Journal of Research in Health Sciences
Volume:23 Issue: 2, Spring 2023

Seasonal variation in hospitalizations for diverticulitis has a sinusoidal pattern, with more admissions occurring during the summer months. However, little is known about seasonal, regional trends, and risk factors associated with hospital admissions regarding diverticular bleeding in the US.  

Patients that had admission or discharge diagnoses of diverticulitis with bleeding or diverticulosis with bleeding from January 1, 2015, through December 31, 2017, were identified in the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project’s National Inpatient Sample. The proportion of diverticular bleeding admissions was determined for a particular admission month/season. Then, the potential effects of region, age, sex, race, and patient risk factors on seasonal admissions for diverticular bleeding were explored.

Of the 54,191 hospitalizations for diverticular bleeding, the peak season was spring with 25.5%, and the lowest season was summer with 24.2% (p = 0.0001). A significant seasonal pattern in comorbidities was also identified, with those with diabetes (p <.0001), hypertension (p < 0.0001), obesity (p = 0.0001), and those on anticoagulants (p = 0.016) all having more bleeding events in the spring. This was noted across US regions, sex, race, and age. The southern region had the most admissions for diverticular bleeding at 40.9% (p < 0.0001).  

A better understanding of these seasonal and regional trends may provide a mechanism to identify a potential trigger for diverticular bleeding events. This helps identify individuals at greatest risk for hospitalization, as well as prepare hospitals to allocate supplies appropriately during the seasons.

Empirical dietary inflammatory potential score (EDIP) is designed to assess the inflammatory potential of diet based on the pro- and anti-inflammatory properties of its various components. We examined the association of EDIP with all-cause mortality in a large, community-based, multiracial sample of the US population.

This analysis included 13,155 participants (42.7±0.41 years, 53% women, 76.3% White) without prior history of cardiovascular disease (CVD) from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination (NHANES III) Survey. A 24- hour dietary recall information was used to calculate EDIP. The National Death Index was used to identify the date and cause of death. Cox proportional hazard analysis was used to examine the association between tertiles of EDIP with all-cause mortality over a median follow-up of 26.6 years.

In a model adjusted for demographics and CVD risk factors, higher EDIP tertile compared with lowest tertile was associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality (HR (95% CI: 1.18 (1.08-1.29). A standard-deviation increase in EDIP (0.27 units) was associated with a 6% increased risk of mortality (HR (95%CI):1.06(1.02-1.11). This association was stronger in older participants compared to younger participants (HR (95%CI): 1.13(1.00-1.30) vs. 0.92 (0.83-1.02) respectively; interaction p=0.03).

pro-inflammatory diet is associated with increased risk of mortality, especially in older population. Dietary changes that reduce inflammation may have a potential to reduce the risk of poor outcomes.

 Headaches are common among children and adolescents, with more than half of adolescents reporting headache symptom worldwide. The number of migraine sufferers among adolescents has increased dramatically in the past decade. This has negatively influenced children and has been linked with emotional and behavioral problems

 Data from the fifth Indonesian Family Life Survey (IFLS), which was conducted between September 2014 and April 2015, were searched and gathered. The figures represent roughly 83% of the Indonesian population. We investigated the possible relationship between sociodemographic and psychosocial factors in adolescents with headaches.

 A total of 3605 participants (1875 females and 1730 males) aged 15 to 19 years with headache symptom were collected. Headache was highly associated with sleep disturbances (OR 1.99; 95% CI: 1.72, 2.30), depression (OR 1.94; 95% CI: 1.65, 2.28), and females (OR 1.72; 95% CI: 1.50, 1.98). Other factors contributing to a headache include poor/moderate sleep quality (OR 1.25; 95% CI: 1.08, 1.45) and low income (OR 1.22; 95% CI: 1.01, 1.48).

 In Indonesian adolescents aged 15 to 19 with headaches, sleep disturbances showed the strongest association, followed by depression and females. Other factors like low socioeconomic status and poor/moderate sleep quality might be associated with headaches but lacking in clinical significance.

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a severe threat to public health everywhere, especially in Kazakhstan and Central Asia. The study aimed at the epidemiological analysis of newly diagnosed HIV cases in Kazakhstan (period 2018-2020).

A descriptive analysis of national data on registered cases of HIV (period 2018-2020) in Kazakhstan was conducted. Demographic information were collected and analysed. Analysis of the influence of age, period, and cohort was performed using Age-Period-Cohort method.

For the period 2018 - 2020, n=1235 HIV cases were registered, and the number of men was higher (68.5%). Sexual transmission during heterosexual contacts was higher in females (88.9%) (p = 0.01). More cases (23.0%) of homosexual contacts were detected among men, p ≥ 0.05. The parenteral route of HIV transmission cases prevailed among men (27.5%), p = 0.001. Intravenous drug administration was more common among males (27.4%), p = 0.01. Also,  68.5% men and 33.2% women had a low therapy adherence. In men, the risk of HIV prevalence increased after 32.5 years (Dv 0.134, 95% CI= -0.096 to 0.364). At the age of 37.5 years, there was a sharp increase (Dv 0.852, 95% CI=0.626 to 1.079) in HIV prevalence. However, no peaks were observed in women.

The study's findings indicated a rise in the prevalence of HIV infection in Kazakhstan. Men aged 37 and older were identified as the risk category. In HIV/AIDS patients, we noted inadequate adherence to treatment. The findings show that tactics for combating HIV infection need to be improved.

Determining suburban area crashes' risk factors may allow for early and operative safety measures to find the main risk factors and moderating effects of the crashes. Therefore, this paper focuses on a causal modeling framework. Study design: A cross-sectional study.

In this study, 52,524 suburban crashes were investigated from 2015 to 2016. Hybrid-random-forest-generalized-path-analysis-technique (HRF-gPath) was used to extract the main variables and identify mediators and moderators.

This study analyzed 42 explanatory variables using a RF model and found that collision-type, distinct, driver-misconduct, speed, license, prior cause, plaque-description, vehicle-maneuver, vehicle-type, lighting, passenger-presence, seatbelt-use, and land-use were significant factors. Further analysis using g-Path demonstrated the mediating and predicting roles of collision-type, vehicle-type, seatbelt-use, and driver-misconduct. The modified model fitted the data well, with statistical significance (=81.29, P<0.001) and high values for comparative-fit-index (CFI) and Tucker-Lewis-index (TLI) exceeding 0.9, as well as a low root-mean-square-error-of-approximation (RMSEA) of 0.031 (90% confidence-interval (CI): 0.030 to 0.032).

The results of our study identified several significant variables, including collision-type, vehicle-type, seatbelt-use, and driver-misconduct, which played mediating and predicting roles. These findings provide valuable insights into the complex factors that contribute to collisions via a theoretical framework and can inform efforts to reduce their occurrence in the future.

In hemodialysis patients, changes in dialysis adequacy are recorded at regular intervals and studied longitudinally. The aim of this study was to determine the factors affecting dialysis adequacy using the generalized estimating equation (GEE) and to compare them with the quadratic inference function (QIF).

This longitudinal study examined the records of 153 end-stage renal diseases (ESRD) patients. Longitudinal data on the dialysis adequacy index and demographic and clinical characteristics were obtained from the patient files. The first-order GEE (GEE1), second-order GEE (GEE2), and QIF models were fitted with different correlation structures, and then the best correlation structure was selected using the quasi-likelihood information criterion (QIC), Akaike information criterion (AIC), and Bayesian information criterion (BIC). Then, the selected models were compared based on the relative efficiency of the estimated regression coefficients.

The majority of patients (59.5%) had unfavorable dialysis adequacy (KT/V<1.2). Women had more favorable dialysis adequacy than men, and patients <60 years had more favorable dialysis adequacy than older. In the GEE1, GEE2, and QIF models, the coefficients of dialysis history, dialysis duration, weight, gender, and age showed a significant relationship with dialysis adequacy (p<0.05) The relative efficiencies of GEE2 versus GEE1,  and QIF versus GEE1  and GEE2 were 1.163, 1.13, and 1.028, respectively.

Dialysis adequacy is not optimal in most hemodialysis patients. The different models yield quite similar coefficient estimates, but GEE2 with unstructured correlation is more efficient than GEE1, and QIF is more efficient than both GEE1 and GEE2.

The increasing trend in animal bites and rabies in recent years make the disease a public health concern in Iran. The objectives of the current study were to investigate the epidemiologic aspects of the animal bite as well as to determine associated risk factors of the delay in initiation of prophylaxis post-exposure (PEP) against rabies in Iran. Study design: registery-based cross-sectional study

This national study included all registered cases of animal bites between March 2021 and March 2022 at the Center for Communicable Diseases Management, Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Iran. We retrieved epidemiologic data on person, time, place, as well as data on the PEP outcome.

A total of 260,470 animal bite cases (approximately 3 per 1000 population, 15 deaths) registered in during the study period. About 77% were in male, 4% in fewer than 5 years, 56% occurred in urban area, 98% from domestic animal, 38% in 12:00 to 18:00 and mostly in north and northeast area of Iran. Approximately 3% of cases had delay more than 48 hours for initiation of rabies PEP. The provinces of Yazd (10%), Qom (6%) and Hormozgan (6%) had the highest delay, respectively. Significant determinants of delay were female (OR=1.4), foreign nationality (1.2), rural residents (1.1), fall and winter (1.2), wild animal (1.2) (p-value<0.05).

The observed burden of animal bites in a year alerts a serious public health concern and the need of targeted interventions especially in at risk areas and vulnerable population

Pregnant women are vulnerable to oral disease due to physiological, hormonal, and dietary alterations. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the impact of the educational program according to Health Promotion Model (HPM) on oral health prevention behavior of pregnant women. Study design: A randomized controlled trial

The present study was performed on 105 pregnant women visiting health centers located in Arak City from February to November 2022. The subjects were randomly assigned to intervention (n=54) and control (n=51) groups. A reliable and valid questionnaire according to HPM constructs was used to collect the data. The pre-test was conducted in the groups. The intervention group received the educational program in form of 9 sessions for three months. Three months after the intervention, the post-test was conducted in the groups. Independent t-test, paired t-test, chi-square tests were used to analyze the data.

There were statistically significant differences between the intervention and control groups regarding perceived benefits (24.68±3.63 vs. 26.57±3.67; P=0.009), perceived barriers (7.31±3.14 vs.5.81±3.59; P=0.025), positive affect (10.50±1.66vs.11.29±1.34; P=0.009), negative affect (1.59±0.223vs. 1.40±1.51; P=0.006), commitment to the action plan (4.05±1.92 vs. 4.77±1.50; P=0.034), and tooth brushing time (2.29±0.72 vs 2.74±0.48; P<0.001) but no significant difference regarding the tooth brushing frequency(2.05±0.58vs. 2.07±0.66; P=0.901) after the intervention. Brushing time for 2-3 minutes in the intervention group increased from 51.85% to 75.92% after the intervention.

Education based on the HPM may be effective in promoting the oral health behavior of pregnant women.