relationship between MRI Apparent Diffusion Coefficient (ADC) and PET Standardized Uptake Value (SUV) measurements in pediatric Hodgkin lymphoma.

Methods: Sixteen patients (mean age 15.4 yrs, 8 male) with proven Hodgkin lymphoma were recruited and staged using PET-CT, anatomical MRI and additional 1.

Making stillbirths count, making numbers talk - issues in data collection for stillbirths.

Background: Stillbirths need to count. They constitute the majority of the world's perinatal deaths and yet, they are largely invisible. Simply counting stillbirths is only the first step in analysis and prevention.

C-reactive protein and microalbuminuria in a multi-ethnic Asian population.

C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker for inflammation, has been recently associated with early kidney damage. We examined the association between CRP and micro/macroalbuminuria in a multi-ethnic Asian population using data from two population-based studies in Singapore. Methods.

Test selection, adaptation, and evaluation: a systematic approach to assess nutritional influences on child development in developing countries.

Background: Evaluating the impact of nutrition interventions on developmental outcomes in developing countries can be challenging since most assessment tests have been produced in and for developed country settings. Such tests may not be valid measures of children's abilities when used in a new context.

Aims: We present several principles for the selection, adaptation, and evaluation of tests assessing the developmental outcomes of nutrition interventions in developing countries where standard assessment tests do not exist.

A cross-sectional analysis of type II diabetes in a community with exposure to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA).

Background: Increased diabetes mortality has been reported in workers exposed to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). We analyzed the relationships among serum PFOA, type II diabetes, and fasting glucose in a population with high levels of serum PFOA resulting from drinking contaminated water.

Methods: The study population was adults participating in a health survey in 2005-2006 (N=54,468).

Prevalence of diabetes mellitus, glycemic control, and associated factors in a Malay population in Singapore.

There is substantial heterogeneity regarding diabetes mellitus prevalence and glycemic control in Asian populations. The authors examined a population-based sample of 3000 adults (52% women) of Malay ethnicity (40-80 years) in Singapore. The age-standardized prevalence of diabetes mellitus was 18.

The association between socioeconomic status and overweight/obesity in a Malay population in Singapore.

In developed countries in the West, lower socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with a higher prevalence of overweight/obesity. The authors examined the association between SES defined by education and income and overweight/obesity in a population-based cohort of 2807 individuals of Malay ethnicity (age 40-80 years, 51% women) in Singapore. The prevalence of overweight/ obesity (body mass index > or =25 kg/m(2)) in men and women was 50.

What factors predict differences in infant and perinatal mortality in primary care trusts in England? A prognostic model.

Objective: To identify predictors of perinatal and infant mortality variations between primary care trusts (PCTs) and identify outlier trusts where outcomes were worse than expected.

Design: Prognostic multivariable mixed models attempting to explain observed variability between PCTs in perinatal and infant mortality. We used these predictive models to identify PCTs with higher than expected rates of either outcome.

Self-rated health, associated factors and diseases: a community-based cross-sectional study of Singaporean adults aged 40 years and above.

Introduction: Subjective indicators of health like self-rated health (SRH) have been shown to be a predictor of mortality and morbidity. We determined the prevalence of poor SRH in Singapore and its association with various lifestyle and socioeconomic factors and disease states.

Materials And Methods: Cross-sectional survey by interviewer-administered questionnaire of participants aged 40 years and above.

Breast-feeding and overweight in Singapore school children.

Background: Studies from developed Western countries have shown inconsistent associations between breast-feeding and overweight/obesity in children and adolescents. Few data are available from Asian populations. The purpose of the present study was therefore to evaluate the association between breast-feeding and overweight/obesity in a study of 10-12-year-old children in Singapore.

Retinal arteriolar narrowing increases the likelihood of chronic kidney disease in hypertension.

Background: Retinal arteriolar narrowing is a marker of chronic microvascular damage from hypertension. We hypothesized that the presence of retinal arteriolar narrowing increases the likelihood of chronic kidney disease (CKD) associated with hypertension.

Methods: We examined 3602 persons of Chinese, Malay and Indian ethnicities, aged at least 24 years residing in Singapore.

Surface electrocardiogram to predict outcome in candidates for cardiac resynchronization therapy: a sub-analysis of the CARE-HF trial.

Aims: In CARE-HF, cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) lowered morbidity and mortality in patients with moderate to severe heart failure. We examined whether baseline and follow-up electrocardiographic characteristics might predict long-term outcome.

Methods And Results: CARE-HF randomly assigned 409 patients to medical therapy (MT) plus CRT, and 404 patients to MT alone.

Relationships between cardiac resynchronization therapy and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide in patients with heart failure and markers of cardiac dyssynchrony: an analysis from the Cardiac Resynchronization in Heart Failure (CARE-HF) study.

Aims: The Cardiac Resynchronization in Heart Failure (CARE-HF) study showed that cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) reduces mortality in HF patients with markers of dyssynchrony. Plasma N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) might predict which patients benefit most from CRT. We evaluated whether the prognostic value of NT-proBNP was influenced by CRT and the effects of CRT stratified according to NT-proBNP.

Effect of the quality and outcomes framework on diabetes care in the United Kingdom: retrospective cohort study.

Objectives: To examine the management of diabetes between 2001 and 2007 in the United Kingdom and to assess whether changes in the quality of care reflect existing temporal trends or are a direct result of the implementation of the quality and outcomes framework.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Setting: 147 general practices (annual list size over 1 million) across the UK.

Serum gamma-glutamyl transferase level and diabetes mellitus among US adults.

Serum gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), a marker of oxidative stress, has been shown to be associated with diabetes mellitus in some population-based studies, but not all. Also, it is not clear if there is a continuous dose-response relationship in this association, or if this association is evident only beyond a particular threshold level of GGT. We examined the association between serum GGT and diabetes mellitus in a representative sample of US adults aged > or = 20 years, in a cross-sectional study involving 7,976 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999-2002 participants.