RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Teeth are necessary for sensory input to the brain during the chewing process, but how the decrease in this sensory input, due to loss of teeth, may cause weak memory and lead to cognitive decline is not well understood. This pilot public survey aiming to assess the correlation between the number of missing teeth, periodontal disease, and cognitive skill in the city of Riyadh. MATERIAL& METHODS: A multicenter cross-sectional survey, targeting geriatric population aged ≥60â¯years, was performed in Riyadh City, Saudi Arabia. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) was conducted to all participants to assess their cognitive function. Assessment of oral health status was carried out, including the number of present dentation and their periodontal status. Community periodontal-index (CPI) was used to assess the periodontal condition. The primary variables were number of missing teeth, periodontal disease and MoCA test scores. Chi-square test and Pearson's correlation coefficients were computed and the significant P- value was set at <0.05. RESULTS: Of 95 participants, overall, 57 (60%) and 38 (40%) were male and female, respectively, with a mean age of 65.67⯱â¯6.32â¯years. Females showed more significant cognitive decline than males (Pâ¯<â¯0.001). Cognitive decline was significantly high in participants with low educational level 19 (95%), unemployment 41 (79%), and lower income people 26 (79%), while being cognitive intact was significantly higher in highly educated 13 (87%), retired 21 (62%), and higher income people 28 (74%) at (Pâ¯<â¯0.001). An advanced age and greater number of missing teeth are associated with lower MoCA test scores. No statistical significant correlation with regard to periodontal disease and MoCA test scores. CONCLUSION: Based on the preliminary data, positive correlation was confirmed when the number of missing teeth and cognitive skill were assessed. Therefore, larger, multi-center regional surveys are needed to investigate further this relationship.
RESUMEN
OBJECTIVES: To determine the distribution of various molecular subtypes of breast cancer in Saudi Arabia and to assess the association between these subtypes and age at diagnosis, tumor size, histopathological type, grade, presence of carcinoma in-situ, and lymph node status. METHODS: This observational retrospective study, between January 2010 and December 2014, was conducted at King Khalid University Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. We classified 359 breast cancers into 4 molecular subtypes, using immunohistochemistry: luminal A (estrogen receptor [ER], or progesterone receptor [PR] positive and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 [HER2] negative), luminal B (ER and/or PR positive and HER2 positive), HER2-positive (ER and PR negative and HER2 positive), and triple negative (ER, PR, and HER2 negative). We evaluated the relationship between these subtypes and clinicopathological features using Chi square test. RESULTS: The most prevalent subtype was luminal A (58.5%), followed in descending order of frequency by triple negative (14.8%), luminal B (14.5%), and HER2-positive (12.3%). The average age at diagnosis was 49.8 years, and average tumor size at diagnosis was 3.19 cm. CONCLUSION: Luminal A tumor was the most common molecular subtype and HER2-positive was the least common. Most lobular carcinomas were luminal A tumors. Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive and triple negative tumors had a higher histologic grade and a larger tumor size at diagnosis, and they were more common in women under 50 years. Carcinoma-in-situ was least common in triple negative tumors. We found no association between lymph node status and molecular subtypes.
