Background: Optimal treatment choice for patients with esophageal cancer (EC) is complex and largely determined by tumor characteristics, comorbidity, and age.
Goals: This study describes the role of patient characteristics, among which is socioeconomic status (SES), in EC treatment.
Study: Patients diagnosed with primary EC between 1990 and 2008 in the southern part of the Netherlands were identified using the Eindhoven Cancer Registry. Multivariable logistic and proportional hazard regression analyses were used to identify determinants of treatment and survival.
Results: We included 1914 patients, and 37% of them underwent intentionally curative treatment. Low-SES patients were diagnosed at older age (16% vs. 9%, age more than or equal to 80) and with more advanced tumor stages (13% vs. 10%, stage T4) than high-SES patients. Age less than 60 compared with 70 to 79 years [adjusted odds ratio, 4.51; 95% confidence interval (CI), 2.98-6.84] and high SES compared with low SES (adjusted odds ratio 1.59; 95% CI, 1.07-2.37) were independent predictors for curative treatment. Probability of death for high-SES patients undergoing palliative treatment was decreased compared with low-SES patients (hazard ratio, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.71-0.99).
Conclusions: SES is an important factor in treatment choice of EC. As health care is equally accessible to the whole population in the Netherlands, this suggests that both patient-related and physician-related factors are involved in this phenomenon.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/MCG.0b013e31824e8ff8 | DOI Listing |
BMC Med
January 2025
Department of Public Health Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.
Background: Many studies have found more severe COVID-19 outcomes in migrants and ethnic minorities throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, while recent evidence also suggests higher risk of longer-term consequences. We studied the risk of a long COVID diagnosis among adult residents in Sweden, dependent on country of birth and accounting for known risk factors for long COVID.
Methods: We used linked Swedish administrative registers between March 1, 2020 and April 1, 2023, to estimate the risk of a long COVID diagnosis in the adult population that had a confirmed COVID-19 infection.
BMC Oral Health
January 2025
Department of Restorative Dentistry, Periodontology and Endodontology, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.
Background: Despite considerable improvements in oral health in recent decades, caries and periodontitis are still widespread, ranking among the most prevalent diseases worldwide and requiring future research. The German National Cohort (NAKO Gesundheitsstudie, NAKO) is a large-scaled, multidisciplinary, nationwide, multi-centre, population-based, prospective cohort study with oral examinations that aims to provide a resource to study risk factors for major diseases. The aim of the present article is to provide the methodological background, to report on the data quality, and to present initial results of the oral examinations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMC Geriatr
January 2025
School of Geography & Planning, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510006, China.
Objectives: The majority of studies exploring the relationship between internet use and subjective wellbeing among older adults tend to overlook the mediating mechanisms, particularly psychological ones. Additionally, while research has concluded that internet use is significantly associated with higher levels of subjective wellbeing, it remains unclear whether these associations might become insignificant or negative under certain conditions. To address these gaps, this study investigated the association between internet use and subjective wellbeing in older adults, with a focus on the mediating role of hope and the moderating role of subjective social class.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNat Hum Behav
January 2025
Department of Economics, School of Business and Economics, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
We conducted a genome-wide association study on income among individuals of European descent (N = 668,288) to investigate the relationship between socio-economic status and health disparities. We identified 162 genomic loci associated with a common genetic factor underlying various income measures, all with small effect sizes (the Income Factor). Our polygenic index captures 1-5% of income variance, with only one fourth due to direct genetic effects.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) is a major public health issue in Hubei Province; however, research on the direct and indirect effects of factors affecting HFMD is limited. This study employed structural equation modeling (SEM) and geographically weighted regression (GWR) to investigate the various impacts and spatial variations in the factors influencing the HFMD epidemic in Hubei Province from 2016 to 2018. The results indicated that (1) with respect to the direct effects, the number of primary school students had the greatest positive direct effect on the number of HFMD cases, with a coefficient of 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!