The prevalence and risk factors of urinary incontinence and its influence on the quality of life among Egyptian women

AIMS: The exact magnitude of the problem of urinary incontinence (UI) in Egypt is not yet reported. We studied the prevalence and potential risk factors associated with UI among a group of Egyptian women as taken from a representative sample from the population. METHODS: Design: A cross-sectional, community-based study. Setting: Assiut, Upper Egypt, Egypt. Participants: women, aged 20 years and older, selected randomly from the population. Measurements: Participants completed a previously validated questionnaire; Urogenital Distress Inventory-short form (UDI-6). RESULTS: A total of 1,652 women were included. The prevalence of UI among our study subjects is 54.8%. Aging, low educational level, menopause, higher parity (>3), vaginal delivery, and previous multiple abortions (>3) were found to be significantly associated with UI. The prevalence of urge, stress and mixed incontinence, mutually exclusive of each other, was 15%, 14.8%, and 25%, respectively. The prevalence of severe incontinence is 8.4%. Regarding the quality of life, the most distressing issues for sufferers were their inability to pray (90%). CONCLUSIONS: UI is quite common in Egypt and prevalence rates are higher when compared to other reports.     

Prevalence of Human rhinovirus infection in young children with acute wheezing

Introduction

Recurrent wheezing is one of the leading causes of chronic illness in childhood. We aimed to evaluate the prevalence of Human Rhinovirus (HRV) infection in the acute attack of wheezy chest which began after a respiratory illness.

Is obesity always a risk factor for all breast cancer patients? c-erbB2 expression is significantly lower in obese patients with early stage breast cancer

Objectives

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between body mass index and lipid profiles with breast cancer prognosis together with the relationship of these parametres with known breast cancer prognostic indices including c-erbB2 expression.

Patients and methods

Four hundred and thirty-three patients diagnosed with breast cancer at Ankara University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Medical Oncology made up the study population. The primary endpoints were relapse and death. Body mass index at the time of diagnosis, lipid levels at the time of diagnosis, estrogen receptor status, progesterone receptor status, c-erbB2 expression, tumor grade, patient age, axillary lymph node involvement level, tumor stage, menopausal status and surgery details were taken into account.

Results

The mean body mass indices were similar in the remission, relapse and mortality groups. Patients with body mass indices higher than 30?kg/m2 had a lower incidence of c-erbB2 expression when compared to patients with body mass indices?<?18.5?kg/m² (19 vs. 50?%, p?=?0.009). Survival analysis revealed that patients with body mass indices?<?18.5 kg/m² had significantly shorter disease free survivals when compared to patients with body mass indices between 25 and 29.9?kg/m². Mean serum lipid levels were similar in the remission, relapse and mortality groups. A trend toward relapse was shown in patients with total cholesterol?>?240?mg/dl, but this was statistically insignificant. Survival analysis revealed that patients with triglyceride levels lower than 150?mg/dl had a statistically significant longer disease-free survival when compared to the other groups. Again a trend towards shorter overall survival was seen in patients with total cholesterol?>?240?mg/dl, but this relationship was also statistically insignificant.

Conclusion

Most large previous studies reported adverse breast cancer outcome with obesity. However in our study, patients with lower body weight had a shorter disease-free survival. This could be explained by the low number of patients in this study, genetic profile of the patient population, possible weight changes after treatment and the inverse relationship between body mass index and c-erbB2 expression.     

Significance of vascular endothelial growth factor,interleukin-18 and nitric oxide in patients with breast cancer: correlation with carbohydrate antigen 15.3

JAK/STAT pathway transmits signals from the cell membrane to the nucleus in response to extracellular growth factors and cytokines. Activation of this pathway has been found in certain types of human tumors. The goal of this study was to investigate the correlation between the JAK/STAT pathway in human gliomas and patients’ prognosis, which currently is unknown. Western blotting analysis and immunohistochemical staining were performed to detect JAK-1, phosphorylated JAK-1, and STAT-3 expression patterns in the biopsies from 96 patients with primary gliomas. Kaplan–Meier survival and Cox regression analyses were performed to evaluate the prognosis of patients. Western blotting analysis and immunohistochemical staining both indicated that the expression levels of JAK-1, phosphorylated JAK-1, and STAT-3 in primary glioma tissues were significantly higher than those in normal brain tissues (P < 0.001). Especially, the positive expression rates of JAK-1, phosphorylated JAK-1, and STAT-3 were significantly higher in patients with higher grade (P = 0.001, 0.001, and 0.002, respectively) and lower KPS score (P = 0.01, 0.008, and 0.01, respectively). Statistical analysis showed that patients with gliomas expressing JAK-1 and STAT-3 have lower overall survival rates relative to those not expressing these proteins. Cox multi-factor analysis showed that KPS (P = 0.03), WHO grade (P = 0.008), JAK-1 (P = 0.005), and STAT-3 (P = 0.006) were independent prognosis factors for human gliomas. These results provide convincing evidence for the first time that the JAK/STAT pathway may play a role in the progression of human gliomas. Its activated state might be a potent tool for predicting the clinical prognosis of patients with glioma.     

Screening for Human Parvovirus B19 Infection in Egyptian Family Replacement Blood Donors

Up till now, screening for human parvovirus B19 is not routine in national Egyptian blood bank strategy. Blood samples were collected from 500 healthy blood donors within the age range from 18 to 45 years old attending the blood bank of Suez Canal University Hospital, Ismailia, Egypt. Sera were separated and stored at − 20 °C. Serum samples were screened for anti-human parvovirus B19 IgM and IgG antibodies and B19 genome using ELISA and real-time PCR respectively. Frequency of B19 IgM and B19 IgG antibodies was 6.20%, and 80.20% respectively, and the prevalence of B19 genome was 3.00%. There is a high frequency of human parvovirus B19 among Egyptian blood donors; therefore, serological screening for B19 is warranted.     

Comparison of comorbidities of the Egyptian rheumatoid arthritis patients to the global cohort of the COMORA study: a post-hoc analysis

The aims of this study are to present the results of Egyptian RA patients included in COMORA cohort and compare it to general COMORA cohort, concerning prevalence of comorbidities, and level of application of recommendations related to detection/prevention of comorbidities. Three-hundred eight Egyptian RA patients included in the cross-sectional, observational, multi-center, international study “COMORA”, were compared to the total number of 3612 RA patients. The CRF of COMORA was used in all patients. CRF collects demographic and disease characteristics, comorbidities, risk factors, and compliance with recommendations regarding management of comorbidities. Data were analyzed according to COMORA protocol. Egyptian RA patients were significantly younger, had more active disease, and were more functionally disabled. They showed more frequent use of NSAIDs, methotrexate and steroids and significantly lower use of bDMARDs when compared to non-Egyptians. Egyptian patients had the highest ever HCV prevalence, while depression, hypertension, smoking and dyslipidemia were less prevalent in Egyptians. Prevalence of malignancy risk factors was highly deficient among Egyptians; primarily due to lack of screening. Further, following recommendations for monitoring comorbidities is significantly deficient among Egyptian patients. Egyptian patients had more active disease and more functional impairment than the rest of the COMORA cohort; with lower use of bDMARDs, that is possibly related to the economic situation. Also, there is a clear gap in screening and monitoring comorbidities. Awareness among Egyptian healthcare providers (and possibly similar third-world countries) to detect and manage RA-related comorbidities is required.