Higher education

BACKGROUND: REM-sleep behavior disorder (RBD) and other non-motor symptoms such as hyposmia were proposed by the Movement Disorder Society as research criteria for prodromal Parkinson's disease (P-PD). Global cognitive deficit was later added. OBJECTIVE: To compare non-motor symptoms, focusing on cognition, between a P-PD group and a matched control group. METHODS: In this cross-sectional, case-control study, in a first set of analyses, we performed extensive cognitive testing on people with (n = 76) and a control group without (n = 195) probable RBD and hyposmia...

BACKGROUND: The healthcare needs of People living with Dementia (PlwD) (such as Alzheimer's disease) are often unmet. Information about the needs of community-dwelling PlwD and their association with sociodemographic and clinical characteristics is needed to fill the knowledge gap regarding factors influencing unmet needs among PlwD and to conduct a comprehensive needs assessment to develop tailored interventions. OBJECTIVE: To describe sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of the InDePendent study population with particular reference to determinants of unmet needs...

BACKGROUND: The gastroscopic examination is a preferred method for the detection of upper gastrointestinal lesions. However, gastroscopic examination has high requirements for doctors, especially for the strict position and quantity of the archived images. These requirements are challenging for the education and training of junior doctors. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to use deep learning to develop automatic position recognition technology for gastroscopic examination...

Improvements in race times for male and female Para canoe athletes across different sports classes have led to a reduction in relative differences between classes over time. However, there is a lack of research examining the comparative developmental trajectories between high-performance Paralympic (PCS) and Olympic (OCS) canoe sprint. In this study, we compared the developmental trajectories of 200-meter kayak performances among PCS and OCS athletes. In total, we analyzed 628 race results obtained from public online databases, for nine competitions between 2015 and 2023...

Continuing medical education plays a pivotal role in fostering and upholding the standard of excellence in medicine. Both SPOC (small private online course) and BOPPPS (bridge-in, learning objective, pretest, participatory learning, posttest, and summary) methodologies are rooted in the same educational and learning theories, emphasizing active student engagement, interaction, and feedback. Using ultrasound-guided spinal anesthesia as an exemplar, we aimed to investigate the feasibility of blended teaching (combination of BOPPPS and SPOC) for anesthesiology clinicians and explore trainees' and trainers' perspectives towards the innovative method...

BACKGROUND: Self-harm and suicide behaviours are a major public health concern. Several factors are associated with these behaviours among military communities. Identifying these factors may have important implications for policy and clinical services. The aim of this review was to identify the risk and protective factors associated with self-harm and suicide behaviours among serving and ex-serving personnel of the United Kingdom Armed Forces, Canadian Armed Forces, Australian Defence Force and New Zealand Defence Force...

Energy drinks (EDs) have become a popular choice for young people seeking physical and cognitive boosts, with ingredients such as caffeine, taurine, and B vitamins aimed at improving academic, athletic, and alertness levels. However, the popularity of these drinks is also driven by low prices, taste, brand loyalty, and gendered marketing, with boys being more likely to consume them. Despite the supposed benefits, EDs have been associated with high-risk behaviours, deaths, and adverse health effects, especially those related to cardiovascular risk...

INTRODUCTION: The global burden of chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease, remains a significant public health challenge. The Life's Simple 7 (LS7) score was developed as a tool to evaluate cardiovascular health behaviours and habits and identify high-risk individuals. The present study aimed to assess the distribution of LS7 scores among educational strata. METHODS: The study population consisted of 3,383 asymptomatic individuals screened for colorectal cancer at a single centre in Austria...

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic rapidly changed the landscape of clinical practice in the United States; telehealth became an essential mode of health care delivery, yet many components of telehealth use remain unknown years after the disease's emergence. OBJECTIVE: We aim to comprehensively assess telehealth use and its associated factors in the United States. METHODS: This cross-sectional study used a nationally representative survey (Health Information National Trends Survey) administered to US adults (≥18 years) from March 2022 through November 2022...

Diabetes mellitus (DM) and premenstrual syndrome (PMS) are global health challenges. Both disorders are often linked to a range of physical and psychological symptoms that significantly impact the quality of life of many women. Yet, the exact relation between DM and PMS is not clear, and the management of both conditions poses a considerable challenge. In this review, we aimed to investigate the interplay between DM, anti-diabetic drugs, and the different theories and symptoms of PMS. Female sex hormones are implicated in the pathophysiology of PMS and can also impair blood glucose control...

Although universities in the US commonly implement sexual consent education programs for students that focus on understanding how to communicate sexual consent, it remains unclear to what extent sexual consent education is taking place in grades K-12. The goal of this study was to assess K-12 health education standards recommendations for sexual consent education. We conducted a content analysis of health education standards from 43 states in the US to evaluate the guidelines provided to health educators across different grade levels...

Timely clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) is important for resource allocation, mitigating safety concerns, and improving quality of life. While studies have examined ADRD diagnosis disparities by race/ethnicity, few include its intersection with nativity. Our aims were to (1) estimate the odds of diagnosed ADRD among US- and foreign-born racial/ethnic groups compared to US-born White older adults and (2) make comparisons by nativity within each racial/ethnic group. We linked 2000-2017 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) and 2001-2018 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) data (65 + years; n = 38,033)...

PURPOSE: Previous research suggests several sociodemographic risk factors for the persistence of harmful alcohol use. However, the evidence is limited due to short follow-up times, retrospective reporting and samples comprising only people with alcohol dependence. We pooled data from six prospective cohort studies to systematically evaluate whether the sociodemographic risk factors differ between the incidence and persistence of harmful alcohol use. METHODS: Data were from six prospective cohort studies from the US, UK and Japan (n = 28,394)...

Negative symptoms in CHR-P people are generally not responsive to treatments and commonly related to poorer functional outcome. However, less research attention has been dedicated to Persistent Negative Symptoms (PNS), defined as clinically stable negative symptoms of moderate severity evident for at least 6 months. This study aims to (a) determine the prevalence of PNS in a sample of young people at CHR-P; (b) investigate any association of PNS with functioning and clinical features; (c) examine longitudinal course of PNS across 2 years of follow-up and changes in PNS severity levels with specialized treatments...

Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) are novel oral anti-hyperglycemic drugs that demonstrate cardiovascular and metabolic benefits for patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D), heart failure (HF), and chronic kidney disease (CKD). There is limited knowledge of real-world data to predict adherence to SGLT-2i in an ambulatory setting. The study aims to predict SGLT-2i adherence in patients with T2D and/or HF and/or CKD by building a prediction model using electronic prescription claims data presented within EPIC datasets...

In order to enhance interdisciplinary collaboration and promote better medication management, a partnered pharmacist medication charting (PPMC) model was piloted in the emergency department (ED) of an Australian referral hospital. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of PPMC on the timeliness of time-critical medicines (TCMs), completeness of medication orders, and assessment of venous thromboembolism (VTE) risk. This concurrent controlled retrospective pragmatic trial involved individuals aged 18 years and older presenting to the ED from 1 June 2020 to 17 May 2021...

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are one of the most common infections and are frequently caused by Gram-negative organisms. The rise of resistant isolates has prompted evaluation of alternative therapies, including amoxicillin-clavulanate which has potent activity against Ambler class A enzymes. This study sought to evaluate clinical outcomes of patients with ceftriaxone non-susceptible UTIs receiving amoxicillin-clavulanate or standard of care (SOC). This was a single-center, retrospective, cohort study of adult patients with urinary tract infections caused by a ceftriaxone non-susceptible pathogen who received amoxicillin-clavulanate or SOC...

Vitamins play a vital role in human health, particularly in the development and maintenance of oral health in children. These nutrients are broadly categorized into fat-soluble and water-soluble types, crucial for children's well-being. The objective of this study is to investigate the impact of vitamin deficiencies on the oral health of children, focusing on how these deficiencies contribute to various oral health issues and determining the relationship between specific vitamin shortages and oral diseases...

University education is a leading source of information for dental practitioners. Particular emphasis should be given to determining the extent to which students acquire positive knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) and positive metacompetences beyond the scope of each studied dental discipline. We performed a cross-sectional questionnaire-based study among dentistry students from Romania to assess self-perceived risk of infectious diseases and their KAP on topics related to infectious disease prevention...

The effectiveness of modern medical education largely depends on the integration and utilization of digital technologies in teaching various disciplines. In this pilot usability study, we introduced 3D printed anthropomorphic dental models, specifically designed for the elective discipline "Digital and Metal-Free Techniques in Dental Technology" from the curriculum of the Dental Technician specialty in the Medical University of Varna. The evaluation focused on dental technician students' perception of this novel learning environment, its influence on their performance, and the potential for future application of these models and related 3D technologies in their professional practice...