Risk of renal disease in patients with both type 1 diabetes and coeliac disease

Aims/hypothesis

Our aim was to study the risk of renal disease in patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and coexisting coeliac disease (CD).

Methods

Individuals with T1D were defined as having a diagnosis of diabetes recorded at ≤30 years of age in the Swedish Patient Register between 1964 and 2009. Individuals with CD were identified through biopsy reports with villous atrophy (Marsh stage 3) from 28 pathology departments in Sweden between 1969 and 2008. We identified 954 patients with both T1D and CD. For each patient with T1D + CD, we selected five age- and sex-matched reference individuals with T1D only (n?=?4,579). Cox regression was used to estimate the following risks: (1) chronic renal disease and (2) end-stage renal disease in patients with CD + T1D compared with T1D patients only.

Results

Forty-one (4.3%) patients with CD + T1D and 143 (3.1%) patients with T1D only developed chronic renal disease. This corresponded to an HR of 1.43 for chronic renal disease (95% CI 0.94, 2.17) in patients with CD + T1D compared with T1D only. In addition, for end-stage renal disease there was a positive (albeit statistically non-significant) HR of 2.54 (95% CI 0.45, 14.2). For chronic renal disease, the excess risk was more pronounced after >10 years of CD (HR 2.03, 95% CI 1.08, 3.79). Risk estimates were similar when we restricted our cohort to the following T1D patients: (1) those who had an inpatient diagnosis of T1D; (2) those who had never received oral glucose-lowering medication; and (3) those who had not received their first diabetes diagnosis during pregnancy.

Conclusions/interpretation

Overall this study found no excess risk of chronic renal disease in patients with T1D and CD. However, in a subanalysis we noted a positive association between longstanding CD and chronic renal disease in T1D.     

Prognostic value of estimated glomerular filtration rate in hospitalized elderly patients

A multicenter observational study, REPOSI (REgistro POliterapie Società Italiana di Medicina Interna), was conducted to assess the prognostic value of glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) on in-hospital mortality, hospital re-admission and death within 3 months, in a sample of elderly patients (n = 1,363) admitted to 66 internal medicine and geriatric wards. Based on eGFR, calculated by the new Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI) formula, subjects at hospital admission were classified into three groups: group 1 with normal eGFR (≥60 ml/min/1.73 m², reference group), group 2 with moderately reduced eGFR (30–59 ml/min/1.73 m²) and group 3 with severely reduced eGFR (<30 ml/min/1.73 m²). Patients with the lowest eGFR (group 3) on admission were more likely to be older, to have a greater cognitive and functional impairment and a high rate of comorbidities. Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that severely reduced eGFR at the time of admission was associated with in-hospital mortality (OR 3.00; 95 % CI 1.20–7.39, p = 0.0230), but not with re-hospitalization (OR 0.97; 95 % CI 0.54–1.76, p = 0.9156) or mortality at 3 months after discharge (OR 1.93; 95 % CI 0.92–4.04, p = 0.1582). On the contrary, an increased risk (OR 2.60; 95 % CI 1.13–5.98, p = 0.0813) to die within 3 months after discharge was associated with decreased eGFR measured at the time of discharge. Our study demonstrates that severely reduced eGFRs in elderly patients admitted to hospital are strong predictors of the risk of dying during hospitalization, and that this measurement at the time of discharge helps to predict early death after hospitalization.     

Validation of a Weight History Questionnaire to Identify Adolescent Obesity

Background

Past body weight may be a more informative factor than current weight for risk of chronic disease development. Often, investigators must rely on subject recall to gauge past body weights. The Cincinnati Weight History Questionnaire (CWHQ) was developed to aid in the retrospective identification of adults who were obese during adolescence.

Methods

To assess validity, the CWHQ was administered to a subset of National Heart, Lung, and Blood Growth and Health Study (NGHS) participants, a group of young adult females for whom historical measured anthropometrics were available. One hundred ninety-eight NGHS participants were contacted, of whom 191 (97 %) responded (age 26–29). Participants were asked to recall height and weight from ages 13 and 18, which were compared to previously measured values. Multiple indices of validity (Bland–Altman plots, sensitivity, and specificity) were calculated.

Results

The CWHQ was moderately sensitive (range, 19–66 %), but highly specific (range, 89–100 %). Recalled height and weight values used to determine body mass index (BMI) underestimated BMI based on recorded height and weight at ages 13 and 18. Differences in calculated BMI based on recalled and measured height and weight were found to increase with BMI calculated using measured values.

Conclusions

The CWHQ proved to be a moderately sensitive, but highly specific instrument for detecting adolescent obesity in a cohort of young adult females. Epidemiologic research seeking to discriminate between adults with adult-onset vs. adolescent-onset obesity may find the CWHQ useful.     

Association of unmet need with self-rated health in a community dwelling cohort of disabled seniors 75 years of age and over

Self-rated health (SRH) is a measure of perceived health that has been shown to predict use of community services, functional decline, pain, and mortality. Many factors associated with SRH have been identified, but unmet need for physical assistance with activities of daily living (ADL) has not yet been examined. The objective of this paper is to examine the association between unmet need and SRH while accounting for the effects of other, previously identified, correlates of SRH. We conducted a secondary analysis of a population-based study of 839 residents of Montréal, Québec who were 75 years of age or older, not cognitively impaired, and living in the community. Multivariable logistic regression was used to evaluate the association between met and unmet personal ADL (PADL) and instrumental ADL (IADL) need for physical assistance with SRH. Among 508 disabled community-dwelling elderly, for each additional unmet IADL need, subjects were 1.70 (95% CI: 1.11–2.61) times more likely to report poorer SRH. For each additional unmet PADL need, subjects were 2.26 (95% CI: 1.31–3.91) times more likely to report poorer SRH. Subjects at increased risk of malnutrition, with greater comorbidity and whose income was insufficient to meet their needs were also more likely to report poorer SRH. After adjustment for important correlates, unmet PADL and IADL needs retain a statistically significant association with poorer SRH, with nutritional status, comorbid conditions, and income satisfaction being important confounders of the relationship.     

A combined analysis of outcome following breast cancer: differences in survival based on BRCA1/BRCA2 mutation status and administration of adjuvant treatment

Background

The prognostic significance of germline mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 in women with breast cancer remains unclear. A combined analysis was performed to address this uncertainty.

Methods

Two retrospective cohorts of Ashkenazi Jewish women undergoing breast-conserving treatment for invasive cancer between 1980 and 1995 (n = 584) were established. Archived tissue blocks were used as the source of DNA for Ashkenazi Jewish BRCA1/BRCA2 founder mutation analysis. Paraffin-embedded tissue and follow-up information was available for 505 women.

Results

Genotyping was successful in 496 women, of whom 56 (11.3%) were found to carry a BRCA1/BRCA2 founder mutation. After a median follow-up period of 116 months, breast cancer specific survival was worse in women with BRCA1 mutations than in those without (62% at 10 years versus 86%; P < 0.0001), but not in women with the BRCA2 mutation (84% versus 86% at 10 years; P = 0.76). Germline BRCA1 mutations were an independent predictor of breast cancer mortality in multivariate analysis (hazard ratio 2.4, 95% confidence interval 1.2–4.8; P = 0.01). BRCA1 status predicted breast cancer mortality only among women who did not receive chemotherapy (hazard ratio 4.8, 95% confidence interval 2.0–11.7; P = 0.001). The risk for metachronous ipsilateral cancer was not greater in women with germline BRCA1/BRCA2 founder mutations than in those without mutations (P = 0.68).

Conclusion

BRCA1 mutations, but not BRCA2 mutations, are associated with reduced survival in Ashkenazi women undergoing breast-conserving treatment for invasive breast cancer, but the poor prognosis associated with germline BRCA1 mutations is mitigated by adjuvant chemotherapy. The risk for metachronous ipsilateral disease does not appear to be increased for either BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation carriers, at least up to 10 years of follow up.     

Long-term efficacy and safety of varenicline for smoking cessation: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Aim

To evaluate the long-term efficacy and potential risk of psychiatric side effects of varenicline for smoking cessation compared with placebo or nicotine replacement therapy.

Subject and methods

Systematic search of electronic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register, SCI) up to March 2011. Two reviewers independently determined the eligibility of randomized controlled trials comparing varenicline with placebo, or nicotine replacement therapy with follow-up of at least 12?months. Information was independently extracted by 2 reviewers.

Results

Ten trials involving 6,375 smokers were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled risk ratios (RR) for continuous abstinence was 2.83 (95% CI: 2.20–3.63) at 52?weeks for varenicline (1?mg, twice per day) versus placebo. Varenicline seemed to be more effective in smokers with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (RR, 3.33) than smokers with cardiovascular diseases (RR, 2.64) or health smokers (RR, 2.52), non-Asian smokers than Asian smokers (2.98 vs. 1.94), elder smokers than younger smokers (2.87 vs. 2.52), female smokers than male smokers (2.98 vs. 1.94). The five predominant reported adverse events for varenicline compared to placebo were vomiting, nausea, abnormal dreams, constipation, and dysgeusia. There was no sufficient evidence that varenicline was associated with an increased risk of psychiatric side effects (RR, 1.45, 95% CI: 0.90–2.32).

Conclusion

Varenicline therapy compared with placebo is associated with a favorable effect on smoking cessation at the end of 52?weeks. However, the psychiatric adverse events related with varenicline should be further studied with larger qualified study. People with preexisting mental illnesses should be prudently treated with varenicline.     

High prevalence of undiagnosed obstructive sleep apnoea in the general population and methods for screening for representative controls

Purpose

Undiagnosed obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) in the community makes comparisons of OSA subjects with control samples from the general population problematic. This study aims to estimate undiagnosed moderate to severe OSA in a general population sample and to determine the capacity of questions from the Berlin questionnaire (BQ) to identify subjects without diagnosed OSA of this severity.

Methods

Using a general population sample (n?=?793) with no history of OSA, case and control status for moderate–severe OSA was determined by home-based nasal flow and oximetry-derived apnoea–hypopnoea index using a cut-off value of ≥15 events/h to define cases. The diagnostic accuracy of the complete BQ and its component questions in identifying cases was assessed by calculating sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, positive and negative likelihood ratios and post-test probabilities.

Results

The age-standardised prevalence estimate of moderate–severe OSA was 9.1 % (12.4 % in men, 5.7 % in women). Sensitivity of the BQ in this population was 54 %, and specificity, 70 %. A combination of questions regarding snoring frequency and hypertension provided maximal post-test probability of OSA and greatest post-screen sample size.

Conclusions

Undiagnosed OSA is highly prevalent in the Western Australian general population. While the complete BQ is a sub-optimal screening instrument for the general population, snoring frequency or hypertension can be used to screen out moderate–severe OSA from general population samples with limited reduction in sample size. As there are few general population samples available for epidemiological or genetic studies of OSA and its associated phenotypes, these results may usefully inform future case–control studies.     

知证卫生决策工具之十二——查找和使用关于资源利用及成本的研究证据

本文我们主要考虑资源利用与成本问题。一项政策或项目方案在资源利用方面的结果与其他方面的影响（如获益和危害）有所不同。但考虑不同方案的资源利用结果与考虑其他方面的影响类似,因为决策者及其下属需要确定对资源利用的重要影响,获得和评价有关这些影响可得的最佳证据,并确保价有所值。当评估某项方案的资源利用及成本结果时,我们建议考虑以下4 个问题：① 对资源利用最重要的影响有哪些？② 现有哪些证据对资源利用有重要影响？③ 资源利用影响的证据可信度有多高？④ 是否对资源利用的影响采用了其真实成本进行恰当赋值？