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Pathological gambling is characterized in DSM IV-TR as one of the disorders of impulse control. Problem gambling is also part of what is considered behavioural addictions with intrusive thoughts about the game, are spending more and more important to play etc.
Objectives
There is no epidemiological study in France, that's why we make an epidemiological study on the prevalence of pathological gambling.
Methods
We wanted to study the prevalence of pathological gambling in a sample of 529 persons: 368 gamers of Pari Mutuel Urbain and La Française des Jeux, and 161 persons in the general population.
We used as instruments: SOGS for screening of pathological gambling, BIS-10 for impulsiveness's evaluation, HAD scale to assess anxiety and depression and ASRS for the evaluation of attention deficit disorder / hyperactivity disorder.
Results
The results show that the rate of pathological gambling in general population is 1.24% (this result is similar to those found in other countries such as Quebec)
Men are overrepresented in the group of pathological gamblers (88.9%), also with consumption of alcohol and tobacco. Depression and anxiety are particularly high, 40% of JPs with an anxiety score significantly higher.
Conclusions
It would be necessary to establish follow-up studies of populations and patients as well as specific studies on people who frequent casinos, racetracks and Internet gambling. Almost 20% of players have a gambling problem or risk and these people do not consult despite their psychological problems, family, work, debts…
We evaluate the utility of the National Surveys of Attitudes and Sexual Lifestyles (Natsal) undertaken in 2000 and 2010, before and after the introduction of the National Chlamydia Screening Programme, as an evidence source for estimating the change in prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) in England, Scotland and Wales. Both the 2000 and 2010 surveys tested urine samples for CT by Nucleic Acid Amplification Tests (NAATs). We examined the sources of uncertainty in estimates of CT prevalence change, including sample size and adjustments for test sensitivity and specificity, survey non-response and informative non-response. In 2000, the unadjusted CT prevalence was 4.22% in women aged 18–24 years; in 2010, CT prevalence was 3.92%, a non-significant absolute difference of 0.30 percentage points (95% credible interval −2.8 to 2.0). In addition to uncertainty due to small sample size, estimates were sensitive to specificity, survey non-response or informative non-response, such that plausible changes in any one of these would be enough to either reverse or double any likely change in prevalence. Alternative ways of monitoring changes in CT incidence and prevalence over time are discussed.
Indirect comparisons via a common comparator (anchored comparisons) are commonly used in health technology assessment. However, common comparators may not be available, or the comparison may be biased due to differences in effect modifiers between the included studies. Recently proposed population adjustment methods aim to adjust for differences between study populations in the situation where individual patient data are available from at least one study, but not all studies. They can also be used when there is no common comparator or for single-arm studies (unanchored comparisons). We aim to characterise the use of population adjustment methods in technology appraisals (TAs) submitted to the United Kingdom National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).
Methods
We reviewed NICE TAs published between 01/01/2010 and 20/04/2018.
Results
Population adjustment methods were used in 7 percent (18/268) of TAs. Most applications used unanchored comparisons (89 percent, 16/18), and were in oncology (83 percent, 15/18). Methods used included matching-adjusted indirect comparisons (89 percent, 16/18) and simulated treatment comparisons (17 percent, 3/18). Covariates were included based on: availability, expert opinion, effective sample size, statistical significance, or cross-validation. Larger treatment networks were commonplace (56 percent, 10/18), but current methods cannot account for this. Appraisal committees received results of population-adjusted analyses with caution and typically looked for greater cost effectiveness to minimise decision risk.
Conclusions
Population adjustment methods are becoming increasingly common in NICE TAs, although their impact on decisions has been limited to date. Further research is needed to improve upon current methods, and to investigate their properties in simulation studies.
Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and more specifically salpingitis (visually confirmed inflammation) is the primary cause of tubal factor infertility and is an important risk factor for ectopic pregnancy. The risk of these outcomes increases following repeated episodes of PID. We developed a homogenous discrete-time Markov model for the distribution of PID history in the UK. We used a Bayesian framework to fully propagate parameter uncertainty into the model outputs. We estimated the model parameters from routine data, prospective studies, and other sources. We estimated that for women aged 35–44 years, 33·6% and 16·1% have experienced at least one episode of PID and salpingitis, respectively (diagnosed or not) and 10·7% have experienced one salpingitis and no further PID episodes, 3·7% one salpingitis and one further PID episode, and 1·7% one salpingitis and ⩾2 further PID episodes. Results are consistent with numerous external data sources, but not all. Studies of the proportion of PID that is diagnosed, and the proportion of PIDs that are salpingitis together with the severity distribution in different diagnostic settings and of overlap between routine data sources of PID would be valuable.
The Beck Depression Inventory, 2nd edition (BDI-II) is widely used in research on depression. However, the minimal clinically important difference (MCID) is unknown. MCID can be estimated in several ways. Here we take a patient-centred approach, anchoring the change on the BDI-II to the patient's global report of improvement.
Method
We used data collected (n = 1039) from three randomized controlled trials for the management of depression. Improvement on a ‘global rating of change’ question was compared with changes in BDI-II scores using general linear modelling to explore baseline dependency, assessing whether MCID is best measured in absolute terms (i.e. difference) or as percent reduction in scores from baseline (i.e. ratio), and receiver operator characteristics (ROC) to estimate MCID according to the optimal threshold above which individuals report feeling ‘better’.
Results
Improvement in BDI-II scores associated with reporting feeling ‘better’ depended on initial depression severity, and statistical modelling indicated that MCID is best measured on a ratio scale as a percentage reduction of score. We estimated a MCID of a 17.5% reduction in scores from baseline from ROC analyses. The corresponding estimate for individuals with longer duration depression who had not responded to antidepressants was higher at 32%.
Conclusions
MCID on the BDI-II is dependent on baseline severity, is best measured on a ratio scale, and the MCID for treatment-resistant depression is larger than that for more typical depression. This has important implications for clinical trials and practice.
Information on the incidence of Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) is essential for models of the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of screening programmes. We developed two independent estimates of CT incidence in women in England: one based on an incidence study, with estimates ‘recalibrated’ to the general population using data on setting-specific relative risks, and allowing for clearance and re-infection during follow-up; the second based on UK prevalence data, and information on the duration of CT infection. The consistency of independent sources of data on incidence, prevalence and duration, validates estimates of these parameters. Pooled estimates of the annual incidence rate in women aged 16–24 and 16–44 years for 2001–2005 using all these data were 0·05 [95% credible interval (CrI) 0·035–0·071] and 0·021 (95% CrI 0·015–0·028), respectively. Although, the estimates apply to England, similar methods could be used in other countries. The methods could be extended to dynamic models to synthesize, and assess the consistency of data on contact and transmission rates.
The Balloon-borne Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (BLAST) has recently conducted an extragalactic submillimetric survey of the Chandra Deep Field South region of unprecedented size, depth, and angular resolution in three wavebands centered at 250,
350, and 500 µm. BLAST wavelengths are chosen to study the Cosmic Infrared Background near its peak at 200 µm.
We find that most of the CIB at these wavelengths is contributed by galaxies detected at 24 µm by the MIPS instrument on Spitzer, and that the source counts distribution shows a population with strongly evolving density and luminosity. These results anticipate what can be expected from the surveys that will be conducted with the SPIRE instrument on the Herschel space observatory.
Low weight at birth is a risk factor for increased mortality in infants undergoing surgery for congenitally malformed hearts. There has been a trend towards performing surgery in patients early, and for amenable lesions, in a single stage rather than following initial palliative procedures. Our goal was to report on the current incidences of morbidities and mortality in infants born with low weight and undergoing surgery for congenital cardiac disease.
Methods
We made a retrospective review of the data from patients meeting our criterions for entry from July, 2000, through July, 2004. The criterions for inclusion were weight at birth less than or equal to 2500 grams, and congenital cardiac malformations requiring surgery during the initial hospitalization. A criterion for exclusion was isolated persistent patency of the arterial duct. We assessed preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative variables.
Results
We found a total of 105 patients meeting the criterions for inclusion. The median weight at birth was 2130 grams, and median gestational age was 36 weeks. The most common morbidity identified was infections of the blood stream. Infections, and chronic lung disease, were associated with increased length of stay. Survival overall was 76%. Patients with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, or a variant thereof, had the lowest survival, of 62%. The needs for cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, post-operatively were the only factors identified as independent risk factors for mortality.
Conclusion
Patients undergoing surgery during infancy for congenital cardiac disease who are born with low weight have a higher mortality and morbidity than those born with normal weight.
A computer program was written to analyse oligonucleotide patterns displayed by gel electrophoresis following restriction endonuclease digestion of human cytomegaloviral DNA, and was applied to an epidemiological study of the transmission of infection in a hospital special care baby unit, with regard to infant-to-infant and mother-to-infant transmission.
The program calculates the molecular weight of oligonucleotides from their mobilities, using a cubic spline curve based on the mobilities of oligonucleotides from the AD169 strain. A matching algorithm then calculates the number of unmatched fragments for each pair of viral isolates. This was used as a similarity measure which successfully distinguished mother and infant isolate pairs from epidemiologically unrelated pairs.
The program is not intended to provide fully automatic matching, but could be recommended as a screening device to pick out pairs of strains which are sufficiently similar to suggest a common source of infection, and which may warrant closer comparison. Other applications are discussed, and the possible use of densitometers to automate data entry is considered.
A total of 12902 neonatal samples collected on absorbent paper for routine metabolic screening were tested anonymously for antibodies to toxoplasma. Seroprevalence varied from 19.5% in inner London, to 11.6% in suburban London, and 7.6% in non-metropolitan districts. Much of this variation appeared to be associated with the proportions of livebirths in each district to women born outside the UK. However, additional geographical variation remained and seroprevalence in UK-born women was estimated to be 12.7% in inner London, 7.5% in suburban London, and 5.5% in non-metropolitan areas. These estimates are considerably lower than any previously reported in antenatal sera in the UK. The wide geographical variation highlights a need for further research to determine the relative importance of different routes of transmission.
Effective primary prevention of congenital toxoplasmosis requires up to date information on locally relevant risk factors for infection in pregnant women. In Naples, risk factors for toxoplasma infection were compared in recently infected women (as assessed by detection of specific IgM in serum) and susceptible, IgG negative women. Recent infection was strongly associated with frequency of consumption of cured pork and raw meat. Eating cured pork or raw meat at least once a month increased the risk of toxoplasma infection threefold.
This simple study design for determining locally relevant sources of toxoplasma infection is the first report of cured pork as a risk factor for infection. Further research is required to determine cyst viability in cured pork products. Our findings suggest that in southern Italy, cured pork and raw meat should be avoided by susceptible pregnant women.
Accurate incidence information is required to plan and evaluate screening programmes which have been proposed for the detection of primary toxoplasmosis and cytomegalovirus infection in pregnancy. Appropriate statistical methods are described for deriving incidence rates and their confidence intervals from three types of data: change in age-specific seroprevalence, seroconversion, and IgM studies. These methods are applied to seven published studies on toxoplasmosis and cytomegalovirus carried out in the UK. In these publications only one estimate of the infection rate per pregnancy was correctly derived, and none were accompanied by confidence intervals. Using the proposed methods, most estimates of the primary toxoplasmosis rate in these studies were between 2·5 and 5·5 per 1000 pregnancies, compared to the 2 per 1000 usually cited. Most cytomegalovirus incidence estimates were between 4 and 10 per 1000 pregnancies.
The diagnosis of maternal infection in early pregnancy depends on tests which are sensitive to recent infection, such as specific IgM. Two types of test are considered: those where the response persists for a period following infection and then declines, such as IgM. and those whose response increases with time since infection, such as IgG-avidity. However, individuals vary in their response to infection, and it may not always be possible to determine whether an infection occurred during pregnancy or before it. Mathematical methods are developed to evaluate the performance of these tests, and are applied to the diagnosis of toxoplasmosis in pregnancy. It is shown that, based on existing information, tests of recent infection are unlikely to be both sensitive and predictive. More data on these tests are required, before they can be reliably used to determine whether infection has occurred during pregnancy or before it.
SPIRE, the Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver, is Herschel's submillimetre camera and spectrometer. It comprises a three-band imaging photometer operating at 250, 350 and 500 μm, and an imaging Fourier Transform Spectrometer (FTS) covering 194–672 μm. The design of SPIRE is described, and the expected scientific performance is summarised, based on modelling and flight instrument test results.