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- Ademuyiwa, Adesoji O., et al.
(author)
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Determinants of morbidity and mortality following emergency abdominal surgery in children in low-income and middle-income countries
- 2016
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In: BMJ Global Health. - : BMJ Publishing Group Ltd. - 2059-7908. ; 1:4
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Child health is a key priority on the global health agenda, yet the provision of essential and emergency surgery in children is patchy in resource-poor regions. This study was aimed to determine the mortality risk for emergency abdominal paediatric surgery in low-income countries globally.Methods: Multicentre, international, prospective, cohort study. Self-selected surgical units performing emergency abdominal surgery submitted prespecified data for consecutive children aged <16 years during a 2-week period between July and December 2014. The United Nation's Human Development Index (HDI) was used to stratify countries. The main outcome measure was 30-day postoperative mortality, analysed by multilevel logistic regression.Results: This study included 1409 patients from 253 centres in 43 countries; 282 children were under 2 years of age. Among them, 265 (18.8%) were from low-HDI, 450 (31.9%) from middle-HDI and 694 (49.3%) from high-HDI countries. The most common operations performed were appendectomy, small bowel resection, pyloromyotomy and correction of intussusception. After adjustment for patient and hospital risk factors, child mortality at 30 days was significantly higher in low-HDI (adjusted OR 7.14 (95% CI 2.52 to 20.23), p<0.001) and middle-HDI (4.42 (1.44 to 13.56), p=0.009) countries compared with high-HDI countries, translating to 40 excess deaths per 1000 procedures performed.Conclusions: Adjusted mortality in children following emergency abdominal surgery may be as high as 7 times greater in low-HDI and middle-HDI countries compared with high-HDI countries. Effective provision of emergency essential surgery should be a key priority for global child health agendas.
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| 2. |
- Hawkins, Stephen J., et al.
(author)
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The Intertidal Zone of the North-East Atlantic Region
- 2019
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In: Interactions in the Marine Benthos: Global Patterns and Processes (Systematics Association Special Volume Series, pp. 7-46). - : Cambridge university press. - 9781108416085
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Book chapter (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The rocky shores of the north-east Atlantic have been long studied. Our focus is from Gibraltar to Norway plus the Azores and Iceland. Phylogeographic processes shape biogeographic patterns of biodiversity. Long-term and broadscale studies have shown the responses of biota to past climate fluctuations and more recent anthropogenic climate change. Inter- and intra-specific species interactions along sharp local environmental gradients shape distributions and community structure and hence ecosystem functioning. Shifts in domination by fucoids in shelter to barnacles/mussels in exposure are mediated by grazing by patellid limpets. Further south fucoids become increasingly rare, with species disappearing or restricted to estuarine refuges, caused by greater desiccation and grazing pressure. Mesoscale processes influence bottom-up nutrient forcing and larval supply, hence affecting species abundance and distribution, and can be proximate factors setting range edges (e.g., the English Channel, the Iberian Peninsula). Impacts of invasive non-native species are reviewed. Knowledge gaps such as the work on rockpools and host–parasite dynamics are also outlined.
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| 4. |
- Lønnebotn, Marianne, et al.
(author)
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Body silhouettes as a tool to reflect obesity in the past
- 2018
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In: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science. - 1932-6203. ; 13:4
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Life course data on obesity may enrich the quality of epidemiologic studies analysing health consequences of obesity. However, achieving such data may require substantial resources. We investigated the use of body silhouettes in adults as a tool to reflect obesity in the past. We used large population-based samples to analyse to what extent self-reported body silhouettes correlated with the previously measured (9-23 years) body mass index (BMI) from both measured (European Community Respiratory Health Survey, N = 3 041) and selfreported (Respiratory Health In Northern Europe study, N = 3 410) height and weight. We calculated Spearman correlation between BMI and body silhouettes and ROC-curve analyses for identifying obesity (BMI >= 30) at ages 30 and 45 years. Spearman correlations between measured BMI age 30 (+/- 2y) or 45 (+/- 2y) and body silhouettes in women and men were between 0.62-0.66 and correlations for self-reported BMI were between 0.58-0.70. The area under the curve for identification of obesity at age 30 using body silhouettes vs previously measured BMI at age 30 (+/- 2y) was 0.92 (95% CI 0.87, 0.97) and 0.85 (95% CI 0.75, 0.95) in women and men, respectively; for previously self-reported BMI, 0.92 (95% CI 0.88, 0.95) and 0.90 (95% CI 0.85, 0.96). Our study suggests that body silhouettes are a useful epidemiological tool, enabling retrospective differentiation of obesity and non-obesity in adult women and men.
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| 5. |
- Pesce, Giancarlo, et al.
(author)
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Low dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S) is associated with worse lung function in women
- 2018
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In: European Respiratory Journal. - : European Respiratory Society. - 0903-1936 .- 1399-3003. ; 52
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Journal article (other academic/artistic)abstract
- DHEA-S is the most abundant circulating steroid hormone in humans. Low concentrations of DHEA-S have been linked to several chronic diseases, but it is unclear if DHEA-S affects respiratory health. As part of the ALEC project [EU H2020 grant #633212], the associations of DHEA-S concentrations with lung function levels and decline were evaluated in women from the general population.Serum DHEA-S concentrations were measured in 2,250 women (28-57 years) participating in the European Community Respiratory Health Survey in 1999-2002. Associations of DHEA-S concentrations (categorized by age-adjusted quintiles) with FEV1, FVC, and the FEV1/FVC ratio were investigated using linear regression models adjusted for age, height, active and passive smoking, BMI, physical activity, education, menopausal status, and with study centre included as a random effect. Associations of DHEA-S concentrations with yearly decline in lung function (ΔFEV1, ΔFVC, ΔFEV1/FVC) were assessed in 1,340 women with spirometry data at follow-up in 2010-2014.The median (25th-75th percentile) concentration of DHEA-S was 4.2 µmol/L (2.9-6.0). The concentration of DHEA-S was significantly higher in current smokers and steadily declined with age. In fully adjusted models, women with low DHEA-S concentrations (below the 1st quintile) at baseline had worse FEV1 (-80mL, p<0.001) and FVC (-79mL, p=0.001) compared to women with higher DHEA-S levels. Low DHEA-S concentrations at baseline were associated with ΔFEV1/FVC (-0.08%/year, p=0.006), but not with ΔFEV1 or ΔFVC.The results suggest that low DHEA-S concentrations are associated with worse lung function in women, but have limited effects on lung function decline.
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