Pineal Gland Calcification in Kurdistan: A Cross-Sectional Study of 480 Roentgenograms.

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to compare the incidence of Pineal Gland Calcification (PGC) by age group and gender among the populations living in the Kurdistan Region-Iraq. METHODS: This prospective study examined skull X-rays of 480 patients between the ages of 3 and 89 years who sought care at a large teaching public hospital in Duhok, Iraq from June 2014 to November 2014. Descriptive statistics and a binary logistic regression were used for analysis. RESULTS: The overall incidence rate of PGC among the study population was 26.9% with the 51-60 age group and males having the highest incidence. PGC incidence increased after the first decade and remained steady until the age of 60. Thereafter the incidence began to decrease. Logistic regression analysis revealed that both age and gender significantly affected the risk of PGC. After adjusting for age, males were 1.94 (95% CI, 1.26-2.99) times more likely to have PGC compared to females. In addition, a one year increase in age increases the odds of developing PGC by 1.02 (95% CI, 1.01-1.03) units after controlling for the effects of gender. CONCLUSION: Our analysis demonstrated a close relationship between PGC and age and gender, supporting a link between the development of PGC and these factors. This study provides a basis for future researchers to further investigate the nature and mechanisms underlying pineal gland calcification.

Racial disparity in the association between body mass index and self-reported asthma in children: a population-based study.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the racial disparity in the association between obesity and asthma in US children and adolescents. METHODS: This study was based on a nationally representative, random-digit-dial sample of US households with children less than 18 years of age from the National Survey of Children's Health in 2011/2012 and 2007. The study sample included 88,668 children ages 10-17 with data on body mass index (BMI), parental reporting of asthma diagnosis, and potential confounders. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to estimate the crude and adjusted odds ratios stratified by child race/ethnicity. RESULTS: The prevalence of overweight was 15.2% and obesity was 14.1%. Self-reported asthma diagnosis was 16.7% in our study sample. Obese children were 51% more likely to have asthma compared to normal weight children after controlling for child's sex, child age, socioeconomic status, environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), and neighborhood conditions. Our study also shows that the strength of this association varied by race/ethnicity after stratification. Being male, being non-Hispanic Black or Multi-racial, below the Federal Poverty Level, ETS and having detracting neighborhood elements were also significantly associated with higher odds of having a self-reported asthma diagnosis. CONCLUSION: We observed a racial difference in the association between BMI and asthma in US children. Our findings have significant public health implications and may help public health practitioners to target children and adolescents at higher risk of prevention and intervention efforts.

Poor sleep quality associated with high risk of hypertension and elevated blood pressure in China: results from a large population-based study.

Little information is available concerning the association between sleep quality and blood pressure (BP) in Chinese individuals. This study evaluated the association between sleep quality, as determined by the Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI), and hypertension in a rural Chinese population. Using a multistage cluster and random sampling method, a representative sample of 9404 adults aged 20-93 years in northeastern China was selected from 2012 to 2013. Sleep quality was assessed by PSQI, and trained observers measured BP. A sleep disorder (SD) was diagnosed for any participant with a score of 6 or greater. Overall, 1218 male participants (25.53%) and 1261 female participants (27.22%) were defined as having SDs. Compared with the normal subjects, participants with hypertension had higher global PSQI scores and subscores in all elements. The odds ratios (ORs) of hypertension, systolic hypertension and diastolic hypertension among participants with SDs were 2.38 (95% confidence interval (CI): 2.13-2.65), 2.52 (95% CI: 2.26-2.80) and 1.93 (95% CI: 1.74-2.14) in contrast to the reference group, respectively. The risk for hypertension in poor sleepers with subscores over 0 in all of the elements was significantly increased, with ORs ranging from 1.16 (95% CI: 1.04-2.30) to 3.88 (95% CI: 1.24-12.16). The global PSQI score and its components were associated with hypertension and high BP.