BACKGROUND: Interventional cardiologists (ICs) are exposed to X-rays and may be at risk to develop cataract earlier than common senile cataract. Excess risk of posterior subcapsular cataract, known as radiation-induced, was previously observed in samples of ICs from Malaysia, and Latin America. The O'CLOC study (Occupational Cataracts and Lens Opacities ...

OBJECTIVE: To establish risk factors for moderate and severe microbial keratitis among daily contact lens (CL) wearers in Australia. DESIGN: A prospective, 12-month, population-based, case-control study. PARTICIPANTS: New cases of moderate and severe microbial keratitis in daily wear CL users presenting in Australia over a 12-month period were identified through ...

PURPOSE: To investigate whether single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and IL-12β are associated with the susceptibility and severity of contact lens-related keratitis. DESIGN: Retrospective, case control study. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred twelve cases of keratitis and 225 controls were recruited from studies conducted at Moorfields Eye Hospital and ...

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to estimate the annual cost of illness caused by contact lens-associated corneal infiltrative events (CL-CIEs) among soft CL wearers in the United States. METHODS: This study was conducted in the United States. The study population was comprised of daily wear contact lens users ...

Pregnant women in methadone maintenance therapy may have poor nutrition during pregnancy. In 2006-2008, methadone-treated pregnant women (n = 22) were recruited at an urban academic medical center and compared with nondrug-using pregnant women (n = 119) at 20-35 weeks' gestation. We measured adiposity using prepregnancy body mass index (BMI), ...

This study explores identity processes, identity threat, and interpersonal relations with other gay men in a qualitative interview study with a sample of young British Muslim gay men of Pakistani background. Transcripts were subjected to qualitative thematic analysis. Data were analyzed through the interpretive lens of Identity Process Theory. Three ...

Researchers have identified an association between baseline γ-glutamyltransferase (GGT) and prehypertension. However, data from China are limited. A cross-sectional study was performed among 2,205 subjects from Heilongjiang Province in China. Multiple logistic regression analyses revealed a significant association between baseline GGT and prehypertension [1.59, 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.18‑2.16], comparing ...

OBJECTIVE: To study the association between patient-related risk factors and severe maternal morbidity in women with tubal ectopic pregnancy (EP). Furthermore, to identify substandard care factors in clinical care management of EP. DESIGN: Case-control study. SETTING: Not applicable. PATIENT(S): Case subjects were from the LEMMoN study, a prospective nationwide cohort ...

Individuals with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) develop multiple myeloma and related malignancies at the rate of 1% per year. Given differences in ethnicity, data on prevalence and risk factors of MGUS in Thai population will be helpful in understanding the pathogenesis of plasma cell disorders and designing an ...

Introduction.  Little is known about Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (HSDD) in men. Aim.  To provide the first comprehensive characterization of men diagnosed with HSDD (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition, Text Revision [DSM-IV-TR]) using established patient-reported outcomes (PROs) and new PROs developed in line with U.S. Food ...

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association between serum antimüllerian hormone (AMH) and other reproductive parameters in young women. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: University hospital. PATIENT(S): Population-based cohort of 256 women: 180 were users and 76 were nonusers of hormonal contraceptives. INTERVENTION(S): None. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Antral follicles, androgens, age at menarche, ...

OBJECTIVE: Postmenopausal osteoporosis is one of the most common metabolic bone disorders. Osteoporosis is reported to cause bone loss in the alveolar processes of maxilla and mandible, which provide bony framework for tooth anchorage. However, the association between systemic osteoporosis and oral health remains controversial. Available evidence suggests that Indian ...

OBJECTIVE: The present study examined the association of serum ferritin with CHD risk using the Framingham Heart Study's 10-year risk algorithm. DESIGN: Ordinal logistic regression modelling was used to interpret risk. Proportional odds modelling assessed four divisions of ranked CHD risk (4, high; 3, increased; 2, slight; 1, minimal), separately ...

ABSTRACT: INTRODUCTION: Findings that African-American race/ethnicity is associated with higher concentrations of serum urate have not been adjusted for possible confounding factors or have not explored this question as a primary outcome. We tested this hypothesis in a bi-racial cohort of younger African-Americans and Whites (CARDIA). METHODS: Data from 5,049 ...

Cerebral infarction (CI) and myocardial infarction (MI) share some common features, but there are other differences in risk factors. The aim of our study is to determine whether there are some significantly independent susceptibility markers for them. All consecutive patients between the ages of 18 and 45 years with first-ever CI ...

Approximately 30% of a woman's life is spent in the postmenopausal period. This is when steroid hormone deficiency is often accompanied by mineral homeostasis perturbations and deficiencies that could be related to the intensity of any clinical symptoms. The aim of this study was to assess how serum Mg and ...

Heme oxygenase-1 (HMOX1) and bilirubin UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT1A1) enzymes, both involved in bilirubin homeostasis, play an important role in the oxidative stress defense. The objective of our study was to assess the effect of promoter variations of HMOX1 and UGT1A1 genes, as well as of serum bilirubin on the risk of ...

OBJECTIVE: Although some studies have suggested that uric acid is a risk factor for mortality, this relationship is still uncertain in people with type 2 diabetes. METHODS: The study base was the population-based cohort of 1540 diabetic subjects (median age 68.9 years) of the Casale Monferrato Study. The role of ...

Objective To investigate the effect of a soy isoflavone extract over insulin sensitivity and plasma leptin levels. Methods Eighty postmenopausal women were randomly assigned to participate for 24 months either to a physical exercise and Mediterranean diet program (Control group: CG) or this intervention plus a daily oral intake of ...

OBJECTIVES: Cathepsin K (CatK) is expressed in high levels in osteoplasts and therefore plays an important role in bone resorption. Thus CatK serum levels may be useful in the diagnosis of chronic bone disorders such as osteopenia and osteoporosis. Therefore we aimed at studying CatK levels in women putatively free ...

BACKGROUND: Increased ferritin concentrations, which reflect body iron stores, contribute to insulin dysfunction and metabolic syndrome (MetS). METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 7346 subjects (3229 men and 4117 women) who participated in the 2007-2008 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). We adopted the modified Asian criteria for MetS ...

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate whether healthy women show cognitive changes after menopause and whether the possible changes are oestrogen-, age- or education-dependent. METHODS: Forty-eight women, 21 perimenopausal (aged 43-51 years) and 27 late postmenopausal (aged 59-71 years), participated in the study. Verbal and visuomotor functions, visuoconstructive skills, visual and verbal episodic ...

Objectives:  To investigate the relationship between serum sclerostin level, body composition and bone mineral density (BMD) in central south Chinese postmenopausal women. Methods:  A cross-sectional study was conducted on 260 healthy central southern Chinese post-menopausal women with versus without osteoporosis, aged 50-76 years old. Dual X-ray absorptiometry was used to ...

BACKGROUND: There is no data concerning the epidemiology of hyperuricemia in Brazilian population-based studies. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the distribution of serum uric acid and its relationship with demographics and cardiovascular variables. MEHTODS: We studied 1,346 individuals. Hyperuricemia was defined as > 6.8 and > 5.4 mg/dL for men and women, ...

Background: Although various kinds of cardiovascular risk factors have been reported to be associated with atrial fibrillation (AF), the relationship between serum uric acid level and AF has not been fully examined. Methods and Results: Data were collected from a single hospital-based cohort in the Shinken Database 2004-2008 (n=11,123), and ...

OBJECTIVE: Previous studies have shown that high intake or concentrations of serum carotenoids may protect against acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The role of carotenoids on the risk of AMI remains inconsistent. The aim of the present study was to examine if serum concentrations of major carotenoids are related to AMI ...

This article describes the relationship among anxiety, distress, and serum CA-125 levels in women with ovarian cancer. Women's anxiety about monitoring their CA-125 levels during chemotherapy also is discussed. Data from a randomized trial including self-reported anxiety and emotional distress of women following surgery after a primary diagnosis of ovarian ...

High serum uric acid (SUA) has been well demonstrated to be associated with morbidity and mortality in the general population as well as in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). Recent studies show that the clinical SYNTAX score (CSS) is a new tool for the risk stratification of patients with ...

This article explores the increase in gender-based violence against civilian women in Iraq since 2003 and connects it to the U.S.-led invasion of that country. It outlines the complex nature of the gender-based violence and the impact that it has had on civilian women in Iraq. It then analyzes the ...

During 2007-2009, we tested serum samples from 2,004 pregnant women living in an area of high Q fever incidence in the Netherlands. Results confirmed that presence of antibodies against Coxiella burnetii is related to proximity to infected dairy goat farms. Pregnant women and patients with certain cardiovascular conditions should avoid ...

Dienogest offers pharmacological advantages for the effective treatment of endometriosis and for use in contraception and hormone replacement therapy. This pharmacodynamic study investigated the ovulation-inhibiting effects of dienogest monotherapy in healthy women. Dienogest was administered at 0.5, 1, 2, or 3 mg daily for up to 72 days to women ...

PurposeThere is substantial evidence that intraocular melanomas arise from benign nevi in the uveal tract. Previous studies performed by our group discovered that uveal melanoma cells secrete the oncoprotein, DJ-1/PARK7, into the extracellular environment and circulation. The aim of this study is to determine whether circulating DJ-1 serum levels correlate ...

In women, naturally induced anti-HPV serum antibodies are a likely marker of host im-mune protection against subsequent HPV acquisition and progression to precancerous lesions and cancers. However, it is unclear whether the same is the case in men. In this study, we as-sessed the risk of incident genital infection and ...

Kawasaki disease (KD) is the most common cause of acquired heart disease in children. Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) is the standard therapy for KD, but more than 10% of KD patients do not respond to IVIG and are at high risk for the development of coronary artery lesions (CALs). To identify ...

BACKGROUND: The objective of this was to determine maternal and placental concentrations of follistatin-like 3 (FSTL3), and, maternal concentrations of myostatin in gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). METHODS: 40 women with GDM of term pregnancy were recruited and 40 maternal age- and gestational age-matched normally pregnant women served as control. Maternal ...

Postpartum depression (PPD) is the most common psychiatric complication observed in women after they give birth. Some women are particularly sensitive to hormonal changes, starting in early menarche, thus increasing their vulnerability to psychological stressing agents that are triggered by environmental and physiological factors throughout their lives. Decreased serum brain-derived ...

Objective:  Oestrogen antagonises the action of growth hormone (GH). For women with combined GH and oestrogen deficiency, transdermal oestradiol is more favourable in this regard compared to oral oestradiol. Oral contraceptive pills containing ethinylestradiol are commonly used in young women with GHD and there is little information on the impact ...

OBJECTIVE: Despite some epidemiologic research demonstrating a positive relationship between serum uric acid (SUA) levels and the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS), prospective data on SUA as a predictor of MetS incidence are limited. METHODS: The authors examined SUA as a risk marker for incident MetS in a prospective study ...

Abstract Objective: To determine the prevalence of abnormal karyotype results in women undergoing chorionic villus sampling (CVS) for abnormal first trimester screening compared to CVS for historical indications (advanced maternal age (AMA) or prior aneuploidy). Methods: Retrospective cohort of all patients undergoing CVS at Oregon Health & Science University from ...

ABSTRACT: INTRODUCTION: Septic-shock associated acute kidney injury (SSAKI) carries high morbidity in the pediatric population. Effective treatment strategies are lacking, in part due to poor detection and prediction. There is a need to identify novel candidate biomarkers of SSAKI. The objective of our study was to determine if microarray data ...

High serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels have been associated with increased risk of diabetes and with increased mortality, but associations of variations of ALT in the normal range with outcomes have been less well studied. We studied the relationship between ALT, mortality and cardiovascular events in the West of Scotland ...

PURPOSE: The purpose of the study was to compare creatinine clearance (CrCl), estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and serum creatinine (SCr) in predicting contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI), dialysis and death following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). METHODS AND MATERIALS: Data were prospectively collected on 7759 consecutive patients within the Dartmouth ...

Introduction.  Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrinologic disorder. Little is known about the effects of PCOS on overall sexual functioning, phases of the sexual response cycle, and sexual satisfaction. Aim.  To compare the differences in sexual function between women with PCOS and controls, and to assess the relationship ...

Abstract Background. The incidence of new-onset atrial fibrillation (AF) is increased by uncontrolled hypertension, and antihypertensive treatment reduces new-onset AF. However, it is unclear whether alcohol intake and smoking influence the risk of new-onset AF during antihypertensive treatment. Methods. In the Losartan Intervention For Endpoint reduction in Hypertension (LIFE) study, ...

OBJECTIVE: Ceruloplasmin (Cp) is an acute-phase reactant that is increased in inflammatory diseases and in acute coronary syndromes. Cp has recently been shown to possess nitric oxide (NO) oxidase catalytic activity, but its impact on long-term cardiovascular outcomes in stable cardiac patients has not been explored. METHODS AND RESULTS: We ...

Background and objectivesElevated circulating fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) predicts progression of CKD, but it is unknown whether circulating FGF23 independently predicts incident CKD. This study aimed to determine whether circulating FGF23 predicts incident CKD in community-dwelling women.Design, setting, participants, & measurementsThis study examined the relationship of intact serum FGF23, ...

The authors previously demonstrated decreased levels of pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) in peritoneal fluid of women with endometriosis compared to women without endometriosis. Here, the authors determine whether women with endometriosis have altered levels of PEDF in serum. Peripheral blood samples were collected from 71 women with and without endometriosis ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Both genetic and environmental factors play a role in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. The magnitude of genetic and environmental influences may vary in different populations and can be investigated by twin studies. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 101 (63 monozygotic and 38 dizygotic) ...

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Osteoporosis is the most common metabolic bone disease in the world and it is rapidly increasing in Iran. In this study the relationship between educational levels and osteoporosis was investigated among Iranian postmenopausal women. Method and subjects Seven hundred and six women aged 50-75 years old were randomly ...

Context:Serum TSH in the upper part of the reference range may sometimes be a response to autoimmune thyroiditis in early stage and may therefore predict future hypothyroidism. Conversely, relatively low serum TSH could predict future hyperthyroidism.Objective:The objective of the study was to assess TSH within the reference range and subsequent ...