Systematic Analysis of Factors Associated with Late Breast Cancer Screening in Women in Sub-Saharan Africa from 2014 to 2020

Research background: Breast cancer remains a major public health problem, with a high number of new cases and deaths each year. However, despite advances in research to improve this disease, there is a high rate of late detection, leading to diagnosis at an advanced stage and a reduced chance of survival. Objective: The aim of this study is to identify the factors associated with late detection of breast cancer in women in Sub-Saharan Africa from 2014 to 2020.Setting: This systematic review focuses on sub-Saharan Africa. Methods: We searched for articles in four databases (PubMed, Embase, Global-Health and CINAHL) between 2014 and 2020 and performed a narrative synthesis to organize and group the different factors associated with late breast cancer detection. Result: After reviewing 583 publications, 6 studies were selected, highlighting factors such as lack of awareness, knowledge gaps, difficulties in accessing health services and financial constraints associated with late breast cancer screening. The participants, who ranged in number from 20 to 1776, were mainly aged between 18 and 25, with a mean age of 25 years and 6 months. Conclusion: The analysis enabled us to identify various factors associated with late breast cancer screening. Collaboration between health professionals, community organizations and policy-makers is essential to foster an environment conducive to the prevention and early detection of breast cancer.

Socio-Demographic and Economic Factors Associated with Uptake of COVID-19 Vaccine among Pregnant Women at Pumwani Maternity Hospital in Nairobi County, Kenya

Introduction: Pregnant women are a highly vulnerable population for COVID-19 with increased risk of hospitalization, intensive-care unit admission, invasive ventilation support, and mortality. Objective: This study determined the socio-demographic and economic factors associated with the uptake of COVID-19 vaccine among pregnant women utilizing antenatal care services in Pumwani Maternity Hospital, Nairobi County-Kenya. Methods: The study was carried out from 15 June to 23 July 2023. Systematic sampling was used to select 302 women from whom data was collected through face-to-face interviews using a pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire. Data was analyzed using SPSS software in which bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were done at a significance level of p Results: A total of 302 pregnant women participated in the study. Of these, 105 (34.8%) were aged between twenty-six (26) and thirty (30) years. The mean age of the women was 28.60 ± (SD = 5.297). The uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine was 41.1%. The common side effects reported to be associated with the vaccines were fever, headache, joint pain, vomiting and skin rash. Uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine was significantly associated with being married (AOR = 3.65, 95% CI: 0.62 - 1.80, p = 0.001), having a secondary level of education (AOR = 3.78, 95% CI: 0.99 - 2.88, p = 0.001) and being employed (COR = 2.66, 95% CI: 1.31 - 3.06, p = 0.001). Conclusion: COVID-19 vaccination uptake remains low among pregnant women in seeking ANC in Nairobi. The individual factors associated with the uptake of COVID-19 vaccine among pregnant Women at Pumwani maternity hospital in Nairobi County were being married, having secondary level of education and being employed. Integration of the COVID-19 vaccine with other routine vaccinations as per the national immunization program in Kenya and the enhancement of education regarding the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine in pregnancy and breastfeeding and economic empowerment of women are recommended.

Strengthening Active Aging through Older People’s Association and Economic Activity of the Older People in Nepal

Aging is a natural lifelong process ending in death. Many older people are living in poverty. Older people are generally considered dependent on others as they grow older. The purpose of this article is to explore the entrepreneurship activities of Nepalese older adults. Data for this study were collected from the project Help Age International (HAI) implemented in Nepal. Qualitative data observations and interviews were used to collect data. The findings of this study show the formation of the Older People’s Association (OPA) has supported many older people to participate outside the home in various social activities. Moreover, regular deposits through OPAs offer little help. OPAs support older people in their need of financial support to implement minor entrepreneurship. Older people who received support were pleased and were actively involved in their activities and also regularly deposited money in them. Subsequently, older people’s participation in social activities has increased and also helped to lower elderly abuse, loneliness, and depression. Local governments should promote such activities which will help with healthy aging.

Genetic association of rs7754840 and rs7756992 polymorphisms in the CDKAL1 gene and gestational diabetes mellitus in selected Filipino pregnant women

Objective:To investigate the possible association between rs7754840 and rs7756992 polymorphisms of CDKAL1 gene and susceptibility to gestational diabetes mellitus(GDM)in a Filipino pregnant population.Methods:A total of 101 patients with GDM and 99 women without GDM were included.Two CDKAL1 gene single nucleotide polymorphisms(SNPs),namely rs7754840 and rs7756992,were genotyped by using TaqMan allelic discrimination assays.Mann-Whitney U test,median and interquartile range were used to describe physical and biochemical characteristics.The differences in the genotype and allele distribution of the target genetic variants among the two groups of participants were assessed by using Chi-square test.Conformity to Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium was tested prior to conducting further analysis.Multiple logistic regression model was used to investigate the effects of the genotype models on GDM development.Results:There was no observed correlation between the genotypes of the rs7754840 SNP and oral glucose tolerance test parameters.Consequently,there was no significant association between genetic models of the rs7754840 SNP and GDM risk(additive OR 1.43,95%CI 0.82-2.50,P=0.21;dominant OR 1.21,95%CI 0.57-2.59,P=0.62;recessive OR 1.63,95%CI 0.86-3.09,P=0.13).Conclusions:The results of this study suggest no association between CDKAL1 gene variant rs7754840 and GDM development in Filipino pregnant women.Further studies with a larger population should be performed to validate our findings.

Association of Bisphenol A Exposure with Circulating Sex Hormone Concentrations in Men and Postmenopausal Women

A total of 1 116 middle-aged and elderly men and 1 442 postmenopausal women were recruited in this study. Whether bisphenol A exposure was associated with circulating sex hormone concentrations was studied. Univariate analysis revealed that the urinary bisphenol A concentration was negatively correlated with the serum levels of luteinizing hormone （B=-0.061, P〈0.0001） and follicle-stimulating hormone （B=-0.086, P〈0.0001） in men, and with the serum levels of follicle-stimulating hormone （B=-0.037, P=0.018） and sex hormone-binding globulin （B=-0.043, P=0.006） in women. However, no significant association was observed between the serum levels of urinary bisphenol A and circulating sex hormone after adjustment for the potential confounders.

Women’s empowerment and food consumption:Evidence from female-headed households in Tanzania

Despite the growing recognition of women’s increasing role in the household and corresponding empowerment programs in sub-Saharan Africa,intensive research on the relationship between women’s influence and household food consumption is minimal.Using the most recent(2017-2018)national household survey data from Tanzania,this study examined the influence of women’s empowerment on household food consumption.First,we compared the monthly consumption of eight food categories between female-headed households(FHHs)and male-headed households(MHHs)using both descriptive statistics and the propensity score matching(PSM)method.Furthermore,we adopted the two-stage Linear Expenditure System and Almost Ideal Demand System model(LES-AIDS)to estimate income and price elasticities for the two household types.The results show that FHHs consume bread and cereals,fish,oils and fats,vegetables,and confectionery(sugar,jam,honey,chocolate,etc.)more than MHHs.Moreover,FHHs have a significantly higher income elasticity of demand for all food groups than MHHs.They are also more price elastic than MHHs in meat,fish,oils,fats,sugar,jam,honey,chocolate,etc.

Macrophage migration inhibitory factor gene polymorphisms in inflammatory bowel disease: An association study in New Zealand Caucasians and meta-analysis

AIM:To investigate the association of macrophage migration inhibitory factor(MIF)promoter polymorphisms with inflammatory bowel disease(IBD)risk.METHODS:One thousand and six New Zealand Caucasian cases and 540 Caucasian controls were genotyped for the MIF SNP-173G>C(rs755622)and the repeat polymorphism CATT5-8(rs5844572)using a predesigned TaqMan SNP assay and capillary electrophoresis,respectively.Data were analysed for single site and haplotype association with IBD risk and phenotype.Meta-analysis was employed,to assess cumulative evidence of association of MIF-173G>C with IBD.All published genotype data for MIF-173G>C in IBD were identified using PubMed and subsequently searching the references of all PubMed-identified studies.Imputed genotypes for MIF-173G>C were generated from the Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium(and National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases).Separate meta-analyses were performed on Caucasian Crohn’s disease(CD)(3863 patients,6031controls),Caucasian ulcerative colitis(UC)(1260 patients,1987 controls),and East Asian UC(416 patients and 789 controls)datasets using the Mantel-Haenszel method.The New Zealand dataset had 93%power,and the meta-analyses had 100%power to detect an effect size of OR=1.40 atα=0.05,respectively.RESULTS:In our New Zealand dataset,single-site analysis found no evidence of association of MIF polymorphisms with overall risk of CD,UC,and IBD or disease phenotype(all P values>0.05).Haplotype analysis found the CATT5/-173C haplotype occurred at a higher frequency in New Zealand controls compared to IBD patients(0.6 vs 0.01;P=0.03,OR=0.22;95%CI:0.05-0.99),but this association did not survive bonferroni correction.Meta-analysis of our New Zealand MIF-173G>C data with data from seven additional Caucasian datasets using a random effects model found no association of MIF polymorphisms with CD,UC,or overall IBD.Similarly,meta-analysis of all published MIF-173G>C data from East Asian datasets(416UC patients,789 controls)found no association of this promoter polymorphism with UC.

Association of (S)-Isoserine Derivatives and 2,2,4-Trimethyl-3-hydroxy-4-cyclohexenecarboxylate

Two novel compounds（4a and 4b） were obtained by the association of 2,2,4-trimethyl-3-hydroxy-5-cyclohexenecarboxylate with （S） -isoserine derivatives. The space location of the hydroxyl group of compound 1 was identified via the formation of lactone 6. Fe2 （SO4）3·xH2O was used as the catalyst for the synthesis of lactone 6. The carboxyl group was selectively protected with diazomethane. All the products were characterized via ^1H NMR and mass spectra. The Docking study showed that the associations have the potential therapeutic use of DPP-Ⅳ inhibitor.

Expert panel’s guideline on cervicogenic headache:The Chinese Association for the Study of Pain recommendation

Cervicogenic headache(CEH)has been recognized as a unique category of headache that can be difficult to diagnose and treat.In China,CEH patients are managed by many different specialties,and the treatment plans remain controversial.Therefore,there is a great need for comprehensive evidence-based Chinese experts’recommendations for the management of CEH.The Chinese Association for the Study of Pain asked an expert panel to develop recommendations for a series of questions that are essential for daily clinical management of patients with CEH.A group of multidisciplinary Chinese Association for the Study of Pain experts identified the clinically relevant topics in CEH.A systematic review of the literature was performed,and evidence supporting the benefits and harms for the management of CEH was summarized.Twenty-four recommendations were finally developed through expert consensus voting for evidence quality and recommendation strength.We hope this guideline provides direction for clinicians and patients making treatment decisions for the management of CEH.

Post electrical or lightning injury syndrome: a proposal for an American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual formulation with implications for treatment

In the past, victims of electrical and lightning injuries have been assessed in a manner lacking a system- atic formulation, and against ad hoc criteria, particularly in the area of neuropsychological disability. In this manner patients have, for example, only been partially treated, been poorly or incorrectly diagnosed, and have been denied the full benefit of compensation for their injuries. This paper contains a proposal for diagnostic criteria particularly for the neuropsychological aspects of the post injury syndrome. It pays attention to widely published consistent descriptions of the syndrome, and a new cluster analysis of post electrical injury patients. It formulates a proposal which could be incorporated into future editions of the American Psychiatric Association＇s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual （DSM）. The major neuropsycholog- ical consequences include neurocognitive dysfunction, and memory subgroup dysfunction, with ongoing consequences, and sometimes including progressive or delayed psychiatric, cognitive, and/or neurological symptoms. The proposed diagnostic criteria insist on a demonstrated context for the injury, both specifying the shock circumstance, and also physical consequences. It allows for a certain delay in onset of symptoms. It recognizes exclusory conditions. The outcome is a proposal for a DSM classification for the post electrical or lightning injury syndrome. This proposal is considered important for grounding patient treatment, and for further treatment trials. Options for treatment in electrical or lightning injury are summarised, and future trials are foreshadowed.

Prevalence and Factors Associated with Anaemia among Pregnant Women Attending Antenatal Clinic in the Second and Third Trimesters at Pumwani Maternity Hospital, Kenya

Background: Anaemia is one of the most common nutritional deficiency diseases observed globally and affects more than a quarter of the world’s population. Globally, 41.8% pregnant women and close to one third of non-pregnant women (30.2%) are anaemic. Anaemia during pregnancy contributes to 20% of all maternal deaths and it increases the risks of foetal, neonatal and overall infant mortality. In Kenya, according to the Ministry of Health, the prevalence of anaemia among pregnant women is 55.1%. Objective: To determine the prevalence and associated factors of anaemia among pregnant women attending antenatal clinic (ANC) at Pumwani Maternity Hospital (PMH). Methodology: A hospital based cross-sectional study design was conducted from 8th June to 18th August, 2015. Systematic random sampling method was used to select 258 pregnant women. Mothers who attended ANC during the study period and who met the inclusion criteria were interviewed and a capillary blood sample was taken. Hemoglobin level was determined by using HemoCue photometer. Data were cleaned, coded and fed into SPSS Version 20.0 for analysis. Descriptive statistics such as frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation were used to describe selected variables. Pearson’s chi-square test and odds ratio (OR) with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) computed to find association between independent and dependent variables. Multivariate analysis was done to determine factors significantly and independently predicting anaemia during pregnancy. Results: The present study revealed that the prevalence of anaemia among the pregnant women was 57%. Advanced maternal age (>31 years) (AOR = 2.71;95% CI = 1.25 - 5.88;P = 0.012) more than 18 - 24 years, government/private employed women (AOR = 2.94;95% CI = 1.47 - 5.88;P = 0.002) and self-employed women (AOR = 1.91;95% CI = 1.03 - 3.53;P = 0.039) compared to housewives, not taking iron/folic acid supplementation (IFAS) (AOR = 2.04; 95% CI = 1.14 - 3.64;P = 0.016) and mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) less than 23 cm (AOR = 2.52;95% CI = 1.36 - 4.67;P = 0.003) were found to be predictors of anaemia. Conclusion: Anaemia among pregnant women is found to be severe public health problem based on the World Health Organization classification of anaemia. Advanced age, employment, not taking IFAS during the current pregnancy and MUAC of less than 23 cm were significantly and independently associated with anaemia during pregnancy. Thus, special attention should be given to pregnant women who are employed and advanced in age. Moreover, they should be educated on the importance of taking iron and folic acid during pregnancy.

The Three Principles of Institutional Safeguards for Women's Participation in Legislation in China

The participation of women in legislation is an important aspect and means of safeguarding women’s rights.Feminist theory,based on criticism of both the“citizenship identity theory as rights”and the“citizenship identity theory as responsibilities,”proposes the“citizenship identity theory as subjectivity.”Observing the current practice of women’s participation in legislation in China,two institutional safeguard principles can be summarized:the“minimum proportion”and the“influence evaluation.”However,each of these principles has its inherent limitations.Therefore,it is necessary to supplement them with the principle of“subjective participation”in a reflective manner.This principle requires women to participate substantively in the legislative process as subjects,express women’s needs and demands,input women’s perspectives and experiences,and reconstruct the distribution of rights and responsibilities in the existing legislation.The three principles complement each other and work together to comprehensively constitute the institutional structure of women’s participation in legislation,thereby promoting the reproduction of corresponding action structures.

Women’s Motivation and Associated Factors for Herbal Medicine Use during Pregnancy and Childbirth: A Systematic Review

Background: Herbal medicines use has prevailed over the past decades in both low-middle-income and high-income countries over the years. The use among women has increased with increased risks of ill-health. There is extensive literature on herbal medicine use among women in pre/pregnancy, labour, and the postpartum periods. Therefore, this study aimed to understand women’s purposes, experiences, and motivation for using herbal medicines during pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum, and the experiences associated with the use. Methods: Four critical databases were predetermined and searched: CINAHL, Medline, Web of Science, and EMBASE. These databases were chosen for their comprehensiveness and relevance to the review aims. We considered peer-reviewed published articles from January 2000 to December 2018. We chose these databases because we found that they are dominant in the medical and healthcare-related literature. All references were pooled to Endnote reference management software for screening. Quality appraisal of articles was conducted using the Mixed-Method Assessment Tool (MMAT). Content analysis approach was used to extra the data from the articles. Globally, twenty-one articles met the inclusion criteria, and thus, formed the dataset for this review. Results: Most articles (n = 10, 47.6%) reported solely HM uses on only pregnancy whiles the rest evaluated HM uses in labour, pre-pregnancy, and the postpartum periods. The results have shown that the majority of women received information about HM from friends, family, the “black markets,” and drug outlets. Overall, the results were presented in seven broad themes: 1) sociodemographic characteristics of HM users, 2) perceived threat of health problem, 3) sources and quality of the information received, 4) susceptibility to health complications, 5) potential limitations to the use of HM, 6) the motivation for HM utilization, 7) concerns on the combined use of herbal and allopathic medicines. Conclusion: The study recommends the further research into the toxicity of herbal products, to ensure that accurate information can be provided to women before use.

A Historical Review of the Development of Women’s Higher Education in China (1908-2020): Stages, Explanations, and Trends

The development of women’s higher education in China can be divided into four stages:emergence(1908-1948);foundation(1949-1976);accelerating development(1977-2008);and the qualitative leap(2009-2020).This work considers the principal institutional mechanisms that contributed to this development.First,flexibly planned parenthood gradually promoted gender equality and openness in society facilitated by systematic“awards,grants,and loans”initiatives to support women’s higher education economically.Second,compulsory education ensured that left-out and migrant children had access to higher education.Third,effective connectivity across different education types bridged education gaps between those with different levels of education.Fourth,China made great efforts to invite and integrate international experiences that promoted the development of women’s higher education.Looking beyond these achievements,we also discuss the future trends of women’s higher education in China.

Review of Factors Associated with Depression among Pregnant Women during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Purpose: This purpose of the study was to investigate the factors both risk and protective associated with depression among pregnant women during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Methods: A literature search was conducted on July 2022, through PubMed, CINAHL, MEDLINE, CiNii, and the Japan Medical Abstract Society databases, with the keywords “COVID-19”, “pregnant women”, and “depression”. The titles/abstracts were screened based on three selection criteria: 1) inclusion of pregnant women;2) description of depression;and 3) description of the factors associated with depression among pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: Of the 213 articles extracted, 104 were excluded owing to duplication, and 14 were excluded because they comprised other article types, including reviews and commentaries. Finally, 40 were excluded by title, abstract, and full-text screening. Among the 45 articles for a total of 59,329 pregnant women that met the inclusion criteria, the risk factors were “distress from COVID-19-related experiences”, “reduced/low income”, “unemployment”, “anxiety”, “history of mental illness”, “lack of social support”, and “reduced/no exercise”. The protective factors “greater/increased social support”, “higher education level”, “higher resilience”, and “healthy lifestyle behaviors” were much less frequently reported than risk factors, and none were reported to be relevant for Japanese pregnant women. Conclusion: The findings indicate that preventive interventions should begin during pregnancy with a focus on these risk factors. In addition, the protective factors need to be strengthened. Further research is required to identify the protective factors associated with depression among Japanese pregnant women.

Factors Associated with the Use of Modern Contraceptive Methods by Women of Childbearing Age in Parakou in 2017

As in other countries of West Africa, Benin has a low rate of MCM utilization. The factors which lead to this low rate of use vary from one country to another. Purpose: The purpose of this work was to determine the factors associated with the use of modern contraceptive method (MCM) by women of childbearing age (WCBA) in Parakou in 2017. Materials and Methods: It was a cross-sectional and descriptive study with an analytical purpose among WCBA selected in households of the municipality of Parakou after a 2-degree cluster survey. Results: The WCBA’s average age was 29 ± 5.6 years old with extremes of 15 and 46 years. The modern contraceptive prevalence was 14.74%. Among WCBA, 57.14% had an average level of knowledge. The media were the main source of information (75.84%). Among them 34.39% never discussed the matter with their spouse;the latter were not in favor of contraception. The educational level, the perception of woman, the spouse’s favorable opinion, the discussion with the spouse, the level of knowledge of MCM and the knowledge of the existence of FP service were significantly associated with the use of MCM with p = 0.0000 after multivariate analysis. Conclusion: The level of MCM use still remains low. Any effort to increase the modern contraceptive prevalence should take into account its associated factors in order to optimize the use of MCM in the municipality of Parakou in 2017.

Genetic association of Parkinson's disease

Totally three articles regarding associations of Nurrl gene mutations, LRRK2 gene polymorphism sites $1647T and R1398H, and polymorphism of PARK2 gene mutations with Han Chinese patients with Parkinson＇s disease were published in Neural Regeneration Research. We hope that our readers find these papers useful to their research.

THE STUDY ON RISK FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH BREAST CANCER AMONG WOMEN IN TIANJIN, CHINA AND ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA

To explore the possible explanation of the marked difference in the incidence of breast cancer between Chinese and Australian women, the authors have compared and analysed the results of two case-control studies completed recently in Tianjin, China and Adelaide, Australia. Of 10 known risk factors for breast cancer 9 were significantly higher in level in Adelaide women than in Tianjin women, i.e., women in Adelaide were much taller, heavier, more obese, earlier at menarche, later at first full-term pregnancy, more nulliparous, less parity, more in history of breast cancer in first degree relatives, more educated. From the 7 risk factors analysed by use of logistic regression model 5 factors, i.e., earlier age at menarche, later age at first full-term pregnancy, less parity, history of benign disease, and history of breast cancer in first degree relatives, were associated significantly with the increased risk for breast cancer in the Tianjin study, but not in Adelaide study. These factors being not associated with breast cancer in Adelaide women were unexpected. The explanation of the indefinite findings in Adelaide study was due to the fact that the level of the risk factor is universally high, relatively uniform and lack of categories. The difference in the risk factor distribution between cases and controle would not be seen in case-control studies, and significance of the risk factor therefore may not be found. According to data on diet survey in these two cities, the calories from fat was significantly higher in Adelaide women than in Tianjin women. The marked difference in incidence in women in the two cities resulted from the summing-up effect of a number of factors. The important role of fat intake in geographical incidence difference and in the development of breast cancer was also discussed.

Factors Associated with Diet Quality in Women of Childbearing Age in Southern Benin in 2022

Background: The nutritional status of women while in pregnancy influences foetus growth, infant development, and the mother’s health. The objective of this study was to assess diet quality and associated factors among women of childbearing age in the Comè community, Benin. Methods: The cross-sectional and analytical study involved 215 participants randomly selected by multi-stage sampling technique. Two non-consecutive dietary recall data were collected as well as sociodemographic information. The International Food Quality Index (IQD-I) was used to assess diet quality. Factors associated with the nutritional quality of the diet were identified by using linear regression. Results: Among 212 women, a diet quality of 175 (82.55%) was fair while 14.62% had good diet quality. Factors associated with the diet quality were the level of household possession, health issues, and nutritional advice at the health care facilities. Conclusion: Nutritional education interventions and income-generating activities may improve the diet quality among women of childbearing age in the Comè in Benin.