In this study we evaluated the association between temperature variation and mortality and compared it with the contribution due to mean daily temperature in 6 cities with different climates. Quasi-Poisson time series regression models were applied to estimate the associations (relative risk and 95% confidence interval) of mean daily temperature (99th and 1st percentiles, with temperature of mi...

BACKGROUND Analyses of multicenter studies often need to account for center clustering to ensure valid inference. For binary outcomes, it is particularly challenging to properly adjust for center when the number of centers or total sample size is small, or when there are few events per center. Our objective was to evaluate the performance of generalized estimating equation (GEE) log-binomial an...

A case control study was conducted to test the hypothesis that socioeconomic status is positively associated with multiple myeloma incidence. One hundred and fifty-three myeloma cases and 459 controls were identified at the Duke University Medical Center at Durham, North Carolina. Study members were interviewed regarding indicators of socioeconomic status. The association of myeloma with family...

OBJECTIVE To identify factors that predict initiation of mammography and adherence with biennial screening among Canadian women aged 50-69 years. METHODS Using data from a longitudinal panel of Canadian women interviewed in the National Population Health Survey (NPHS) in 1994/95 and 2 and 4 years later, we estimated the relative risks (RR) of mammography initiation and adherence according to ...

BACKGROUND Prospective studies linking whole- and refined-grain intakes with the risk of hypertension, a major cardiovascular disease risk factor, remain limited. OBJECTIVE We aimed to determine whether baseline intake of whole or refined grains is associated with subsequent development of hypertension. DESIGN We conducted a prospective cohort study in 28 926 female US health professionals ...

BACKGROUND Poor socioeconomic status (SES) increases diarrhoea risk, mostly mediated by lack of sanitation, poor infrastructure and living conditions. The effectiveness of a city-wide sanitation intervention on diarrhoea in a large urban centre in Northeast Brazil has recently been demonstrated. This article aims to explore how this intervention altered the magnitude of relative and attributabl...

OBJECTIVES To estimate the effects of antibiotic exposures in the first 6 months of life on short- and long-term growth. STUDY DESIGN In a prospective observational cohort study of 497 children from Vellore, India, we estimated short-term effects of antibiotics during the first 6 months using longitudinal general linear regression to model weight-for-age, height-for-age, and weight-for-height...

Treatment issues following a first unprovoked seizure are discussed, using an approach that emphasizes weighing the relative risks and benefits of the therapeutic decisions. The majority of children and adults who present with a first unprovoked seizure will not experience further seizures. Both seizures and the therapies available carry some risk, and optimal patient care requires careful bala...

Many diseases result from the interactions between genes and the environment. An efficient method has been proposed for a case-control study to estimate the genetic and environmental main effects and their interactions, which exploits the assumptions of gene-environment independence and Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. To estimate the absolute and relative risks, one needs to resort to an alternativ...

The incidence of Salmonella enteric infections in Gipuzkoa, Spain, was estimated by studying a stable population between 1983 and 2000. Only stool culture confirmed cases were included. The annual mean rate of infection in children under 2 years old was 1121 per 100,000 (CI 95%; 1060-1181). This age group had the highest relative risk (RR), 16.2-fold higher than the RR of those aged over 14 yea...