METHODS: From 500 patient CBCT scans, 787 maxillary premolar teeth were evaluated. The sample was divided by gender and age (10-20, 21-30, 31-40, 41-50, 51-60, and 61 years and older). Ahmed et al. classification system was used to record root canal morphology.
RESULTS: The most frequent classifications for right maxillary 1st premolars were 2MPM1 B1 L1 (39.03%) and 1MPM1 (2.81%), while the most frequent classifications for right maxillary 2nd premolars were 2MPM1 B1 L1 (39.08%) and 1MPM1 (17.85%). Most of the premolars typically had two roots (left maxillary first premolars: 81.5%, left maxillary second premolars: 82.7%, right maxillary first premolars: 74.4%, right maxillary second premolars: 75.7%). Left and right maxillary 1st premolars for classes 1MPM1 and 1MPM1-2-1 showed significant gender differences. For classifications 1MPM1 and 1MPM1-2-1, age-related changes were seen in the left and right maxillary first premolars.
CONCLUSION: This study provides novel insights into the root canal anatomy of maxillary premolars within the Saudi population, addressing a notable gap in the literature specific to this demographic. Through CBCT imaging and analysis of large sample sizes, the complex and diverse nature of root canal morphology in these teeth among Saudi individuals is elucidated. The findings underscore the importance of CBCT imaging in precise treatment planning and decision-making tailored to the Saudi population. Consideration of age and gender-related variations further enhances understanding and aids in personalized endodontic interventions within this demographic.
METHODS: In this sex-separated multicenter longitudinal study, the authors analyzed 12-month data on real-life alcohol use (from 21,460 smartphone entries), menstrual cycle, and serum progesterone-to-estradiol ratios (from 667 blood samples at four individual study visits) in 74 naturally cycling females and 278 males with AUD between 2020 and 2022, using generalized and general linear mixed modeling.
RESULTS: Menstrual cycle phases were significantly associated with binge drinking and progesterone-to-estradiol ratio. During the late luteal phase, females showed a lower predicted binge drinking probability of 13% and a higher predicted marginal mean of progesterone-to-estradiol ratio of 95 compared with during the menstrual, follicular, and ovulatory phases (binge drinking probability and odds ratios vs. late luteal phase, respectively: 17%, odds ratio=1.340, 95% CI=1.031, 1.742; 19%, odds ratio=1.523, 95% CI=1.190, 1.949; and 20%, odds ratio=1.683, 95% CI=1.285, 2.206; difference in progesterone-to-estradiol ratios, respectively: -61, 95% CI=-105.492, -16.095; -78, 95% CI=-119.322, -37.039; and -71, 95% CI=-114.568, -27.534). In males, a higher progesterone-to-estradiol ratio was related to lower probabilities of binge drinking and of any alcohol use, with a 10-unit increase in the hormone ratio resulting in odds ratios of 0.918 (95% CI=0.843, 0.999) and 0.914 (95% CI=0.845, 0.988), respectively.
CONCLUSIONS: These ecologically valid findings suggest that high progesterone-to-estradiol ratios can have a protective effect against problematic alcohol use in females and males with AUD, highlighting the progesterone-to-estradiol ratio as a promising treatment target. Moreover, the results indicate that females with AUD may benefit from menstrual cycle phase-tailored treatments.
AIMS: To explore the effect of gender, stimuli type and PD status and their interactions on the O-DDK rates among Malaysian-Malay speakers.
METHODS & PROCEDURES: O-DDK performance of 62 participants (29 individuals with PD and 33 healthy elderly) using a non-word ('pataka'), a Malay real-word ('patahkan') and an English real-word ('buttercake') was audio recorded. The number of syllables produced in 8 s was counted. A hierarchical linear modelling was performed to investigate the effects of stimuli type (non-word, Malay real-word, English real-word), PD status (yes, no), gender (male, female) and their interactions on the O-DDK rate. The model accounted for participants' age as well as the nesting of repeated measurements within participants, thereby providing unbiased estimates of the effects.
OUTCOMES & RESULTS: The stimuli effect was significant (p < 0.0001). Malay real-word showed the lowest O-DDK rate (5.03 ± 0.11 syllables/s), followed by English real-word (5.25 ± 0.11 syllables/s) and non-word (5.42 ± 0.11 syllables/s). Individuals with PD showed a significantly lower O-DDK rate compared to healthy elderly (4.73 ± 0.15 syllables/s vs. 5.74 ± 0.14 syllables/s, adjusted p < 0.001). A subsequent analysis indicated that the O-DDK rate declined in a quadratic pattern. However, neither gender nor age effects were observed. Additionally, no significant two-way interactions were found between stimuli type, PD status and gender (all p > 0.05). Therefore, the choice of stimuli type has no or only limited effect considering the use of O-DDK tests in clinical practice for diagnostic purposes.
CONCLUSIONS & IMPLICATIONS: The observed slowness in O-DDK among individuals with PD can be attributed to the impact of the movement disorder, specifically bradykinesia, on the physiological aspects of speech production. Speech-language pathologists can gain insights into the impact of PD on speech production and tailor appropriate intervention strategies to address the specific needs of individuals with PD according to disease stages.
WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS: What is already known on this subject The observed slowness in O-DDK rates among individuals with PD may stem from the movement disorder's effects on the physiological aspects of speech production, particularly bradykinesia. However, there is a lack of consistent evidence regarding the influence of real-word repetition and how O-DDK rates vary across different PD stages. What this study adds to existing knowledge The O-DDK rates decline in a quadratic pattern as the PD progresses. The research provides insights into the advantage of real-word repetition in assessing O-DDK rates, with Malay real-word showing the lowest O-DDK rate, followed by English real-word and non-word. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? Speech-language pathologists can better understand the evolving nature of speech motor impairments as PD progresses. This insight enables them to design targeted intervention strategies that are sensitive to the specific needs and challenges associated with each PD stage. This finding can guide clinicians in selecting appropriate assessment tools for evaluating speech motor function in PD patients.
METHODS: We searched six databases (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, CINAHL, EMBASE, and ProQuest) using appropriate search terms to identify the relevant literature published on the factors determining QoL following TKA. Two reviewers independently performed the study screening and study selection. A third reviewer was consulted in case of any disagreement. The methodological quality of the included studies was assessed using the Modified Downs and Black Index checklist. This review was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42022352887) and reported according to the PRISMA checklist.
RESULTS: We identified a total of 8517 studies, 29 of which were included. Advanced age; female sex; increased body mass index (BMI); the presence of comorbidities such as diabetes; contralateral knee pain; poor preoperative status; psychological and pain-related factors such as the presence of pain catastrophizing; central sensitization; kinesiophobia; anxiety; depression; chronic pain; psychological distress; low level of optimism; and reduced patient satisfaction were used to determine post-TKA QoL scores. High BMI and depression were the most common factors evaluated in these studies. Overall, the methodological quality of the included studies varied from high to low.
CONCLUSION: After TKA, the overall QoL score improved. However, there are a few physical, behavioral, and psychological factors that influence QoL. Identifying these factors could aid clinicians and health professionals in treating and rehabilitating patients by helping them improve patient prognosis after TKA.
OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to examine the occurrence of lower back, shoulder, and neck pain among Malaysian office workers.
METHODS: 752 subjects (478 women and 274 men) were randomly selected from the Malaysian office workers population of 10,000 individuals. The participants were aged between 20-50 years and had at least one year of work experience. All participants completed the Cornell Musculoskeletal Discomfort Questionnaire (CMDQ). Instructions to complete the questinnaire were given to the participants under the researchers supervision in the morning before they started a day of work. The participants were then classified into four categories based on body mas index (BMI) (BMI:≤18.4, 18.5-24.99, 25-29.99, ≥30) and age (Age: 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, ≥50).
RESULTS: There was a significant association between pain severity in gender and right (p = 0.046) and left (p = 0.041) sides of the shoulders. There was also a significant association between BMI and severity of pain in the lower back area (p = 0.047). It was revealed that total pain score in the shoulders was significantly associated with age (p = 0.041).
CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study demonstrated that a significant correlation existed between pain servity for gender in both right and left shoulder. These findings require further scientific investigation as do the identification of effective preventative stratgies.
AIMS: This study aims to examine sex-related differences in stroke metrics across Southeast Asia in 2015. Furthermore, relative changes between sexes are compared from 1990 to 2015.
METHODS: Data were sourced from the Global Burden of Disease Study. Incidence and mortality from ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes were explored with the following statistics derived: (1) women-to-men incidence/mortality ratio and (2) relative percentage change in rate.
RESULTS: Women had lower incidence and mortality from stroke compared to men. Notable findings include higher ischemic stroke incidence for women at 30-34 years in high-income countries (women-to-men ratio: 1.3, 95% CI: 0.1, 16.2 in Brunei and 1.3, 95% CI: 0.5, 3.2 in Singapore) and the largest difference between sexes for ischemic stroke mortality in Vietnam and Myanmar across most ages. Within the last 25 years, greater reductions for ischemic stroke metrics were observed among women compared to men. Nevertheless, women below 40 years in some countries showed an increase in ischemic stroke incidence between 0.5% and 11.4%, whereas in men, a decline from -4.2% to -44.2%. Indonesia reported the largest difference between sexes for ischemic stroke mortality; a reduction for women whereas an increase in men. For hemorrhagic stroke, findings were similar: higher incidence among young women in high-income countries and greater reductions for stroke metrics in women than men over the last 25 years.
CONCLUSIONS: Distinct sex-specific differences observed across Southeast Asia should be accounted in future stroke preventive guidelines.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: 52 healthy volunteers were scanned in a 16-slice MDCT, and the volume of 104 sets of carpal bones was measured using a Syngo workstation (Both CT and workstation-Siemens Healthcare, Erlangen, Germany).
RESULTS: Male carpal bones were of higher volume compared to the female carpal bones (p<0.001). Area under the curve (AUC) assessment of responder-operator characteristics curves showed that the trapezium bone was best able to predict sex with an AUC of 0.986. At a trapezium bone volume of ⩾1.94cm(3), there was a 93.5% probability that the subject was male. Binary logistic regression analysis found that the highest accuracy was derived using the pisiform, trapezium and capitate bones. There was a strong relationship between sex prediction and grouping of the carpal bone volumes (Nagelkerke R(2)=0.923) with an overall prediction accuracy of 97%.
CONCLUSION: All 8 carpal bones exhibit sexual dimorphism to varying degrees. A binary regression analysis combining the 5 carpal bones with the highest predictive values for sex produces an accurate predictive model.
DESIGN: Cross sectional reliability study.
SETTING: University teaching hospital.
METHODS: Fifty healthy volunteers and 50 voice disorder patients had supervised recordings in a quiet room using OperaVOX by the iPod's internal microphone with sampling rate of 45 kHz. A five-seconds recording of vowel/a/was used to measure fundamental frequency (F0), jitter, shimmer and noise-to-harmonic ratio (NHR). All healthy volunteers and 21 patients had a second recording. The recorded voices were also analysed using the MDVP. The inter- and intrasoftware reliability was analysed using intraclass correlation (ICC) test and Bland-Altman (BA) method. Mann-Whitney test was used to compare the acoustic parameters between healthy volunteers and patients.
RESULTS: Nine of 50 patients had severe aperiodic voice. The ICC was high with a confidence interval of >0.75 for the inter- and intrasoftware reliability except for the NHR. For the intersoftware BA analysis, excluding the severe aperiodic voice data sets, the bias (95% LOA) of F0, jitter, shimmer and NHR was 0.81 (11.32, -9.71); -0.13 (1.26, -1.52); -0.52 (1.68, -2.72); and 0.08 (0.27, -0.10). For the intrasoftware reliability, it was -1.48 (18.43, -21.39); 0.05 (1.31, -1.21); -0.01 (2.87, -2.89); and 0.005 (0.20, -0.18), respectively. Normative data from the healthy volunteers were obtained. There was a significant difference in all acoustic parameters between volunteers and patients measured by the Opera-VOX (P