PubMed Health⌕ Search

SEARCH · PubMed Health

Results for “Cross Sectional Analysis”

Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Self-rated life expectancy and lifetime socio-economic position: cross-sectional analysis of the British household panel survey.

BACKGROUND: The association between mortality risk and socio-economic position (SEP) across the lifecourse is established. This study investigates whether people's own ratings of their life expectancy are also associated with lifetime SEP. Health behaviour messages, which often emphasize the long-term benefits of behavioural change, may be received differently depending on people's perceptions of their life chances. METHODS: Cross-sectional analysis of 4780 adults aged 25-64 interviewed in the British Household Panel Survey in 2001. RESULTS: Just under a quarter of respondents did not think it likely they would live to 75 or older. People in lower SEPs were more likely to be pessimistic about their life expectancy. This applied across a number of socio-economic measures (father's social class, educational achievement, own social class, and household income). Eight socio-economic lifecourse pathways were compared. In comparison to those following the most advantaged pathway, those experiencing sustained socio-economic disadvantage were most likely to be pessimistic about their longevity, but those experiencing sustained upward mobility did not differ. Comparisons with measures of self-rated general health and limiting illness suggest that self-rated life expectancy is at least partially independent of current health status. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that people's own perceptions of their life expectancy are associated with lifetime SEP. Self-rated life expectancy, in part, appears to reflect something over and above current health status and smoking behaviour. Given its ease of collection, it would be informative to include self-rated life expectancy in future studies.

Adult↗

Relationships between cholesterol, apolipoprotein E polymorphism and dementia: a cross-sectional analysis from the PAQUID study.

This study assesses the cross-sectional relationship between serum cholesterol level and dementia, controlling for apolipoprotein E (apoE) genotype, in a nested case-control study of 334 elderly French subjects aged 73 and over who participated in the PAQUID study (37 demented subjects and 297 nondemented controls). A diagnosis of dementia was established by two-step screening: (1) psychometric testing and DSM-III-R criteria and (2) neurologist's confirmation. Cholesterol, its fractions and apoE genotype were determined from a blood sample. Elevated high-density lipoprotein cholesterol was associated with a significantly decreased risk of dementia, independent of apoE status and other potential confounding variables, suggesting that cholesterol fractions could be involved in both Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia.

Aged↗

CSF quinolinic acid levels are determined by local HIV infection: cross-sectional analysis and modelling of dynamics following antiretroviral therapy.

Quinolinic acid (QUIN) is a product of tryptophan metabolism that can act as an endogenous brain excitotoxin when released by activated macrophages. Previous studies have shown correlations between increased CSF QUIN levels and the presence of the AIDS dementia complex (ADC), a neurodegenerative condition complicating late-stage human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV) infection in some patients. CSF QUIN is putatively one of the important molecular mediators of the brain injury in this clinical setting and, more generally, serves as a marker of local macrophage activation. This study was undertaken to examine the relationship of CSF QUIN concentrations to local HIV infection and to define the effects of antiretroviral drug treatment on CSF QUIN using two complementary approaches. The first was an exploratory cross-sectional analysis of a clinically heterogeneous sample of 62 HIV-infected subjects, examining correlations of CSF QUIN levels with CSF and plasma HIV RNA levels and other salient parameters of infection. The second involved longitudinal observations of a subset of 20 of these subjects who initiated new antiretroviral therapy regimens. In addition to descriptive analysis, we used kinetic modelling of QUIN decay in relation to that of HIV RNA to assess further the relationship between CSF QUIN and infection in the dynamic setting of treatment. The cross-sectional studies showed strong correlations of CSF QUIN with both CSF HIV RNA and blood QUIN levels, as well as with elevations in CSF white blood cells, CSF total protein and CSF:blood albumin ratio. In this group of subjects with a low incidence of active, untreated ADC, CSF QUIN did not correlate with ADC stage or measures of quantitative neurological performance. Antiviral treatment reduced the CSF QUIN levels in all the longitudinally followed, treated subjects. Kinetic modelling of CSF QUIN decay indicated that CSF QUIN levels were driven primarily by CSF HIV infection with a lesser contribution from blood QUIN levels. In three subjects with new-onset, untreated ADC, CSF QUIN decay paralleled both CSF HIV decrement and improvement in neurological performance. These studies show that CSF QUIN concentrations relate primarily to active CSF HIV infection and to a lesser extent to plasma QUIN. CSF QUIN serves as a marker of local infection with a wide dynamic range. The time course of therapy-induced changes links CSF QUIN to local infection and supports the action of antiviral therapy in ameliorating immunopathological brain injury and ADC.

AIDS Dementia Complex↗

Outcomes of variation in hospital nurse staffing in English hospitals: cross-sectional analysis of survey data and discharge records.

CONTEXT: Despite growing evidence in the US, little evidence has been available to evaluate whether internationally, hospitals in which nurses care for fewer patients have better outcomes in terms of patient survival and nurse retention. OBJECTIVES: To examine the effects of hospital-wide nurse staffing levels (patient-to-nurse ratios) on patient mortality, failure to rescue (mortality risk for patients with complicated stays) and nurse job dissatisfaction, burnout and nurse-rated quality of care. DESIGN AND SETTING: Cross-sectional analysis combining nurse survey data with discharge abstracts. PARTICIPANTS: Nurses (N=3984) and general, orthopaedic, and vascular surgery patients (N=118752) in 30 English acute trusts. RESULTS: Patients and nurses in the quartile of hospitals with the most favourable staffing levels (the lowest patient-to-nurse ratios) had consistently better outcomes than those in hospitals with less favourable staffing. Patients in the hospitals with the highest patient to nurse ratios had 26% higher mortality (95% CI: 12-49%); the nurses in those hospitals were approximately twice as likely to be dissatisfied with their jobs, to show high burnout levels, and to report low or deteriorating quality of care on their wards and hospitals. CONCLUSIONS: Nurse staffing levels in NHS hospitals appear to have the same impact on patient outcomes and factors influencing nurse retention as have been found in the USA.

Adult↗

Council tax valuation bands, socio-economic status and health outcome: a cross-sectional analysis from the Caerphilly Health and Social Needs Study.

UNLABELLED: Council tax valuation bands (CTVBs) are a categorisation of household property value in Great Britain. The aim of the study was to assess the CTVB as a measure of socio-economic status by comparing the strength of the associations between selected health and lifestyle outcomes and CTVBs with two measures of socio-economic status: the National Statistics Socio-Economic Classification (NS-SEC) and the 2001 UK census-based Townsend deprivation index. METHODS: Cross-sectional analysis of data on 12,092 respondents (adjusted response 62.7%) to the Caerphilly Health and Social Needs Study, a postal questionnaire survey undertaken in Caerphilly county borough, south-east Wales, UK. The CTVB was assigned to each individual by matching the sampling frame to the local authority council tax register. Crude and age-gender adjusted odds ratios for each category of CTVB, NS-SEC and fifth of the ward distribution of Townsend scores were estimated for smoking, poor diet, obesity, and limiting long-term illness using logistic regression. Mean mental (MCS) and physical (PCS) component summary scores of the Short-Form SF-36 health status questionnaire were estimated in general linear models. RESULTS: There were significant trends in odds ratios across the CTVB categories for all outcomes, most marked for smoking and mental and physical health status. The adjusted odds ratio for being a smoker in the lowest versus highest CTVB category was 3.80 (95% CI: 3.06, 4.71), compared to 3.00 (95% CI: 2.30, 3.90) for the NS-SEC 'never worked and long-term unemployed' versus 'higher managerial and professional' categories, and 1.61 (95% CI: 1.42, 1.83) for the most deprived versus the least deprived Townsend fifth. The difference in adjusted mean MCS scores was 5.9 points on the scale for CTVB, 9.2 for NS-SEC and 3.2 for the Townsend score. The values for the adjusted mean PCS scores were 6.3 points for CTVB, 11.3 for NS-SEC, and 2.5 for the Townsend score. CONCLUSION: CTVBs assigned to individuals were strongly associated with the health and lifestyle outcomes modelled in this study. CTVBs are readily available for all residential properties and deserve further consideration as a proxy for socio-economic status in epidemiological studies in Great Britain.

Adolescent↗

Effects of coffee consumption on glucose tolerance, serum glucose and insulin levels--a cross-sectional analysis.

OBJECTIVE: Coffee has several metabolic effects that could reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes. Our objective was to examine the effects of coffee consumption on glucose tolerance, glucose and insulin levels. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: A subsample of subjects aged 45 to 64 years in 1987 and in 1992 from the population-based FINRISK study (12,287 individuals) was invited to receive the standard oral glucose tolerance test at baseline. Plasma samples were taken after an overnight fast, and a two-hour oral glucose tolerance test was administered. Fasting and two-hour plasma glucose and insulin were measured in 2434 subjects with data on coffee use and potential confounders. RESULTS: After adjustment for potential confounding factors (age, body mass index, systolic blood pressure, occupational, commuting and leisure time physical activity, alcohol and tea drinking, smoking), coffee consumption was significantly and inversely associated with fasting glucose, two-hour plasma glucose, and fasting insulin in both men and women. Coffee consumption was significantly and inversely associated with impaired fasting glucose, impaired glucose regulation, and hyperinsulinemia among both men and women and with isolated impaired glucose tolerance among women. CONCLUSIONS: In this cross-sectional analysis, coffee showed positive effects on several glycemia markers.

Age Factors↗

Dietary fat in relation to body fat and intraabdominal adipose tissue: a cross-sectional analysis.

Numerous studies report positive links between dietary fat and adiposity. However, the relation between fat intake and intraabdominal adipose tissue (IAAT), a risk factor for cardiovascular disease and diabetes, is not known. We therefore evaluated the association between dietary fat and adipose tissue stores in 135 white men aged 44 +/- 10 y (mean+/- SD: weight, 86 +/- 14 kg; body fat, 23 +/- 8%) and in 214 white women aged 45 +/- 14 y (weight, 64 +/- 12 kg; body fat, 33 +/- 10%). Dietary intake was estimated from 3-d food records, body composition from hydrostatic weighing, IAAT and subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue (SCAAT) by computed tomography, and physical activity by using the Baecke Questionnaire. After adjustment for fat-free mass, sex, age, physical activity, and nonfat energy intake, fat intake was weakly correlated with fat mass, explaining only 2% of the variance (partial R2 = 0.018, P < 0.01). In a separate model that evaluated type of fat, saturated fat was positively related (partial R2 = 0.025, P < 0.01) to fat mass after adjustment for fat-free mass, sex, age, physical activity, and nonfat energy intake whereas polyunsaturated fat intake was negatively related (partial R2 = 0.007, P = 0.056). On the basis of partial correlation analyses, dietary fat was also associated with SCAAT adjusted for nonfat energy intake and IAAT (partial R2 = 0.014, P < 0.01), but not IAAT adjusted for nonfat energy intake and SCAAT. However, the association between dietary fat and adjusted SCAAT was not significant after further adjustment for sex, age, and physical activity. Thus, results of this cross-sectional analysis suggest that dietary fat independently plays a very minor role in increasing overall adiposity and does not specifically influence fat accretion in the intraabdominal region.

Adipose Tissue↗

Cynical hostility, socioeconomic position, health behaviors, and symptom load: a cross-sectional analysis in a Danish population-based study.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the cross-sectional association between cynical hostility and high symptom load in a Danish population-based study. Furthermore, the aim was to investigate to what extent health risk behaviors mediated this association. METHODS: Data were based on a postal questionnaire in a Danish random sample of 3426 men and 3699 women aged 40 or 50 years. Cynical hostility was measured by the 8-item Cynical Distrust Scale. High symptom load was assessed by physiological and mental symptoms experienced within the last 4 weeks. Confounders were age and socioeconomic position, while potential mediators were alcohol consumption, smoking, physical activity, and BMI. RESULTS: Higher cynical hostility was associated with self-reported symptom load. Health behaviors did not seem to mediate this effect. Socioeconomic position was a strong confounder for the effect on both health and health behaviors. After adjustment the effects of hostility on health remained with odds ratios of 2.1 (1.7-2.6) for women and 2.3 (1.8-2.8) for men. CONCLUSION: After adjustment for socioeconomic position, cynical hostility has an effect on self-reported high symptom load, and this effect is not mediated by health behaviors.

Adult↗

Cross-sectional analysis of the relationship between national guideline recommended asthma drug therapy and emergency/hospital use within a managed care population.

BACKGROUND: Nationally recognized clinical guidelines provide recommended therapies for the treatment of asthma. Research demonstrating the impact of guideline recommended drug therapy on utilization [emergency department (ED) and hospitalizations] is beneficial when considering these guidelines for managing asthmatics within a managed care setting. OBJECTIVE: The purpose is to determine the relationship between ED/hospital claims and selected asthma drug therapies as recommended by the National Asthma Education Program Expert Panel and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute/ World Health Organization Workshop. METHODS: The analysis is a retrospective, cross-sectional study within a managed care organization (MCO), serving 359,464 patients in the state of Florida. Asthma patients from all lines of business (Medicaid, Medicare, commercial) were stratified into subgroups based on the type of drug therapy utilized. Members included were those identified as having at least one prescription filled for an asthma medication between January 1, 1995 and June 30, 1995 and at least six consecutive months of enrollment within the health plan. Pharmacy and medical claims data were collected over a 1.5-year study period (January 1, 1995 through June 30, 1996) to assure follow-up on utilization was at a minimum 6 months and maximum 1.5 years. Outcomes were measured based on patient utilization of tertiary medical services (asthma-related ED and hospital visits) through claims. RESULTS: Total membership within the Florida MCO, reflected 359,464 members of whom 5.2% were identified as asthmatic. The asthma members were reviewed based on pharmacy claims data, identifying 26.2% of the members utilizing inhaled corticosteroids concomitantly with a short-acting beta2-agonist. Upon further review of this subset, 85% were utilizing short-acting beta2-agonists in quantities at or below recommended dosages. Patients not utilizing the beta2-agonist therapy according to the recommended dosing guidelines had a significantly higher incidence (P = .001) of ED and hospital use. The remaining asthma population was reviewed, identifying 33.2% of the members utilizing short-acting beta2-agonists alone. This subset revealed 97.6% were utilizing therapy according to the beta2-agonist dosing guidelines. Patients not utilizing the beta2-agonist therapy according to dosing guidelines had a significantly higher incidence (P = .016) of ED and hospital use. CONCLUSION: Assessment of asthma therapy in a managed care population demonstrates that there is a lower proportionate use of the ED and hospital in those patients treated in accordance to the asthma guideline recommendations.

Administration, Inhalation↗

Are GP practice prescribing rates for coronary heart disease drugs equitable? A cross sectional analysis in four primary care trusts in England.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To analyse the associations between proxies of healthcare need and GP practice prescribing rates for five major coronary heart disease (CHD) drug groups. DESIGN: Cross sectional secondary analysis. SETTING: Four primary care trusts (PCTs 1-4) in the north west of England, encompassing 132 GP practices. RESULTS: Prescribing rates were generally positively associated with the percentage of patients aged 55-74 years and PASS-PUs (regionally specific prevalence, age, and sex standardised prescribing units). However, the percentage of patients aged over 75 years showed a lack of association with prescribing rates in all PCTs other than PCT2. Correlations with the proportion of South Asian patients were generally negative, particularly in PCT2, PCT4, and the combined dataset. There was a general lack of association with deprivation proxies and SMRs for CHD, although there were negative associations with both variables in PCT4 and the combined dataset. Scatter plots showed that GP practices with similar prescribing rates had widely differing levels of comparative healthcare need, and GP practices with similar levels of healthcare need had widely differing prescribing rates. CONCLUSION: GP prescribing rates in some PCTs were negatively associated with proxies of healthcare need based on patient age (patients aged over 75 years), ethnicity, levels of deprivation, and SMRs for CHD. As such, this study suggests that prescribing rates in these PCTs may be inequitable as they are not positively associated with healthcare need. This study may form the baseline for further studies to assess the effectiveness of the NSF for CHD in reducing the inequities in prescribing rates.

Age Factors↗

Bed size and system influence on financial structure: a time-series and cross-sectional analysis of California hospitals.

Using California hospitals, this study examines both on a cross-sectional and time-series basis the influence bed size and system affiliation have on financial structure. Specifically, the study classifies these hospitals into eight bed size and system categories ranging from less than 100 bed, free-standing hospitals to over 400 bed, system-affiliated hospitals. Somewhat unexpectedly, the results did show that the total debt ratio for smaller, free-standing hospitals did not differ statistically from larger free-standing and system hospitals. However, smaller system-affiliated hospitals did have higher total and long-term debt ratios than larger, system-affiliated and free-standing hospitals.

Accounts Payable and Receivable↗

Cross-sectional analysis of Met235-->Thr variant of angiotensinogen gene in severe, familial hypertension.

A recent cross-sectional study of HTs in Salt Lake City and Paris has reported a significant association of a T704-->C (Met235-->Thr) variant in exon 2 of the angiotensinogen gene (AGT) with essential hypertension (HT). The present study used a new, direct PCR technique to detect this variant in 92 Caucasians with severe hypertension (HT) and two HT parents and 94 normotensive (NT) controls. Although frequency of the variant in HTs (0.42) was higher than in NTs (0.39), the difference was not significant (chi 2 = 0.24; P = 0.63). Plasma angiotensinogen showed a weak, nonsignificant relationship with AGT genotype in females and no genotypic relationship was apparent for blood pressure. Thus, if the Met235-->Thr variant of AGT is involved in essential HT, then its contribution may be, at best, much weaker in other HT groups.

Alleles↗

A cross-sectional analysis of sagittal knee laxity and isokinetic muscle strength in soccer players.

In this cross-sectional study, sagittal knee laxity and isokinetic strength of knee extensor and flexor muscle groups were measured and differences related to leg dominance were evaluated. A total of 44 healthy male soccer players (who had trained regularly at least for the last five years) and 44 sedentary people as their control counterparts were involved in this study. All participants were tested using a KT-1000 knee arthrometer for knee laxity. Isokinetic concentric knee peak torque and hamstring/quadriceps (H/Q) ratio were also measured at 60, 180, 300 degrees/s through a Cybex 2 - 340 dynamometer. Posterior laxity in the non-dominant side of soccer players was significantly higher than in the dominant side (p < 0.005) while there were no significant anterior and total anteroposterior (total AP) laxity differences in both groups. Soccer players had significantly lower anterior and total AP laxity values than controls (p < 0.0001) while there was no significant difference between posterior laxity values in both sides. Dominant extremity demonstrated significantly higher knee flexor peak torque and H/Q ratio at 180 degrees /s in soccer players (p < 0.05). Similarly in sedentary controls, H/Q ratio at 60 degrees /s of the dominant side was significantly higher than that in the non-dominant side (p < 0.05). Soccer players had significantly higher extensor and flexor peak torque values and H/Q ratios than sedentary subjects for both extremities. In both groups, there were no significant correlations between knee laxity and isokinetic knee extensor and flexor strength and H/Q ratios except weak negative correlation between posterior knee laxity and isokinetic extensor peak torque at 60, 180 and 300 degrees /s (p < 0.005, r = - 0.43, p < 0.05, r = - 0.39, p < 0.05, r = - 0.32 respectively) in the non-dominant side of soccer players and at 300 degrees /s (p < 0.05, r = - 0.32) in the non-dominant side of controls. Soccer players demonstrated significantly less sagittal knee laxity and higher isokinetic strength of the knee flexors and extensors compared to sedentary controls. Isokinetic strength difference was found to be higher for the flexor muscle group. Further prospective studies are needed to explain whether the increased H/Q ratio decreases the risk of ligamentous injury.

Adult↗

A pooled cross-section analysis of the health care expenditures of the OECD countries.

This paper has two purposes. The first, empirical purpose is to estimate and evaluate the effects of aggregate income, institutional and socio-demographic factors on health care expenditures in the OECD countries. The second purpose is methodological, and comprises assessment of temporal instability, the choice of functional form, and misspecification of the estimated relationships. Data compiled over three years (1974, 1980 and 1987) from 19 OECD countries are used in a pooled cross-section regression analysis. Like previous studies, this one concludes that aggregate income measured by Gross Domestic Product per capita is the statistically most important factor in cross-national variation in health care expenditures, and that the aggregate income elasticity exceeds one. However, the data analyzed in this study also show some evidence that public financing of health care services is associated with lower expenditures per capita, and that countries with fee for service as the dominant form of remuneration have higher expenditures. The examined relationships appear to be temporally stable over the three years except for upward shifts, and there is no indication of statistical misspecification. This does not necessarily imply a correct specification, and we do note the presence of measurement errors in some of the variables. Moreover, the selected log-linear functional form appears to be non-optimal according to a likelihood criterion, and is rejected against a quadratic form. Based on the analyses from this study the results do not appear to be sensitive to use of the quadratic form specification.

Europe↗

Migration, age, and education: a cross-sectional analysis of geographic labor mobility in Japan.

"This paper presents some new empirical evidence on the determinants of prefecture-to-city migration in Japan, using a model based on the human capital-search theoretic approach." Several hypotheses relating the rate of migration to age, education, distance moved, and earnings are tested, and the applicability of the theoretical framework to the analysis of labor migration in Japan is evaluated. Data are from the 1970 census and the 1968 Employment Status Survey.

Age Factors↗