Recent Submissions

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    Treatment correlates of successful outcomes in pulmonary multidrug-resistant tuberculosis: An individual patient data meta-analysis
    (Elsevier, 2018-09-08) Ahmad, N; Ahuja, S.D; Akkerman, O.W; Alffenaar, J.C; Anderson, L.F; Baghaei, P; Bang, D; Barry, P.M; Bastos, M.L; Behera, D; Benedetti, A; Bisson, G.P; Boeree, M.J; Bonnet, M; Brode, S.K; Brust, J.C.M; Cai, Y; Caumes, E; Cegielski, J.P; Centis, R; Chan, P.C; Chan, E.D; Chang, K-C; Charles, M; Cirule, A; Dalcolmo, M.P; D'Ambrosio, Lia; de Vries, G; Dheda, K; Esmail, A; Flood, J; Fox, G.J; Fréchet-Jachym, M; Fregona, Geisa; Gayoso, R; Gegia, M; Gler, M.T; Gu, S; Guglielmetti, L; Holtz, T.H; Hughes, J; Isaakidis, P; Jarlsberg, L; Kempker, R.R; Keshavjee, S; Khan, F.A; Kipiani, M; Koenig, S.P; Koh, W.J; Kritski, A; Kuksa, L; Kvasnovsky, C.L; Kwak, N; Lan, Z; Lange, C; Laniado-Laborín, R; Lee, M; Leimane, V; Leung, C-C; Leung, E.C-C; Li, P.Z; Lowenthal, P; Maciel, E.L; Marks, S.M; Mase, S; Mbuagbaw, L; Migliori, G.B; Milanov, V; Miller, A.C; Mitnick, C.D; Modongo, C; Mohr, E; Monedero, I; Nahid, P; Ndjeka, N; O'Donnell, M.R; Padayatchi, N; Palmero, D; Pape, J.W; Podewils, L.J; Reynolds, I; Riekstina, V; Robert, J; Rodriguez, M; Seaworth, B; Seung, K.J; Schnippel, K; Shim, T.S; Singla, R; Smith, S.E; Sotgiu, G; Sukhbaatar, G; Tabarsi, P; Tiberi, S; Trajman, A; Trieu, L; Udwadia, Z.F; van der Werf, T.S; Veziris, N; Viiklepp, P; Vilbrun, S.C; Walsh, K; Westenhouse, J; Yew, W; Yim, J.J; Zetola, N.M; Zignol, M; Menzies, D
    Background: Treatment outcomes for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis remain poor. We aimed to estimate the association of treatment success and death with the use of individual drugs, and the optimal number and duration of treatment with those drugs in patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. Methods: In this individual patient data meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, and the Cochrane Library to identify potentially eligible observational and experimental studies published between Jan 1, 2009, and April 30, 2016. We also searched reference lists from all systematic reviews of treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis published since 2009. To be eligible, studies had to report original results, with end of treatment outcomes (treatment completion [success], failure, or relapse) in cohorts of at least 25 adults (aged >18 years). We used anonymised individual patient data from eligible studies, provided by study investigators, regarding clinical characteristics, treatment, and outcomes. Using propensity score-matched generalised mixed effects logistic, or linear regression, we calculated adjusted odds ratios and adjusted risk differences for success or death during treatment, for specific drugs currently used to treat multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, as well as the number of drugs used and treatment duration. Findings: Of 12 030 patients from 25 countries in 50 studies, 7346 (61%) had treatment success, 1017 (8%) had failure or relapse, and 1729 (14%) died. Compared with failure or relapse, treatment success was positively associated with the use of linezolid (adjusted risk difference 0·15, 95% CI 0·11 to 0·18), levofloxacin (0·15, 0·13 to 0·18), carbapenems (0·14, 0·06 to 0·21), moxifloxacin (0·11, 0·08 to 0·14), bedaquiline (0·10, 0·05 to 0·14), and clofazimine (0·06, 0·01 to 0·10). There was a significant association between reduced mortality and use of linezolid (-0·20, -0·23 to -0·16), levofloxacin (-0·06, -0·09 to -0·04), moxifloxacin (-0·07, -0·10 to -0·04), or bedaquiline (-0·14, -0·19 to -0·10). Compared with regimens without any injectable drug, amikacin provided modest benefits, but kanamycin and capreomycin were associated with worse outcomes. The remaining drugs were associated with slight or no improvements in outcomes. Treatment outcomes were significantly worse for most drugs if they were used despite in-vitro resistance. The optimal number of effective drugs seemed to be five in the initial phase, and four in the continuation phase. In these adjusted analyses, heterogeneity, based on a simulated I2 method, was high for approximately half the estimates for specific drugs, although relatively low for number of drugs and durations analyses. Interpretation: Although inferences are limited by the observational nature of these data, treatment outcomes were significantly better with use of linezolid, later generation fluoroquinolones, bedaquiline, clofazimine, and carbapenems for treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. These findings emphasise the need for trials to ascertain the optimal combination and duration of these drugs for treatment of this condition.
  • Publication
    Integrated analysis of environmental and genetic influences on cord blood DNA methylation in new-borns
    (Springer Nature, 2019-06-11) Czamara, D; Eraslan, G; Page, C.M; Lahti, J; Lahti-Pulkkinen, M; Hämäläinen, E; Kajantie, E; Laivuori, H; Villa, P.M; Reynolds, R.M; Nystad, W; Håberg, S.E; London, S.J; O’Donnell, K.J; Garg, E; Meaney, M.J; Entringer, S; Wadhwa, P.D; Buss, C; Jones, M.J; Lin, D.T.S; MacIsaac, J.L; Kobor, M.S; Koen, N; Zar, H.J; Koenen, K.C; Dalvie, S; Stein, D.J; Kondofersky, I; Müller, N.S; Theis, F.J; Wray, N.R; Ripke, S; Mattheisen, M; Trzaskowski, M; Byrne, E.M; Abdellaoui, A; Adams, M.J; Agerbo, E; Air, T.M; Andlauer, T.F.M; Bacanu, S.A; Bækvad-Hansen, M; Beekman, A.T.F; Bigdeli, T.B; Blackwood, D.H.R; Bryois, J; Buttenschøn, H.N; Bybjerg-Grauholm, J; Cai, N; Castelao, E; Christensen, J.H; Clarke, T.K; Coleman, J.R.I; Colodro-Conde, L; Couvy-Duchesne, B; Craddock, N; Crawford, G.E; Davies, G; Deary, I.J; Degenhardt, F; Derks, E.M; Direk, N; Dolan, C.V; Dunn, E.C; Eley, T.C; Escott-Price, V; Kiadeh, F.F.H; Finucane, H.K; Forstner, A.J; Frank, J; Gaspar, H.A; Gill, M; Goes, F.S; Gordon, S.D; Grove, J; Hall, L.S; Hansen, C.S; Hansen, T.F; Herms, T; Hickie, I.B; Hoffmann, P; Homuth, G; Horn, C; Hottenga, J.J; Hougaard, D.M; Ising, M; Jansen, R; Jorgenson, E; Knowles, J.A; Kohane, I.S; Kraft, J; Kretzschmar, W.W; Krogh, J; Kutalik, Z; Li, Y; Lind, P.A; MacIntyre, D.J; MacKinnon, D.F; Maier, R.M; Maier, W; Marchini, J; Mbarek, H; McGrath, P; McGuffin, P; Medland, S.E; Mehta, D; Middeldorp, C.M; Mihailov, E; Milaneschi, Y; Milani, L; Mondimore, F.M; Montgomery, G.W; Mostafavi, S; Mullins, N; Nauck, M; Ng, B; Nivard, M.G; Nyholt, D.R; O’Reilly, P.F; Oskarsson, H; Owen, M.J; Painter, J.N; Pedersen, C.B; Pedersen, M.G; Peterson, R.E; Pettersson, E; Peyrot, W.J; Pistis, G; Posthuma, D; Quiroz, J.A; Qvist, P; Rice, J.P; Riley, B.P; Rivera, M; Mirza, S.S; Schoevers, R; Schulte, E.C; Shen, L; Shi, J; Shyn, S.I; Sigurdsson, E; Sinnamon, G.C.B; Smit, J.H; Smith, D.J; Stefansson, H; Steinberg, S; Streit, F; Strohmaier, J; Tansey, K.E; Teismann, H; Teumer, A; Thompson, W; Thomson, P.A; Thorgeirsson, T.E; Traylor, M; Treutlein, J; Trubetskoy, V; Uitterlinden, A.G; Umbricht, D; Van der Auwera, S; van Hemert, A.M; Viktorin, A; Visscher, P.M; Wang, Y; Webb, B.T; Weinsheimer, S.M; Wellmann, J; Willemsen, G; Witt, S.H; Wu, Y; Xi, H.S; Yang, J; Zhang, F; Arolt, V; Baune, B.T; Berger, K; Boomsma, D.I; Cichon, S; Dannlowski, U; de Geus, E.J.C; DePaulo, J.R; Domenici, E; Domschke, K; Esko, T; Grabe, H.J; Hamilton, S.P; Hayward, C; Heath, A.C; Kendler, K.S; Kloiber, S; Li, Q.S; Lucae, S; Madden, P.A.F; Magnusson, P.K; Martin, N.G; McIntosh, A.M; Metspalu, A; Mors, O; Mortensen, P.B; Müller-Myhsok, B; Nordentoft, M; Nöthen, M.M; O’Donovan, M.C; Paciga, S.A; Pedersen, N.L; Penninx, B.W.J.H; Perlis, R.H; Porteous, D.J; Potash, J.B; Preisig, M; Rietschel, M; Schaefer, C; Schulze, T.G; Smoller, J.W; Stefansson, K; Tiemeier, H; Uher, R; Völzke, H; Weissman, M.M; Werge, T; Lewis, C.M; Levinson, D.F; Breen, G; Børglum, A.D; Sullivan, P.F; Räikkönen, K; Binder, E.B; Major Depressive Disorder Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium; Nastassja Koen & Dan J Stein: South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), Unit on Risk and Resilience in Mental Disorders, Cape Town, 7505, South Africa
    Epigenetic processes, including DNA methylation (DNAm), are among the mechanisms allowing integration of genetic and environmental factors to shape cellular function. While many studies have investigated either environmental or genetic contributions to DNAm, few have assessed their integrated effects. Here we examine the relative contributions of prenatal environmental factors and genotype on DNA methylation in neonatal blood at variably methylated regions (VMRs) in 4 independent cohorts (overall n = 2365). We use Akaike's information criterion to test which factors best explain variability of methylation in the cohort-specific VMRs: several prenatal environmental factors (E), genotypes in cis (G), or their additive (G + E) or interaction (GxE) effects. Genetic and environmental factors in combination best explain DNAm at the majority of VMRs. The CpGs best explained by either G, G + E or GxE are functionally distinct. The enrichment of genetic variants from GxE models in GWAS for complex disorders supports their importance for disease risk.
  • Publication
    May Measurement Month 2017: An analysis of blood pressure screening results from the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland-Europe
    (Oxford Academic, 2019-04-24) McDonnell, B.J; Keitley, J; Beaney, T; Tay, T; Brady, A.J.B; Padmanabhan, S; Cockcroft, J.R; Dolan, E; Heagerty, A; Greenstein, A; Tomaszewski, M; Schutte, A.E; Poulter, N.R; Cappuccio, F.P; Alta E Schutte: North-West University/Medical Research Council, Potchefstroom, South Africa
    Elevated blood pressure (BP), or hypertension, is a growing burden worldwide, leading to over 10 million deaths each year. May Measurement Month (MMM) is a global initiative aimed at raising awareness of high BP and acting as a stimulus to improving screening programmes worldwide. In the United Kingdom (UK) nearly 1 in 5 people, and in the Republic of Ireland (RoI) 3 out of 10, have hypertension, of which a large proportion remains undiagnosed. An opportunistic cross-sectional survey of volunteers aged ≥18 years was carried out in May 2017. Blood pressure measurement, the definition of hypertension and statistical analysis followed a standardized protocol. Screenings sites in hospitals, universities, shopping centres, workplaces, sports clubs, community centres, GP practices, and pharmacies were set up across the UK and RoI as part of this initiative. Seven thousand seven hundred and fourteen individuals were screened during MMM17. After multiple imputation, 3099 (40.3%) had hypertension. Of individuals not receiving antihypertensive medication, 1406 (23.4%) were hypertensive. Of individuals receiving antihypertensive medication, 682 (40.5%) had uncontrolled BP. MMM17 was the largest BP screening campaign ever undertaken in the UK and RoI. These data prove for the first time that a relatively inexpensive, volunteer based, convenience sampling of screening BP in the community identified two out of five individuals as hypertensive, with one in four not receiving treatment. Of major concern is that these data demonstrate that of those individuals receiving treatment, two out of five still did not have controlled BP.
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    Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma (ARIA) Phase 4 (2018): Change management in allergic rhinitis and asthma multimorbidity using mobile technology
    (Elsevier, 2018-09-29) Bousquet, J; Hellings, P.W; Agache, I; Amat, F; Annesi-Maesano, I; Ansotegui, I.J; Anto, J.M; Bachert, C; Bateman, E.D; Bedbrook, A; Bennoor, K; Bewick, M; Bindslev-Jensen, C; Bosnic-Anticevich, S; Bosse, I; Brozek, J; Brussino, L; Canonica, G.W; Cardona, V; Casale, T; Cepeda Sarabia, A.M; Chavannes, N.H; Cecchi, L; Correia de Sousa, J; Costa, E; Cruz, A.A; Czarlewski, W; De Carlo, G; De Feo, G; Demoly, P; Devillier, P; Dykewicz, M.S; El-Gamal, Y; Eller, E.E; Fonseca, J.A; Fontaine, J.F; Fokkens, W.J; Guzmán, M.A; Haahtela, T; Illario, M; Ivancevich, J.C; Just, J; Kaidashev, I; Khaitov, M; Kalayci, O; Keil, T; Klimek, L; Kowalski, M.L; Kuna, P; Kvedariene, V; Larenas-Linnemann, D; Laune, D; Le, L.T.T; Carlsen, K.L; Lourenço, O; Mahboub, B; Mair, A; Menditto, E; Milenkovic, B; Morais-Almeida, M; Mösges, R; Mullol, J; Murray, R; Naclerio, R; Namazova-Baranova, L; Novellino, E; O'Hehir, R.E; Ohta, K; Okamoto, Y; Okubo, K; Onorato, G.L; Palkonen, S; Panzner, P; Papadopoulos, N.G; Park, H.S; Paulino, E; Pawankar, R; Pfaar, O; Plavec, D; Popov, T.A; Potter, P; Prokopakis, E.P; Rottem, M; Ryan, D; Salimäki, J; Samolinski, B; Sanchez-Borges, M; Schunemann, H.J; Sheikh, A; Sisul, J.C; Rajabian-Söderlund, R; Sooronbaev, T; Stellato, C; To, T; Todo-Bom, A.M; Tomazic, P.V; Toppila-Salmi, S; Valero, A; Valiulis, A; Valovirta, E; Ventura, M.T; Wagenmann, M; Wang, D.Y; Wallace, D; Waserman, S; Wickman, M; Yorgancioglu, A; Zhang, L; Zhong, N; Zidarn, M; Zuberbier, T; Mobile Airways Sentinel Network (MASK) Study Group
    Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma (ARIA) has evolved from a guideline by using the best approach to integrated care pathways using mobile technology in patients with allergic rhinitis (AR) and asthma multimorbidity. The proposed next phase of ARIA is change management, with the aim of providing an active and healthy life to patients with rhinitis and to those with asthma multimorbidity across the lifecycle irrespective of their sex or socioeconomic status to reduce health and social inequities incurred by the disease. ARIA has followed the 8-step model of Kotter to assess and implement the effect of rhinitis on asthma multimorbidity and to propose multimorbid guidelines. A second change management strategy is proposed by ARIA Phase 4 to increase self-medication and shared decision making in rhinitis and asthma multimorbidity. An innovation of ARIA has been the development and validation of information technology evidence-based tools (Mobile Airways Sentinel Network [MASK]) that can inform patient decisions on the basis of a self-care plan proposed by the health care professional.
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    Temporal trends in the epidemiology of cervical cancer in South Africa (1994-2012)
    (Wiley, 2018-08-07) Olorunfemi, G; Ndlovu, N; Masukume, G; Chikandiwa, A; Pisa, P.T; Singh, E
    Cervical cancer (CC) is the leading cause of cancer death among female South Africans (SA). Improved access to reproductive health services following multi-ethnic democracy in 1994, HIV epidemic, and the initiation of CC population-based screening in early 2000s have influenced the epidemiology of CC in SA. We therefore evaluated the trends in CC age-standardised incidence (ASIR) (1994-2009) and mortality rates (ASMR) (2004-2012) using data from the South African National Cancer Registry and the Statistics South Africa, respectively. Five-year relative survival rates and average per cent change (AAPC) stratified by ethnicity and age-groups was determined. The average annual CC cases and mortalities were 4,694 (75,099 cases/16 years) and 2,789 (25,101 deaths/9 years), respectively. The ASIR was 22.1/100,000 in 1994 and 23.3/100,000 in 2009, with an average annual decline in incidence of 0.9% per annum (AAPC = -0.9%, p-value < 0.001). The ASMR decreased slightly by 0.6% per annum from 13.9/100,000 in 2004 to 13.1/100,000 in 2012 (AAPC = -0.6%, p-value < 0.001). In 2012, ASMR was 5.8-fold higher in Blacks than in Whites. The 5-year survival rates were higher in Whites and Indians/Asians (60-80%) than in Blacks and Coloureds (40-50%). The incidence rate increased (AAPC range: 1.1-3.1%, p-value < 0.001) among young women (25-34 years) from 2000 to 2009. Despite interventions, there were minimal changes in overall epidemiology of CC in SA but there were increased CC rates among young women and ethnic disparities in CC burden. A review of the CC national policy and directed CC prevention and treatment are required to positively impact the burden of CC in SA.

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