OBJECTIVES: To evaluate and compare the depth and distances from various points of the orbital rim to the fissures and foramina of the orbital apex between genders in the local population.
METHODOLOGY: Linear measurements were conducted on 60 orbits from 30 patients who had undergone head computed tomography scan. These measurements were done utilizing the multiplanar reconstruction modes on computed tomography images with minimum slice thickness of 1 mm.
RESULTS: Males have statistically significant larger orbits than females with higher mean measurements in all parameters, except for the distance from posterior ethmoidal foramen to the optic canal which was the same. However, there were no significant differences in all parameters between the right and left orbits.
CONCLUSION: This study provides the absolute limit of safe internal orbital dissection in respect to the local population. Despite males having larger orbits than females, it is clinically negligible.
Method: Participants of this cross-sectional study included 99 full-term neonates (165 ears) with mean chronological age of 46.7 hrs (SD = 26.3 hrs). Of the 99 neonates, 58 were Malay, 28 were Indian, and 13 were Chinese. The neonates who passed high-frequency (1 kHz) tympanometry, acoustic stapedial reflex, and distortion product otoacoustic emission screening tests were assessed using a pressurized WBA test (wideband tympanometry). To reduce the number of measurement points, the WBA responses were averaged to 16 one-third octave frequency bands from 0.25 to 8 kHz. A mixed-model analysis of variance was applied to the data to investigate the effects of frequency, ear, gender, and ethnicity on WBA. The analysis of variance was also used to compare between WBA measured at TPP and 0 daPa. An interclass correlation coefficient test was applied at each of the 16 frequency bands to measure the test-retest reliability of WBA at TPP and 0 daPa.
Results: Both WBA measurements at TPP and 0 daPa exhibited a multipeaked pattern with 2 maxima at 1.25-1.6 kHz and 6.3 kHz and 2 minima at 0.5 and 4 kHz. The mean WBA measured at TPP was significantly higher than that measured at 0 daPa at 0.25, 0.4, 0.5, 1.25, and 1.6 kHz only. A normative data set was developed for absorbance at TPP and at 0 daPa. There was no significant effect of ethnicity, gender, and ear on both measurements of WBA. The test-retest reliability of WBA at TPP and 0 daPa was high with the interclass correlation coefficient ranging from 0.77 to 0.97 across the frequencies.
Conclusions: Normative data of WBA measured at TPP and 0 daPa for neonates were provided in the present study. Although WBA at TPP was slightly higher than the WBA measured at 0 daPa at some frequencies below 2 kHz, the WBA patterns of the 2 measurements were nearly identical. Moreover, the test-retest reliability of both WBA measurements was high.
OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that pain, which is localized to the low back, differs epidemiologically from that which occurs simultaneously or close in time to pain at other anatomical sites SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA.: Low back pain (LBP) often occurs in combination with other regional pain, with which it shares similar psychological and psychosocial risk factors. However, few previous epidemiological studies of LBP have distinguished pain that is confined to the low back from that which occurs as part of a wider distribution of pain.
METHODS: We analyzed data from CUPID, a cohort study that used baseline and follow-up questionnaires to collect information about musculoskeletal pain, associated disability, and potential risk factors, in 47 occupational groups (office workers, nurses, and others) from 18 countries.
RESULTS: Among 12,197 subjects at baseline, 609 (4.9%) reported localized LBP in the past month, and 3820 (31.3%) nonlocalized LBP. Nonlocalized LBP was more frequently associated with sciatica in the past month (48.1% vs. 30.0% of cases), occurred on more days in the past month and past year, was more often disabling for everyday activities (64.1% vs. 47.3% of cases), and had more frequently led to medical consultation and sickness absence from work. It was also more often persistent when participants were followed up after a mean of 14 months (65.6% vs. 54.1% of cases). In adjusted Poisson regression analyses, nonlocalized LBP was differentially associated with risk factors, particularly female sex, older age, and somatizing tendency. There were also marked differences in the relative prevalence of localized and nonlocalized LBP by occupational group.
CONCLUSION: Future epidemiological studies should distinguish where possible between pain that is limited to the low back and LBP that occurs in association with pain at other anatomical locations.
LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 2.
METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the Kandy district using multistage sampling. A total of 999 older people were recruited, with a female preponderance. Data were collected using interviewer-administered questionnaires on demographic characteristics, depression, and physical activity. Anthropometric measurements including weight, height, mid-upper arm circumference, calf circumference, and HGS were recorded. Complex sample general linear model was used to examine the association between HGS and its associated factors.
RESULTS: The mean highest HGS of the study group was 12.56 kg (95% confidence interval: 11.94-13.19). Male older people had a higher HGS (17.02, 95% confidence interval: 15.55-18.49 kg) than females (10.59, 95% confidence interval: 10.12-11.06 kg). For both men and women, older age was associated with lower HGS, while mid-upper arm circumference was associated with better HGS. Diabetes mellitus, vegetarian diet, and alcohol consumption were associated with HGS for women only.
CONCLUSION: Men had a higher HGS compared with women. Age, mid-upper arm circumference, diabetes mellitus, vegetarian diet, and alcohol consumption were factors associated with HGS among community-dwelling older people in Kandy district, Sri Lanka. HGS can be used as a feasible strategy to improve health status of older people by community health nurses.
METHODS: Our aim was to determine normative EGJ metrics in a large international cohort of healthy volunteers undergoing HRM (Medtronic, Laborie, and Diversatek software) acquired from 16 countries in four world regions. EGJ-CI was calculated by the same two investigators using a distal contractile integral-like measurement across the EGJ for three respiratory cycles and corrected for respiration (mm Hg cm), using manufacturer-specific software tools. EGJ morphology was designated according to Chicago Classification v3.0. Median EGJ-CI values were calculated across age, genders, HRM systems, and regions.
RESULTS: Of 484 studies (28.0 years, 56.2% F, 60.7% Medtronic studies, 26.0% Laborie, and 13.2% Diversatek), EGJ morphology was type 1 in 97.1%. Median EGJ-CI was similar between Medtronic (37.0 mm Hg cm, IQR 23.6-53.7 mm Hg cm) and Diversatek (34.9 mm Hg cm, IQR 22.1-56.1 mm Hg cm, P = 0.87), but was significantly higher using Laborie equipment (56.5 mm Hg cm, IQR 35.0-75.3 mm Hg cm, P