Periodontal disease is not associated with preeclampsia in Canadian pregnant women.

BACKGROUND: The findings from the studies on the relationship between periodontal disease and preeclampsia are inconsistent. The objective of this study is to examine the relationship between periodontal disease and preeclampsia. METHODS: A multicenter case-control study was conducted in Quebec, Canada. Preeclampsia was defined as blood pressure ≥140/90 mm Hg and ≥1+ proteinuria after 20 weeks of gestation. Periodontitis was defined as the presence of ≥4 sites with a probing depth ≥5 mm and a clinical attachment loss ≥3 mm at the same sites. RESULTS: A total of 92 preeclamptic women and 245 controls were analyzed. The percentage of periodontal disease was 18.5% in preeclamptic women and 19.2% in normotensive women (crude odds ratio [OR] = 0.96, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.52 to 1.77). After adjusting for confounding variables, periodontitis remained not associated with preeclampsia (adjusted OR = 1.13, 95% CI = 0.59 to 2.17). CONCLUSION: This study does not support the hypothesis of an association between periodontal disease and preeclampsia.

A season-long team-building intervention: examining the effect of team goal setting on cohesion.

The purpose of the current study was to determine whether the implementation of a season-long team-building intervention program using team goal setting increased perceptions of cohesion. The participants were 86 female high school basketball players from 8 teams. The teams were randomly assigned to either an experimental team goal-setting or control condition. Each participant completed the Group Environment Questionnaire (GEQ; Carron, Brawley, & Widmeyer, 2002; Carron, Widmeyer, & Brawley, 1985), which assessed cohesion at both the beginning and end of the season. Overall, the results revealed a significant multivariate effect, Pillai's trace F(12, 438) = 2.68, p = .002. Post hoc analyses showed that at the beginning of the season, athletes from both conditions did not differ in their perceptions of cohesion. However, at the end of the season, athletes in the team goal-setting condition held higher perceptions of cohesion than athletes in the control condition. Overall, the results indicated that team goal setting was an effective team-building tool for influencing cohesiveness in sport teams.

Effect of fetal position on second-stage duration and labor outcome.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of fetal position on 1) second-stage labor duration and 2) indicators of maternal and neonatal morbidity. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using a database from a previously reported randomized clinical trial. The data set includes 210 women with the fetus in a posterior position, 200 women with the fetus in a transverse position, and 1,198 women with the fetus in an anterior position. Mean durations of the second stage of labor for different fetal positions were compared using Tukey studentized test. A multivariate logistic regression model was performed to examine the determinants of prolonged second-stage duration (>or= 3 hours). Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used to graph and compare the duration of the second stage of labor for spontaneous delivery according to the fetal position at full dilatation and study group. RESULTS: Fetal malposition at full dilatation was associated with a significantly increased risk of instrumental vaginal delivery, cesarean delivery, oxytocin administration before full cervical dilatation, episiotomy, severe perineal laceration, and maternal blood loss of more than 500 mL (all P values < .01). Compared with the occiput anterior positions, there were significant differences in the duration of the second stage of labor, with a mean of 3.1 hours (95% confidence interval [CI] 3.0-3.2) for occiput anterior positions, 3.6 hours (95% CI 3.3-3.9) for occiput transverse positions (P < .05), and 3.8 hours (95% CI 3.5-4.1) for occiput posterior positions (P < .05) in the delayed pushing group. For the early pushing group, means were 2.2 hours (95% CI 2.1-2.3) for occiput anterior positions, 2.5 hours (95% CI 2.3-2.8) for occiput transverse positions (P < .05), and 3.0 hours (95% CI 2.7-3.3) for occiput posterior positions (P < .05). CONCLUSION: Fetal malposition at full dilatation results in a higher risk of prolonged second stage of labor and increases maternal morbidity indicators. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: II-2.