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Population Subgroups (population + subgroup)
Selected AbstractsSystematic review: the association between obesity and hepatocellular carcinoma , epidemiological evidenceALIMENTARY PHARMACOLOGY & THERAPEUTICS, Issue 10 2010D. SAUNDERS Aliment Pharmacol Ther,31, 1051,1063 Summary Background, Evidence increasingly implicates obesity as an independent risk factor for different cancers. We examined such evidence for hepatocellular carcinoma. Aim, To review the effect of increased levels of body mass index on hepatocellular carcinoma risk. Methods, We reviewed systematically the literature examining the association between increased body mass index and hepatocellular carcinoma risk. For each identified study, relevant data were extracted and appraised. Results, Ten cohort studies (>90 million person-years), one nested case-control study (244 cases) and two case-control studies (494 cases) were identified. Of the cohort studies, 75% of person-years related to North Americans, 15% to East Asians, and 10% to Europeans. Three cohort studies adjusted for alcohol consumption, only one cohort study adjusted for hepatitis infection status. Seven cohort studies found a positive association between obesity (body mass index ,30 kg/m2) and hepatocellular carcinoma risk (relative risks ranging from 1.4 to 4.1); two reported no association; and one reported a significant inverse association for a population subgroup (relative risk = 0.7, 95% confidence interval: 0.5,0.9). Conclusion, Although most studies did not adjust for confounders and most data relate to a single world region, the overall evidence is suggestive of an increased hepatocellular carcinoma risk in obese and overweight individuals. [source] Does the relationship between IgE and the CD14 gene depend on ethnicity?ALLERGY, Issue 11 2008G. Zhang This review considers the data from studies analysing associations between the CD14C,159T single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and asthmatic phenotypes and discusses the variability of the conclusions. By searching PubMed and EMBASE for articles on CD14C,159T -related population or family-based association studies, 47 were identified up till September 2007. Collectively, the studies reviewed herein consistently showed population differences in frequencies of the alleles of the SNP, with African descent having the highest C allele frequencies, followed by Caucasians and Asians. The T allele of the SNP was associated with increased sCD14 in some studies but not in others. Inconsistently, the C allele, or even occasionally the T allele, was associated with atopic phenotypes in a population subgroup. There are several explanations for these inconsistencies, including lack of power, linkage disequilibrium, gene,gene interactions, population admixture and gene,environment interactions. If the SNP was associated with functional changes to the coded protein and thus modulating susceptibility to allergic disease, its effect may be modest and dependent on other co-existent, ethnicity-specific, genetic or environmental risk factors. [source] Assessment of cardiovascular risk in waiting-listed renal transplant patients: a single center experience in 558 casesCLINICAL TRANSPLANTATION, Issue 5 2009G. Leonardi Abstract:, Cardiac screening is recommended to prevent cardiovascular death after renal transplantation. This retrospective observational study illustrates the results of application of a cardiac assessment algorithm in a series of 558 renal transplant candidates at a single center in Turin, Italy. A dipyridamole-stress sestamibi myocardial scintiscan (DMS) performed in 302/558 (54.1%) cases was positive in 52 (17.2%), negative in 200 (66.2%), borderline in 16 (5.3%), and with signs of previous necrosis in 34 (11.4%). Coronary lesions detected by angiography in 48.1% of the 52 positives were treated medically (13.5%) or by percutaneous/surgical procedure (34.6%). Coronary lesions were detected in 14.1% of asymptomatic population subgroup. The minor and major cardiovascular event rates and the cardiovascular death rate were 1.9%, 0%, and 0%, respectively, in positive DMS group (high-cardiological risk) vs. 10%, 4.5%, and 3.5% in the negatives (p > 0.5; n.s.). It is suggested that not increased cardiovascular event or deaths rates in the high-risk group reflect early coronary lesion detection and correction. Since 55.9% of cardiovascular events or deaths occurred in the negative group more than 24 months after the DMS, its mandatory repetition every two yr after a negative finding is recommended. [source] Policy options for alcohol price regulation: the importance of modelling population heterogeneityADDICTION, Issue 3 2010Petra Sylvia Meier ABSTRACT Context and aims Internationally, the repertoire of alcohol pricing policies has expanded to include targeted taxation, inflation-linked taxation, taxation based on alcohol-by-volume (ABV), minimum pricing policies (general or targeted), bans of below-cost selling and restricting price-based promotions. Policy makers clearly need to consider how options compare in reducing harms at the population level, but are also required to demonstrate proportionality of their actions, which necessitates a detailed understanding of policy effects on different population subgroups. This paper presents selected findings from a policy appraisal for the UK government and discusses the importance of accounting for population heterogeneity in such analyses. Method We have built a causal, deterministic, epidemiological model which takes account of differential preferences by population subgroups defined by age, gender and level of drinking (moderate, hazardous, harmful). We consider purchasing preferences in terms of the types and volumes of alcoholic beverages, prices paid and the balance between bars, clubs and restaurants as opposed to supermarkets and off-licenses. Results Age, sex and level of drinking fundamentally affect beverage preferences, drinking location, prices paid, price sensitivity and tendency to substitute for other beverage types. Pricing policies vary in their impact on different product types, price points and venues, thus having distinctly different effects on subgroups. Because population subgroups also have substantially different risk profiles for harms, policies are differentially effective in reducing health, crime, work-place absence and unemployment harms. Conclusion Policy appraisals must account for population heterogeneity and complexity if resulting interventions are to be well considered, proportionate, effective and cost-effective. [source] SUBURBANIZATION IN COUNTRIES IN TRANSITION: DESTINATIONS OF SUBURBANIZERS IN THE TALLINN METROPOLITAN AREAGEOGRAFISKA ANNALER SERIES B: HUMAN GEOGRAPHY, Issue 2 2007Kadri Leetmaa ABSTRACT. Suburbanization is one of the key phenomena of spatial population change in many countries in transition. Yet we know surprisingly little about the population carrying out the post-socialist suburbanization process. The objective of this article is to improve on this situation by studying the Tallinn metropolis in Estonia. Our analysis, which covers the inter-censal period 1989 to 2000, focuses on the differences between population subgroups with respect to their probabilities to move to the suburbs. As such, it also clarifies choices of destination by dwelling and municipality type. For the analysis, we use individual anonymous 2000 census data and logistic regression. The results indicate that suburbanization was a socially polarizing process during this period. People with low social status had the highest probability to sub-urbanize, and mainly occupied the pre-existing housing stock. Conversely, people with high social status were less likely to move into suburban areas, yet when they did they moved to the most attractive destinations in the suburbs (new single-family houses, coastal municipalities and municipalities closer to the city). [source] A Surface-Based Approach to Measuring Spatial SegregationGEOGRAPHICAL ANALYSIS, Issue 2 2007David O'Sullivan Quantitative indices of residential segregation have been with us for half a century, but suffer significant limitations. While useful for comparison among regions, summary indices fail to reveal spatial aspects of segregation. Such measures generally consider only the population mix within zones, not between them. Zone boundaries are treated as impenetrable barriers to interaction between population subgroups, so that measurement of segregation is constrained by the zoning system, which bears no necessary relation to interaction among population subgroups. A segregation measurement approach less constrained by the chosen zoning system, which enables visualization of segregation levels at the local scale and accounts for the spatial dimension of segregation, is required. We propose a kernel density estimation approach to model spatial aspects of segregation. This provides an explicitly geographical framework for modeling and visualizing local spatial segregation. The density estimation approach lends itself to development of an index of spatial segregation with the advantage of functional compatibility with the most widely used index of segregation (the dissimilarity index D). We provide a short review of the literature on measuring segregation, briefly describe the kernel density estimation method, and illustrate how the method can be used for measuring segregation. Examples using a simulated landscape and two empirical cases in Washington, DC and Philadelphia, PA are presented. [source] Methodologic Implications of Allocating Multiple-Race Data to Single-Race CategoriesHEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH, Issue 1 2002Article first published online: 18 MAR 200 Objective. To illustrate methods for comparing race data collected under the 1977 Federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) directive, known as OMB-15, with race data collected under the revised 1997 OMB standard. Data Sources/Study Setting.,Secondary data from the 1993,95 National Health Interview Surveys. Multiple-race responses, available on in-house files, were analyzed. Study Design.,Race-specific estimates of employer-sponsored health insurance were calculated using proposed allocation methods from the OMB. Estimates were calculated overall and for three population subgroups: children, those in households below poverty, and Hispanics. Principal Findings.,Although race distributions varied between the different methods, estimates of employer-sponsored health insurance were similar. Health insurance estimates for the American Indian/Alaska Native group varied the most. Conclusions.,Employer-sponsored health insurance estimates for American Indian/Alaska Natives from data collected under the 1977 OMB directive will not be comparable with estimates from data collected under the 1997 standard. The selection of a method to distribute to the race categories used prior to the 1997 revision will likely have little impact on estimates of employer-sponsored health insurance for other groups. Additional research is needed to determine the effects of these methods for other health service measures. [source] A Comparison of Two Single-Item Screeners for Hazardous Drinking and Alcohol Use DisorderALCOHOLISM, Issue 2 2010Deborah A. Dawson Background:, There is increasing interest in and physician support for the use of single-item screeners for problem drinking. Methods:, In a representative sample of U.S. adults (n = 43,093) and within selected subgroups, past-year frequency of drinking 5+/4+ drinks and maximum drinks consumed on any day were evaluated as screeners for past-year alcohol dependence, any alcohol use disorder (AUD), and any AUD or hazardous drinking, using standard measures of screening performance. AUDs were defined according to DSM-IV criteria. Hazardous drinking was defined as consuming >14 drinks/wk or 5+ drinks on any day for men and >7 drinks/wk or 4+ drinks on any day for women. Results:, Optimal cutpoints for both screeners varied across population subgroups, and these variations should be taken into account in order to maximize screening performance. At the optimal cutpoints for the total population, the sensitivity and specificity of maximum drinks were 89% and 82% for dependence at ,5 drinks, 90% and 79% for any AUD at ,4 drinks, and 90% and 96% for any AUD or hazardous drinking at ,4 drinks. Comparable values of sensitivity and specificity for 5+/4+ frequency were 90% and 83% at ,3 times a year, 87% and 82% at ,once a year, and 88% and 100% at ,once a year, respectively. Specificity was lower when only past-year drinkers were considered. The 5+/4+ frequency screener yielded fairly low sensitivity in predicting alcohol problems among the elderly and among Blacks. Results supported a past-year reference period for frequency of 5+/4+ drinks and substantiated gender- and age-specific thresholds for defining risk drinking. Conclusions:, Both of the single-item screeners performed nearly on a par with the AUDIT-C and have potential for use in primary and emergency care settings. [source] Response and Nonresponse Bias in Oral Health SurveysJOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH DENTISTRY, Issue 2 2000David Locker PhD Abstract Oral health surveys are undertaken to provide estimates of the dental health and behaviors of populations or population subgroups. However, the integrity of the data from sample surveys may be compromised by one or more sources of sampling and nonsampling error. An important source of nonsampling error is the failure to collect data from some of the individuals comprising the sample. Consequently, the response to a sample survey, and the direction and magnitude of bias induced by nonresponse, need to be taken into account when using estimates derived from sample surveys. Although the response rate to a survey is usually used as an indicator of the quality of the data it provides, nonresponse error is a function of nonresponse and the extent of differences in the characteristics of responders and nonresponders. Nonresponse may be managed in two ways. The first is to reduce nonresponse to a minimum using response-enhancement strategies. The second is the post-survey adjustment of data using weighting or imputation techniques to produce estimates that correct for nonresponse. This paper discusses issues concerning response and nonresponse bias in oral health surveys and provides guidelines on the management and reporting of nonresponse. It describes response-enhancement strategies to reduce noncontacts and refusals, sources of data to facilitate the comparison of responders and nonresponders, methods of assessing the degree of bias induced by nonresponse, techniques for producing adjusted survey estimates, and the assumptions on which these procedures and processes are based. [source] Some Ethnic Dimensions of Income Distribution from Pre- to Post-reform New Zealand, 1984,1998*THE ECONOMIC RECORD, Issue 262 2007SRIKANTA CHATTERJEE Based on unit record data from four household surveys conducted by Statistics New Zealand for the years 1983/1984, 1991/1992, 1995/1996 and 1997/1998, this paper addresses some ethnic dimensions of income inequality among New Zealanders over the period of the surveys. It applies alternative techniques of decomposition of the Gini coefficient of inequality by subgroups of population. It then analyses how changes in the incomes of specific population subgroups affect the overall inequality. The results help quantify the economic distances among the different ethnic populations of New Zealand, and indicate how and why these distances have been changing over time. [source] Trends in induction of labour, 1998,2007: A population-based studyAUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF OBSTETRICS AND GYNAECOLOGY, Issue 6 2009N. M. MEALING Background:, Increasing rates of induction have been reported in the UK, the USA, Canada and Australia since the early 1990s; however, there is a lack of population-based studies on trends and pharmacological management of induction of labour. Aims:, To determine population trends in induction of labour and predictors of failed induction (in caesarean section, specifically for failure to progress with cervix dilation ,3 cm). Methods:, Trends in induction were determined for women in NSW who laboured at , 32 weeks from 1998 to 2007 (N = 739 904). To determine the predictors of failed induction, 92 359 deliveries of live singletons for whom linked birth and hospital data were available (2001,2005) were examined using logistic regression analysis. Results:, The rate of induction increased over the decade from 25.3 to 29.1%; however, among those induced with prostaglandin alone, it decreased from 33.5 to 23.8%. Oxytocin alone was the most commonly used labour induction agent overall (51%) and in most population subgroups. The predictors of failed induction in both nullipara and multipara included increasing maternal age, pre-term and post-term birth and the use of prostaglandin or mechanical methods of induction (neither oxytocin nor prostaglandin). Conclusions:, The pharmacological agents used for induction of labour have changed over the past decade. An important area for future research is to investigate how the dosage of oxytocin and prostaglandin affects pregnancy outcomes. [source] The Child Health Questionnaire in Australia: reliability, validity and population meansAUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, Issue 2 2000Elizabeth Waters Objective: To provide reliability, validity and population means for the Australian Authorised Adaptation of the parent-report Child Health Questionnaire (CHQ). Method: We surveyed a representative sample of Australian parents of school-aged children (5,18 years) in Victoria between July and December 1997, using a school-based cluster sample design stratified by educational sector and age. Results: Some 5, 414 parents responded (72%). Good psychometric performance was observed for the CHQ in Australia. Population means demonstrated differences in health on domains of functioning and well-being by age and gender. This population-derived sample demonstrated high ceiling values on Physical Functioning and Social Role scales. Implications: The CHQ appears to be a reliable and valid measure of child and adolescent functional health and well-being for the Australian population. Child health outcomes of children and adolescents with particular conditions or within population subgroups can be compared with these age and gender benchmarks. Appropriate uses for the CHQ may be to discriminate between children who are generally healthy and children with health problems, or in population surveys partnered with measures that extend the range of physical functioning and social functioning. [source] Progress in cancer screening practices in the United States,CANCER, Issue 6 2003Results from the 2000 National Health Interview Survey Abstract BACKGROUND Understanding differences in cancer screening among population groups in 2000 and successes or failures in reducing disparities over time among groups is important for planning a public health strategy to reduce or eliminate health disparities, a major goal of Healthy People 2010 national cancer screening objectives. In 2000, the new cancer control module added to the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) collected more detailed information on cancer screening compared with previous surveys. METHODS Data from the 2000 NHIS and earlier surveys were analyzed to discern patterns and trends in cancer screening practices, including Pap tests, mammography, prostate specific antigen (PSA) screening, and colorectal screening. The data are reported for population subgroups that were defined by a number of demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. RESULTS Women who were least likely to have had a mammogram within the last 2 years were those with no usual source of health care (61%), women with no health insurance (67%), and women who immigrated to the United States within the last 10 years (61%). Results for Pap tests within the last 3 years were similar. Among both men and women, those least likely to have had a fecal occult blood test or endoscopy within the recommended screening interval had no usual source of care (14% for men and 18% for women), no health insurance (20% for men and 18% for women), or were recent immigrants (20% for men and 18% for women). An analysis of changes in test use since the 1987 survey indicates that the disparities are widening among groups with no usual source of care. CONCLUSIONS No striking improvements have been observed for the groups with greatest need. Although screening use for most groups has increased since 1987, major disparities remain. Some groups, notably individuals with no usual source of care and the uninsured are falling further behind; and, according to the 2000 data, recent immigrants also experience a significant gap in screening utilization. More attention is needed to overcome screening barriers for these groups if the population benefits of cancer screening are to be achieved. Cancer 2003;97:1528,40. Published 2003 by the American Cancer Society. DOI 10.1002/cncr.11208 [source] | |||||||||||||