Biomedical subjects

M A Moussa

Publications and source records attributed to M A Moussa.

97 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

Allocation designs in cohort and case-control studies.

Four unequal allocation designs for cohort and case-control studies that incorporate cost and power are considered and compared with the equal allocation design, with the aim of providing researchers some flexibility in planning their studies. It is found that the type of design to be adopted depends on available resources and projected needs. In the case of tight expenditure, the minimized cost design is the optimal, whereas the maximized power design may be sought if the researcher intends to ensure a high chance of detecting any clinically significant relative risk of disease.

Biometry↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Assessment of depression in Kuwait by principal component analysis.

One hundred depressed inpatients were examined by the WHO schedule for Standardized Assessment of Depressive Disorders (SADD). A common core of symptoms is shared with patients in other studies from Western, Middle-Eastern and international studies. However, pathoplastic cultural influences are manifest in a number of symptoms, notable among which are metaphorical descriptions of symptom intensity by the overwhelmed patient, infrequency of feelings of hopelessness and suicidal attempts, masking of guilt feelings by a front of somatization and a linkage of body weight and sexual functions to health in general. Evidence is provided for a continuum-type unimodal distribution of the principal components studied.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Correspondence analysis of contingency tables.

This paper deals with the multidimensional representation of the dependence between row and column variables of contingency tables using the correspondence analysis. It includes: (1) estimation of the optimal weights that maximize the canonical correlation between two categorical variables by an optimization iterative method, (2) testing the discriminability of the estimated scoring scheme, (3) evaluating the relative contribution of categories (rows or columns) for each dimension, (4) simultaneous symmetric graphical representation of row and column points. The method is applicable to two-way contingency tables or multi-way tables concatenated to two-way tables through merging variables to form interactive ones.

Mathematical Computing↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Serum lipoprotein(a) concentration as a cardiovascular risk factor in Kuwaiti type 2 diabetic patients.

Serum lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)], a risk factor for coronary heart disease (CHD) in some nondiabetic populations, is largely under genetic control and varies among ethnic and racial groups. We evaluated serum Lp(a) concentration and its relationship with traditional CHD risk factors (age, sex, smoking, hypertension, dyslipidemia) as well as stage of diabetic nephropathy in 345 type 2 diabetic patients. Lp(a) concentration was skewed with median (2.5th, 97.5th percentiles) of 25.0 (8.1, 75.7) mg/dl. Twenty-three of 55 (41.8%) patients with CHD had increased (>30 mg/dl) Lp(a) compared with 102 of 290 (35.1%) patients without CHD (P=.35). Twelve of 27 (44.4%) female patients with CHD had increased Lp(a) compared to 11 of 28 (39.3%) males (P=.70). Lp(a) was significantly (P<.05) higher in females than males, but the logistic regression analysis showed significant association of Lp(a), LDL-C, and duration of diabetes mellitus (DM) with CHD in male patients only. Although female patients with CHD and macroalbuminuria had significantly (P<.05) higher Lp(a) than normoalbuminuric female patients without CHD, no such association was found in males and no significant association was found between Lp(a) and the degree of albuminuria. Partial correlation analysis controlling for age, sex, and BMI showed significant correlation of Lp(a) with total cholesterol only (P=.03) and no correlation was found with other lipid parameters. Multiple regression analysis did not show significant associations of Lp(a) with standard CHD risk factors, HbA(1c), and plasma creatinine. This study is in agreement with studies in other populations, which showed that Lp(a) may not be an independent risk factor for CHD in patients with DM. However, as Lp(a) could promote atherogenesis via several mechanisms, follow-up studies in our patients will confirm if increased Lp(a) concentration can partly account for the poorer prognosis when diabetic patients develop CHD.

Albuminuria↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Post-war changes in the outcome of pregnancy in Maternity Hospital, Kuwait.

To analyse the pre- and post-Gulf War changes in the outcome of pregnancy and to explore the possible causes that could have affected these changes, a retrospective analysis of medical records of patients delivering in Maternity Hospital Kuwait (MHK) was carried out for the period 1987-89 (pre-Gulf-War) and 1992 (post-Gulf War). The records of 1991 were used when adequate information was available. The normal z test was used to assess the significance between two proportions. There is a significant rise in abortion, low birth weight babies, triplet pregnancies, and major congenital anomalies in the post-war period. The still-birth rate, early neonatal mortality rate and perinatal mortality rate significantly increased in the immediate post-war period in 1991, but decreased to levels below the pre-war period in 1992. It should be investigated whether these changes are secondary to the changes in the population structure; the effects of war in terms of deterioration of health care services; environmental pollution caused by oil well fires, oil spills; or the psychological trauma, anxiety and stress caused by the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.

Female↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Analysis of underlying and multiple-cause mortality data.

"A variety of life table models were used for the analysis of the (1984-86) Kuwaiti cause-specific mortality data. These models comprised total mortality, multiple-decrement, cause-elimination, cause-delay and disease dependency. The models were illustrated by application to a set of four chronic diseases: hypertensive, ischaemic heart, cerebrovascular and diabetes mellitus. The life table methods quantify the relative weights of different diseases as hazards to mortality after adjustment for other causes. They can also evaluate the extent of dependency between underlying cause of death and other causes mentioned on [the] death certificate using an extended underlying-cause model." (SUMMARY IN FRE AND ITA)

Asia↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Obstetric and gynecologic implication of brucellosis in Kuwait.

OBJECTIVE: To study the possible correlation between maternal Brucella infection and reproductive failure as expressed by abortion, intrauterine fetal death, and preterm delivery. STUDY DESIGN: Maternal enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay serologic and microagglutination testing and conception product culture for Brucella were done in 227 women with preterm delivery, 51 with intrauterine fetal death, 29 with spontaneous abortion, and 39 with term delivery of a normal baby. RESULTS: Ingestion of raw milk was positive in 18% of the control cases, 28% of preterm delivery cases, 30% of intrauterine fetal death cases, and 21% of spontaneous abortion cases. Acute or chronic Brucella infection was found in 8% of preterm, 10% of intrauterine fetal death, and 7% of abortion cases. None of the control cases had evidence of Brucella infection. None of the four groups showed positive culture of the placenta for Brucella. The titres of Brucella-specific immunoglobulin G and M were significantly higher in the preterm, abortion, and intrauterine fetal death groups than in the control group. CONCLUSION: A possible correlation may exist between Brucella infection and preterm and intrauterine fetal death, which does not seem to be related to transplacental infection but possibly may relate to the acute illness.

Abortion, Spontaneous↗