Epidemiolgia (Basel, Switzerland)最新文献

{"title":"Prevalence and Factors Associated with Infections After Acute Ischemic Stroke: A Single-Center Retrospective Study over Five Years.","authors":"Weny Rinawati, Aryati Aryati, Abdulloh Machin, Stefan Kiechl, Gregor Broessner","doi":"10.3390/epidemiologia6030046","DOIUrl":"10.3390/epidemiologia6030046","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background/objectives: </strong>Infections after stroke are a serious medical problem and have a significant impact on the outcome of stroke, but data regarding the Asian population are limited. This study aims to determine the bacterial and fungal profile of pathogenic organisms of infections after acute ischemic stroke (AIS).</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This is a retrospective study using the medical records of patients at least 18 years old who were hospitalized with AIS in a tertiary stroke hospital from 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2022. Demographic, patient-related, and other examination data were extracted from hospital medical records. Infections after AIS were defined as any infection that developed during the acute phase of ischemic stroke and was confirmed by microbiologic culture as the gold standard. Factors associated with infection were analyzed using multiple logistic regression.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Among 599 AIS patients with infection who underwent microbiologic culture, the prevalence of infection with an isolated pathogen was 21.4%, and most organisms were from sputum. Positive microbiologic culture revealed that bacteria such as <i>K. pneumoniae</i>, <i>E. coli</i>, <i>A. baumannii</i>, and <i>S. aureus</i> were the most common causes of infection, while fungi were rare. During the COVID-19 period, bacteria developed resistance to antimicrobials, including β-lactamase antibiotics for Gram-negative bacteria and methicillin for Gram-positive bacteria. Care in the intensive ward, including the stroke unit, reduced the risk of a positive microbiological culture in the COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 period. Urinary catheters promoted infections in the non-COVID-19 period, whereas steroids, total parenteral nutrition, and tracheostomy were negatively associated with infections after AIS in the COVID-19 period.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The prevalence and factors associated with infection after stroke changed during the COVID-19 period. The risk of infection after stroke requires preventive measures such as early dysphagia screening.</p>","PeriodicalId":72944,"journal":{"name":"Epidemiolgia (Basel, Switzerland)","volume":"6 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-08-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12372096/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144980894","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Oral-Systemic Health Awareness Among Physicians and Dentists in Croatian Primary Healthcare: A Cross-Sectional Study.","authors":"Marija Badrov, Martin Miskovic, Ana Glavina, Antonija Tadin","doi":"10.3390/epidemiologia6030043","DOIUrl":"10.3390/epidemiologia6030043","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>This study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and self-confidence of physicians and dentists in Croatia regarding the relationship between oral and systemic health, focusing on periodontal disease and oral manifestations of systemic diseases.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A cross-sectional, web-based survey was conducted among physicians and dentists in Croatian primary healthcare. The questionnaire addressed six thematic domains, including demographic information, knowledge, self-assessment, and clinical practice. Descriptive and comparative statistical analyses were performed.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 529 respondents were included (291 physicians and 238 dentists). The mean knowledge score for the association between periodontitis and systemic diseases was 6.8 ± 3.6 out of 15, indicating limited knowledge. For oral manifestations of systemic diseases, the mean score was 10.0 ± 3.8 out of 16, reflecting moderate proficiency. Dentists scored higher than physicians in both domains, though not significantly (<i>p</i> > 0.05). Routine oral mucosal examinations were reported by 89.5% of dentists and 43.0% of physicians (<i>p</i> ≤ 0.001). Only 21.3% of physicians correctly identified the link between periodontitis and adverse pregnancy outcomes, compared to 58.8% of dentists. The primary barriers to effective clinical management were a lack of experience (52.7%) and inadequate education. While 68.3% of dentists felt adequately educated on oral-systemic links, only 22.7% of physicians reported the same.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Significant gaps in knowledge and confidence were observed, particularly among physicians. These findings underscore the need to integrate oral-systemic health topics into medical education and to promote interprofessional collaboration to improve patient outcomes.</p>","PeriodicalId":72944,"journal":{"name":"Epidemiolgia (Basel, Switzerland)","volume":"6 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-08-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12371924/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144980668","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Epidemiology, Clinical Data, and Management of Aseptic Abscess Syndrome: Review of Published Cases Outside France.","authors":"Gerasimos Eleftheriotis, Michaela Fragonikolaki, Chrysi Karelaki, Ergina Syrigou, Spyridon Georgiadis, Kyriaki Georgiadi, Elias Skopelitis","doi":"10.3390/epidemiologia6030044","DOIUrl":"10.3390/epidemiologia6030044","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Aseptic abscess syndrome is a clinical entity that is being increasingly documented. Unfortunately, apart from the French registry, there are no other studies presenting collective data. In this review, we sought to analyze clinical and laboratory data from case reports published from the rest of the world. A total of 107 articles were found through our literature search in PubMed, Scopus, and Google, which contained 108 patients who met our eligibility criteria, including pediatric cases. The mean age at diagnosis was 39.1 years, and 54.6% of the patients were female. Cases were found affecting almost every organ, but the most common abscess locations were the spleen (51.9%), liver (35.2%), and lung (23.1%); 34.3% of the patients had multiorgan disease at diagnosis. An inflammatory syndrome was evident, with fever (79.6%), pain (66.7%), median white blood cell count of 16,200/μL, median C-reactive protein level of 15.5 mg/dL, and mean erythrocyte sedimentation rate of 79 mm/h. In total, 88.9% had an associated disease, with the most frequent being neutrophilic dermatosis (43.5%) and inflammatory bowel disease (31.5%); associated disease was inactive during abscess diagnosis in approximately one-quarter of patients. Moreover, 93.5% received corticosteroids with or without other agents, while 21.3% underwent excision surgery, which led to relapse if immunosuppressants were not concomitantly administered. No deaths were reported due to the syndrome, but 42.4% of cases that provided relevant data relapsed despite the relatively short follow-up period (median 1 year), either in the same or different organs. Combined immunomodulatory treatment, based on subgroup analysis, appeared protective against relapse in females and patients with splenic abscess or C-reactive protein >12 mg/dL (odds ratio 0.16 [95% CI 0.04-0.59]/<i>p</i> = 0.004, 0.09 [95% CI 0.01-0.62]/<i>p</i> = 0.008 and 0.23 [95% CI 0.06-0.92]/<i>p</i> = 0.03, respectively). Infection should always be the working diagnosis in patients with abscesses. However, if the infectious workup is negative, antimicrobials have failed, and no sepsis is present, then aseptic abscess syndrome should be considered; response to high-dose corticosteroids is a therapeutic criterion in almost all cases.</p>","PeriodicalId":72944,"journal":{"name":"Epidemiolgia (Basel, Switzerland)","volume":"6 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-08-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12371957/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144980692","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Sex Differences in Anxiety and Depression Among Coronary Heart Disease Patients During Cardiac Rehabilitation: A Quasi-Experimental Study.","authors":"Janne Grete Myklebust, Lotte Pannekoeke, Irene Lie, Christine Tørris","doi":"10.3390/epidemiologia6030045","DOIUrl":"10.3390/epidemiologia6030045","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><b>Background/Objectives</b>: Anxiety and depression are common among individuals with coronary heart disease (CHD) and pose significant barriers to lifestyle modifications. Evidence on sex-related differences in anxiety and depression following cardiac rehabilitation (CR) remains inconclusive. This study aims to assesses the prevalence and changes in anxiety and depression symptoms during CR and explores potential sex differences. <b>Methods</b>: A quasi-experimental one-group pretest-post-test design was employed, measuring self-reported anxiety and depression symptoms utilizing the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). <b>Results</b>: HADS was reported by 175 patients, 122 men and 53 women, at CR admission and discharge between 1 January 2022 and 30 April 2024. The prevalence of anxiety symptoms (HADS-anxiety score ≥ 8) significantly decreased from 28.2% at admission to 16.9% at discharge, while depression prevalence dropped (HADS-depression score ≥ 8) from 16.3% to 6.2%. Statistically significant sex differences were observed in depression prevalence at discharge, with women exhibiting lower symptom prevalence. Both sexes experienced significant HADS-anxiety and HADS-depression score reductions (<i>p</i> < 0.001) in both the overall sample and the sub-analysis of patients presenting with symptoms at admission. Women initially presented higher HADS-anxiety scores and significantly greater HADS-anxiety score reductions (<i>p</i> = 0.014) than men. No significant sex differences were observed in the reduction in HADS-depression scores. <b>Conclusions</b>: The prevalence of anxiety and depression symptoms significantly decreased among both sexes compared to admission, with women experiencing greater symptom reduction at discharge than men. Further research is needed to determine specific CR components contributing to these improvements.</p>","PeriodicalId":72944,"journal":{"name":"Epidemiolgia (Basel, Switzerland)","volume":"6 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-08-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12372074/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144980941","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Systemic Sclerosis with Interstitial Lung Disease: Identification of Novel Immunogenetic Markers and Ethnic Specificity in Kazakh Patients.","authors":"Lina Zaripova, Abay Baigenzhin, Zhanar Zarkumova, Zhanna Zhabakova, Alyona Boltanova, Maxim Solomadin, Alexey Pak","doi":"10.3390/epidemiologia6030041","DOIUrl":"10.3390/epidemiologia6030041","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is an autoimmune connective tissue disorder characterized by vascular abnormalities, immune dysfunction, and progressive fibrosis. One of the most common manifestations of SSc is interstitial lung disease (ILD), known by a progressive course leading to significant morbidity and mortality. <b>Aim:</b> to investigate autoantibodies, cytokines, and genetic markers in SSc-ILD through a systematic review and analysis of a Kazakh cohort of SSc-ILD patients. <b>Methods:</b> A PubMed search over the past 10 years was performed with \"SSc-ILD\", \"autoantibodies\", \"cytokines\", and \"genes\". Thirty patients with SSc were assessed for lung involvement, EScSG score, and modified Rodnan skin score. IL-6 was measured by ELISA, antinuclear factor on HEp-2 cells by indirect immunofluorescence, and specific autoantibodies by immunoblotting. Genetic analysis was performed using a 120-gene AmpliSeq panel on the Ion Proton platform. <b>Results:</b> The literature review identified 361 articles, 26 addressed autoantibodies, 20 genetic variants, and 12 cytokine profiles. Elevated levels of IL-6, TGF-β, IL-33, and TNF-α were linked to SSc. Based on the results of the systemic review, we created a preliminary immunogenic panel for SSc-ILD with following analysis in Kazakh patients with SSc (<i>n</i> = 30). Fourteen of them (46.7%) demonstrated signs of ILD and/or lung hypertension, with frequent detection of antibodies such as Scl-70, U1-snRNP, SS-A, and genetic variants in SAMD9L, REL, IRAK1, LY96, IL6R, ITGA2B, AIRE, TREX1, and CD40 genes. <b>Conclusions:</b> Current research confirmed the presence of the broad range of autoantibodies and variations in IRAK1, TNFAIP3, SAMD9L, REL, IRAK1, LY96, IL6R, ITGA2B, AIRE, TREX1, CD40 genes in of Kazakhstani cohort of SSc-ILD patients.</p>","PeriodicalId":72944,"journal":{"name":"Epidemiolgia (Basel, Switzerland)","volume":"6 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-08-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12372110/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144980859","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Adapting Ophthalmology Practices in Puerto Rico During COVID-19: A Cross-Sectional Survey Study.","authors":"Surafuale Hailu, Andrea N Ponce, Juliana Charak, Hiram Jimenez, Luma Al-Attar","doi":"10.3390/epidemiologia6030042","DOIUrl":"10.3390/epidemiologia6030042","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><b>Background/Objectives</b>: The COVID-19 pandemic caused pronounced disorder in healthcare delivery globally, including ophthalmology. Our study explores how ophthalmologists in Puerto Rico (PR) altered their practices during the pandemic, confronting obstacles such as resource shortages, evolving public health mandates, and unique socio-economic and geographic constraints. The study aims to enhance preparedness for future public health crises. <b>Methods:</b> We conducted descriptive analyses on four online surveys distributed at crucial time points of the pandemic (March 2020, May 2020, August 2020, August 2021) to all practicing ophthalmologists in PR (N ≈ 200), capturing data on closures, patient volume, personal protective equipment (PPE) access, telemedicine use, and financial relief. <b>Results</b>: Survey responses ranged from 41% (<i>n</i> = 81) to 56% (<i>n</i> = 111). By March 2020, 22% (24/111) of respondents closed their offices. By May 2020, 20% (19/93) of respondents maintained a closed office, while 89% (64/72) of open offices reported seeing less than 25% of their usual patient volume. Access to PPE was a challenge, with 59% (65/111) reporting difficulty obtaining N95 masks in March 2020. Telemedicine usage increased initially, peaking in May 2020 and declining in July 2020. By August 2021, all respondents were fully vaccinated and most practices returned to pre-pandemic levels. Overall, 86% (70/81) of respondents found the surveys to be useful for navigating practice changes during the pandemic. <b>Conclusions</b>: PR ophthalmologists showed adaptability during the COVID-19 pandemic to maintain care given limited resources. Guidelines from professional organizations and real time surveys play an important role in future crisis preparedness.</p>","PeriodicalId":72944,"journal":{"name":"Epidemiolgia (Basel, Switzerland)","volume":"6 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-08-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12371925/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144981006","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A Series of Severe and Critical COVID-19 Cases in Hospitalized, Unvaccinated Children: Clinical Findings and Hospital Care.","authors":"Vânia Chagas da Costa, Ulisses Ramos Montarroyos, Katiuscia Araújo de Miranda Lopes, Ana Célia Oliveira Dos Santos","doi":"10.3390/epidemiologia6030040","DOIUrl":"10.3390/epidemiologia6030040","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background/objective: </strong>The COVID-19 pandemic profoundly transformed social life worldwide, indiscriminately affecting individuals across all age groups. Children have not been exempted from the risk of severe illness and death caused by COVID-19.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>This paper sought to describe the clinical findings, laboratory and imaging results, and hospital care provided for severe and critical cases of COVID-19 in unvaccinated children, with or without severe asthma, hospitalized in a public referral service for COVID-19 treatment in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This was a case series study of severe and critical COVID-19 in hospitalized, unvaccinated children, with or without severe asthma, conducted in a public referral hospital between March 2020 and June 2021.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The case series included 80 children, aged from 1 month to 11 years, with the highest frequency among those under 2 years old (58.8%) and a predominance of males (65%). Respiratory diseases, including severe asthma, were present in 73.8% of the cases. Pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome occurred in 15% of the children, some of whom presented with cardiac involvement. Oxygen therapy was required in 65% of the cases, mechanical ventilation in 15%, and 33.7% of the children required intensive care in a pediatric intensive care unit. Pulmonary infiltrates and ground-glass opacities were common findings on chest X-rays and CT scans; inflammatory markers were elevated, and the most commonly used medications were antibiotics, bronchodilators, and corticosteroids.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This case series has identified key characteristics of children with severe and critical COVID-19 during a period when vaccines were not yet available in Brazil for the study age group. However, the persistence of low vaccination coverage, largely due to parental vaccine hesitancy, continues to leave children vulnerable to potentially severe illness from COVID-19. These findings may inform the development of public health emergency contingency plans, as well as clinical protocols and care pathways, which can guide decision-making in pediatric care and ensure appropriate clinical management, ultimately improving the quality of care provided.</p>","PeriodicalId":72944,"journal":{"name":"Epidemiolgia (Basel, Switzerland)","volume":"6 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-08-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12372122/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144981027","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A Multicentric Analysis of a Pre-Ecographic Score in Pregnancy: Time for a Dedicated Classification System.","authors":"Gianluca Campobasso, Fabio Castellana, Annalisa Tempesta, Alice Bottai, Annachiara Scatigno, Elisa Rizzo, Francesca Petrillo, Grazia Cappello, Prisco Piscitelli, Roberta Zupo","doi":"10.3390/epidemiologia6030039","DOIUrl":"10.3390/epidemiologia6030039","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><b>Objectives</b>: The objectives are to evaluate the influence of different maternal characteristics on ultrasound image quality and operator satisfaction, and to assess, preliminarily, a rating scale to stratify the difficulty level of ultrasound examination in early gestation. <b>Methods</b>: A multicentric observational study of ultrasound scans was carried out on singleton pregnant women undergoing routine gestational ultrasound at 11-14 weeks and 19-21 weeks of gestation at two Prenatal Care Centers in the Apulia region (Southern Italy). Inclusion criteria included the presence of one or more limiting features, i.e., obesity, retroverted uterus, myomas, previous abdominal surgery, and limited echo-absorption. Each woman was given an overall pre-echographic limiting score from 0 to 9. The outcome measure was the operator's satisfaction with the examination, scored on a Likert scale. Nested linear regression models (raw, semi- and fully adjusted) were built for each of the two trimesters on the pre-ecographic limiting score (0-9 points) as dependent variables, with the operator's satisfaction as the regressor. <b>Results</b>: The whole sample included 445 pregnant women. The two-center samples did not show statistically different baseline features. The operator's satisfaction with the sonographic examination was significantly (and inversely) related to the pre-echographic limiting score, regardless of the mother's age, the operator performing the ultrasound, the Hospital Center where the ultrasound examination was performed, and the duration of the sonographic examination. <b>Conclusions</b>: A number of maternal conditions need to be monitored for good ultrasound performance; using a specific rating scale to stratify the level of difficulty of the ultrasound examination at early gestation could represent a potentially useful tool, although it requires further validation.</p>","PeriodicalId":72944,"journal":{"name":"Epidemiolgia (Basel, Switzerland)","volume":"6 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-07-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12371941/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144981016","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Prevalence of Urinary Incontinence and Overactive Bladder Among Female University Students in Kazakhstan.","authors":"Yerzhan Sharapatov, Aluadin Nurberdiev, Nurbol Keulimzhayev, Aigul Botabayeva, Medet Toleubayev, Mariya Dmitriyeva, Rano Zhankina","doi":"10.3390/epidemiologia6030038","DOIUrl":"10.3390/epidemiologia6030038","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background/objectives: </strong>The aim of this research is to study the prevalence of urinary incontinence (UI) and overactive bladder (OAB) among female university students in Kazakhstan and to analyze the risk factors associated with these conditions.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A total of 574 female university students aged 18 to 40 years participated in this cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study. Self-completed questionnaires including the International Consultation on Urinary Incontinence Questionnaire Short Form (ICIQ-UI-SF), the V8 Overactive Bladder Questionnaire (OAB-V8), and data on demographic and general characteristics of the participants were collected. The frequency, type, and severity of UI, as well as factors associated with these conditions were analyzed.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The median age of the participants was 22.00 years (IQR 19.00-24.00). The prevalence of UI among female students was 27.5% <i>(n</i> = 158). The mean ICIQ-SF questionnaire score was 1.00 (IQR 1.00-2.00), while the OAB-V8 questionnaire score was 2.00 (IQR 0.00-4.00). In addition, 10.1% of the respondents reported having OAB. The analysis showed that factors such as childbirth and physical activity level were associated with the presence of UI. In addition, childbirth, the presence of chronic diseases, and physical activity level were associated with OAB. The probability of UI increased by 2.3 times for women who gave birth (OR 2.30, 95% CI 1.16-4.54). The likelihood of developing OAB rose by 3.3 times for women who gave birth (OR 3.36, 95% CI 1.76-6.42). The presence of chronic diseases was associated with a 2.7-fold increase in the probability of developing OAB (OR 2.74, 95% CI 1.51-4.96).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This study found that UI and OAB are common problems among female university students in Kazakhstan. The risk factors identified as childbirth and physical activity level emphasize the need to raise awareness of these conditions and their impact on quality of life. The results of the study can serve as a basis for the development of targeted prevention programs and support strategies for young women.</p>","PeriodicalId":72944,"journal":{"name":"Epidemiolgia (Basel, Switzerland)","volume":"6 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12286234/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144700497","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Epidemiological Surveillance of Genetically Determined Microcephaly in Latin America: A Narrative Review.","authors":"Melissa Daniella Gonzalez-Fernandez, Karina Jiménez-Gil, Linda Garcés-Ramírez, Alejandro Martínez-Juárez, Elsa Romelia Moreno-Verduzco, Juan Mario Solís-Paredes, Javier Pérez-Durán, Johnatan Torres-Torres, Irma Eloisa Monroy-Muñoz","doi":"10.3390/epidemiologia6030037","DOIUrl":"10.3390/epidemiologia6030037","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><b>Background/Objectives:</b> Congenital microcephaly is a clinical manifestation with a heterogeneous etiology, and its epidemiological surveillance relies on the systematic identification of cases and investigation of their underlying causes to inform preventive strategies and improve prognostic assessments. In Latin America, despite the existence of congenital anomaly reporting programs since 1967, the surveillance of microcephaly only gained substantial attention following the Zika virus (ZIKV) epidemic in 2015. Since then, efforts have predominantly concentrated on cases of infectious origin, often at the expense of recognizing endogenous etiologies, particularly those of genetic nature. This review aims to examine the role of genetic alterations in microcephaly pathogenesis and evaluates the limitations of current surveillance systems. <b>Methods:</b> A literature review centered on syndromic and non-syndromic genetic etiologies, alongside an analysis of Latin American surveillance frameworks (ECLAMC, RyVEMCE, ICBDSR, ReLAMC) was performed. <b>Results:</b> The findings reveal improved case detection and increased reported prevalence; however, the proportion of genetically attributed cases has remained stable. No systematic studies were found identifying the most common genetic causes; instead, genetic investigations were limited to isolated cases with a family history. <b>Conclusions:</b> While epidemiological surveillance systems in Latin America have advanced in the reporting of congenital microcephaly cases, substantial gaps remain in case ascertainment and etiological investigation, particularly concerning genetic contributions.</p>","PeriodicalId":72944,"journal":{"name":"Epidemiolgia (Basel, Switzerland)","volume":"6 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-07-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12285932/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144700484","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}