Cross Section

BACKGROUND: Epilepsy frequently accompanies Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). Notably, people with temporal lobe epilepsy and hippocampal sclerosis may face an increased susceptibility to MDD, as evidence indicates the involvement of the limbic system in the development of emotional symptoms. OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence and predictors of depression in temporal lobe epilepsy with hippocampal sclerosis (TLE-HS) and compare them to those of other epilepsy types...

AIMS: To develop and validate equations predicting heart rate (HR) at the first and second ventilatory thresholds (VTs) and an optimized range-adjusted prescription for patients with cardiometabolic disease (CMD). To compare their performance against guideline-based exercise intensity domains. METHODS: Cross-sectional study involving 2,868 CMD patients from nine countries. HR predictive equations for first and second VTs (VT1, VT2) were developed using multivariate linear regression with 975 cycle-ergometer cardiopulmonary exercise tests (CPET)...

BACKGROUND: Increasingly, people smoke cigarettes outdoors and avoid exposing bystanders to harm. People may not have the same motivation to vape outdoors since e-cigarettes, unlike cigarettes, do not create side stream emissions and exhaled aerosol contains fewer toxicants than secondhand smoke. This study aims to estimate the prevalence and correlates of vaping and smoking indoors among adults in England. METHODS: Data came from the Health Survey for England 2019, a cross-sectional household survey...

INTRODUCTION: Tuberculosis remains one of the top ten causes of mortality globally. Children accounted for 12% of all TB cases and 18% of all TB deaths in 2022. Paediatric TB is difficult to diagnose with conventional laboratory tests, and chest radiographs remain crucial. However, in low-and middle-income countries with high TB burden, the capacity for radiological diagnosis of paediatric TB is rarely documented and data on the associated radiation exposure limited. METHODS: A multicentre, mixed-methods study is proposed in three countries, Mozambique, South Africa and Spain...

Inadequate health literacy is a risk factor for poor health outcomes and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). So far, the impact of health literacy on HRQoL has been examined for only a few chronic conditions. In this contribution, the relationship between health literacy and HRQoL in Korean adults with chronic conditions is examined using data of the cross-sectional Korea Health Panel Survey from 2021. Health literacy was measured with the 16-item European Health Literacy Survey Questionnaire (HLS-EU-Q16) and HRQoL with the European Quality of Life-5 Dimensions (EQ-5D)...

INTRODUCTION: The COVID-19 pandemic has become a significant health crisis, marked by high mortality rates on a global scale, with mortality from the disease being notably concentrated among the elderly due to various factors. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to investigate the biological and non-biological factors associated with COVID-19 mortality rates among the elderly worldwide. METHODS: The following databases will be consulted: PubMed, Scopus, EMBASE, Web of Science and ScienceDirect...

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the baseline to measure one of the three indicators of the World Health Organization (WHO) End TB strategy (2015-2035), measure the costs incurred by patients affected by tuberculosis (TB) during a treatment episode and estimate the proportion of households facing catastrophic costs (CC) and associated risk factors, in Colombia, 2021. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A nationally representative cross-sectional survey was conducted among participants on TB treatment in Colombia, using telephone interviews due to the exceptional context of the COVID-19 pandemic...

BACKGROUND: Professional licensing bodies are valuable sources for tracking the health workforce, as many skilled health-care providers require formal training, registration, and licensure. Regulatory activities in Ethiopia were not effectively implemented due to poor follow-up and gaps in skilled human resources, budget, and information technology infrastructure. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to explore and describe the lived experiences and challenges faced by health care managers in health professionals' licensure practices in Ethiopia...

Self-reported weight and height serve as important metrics in estimating overweight and obesity prevalence within epidemiological studies, primarily due to their cost and time efficiency. However, the accuracy and reliability of these self-reported measures remain controversial, with conflicting reports emerging from different regions. This study aims to compare self-reported weight and height with measured values among young female adults in the United Arab Emirates. A cross-sectional study of 131 female university students aged 17-27 reported their weight and height on a self-administered questionnaire and on the same day had their height and weight measured...

INTRODUCTION: The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemics negatively affected the delivery of dental care. The study objective was to assess the knowledge of emergency dental treatments, the transmission routes of COVID-19 in the dental settings, necessary precautions to prevent disease transmission, and the associations between demographic factors and the mentioned domains among Iranian dental patients. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in October 2021...

This study investigates the well-being effect of international migration and remittance on human and gender development in selected South Asian countries. The study has adopted panel regression analysis using secondary data from the World Development Indicators and United Nations Development Programme. This database contains information on seven South Asian countries from 1995 to 2020. The study simultaneously applied the Levin-Lin-Chu, Breitung and IM-Pesaran unit root tests to check the stationarity of data...

BACKGROUND: We analyzed the prevalence of active infection with common curable sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including N. gonorrhea, C. trachomatis, T. vaginalis, and T. pallidum, as well as active infection with HPV, herpes simplex virus types I (HSV-1) and II (HSV-2), M. hominis, M. genitalium, C. albicans, and Ureaplasma in 351 Lebanese women. METHODS: A cross-sectional study, involving 351 sexually active women, 40 years or younger, who were recruited from outpatient Obstetrics and Gynecology clinic attendees between September 2016 and November 2017...

BACKGROUND: Over recent years, cervical cancer incidence and related mortality have steadily increased in Eswatini. Low cervical cancer screening uptake partly explains the situation. Cervical cancer screening-related knowledge is positively associated with screening uptake. Little is known about women's cervical cancer screening-related knowledge in Eswatini. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess cervical cancer screening knowledge and associated factors among Eswatini women eligible for screening...

BACKGROUND: Overweight/obesity is one of the major public health problems that affect both developed and developing nations. The co-occurrence of overweight/obesity and anemia is thought to be largely preventable if detected early. To date, no spatial analyses have been performed to identify areas of hotspots for the co-occurrence of overweight/obesity and anemia among reproductive women in sub-Saharan Africa. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the spatial distribution and associated factors of the co-occurrence of overweight/obesity and anemia among women of reproductive age...

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this national, multicenter, cross-sectional, retrospective chart review study was to determine the proportion of patients in Turkey who received hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment after receiving positive anti-HCV results during HCV screening. METHODOLOGY: Data related to patients' demographics, laboratory results, time interval from obtaining a positive anti-HCV result to treatment initiation, specialty of the physician requesting anti-HCV screening, and type of hospital were analyzed...

INTRODUCTION: Prevalence of antibiotic resistance (AR) during the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic was higher than pre-pandemic times. This study determined the prevalence and patterns of AR among Gram-positive and negative bacteria before, during and after COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia and identified the associated factors. METHODOLOGY: A retrospective cross-sectional study was employed to identify patients with positive AR bacteria between March 2019 and March 2022...

INTRODUCTION: Tubercular meningitis (TBM) is a serious public health problem in developing countries as it leads to significant mortality and residual neurological sequelae. The estimated mortality due to TBM in India is 1.5 per 100,000 population. In resource-limited settings, only the Ziehl-Neelsen (ZN) stain, which has very little sensitivity, is available. The World Health Organization recommended the Loop Mediated Isothermal Amplification (TB LAMP) assay for pulmonary tuberculosis only...

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this study is to assess the levels of knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) related to TB, and to analyze the differences among various demographic groups. METHODOLOGY: A total of 621 students enrolled in Qingdao High School, coming from high TB burden settings. The cross-sectional study was conducted from May to July of 2022. Participants completed an online questionnaire. Differences in knowledge and practice based on participant characteristics were analyzed using the Wilcoxon rank test and Kruskal-Wallis rank test...

INTRODUCTION: Congenital syphilis (CS) has severe adverse outcomes, including abortion and death. Diagnosis of CS in asymptomatic newborns remains difficult. This study aims to evaluate an in-house polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and blood samples (BS) to identify T. pallidum DNA in newborns. METHODOLOGY: We performed an exploratory cross-sectional study that included newborns exposed to syphilis during pregnancy (SEG) and non-exposed (SNEG) newborns, between 2019 and 2020...

BACKGROUND: The cervix is the lower portion of the uterus, which connects this organ to the vagina through the endocervical canal. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine the histopathologic patterns and factors associated with cervical lesions at Jimma Medical Center from September 12, 2017, to September 12, 2019. METHODS: A 2-year facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted from May 1 to June 30, 2020. RESULT: In this study, cervical cancer was the most common (71%) cause of cervical lesions...