Patients with Type 2 Diabetes, Higher Blood Pressure, and Infrequent Fundus Examinations Have a Higher Risk of Sight-Threatening Retinopathy.

Background: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the most common cause of preventable blindness among working-age adults. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of the regularity of fundus examinations and risk factor control in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) on the prevalence and severity of DR. Methods: One hundred and fifty-six T2DM patients were included in this cross-sectional study. Results: In this sample, the prevalence of DR was 46.2%. Patients with no DR mainly did not examine the fundus regularly, while most patients with mild/moderate nonproliferative DR (NPDR) underwent a fundus examination regularly. In 39.7% of patients, this was the first fundus examination due to diabetes, and 67% of them had sight-threatening DR (STDR). Diabetes duration (p = 0.007), poor glycemic control (HbA1c) (p = 0.006), higher systolic blood pressure (SBP) (p < 0.001), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) (p = 0.002) were the main predictors of DR. However, the impact of SBP (AOR 1.07, p = 0.003) and DBP (AOR 1.13, p = 0.005) on DR development remained significant even after adjustment for diabetes duration and HbA1c. The DR prevalence was higher in patients with higher blood pressure (≥130/80 mmHg) than in those with target blood pressure (<130/80 mmHg) (p = 0.043). None of the patients with target blood pressure had STDR. The peaks in SBP and DBP were observed in T2DM with DR and the first fundus examination due to diabetes. Conclusions: In this T2DM sample, DR prevalence was very high and strongly related to blood pressure and a lack of regular fundus examinations. These results indicate the necessity of establishing systematic DR screening in routine diabetes care and targeting blood pressure levels according to T2DM guidelines.

Systemic risk factors of retinopathy in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the risk factors of lupus retinopathy (LR) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). METHODS: This is a retrospective, cross-sectional study. LR patients admitted at Peking Union Medical College Hospital from June 2013 to April 2023 were reviewed. Age- and gender-matched SLE patients without retinopathy were selected as controls. Medical records including clinical manifestations, laboratory data and ophthalmic examination were collected. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted. RESULTS: One hundred and twelve LR patients (198 eyes) were included, with 12 cases (14 eyes) presenting with retinal macrovascular obstruction, and 100 cases (184 eyes) only exhibiting microvasculopathy. Multivariate analysis indicated the presence of haemolytic anaemia, decreased haemoglobin (HGB) and higher relative percentage of neutrophils were independent risk factors for LR (p < 0.05). The first two were also risk factors for retinal microvasculopathy, whereas secondary antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) was for macrovascular obstruction. In male group, LR had significant associations with decreased HGB, no matter which types of retinopathy (p < 0.05). In female group, LR was significantly associated with haemolytic anaemia, presence of antiphospholipid antibodies, decreased white blood cells and relative high percentage of neutrophils. Specifically, haemolytic anaemia (p = 0.002) was significantly associated with retinal microvasculopathy, and APS (p = 0.003) was significantly associated with macrovasculature obstruction. CONCLUSION: LR was related to haemolytic anaemia, decreased HGB levels and higher percentage of neutrophils. Retinal microvasculopathy accounted for most cases and macrovasculature obstructions were rare. Male and female patients have distinct risk factors. Early ophthalmic screening is recommended especially for those with risk factors of LR.

Exploring State Level Factors Associated with Short-Stays in Child Welfare: The Role of Systemic Risk and Surveillance.

Growing attention has been directed toward children who are placed in out-of-home care by child welfare authorities for less than 30 days, deemed "short-stayers". This exploratory study uses multiple national child welfare and population data sources to identify macro level factors associated with short-stays. Two-level logistic regression modeling was conducted to explore how state-level factors were associated with risk of short-stays. Factors associated with lower odds of short-stays included living in a state with a centralized child welfare reporting structure and with greater food insecurity. Factors associated with greater odds included living in a state with a higher percentage of the state's population enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and states with more police per capita. Multiple state level factors were associated short-stay risk, which suggests broader systemic factors contribute to these brief removals. Findings suggest greater surveillance by police and social services increases risk of short-stays, which likely have implications for child welfare policy and practice.

Association Between the Severity of Diabetic Retinopathy and Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography Metrics.

Diabetic retinopathy, the most serious ocular complication of diabetes, imposes a serious economic burden on society. Automatic and objective assessment of vessel changes can effectively manage diabetic retinopathy and prevent blindness. Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) metrics have been confirmed to be used to assess vessel changes. The accuracy and reliability of OCTA metrics are restricted by vessel segmentation methods. In this study, a multi-branch retinal vessel segmentation method is proposed, which is comparable to the segmentation results obtained from the manual segmentation, effectively extracting vessels in low contrast areas and improving the integrity of the extracted vessels. OCTA metrics based on the proposed segmentation method were validated to be reliable for further analysis of the relationship between OCTA metrics and diabetes and the severity of diabetic retinopathy. Changes in vessel morphology are influenced by systemic risk factors. However, there is a lack of analysis of the relationship between OCTA metrics and systemic risk factors. We conducted a cross-sectional study that included 362 eyes of 221 diabetic patients and 1,151 eyes of 587 healthy people. Eight systemic risk factors were confirmed to be closely related to diabetes. After controlling these systemic risk factors, significant OCTA metrics (such as vessel complexity index, vessel diameter index, and mean thickness of retinal nerve fiber layer centered in the macular) were found to be related to diabetic retinopathy and severe diabetic retinopathy. This study provides evidence to support the potential value of OCTA metrics as biomarkers of diabetic retinopathy.

Management of systemic risk factors ahead of dental implant therapy: A beard well lathered is half shaved.

As the most successful therapy for missing teeth, dental implant has become increasingly prevalent around the world. A lot of papers have reported diverse local risk factors affecting the success and survival rate of dental implants, either for a short or a long period. However, there are also many types of systemic disorders or relatively administrated medicine that may jeopardize the security and success of dental implant treatment. Additionally, the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic also poses a challenge to dental implant clinicians. Some of these risk factors are clinically common but to some extent unfamiliar to dentists, thus optimal measurements are often lacking when they occur in dental clinics. In this review, we analyze potential systemic risk factors that may affect the success rate of dental implants. Some of them may affect bone mineral density or enhance the likelihood of local infection, thus impeding osseointegration. Others may even systemically increase the risk of the surgery and threaten patients' life. In order to help novices receive high-risk patients who need to get dental implant treatment in a more reasonable way, we accordingly review recent research results and clinical experiments to discuss promising precautions, such as stopping drugs that impact bone mineral density or the operation, and addressing any perturbations on vital signs.

Factores de riesgo asociados a oclusiones venosas retinianas / Risk factors associated to retinal vein occlusion

RESUMEN Objetivos: Identificar los factores epidemiológicos, sistémicos y oculares de las oclusiones venosas retinianas. Métodos: Se realizó un estudio observacional descriptivo, transversal y prospectivo de los casos nuevos de oclusiones venosas retinianas que acudieron al Cuerpo de Guardia del Instituto Cubano de Oftalmología "Ramón Pando Ferrer", durante el período de marzo del año 2017 a marzo de 2018. Se estudiaron las variables epidemiológicas, los antecedentes patológicos sistémicos y los oculares. Los resultados se expresaron en frecuencias absolutas y relativas (variables cualitativas) y se calculó la media y la desviación estándar en las cuantitativas. Resultados: En el período se estudiaron 50 ojos de 50 pacientes diagnosticados con oclusión venosa retiniana. La edad promedio fue de 66 años (9,5 desviación estándar). Prevaleció la raza blanca (44 por ciento), sin predilección por sexo. Fueron más frecuentes la oclusión de la vena central de la retina (60 por ciento) y las formas no isquémicas de daño vascular (78 por ciento), así como la hipertensión arterial (78 por ciento), la obesidad (36 por ciento) y la diabetes mellitus (34 por ciento) como factores de riesgo sistémicos asociados, y el glaucoma crónico (24 por ciento) como factor ocular. Conclusiones: Las oclusiones venosas retinianas se presentan en edades avanzadas y asociadas a factores de riesgo sistémicos y oculares(AU)

ABSTRACT Objectives: Identify the epidemiological, systemic and ocular factors associated to retinal vein occlusion. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional observational prospective study was conducted of the new cases of retinal vein occlusion presenting at the Emergency Service of Ramón Pando Ferrer Cuban Institute of Ophthalmology from March 2017 to March 2018. Analysis was performed of epidemiological variables and systemic and ocular pathological antecedents. Results were expressed as absolute and relative frequencies (qualitative variables), whereas quantitative variables underwent mean and standard deviation estimation. Results: Fifty eyes of 50 patients diagnosed with retinal vein occlusion were studied in the period. Mean age was 66 years (9.5 standard deviation). White skin color prevailed (44 percent) with no sex predominance. The most common disorders were central vein retinal occlusion (60 percent) and non-ischemic forms of vascular damage (78 percent), as well as arterial hypertension (78 percent), obesity (36 percent) and diabetes mellitus (34 percent) as associated systemic risk factors, and chronic glaucoma (24 percent) as an ocular factor. Conclusions: Retinal vein occlusion presents at advanced ages and is associated to systemic and ocular risk factors(AU)

External Cervical Resorption: A Retrospective Case-Control Study.

INTRODUCTION: The current retrospective case-control study examined the potential systemic and local risk factors in relationship to external cervical resorption (ECR). The study hypothesis stated that both local and systemic risks are associated with higher ECR rates. METHODS: The ECR group included data about 76 patients (98 teeth) diagnosed with ECR at the university graduate endodontics clinic from 2008-2018. An equivalent comparative control group without ECR was composed of the same pool of patients and matched with cases by sex and age. Information about dental and medical history, including potential local risk factors (bruxism, trauma, eruption disorders, extraction of an adjacent tooth, orthodontics, and restorations) and systemic risk factors (medical conditions, medication, and allergies), was collected for both groups. Data were analyzed at tooth and patient levels. The chi-square test or Fisher exact test compared proportions between the 2 study groups. RESULTS: The overall ECR prevalence among endodontic patients during the 10-year follow-up was 2.3%. ECR was most frequent in maxillary anterior teeth (31.6%), and the Heithersay class 2 was the most frequent (38.8%) ECR diagnosis. Diabetes was the only significant systemic risk factor (P < .05). Trauma, as a local risk factor, was significantly (P < .05) more frequently reported in cases than in controls. CONCLUSIONS: The study hypothesis stating that both systemic and local risk factors were associated with higher ECR rates was partly confirmed, as one systemic (diabetes) and one local (trauma) risk factor were associated with higher ECR rates.

Retrospective cohort study of a tapered implant with high primary stability in patients with local and systemic risk factors-7-year data.

OBJECTIVES: This retrospective study examined the mid- to long-term clinical and radiographic performance of a tapered implant in various treatment protocols in patients with local and systemic risk factors (RFs). MATERIAL AND METHODS: Two hundred seven NobelActive implants were inserted in 98 patients in the period from 10/2008 to 02/2015. The subdivision of the cohort was defined by local (n = 40), systemic (n = 6), local and systemic (n = 8), or without any RFs (n = 44) to analyze implant survival and marginal bone levels. RESULTS: Fifteen implants failed within the follow-up period. The mean follow-up period of the remaining implants was 34 months (range 12 to 77 months). The cumulative survival rate according to Kaplan-Meier was 91.5%. The survival rate for 93 implants in 45 patients with no RFs was 94.8% whereas it was 94% for 83 implants in 48 patients with local RFs (p = 0.618), 81.3% for 14 implants in 6 patients with systemic RFs (p = 0.173), and 76.5% for 17 implants in 6 patients with local and systemic risk factors (p = 0.006). The interproximal marginal bone level was - 0.49 ± 0.83 mm at the mesial aspect and - 0.51 ± 0.82 mm at the distal aspect in relation to implant shoulder level and showed no relevant difference in the various risk factor groups. CONCLUSIONS: It can be assumed that the negative effects of the local or/and systemic risk factors were partially compensated by the primary stability and grade of osseointegration of the NobelActive implant. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The use of this system in patients with risk factors and immediate loading procedures.

Periodontal health and gingival diseases and conditions on an intact and a reduced periodontium: Consensus report of workgroup 1 of the 2017 World Workshop on the Classification of Periodontal and Peri-Implant Diseases and Conditions.

Periodontal health is defined by absence of clinically detectable inflammation. There is a biological level of immune surveillance that is consistent with clinical gingival health and homeostasis. Clinical gingival health may be found in a periodontium that is intact, i.e. without clinical attachment loss or bone loss, and on a reduced periodontium in either a non-periodontitis patient (e.g. in patients with some form of gingival recession or following crown lengthening surgery) or in a patient with a history of periodontitis who is currently periodontally stable. Clinical gingival health can be restored following treatment of gingivitis and periodontitis. However, the treated and stable periodontitis patient with current gingival health remains at increased risk of recurrent periodontitis, and accordingly, must be closely monitored. Two broad categories of gingival diseases include non-dental plaque biofilm-induced gingival diseases and dental plaque-induced gingivitis. Non-dental plaque biofilm-induced gingival diseases include a variety of conditions that are not caused by plaque and usually do not resolve following plaque removal. Such lesions may be manifestations of a systemic condition or may be localized to the oral cavity. Dental plaque-induced gingivitis has a variety of clinical signs and symptoms, and both local predisposing factors and systemic modifying factors can affect its extent, severity, and progression. Dental plaque-induced gingivitis may arise on an intact periodontium or on a reduced periodontium in either a non-periodontitis patient or in a currently stable "periodontitis patient" i.e. successfully treated, in whom clinical inflammation has been eliminated (or substantially reduced). A periodontitis patient with gingival inflammation remains a periodontitis patient (Figure 1), and comprehensive risk assessment and management are imperative to ensure early prevention and/or treatment of recurrent/progressive periodontitis. Precision dental medicine defines a patient-centered approach to care, and therefore, creates differences in the way in which a "case" of gingival health or gingivitis is defined for clinical practice as opposed to epidemiologically in population prevalence surveys. Thus, case definitions of gingival health and gingivitis are presented for both purposes. While gingival health and gingivitis have many clinical features, case definitions are primarily predicated on presence or absence of bleeding on probing. Here we classify gingival health and gingival diseases/conditions, along with a summary table of diagnostic features for defining health and gingivitis in various clinical situations.

Periodontal health and gingival diseases and conditions on an intact and a reduced periodontium: Consensus report of workgroup 1 of the 2017 World Workshop on the Classification of Periodontal and Peri-Implant Diseases and Conditions.

Periodontal health is defined by absence of clinically detectable inflammation. There is a biological level of immune surveillance that is consistent with clinical gingival health and homeostasis. Clinical gingival health may be found in a periodontium that is intact, i.e. without clinical attachment loss or bone loss, and on a reduced periodontium in either a non-periodontitis patient (e.g. in patients with some form of gingival recession or following crown lengthening surgery) or in a patient with a history of periodontitis who is currently periodontally stable. Clinical gingival health can be restored following treatment of gingivitis and periodontitis. However, the treated and stable periodontitis patient with current gingival health remains at increased risk of recurrent periodontitis, and accordingly, must be closely monitored. Two broad categories of gingival diseases include non-dental plaque biofilm-induced gingival diseases and dental plaque-induced gingivitis. Non-dental plaque biofilm-induced gingival diseases include a variety of conditions that are not caused by plaque and usually do not resolve following plaque removal. Such lesions may be manifestations of a systemic condition or may be localized to the oral cavity. Dental plaque-induced gingivitis has a variety of clinical signs and symptoms, and both local predisposing factors and systemic modifying factors can affect its extent, severity, and progression. Dental plaque-induced gingivitis may arise on an intact periodontium or on a reduced periodontium in either a non-periodontitis patient or in a currently stable "periodontitis patient" i.e. successfully treated, in whom clinical inflammation has been eliminated (or substantially reduced). A periodontitis patient with gingival inflammation remains a periodontitis patient (Figure 1), and comprehensive risk assessment and management are imperative to ensure early prevention and/or treatment of recurrent/progressive periodontitis. Precision dental medicine defines a patient-centered approach to care, and therefore, creates differences in the way in which a "case" of gingival health or gingivitis is defined for clinical practice as opposed to epidemiologically in population prevalence surveys. Thus, case definitions of gingival health and gingivitis are presented for both purposes. While gingival health and gingivitis have many clinical features, case definitions are primarily predicated on presence or absence of bleeding on probing. Here we classify gingival health and gingival diseases/conditions, along with a summary table of diagnostic features for defining health and gingivitis in various clinical situations.