BACKGROUND We aimed to investigate the effects of sex, prevalent cardiovascular disease (CVD), and aging on the 99th percentile of cardiac troponin I (cTnI). METHODS cTnI was measured using a high-sensitivity assay (Abbott Diagnostics) in 814 community-dwelling individuals at both 70 and 75 years of age. We determined the cTnI 99th percentiles separately using nonparametric methods in the tot...

In many simulation studies the performance of the modeled system is characterized only by mean values of the performance indices. However, the percentiles are more informative in summarizing the performance. Several simultaneous percentiles, presented for example in the form of the boxplot, provide the analyst with better understanding of the system's behaviour. The simultaneous estimation of s...

BACKGROUND Several studies have shown linkage of chromosome 12q 13-24 with atopy related phenotypes. Among candidate genes in this region is STAT6 (signal transducer and activator of transcription), which is essential for Th2 cell differentiation, recruitment, and effector function. METHODS We evaluated six polymorphisms of STAT6 for evidence of associations with serum IgE levels and atopic d...

OBJECTIVE To document growth-velocity changes across major percentiles during the preschool years. DESIGN Analyses of longitudinal data using height-for-age, weight-for-age, weight-for-height, and body mass index (BMI)-for-age percentiles were performed to examine crossing of major percentiles of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2000 growth charts. The 5th, 10th, 25th, 50th, 75t...

OBJECTIVE To examine the associations of upward crossing of major percentiles in weight-for-length in the first 24 months of life with the prevalence of obesity at ages 5 and 10 years. DESIGN Longitudinal study. SETTING Multisite clinical practice. PARTICIPANTS We included 44 622 children aged from 1 month to less than 11 years with 122 214 length/height and weight measurements from Janua...

BACKGROUND The mid-portion of the maximal expiratory flow-volume (MEFV) curve is often described by values of the mean forced expired flow as lung volume decreases from 75% to 25% of vital capacity (ie, forced expiratory flow, midexpiratory phase [FEF(25-75)]). It is common practice to report also forced expired flow at 50% of vital capacity (FEF(50)). STUDY OBJECTIVE To investigate whether F...

We assessed whether a pregnant woman who was born small for gestational age has increased risk of pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH), and whether the same applies to a pregnant partner of a man who was born small for gestational age. We linked generational data from the medical birth registry of Norway (1967-2005). Female and male newborns were identified as parents with 197,716 and 131,959 f...

Percentiles are convenient indices to describe simulation output data. A few percentiles are more informative than the mean and the standard deviation. However, percentiles are very seldom used in practice. The reason has been that percentile estimation is regarded as a cumbersome task. All previously reported methods estimate only a single percentile. In addition, they have been methods of xed...