Previous studies have identified low patient accrual in large-scale cancer clinical trials, particularly for underrepresented groups, such as ethnic minorities, females, and patients >65 years. As there have been few studies examining participation in cancer genetics epidemiologic research, our objective was to identify clinical and demographic factors predicting enrollment in these studies. A ...

Suicidal behavior is a leading cause of injury and death worldwide. Information about the epidemiology of such behavior is important for policy-making and prevention. The authors reviewed government data on suicide and suicidal behavior and conducted a systematic review of studies on the epidemiology of suicide published from 1997 to 2007. The authors' aims were to examine the prevalence of, tr...

In spatial epidemiologic and public health research it is common to use spatially aggregated units such as centroids of postal/zip codes, census tracts, dissemination areas, blocks or block groups as proxies for sample unit locations. Few studies, however, address the potential problems associated with using these units as address proxies. The purpose of this study is to quantify the magnitude ...

In 1994, Altman (1994) startled themedical world by declaring that poor research is as unethical as fraudulent research. His reasoning was simple: both kinds of research mislead which, in turn, harms patients. A decade later, others (von Elm and Egger, 2004) found that the problem had persisted. With the growing indiscriminate use of administrative databases for epidemiologic research (Grimes, ...

BACKGROUND The huge increase in smartphone use heralds an enormous opportunity for epidemiology research, but there is limited evidence regarding long-term engagement and attrition in mobile health (mHealth) studies. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to examine how representative the Cloudy with a Chance of Pain study population is of wider chronic-pain populations and to explore patt...

Hypothesis / aims of study Several risk factors for developing urinary incontinence in women have been identified as the result of intensive epidemiologic research. These factors can be classified as: constitutional, urogynecologic, neurologic, and behavioral. Toileting behaviors have been implicated in affecting women’s bladder health. However, the effects of toileting behaviors on bladder hea...

The fifth edition of the World Health Organization (WHO) manual for semen analysis includes for the first time reference values for human semen characteristics. This paper considers whether such values will help to resolve the intensely debated data indicating temporal and geographical shifts in sperm counts and hypotheses that anthropogenic activities that result in the release of chemicals in...

Erectile dysfunction (ED) can have a strong negative effect on the well-being and quality of life of the sufferer. Many factors may contribute to the development of this disorder; age in particular and also concomitant chronic illnesses including neurological, hormonal, arterial and cavernosal factors. An understanding of the prevalence and characteristics of risk factors for ED is required, in...

INTRODUCTION the incidence of colorectal cancer is one of the highest on a global level. Many epidemiological studies have identified risk and protective factors, many of which have a behavioral component and, therefore, are potentially avoidable or subject to modification. This study investigated the incidence rates of colorectal cancer by gender in twenty different countries, taking into acco...

Background. Describing the frequency, severity, and causes of sports injuries and illnesses reliably is important for quantifying the risk to athletes and providing direction for prevention initiatives. Methods. Time-loss and/or medical-attention definitions have long been used in sports injury/illness epidemiology research, but the limitations to these definitions mean that some events are inc...