Project description:ObjectiveBlood pressure (BP) references for Brazilian adolescents are lacking in the literature. This study aims to investigate the normal range of office BP in a healthy, non-overweight Brazilian population of adolescents.MethodThe Brazilian Study of Cardiovascular Risks in Adolescents (Portuguese acronym "ERICA") is a national school-based study that included adolescents (aged 12 through 17 years), enrolled in public and private schools, in cities with over 100,000 inhabitants, from all five Brazilian macro-regions. Adolescents' height and body mass index (BMI) were classified in percentiles according to age and gender, and reference curves from the World Health Organization were adopted. Three consecutive office BP measurements were taken with a validated oscillometric device using the appropriate cuff size. The mean values of the last two readings were used for analysis. Polynomial regression models relating BP, age, and height were applied.ResultsAmong 73,999 adolescents, non-overweight individuals represented 74.5% (95% CI: 73.3-75.6) of the total, with similar distribution across ages. The majority of the non-overweight sample was from public schools 84.2% (95% CI: 79.9-87.7) and sedentary 54.8% (95% CI: 53.7-55.8). Adolescents reporting their skin color as brown (48.8% [95% CI: 47.4-50.1]) or white (37.8% [95% CI: 36.1-39.5]) were most frequently represented. BP increased by both age and height percentile. Systolic BP growth patterns were more marked in males when compared to females, along all height percentiles. The same pattern was not observed for diastolic BP.ConclusionsBlood pressure references by sex, age, and height percentiles for Brazilian adolescents are provided.
Project description:BackgroundThough clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) for cardiac rehabilitation (CR) are an effective and widely used treatment method worldwide, they are as yet not widely accepted in Korea. Given that cardiovascular disease is the second leading cause of death in Korea, it is urgent that CR programs be developed. In 2008, the Government of Korea implemented CR programs at 11 university hospitals as part of its Regional Cardio-Cerebrovascular Center Project, and 3 additional medical facilities will be added in 2019. In addition, owing to the promotion of CR nationwide and the introduction of CR insurance benefits, 40 medical institutions nationwide have begun CR programs even as a growing number of medical institutions are preparing to offer CR. The purpose of this research was to develop evidence-based CPGs to support CR implementation in Korea.MethodsThis study is based on an analysis of CPGs elsewhere in the world, an extensive literature search, a systematic analysis of multiple randomized control trials, and a CPG management, development, and assessment committee comprised of 33 authors-primarily rehabilitation specialists, cardiologists, and thoracic surgeons in 21 university hospitals and 2 general hospitals. Twelve consultants, primarily rehabilitation, sports medicine, and preventive medicine specialists, CPG experts, nurses, physical therapists, clinical nutritionists, and library and information experts participated in the research and development of these CPGs. After the draft guidelines were developed, 3 rounds of public hearings were held with staff members from relevant academic societies and stakeholders, after which the guidelines were further reviewed and modified.ResultsCR involves a more cost-effective use of healthcare resources relative to that of general treatments, and the exercise component of CR lowers cardiovascular mortality and readmission rates, regardless of the type of coronary heart disease and type and setting of CR.ConclusionIndividualized CR programs should be considered together with various factors, including differences in heart function and lifestyle, and doing so will boost participation and adherence with the CR program, ultimately meeting the final goals of the program, namely reducing the recurrence of myocardial infarction and mortality rates.
Project description:Fundamental to regulatory guidelines is to identify chemicals that are implicated with adverse human health effects and inform public health risk assessors about "acceptable ranges" of such environmental exposures (e.g., from consumer products and pesticides). The process is made more difficult when accounting for complex human exposures to multiple environmental chemicals. Herein we propose a new class of nonlinear statistical models for human data that incorporate and evaluate regulatory guideline values into analyses of health effects of exposure to chemical mixtures using so-called 'desirability functions' (DFs). The DFs are incorporated into nonlinear regression models to allow for the simultaneous estimation of points of departure for risk assessment of combinations of individual substances that are parts of chemical mixtures detected in humans. These are, in contrast to published so-called biomonitoring equivalent (BE) values and human biomonitoring (HBM) values that link regulatory guideline values from in vivo studies of single chemicals to internal concentrations monitored in humans. We illustrate the strategy through the analysis of prenatal concentrations of mixtures of 11 chemicals with suspected endocrine disrupting properties and two health effects: birth weight and language delay at 2.5?years. The strategy allows for the creation of a Mixture Desirability Function i.e., MDF, which is a uni-dimensional construct of the set of single chemical DFs; thus, it focuses the resulting inference to a single dimension for a more powerful one degree-of-freedom test of significance. Based on the application of this new method we conclude that the guideline values need to be lower than those for single chemicals when the chemicals are observed in combination to achieve a similar level of protection as was aimed for the individual chemicals. The proposed modeling may thus suggest data-driven uncertainty factors for single chemical risk assessment that takes environmental mixtures into account.
Project description:ObjectiveThe incidence of hip fractures is increasing worldwide with the aging population, causing a challenge to healthcare systems due to the associated morbidities and high risk of mortality. After hip fractures in frail geriatric patients, existing comorbidities worsen and new complications are prone to occur. Comprehensive rehabilitation is essential for promoting physical function recovery and minimizing complications, which can be achieved through a multidisciplinary approach. Recommendations are required to assist healthcare providers in making decisions on rehabilitation post-surgery. Clinical practice guidelines regarding rehabilitation (physical and occupational therapies) and management of comorbidities/complications in the postoperative phase of hip fractures have not been developed. This guideline aimed to provide evidence-based recommendations for various treatment items required for proper recovery after hip fracture surgeries.MethodsReflecting the complex perspectives associated with rehabilitation post-hip surgeries, 15 key questions (KQs) reflecting the complex perspectives associated with post-hip surgery rehabilitation were categorized into four areas: multidisciplinary, rehabilitation, community-care, and comorbidities/complications. Relevant literature from four databases (PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and KoreaMed) was searched for articles published up to February 2020. The evidence level and recommended grade were determined according to the grade of recommendation assessment, development, and evaluation method.ResultsA multidisciplinary approach, progressive resistance exercises, and balance training are strongly recommended. Early ambulation, weigh-bearing exercises, activities of daily living training, community-level rehabilitation, management of comorbidities/complication prevention, and nutritional support were also suggested. This multidisciplinary approach reduced the total healthcare cost.ConclusionThis guideline presents comprehensive recommendations for the rehabilitation of adult patients after hip fracture surgery.
Project description:Though clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) for cardiac rehabilitation (CR) are an effective and widely used treatment method worldwide, they are as yet not widely accepted in Korea. Given that cardiovascular (CV) disease is the second leading cause of death in Korea, it is urgent that CR programs be developed. In 2008, the Government of Korea implemented CR programs at 11 university hospitals as part of its Regional Cardio-Cerebrovascular Center Project, and 3 additional medical facilities will be added in 2019. In addition, owing to the promotion of CR nationwide and the introduction of CR insurance benefits, 40 medical institutions nationwide have begun CR programs even as a growing number of medical institutions are preparing to offer CR. The purpose of this research was to develop evidence-based CPGs to support CR implementation in Korea. This study is based on an analysis of CPGs elsewhere in the world, an extensive literature search, a systematic analysis of multiple randomized control trials, and a CPG management, development, and assessment committee comprised of thirty-three authors-primarily rehabilitation specialists, cardiologists, and thoracic surgeons in 21 university hospitals and 2 general hospitals. Twelve consultants, primarily rehabilitation, sports medicine, and preventive medicine specialists, CPG experts, nurses, physical therapists, clinical nutritionists, and library and information experts participated in the research and development of these CPGs. After the draft guidelines were developed, 3 rounds of public hearings were held with staff members from relevant academic societies and stakeholders, after which the guidelines were further reviewed and modified. CR involves a more cost-effective use of healthcare resources relative to that of general treatments, and the exercise component of CR lowers CV mortality and readmission rates, regardless of the type of coronary heart disease and type and setting of CR. Individualized CR programs should be considered together with various factors, including differences in heart function and lifestyle, and doing so will boost participation and adherence with the CR program, ultimately meeting the final goals of the program, namely reducing the recurrence of myocardial infarction and mortality rates.
Project description:Outpatient cardiac rehabilitation (OP-CR) is a highly beneficial program but vastly under utilized.The efficacy of a text-messaging program was analyzed to determine if implementation could improve number of OP-CR sessions completed. All patients enrolled in OP-CR from July 2011 through December 2012 were invited to join a text-messaging program on their first visit. The program required that the patient possesses a cell phone with texting capabilities. Participants received three to five text-messages per week offering heart-healthy tips and requests for body weight, minutes of exercise, blood pressure, and medication adherence. Patients enrolled (n = 52) in the texting program (Tx) were compared with those who were not (n = 185) (NTx) in several clinical indices and were compared using matched pairs (same subjects), comparison of means and frequencies, chi-square statistics, t-tests, and the Wilcoxon Rank Sum test.Significantly more patients in the Tx group completed the OP-CR program (61.5% versus 50%, p = 0.01). For those completing OP-CR, subjects in the Tx group completed significantly more sessions (31.4) than the NTx group (25.3) (p = 0.01). Additionally, significantly more in the Tx group were younger than those in the Ntx group.Patients enrolled in OP-CR who participated in a text-messaging program were younger, attended significantly more sessions and were significantly more likely to complete the program.
Project description:Objectives. The present study aimed at determining cut-off points of visceral fat to predict NAFLD and analyzed metabolic disorders of obese adolescents. Methods. Cross-sectional study involved 165 obese adolescents ranged in age from 15 to 19 years. Glycemia, hepatic transaminases, lipid profile, and insulin resistance were analyzed. Visceral and subcutaneous fat were measured by ultrasound and body composition by plesthysmography. Results. The NAFLD adolescents had significantly higher values for body mass, BMI-for-age, BMI, total fat, waist circumference, and visceral fat when compared with non-NAFLD obese adolescents in both genders. Moreover, there were significant positive correlations between visceral fat with the variables BMI-for-age (r = 0.325,), TG (r = 0.277), AST (r = 0.509), ALT (r = 0.519), WC (r = 0.390), and visceral/subcutaneous ratio (r = 0.790) for NAFLD group. Total fat, triglycerides, and visceral fat were the independent predictors to NAFLD. Analysis of the ROC curves revealed cut-off points of visceral fat of 4.47?cm for girls and 4.21?cm for boys. Conclusions. The results may suggest that abdominal ultrasonography procedure may be a safe alternative method of assessing visceral adiposity aiming to be considered to the development of preventive and treatment strategies in obese individuals. This clinial trial is registered with ClinicalTrial.gov (NCT01358773).