Lower Percentile Values Research Articles

A close look at the nutritional status and mediterranean diet adherence in patients with behcet’s syndrome

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate Behçet’s syndrome (BS) patients’ regarding anthropometric measurements, daily energy and nutrient intake, and the MD adherence of patients. METHODS: 100 consecutive patients with BS were prospectively enrolled in two rheumatology outpatient clinics. Mid Upper Arm circumference (MUAC), Triceps skinfold thickness (TST), Mid Upper Arm Muscle Circumference (MUAMC), and Mid Upper Arm Muscle Area (MUAMA) measurements of patients were compared with Turkish reference values. Participants’ daily energy and nutrient intake were categorized by the ‘MD Adherence Score.’ RESULTS: Thirty patients (30%) had only mucocutaneous involvement. According to reference values, 47%, 36%, 14%, and 27% of the participants had low percentile values (<50. percentile) for MUAC, TST, MUAMC, and MUAMA, respectively. Walnuts (35%), eggplant (35%), and tomatoes (13%) were reported as the most prominent foods for symptom exacerbations. The mean MD adherence score was 23.5±6.5 (male: 23.2±6.9; female: 24.2±5.9) points and the adherence status was average (60%) and poor (35%) in the majority of the patients. CONCLUSIONS: Food consumption is important regarding symptom occurrence and multidisciplinary management of BS. Some participants had poor adherence to the MD. Increased waist/hip ratio, BMI, and decreased TST and MUAMA may indicate body muscle mass and unhealthy eating patterns. Patients with BS need encouragement for healthy eating habits.

SAT097 Investigation Of The Minimum Duration Needed To Estimate The Percentile Values For Target Duration In Ambulatory Glucose Profile

Abstract Disclosure: S. Takeishi: None. T. Inoue: None. Ambulatory glucose profile (AGP) is effective in grasping glycemic variability and determining therapeutic strategy. In AGP for intermittently scanned continuous glucose monitoring (isCGM), it is common for patients to intervene at the time when the interquartile range of glucose levels deviates from the target range. It is important to consider the cases having glucose levels with missing values measured using isCGM. There are limited investigations regarding the “minimum duration needed to estimate percentile values of glucose levels for target duration” (MDpercentile). This is a cross-sectional study. In Analysis 1, we analyzed the glucose levels without missing values measured using CGM (FreeStyle Libre Pro) over 24 h for 13 days (from 00:00 on Day 2 to 00:00 on Day 15; CGM attachment: Day 1) for 100 outpatients with type 2 diabetes, who did not change their diabetic treatment through the CGM-wearing duration. In Analysis 2, we analyzed the glucose levels with missing values measured using isCGM (FreeStyle Libre) over 24 h for 60 days (from 00:00 on Day 31 to 00:00 on Day 91; isCGM attachment: Day 1) for 50 outpatients with type 2 diabetes, who did not change their diabetic treatment through the isCGM-wearing duration. In Analysis 1, MDpercentile for the 2-h mean glucose level for 13 days (MDpercentile2h13days) was provided by correlation coefficient analysis using R2=0.9 as the threshold. In Analysis 2, MDpercentile for the 24-h mean glucose level for 60 days (MDpercentile24h60days) was provided by correlation coefficient analysis using R2=0.9 as the threshold. The Pearson’s product-moment correlation coefficient was used for the statistical analysis. In Analysis 1, the average of 12 MDpercentile2h13days in 24 h for 5 percentile values, 25 percentile values, 50 percentile values, 75 percentile values, and 95 percentile values was 7.4, 7.3, 6.9, 6.9, and 5.9 days, respectively. In Analysis 2, the MDpercentile 24h 60 days for 5 percentile values, 25 percentile values, 50 percentile values, 75 percentile values, and 95 percentile values was 26, 17, 15, 13, and 45 days, respectively. In Analysis 1, the lower percentile values needed more days to predict the percentile values. However, in Analysis 2, the 95 percentile value needed the most days to predict the percentile value. Lower percentile values may need more days to predict the percentile values in the calculation using glucose levels without missing values. Quite high percentile values may need many days to predict the percentile value in the calculation using glucose levels with missing values. Presentation: Saturday, June 17, 2023

An Approach to Re-evaluate the Reference Cutoff of the Parameters of Newborn Screening: An Observational Study.

Background Unless a cutoff level of the parameters of newborn screening (NBS) is defined, a screening test's results would end in high recall rates and apprehensive parents. The study aimed to establish a cutoff level of the healthy term newborns. Materials and methods The study was a retrospective observational data analysis on a cohort of 1158 term newborns who underwent NBS in our institute. The percentile distribution of the NBS parameters was computed and the 99th percentile value was considered the new cutoff. For lower values, such as neonatal glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase (nG6PD) and neonatal biotinidase (nBIOT), low percentile values were regarded as new cutoff value. Results Neonatal thyroid stimulating hormone (nTSH), nG6PD, neonatal immunoreactive trypsinogen (nIRT), and nBIOT showed a wide variation in the distribution. Most newborns had neonatal galactose (nGAL), nIRT, and nBIOT values above the median. The 99th percentile value of nTSH was 14.5 mIU/L, and that of neonatal 17-hydroxyprogesterone (n17-OHP) was 43.7 nmol/L. The 1.0th percentile value for nG6PD was decreased to 2.18 IU/gHb. The new cutoff values for nBIOT, nIRT, neonatal phenylketonuria (nPKU) and nGAL were 48.59 U, 95.3 µg/L, 2.3 mg/dL and 15.9 mg/dL. The mean and median nTSH values did not significantly differ (p=0.99) in the first five days of birth. On the contrary, the study population depicted considerably raised levels of n17-OHP on day 3, followed by a sharp decrease (p=0.029). Similarly, nIRT displayed significant differences in the first five days (p=0.017). Conclusion Using the 99th percentile values of the NBS parameters as the new cutoff levels might be beneficial in terms of the recall rates and cost burden.

Development of Sacral Ratio Percentile Card for Children: A Preliminary Report.

Sacrospinal anomalies that may accompany anorectal malformations may cause fecal and urinary incontinence despite proper anomaly treatment. The sacral ratio has been suggested in the determination of both the prognosis in terms of incontinence and the need for further examination for sacrospinal anomalies. The normal and clinically decisive values of sacral ratio are given differently in publications. We aimed to determine the distribution of the sacral ratio in children under 12 months and to develop the sacral ratio percentile card that will enable one to give an age-independent parametric result in clinical evaluations. The files of patients under 1 year of age who had anteroposterior direct radiography including pelvis were reviewed retrospectively. Sacral ratio was studied for 360 patients, 30 patients per month. Percentile card was developed with LMS software and reference values were used as 1, 2, 3, 4, and 10%. The lowest sacral ratio value was 0.514 and the highest value was 0.936. There was no statistical difference between the mean sacral ratio of the cases when they were classified on a monthly basis (p = 0.191). Low percentile values were found slightly different at first 4 months of age. Although the mean of sacral ratio does not change significantly during the first year of life, values that are considered pathological for patients are within different percentile limits depending on age. Instead of using sacral ratio with some clinically decisive values, we think that parametric evaluation with the help of the percentile card will increase its clinical value.

Accounting for low solar resource days to size 100% solar microgrids power systems in Africa

Abstract In many regions worldwide, the electrification of rural areas is expected to be partly achieved through micro power grids. Compliance with the COP21 conference requires that such systems mainly build on renewable energy sources. To deliver a high power and quality service may be difficult to be achieved, especially when micro-grids are based on variable renewable sources. We here explore the multiscale temporal variability of the local solar resource in Africa and its implication for the development of 100% solar systems. Using high resolution satellite data of global horizontal irradiance (GHI) for a 21-year period (1995–2015), we characterize the seasonality and temporal variability of the local resource. We focus on its low percentile values which give a first guess on the size of the solar panels surface required for the micro-grid to achieve a given quality service. We assess the characteristics and especially persistence of the low resource situations, for which the local demand would not be satisfied. We finally assess how the ability of electricity consumers for some day-to-day flexibility (e.g. via the postponement of part of one day as demand to the next), would help to achieve the design level of service quality with a smaller microgrid system.

Agricultural workers in a cohort of middle-aged Japanese women showed better health status than did women with other occupations.

Objective: This study investigated the relationship between occupations and health status to obtain an overall understanding of a cohort of Japanese middle-aged women, including unemployed women, who comprised approximately 30% of the sample.Participants and Methods: Participants of this study were 4,454 women aged 40–69 years, classified into the following five groups based on their occupation: unemployed, 1,432; agriculture, 439; self-employed, 1,596; white collared, 793; and blue collared, 194. Participants’ perceived health was assessed using a symptoms checklist called the Todai Health Index (THI, later renamed as the Total Health Index) in a baseline survey conducted in 1993. The mortality risk of the participants was assessed using the Cox’s Proportional Hazards Model.Results: The means of the percentile values on the Total Scale 1 in the THI were as follows: agriculture, 43.7; unemployed, 50.8; self-employed, 52.5; white collared, 53.0; and blue collared, 56.1, with lower percentile values indicating better perceived health. The results showed that women engaged in agriculture were in significantly better health than were those in the other four occupations. The hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals of the occupational groups adjusted for age, area of residence, and Total Scale 1 scores were as follows: agriculture (reference group), 1; white collared, 1.16 (0.77–1.74); self-employed, 1.25 (0.87–1.78); unemployed, 1.27 (0.91–1.77); and blue collared, 1.50 (0.86–2.60).Conclusions: Women engaged in agriculture had a significantly higher tendency to have a better health status on the THI as compared to those from the other four occupational groups, and they exhibited the lowest HR as compared to their counterparts, though not statistically significant. We concluded that the perceived health status of unemployed women was similar to that of women engaged in agriculture.

Changes of Body Mass Index among Young Men in Brazil over Two Decades

Aim: To evaluate changes in the body mass index (BMI) of young Brazilian men in two regions of Brazil at opposing socioeconomic extremes in order to determine whether the changes in BMI distribution had different patterns over two decades. Methods: We selected a sample of 6,706,386 males as the study population, aged 18 years, from individuals that were conscripted into the army from 1980 to 2005. The percentiles of the BMI distribution from 1980 to 2005 were calculated. For each percentile, the slope of a linear regression curve was tested for increases or decreases over time (p < 0.05). Results: The secular trends in BMI showed the largest increases at the upper ends of the distributions. However, the lower values of the percentiles in both regions did not change over time. The 10th percentile for the southeast region and the 20th percentile in the northeast did not change. Conclusion: No significant differences in the lower percentile values were found for the BMI distribution of young Brazilian males during the period 1980–2005, suggesting that around 10% of young Brazilian males living in the most developed regions, such as the southeast, are protected against obesity.

Relationships of alcohol use, stress, avoidance coping, and other factors with mental health in a highly educated workforce.

The relationships of drinking, stress, life satisfaction, coping style, and antidepressant use to mental health were examined in a highly educated workforce. This study used a one-time mail-out, mail-back cross-sectional survey design to examine the relationships of mental health with three kinds of stress (life events, work stress, home stress); two kinds of life satisfaction (work and home); use of avoidance coping; and antidepressant use. This study was conducted at a large worksite in northern California in which the workforce was comprised of predominantly highly educated employees. Questionnaires were mailed to a random sample of 10% of 8567 employees, and 504 were completed and returned by participants (59%). Complete data were provided by 460 participants (53%). Respondents completed the Mental Health Index, the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), and measures of coping style, work and home stress and satisfaction, stressful life events, and antidepressant use. Mean Mental Health Index scores were at the 32nd percentile of the U.S. population-based norms, with low percentile values associated with worse mental health. Using multiple regression analysis, the factors examined in this study were significantly related to Mental Health Index scores as the dependent variable [F(16, 443) = 27.41, p < .001, adjusted overall R2 = .48]. Poor mental health scores were significantly related to the following: age (p < .05); screening positively for current harmful or hazardous drinking (p < .05); having high levels of stress at work (p < .05) or home (p < .01); experiencing dissatisfaction with work (p < .001) or home life (p = .01); engaging in avoidance coping (p < .001); and using antidepressants (p < .001). Employees currently using antidepressants had significantly more outpatient medical and mental health visits, indicating higher health costs. Furthermore, mental health status was also significantly related to the interactions between several pairs of these variables: education and gender, age and job stress, home satisfaction and work stress, home satisfaction and avoidance coping, and home satisfaction and use of antidepressants. Mental health status was poorer on average in a highly educated workforce compared with general U.S. norms. Most of the factors that were found to be associated with poorer mental health were ones that are potentially modifiable, such as experiencing more stress and less satisfaction in work and home life and engaging in current hazardous or harmful drinking. The findings that mental health is worse among individual employees who exhibit combinations of these factors suggest that we need to better understand possible effects of these factors in the context of one another. As interpretation of these results may be limited by the single worksite that participated in this study, future research should re-examine these relationships in other worksites varying from this one in geography and demographic characteristics.