Methods: To test whether these factors might impact the detection of ant mosaics in pristine habitats, we sampled ant communities from emergent trees, which rise above the highest canopy layers in lowland dipterocarp rain forests in North Borneo (38.8-60.2 m), using both baiting and insecticide fogging. Critically, we restricted sampling to only the canopy of each focal tree. For baiting, we carried out sampling during both the day and the night. We used null models of species co-occurrence to assess patterns of segregation at within-tree and between-tree scales.
Results: The numerically dominant ant species on the emergent trees sampled formed a diverse community, with differences in the identity of dominant species between times of day and sampling methods. Between trees, we found patterns of ant species segregation consistent with the existence of ant mosaics using both methods. Within trees, fogged ants were segregated, while baited ants were segregated only at night.
Discussion: We conclude that ant mosaics are present within the emergent trees of the high canopy of tropical rain forest in Malaysian Borneo, and that sampling technique, spatial scale, and time of day interact to determine observed patterns of segregation. Restricting sampling to only emergent trees reveals segregatory patterns not observed in ground-based studies, confirming previous observations of stronger segregation with increasing height in the canopy.
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the diagnostic characteristics of inferior turbinate tissue biopsy sIgE in asymptomatic and rhinitic patients.
METHODS: A diagnostic cross-sectional study was undertaken, involving patients who underwent inferior turbinate surgery with or without other surgical interventions. Inferior turbinate tissue biopsy was performed during surgery and was assessed for allergen sIgE (dust mite, grass [temperate or subtropical], and animal epithelium) using an automated immunoassay. Tissue sIgE was assessed among asymptomatic patients and those with nasal symptoms. Data were presented as median (interquartile range). A receiver operating curve was used to predict the diagnostic utility of turbinate tissue sIgE in determining allergic rhinitis.
RESULTS: A total of 160 patients (41.89 ± 14.65 years, 36.9% females) were included. The median tissue sIgE concentration among the asymptomatic nonatopic group of patients was 0.09 (0.08-0.10) kUA/L and tissue sIgE > 0.10 kUA/L was determined as a positive threshold. Inferior turbinate tissue sIgE was shown to be a predictive test for allergic rhinitis (area under curve: 0.87, 95% confidence interval: 0.84-0.90) with 90% sensitivity and 89% negative predictive value.
CONCLUSION: Inferior turbinate tissue biopsy sIgE is a sensitive tool to predict allergic rhinitis. The threshold value of 0.1 kUA/L corresponded well with the asymptomatic nonatopic group of patients. This method detects sIgE in the nasal mucosa and may be a useful test for allergic rhinitis in future research.
METHODS: We developed the International Diet-Health Index (IDHI) to measure health impacts of dietary intake across 186 countries in 2010, using age-specific and sex-specific data on country-level dietary intake, effects of dietary factors on cardiometabolic diseases and country-specific cardiometabolic disease profiles. The index encompasses the impact of 11 foods/nutrients on 12 cardiometabolic diseases, the mediation of health effects of specific dietary intakes through blood pressure and body mass index and background disease prevalence in each country-age-sex group. We decomposed the index into IDHIbeneficial for risk-reducing factors, and IDHIadverse for risk-increasing factors. The flexible functional form of the IDHI allows inclusion of additional risk factors and diseases as data become available.
RESULTS: By sex, women experienced smaller detrimental cardiometabolic effects of diet than men: (females IDHIadverse range: -0.480 (5th percentile, 95th percentile: -0.932, -0.300) to -0.314 (-0.543, -0.213); males IDHIadverse range: (-0.617 (-1.054, -0.384) to -0.346 (-0.624, -0.222)). By age, middle-aged adults had highest IDHIbeneficial (females: 0.392 (0.235, 0.763); males: 0.415 (0.243, 0.949)) and younger adults had most extreme IDHIadverse (females: -0.480 (-0.932, -0.300); males: -0.617 (-1.054, -0.384)). Regionally, Central Latin America had the lowest IDHIoverall (-0.466 (-0.892, -0.159)), while Southeast Asia had the highest IDHIoverall (0.272 (-0.224, 0.903)). IDHIoverall was highest in low-income countries and lowest in upper middle-income countries (-0.039 (-0.317, 0.227) and -0.146 (-0.605, 0.303), respectively). Among 186 countries, Honduras had lowest IDHIoverall (-0.721 (-0.916, -0.207)), while Malaysia had highest IDHIoverall (0.904 (0.435, 1.190)).
CONCLUSION: IDHI encompasses dietary intakes, health effects and country disease profiles into a single index, allowing policymakers a useful means of assessing/comparing health impacts of diet quality between populations.
METHODS: EMBASE (1947-) and Medline (1946-) were searched until December 8, 2015. A search strategy was used to identify studies on AR or NAR patients subjected to diagnostic local nasal provocation. All studies providing original NAPT data among the AR or NAR population were included. Meta-analysis of proportion data was presented as a weighted probability % (95% confidence interval [CI]).
RESULTS: The search yielded 4504 studies and 46 were included. The probability of nasal allergen reactivity for the AR population was 86.3% (95% CI, 84.4 to 88.1) and in NAR was 24.7% (95% CI, 22.3 to 27.2). Reactivity was high with pollen for both AR 97.1% (95% CI, 94.2 to 99.2) and NAR 47.5% (95% CI, 34.8 to 60.4), and lowest with dust for both AR 79.1% (95% CI, 76.4 to 81.6) and NAR 12.2% (95% CI, 9.9 to 14.7). NAPT yielded high positivity when defined by subjective end-points: AR 91.0% (95% CI, 86.6 to 94.8) and NAR 30.2% (95% CI, 22.9 to 37.9); and lower with objective end-points: AR 80.8% (95% CI, 76.8 to 84.5) and NAR 14.1% (95% CI, 11.2 to 17.2).
CONCLUSION: Local allergen reactivity is demonstrated in 26.5% of patients previously considered non-allergic. Similarly, AR, when defined by skin-prick test (SPT) or serum specific IgE (sIgE), may lead to 13.7% of patients with inaccurate allergen sensitization or non-allergic etiologies.
Methods: We conducted a serial, cross-sectional study of National Center for Health Statistics Natality Data representing all live births in the US from 2011 to 2019. We assigned 1 point for each of four ideal prepregnancy metrics (nonsmoking and ideal body mass index [18.5-24.9 kg/m2] provided by maternal self-report, and absence of hypertension and diabetes ascertained by the healthcare professional at delivery) to construct a prepregnancy clinical CVH score ranging from 0 to 4. We described the distribution of prepregnancy CVH, overall and stratified by self-reported race/ethnicity, age, insurance status, and receipt of the Women, Infants, and Children program (WIC) for supplemental nutrition. We examined trends by calculating average annual percent changes (AAPCs) in optimal prepregnancy CVH (score of 4).
Results: Of 31,643,982 live births analyzed between 2011 and 2019, 53.6% were to non-Hispanic White, 14.5% non-Hispanic Black, 23.3% Hispanic, and 6.6% non-Hispanic Asian women. The mean age (SD) was 28.5 (5.8) years. The prevalence (per 100 live births) of optimal prepregnancy CVH score of 4 declined from 42.1 to 37.7 from 2011 to 2019, with an AAPC (95% CI) of -1.4% per year (-1.3,-1.5). While the relative decline was observed across all race/ethnicity, insurance, and WIC subgroups, significant disparities persisted by race, insurance status, and receipt of WIC. In 2019, non-Hispanic Black women (28.7 per 100 live births), those on Medicaid (30.4), and those receiving WIC (29.1) had the lowest prevalence of optimal CVH.
Conclusions: Overall, less than half of pregnant women had optimal prepregnancy CVH, and optimal prepregnancy CVH declined in each race/ethnicity, age, insurance, and WIC subgroup between 2011-2019 in the US. However, there were persistent disparities by race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status.
OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to describe trends in maternal pre-pregnancy hypertension among women in rural and urban areas in 2007 to 2018 in order to inform community-engaged prevention and policy strategies.
METHODS: We performed a nationwide, serial cross-sectional study using maternal data from all live births in women age 15 to 44 years between 2007 and 2018 (CDC Natality Database). Rates of pre-pregnancy hypertension were calculated per 1,000 live births overall and by urbanization status. Subgroup analysis in standard 5-year age categories was performed. We quantified average annual percentage change using Joinpoint Regression and rate ratios (95% confidence intervals [CIs]) to compare yearly rates between rural and urban areas.
RESULTS: Among 47,949,381 live births to women between 2007 and 2018, rates of pre-pregnancy hypertension per 1,000 live births increased among both rural (13.7 to 23.7) and urban women (10.5 to 20.0). Two significant inflection points were identified in 2010 and 2016, with highest annual percentage changes between 2016 and 2018 in rural and urban areas. Although absolute rates were lower in younger compared with older women in both rural and urban areas, all age groups experienced similar increases. The rate ratios of pre-pregnancy hypertension in rural compared with urban women ranged from 1.18 (95% CI: 1.04 to 1.35) for ages 15 to 19 years to 1.51 (95% CI: 1.39 to 1.64) for ages 40 to 44 years in 2018.
CONCLUSIONS: Maternal burden of pre-pregnancy hypertension has nearly doubled in the past decade and the rural-urban gap has persisted.
OBJECTIVE: To determine if there is an association between maternal nativity and preterm birth rates among nulliparous individuals, and whether that association differs by self-reported race and ethnicity of the pregnant individual.
DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This was a nationwide, cross-sectional study conducted using National Center for Health Statistics birth registration records for 8 590 988 nulliparous individuals aged 15 to 44 years with singleton live births in the US from 2014 to 2019. Data were analyzed from March to May 2022.
EXPOSURES: Maternal nativity (non-US-born compared with US-born individuals as the reference, wherein US-born was defined as born within 1 of the 50 US states or Washington, DC) in the overall sample and stratified by self-reported ethnicity and race, including non-Hispanic Asian and disaggregated Asian subgroups (Asian Indian, Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, Pacific Islander, Vietnamese, and other Asian), non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic and disaggregated Hispanic subgroups (Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, and other Hispanic), and non-Hispanic White.
MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The primary outcome was preterm birth (<37 weeks of gestation) and the secondary outcome was very preterm birth (<32 weeks of gestation).
RESULTS: Of 8 590 988 pregnant individuals included (mean [SD] age at delivery, 28.3 [5.8] years in non-US-born individuals and 26.2 [5.7] years in US-born individuals; 159 497 [2.3%] US-born and 552 938 [31.2%] non-US-born individuals self-identified as Asian or Pacific Islander, 1 050 367 [15.4%] US-born and 178 898 [10.1%] non-US-born individuals were non-Hispanic Black, 1 100 337 [16.1%] US-born and 711 699 [40.2%] non-US-born individuals were of Hispanic origin, and 4 512 294 [66.1%] US-born and 328 205 [18.5%] non-US-born individuals were non-Hispanic White), age-standardized rates of preterm birth were lower among non-US-born individuals compared with US-born individuals (10.2%; 95% CI, 10.2-10.3 vs 10.9%; 95% CI, 10.9-11.0) with an adjusted odds ratio (aOR) of 0.90 (95% CI, 0.89-0.90). The greatest relative difference was observed among Japanese individuals (aOR, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.60-0.79) and non-Hispanic Black individuals (aOR, 0.74; 0.73-0.76) individuals. Non-US-born Pacific Islander individuals experienced higher preterm birth rates compared with US-born Pacific Islander individuals (aOR, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.04-1.27). Puerto Rican individuals born in Puerto Rico compared with those born in US states or Washington, DC, also had higher preterm birth rates (aOR, 1.07; 95% CI, 1.03-1.12).
CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Overall preterm birth rates were lower among non-US-born individuals compared with US-born individuals. However, there was substantial heterogeneity in preterm birth rates across maternal racial and ethnic groups, particularly among disaggregated Asian and Hispanic subgroups.