METHODS: The setting was the University of Kuala Lumpur. Thirty-four Malay, 35 Chinese and 34 Indian normal pregnant middle-class women were studied longitudinally by monthly ultrasound scans for 18 to 38 weeks of gestation. The data were subjected to regression analysis; the quadratic curve was found to be the most adequate. Dummy variables were used to determine any effects by gender, parity as well as ethnicity on the length of limb growth. There was no difference in birth weights of the three ethnic groups studied, nor in gender or parity.
RESULTS: There were found to be significant differences in limb lengths of the Indians (longer) when compared with the Malays and Chinese. Parity seems to affect only Indians in whom the multiparous fetuses have shorter limb lengths than the primaparous. There appears to be no effect by gender.
CONCLUSION: There appear to be definite differences in growth of limb length between the different Malaysian ethnic groups and this should be taken into account when growth charts are used and when fetal weight formulas are calculated using limb lengths. The limitation of this study was that the numbers of subjects studied were small. Larger studies will be able to confirm or refute the findings.
Methods: We performed a longitudinal study in 30 children with CKD5-5D and 13 age-matched healthy controls (71 measurements) to determine a correlation between optimal weight by bioimpedance spectroscopy (Wt-BIS) and clinical assessment (Wt-CA). The accuracy of Wt-BIS [relative overhydration (Rel-OH)] was compared against indicators of fluid status and cardiovascular measures.
Results: There was poor agreement between Wt-CA and Wt-BIS in children on dialysis (P = 0.01), but not in CKD5 or control subjects. We developed a modified chart to plot Rel-OH against systolic blood pressure (SBP) z-score for the appropriate representation of volume status and blood pressure (BP) in children. In total, 25% of measurements showed SBP >90th percentile but not with concurrent overhydration. Rel-OH correlated with peripheral pulse pressure (P = 0.03; R = 0.3), higher N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (P = 0.02; R = 0.33) and left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (P = 0.05; R = 0.38). Central aortic mean and pulse pressure significantly associated with the left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (P = 0.03; R = 0.47 and P = 0.01; R = 0.50, respectively), but not with Rel-OH. SBP was positively associated with pulse wave velocity z-score (P = 0.04). In total, 40% of children on haemodialysis and 30% on peritoneal dialysis had increased left ventricular mass index.
Conclusions: BIS provides an objective method for the assessment of hydration status in children on dialysis. We noted a marked discrepancy between BP and hydration status in children on dialysis that warrants further investigation.
METHOD: This is a behavioral randomized controlled trial of patient education intervention with video narratives for patients with stroke lacking medication understanding and use self-efficacy. The study will recruit up to 200 eligible stroke patients at the neurology tertiary outpatient clinic, whereby they will be requested to return for follow-up approximately 3 months once for up to 12 months. Consenting patients will be randomized to either standard patient education care or intervention with video narratives. The researchers will ensure control of potential confounding factors, as well as unbiased treatment review with prescribed medications only obtained onsite.
RESULTS: The primary analysis outcomes will reflect the variances in medication understanding and use self-efficacy scores, as well as the associated factors, such as retention of knowledge, belief and perception changes, whereas stroke risk factor control, for example, self-monitoring and quality of life, will be the secondary outcomes.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The study should be able to determine if video narrative can induce a positive behavioral change towards stroke risk factor control via enhanced medication understanding and use self-efficacy. This intervention is innovative as it combines health belief, motivation, and role model concept to trigger self-efficacy in maintaining healthy behaviors and better disease management.
TRIAL REGISTRATION: ACTRN (12618000174280).
DESIGN: An analysis of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) cohort.
SETTING: United Kingdom community-based.
PARTICIPANTS: 5197 community-dwelling older adults recruited to a prospective longitudinal cohort study.
MEASUREMENTS: Data on the occurrence of falls and number of falls, which occurred during a 12-month follow-up period, were assessed against the specific cognitive domains of memory, numeracy skills, and executive function. Binomial logistic regression was performed to evaluate the association between each cognitive domain and the dichotomous outcome of falls in the preceding 12 months using unadjusted and adjusted models.
RESULTS: Of the 5197 participants included in the analysis, 1308 (25%) reported a fall in the preceding 12 months. There was no significant association between the occurrence of a fall and specific forms of cognitive dysfunction after adjusting for self-reported hearing, self-reported eyesight, and functional performance. After adjustment, only orientation (odds ratio [OR]: 0.80; 95% confidence intervals [CI]: 0.65-0.98, p = 0.03) and verbal fluency (adjusted OR: 0.98; 95% CI: 0.96-1.00; p = 0.05) remained significant for predicting recurrent falls.
CONCLUSIONS: The cognitive phenotype rather than cognitive impairment per se may predict future falls in those presenting with more than one fall.
METHODS: We conducted a multicentre prospective longitudinal cohort study in 11 Malaysian hospitals including medical/surgical patients (n = 259) who were sedated and ventilated ≥24 h. Patients were followed from ICU admission up to 28 days in ICU with 4-hourly sedation and daily delirium assessments and 180-day mortality. Deep sedation was defined as Richmond Agitation Sedation Score (RASS) ≤-3.
RESULTS: The cohort had a mean (SD) age of 53.1 (15.9) years and APACHE II score of 21.3 (8.2) with hospital and 180-day mortality of 82 (31.7%) and 110/237 (46.4%). Patients were followed for 2,657 ICU days and underwent 13,836 RASS assessments. Midazolam prescription was predominant compared to propofol, given to 241 (93%) versus 72 (28%) patients (P < 0.0001) for 966 (39.6%) versus 183 (7.5%) study days respectively. Deep sedation occurred in (182/257) 71% patients at first assessment and in 159 (61%) patients and 1,658 (59%) of all RASS assessments at 48 h. Multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression analysis adjusting for a priori assigned covariates including sedative agents, diagnosis, age, APACHE II score, operative, elective, vasopressors and dialysis showed that early deep sedation was independently associated with longer time to extubation [hazard ratio (HR) 0.93, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.89-0.97, P = 0.003], hospital death (HR 1.11, 95% CI 1.05-1.18, P < 0.001) and 180-day mortality (HR 1.09, 95% CI 1.04-1.15, P = 0.002), but not time to delirium (HR 0.98, P = 0.23). Delirium occurred in 114 (44%) of patients.
CONCLUSION: Irrespective of sedative choice, early deep sedation was independently associated with delayed extubation and higher mortality, and thus was a potentially modifiable risk in interventional trials.
AIMS: We sought to investigate recent trends in stroke outcomes at hospital discharge among first-ever stroke patients.
METHODS: This was an analysis of data from the Malaysia National Stroke Registry. Patients aged 18 years or older documented as having a first episode of stroke in the registry were recruited. Subsequently, the comparison of proportions for overall and sex-specific stroke outcomes between years (from 2009 to 2017) was conducted. The primary outcome was modified Rankin Scale score, which was assessed at hospital discharge, and each patient was categorized as follows: 1) functional independence, 2) functional dependence, or 3) death for analysis.
RESULTS: This study included 9361 first-ever stroke patients. Approximately 36.2% (3369) were discharged in an independence state, 53.1% (4945) experienced functional dependence, and 10.8% (1006) patients died at the time of hospital discharge. The percentage of patients who were discharged independently increased from 23.3% in 2009 to 46.5% in 2017, while that of patients discharged in a disabled state fell from 56.0% in 2009 to 45.6% in 2017. The percentage of death at discharge was reduced from 20.7% in 2009 to 7.8% in 2017. These findings suggest that the proportions of stroke outcomes at hospital discharge have changed significantly over time (p
Methods: Towards Useful Aging (TUA) is a three-year longitudinal study conducted at baseline (2013-2014) and at follow-up (2015-2017) surveys. The number of participants dropped from 2322 during baseline study to 1787 and 1560 during the 18th and 36th month follow-up, respectively. Data on socio-demography, use of dietary supplement, biochemical indices, anthropometry, cognitive function, physical fitness and depressive symptoms were obtained. Longitudinal associations were done using the linear mixed model analysis among 1285 subjects with complete data.
Results: The most common vitamin and mineral supplementations consumed were multivitamin, B-complex, and calcium. Meanwhile, the herbal supplements consumed by participants were Eurycoma longifolia, Morinda citrifolia and Orthosiphon aristatus. Longitudinal analysis adjusted for multiple covariates showed improvement in both supplement users and non-users for global cognitive function, working memory, visual memory, 2-minute step test, chair stand test, chair sit and reach and time up and go test, waist circumference and hip circumference in both the supplement users and non-users.
Conclusion: Our findings indicated that dietary supplement intake is not associated with cognitive function, physical fitness, nutritional status, depressive symptoms or biochemical indices since improvement in the parameters was observed among both supplement users and non-users.
METHODS: Patients in vegetative state/unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (VS/UWS) or in minimally conscious state (MCS) were enrolled within 3 months from their brain injury in 12 specialized medical institutions. Demographic, anamnestic, clinical, and neurophysiologic data were collected at study entry. Patients were then followed up for assessing the primary outcome, that is, clinical diagnosis according to standardized criteria at 6 months postinjury.
RESULTS: We enrolled 147 patients (44 women; mean age 49.4 [95% confidence interval 46.1-52.6] years; VS/UWS 71, MCS 76; traumatic 55, vascular 56, anoxic 36; mean time postinjury 59.6 [55.4-63.6] days). The 6-month follow-up was complete for 143 patients (VS/UWS 70; MCS 73). With respect to study entry, the clinical diagnosis improved in 72 patients (VS/UWS 27; MCS 45). Younger age, shorter time postinjury, higher Coma Recovery Scale-Revised total score, and presence of EEG reactivity to eye opening at study entry predicted better outcome, whereas etiology, clinical diagnosis, Disability Rating Scale score, EEG background activity, acoustic reactivity, and P300 on event-related potentials were not associated with outcome.
CONCLUSIONS: Multimodal assessment could identify patients with higher likelihood of clinical improvement in order to help clinicians, families, and funding sources with various aspects of decision-making. This multicenter, international study aims to stimulate further research that drives international consensus regarding standardization of prognostic procedures for patients with DoC.
DESIGN: Prospective cohort study.
SETTING: PURE study in 21 countries.
PARTICIPANTS: 148 858 participants with median follow-up of 9.5 years.
EXPOSURES: Country specific validated food frequency questionnaires were used to assess intakes of refined grains, whole grains, and white rice.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Composite of mortality or major cardiovascular events (defined as death from cardiovascular causes, non-fatal myocardial infarction, stroke, or heart failure). Hazard ratios were estimated for associations of grain intakes with mortality, major cardiovascular events, and their composite by using multivariable Cox frailty models with random intercepts to account for clustering by centre.
RESULTS: Analyses were based on 137 130 participants after exclusion of those with baseline cardiovascular disease. During follow-up, 9.2% (n=12 668) of these participants had a composite outcome event. The highest category of intake of refined grains (≥350 g/day or about 7 servings/day) was associated with higher risk of total mortality (hazard ratio 1.27, 95% confidence interval 1.11 to 1.46; P for trend=0.004), major cardiovascular disease events (1.33, 1.16 to 1.52; P for trend<0.001), and their composite (1.28, 1.15 to 1.42; P for trend<0.001) compared with the lowest category of intake (<50 g/day). Higher intakes of refined grains were associated with higher systolic blood pressure. No significant associations were found between intakes of whole grains or white rice and health outcomes.
CONCLUSION: High intake of refined grains was associated with higher risk of mortality and major cardiovascular disease events. Globally, lower consumption of refined grains should be considered.
METHODS: This study used data from 6524 participants of the 1970 British Birth Cohort Study, an ongoing population-based birth cohort of individuals born in England, Scotland and Wales. Participants' socioeconomic position was indicated by occupational social class at age 26 and 46 years (the first and latest adult waves, respectively). Self-rated oral health was measured at age 46 years. The association between social mobility and adult oral health was assessed using conventional regression models and diagonal reference models, adjusting for gender, ethnicity, country of residence and residence area.
RESULTS: Over a fifth of participants (22.2%) reported poor self-rated oral health at age 46 years. In conventional regression analysis, the odds ratios for social mobility varied depending on whether they were adjusted for social class of origin or destination. In addition, all social trajectories had greater odds of reporting poor oral health than non-mobile adults in class I/II. In diagonal reference models, both upward (Odds Ratio 0.79; 95% CI 0.63-0.99) and downward mobility (0.90; 95% CI 0.71-1.13) were inversely associated with poor self-rated oral health. The origin weight was 0.48 (95% CI 0.33-0.63), suggesting that social class of origin was as important as social class of destination.
CONCLUSION: This longitudinal analysis showed that intragenerational social mobility from young to middle adulthood was associated with self-rated oral health, independent of previous and current social class.
RESEARCH QUESTION: The differential impact of frequently used CSs and their regimens on long-term (> 5 years) cardiorespiratory progression in children with DMD is unknown.
STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: This was a retrospective longitudinal study including children with DMD followed at Dubowitz Neuromuscular Centre, Great Ormond Street Hospital London, England, from May 2000 to June 2017. Patients enrolled in any interventional clinical trials were excluded. We collected patients' anthropometrics and respiratory (FVC, FVC % predicted and absolute FVC, and noninvasive ventilation requirement [NIV]) and cardiac (left ventricular shortening function [LVFS%]) function. CSs-naïve patients had never received CSs. Patients who were treated with CSs took either deflazacort or prednisolone, daily or intermittently (10 days on/10 days off) for > 1 month. Average longitudinal models were fitted for yearly respiratory (FVC % predicted) and cardiac (LVFS%) progression. A time-to-event analysis to FVC % predicted < 50%, NIV start, and cardiomyopathy (LVFS% < 28%) was performed in CS-treated (daily and intermittent) vs CS-naïve patients.
RESULTS: There were 270 patients, with a mean age at baseline of 6.2 ± 2.3 years. The median follow-up time was 5.6 ± 3.5 years. At baseline, 263 patients were ambulant. Sixty-six patients were treated with CSs daily, 182 patients underwent CSs intermittent > 60% treatment, and 22 were CS-naïve patients. Yearly FVC % predicted declined similarly from 9 years (5.9% and 6.9% per year, respectively; P = .27) in the CSs-daily and CSs-intermittent groups. The CSs-daily group declined from a higher FVC % predicted than the CSs-intermittent group (P < .05), and both reached FVC % predicted < 50% and NIV requirement at a similar age, > 2 years later than the CS-naïve group. LVFS% declined by 0.53% per year in the CSs-treated group irrespective of the CSs regimen, significantly slower (P < .01) than the CSs-naïve group progressing by 1.17% per year. The age at cardiomyopathy was 16.6 years in the CSs-treated group (P < .05) irrespective of regimen and 13.9 years in the CSs-naïve group.
INTERPRETATION: CSs irrespective of the regimen significantly improved respiratory function and delayed NIV requirement and cardiomyopathy.
METHODS: Individuals aged ≥ 55 years were recruited through the Malaysian Elders Longitudinal Research (MELoR) study and continuous non-invasive BP was monitored over 5 min of supine rest and 3 min of standing. Physical performance was measured using the timed-up-and-go test, functional reach, handgrip and Lawton's functional ability scale. Cognition was measured with the Montreal Cognitive Assessment. Participants were categorized according to BP responses into four categories according to changes in SBP/DBP reductions from supine to standing: