Clinical profile, referral trends, and real-world application of vibration-controlled transient elastography in children with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in Singapore.

Background And Aim: Pediatric non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a progressive disorder that is increasing in incidence globally. The study aims to describe the clinical profile and longitudinal outcome, including the utility of vibration-controlled transient elastography (VCTE), in children with NAFLD at a single tertiary liver unit in Singapore.

Methods: Retrospective review of patients aged 0-18 years referred for NAFLD from 2003 to 2020 was conducted.

Predictors of lack of glycemic control in persons with type 2 diabetes.

Background: Professional guidelines recommend an HbA1c < 7% for most people with diabetes and < 8.5% for those with relaxed glycemic goals. However, many people with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are unable to achieve the desired HbA1c goal.

Service and clinical impacts of reader bias in breast cancer screening: a retrospective study.

Objectives: To determine factors influencing reader agreement in breast screening and investigate the relationship between agreement level and patient outcomes.

Methods: Reader pair agreement for 83 265 sets of mammograms from the Scottish Breast Screening service (2015-2020) was evaluated using Cohen's kappa statistic. Each mammography examination was read by two readers, per routine screening practice, with the second initially blinded but able to choose to view the first reader's opinion.

Major Drug Resistance Mutations on Reverse Transcriptase Gene in Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type-1 in Indonesia: A Systematic Review.

Purpose Of Review: The prevalence of HIV-1 in Indonesia is on a concerning upward trajectory, with a concurrent rise in the development of drug-resistant strains, challenging the efficacy of antiretroviral therapy (ART). Many mutations have been found in the pol gene that makes HIV resistant to ART. We aim to review the major drug resistance mutations (DRMs) of reverse transcriptase (RT) of pol gene in HIV-1 cases in Indonesia.

The development and training effect of innovative undergraduate dental talents training project: A 6-year retrospective study.

Introduction: To summarize the development of Innovative Undergraduate Dental Talents Training Project (IUDTTP) and investigate the training effect of this extracurricular dental basic research education activity from 2015 to 2020 to obtain educational implications.

Materials And Methods: The Guanghua School of Stomatology established the IUDTTP in 2015. The authors recorded the development process and analysed the participation situation, training effect, academic performance and overall satisfaction during 2015-2020 through documental analysis, questionnaire and quiz.

Association between environmental mercury exposure and allergic disorders in Korean children: Korean National Environmental Health Survey (KoNEHS) cycles 3-4 (2015-2020).

Although previous studies have suggested potential adverse effects of mercury on a child's immune system, the associations have been inconsistent. We aimed to determine the association between urinary mercury levels and allergic diseases in Korean children with high mercury exposure. Data from 853 and 710 children aged 6-11 years in the Korean National Environmental Health Survey (KoNEHS) cycle 3 (2015-2017) and cycle 4 (2018-2020) were analyzed.

Contribution of causes of death to changing inequalities in life expectancy by income in Finland, 1997-2020.

Background: Socioeconomic inequalities in mortality originate from different causes of death. Alcohol-related and smoking-related deaths are major drivers of mortality inequalities across Europe. In Finland, the turn from widening to narrowing mortality disparities by income in the early 2010s was largely attributable to these causes of death.

Percutaneous thrombectomy for acute limb ischemia is associated with equivalent limb and mortality outcomes compared with open thrombectomy.

Background: Acute limb ischemia (ALI) carries a 15% to 20% risk of combined death or amputation at 30 days and 50% to 60% at 1 year. Percutaneous mechanical thrombectomy (PT) is an emerging minimally invasive alternative to open thrombectomy (OT). However, ALI thrombectomy cases are omitted from most quality databases, limiting comparisons of limb and survival outcomes between PT and OT.

Social determinants of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy trends in Mexican municipalities.

Objectives: To analyze the hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) trends in the 2000-2020 period and its association with social determinants of health (SDH) in Mexican municipalities.

Study Design: This was a retrospective longitudinal study analyzing data from routine information systems on 21,493,076 hospital discharges due to maternal causes and SDH data of 2,439-2,450 municipalities between 2000 and 2020.

Main Outcomes Measures: We used joinpoint regression models to analyze HDP trends and hybrid negative binomial regression models to examine the association between SDH and HDP rates at intra- and inter-municipality levels.

[Remote Sensing Model for Estimating Atmospheric PM Concentration in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area].

PM is extremely harmful to the atmospheric environment and human health, and a timely and accurate understanding of PM with high spatial and temporal resolution plays an important role in the prevention and control of air pollution. Based on multi-angle implementation of atmospheric correction algorithm (MAIAC), 1 km AOD products, ERA5 meteorological data, and pollutant concentrations (CO, O, NO, SO, PM, and PM) in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area during 2015-2020, a geographically and temporally weighted regression model (GTWR), BP neural network model (BPNN), support vector machine regression model (SVR), and random forest model (RF) were established, respectively, to estimate PM concentration. The results showed that the estimation ability of the RF model was better than that of the BPNN, SVR, and GTWR models.

Substance Use Disorders Among US Adult Cancer Survivors.

Importance: Some individuals are predisposed to cancer based on their substance use history, and others may use substances to manage cancer-related symptoms. Yet the intersection of substance use disorder (SUD) and cancer is understudied. Because SUD may affect and be affected by cancer care, it is important to identify cancer populations with a high prevalence of SUD, with the goal of guiding attention and resources toward groups and settings where interventions may be needed.

Retinopathy of Prematurity in Very Low Birthweight Neonates of Gestation Less Than 32 weeks in Malaysia.

Objectives: To determine the screening rates and incidence of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), and risk factors associated with ROP in very low birthweight (VLBW, <1500 g) neonates of gestation <32 wk admitted to neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) in a middle-income country.

Methods: It was a retrospective cohort study of prospectively submitted data by 44 Malaysian NICUs participating in the Malaysian National Neonatal Registry. All VLBW neonates of gestation <32 wk born in 2015-2020 and survived to discharge were included.

Social Determinants of Health and Hearing Loss in U.S. Adults.

Objectives: Social determinants of health (SDH) are nonmedical, societal factors that influence health. There is limited information on the current relationship between SDH and hearing loss (HL) in the United States. This study aims to compare the odds of HL among US adults by race/ethnicity, education level, income-to-poverty level ratio, health insurance coverage, and health care access.

Older Adults' and Family Caregivers' Technological Arrangements on Risk of Institutionalization.

Internet-enabled resources could facilitate older adults' ability to live in the community longer, but studies have often overlooked how family caregivers utilize the internet to assist older care recipients. We examined whether different family-level arrangements of internet use may affect the risk of institutionalization among older adults. Using the National Health and Aging Trends Study (2015-2020) and National Study on Caregiving (2015), we estimated multinominal logistic regression and inverse-probability weighted Cox proportional hazard models to investigate the determinants of technological arrangements in 2015 (i.

Trajectories of prescription opioid tapering in patients with chronic non-cancer pain: a retrospective cohort study, 2015-2020.

Objective: To identify common opioid tapering trajectories among patients commencing opioid taper from long-term opioid therapy for chronic non-cancer pain and to examine patient-level characteristics associated with these different trajectories.

Design: A retrospective cohort study.

Setting: Australian primary care.

Longitudinal Analysis of Bladder Cancer-Specific Mortality Trends in the United States.

Background: Bladder cancer is the tenth leading cause of cancer death in the United States (US). Advances in diagnosis, imaging, and treatments have led to improvements in bladder cancer management.

Objective: To evaluate longitudinal bladder cancer mortality trends from 1999-2020 in the US by gender, race, ethnicity, age, geographic region, and urbanization category.

Knowledge and care regarding long-term cardiovascular risk after hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and gestational diabetes.

Background: Adverse pregnancy outcomes (APO), such as preeclampsia (PE) and gestational diabetes (GDM) are substantial risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) later in life. Identifying these high-risk female individuals during pregnancy offers the possibility of preventing long-term CVD and chronic kidney disease via a structured therapeutic and surveillance plan. We aimed to evaluate the current practice of postpartum care in women after APO and the impact on the women's awareness about their future risk for CVD.

Evaluating the impact of COVID-19 outbreak on hepatitis B and forecasting the epidemiological trend in mainland China: a causal analysis.

Background: It is uncertain how COVID-19 outbreak influences the hepatitis B epidemics. This study aims to evaluate the effects on hepatitis B owing to the COVID-19 outbreak and forecast the hepatitis B epidemiological trend in mainland China to speed up the course of the "End viral hepatitis Strategy".

Methods: We estimated the causal impacts and created a forecast through adopting monthly notifications of hepatitis B each year from 2005 to 2020 in mainland China using the Bayesian structural time series (BSTS) method.

Household Food Security Status and Allostatic Load among United States Adults: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2015-2020.

Background: Household food insecurity has been linked to adverse health outcomes, but the pathways driving these associations are not well understood. The stress experienced by those in food-insecure households and having to prioritize between food and other essential needs could lead to physiologic dysregulations [i.e.

Epidemiology of neonatal pneumothorax developed spontaneously and during respiratory supports in neonatal intensive care units.

Background: Information on incidence and risk factors associated with different types of neonatal pneumothorax were lacking globally.

Objectives: To determine incidences of pneumothorax developed spontaneously and during different modes of respiratory support, and risk factors associated with each type of pneumothorax.

Study Design: Retrospective observational study of neonates in the Malaysian National Neonatal Registry.

The Re-Evaluation of Frailty in Predicting Complications after Long-Segment Spinal Fusion for Adult Spinal Deformity.

Objective: To evaluate on a national scale how frailty status (stratified using the 5-item Modified Frailty Index (mFI-5)) affects the operative characteristics of and complications after long-segment spinal fusion (LSF) for adult spinal deformity (ASD).

Methods: Adults undergoing LSF of ≥3 vertebrae in the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database years 2015-2020 were split into 2 cohorts: nonfrail with mFI = 0 or 1; frail with mFI ≥2. Demographics, operative characteristics, and 30-day complications were contrasted between the cohorts using the Student's t-test, the Fisher's exact test, or a multivariate analysis when appropriate.