Risk Factors for Hemorrhoids on Screening Colonoscopy

Background

Constipation, a low fiber diet, sedentary lifestyle and gravidity are commonly assumed to increase the risk of hemorrhoids. However, evidence regarding these factors is limited. We examined the association between commonly cited risk factors and the prevalence of hemorrhoids.

Methods

We performed a cross sectional study of participants who underwent a colonoscopy in a colorectal adenoma prevention trial and who had a detailed assessment of bowel habits, diet and activity. The presence of hemorrhoids was extracted from the subjects’ colonoscopy reports. We used logistic regression to estimate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals while adjusting for age and sex.

Results

The study included 2,813 participants. Of these, 1,074 had hemorrhoids recorded. Constipation was associated with an increased prevalence of hemorrhoids (OR 1.43, 95% CI 1.11, 1.86). Of the fiber subtypes, high grain fiber intake was associated with a reduced risk (OR for quartile 4 versus quartile 1 = 0.78, 95% CI 0.62, 0.98). We found no association when comparing gravid and nulligravida women (OR 0.93, 95% CI 0.62–1.40). Sedentary behavior was associated with a reduced risk (OR 0.80, 95% CI 0.65–0.98), but not physical activity (OR 0.83, 95% CI 0.66–1.03). Neither being overweight nor obese was associated with the presence of hemorrhoids (OR 0.89, 95% CI 0.72–1.09 and OR 0.86, 95% CI 0.70–1.06).

Conclusions

Constipation is associated with an increased risk of hemorrhoids. Gravidity and physical activity do not appear to be associated. High grain fiber intake and sedentary behavior are associated with a decreased risk of hemorrhoids.     

Risk Factors for Idiopathic Optic Neuritis Recurrence

Background

Approximately 30–50% of idiopathic optic neuritis (ION) patients experience one or multiple episodes of recurrence. The aim of this study was to search for risk factors for ION recurrence.

Methods

Clinical data on hospitalized patients diagnosed with ION between January 2003 and January 2011 at the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University were retrospectively collected. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed on factors that might cause ION recurrence. In total, 115 ION cases (32 recurrent and 83 non-recurrent cases) with complete data were analyzed. The length of the follow-up period ranged from 12 to 108 months (median: 42 months).

Results

The univariate analysis showed that the recurrence rate for unilateral ION was higher than that for bilateral ION (40% vs. 12%, p = 0.001). Underlying diseases had a significant impact on recurrence (p<0.001): the recurrence rates due to neuromyelitis optica (NMO), multiple sclerosis (MS), demyelinating lesions alone of the central nervous system, and unknown causes were 89%, 70%, 41%, and 8.7%, respectively. The multivariate analysis showed that the factors causing relatively high recurrence rates included NMO (odds ratio [OR], 73.5; 95% confidence interval [CI], 7.3 to 740.9), MS (OR, 33.9; 95% CI, 5.2 to 222.2), and demyelinating lesions alone (OR, 8.9; 95% CI, 2.3 to 34.4), unilateral involvement (OR, 5.7; 95% CI, 1.5 to 21.3), relatively low initial glucocorticoid dosage (equivalent to ≤100 mg prednisone/day) (OR, 4.3; 95% CI, 1.0 to 17.9).

Conclusion

Underlying diseases, laterality (unilateral or bilateral), and initial glucocorticoid dosage are important risk factors of ION recurrence. Clinical physicians are advised to treat ION patients with a sufficient dose of glucocorticoid in the initial treatment stage to reduce the recurrence risk.     

儿童癫痫的围产期高危因素分析

目的:研究儿童癫痫相关的围产期高危因素。方法:随访16986例新生儿后期癫痫的患病情况,分为儿童癫痫组与非癫痫组,比较两组各项围产期高危因素,进行单因素与多因素统计分析。结果:随访期内儿童癫痫的发病例数为118例(6.95‰),癫痫的发病率在1岁以下的儿童最高(27.12%)。儿童癫痫的发生与孕周、高龄产妇、低出生体重、流产史、宫内窘迫、喂养方式、孕期感染、子痫、胎盘早剥、新生儿惊厥都有相关性,并且孕周、子痫和新生儿惊厥是儿童癫痫发生的独立危险因素。结论:儿童癫痫的发生与围产期高危因素密切相关,这对临床儿童癫痫的诊疗可能有提示作用。     

儿童癫痫的围产期高危因素分析

目的：研究儿童癫痫相关的国产期高危因素。方法：随访16986例新生儿后期癫痫的患病情况,分为儿童癫痫组与非癞痫组,比较两组各项围产期高危因素,进行单因素与多因素统计分析。结果：随访期内儿童癫痫的发病例数为118例（6．95‰）,癫痫的发病率在1岁以下的儿童最高（27．12％）。儿童癫痫的发生与孕周、高龄产妇、低出生体重、流产史、宫内窘迫、喂养方式、孕期感染、子痫、胎盘早剥、新生儿惊厥都有相关性,并且孕周、子痫和新生儿惊厥是儿童癫痫发生的独立危险因素。结论：儿童癫痫的发生与围产期高危因素密切相关,这对临床儿童癫痫的诊疗可能有提示作用。     

皮肤软组织扩张Ⅰ期术后血肿危险因素研究

目的:皮肤软组织扩张术一个令人头疼的问题是其高并发症,其中血肿的发生往往意味着二次手术,本研究希望寻找皮肤软组织扩张Ⅰ期术后血肿发生的独立危险因素,为临床工作提供指导.方法:回顾性分析西京医院整形外科2003年1月至2012年12月间行扩张器置入术患者的临床资料,应用单因素Logistic回归法进行比较,寻找潜在危险因素,将单因素分析差异P＜0.1的变量引入多因素Logistic回归分析模型,采用Backward Conditional法行逐步回归分析,以P＜0.05筛选出独立危险因素.结果:2003年1月至2012年12月西京医院整形科行皮肤软组织置入术患者,共2056人次3382例扩张器入选研究,Ⅰ期术后发生血肿的共100例,发生率为3.0％,经过统计分析最终发现术前APTT值、单次手术埋置扩张器数、性别及扩张器埋置部位是血肿的独立危险因素.结论:血肿的独立危险因素为术前APTT值、单次手术埋置扩张器数、性别及扩张器埋置部位,术前APTT值越高、单次手术扩张器埋置数越多、患者为男性及手术部位为面颈部时,软组织扩张术后发生血肿的可能性越大,本研究对指导临床工作降低血肿发生具有重要的参考意义.     

Risk Factors for Aspiration Pneumonia in Older Adults

BackgroundsAspiration pneumonia is a dominant form of community-acquired and healthcare-associated pneumonia, and a leading cause of death among ageing populations. However, the risk factors for developing aspiration pneumonia in older adults have not been fully evaluated. The purpose of the present study was to determine the risk factors for aspiration pneumonia among the elderly.ConclusionThe risk factors for aspiration pneumonia were sputum suctioning, deterioration of swallowing function, dehydration, and dementia. These results could help improve clinical management for preventing repetitive aspiration pneumonia.     

Risk Factors for Hearing Impairment in Type 1 Diabetes

Objective: Studies have demonstrated that glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) is a significant predictor of hearing impairment in type 1 diabetes. We identified additional factors associated with hearing impairment in participants with type 1 diabetes from the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial and its observational follow-up, the Epidemiology of Diabetes Interventions and Complications (DCCT/EDIC) study.Methods: A total of 1,150 DCCT/EDIC participants were recruited for the Hearing Study. A medical history, physical measurements, and a self-administered hearing questionnaire were obtained. Audiometry was performed by study-certified personnel and assessed centrally. Logistic regression models assessed the association of risk factors and comorbidities with speech- and high-frequency hearing impairment.Results: Mean age was 55 ± 7 years, duration of diabetes 34 ± 5 years, and DCCT/EDIC HbA1c 7.9 ± 0.9% (63 mmol/mol). In multivariable models, higher odds of speech-frequency impairment were significantly associated with older age, higher HbA1c, history of noise exposure, male sex, and higher triglycerides. Higher odds of high-frequency impairment were associated with older age, male sex, history of noise exposure, higher skin intrinsic florescence (SIF) as a marker of tissue glycation, higher HbA1c, nonprofessional/nontechnical occupations, sedentary activity, and lower low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol. Among participants who previously completed computed tomography and carotid ultrasonography, coronary artery calcification (CAC) >0 and carotid intima-medial thickness were significantly associated with high-but not speech-frequency impairment.Conclusion: Consistent with previous reports, male sex, age, several metabolic factors, and noise exposure are independently associated with hearing impairment. The association with SIF further emphasizes the importance of glycemia—as a modifiable risk factor—over time. In addition, the macrovascular contribution of CAC is novel and important.Abbreviations: AER = albumin excretion rate; CAC = coronary artery calcification; CVD = cardiovascular disease; DCCT/EDIC = Diabetes Control and Complications Trial/Epidemiology of Diabetes Interventions and Complications; eGFR = estimated glomerular filtration rate; ETDRS = Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study; HbA1c = glycated hemoglobin; HDL = high-density lipoprotein; IMT = intima-media thickness; LDL = low-density lipoprotein; NHANES = National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey; OR = odds ratio; SIF = skin intrinsic fluorescence; T1D = type 1 diabetes     

Diet-Related Risk Factors for Leprosy: A Case-Control Study

Background

Food shortage was associated with leprosy in two recent studies investigating the relation between socioeconomic factors and leprosy. Inadequate intake of nutrients due to food shortage may affect the immune system and influence the progression of infection to clinical leprosy. We aimed to identify possible differences in dietary intake between recently diagnosed leprosy patients and control subjects.

Methods

In a leprosy endemic area of Bangladesh, newly diagnosed leprosy patients and control subjects were interviewed about their socioeconomic situation, health and diet. Dietary intakes were recorded with a 24-hour recall, from which a Dietary Diversity Score (DDS) was calculated. Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated and Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) was filled out for every participant. Using logistic regression, a univariate, block wise multivariate, and an integrated analysis were carried out.

Results

52 leprosy cases and 100 control subjects were included. Food shortage was more common, dietary diversity was lower and household food insecurity was higher in the patient group. Patients consumed significantly less items from the DDS food groups ‘Meat and fish’ and ‘Other fruits and vegetables.’ Lower food expenditure per capita, lower BMI, lower DDS and absence of household food stocks are the main factors associated with an increased risk of having leprosy.

Conclusion

Low income families have only little money to spend on food and consequently have a low intake of highly nutritious non-rice foods such as meat, fish, milk, eggs, fruits and vegetables. Development of clinical leprosy could be explained by deficiencies of the nutrients that these foods normally provide.     

Risk Factors for Acute Kidney Injury in Severe Rhabdomyolysis

Background

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a life-threatening complication of severe rhabdomyolysis. This study was conducted to assess risk factors for AKI and to develop a risk score for early prediction.

Methods

Retrospective observational cohort study with a 9-year follow-up, carried out in an acute-care teaching-affiliated hospital. A total of 126 patients with severe rhabdomyolysis defined as serum creatine kinase (CK) > 5,000 IU/L fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Univariate and logistic regression analyses were performed to determine risk factors for AKI. Based on the values obtained for each variable, a risk score and prognostic probabilities were estimated to establish the risk for developing AKI.

Results

The incidence of AKI was 58%. Death during hospitalization was significantly higher among patients with AKI, compared to patients without AKI (19.2% vs 3.6%, p = 0.008). The following variables were independently associated with AKI: peak CK (odds ratio [OR] 4.9, 95%CI 1.4-16.8), hypoalbuminemia (< 33 mg/dL, [OR 5.1, 95%CI 1.4-17-7]), metabolic acidosis (OR 5.3, 95%CI 1.4-20.3), and decreased prothrombin time (OR 4.4, 95% CI 1.3-14.5). A risk score for AKI was calculated for each patient, with an OR of 1.72 (95%CI 1.45-2.04). The discrimination value of the predictive model was established by means of a ROC curve, with the area under the curve of 0.871 (p<0.001).

Conclusions

The identification of independent factors associated with AKI and a risk score for early prediction of this complication in patients with severe rhabdomyolysis may be useful in clinical practice, particularly to implement early preventive measures.     

Identifying Causal Risk Factors for Violence among Discharged Patients

Background

Structured Professional Judgement (SPJ) is routinely administered in mental health and criminal justice settings but cannot identify violence risk above moderate accuracy. There is no current evidence that violence can be prevented using SPJ. This may be explained by routine application of predictive instead of causal statistical models when standardising SPJ instruments.

Methods

We carried out a prospective cohort study of 409 male and female patients discharged from medium secure services in England and Wales to the community. Measures were taken at baseline (pre-discharge), 6 and 12 months post-discharge using the Historical, Clinical and Risk-20 items version 3 (HCR-20^v3) and Structural Assessment of Protective Factors (SAPROF). Information on violence was obtained via the McArthur community violence instrument and the Police National Computer.

Results

In a lagged model, HCR-20^v3 and SAPROF items were poor predictors of violence. Eight items of the HCR-20^v3 and 4 SAPROF items did not predict violent behaviour better than chance. In re-analyses considering temporal proximity of risk/ protective factors (exposure) on violence (outcome), risk was elevated due to violent ideation (OR 6.98, 95% CI 13.85–12.65, P<0.001), instability (OR 5.41, 95% CI 3.44–8.50, P<0.001), and poor coping/ stress (OR 8.35, 95% CI 4.21–16.57, P<0.001). All 3 risk factors were explanatory variables which drove the association with violent outcome. Self-control (OR 0.13, 95% CI 0.08–0.24, P<0.001) conveyed protective effects and explained the association of other protective factors with violence.

Conclusions

Using two standardised SPJ instruments, predictive (lagged) methods could not identify risk and protective factors which must be targeted in interventions for discharged patients with severe mental illness. Predictive methods should be abandoned if the aim is to progress from risk assessment to effective risk management and replaced by methods which identify factors causally associated with violence.     

Risk Factors for Severe Neutropenia following Intra-Arterial Chemotherapy for Intra-Ocular Retinoblastoma

Purpose

Intra-arterial chemotherapy is a promising strategy for intra-ocular retinoblastoma. Neutropenia is the most commonly encountered systemic toxicity and in this study we aimed to determine the risk factors associated with the development of severe (≥grade 3) neutropenia.

Methods

Retrospective review of 187 evaluable cycles of melphalan-containing intra-arterial chemotherapy from the first three cycles administered to 106 patients with intra-ocular retinoblastoma from May 2006 to June 2011. Cycles were considered to be evaluable if (1) blood count results were available in the 7 to 14 days post-treatment interval and (2) concurrent intravenous chemotherapy was not administered. Toxicity was assessed via the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events version 4.0.

Results

54 cycles (29%) were associated with grade 3 (n = 43) or grade 4 (n = 11) neutropenia. Multivariate stepwise logistic regression revealed that a higher melphalan dose (>0.40 mg/kg) was significantly associated with severe neutropenia during all 3 cycles (odds ratio during cycle one 4.11, 95% confidence interval 1.33–12.73, p = 0.01), but the addition of topotecan and/or carboplatin were not. Prior treatment with systemic chemotherapy was not associated with severe neutropenia risk in any analysis.

Conclusions

Intra-arterial melphalan-based chemotherapy can cause severe neutropenia, especially when a dose of greater than 0.40 mg/kg is administered. Further study with a larger sample may be warranted.     

儿童急性中毒危险因素分析及防范措施

目的:探讨儿童急性中毒的危险因素及相应的防范措施.方法:回顾性分析268例急性中毒患儿的临床资料.结果:268例急性中毒中男孩占60.45%,1-3岁儿童占49.25%,消化道中毒占90.67%,药物中毒142例,占53%,农村儿童164例,占61.19%,家中中毒224例.结论:儿童急性中毒中男孩多于女孩,幼儿期儿童多见,以误服药物为主,农村儿童多于城市儿童,家中误服高于户外误服.其预防需要全社会的共同参与,加强健康知识宣教,提高对基本医疗知识的认识.     

Risk Factors and Primary Prevention Trials for Type 1 Diabetes

Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is a chronic autoimmune disease resulting in the designated immune destruction of insulin producing β-cells, usually diagnosed in youth, and associated with important psychological, familial, and social disorders. Once diagnosed, patients need lifelong insulin treatment and will experience multiple disease-associated complications. There is no cure for T1DM currently. The last decade has witnessed great progress in elucidating the causes and treatment of the disease based on numerous researches both in rodent models of spontaneous diabetes and in humans. This article summarises our current understanding of the pathogenesis of T1DM, the roles of the immune system, genes, environment and other factors in the continuing and rapid increase in T1DM incidence at younger ages in humans. In addition, we discuss the strategies for primary and secondary prevention trials of T1DM. The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of this disorder''s pathogenesis, risk factors that cause the disease, as well as to bring forward an ideal approach to prevent and cure the disorder.     

Risk Factors for Postural Tachycardia Syndrome in Children and Adolescents

Background

Postural tachycardia syndrome (POTS) is prevalent in children and adolescents and has a great impact on health. But its risk factors have not been fully understood. This study aimed to explore possible risk factors for children and adolescents with POTS.

Methods and Findings

600 children and adolescents (test group) aged 7–18 (11.9±3.0) years old, 259 males and 341 females, were recruited for identifying its risk factors. Another 197 subjects aged from 7 to 18 (11.3±2.3) years old were enrolled in the validation group. Heart rate (HR) and blood pressure (BP) were monitored during upright test. Risk factors were analyzed and sensitivity and specificity for predicting POTS were tested via receiver operating characteristic curve. Among 600 subjects, 41 were confirmed with POTS patients (6.8%) based on clinical manifestation and upright test. The results showed a significant difference in daily water intake, the daily sleeping hours, supine HR, HR increment and maximum HR during upright test between POTS and the unaffected children (P<0.05). Likelihood of POTS would increase by 1.583 times if supine HR was increased by 10 beats/min (95%CI 1.184 to 2.116, P<0.01), by 3.877 times if a child''s water intake was less than 800 ml/day (95%CI 1.937 to 7.760, P<0.001), or by 5.905 times (95%CI 2.972 to 11.733, P<0.001) if sleeping hours were less than 8 hours/day. Supine HR, daily water intake and sleeping hours showed the capability of predicting POTS in children and adolescents with an AUC of 83.9% (95% CI: 78.6%–89.1%), sensitivity of 80.5% and specificity of 75%. Furthermore, in validation group, predictive sensitivity and specificity were 73.3% and 72.5%.

Conclusion

Faster supine HR, less water intake and shorter sleeping hours were identified as risk factors for POTS.     

Assessing Risk Factors for Migraine: Differences in Gender Transmission

Aim

Our aim was to assess which specific factors are contributing to an increased risk of migraine in a group of 131 Portuguese families.

Methods

We studied 319 first-degree relatives, using a multilevel approach to account for the dependency among members from the same family. We included in the model relative’s gender, the proband’s gender and age-at-onset, to evaluate if any of these variables were associated with relative’s affection status. We also included in the model proband’s migraine subtype. We further assessed female and male transmissions within the proband nuclear family.

Results

Relatives’ gender was found to be a risk factor for migraine (Odds Ratio = 2.86; 95% CI = 1.75–4.67), with females at a higher risk. When splitting probands according to their migraine subtype, we found that none of the variables studied contributed to relatives of MA-probands affection-status. Our results also show a significant difference between proband’s transmission and the gender of the parents and offspring.

Conclusions

With this study, we showed that gender is truly a risk factor for migraine and that a gender-biased transmission is also observed. This reinforce the importance of identifying genes associated with migraine that are modulated by genes located in the sex chromosomes and the study of mitochondrial DNA or X-chromosome and hormonal-related effects associated with migraine susceptibility.     

Modifiable Risk Factors for Increased Arterial Stiffness in Outpatient Nephrology

Arterial stiffness, as measured by pulse wave velocity (PWV), is an independent predictor of cardiovascular events and mortality. Arterial stiffness increases with age. However, modifiable risk factors such as smoking, BP and salt intake also impact on PWV. The finding of modifiable risk factors may lead to the identification of treatable factors, and, thus, is of interest to practicing nephrologist. We have now studied the prevalence and correlates of arterial stiffness, assessed by PWV, in 191 patients from nephrology outpatient clinics in order to identify modifiable risk factors for arterial stiffness that may in the future guide therapeutic decision-making. PWV was above normal levels for age in 85/191 (44.5%) patients. Multivariate analysis showed that advanced age, systolic BP, diabetes mellitus, serum uric acid and calcium polystyrene sulfonate therapy or calcium-containing medication were independent predictors of PWV. A new parameter, Delta above upper limit of normal PWV (Delta PWV) was defined to decrease the weight of age on PWV values. Delta PWV was calculated as (measured PWV) - (upper limit of the age-adjusted PWV values for the general population). Mean±SD Delta PWV was 0.76±1.60 m/sec. In multivariate analysis, systolic blood pressure, active smoking and calcium polystyrene sulfonate therapy remained independent predictors of higher delta PWV, while age, urinary potassium and beta blocker therapy were independent predictors of lower delta PWV. In conclusion, arterial stiffness was frequent in nephrology outpatients. Systolic blood pressure, smoking, serum uric acid, calcium-containing medications, potassium metabolism and non-use of beta blockers are modifiable factors associated with increased arterial stiffness in Nephrology outpatients.     

Quantifying Risk Factors for Human Brucellosis in Rural Northern Tanzania

Background

Brucellosis is a zoonosis of veterinary, public health and economic significance in most developing countries. Human brucellosis is a severely debilitating disease that requires prolonged treatment with a combination of antibiotics. The disease can result in permanent and disabling sequel, and results in considerable medical expenses in addition to loss of income due to loss of working hours. A study was conducted in Northern Tanzania to determine the risk factors for transmission of brucellosis to humans in Tanzania.

Methods

This was a matched case-control study. Any patient with a positive result by a competitive ELISA (c-ELISA) test for brucellosis, and presenting to selected hospitals with at least two clinical features suggestive of brucellosis such as headache, recurrent or continuous fever, sweating, joint pain, joint swelling, general body malaise or backache, was defined as a case. For every case in a district, a corresponding control was traced and matched by sex using multistage cluster sampling. Other criteria for inclusion as a control included a negative c-ELISA test result and that the matched individual would present to hospital if falls sick.

Results

Multivariable analysis showed that brucellosis was associated with assisted parturition during abortion in cattle, sheep or goat. It was shown that individuals living in close proximity to other households had a higher risk of brucellosis. People who were of Christian religion were found to have a higher risk of brucellosis compared to other religions. The study concludes that assisting an aborting animal, proximity to neighborhoods, and Christianity were associated with brucellosis infection. There was no association between human brucellosis and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) serostatus. Protecting humans against contact with fluids and tissues during assisted parturition of livestock may be an important means of reducing the risk of transferring brucellosis from livestock to humans. These can be achieved through health education to the communities where brucellosis is common.     

Prediction of Risk Factors for Coronary Heart Disease Using Framingham Risk Score in Korean Men

Background

Currently, there is sparse data available on the relationship between coronary heart disease (CHD) and its risk factors estimated by the Framingham Risk Score (FRS) in Korea. This is particularly true when looking at risk factors of CHD associated with the FRS after adjustment for other covariates especially in healthy subjects.

Methodology/Principal Findings

We conducted a prospective cohort study to examine the association between the risk factors of CHD and the risk for CHD estimated by FRS in 15,239 men in 2005 and 2010. The FRS is based on six coronary risk factors: gender, age, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol, systolic blood pressure (BP), and smoking habit. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to analyze the relationships between the FRS and risk factors for CHD. This study reported that apolipoproetein B (apoB), apoA-I, apoB/apoA-I, alcohol intake, log-transformed TG, log-transformed hsCRP, LDL-cholesterol, hypertension, diabetes, regular exercise, and BMI were significantly associated with the FRS. Above all, the partial R-square of apoB was 14.77%, which was overwhelmingly bigger than that of other variables in model V. This indicated that apoB accounted for 14.77% of the variance in FRS.

Conclusion/Significance

In this study, apoB was found to be the most important determinant for the future development of CHD during a 5-year follow-up in healthy Korean men.     

Microbiota in the Throat and Risk Factors for Laryngeal Carcinoma

The compositions and abundances of the microbiota in the ecological niche of the human throat and the possible relationship between the microbiota and laryngeal cancer are poorly understood. To obtain insight into this, we enrolled 27 laryngeal carcinoma patients and 28 subjects with vocal cord polyps as controls. For each subject, we simultaneously collected swab samples from the upper throat near the epiglottis (site I) and tissue samples from the vestibulum laryngis to the subglottic region (site II). The microbiota of the throat were fully characterized by pyrosequencing of barcoded 16S rRNA genes. We found 14 phyla, 20 classes, 38 orders, 85 families, and 218 genera in the throats of enrolled subjects. The main phyla were Firmicutes (54.7%), Fusobacteria (14.8%), Bacteroidetes (12.7%), and Proteobacteria (10.6%). Streptococcus (37.3%), Fusobacterium (11.3%), and Prevotella (10.6%) were identified as the three most predominant genera in the throat. The relative abundances of 23 bacterial genera in site I were significantly different from those in site II (P < 0.05). The relative proportions of 12 genera largely varied between laryngeal cancer patients and control subjects (P < 0.05). Collectively, this study outlined the spatial structure of microbial communities in the human throat. The spatial structure of bacterial communities significantly varied in two anatomical sites of the throat. The bacterial profiles of the throat of laryngeal cancer patients were strongly different from those of control subjects, and several of these microorganisms may be related to laryngeal carcinoma.     

Risk Factors for Acute Respiratory Infection in the Australian Community

Objectives

The objective of this study was to identify the risk factors for ARI in the Australian community.

Methods

We used a national survey of 7578 randomly selected respondents in 2008–2009 to identify the risk factors of ARI. A case was defined as a person experiencing cold or flu with one or more symptoms of: fever, chills, sore throat, runny nose, or cough in the previous four weeks.

Results

There were 19.8% (1505/7578) of respondents who reported ARI in the four weeks prior to the survey. Age was an independent risk factor for ARI, with the risk of acquiring ARI decreasing as age increased. Respondents reporting asthma (OR 1.4, 95%CI: 1.2–1.7) or having someone in their house attending childcare (OR 1.6, 95%CI: 1.2–2.1) were more likely to report ARI.

Conclusions

It is important to identify ways of interrupting transmission of ARI amongst children. Improving identification of risk factors will enable targeted interventions for this exceedingly common syndrome.