Seroprevalence of hepatitis E virus in Hong Kong, 2008–2009

The public health impact of hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection varies across the world. An HEV vaccine has been recently approved for clinical use in China. Population‐specific seroprevalence data are essential for cost‐effective assessment of vaccination programs. Here, a cross‐sectional study was performed to provide an update on the local seroprevalence of HEV. An archive of serum samples submitted for virological investigation between 2008 and 2009 to a general hospital was used. A total of 450 samples with equal numbers from each gender covering the age groups from 1–10 to >80 years (25 samples per group) were tested for HEV immunoglobulin G (IgG) by enzyme‐linked immunoassay. Age‐ and gender‐specific seroprevalence were determined. The HEV IgG positive rate increased from 8% among 1–10 years to 56% among >80 years. The increase in prevalence was constant throughout all age groups without a steeper slope or plateau observed from any age group. The overall positive rate among males was significantly higher than among females (32.9% vs. 24.4%, P = 0.048). The best‐fitted seroprevalence curves also suggested a higher positive rate for males across all age groups. Increased HEV IgG positivity was noted in comparison with historical local studies. Collectively, the prevalence of HEV in Hong Kong has increased over the past decade. A large proportion of the population is still susceptible to infection, and all age groups are at risk. Territory‐wide vaccination program should be considered. J. Med. Virol. 85:459–461, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Secular changes in the relation between social factors and depression: A study of two birth cohorts of Swedish septuagenarians followed for 5 years

Background

Rapid societal changes occurred in the Western world during the 20^th century. It is not clear whether this has changed the relation between social factors and depression in older people.

Methods

Representative samples of 70-year-olds from Gothenburg, Sweden, were examined with identical psychiatric examinations in 1971–72 (N=392; 226 women and 166 men) and 2000–01 (N=499; 270 women and 229 men). Follow-up studies were conducted after five years. Social factors were obtained by self-report and depression was diagnosed according to DSM-IV-TR.

Results

Feelings of loneliness were related to both concurrent depression at baseline and new depression at follow-up in both birth cohorts. Visits with others than children and neighbours once per month or less, compared to having more visits, and the perception of having too little contact with others, were related to both concurrent and new depression in 70-year-olds examined 1971–72, but not in those examined 30 years later.

Limitations

The response rate declined from 85.2% in 1971–72 to 65.8% in 2000–01. Participation bias may have resulted in an underestimation of depression in the later-born cohort.

Conclusions

Social contacts with others were related to depression in 70-year-olds examined in the 1970s, but not in those examined in the 2000s. This may reflect period changes in the ways of socialising, communicating and entertaining, e.g. due to technological development and expansion of mass media. Findings may be useful when developing modern and effective programs for the prevention of mental ill-health in older people.     

Big Five personality and depression diagnosis,severity and age of onset in older adults

Background

Personality may play an important role in late-life depression. The aim of this study is to examine the association between the Big Five personality domains and the diagnosis, severity and age of onset of late-life depression.

Methods

The NEO-Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) was cross-sectionally used in 352 depressed and 125 non-depressed older adults participating in the Netherlands Study of Depression in Older Persons (NESDO). Depression diagnosis was determined by the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI). Severity of depression was assessed by the Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology (IDS). Logistic and linear regression analyses were applied. Adjustments were made for sociodemographic, cognitive, health and psychosocial variables.

Results

Both the presence of a depression diagnosis and severity of depression were significantly associated with higher Neuroticism (OR=1.35, 95% CI=1.28−1.43 and B=1.06, p<.001, respectively) and lower Extraversion (OR=.79, 95% CI=.75−.83; B=−.85, p<.001) and Conscientiousness (OR=.86, 95% CI=.81.−.90; B=−.86, p<.001). Earlier onset of depression was significantly associated with higher Openness (B=−.49, p=.026).

Limitations

Due to the cross-sectional design, no causal inferences can be drawn. Further, current depression may have influenced personality measures.

Conclusions

This study confirms an association between personality and late-life depression. Remarkable is the association found between high Openness and earlier age of depression onset.     

Interactions between the perception of age and ethnicity in faces: an event-related potential study

Face perception models propose that different facial attributes are processed by anatomically distinct neural pathways that partially overlap. Whether these attributes interact functionally is an open question. Our goal was to determine if there are interactions between age and ethnicity processing and, if so, at what temporal epoch these interactions are evident. We monitored event-related potentials on electroencephalography while subjects categorized faces by age or ethnicity in two conditions: a baseline in which the other of these two properties not being categorized was held constant and an interference condition in which it also varied, as modelled after the Garner interference paradigm. We found that, when participants were categorizing faces by age, variations in ethnicity increased the amplitude of the right face-selective N170 component. When subjects were categorizing faces by ethnicity, variations in age did not alter the N170. We concluded that there is an asymmetric pattern of influence between age and ethnicity on early face-specific stages of visual processing, which has parallels with behavioural evidence of asymmetric interactions between identity and expression processing of faces.     

Evidence for a downward secular trend in age of menarche in a rural Gambian population

Abstract

Menarcheal age is a key indicator of female maturity and development. Studies in many countries have reported a downward secular trend in age of menarche over the past century. This study presents data gained using the ‘status quo’ method and interval regression to estimate median menarcheal age of girls in a rural Gambian community. Cross-sectional studies carried out in 1989, 2000 and 2008 revealed a median menarcheal age of 16.06 (95% CI 15.67–16.45), 15.03 (95% CI 14.76–15.30) and 14.90 (95% CI 14.52–15.28), respectively. The average rate of decline of median age of menarche was amongst the most rapid yet reported, at 0.65 years of age per decade (p < 0.00001). There was no evidence for a change in the rate of decline over the two decades studied. These results probably reflect ongoing socio-economic development within the region.     

Menarcheal age in Turkey: Secular trend and socio-demographic correlates

Background: Menarche is an important indicator for assessing the developmental status of pubertal girls. Despite its importance, there is no nationwide information on menarcheal age in Turkey.

Aim: This paper is the first attempt to examine age at menarche for Turkey as a whole. The aim is to present the secular trend of menarcheal age and variations across different socio-demographic groups.

Methods: Data were employed from the Turkey Demographic and Health Survey, 2008. Mean menarcheal ages were estimated for birth cohorts and socio-demographic sub-groups. The pace of decline in menarcheal age has been estimated using multiple linear regression analysis, controlling for year of birth and other variables.

Results: Mean age at menarche was estimated as 13.30 (95% CI = 13.26–13.35). It was estimated as 13.17 years (95% CI 12.95–13.38) for the youngest birth cohort (1989–1993), as opposed to 13.44 (95% CI 13.37–13.52) years for the cohort born in 1959–1968.

Conclusion: Regression analysis indicated a decrease of 1.44 months per decade, providing evidence of a secular trend in menarcheal age in Turkey. Further results suggested childhood place of residence, education, welfare status and number of siblings to be significantly associated with menarcheal age.     

Short-term secular change in height,body mass and Tanner-Whitehouse 3 skeletal maturity of Madeira youth,Portugal

Background: Secular trends in height and weight are reasonably well documented in Europe. Corresponding observations for skeletal maturation are lacking.

Aim: To assess secular trends in height, body mass and skeletal maturity of Portuguese children and adolescents and to provide updated reference values for skeletal maturity scores (SMSs).

Subjects and methods: Data for 2856 children and adolescents of 4–17 years, 1412 boys and 1444 girls, from The ‘Madeira Growth Study’ (MGS; 1996–1998) and from the‘Healthy Growth of Madeira Children Study’ (CRES; 2006) were used. Height and body mass were measured. Skeletal maturity was assessed with the Tanner-Whitehouse 2 and 3 methods.

Results: Children from CRES were taller and heavier than peers from MGS. Differences in height reached 5.8 cm in boys and 5.5 cm in girls. RUS SMSs did not differ consistently between surveys boys, while higher RUS scores were observed in CRES girls. Adult RUS SMSs for MGS and CRES combined were attained at 15.8 years in boys and 14.8 years in girls. Corresponding ages for adult Carpal SMSs were 14.4 and 14.0, respectively.

Conclusion: The short-term trends for height and mass were not entirely consistent with the trends in RUS and Carpal SMSs and SAs.     

Menarcheal age and socio-economic factors in Poland

Background:?Menarcheal age is the most important measure of sexual maturation in girls and a sensitive indicator of environmental conditions during childhood.

Objective:?The study analysed the association between age at menarche and socio-economic characteristics (urbanization, population size, education of parents and number of children in the family).

Subjects and methods:?Questionnaire data were collected from 3271 female schoolchildren born between 1981 and 1984, living in three provinces of southern Poland. Menarcheal age was estimated by the recall method and based on the date of menarche given by the study participants. ANCOVA and multiple regression analyses were applied to test statistical significance of differences between groups.

Results:?Girls from families with high socio-economic status experience menarche at an earlier age than girls from families with lower socio-economic status. However, depending on the geographical region and the population size, other factors influence menarcheal age. In the Krakow province, factors that significantly differentiate age at menarche are urbanization, father's education and number of children in the family; in the Opole province, these factors include urbanization and number of children in the family, while in the Nowy Sacz province, number of children in the family is significant.

Conclusions:?Socio-economic differences are greater in a large urban city (Krakow), and affect variation in age at menarche. However, within smaller populations (Opole, Nowy Sacz) living in towns and villages, the difference in age at menarche is less visible. In addition, variation between areas reveals a lower age at menarche in urban as compared with non-urban areas.

Résumé. Arrière plan: L’âge aux premières règles est une mesure importante de la maturation sexuelle des filles ainsi qu’un indicateur sensible des conditions du milieu au cours de l’enfance.

Objectif: Cette étude analyse l’association entre âge aux premières règles et facteurs socio-économiques (urbanisation, taille de la population, éducation parentale et nombre d’enfants dans la famille).

Sujets et méthodes: Des données par questionnaire ont été rassemblées sur 3271 écoliers habitant dans trois provinces du sud de la Pologne, nés entre 1981 et 1984. L’âge aux premières règles a été estimé par la méthode de mémorisation. Des analyses de régression multiple et de covariance (ANCOVA) ont été effectuées afin d’évaluer la signification statistique des différences entre groupes.

Résultats: Les filles de familles à statut socio-économique élevé sont plus précoces que celles de statut socio-économique défavorable, mais suivant la région et la dimension de la population, d’autres facteurs influencent l’âge aux premières règles. Dans la province de Cracovie, l’urbanisation, l’éducation du père et le nombre d’enfants dans la famille jouent un rôle significatif. Dans la province d’Opole, ce sont l’urbanisation, l’éducation du père et le nombre d’enfants dans la famille qui interviennent, alors que dans la province de Nowi Sacz, est significatif le nombre d’enfants dans la famille.

Conclusions: Les différences socio-économiques sont plus significatives dans une grande ville (Cracovie), alors que dans les ensembles populationnels plus restreints (Opole, Nowy Sacz), elles sont de moindre importance. Par ailleurs, la variation entre régions révèle un âge aux premières règles plus précoce chez les filles urbaines que chez les rurales.

Zusammenfassung. Hintergrund: Das Menarchealter ist das wichtigste Maß für die sexuelle Reife bei Mädchen und ein empfindlicher Indikator für Umweltbedingungen während der Kindheit.

Ziel: Die Studie analysierte die Beziehung zwischen Menarchealter und sozio-ökonomischen Kennzeichen (Urbanisation, Populationsgröße, Schulbildung der Eltern und Anzahl der Kinder pro Familie).

Probanden und Methoden: Mittels Fragebögen wurden Daten von 3271 Schülerinnen, geboren zwischen 1981 und 1984, aus drei Provinzen Südpolens erhoben. Das Menarchealter wurde retrospektiv erfragt und basiert auf Angaben zur Menarche von den Studienteilnehmerinnen. Es wurden ANCOVA und multiple Regressionsanalysen verwendet, um Unterschiede zwischen den Gruppen auf statistische Signifikanz zu testen.

Ergebnisse: Mädchen aus Familien der oberen sozio-ökonomischen Schicht menstruieren früher als Mädchen aus Familien niederer sozio-ökonomischer Schichten. Je nach geographischer Region und Populationsgröße gibt es jedoch noch weitere Faktoren, die das Menarchealter beeinflussten. Faktoren, die in der Provinz Krakau signifikanten Einfluss auf das Menarchealter zeigen, sind Urbanisationsgrad, Schulbildung des Vaters und Anzahl der Kinder in der Familie; in der Provinz Oppeln beinhalten diese Faktoren den Urbanisationsgrad und die Anzahl der Kinder in der Familie, während in der Provinz Novy Sacz nur die Anzahl der Kinder in der Familie Signifikanzniveau erreichen.

Zusammenfassung: Sozio-ökonomische Unterschiede sind in einer Großstadt (Krakau) größer und nehmen Einfluss auf die Variation des Menarchealters. In den weniger umfangreichen Populationen (Oppeln, Novy Sacz) aus kleineren Städten und Dörfern ist dagegen der Unterschied im Menarchealter weniger offensichtlich. Darüber hinaus zeigt die Variation zwischen Regionen, dass das Menarchealter in städtischen Gegenden niedriger ist als in ländlichen.

Resumen. Antecedentes: La edad de menarquia es la medida más importante de la maduración sexual en chicas y un sensible indicador de las condiciones ambientales durante la infancia.

Objetivo: El estudio analizó la asociación entre la edad de menarquia y características socioeconómicas (urbanización, tamaño poblacional, educación de los padres y número de hijos en la familia).

Sujetos y métodos: Los datos del cuestionario se recogieron en 3271 niñas escolares nacidas entre 1981 y 1984, que residían en tres provincias del sur de Polonia. La edad de menarquia se estimó por el método retrospectivo y se basó en la fecha de menarquia proporcionada por las participantes en el estudio. Se aplicaron los análisis ANCOVA y de regresión múltiple para comprobar la significación estadística de las diferencias entre grupos.

Resultados: Las chicas de familias con un nivel socioeconómico elevado experimentan la menarquia a una edad más temprana que las de familias con un nivel socioeconómico bajo. Sin embargo, dependiendo de la región geográfica y del tamaño poblacional, existen otros factores que influyen sobre la edad de menarquia. En la provincia de Cracovia, los factores que producen diferencias significativas en la edad de menarquia son la urbanización, la educación del padre y el número de hijos en la familia; en la provincia de Opole, estos factores incluyen la urbanización y el número de hijos de la familia, mientras que en la provincia de Nowy Sacz, es significativo el número de hijos por familia.

Conclusiones: Las diferencias socioeconómicas son mayores en una gran urbe (Cracovia) y afectan a la variación en la edad de menarquia. Sin embargo, dentro de poblaciones más pequeñas (Opole, Nowy Sacz), viviendo en pueblos y aldeas, la diferencia en la edad de menarquia es menos evidente. Además, la variación entre áreas revela una menor edad de menarquia en el medio urbano comparado con las áreas no urbanas.     

Patch‐wise brain age longitudinal reliability

We recently introduced a patch‐wise technique to estimate brain age from anatomical T1‐weighted magnetic resonance imaging (T1w MRI) data. Here, we sought to assess its longitudinal reliability by leveraging a unique dataset of 99 longitudinal MRI scans from a single, cognitively healthy volunteer acquired over a period of 17 years (aged 29–46 years) at multiple sites. We built a robust patch‐wise brain age estimation framework on the basis of 100 cognitively healthy individuals from the MindBoggle dataset (aged 19–61 years) using the Desikan‐Killiany‐Tourville atlas, then applied the model to the volunteer dataset. The results show a high prediction accuracy on the independent test set (R² = .94, mean absolute error of 0.63 years) and no statistically significant difference between manufacturers, suggesting that the patch‐wise technique has high reliability and can be used for longitudinal multi‐centric studies.     

Ultrasonographic estimation of fetal gestational age by fetal kidney length

Introduction: Fetal kidney length vs biparietal diameter (BPD) and femur length (FL) were comparatively evaluated and the role of fetal kidney length in estimating gestational age was determined in the second and third trimesters. Materials and methods: The study was carried out on 199 women with singleton uncomplicated pregnancies attending the outdoor patient department (OPD) for routine ultrasound fetal biometry. Fetal kidney length was measured biweekly, between 18 weeks and 38 weeks of gestation. Linear regression models for estimation of gestational age were derived from biometric indices (BPD and FL) and kidney length. Result: The earliest age at which fetal kidney could be seen sonographically was the 18th week of gestation with the mean kidney length of 12 ± 1.31 mm. The mean sonographic kidney length at the 38th week of gestation was 40.4 ± 1.71 mm, indicating that the mean fetal kidney length increases as pregnancy progresses from 18 weeks to 38 weeks of gestation. Conclusion: The best linear regression model for estimating fetal gestational age is femur length, kidney length, and biparietal diameter in that order, with standard error of ±3.85 days, ±8.04 days, and ±8.75 days, respectively.