Healthy Population Cohort Research Articles

Long survivors after radical cystectomy versus healthy population: propensity score matched analysis of health-related quality of life.

To investigate Health Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) features of long survivors after radical cystectomy (RC) compared to healthy population (HP) control. Patients with cT2-4/N0/M0 or Bacillus Calmette-Guérine (BCG) failure high-grade non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) undergoing RC and ileal Orthotopic Neobladder (iON) from 2010 to 2015 were enrolled in "BCa cohort". Patients aged ≥ 18 yrs old, with no previous diagnosis of BCa or any genitourinary cancer disease were included from General Practitioner outpatients and enrolled in "HP cohort". A 1:1 propensity score matched (PSM) analysis was performed, and HRQoL outcomes were collected according to European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC), and generic (QLQ-C30) questionnaires. A total of 401 patients were enrolled in the study, 99 and 302 in BCa and HP cohorts, respectively. After applying 1:1 PSM analysis 67 patients were included for each group. Analysis of self-reported HRQoL outcomes described a better HRQoL in BCa cohort. Particularly, in the long run patients receiving RC and iON significantly experienced higher global health-status/QoL (p < 0.001), emotional (p = 0.003) and cognitive functioning (p < 0.001) than HP cohort, providing a significantly lower impairment in terms of fatigue (p = 0.004), pain (p = 0.004), dyspnea (p = 0.02) and insomnia (p = 0.005). Long survivors after RC and iON seems to have a major awareness of self-reported HRQoL compared to HP control group.

Health Related Quality of Life in Patients with Bladder Cancer Receiving a Radical Cystectomy.

Radical Cystectomy (RC) and Urinary Diversion (UD) is a complex surgery associated with a significant impact on health-related quality of life (HRQoL). However, HRQoL assessment is too often overlooked, with survival and complications being the most commonly investigated outcomes. This study aimed to identify the most impaired HRQoL features in patients receiving RC, compared to a healthy population (HP) control, as well as patients' recovery after surgery, differentiating between patients receiving ORC and RARC. Patients with Bca, who were candidates for RC with curative intent, were enrolled in the "BCa cohort". HRQoL outcomes were collected with an EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire. These were collected at baseline, and then at 6-, 12- and 24 mo after surgery in the BCa cohorts, and at baseline in the HP cohort. A 1:1 propensity score matched (PSM)-analysis, adjusted for age, Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) and smoking history, was performed. Between January 2018 and February 2023, a total of 418 patients were enrolled in the study, 116 and 302 in the BCa and HP cohorts, respectively. After applying the 1:1 propensity scored match (PSM) analysis, two homogeneous cohorts were selected, including 85 patients in each group. Baseline HRQoL assessment showed a significant impairment in terms of emotional and cognitive functioning, appetite loss and financial difficulties for the BCa cohort. Among secondary outcomes, we investigated patients' recovery after RC and UD, comparing HRQoL outcome questionnaires between the HP and BCa cohorts at 6-, 12- and 24 mo after surgery, and a subgroup analysis was performed differentiating between patients receiving ORC and RARC with totally intracorporeal UD. Interestingly, ORC compared to RARC provided a major impact on HRQoL recovery across the early, mid and long term. In particular, the ORC cohort experienced a major impairment in terms of symptoms scales items such as fatigue, nausea and vomiting, pain and appetite loss. Consequently, comparing ORC and RARC vs. HP reported a major HRQoL impairment in the ORC cohort, possibly defining a benefit of RARC in early, mid- and long-term recovery. To conclude, this study confirmed the undeniable impact of RC on HRQoL. Interestingly, we highlighted the benefit of RARC in early, mid- and long-term recovery, expressed as less impairment of symptoms scales.

Evaluation of the analytical and clinical performance of a new high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I assay: hs-cTnI (CLIA) assay.

Cardiac troponin (cTn) is the key biomarker for diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). We performed a complete assessment of the high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I (hs-cTnI) (CLIA) assay on the analytical performance and clinical diagnostic performance, which was compared with Abbott ARCHITECT hs-cTnI assay. Sex-specific 99th percentile upper reference limits (URLs) were determined from a healthy population of 424 males and 408 females. High-sensitivity performance was assessed by examining the imprecision at sex-specific URLs and the detectable results above LoD in a cohort of healthy population. The diagnostic performance of the hs-cTnI (CLIA) assay was validated in a population of 934 patients with suspected ACS. The 99th percentile URLs were 15.3 ng/L for female, 31.3 ng/L for male and 24.2 ng/L for overall population. The total imprecision near the sex-specific 99th percentile URLs were <5 %. 76.74 % of females, 97.12 % of males and 86.69 % of overall population had cTnI values exceeding the LoD, which met the criteria of high-sensitivity troponin assay. Nocross-reactivity or interference was identified. The diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and AUC of hs-cTnI (CLIA) assay were 97.97 , 90.70, 79.02, 99.21 % and 0.9885, respectively, which were comparable to ARCHITECT hs-cTnI assay. hs-cTnI (CLIA) assay is a high-sensitivity troponin I method with high precision, sensitivity and specificity. The clinical diagnostic performance of hs-cTnI (CLIA) is comparable to the established ARCHITECT hs-cTnI assay. Mindray's hs-cTnI (CLIA) assay is an attractive alternative for diagnosis of myocardial infarction with a high level of accuracy and safety.

Quantifying MR head motion in the Rhineland Study – A robust method for population cohorts

Head motion during MR acquisition reduces image quality and has been shown to bias neuromorphometric analysis. The quantification of head motion, therefore, has both neuroscientific as well as clinical applications, for example, to control for motion in statistical analyses of brain morphology, or as a variable of interest in neurological studies. The accuracy of markerless optical head tracking, however, is largely unexplored. Furthermore, no quantitative analysis of head motion in a general, mostly healthy population cohort exists thus far. In this work, we present a robust registration method for the alignment of depth camera data that sensitively estimates even small head movements of compliant participants. Our method outperforms the vendor-supplied method in three validation experiments: 1. similarity to fMRI motion traces as a low-frequency reference, 2. recovery of the independently acquired breathing signal as a high-frequency reference, and 3. correlation with image-based quality metrics in structural T1-weighted MRI. In addition to the core algorithm, we establish an analysis pipeline that computes average motion scores per time interval or per sequence for inclusion in downstream analyses. We apply the pipeline in the Rhineland Study, a large population cohort study, where we replicate age and body mass index (BMI) as motion correlates and show that head motion significantly increases over the duration of the scan session. We observe weak, yet significant interactions between this within-session increase and age, BMI, and sex. High correlations between fMRI and camera-based motion scores of proceeding sequences further suggest that fMRI motion estimates can be used as a surrogate score in the absence of better measures to control for motion in statistical analyses.

Reliability of Acoustic Measures in Dysphonic Patients With Glottic Insufficiency and Healthy Population: A COVID-19 Perspective

ObjectivesThe COVID-19 pandemic has affected the voice assessment protocols for dysphonic patients. In this study, we compared the changes in acoustic measures of the healthy population as well as dysphonic patients due to glottic insufficiency between the pandemic period requiring face masks and the prepandemic period when the masks were not essential. The clinical reliability of the acoustic measures with and without face masks was explored.MethodsA total of 120 patients (age = 42.3 ± 11.9 yrs) with glottic insufficiencies such as UVFP and sulcus vocalis and 40 healthy population (age = 40.5 ± 11.2 yrs) cohorts were enrolled during the pandemic period. Age- and gender-matched 120 patients and 40 healthy population cohorts who underwent voice assessment without face masks before the pandemic were enrolled as prepandemic controls. Acoustic measures and overall severity estimates of vowel and speech samples were compared, which included cepstral peak prominence (CPP), L/H spectral ratio (SR), their standard deviations, F0, jitter percent (Jitt), shimmer percent (Shim), noise-to-harmonic ratio (NHR), Cepstral Spectral Index of Dysphonia (CSID), and Acoustic Psychometric Severity Index of Dysphonia.ResultsBoth patients and healthy cohorts showed higher SRv and SRs but lower CSIDv during the pandemic compared to the prepandemic period. F0 of the healthy male controls during the pandemic was higher than during the prepandemic periods, while the CSIDs was lower for the pandemic period. The pandemic patient cohort showed lower σSRs compared to the prepandemic patient cohort. When the acoustic measures of patients were compared to the healthy population cohort, the patient cohort showed lower CPP and σCPPs, while higher σCPPv, Jitt, Shim, and NHR during both pandemic and prepandemic period. Overall, the area under the curve of the acoustic measures and overall severity estimates was similar between the mask and non-mask groups, although the AUC of the SR measures was poor.ConclusionsWearing face masks during the pandemic did not compromise the overall reliability of the acoustic analysis in patients with glottic insufficiency, suggesting the current protocol of acoustic analysis can be carried out reliably while wearing a mask to ensure safety in the pandemic era.

Assessment of cognitive function of the elderly by serum metabolites of brain-gut axis

Objective: To investigate the feasibility of assessing cognitive function of the elderly by serum metabolites of brain-gut axis. Methods: Convenience sampling was used to select 100 and 60 participants from the healthy population cohort and microecological balance cohort of the longevity population in Guangxi, to constitute subset of healthy population and longevity population, respectively. A questionnaire was used to investigate the demographic characteristics of the subjects, 2-5 ml of fasting venous blood was collected from the subjects, and the serum untargeted metabolomics was determined by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. The biomarkers related to the brain-gut axis were collected through literature retrieval, and the results were intersected with the untargeted metabolites and annotated. Spearman correlation analysis was used to screen serum metabolites of brain-gut axis associated with aging, and multiple linear regression method was used to construct biological age model. The mini mental status examination was used to evaluate the cognitive function of longevity population subsets. The differences of biological age and chronological age of longevity population subsets with different cognitive function were compared. Results: The M (Q1, Q3) of subset of healthy population and longevity population were 64 (38, 72) and 97 (95, 99) years old, respectively, and there were 50 (50.0%) and 44 (73.3%) females, respectively. Nine serum metabolites of brain-gut axis were obtained by initial screening, which were propionic acid, glutamic acid, γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), lactic acid, 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), tryptophan, trimethylamine oxide, dopamine and canine urea. Spearman correlation analysis showed that glutamic acid and dopamine were positively correlated with aging (r values were 0.208 and 0.524, respectively, all P values<0.05), and tryptophan, 5-HT and GABA were negatively correlated with aging (r values were -0.308, -0.533 and -0.213, respectively, all P values<0.05). The biological age model was constructed as: y=49.81-1.18×10-5× GABA-1.82×10-4×5-HT+1.99×10-3×dopamine+1.65×10-6×glutamic acid -2.04×10-6×tryptophan+2.36×gender, where y was the biological age (years), the items on the right were the intercept item, the relative concentration of each metabolite, and gender (male=1, female=2). The coefficient of determination of model was 0.50 (P<0.001). The M (Q1, Q3) of the chronological age of the subset of longevity population with poor, moderate and good cognitive function were 97 (94, 100), 97 (93, 101) and 96 (94, 101) years old, respectively, and there was no statistical significance in pairwise comparison (all P values>0.05). The M (Q1, Q3) of the biological age of the subjects with better cognitive function was 51 (38, 54) years old, which was lower than that of the subjects with poor cognitive function [57 (47, 61)] (P=0.040). Conclusion: The biological age model can be constructed based on serum metabolites of brain-gut axis and used to evaluate the cognitive function of the elderly.

Mild to moderate levels of anxiety in a healthy population cohort are related to face recognition with negative emotions and white matter integrity

AbstractBackgroundThe face recognition tasks were applied to test the healthy population cohort with mild to moderate levels of anxiety and they underwent MRI scans to evaluate their brains' white matter integrity.MethodMAP‐MRI analysis applied to estimate diffusion indexes Generalised Fractional Anisotropy (GFA) of segmented white matter tracts in a healthy (N=174) population‐based sample (mean MMSE 28.39) from the Cambridge Centre for Ageing and Neuroscience (Cam‐CAN) data including normal adults ages 18‐88 to examine microstructural properties of specific association fiber tracts involved in face recognition processing. Half sample (n=88) had anxiety symptoms ( Hospital Anxiety Scale 9.7) and half sample (n=88) were matched with age and sex and without anxiety symptoms. Two kinds of behavioral face tests to white matter measures including three pairs of association tracts, namely inferior fronto‐occipital fasciculus (IFOF), inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF) and uncinated fasciculus (UF). The two kinds of behavioral face tests applied were Benton Test of Facial Recognition which assesses the ability to match pictures of unfamiliar faces with variation of head orientation and lighting, and face recognition test of emotion assessing recognition of positive emotion (happiness), negative emotions (angry, disgust, fear, and sad) and surprise emotion. Paired sample t test were applied to compare the two groups' HAS, behavioral tests, and GFA of white matter tracts.ResultPaired t test results showed hospital Anxiety Scale, mean reaction time (RT) of face recognition test in negative emotion, GFA of left IFOF and left UF were significantly different in two groups. Pearson correlation analysis showed mean RT of face recognition test in negative emotion was significantly negative correlated with GFA of left UF.ConclusionHealthy life‐span population cohort with mild to moderate anxiety symptoms spent longer time recognizing faces with negative emotions and white matter integrity of the specific tract UF reflected this characteristic. There was brain‐behavior relationship.

Anti-DFS70 Antibodies Among Patient and Healthy Population Cohorts in China: Results From a Multicenter Training Program Showing Spontaneous Abortion and Pediatric Systemic Autoimmune Rheumatic Diseases Are Common in Anti-DFS70 Positive Patients.

ObjectiveAnti-DFS70 antibodies correlating with the nuclear dense fine speckled (DFS) pattern in the HEp-2 indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) are less common in patients with systemic autoimmune rheumatic disease (SARD) than in healthy subjects and their clinical associations remain elusive. We hosted a multi-center HEp-2 IFA training program to improve the ability of clinical laboratories to recognize the DFS pattern and to investigate the prevalence and relevance of anti-DFS70 antibodies.MethodsDFS pattern sera identified by HEp-2 IFA in 29 centers in China were redirected to a central laboratory for anti-DFS70 testing by line immunoblot assay (LIA), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and IFA with HEp-2 ELITE/DFS70-KO substrate. Anti-extractable nuclear antigen antibodies were measured by LIA and the clinical relevance was examined in adult and pediatric patients.ResultsHEp-2 IFA positive rate and DFS pattern in positive sera were 36.2% (34,417/95,131) and 1.7% (582/34,417) in the patient cohort, and 10.0% (423/4,234) and 7.8% (33/423) in a healthy population, respectively. Anti-DFS70 prevalence among sera presenting the DFS pattern was 96.0, 93.7, and 49.6% by ELISA, LIA, and HEp-2 ELITE, respectively. 15.5% (52/336) of adult and 50.0% (20/40) of pediatric anti-DFS70 positive patients were diagnosed with SARD. Diseases most common in anti-DFS70 positive patients were spontaneous abortion (28.0%) in adults and juvenile idiopathic arthritis (22.5%) in pediatric patients.ConclusionAccurate DFS pattern identification increased the detection rate of anti-DFS70 antibodies by ELISA and LIA. Anti-DFS70 antibodies are remarkably high in cases of spontaneous abortion and in pediatric SARD patients, but not prevalent in adult SARD patients.

Upper Femur Anatomy Depends on Age and Gender: A Three-Dimensional Computed Tomography Comparative Bone Morphometric Analysis of 628 Healthy Patients’ Hips

BackgroundThe knowledge of proximal femur geometry is essential in the understanding and treatment of hip pathologies. Our aim is to evaluate the range of “normal anatomical values of the proximal femur” and their relationship to age, gender, and ethnicity in a cohort of healthy population, using a 3-dimensional computed tomography automated software. MethodsThe pelvis and bilateral femora of 628 healthy individuals (394 males/234 females, mean age 61.5 ± 16.5 years, mean body mass index [BMI] 26.9 ± 5.2 kg/m2) including 2 ethnicities (226 Asians and 406 Caucasians) were assessed with a 3-dimensional computed tomography scan-based system using algorithm-calculated landmarks. The demographic parameters recorded were age, gender, BMI, and ethnicity. The femoral neck-shaft angle (NSA), femoral neck version, femoral offset (FO), and femoral canal flare index (fCFI) were calculated for each individual. Analyses were performed using SPSS version 22. P-values <.05 were considered to indicate statistical significance. ResultsOverall, the mean NSA was 124.7° (standard deviation [SD] 6.2), mean femoral neck version was 14.5° (SD 8.1), mean FO was 42.9 mm (SD 6.8), and mean fCFI was 3.4 (SD 0.5). Gender was associated with all parameters, with the females presenting more valgus and anteverted hips. Multivariate analysis revealed a lower NSA and fCFI and a higher FO for older individuals. Ethnicity and BMI were not associated with any parameters. ConclusionOur results showed that there is a direct relationship of age and gender to the variations in the investigated proximal femur anatomical parameters in a large cohort of healthy individuals. Those important gender-based and age-based differences might advocate for more varus and lateralized component to reproduce preoperative anatomy of male and patients older than 50 years.

Evolution of the myeloid-derived suppressor cells in advanced breast cancer and comparative analysis with a healthy population cohort.

2543 Background: High levels of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) seem a negative prognostic factor in advanced breast cancer (ABC) patients (pts). Preclinical studies suggest an immunomodulatory effect of some classical anti-tumor agents through alteration of MDSCs homeostasis. We analyzed the association of MDSCs and clinical evolution of ABC pts, taking into account the systemic treatment (tx) modulation of MDSCs levels in pts from two studies (“A”: GEICAM/2015-04 PANGEA-BREAST, NCT03025880 “Efficacy and Safety of Pembrolizumab and Gemcitabine in HER2-negative ABC”, and “B”: PI-0502-2014 “Peripheral blood analyses of immune response induced by 1st line tx of ABC according to clinical guidelines”). Methods: MDSCs (CD33+ CD11b+) levels were determined by flow-cytometry in peripheral blood samples at three time points (basal, at cycles 3 and 6) from: 39 HER2-negative heavily pretreated pts from study “A”, 43 non-pretreated pts (all subtypes) from study “B” and 20 women from a healthy cohort (HC), with no cancer diagnosis. MDSCs levels from the different cohorts were compared and correlated with pts with Clinical Benefit (CB: partial/complete response + disease stabilization) vs pts with Progressive Disease (PD). Results: Tx response was assessed in 33 pts (85%) from study “A” and 39 pts (91%) from study “B”. CB was observed in 11 pts (28%) from study “A” and in 34 (79%) from study “B” while PD was observed in 22 pts (56%) from study “A” and in 5 (12%) from study “B”. Basal MDSCs levels were significantly higher in ABC pts (studies “A”+”B”) than in HC (15.95 vs 0.81 cells/µl, p = 0.009). At cycle 6, MDSCs were considerably lower in pts with CB vs DP (2.90 vs 13.75 cells/µl, p &lt; 0.001). This decrease was more pronounced in study “B” than in study “A” pts (p &lt; 0.001 vs p = 0.074, respectively), probably due to differences in number of events, tumor subtypes and tx between both studies. Conclusions: Our results suggest that ABC pts show alterations in MDSCs and that their decrease along tx may have a positive predictive value, highlighting the importance that immune-competent status may play in the evolution of ABC. MDSCs may represent a target for therapeutic purposes in ABC.

Genotype-first analysis of a generally healthy population cohort supports genetic testing for diagnosis of hereditary angioedema of unknown cause

BackgroundHereditary angioedema (HAE) is a potentially life-threatening group of conditions that is often underdiagnosed or misdiagnosed. As HAE is typically diagnosed by detecting C1 inhibitor deficiency, there is a critical need for methods that can identify affected individuals with normal C1 inhibitor. The recent discovery of associations between PLG K330E and ANGPT1 A119S and HAE of unknown genetic cause (HAE-U), has raised the possibility that genetic evaluation could be used to diagnose HAE-U in patients with unexplained angioedema or non-confirmatory laboratory testing.Case presentationWe analyzed genome sequences from a generally healthy population cohort of 2820 adults and identified PLG K330E in one individual. Subsequent review of this participant’s medical history revealed symptoms clinically attributed to allergy of unknown etiology but that are consistent with published descriptions of HAE patients carrying the PLG K330E variant. The participant, a 31 year old female, reported lip and tongue angioedema, without wheals, which did not respond to treatment with steroids or antihistamines.ConclusionsThe genotype-first approach demonstrated that detection of PLG K330E in undiagnosed or misdiagnosed individuals can identify patients actually affected with HAE-U. The genetic diagnosis will facilitate selection of appropriate treatment, discontinuation of therapies ineffective for this condition, and timely diagnosis of affected family members. The results support a role of PLG K330E in the pathogenesis of HAE and suggest that genetic testing be considered as an approach to diagnose patients with unexplained angioedema.

Results of Monitoring over the West Nile Fever Pathogen in the Territory of the Russian Federation in 2017. Forecast of Epidemic Situation Development in Russia in 2018

In Europe, in the epidemic season 2017, the incidence of West Nile fever did not exceed the index of the previous season. In the US and Canada, there was an increase in the incidence of cases. West Nile fever morbidity rates in the Russian Federation and in separate constituent entities were below the average long-term index and had the lowest value for the period since 2008. 41.6 % of WNF cases were imported to Russia from the distant countries. Analysis of the monitoring results indicated the circulation of WNF virus markers in carriers of the pathogen in 6 constituent entities of the Russian Federation, and the presence of IgG antibodies in healthy population cohorts in 24 RF entities. According to molecular-genetic typing of WNF virus samples from mosquito Culex modestus from the Volgograd Region, WNF virus genotype II was established. Forecasting of epidemiological situation development for the year 2018 does not rule out the possibility of local increase in WNF incidence in certain regions of Russia.

Case-Control Study of Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma on Urinary and Dietary Iodine Status in South Korea.

The association between iodine levels and the risk of papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) has been suggested, but not definitively established. This study is to compare the iodine status of a group of patients with PTC (with and without BRAF V600E) with that of a healthy population cohort. A cohort of patients scheduled for thyroidectomy was enrolled, along with a community-based health-screening cohort with no known history of thyroid disease. Median urinary iodine (UI) levels, creatinine-adjusted median UI levels, and food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) scores (mean±SD) were compared. In a subgroup analysis, these values were compared between BRAF V600E-positive and BRAF V600E-negative patients in the PTC group. The PTC group consisted of 210 patients, and the control group consisted of 90 healthy individuals. Among the 191 PTC patients whose BRAF V600E mutational status was reported, 169 (88.5%) were revealed positive for the mutation. The median UI levels were significantly higher in the PTC group (786.0μg/l) than the control group (112.0μg/l; p<0.001), as was the case with creatinine-adjusted median UI levels (884.6μg/g creatinine versus 182.0 μg/g creatinine; p<0.001) and FFQ scores (66.2±17.5, range 13-114 versus 54.6±21.5, range 16-134; p<0.001). No significant differences were seen in the subgroup analysis between BRAF V600E-positive and BRAF V600E-negative patients. Our results indicate that iodine status differs significantly between patients with PTC and healthy controls, suggesting that iodine may be involved in the occurrence of PTC, although the association between iodine levels and BRAF mutational status did not reach statistical significance.

Community Screening of Prostate Cancer in Eastern Nepal

Background: Prostate cancer incurs a substantial incidence and mortality burden, and it ranks among the top ten specific causes of death in males.&#x0D; Objectives: To explore the situation of prostate cancer in a cohort of healthy population in Eastern Nepal.&#x0D; Methods: This study was conducted in the Department of General surgery at B. P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Dharan, Nepal in the department of surgery from July 2010 to June 2011. Males above 50 years visiting Surgical Outpatient Department in BPKIHS were enrolled in the study. Screening camps were organized in four Teaching district hospitals of BPKIHS in Eastern Nepal. Digital rectal examination (DRE) was done by the trained professionals after collecting blood for serum prostatic specific antigen (PSA). Trucut biopsy was done for all individuals with abnormal PSA, DRE or both findings.&#x0D; Results: A total of 1521 males more than 50 years of age were assessed and screened after meeting inclusion criteria. Maximum individuals 1452 (96.2% ) had PSA ≤ 4.0 ng/ml. Abnormal PSA ( &gt; 4 ng/ml) was found in 58 (3.8%) individuals. Abnormal DRE was found in 26 (1.72%) individuals. Both DRE and PSA was abnormal in 26 (1.72%) individuals. On the basis of raised PSA or abnormal DRE 58 (3.84%) individuals were subjected to digitally guided trucut biopsy. Biopsy report revealed Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia in 47 (3.11%) individuals and adenocarcinoma prostate in 11 (0.73%) individuals. The specificity of DRE was 65.95% sensitivity 90.9% and positive predictive value 38.46%. The sensitivity of PSA more than 4ng/ml in detecting carcinoma prostate was 100% and the positive predictive value for serum PSA was 18.96%.&#x0D; Conclusion: The overall cancer detection rate in this study was 0.73% and those detected were locally advanced. Larger community-based studies are highly warranted specially among high-risk groups.

Symptoms of depression in a large healthy population cohort are related to subjective memory complaints and memory performance in negative contexts.

Decades of research have investigated the impact of clinical depression on memory, which has revealed biases and in some cases impairments. However, little is understood about the effects of subclinical symptoms of depression on memory performance in the general population. Here we report the effects of symptoms of depression on memory problems in a large population-derived cohort (N = 2544), 87% of whom reported at least one symptom of depression. Specifically, we investigate the impact of depressive symptoms on subjective memory complaints, objective memory performance on a standard neuropsychological task and, in a subsample (n = 288), objective memory in affective contexts. There was a dissociation between subjective and objective memory performance, with depressive symptoms showing a robust relationship with self-reports of memory complaints, even after adjusting for age, sex, general cognitive ability and symptoms of anxiety, but not with performance on the standardised measure of verbal memory. Contrary to our expectations, hippocampal volume (assessed in a subsample, n = 592) did not account for significant variance in subjective memory, objective memory or depressive symptoms. Nonetheless, depressive symptoms were related to poorer memory for pictures presented in negative contexts, even after adjusting for memory for pictures in neutral contexts. Thus the symptoms of depression, associated with subjective memory complaints, appear better assessed by memory performance in affective contexts, rather than standardised memory measures. We discuss the implications of these findings for understanding the impact of depressive symptoms on memory functioning in the general population.

Prospective cohort study on the predictive value of serum uric acid levels to the incident nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Objective To assess the predictive value of serum uric acid levels to the incident nonalcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD)in a cohort of healthy population. Methods A prospective cohort study of NAFLD incidence was conducted in Xinjiang province, from 2012 to 2014. A cohort study was performed on 2 207 subjects with no evidence of fatty liver disease by liver ultrasound and with no major risk factors for liver disease at baseline. All participants were interviewed to carry out the epidemiological questionnaire survey, physical examination, abdominal ultrasonography, as well as blood biochemistry measurements. The hazard ratios of NAFLD were compared among groups with different uric acid levels. All subjects were classified according to serum uric acid (within normal range grouped by quartile: Q1-Q4 group; above the normal range: Q5 group). Results NAFLD was newly diagnosed in 13.72% subjects within the 3-year period. The incidence of NAFLD was increased with elevated serum uric acid quartiles(P<0.01). In multivariate logistic regression, after adjustment for gender, age, race, metabolic syndrome and its components, OR for incident fatty liver in Q2 to Q5 of serum uric acid concentration as compared to Q1 were 2.509, 3.172, 3.392, and 4.041 respectively. Conclusion Elevated serum uric acid concentrations may predict NAFLD in the subjects for a regular health checkup. (Chin J Endocrinol Metab, 2017, 33: 203-207) Key words: Serum uric acid; Fatty liver; Early diagnosis; Health examination population

WEST NILE FEVER WORLDWIDE AND IN THE TERRITORY OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION IN 2016, AND FORECAST OF EPIDEMIC SITUATION DEVELOPMENT IN 2017

In Europe, as in Russia and Canada, outlined was a tendency to the increase in the morbidity rates, while in the US – the incidence was somewhat lower as compared to previous years. On the whole, West Nile fever incidence rates in the Russian Federation by regions during the epidemic season, 2016 were below the average long-term index. Above the average regional annual incidence rates were registered in the Saratov region only and accounted for 64 % of all reported cases in Russia. Analysis of the monitoring results indicated the circulation of WNF virus markers in carriers of the pathogen in 10 constituent entities of the Russian Federation, and the presence of IgG antibodies in healthy population cohorts in 30 RF entities. According to molecular-genetic typing of WNF virus samples from a deceased patient in the Astrakhan Region and mosquito Culex samples from the Volgograd Region, WNF virus genotype I was established. Forecasting of epidemiological situation development for the year 2017 does not rule out the possibility of local increase in WNF incidence in certain regions of Russia.

Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels in a healthy population from the North of Portugal

Vitamin D status in human populations has become a matter of great concern, in the wake of a multitude of published works that document widespread vitamin D deficiency across Europe, even in countries with abundant sunlight. In Portugal there are no measures of 25-hydroxyvitamin D – 25(OH)D – levels in the general adult population. The purpose of this study was to measure 25(OH)D levels in a healthy population cohort and investigate the possible association with season and selected demographic and laboratory measurements.A cohort of 198 participants (18–67 years) living in the north of Portugal, Porto, conducted in July and August 2015 (summer time) and April 2016 (winter time) was studied to evaluate serum 25(OH)D levels. Sociodemographic characteristics (age, sex and body mass index) and season of the year were taken into account as possible 25(OH)D levels codeterminants.In the whole group, the mean level of serum 25(OH)D was 55.4±23.4 nmol/L, with 48% of the population presenting levels compatible with vitamin D deficiency (below 50 nmol/L). In the winter period, this value reaches 74%. No statistically significant differences were observed between genders (57.4±23.9 vs. 53.3±22.8 nmol/L, p=0.219) as well as no statistically significant correlation was found between age and 25(OH)D levels (p=0.349). As expected higher levels of 25(OH)D were observed in summer than in winter (68.2±21.5 vs. 42.2±16.9 nmol/L; p<0.0001). Serum 25(OH)D levels were significantly lower in obese compared to non-obese subjects (46.6±17.6 vs. 57.7±24.2 nmol/L, p=0.012).Vitamin D deficiency is prevalent in this area, affecting almost half of the population. Body mass index and season are predictors for lower 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and vitamin D status. An effective strategy to prevent vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency should be envisaged and implemented in our population.

Specific features of the enteric microbiota composition in patients with alcoholic liver cirrhosis

To establish the specific features of the taxonomic and functional composition of the enteric microbiota in patients with alcoholic liver cirrhosis (LC). Metagenomic analysis was used to study the taxonomic composition and functional potential of the enteric microbiota in 20 patients with alcoholic LC. Total DNA was isolated from the patients' fecal samples; thereafter full genome sequencing was carried out. The metagenomic analysis yielded the results of the relative taxonomic and functional abundance of microbial species in the test samples. These were comparatively analyzed with the previously published metagenomic datasets of healthy population cohorts in the Russian Federation, as well as in Denmark, China, and the USA. In the majority of patients, the dominant part of the intestinal community represented bacterial species constituting the normal human intestinal flora. At the same time, abnormal gut microbiota composition, which was suggestive of marked dysbacteriosis, was identified in a number of patients. In addition, pooled analysis of the data could identify a number of species with a statistically significantly increase and decrease in the relative abundance as compared to the control groups. Thus, the enteric microbiota of the patients with alcoholic LC showed a high proportion of bacteria characteristic of the oral cavity. Analysis of the pooled metabolic potential of the microbiota in these patients demonstrated the higher abundance of enzyme genes involved in alcohol metabolism. In the patients with alcoholic LC, the microbiota composition changes identified in individual bacterial species may be associated with gastrointestinal comorbidities, such as chronic erosive gastritis, chronic pancreatitis, and gastric ulcer. The alterations occurring in alcoholic cirrhosis promote the penetration and generation of oral cavity-specific microorganisms in the human intestine. This may a potential biomarker for the diagnosis of liver diseases. The bacterial enzyme genes involved in alcohol metabolism have an increased abundance in patients with alcoholic LC and healthy volunteers from the Russian Federation.

Prostate Cancer Screening in a Healthy Population Cohort in Eastern Nepal: an Explanatory Trial Study

Prostate cancer features a substantial incidence and mortality burden, similarly to breast cancer, and it ranks among the top ten specific causes of death in males. To explore the situation of prostate cancer in a healthy population cohort in Eastern Nepal. This study was conducted in the Department of General Surgery at B. P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Dharan, Nepal from July 2010 to June 2011. Males above 50 years visiting the Surgical Outpatient Department in BPKIHS were enrolled in the study and screening camps were organized in four Teaching District Hospitals of BPKIHS, all in Eastern Nepal. Digital rectal examination (DRE) was conducted by trained professionals after collecting blood for assessment of serum prostatic specific antigen (PSA). Trucut biopsies were performed for all individuals with abnormal PSA/DRE findings. A total of 1,521 males more than 50 years of age were assessed and screened after meeting the inclusion criteria. The vast majority of individuals, 1,452 (96.2%), had PSA ≤4.0 ng/ml. Abnormal PSA (>4 ng/ml) was found in 58 (3.8%). Abnormal DRE was found in 26 (1.72%). DRE and PSA were both abnormal in 26 (1.72%) individuals. On the basis of raised PSA or abnormal DRE 58 (3.84%) individuals were subjected to digitally guided trucut biopsy. Biopsy report revealed benign prostatic hyperplasia in 47 (3.11%) and adenocarcinoma prostate in 11 (0.73%). The specificity of DRE was 66.0%with a sensitivity of 90.9% and a positive predictive value of 38.5%. The sensitivity of PSA more than 4ng/ml in detecting carcinoma prostate was 100% and the positive predictive value for serum PSA was 19.0% The overall cancer detection rate in this study was 0.73% and those detected were locally advanced. Larger community-based studies are highly warranted specially among high-risk groups.