Biostatistics Commons^™

Ultraviolet Exposure And Photokeratitis Complaints Among Informal Welding Workers In Depok, West Java, Indonesia, Maria K I J Yustheresani, Fajaria Nurcandra, Azizah Musliha Fitri, Annisa Ika Putri, Dyah Utari

Kesmas

One of the photokeratitis risk factors is acute reversible radiation of ultraviolet (UV) rays, which injure the cornea's epithelial tissue. Informal welding workers are susceptible populations to UV rays exposure. This study aimed to confirm the influence of UV radiation exposure on photokeratitis complaints in welding workers in Cimanggis, Depok, West Java. A cross-sectional study was conducted from February to June 2019 and used to select 100 welding workers purposively. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to determine photokeratitis complaints, age, education level, eye protection, safety knowledge, and work period; the UV radiation measured by A UV meter. Data were analyzed …

Assessment Of Knowledge, Attitudes, And Behaviors Of Turkish Women On Breast And Cervical Cancer In Karabük Province, Turkey, Nergiz Sevinc, Belgin Oral, Burcu Korkut

Kesmas

Breast and cervical cancer incidence and mortality among women have been increasing worldwide. This cross-sectional study aimed to evaluate women's knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors regarding breast and cervical cancers. The sample was composed of 507 women aged 18 years and older who were admitted to a primary health care center in Karabük, Turkey, from October to December 2019. The data was obtained using a questionnaire consisting of 34 questions regarding participants’ socio demographic characteristics, knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors toward breast and cervical cancers. The mean age of the participants was 41.3±12.0 years and 68.4% of them were married. Slightly more …

Direct Questioning Of Sensitive Topics In Public Health Studies: A Simulation Study, Jessica K. Fox, Evrim Oral

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Evidence Of Nickel And Other Trace Elements And Their Relationship To Clinical Findings In Acute Mesoamerican Nephropathy: A Case-Control Analysis, Rebecca S. B. Fischer, Jason M. Unrine, Chandan Vangala, Wayne T. Sanderson, Sreedhar Mandayam, Kristy O. Murray

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Although there are several hypothesized etiologies of Mesoamerican Nephropathy (MeN), evidence has not yet pointed to the underlying cause. Exposure to various trace elements can cause the clinical features observed in MeN.

METHODS AND FINDINGS: We measured 15 trace elements, including heavy metals, in renal case-patients (n = 18) and healthy controls (n = 36) in a MeN high-risk region of Nicaragua. Toenails clippings from study participants were analyzed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. A case-control analysis was performed, and concentrations were also analyzed over participant characteristics and clinical parameters. Nickel (Ni) concentrations were significantly higher in toenails …

Implementation And Sustainment Of A Statewide Telemedicine Diabetic Retinopathy Screening Network For Federally Designated Safety-Net Clinics, Ana Bastos De Carvalho, S. Lee Ware, Feitong Lei, Heather M. Bush, Robert Sprang, Eric B. Higgins

Ophthalmology and Visual Science Faculty Publications

CONTEXT: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the leading cause of incident blindness among working-age adults in the United States. Federally designated safety-net clinics (FDSC) often serve as point-of-contact for patients least likely to receive recommended DR screenings, creating opportunity for targeted interventions to increase screening access and compliance.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: With such a goal, we implemented and assessed the longitudinal performance of an FDSC-based telemedicine DR screening (TDRS) network of 22 clinical sites providing nonmydriatic fundus photography with remote interpretation and reporting. Retrospective analysis of patient encounters between February 2014 and January 2019 was performed to assess rates of …

Blood Pressure Monitoring Following Individual Carpules Of Anesthetic Utilizing Computer-Controlled Anesthetic Delivery, Kristi M. Soileau, Adam E. Degenova, Qingzhao Yu

School of Dentistry Faculty Publications

To date, no study has evaluated blood pressure following administration of each carpule given for dental procedures using a computerized dental anesthesia system. Blood pressures taken prior to performing invasive periodontal procedures were compared with those readings measured following delivery of each of up to three consecutive carpules of Marcaine or Xylocaine in varying order. Pressure differences were also adjusted for age, sex, race, and whether a prescribed anxiolytic was taken beforehand. Neither systolic nor diastolic blood pressures changed significantly as compared to initial blood pressure readings. However, compared with Whites, Hispanics, and Middle Easterners, Blacks had significantly higher systolic …

Stirring The Pot: Switching From Blended Fee-For-Service To Blended Capitation Models Of Physician Remuneration., Nibene H Somé, Rose Anne Devlin, Nirav Mehta, Gregory S Zaric, Sisira Sarma

Epidemiology and Biostatistics Publications

In Canada's most populous province, Ontario, family physicians may choose between the blended fee-for-service (Family Health Group [FHG]) and blended capitation (Family Health Organization [FHO] payment models). Both models incentivize physicians to provide after-hours (AH) and comprehensive care, but FHO physicians receive a capitation payment per enrolled patient adjusted for age and sex, plus a reduced fee-for-service while FHG physicians are paid by fee-for-service. We develop a theoretical model of physician labor supply with multitasking to predict their behavior under FHG and FHO, and estimable equations are derived to test the predictions empirically. Using health administrative data from 2006 to …

Distinct Clinicopathologic Clusters Of Persons With Tdp-43 Proteinopathy, Yuriko Katsumata, Erin L. Abner, Shama Karanth, Merilee A. Teylan, Charles N. Mock, Matthew D. Cykowski, Edward B. Lee, Kevin L. Boehme, Shubhabrata Mukherjee, John S. K. Kauwe, Richard J. Kryscio, Frederick A. Schmitt, David W. Fardo, Peter T. Nelson

Biostatistics Faculty Publications

To better understand clinical and neuropathological features of TDP-43 proteinopathies, data were analyzed from autopsied research volunteers who were followed in the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center (NACC) data set. All subjects (n = 495) had autopsy-proven TDP-43 proteinopathy as an inclusion criterion. Subjects underwent comprehensive longitudinal clinical evaluations yearly for 6.9 years before death on average. We tested whether an unsupervised clustering algorithm could detect coherent groups of TDP-43 immunopositive cases based on age at death and extensive neuropathologic data. Although many of the brains had mixed pathologies, four discernible clusters were identified. Key differentiating features were age at …

The Use Of Penalized Regression Analysis To Identify County-Level Demographic And Socioeconomic Variables Predictive Of Increased Covid-19 Cumulative Case Rates In The State Of Georgia, Holly L. Richmond, Joana Tome, Haresh Rochani, Isaac Chun-Hai Fung, Gulzar H. Shah, Jessica S. Schwind

Biostatistics, Epidemiology & Environmental Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Systemic inequity concerning the social determinants of health has been known to affect morbidity and mortality for decades. Significant attention has focused on the individual-level demographic and co-morbid factors associated with rates and mortality of COVID-19. However, less attention has been given to the county-level social determinants of health that are the main drivers of health inequities. To identify the degree to which social determinants of health predict COVID-19 cumulative case rates at the county-level in Georgia, we performed a sequential, cross-sectional ecologic analysis using a diverse set of socioeconomic and demographic variables. Lasso regression was used to identify variables …

Multi-Ancestry Genome-Wide Association Study Accounting For Gene-Psychosocial Factor Interactions Identifies Novel Loci For Blood Pressure Traits, Daokun Sun, Melissa A. Richard, Soloman K. Musani, Yun Ju Sung, Thomas W. Winkler, Karen Schwander, Jin Fang Chai, Xiuqing Guo, Tuomas O. Kilpeläinen, Dina Vojinovic, Hugues Aschard, Traci M. Bartz, Lawrence F. Bielak, Michael R. Brown, Kumaraswamy Chitrala, Fernando P. Hartwig, Andrea R. V. R. Horimoto, Yongmei Liu, Alisa K. Manning, Raymond Noordam, Donna K. Arnett

Epidemiology and Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Psychological and social factors are known to influence blood pressure (BP) and risk of hypertension and associated cardiovascular diseases. To identify novel BP loci, we carried out genome-wide association meta-analyses of systolic, diastolic, pulse, and mean arterial BP, taking into account the interaction effects of genetic variants with three psychosocial factors: depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and social support. Analyses were performed using a two-stage design in a sample of up to 128,894 adults from five ancestry groups. In the combined meta-analyses of stages 1 and 2, we identified 59 loci (p value < 5e−8), including nine novel BP loci. The novel associations were observed mostly with pulse pressure, with fewer observed with mean arterial pressure. Five novel loci were identified in African ancestry, and all but one showed patterns of interaction with at least one psychosocial factor. Functional annotation of the novel loci supports a major role for genes implicated in the immune response (PLCL2), synaptic function and neurotransmission (LIN7A …

Combating Acquired Resistance To Mapk Inhibitors In Melanoma By Targeting Abl1/2-Mediated Reactivation Of Mek/Erk/Myc Signaling, Rakshamani Tripathi, Zulong Liu, Aditi Jain, Anastasia Lyon, Christina Meeks, Dana Richards, Jinpeng Liu, Daheng He, Chi Wang, Marika Nespi, Andrey Rymar, Peng Wang, Melissa Wilson, Rina Plattner

Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences Faculty Publications

Metastatic melanoma remains an incurable disease for many patients due to the limited success of targeted and immunotherapies. BRAF and MEK inhibitors reduce metastatic burden for patients with melanomas harboring BRAF mutations; however, most eventually relapse due to acquired resistance. Here, we demonstrate that ABL1/2 kinase activities and/or expression are potentiated in cell lines and patient samples following resistance, and ABL1/2 drive BRAF and BRAF/MEK inhibitor resistance by inducing reactivation of MEK/ERK/MYC signaling. Silencing/inhibiting ABL1/2 blocks pathway reactivation, and resensitizes resistant cells to BRAF/MEK inhibitors, whereas expression of constitutively active ABL1/2 is sufficient to promote resistance. Significantly, nilotinib (2nd generation …

Association Between Dietary Inflammatory Index And Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus In Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China, Wenhui Fu, Hualian Pei, Nitin Shivaooa, James R. Hébert, Tao Luo, Tian Tian, Dilibaier Alimu, Zewen Zhang, Jianghong Dai

Faculty Publications

Background Diet and inflammation have both been studied in relation to type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The aim of this cross-sectional study was to examine the association between the Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII®) and T2DM. Methods Subjects were adults enrolled in the baseline study of the Xinjiang multi-ethnic natural population cohort and health follow-up study from January to May 2019. The study involved 5,105 subjects (58.7% men) between 35 and 74 years of age. The DII score was calculated from a data obtained via a food frequency questionnaire consisting of 127 food items. Results Logistic regression analyses were used to …

Age-Related Losses In Cardiac Autonomic Activity During A Daytime Nap, Pin-Chun Chen, Negin Sattari, Lauren N. Whitehurst, Sara C. Mednick

Psychology Faculty Publications

In healthy, young individuals, a reduction in cardiovascular output and a shift from sympathetic to parasympathetic (vagal) dominance is observed from wake into stages of nocturnal and daytime sleep. This cardiac autonomic profile, measured by heart rate variability (HRV), has been associated with significant benefits for cardiovascular health. Aging is associated with decreased nighttime sleep quality and lower parasympathetic activity during both sleep and resting. However, it is not known whether age-related dampening of HRV extends to daytime sleep, diminishing the cardiovascular benefits of naps in the elderly. Here, we investigated this question by comparing the autonomic activity profile between …

Incorporation And Measurement Of Uncertainty In Clustered And Spatial Data, Yuan Hong

Theses and Dissertations

Analyzing population representative datasets for local estimation and predictions over time is important for monitoring related public health issues, however, there are many statistical challenges associated with such analyses. Mixed effect models are one of the common options which can incorporate time and spatial effect in the model and related inference is well established.

In the first part of this dissertation, to estimate area-level prevalence using individuallevel data, small area estimation (SAE) with post-stratified mixed effect models were used where sampling weights were also incorporated into it. However, if poststratification which requires more computation effort can improve estimation accuracy is …

Contrasting Cumulative Risk And Multiple Individual Risk Models Of The Relationship Between Adverse Childhood Experiences (Aces) And Adult Health Outcomes, Marianna Lanoue, Brandon George, Deborah L Helitzer, Scott W Keith

College of Population Health Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: A very large body of research documents relationships between self-reported Adverse Childhood Experiences (srACEs) and adult health outcomes. Despite multiple assessment tools that use the same or similar questions, there is a great deal of inconsistency in the operationalization of self-reported childhood adversity for use as a predictor variable. Alternative conceptual models are rarely used and very limited evidence directly contrasts conceptual models to each other. Also, while a cumulative numeric 'ACE Score' is normative, there are differences in the way it is calculated and used in statistical models. We investigated differences in model fit and performance between the …

Call To Action: Sars-Cov-2 And Cerebrovascular Disorders (Cascade), Shahram Abootalebi, Benjamin M. Aertker, Mohammad Sobhan Andalibi, Negar Asdaghi, Ozlem Aykac, M. Reza Azarpazhooh, M. Cecilia Bahit, Kristian Barlinn, Hamidon Basri, Reza Bavarsad Shahripour, Anna Bersano, Jose Biller, Afshin Borhani-Haghighi, Robert D. Brown, Bruce Cv Campbell, Salvador Cruz-Flores, Deidre Anne De Silva, Mario Di Napoli, Afshin A. Divani, Randall C. Edgell, Johanna T. Fifi, Abdoreza Ghoreishi, Teruyuki Hirano, Keun Sik Hong, Chung Y. Hsu, Josephine F. Huang, Manabu Inoue, Amanda L. Jagolino, Moira Kapral, Hoo Fan Kee, Zafer Keser, Rakesh Khatri

Epidemiology and Biostatistics Publications

Background and purpose: The novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-Cov-2), now named coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), may change the risk of stroke through an enhanced systemic inflammatory response, hypercoagulable state, and endothelial damage in the cerebrovascular system. Moreover, due to the current pandemic, some countries have prioritized health resources towards COVID-19 management, making it more challenging to appropriately care for other potentially disabling and fatal diseases such as stroke. The aim of this study is to identify and describe changes in stroke epidemiological trends before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This is an international, multicenter, hospital-based …

Machine Learning Applications For Drug Repurposing, Hansaim Lim

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The cost of bringing a drug to market is astounding and the failure rate is intimidating. Drug discovery has been of limited success under the conventional reductionist model of one-drug-one-gene-one-disease paradigm, where a single disease-associated gene is identified and a molecular binder to the specific target is subsequently designed. Under the simplistic paradigm of drug discovery, a drug molecule is assumed to interact only with the intended on-target. However, small molecular drugs often interact with multiple targets, and those off-target interactions are not considered under the conventional paradigm. As a result, drug-induced side effects and adverse reactions are often neglected …

Physiological Factors And Physical Activity Contribute To The Incidence Of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus In Indonesia, Demsa Simbolon, Afriyana Siregar, Ruzita Abd Talib

Kesmas

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is the sixth highest cause of death in Indonesia. Thus, it must be prevented and overcome with appropriate management. This study aimed to determine the contribution of physiological factors and physical activities to the incidence of T2DM. The study used a cohort retrospective design using secondary data from the Indonesian Family Life Survey (IFLS) from 2007 to 2014, which included a sample of 14,517 people involved for more than 20 years. Data analysis was performed using multiple logistic regressions. The results revealed a 3.8% incidence of T2DM in Indonesia. Record of hypertension risk increased the …

Evaluation Of Anthropometric Parameters Of Central Obesity Among Professional Drivers: A Receiver Operating Characteristic Analysis, Muhammad Asif, Muhammad Aslam, Saima Altaf, Abdul Majid, Saima Atif

Kesmas

Different anthropometric parameters have been proposed for assessing central obesity. The diagnostic performance of these anthropometric parameters and their ability to correctly measure central obesity for the professional community, like drivers, is questionable and needs to be assessed. The study aimed to examine the diagnostic performance of anthropometric parameters as indicators of central obesity in drivers as measured by waist circumference (WC) and to determine the best cut-off values for these parameters that would identify obese drivers. Anthropometric measurements from a cross-sectional sample of 197 professional drivers were taken under standard protocol. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis was used to …

Gerakan Nusantara Program On Children’S Nutrition Practices, Syilga Cahya Gemily, Sandra Fikawati, Ahmad Syafiq

Kesmas

Gerakan Nusantara is a nutrition education program that aims to change the nutrition knowledge, attitudes, and practices of elementary school children in Indonesia. The program was implemented in 2015–2018 in Jakarta, Bandung, Surabaya, Makassar, Medan, Yogyakarta, Pontianak, East Nusa Tenggara, Pekanbaru, Padang, Jambi, and Sorong. The present study sought to determine the effects of Gerakan Nusantara on the nutrition practices of school-aged children and describe the extent of changes in each nutrition practice component covered by the program. This study used secondary data on Nutrition and Health Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices studies collected from students participating in the program and …