1Department of Computer Science and Information Engineering, National Taitung University, Taitung City 950, Taiwan 2National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, 8600 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20894, USA 3Department of Computer Science and Information Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan 4Department of Medical Informatics, Tzu Chi Uni...

OBJECTIVE Based on emerging preclinical findings suggesting that paternal smoking at conception may be a risk for ADHD in the offspring, we investigated whether a similar effect can be observed in humans. METHOD We analyzed data from an opportunistic dataset of girl probands with ( N = 140) and without ( N = 122) ADHD with available information on paternal smoking at conception. Data were ana...

INTRODUCTION Hospital readmissions are associated with increased healthcare expenses and with higher hospital fatality rates. We aim to characterize unplanned hospital readmissions occurred within 30 days after discharge, according to its Major Diagnosis Category, hospital type and location, and patients' demographic attributes. We also intend to estimate the hospital fatality rates associated ...

The goal of small area analysis is often to demonstrate that hospital admission rates or procedure rates vary greatly among regions, suggesting the occurrence of unnecessary admissions or procedures in some regions. Recent articles have shown that such variation may be largely due to chance, even if no underlying differences exist among the small areas; thus, it is important to test if the obse...

BACKGROUND Much research has been conducted into the determinants of physical activity (PA) participation among adolescent girls. However, the more specific question of what are the determinants of particular forms of PA participation, such as the link between participation through a sports club, has not been investigated. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to investigate the relationships ...

PURPOSE Little has been reported from population-based surveys on the characteristics of transgender persons living with HIV. Using Medical Monitoring Project (MMP) data, we describe the characteristics of HIV-infected transgender women and examine their care and treatment needs. METHODS We used combined data from the 2009 to 2011 cycles of MMP, an HIV surveillance system designed to produce ...

BACKGROUND To establish prevalence, risk factors, and impact of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) among farmers in Ireland. METHODS In summer 2009, a questionnaire was appended to the Teagasc (Irish Agricultural and Food Development Authority) National Farm Survey (n = 1,110) to obtain data on the prevalence, risk factors and impact of WMSDs amongst farm operators in Ireland. Dat...

BACKGROUND Inadequate levels of immunization against childhood diseases remain a significant public health problem in resource-poor areas of the globe. Nonetheless, the reasons for incomplete vaccination and non-uptake of immunization services are poorly understood. This study aimed at finding out the reasons for non-vaccination and the magnitude of missed opportunities for vaccination in child...

AIM The aim of this study was to evaluate levels of public awareness and knowledge about early signs and risk factors of oral cancer among a group of dental patients in Turkey. METHODS AND MATERIALS This study included 1022 participants. Sociodemographic information of patients was obtained. A questionnaire about awareness and knowledge of oral cancer and early signs and risk factors related ...

BACKGROUND In southern Israel, a discrepancy between a relatively high prevalence of Group B streptococcus maternal carriage (12.3%) and a very low incidence of neonatal disease (0.1/1,000 live births) has been found despite the fact that no preventive strategy has been implemented. OBJECTIVES To determine the risk factors for maternal carriage in order to clarify this discrepancy and further...