Global burden of influenza lower respiratory tract infections in older people from 1990 to 2019.

BACKGROUND: Infections with influenza viruses cause severe illness, substantial number of hospitalization and death, especially in older adults. However, few studies have focused on the burden of influenza lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) solely in older adults, particularly in low-resource settings. AIMS: We aimed to estimate the mortality and DALYs of influenza LRTIs for people aged 55 years and older in 204 countries and territories from 1990 to 2019. METHODS: The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2019 study was used to obtain data on mortality and DALYs of influenza LRTIs at the global, regional, and country levels. RESULTS: In 2019, the global rates for mortality and DALYs of influenza LRTIs were 6.46 per 100,000 [95% uncertainty interval (UI): 2.37-12.62] and 97.39 per 100,000 (95% UI: 34.70-187.03). Although the rates for mortality and DALYs in people aged 55 years and older decreased from 1990 to 2019, the absolute numbers for both increased by 85.84% and 66.56%, respectively. Both the absolute numbers and rates of deaths and DALYs of influenza LRTIs were higher in male than in female in all age groups. Although low-socio-demographic index (SDI) regions experienced the largest declines for the rates of mortality and DALYs of influenza LRTIs over the past three decades, they still had the highest rates for mortality and DALYs in all age groups. Moreover, the absolute numbers and rates of deaths and DALYs of influenza LRTIs showed an increasing trend with age, reaching the peak in the people over 85 years old. DISCUSSION: Burden of influenza LRTIs in older adults is still high and could continue to grow along with global aging. CONCLUSION: Efforts to improve vaccination for influenza are needed for preparedness of another influenza pandemic, especially in low-SDI regions.

Regular Glucosamine Use May Have Different Roles in the Risk of Site-Specific Cancers: Findings from a Large Prospective Cohort.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies indicated that glucosamine supplements may have a general anticancer effect. This study aimed to assess whether the potential effect differs across different types of cancers in a large prospective cohort study. METHODS: All participants from the UK Biobank who were free of cancers and had complete information on glucosamine use at baseline were included and followed up from 2006 until 2021. Cox proportional hazards models were used to assess the associations between regular glucosamine use and different site-specific cancers. Subgroup analyses were performed to explore potential interactions. Several sensitivity analyses were conducted to assess the robustness of the main findings. RESULTS: A total of 450,207 eligible participants (mean age: 56.2 years; females: 53.3%) were included, of whom 84,895 (18.9%) reported regular glucosamine use at baseline. During a median of 12.5 years follow-up, glucosamine use was significantly associated with an increased risk of overall cancer [HR, 1.04; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.01-1.06], skin cancer (HR, 1.11; 95% CI, 1.07-1.15), and prostate cancer (HR, 1.07; 95% CI, 1.01-1.13), and with a reduced risk of lung cancer (HR, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.79-0.97) after adjusting for potential confounders. Statistical interaction was observed for gender, age, and education for the association of glucosamine use with overall cancer risk (all Pinteraction < 0.027). These results remained unchanged in the sensitivity analyses. CONCLUSIONS: Regular glucosamine use was associated with lower risk of lung cancer but higher risk of skin cancer, prostate cancer, and overall cancer. IMPACT: The roles of glucosamine use potentially differ in the development of different site-specific cancers.

Lack of association of the cyclin D1 G870A variation with oral carcinoma risk: Evidence from 2,404 subjects.

Evidence implicates cyclin D1 (CCND1) G870A polymorphisms as risk factors for various cancers. An increasing number of investigations have been conducted on the association of CCND1 G870A polymorphisms with susceptibility to oral carcinoma, and have yielded inconclusive results. The aim of the present study was to derive a more precise estimation of the correlation. Meta-analyses examining the association between CCND1 G870A polymorphisms and oral carcinoma were performed. Separate analyses on ethnicity, smoking status and control sources were also implemented. Eligible studies were identified prior to February 2012. From the overall data from 1,128 cases and 1,276 controls, no associations of CCND1 G870A polymorphisms with oral carcinoma were observed [AA vs. GG: odds ratio (OR)=1.06; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.62-1.82; dominant model: OR=1.04; 95% CI, 0.76-1.43; recessive model: OR=1.06; 95% CI, 0.70-1.59]. In the subgroup analysis by ethnicity, smoking status and control sources, no significant associations of CCND1 G870A polymorphisms and oral cancer were observed for the three genetic models. Collectively, the data failed to suggest CCND1 G870A polymorphism as a low-penetrant risk factor for developing oral carcinoma. Additional studies with large sample sizes concerning different ethnicities in different areas are required.

NAT2 polymorphisms with oral carcinoma susceptibility: a meta-analysis.

Published data have implicated NAT2 polymorphisms as risk factors for various cancers. A number of studies have focused on the association of NAT2 polymorphisms with susceptibility to oral carcinoma and have yielded inconclusive results. The aim of the present study was to derive a more precise estimation of the relationship. We first carried out a deliberate search in the databases without a language limitation, covering all papers published up to Dec 2011. A total of seven case-control studies including 1,379 cases and 1,868 controls were selected and the relevant data were extracted for systematic meta-analyses. No significant association was found for the overall data (OR: 1.04, 95 % CI: 0.79-1.39). In subgroup analyses according to ethnicity, slow acetylators might increase oral cancer risk among Asians (OR: 1.38, 95 % CI: 1.04-1.82) but not Caucasians or Mixed races. The data suggested that NAT2 polymorphisms might be a low-penetrant risk factor for oral carcinoma in Asians.

[Dynamic observation on serum sialic acid in nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients].

OBJECTIVE: To discuss the diagnostic value and possibility to be a dynamic monitoring index of serum sialic acid (SA) in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients. METHODS: Serum SA and Epstein-Barr virus-viral coat antigens-IgA (EBV-VCA-IgA) were detected in 50 cases of NPC before treatment, after clinical recovery and recurrence. Healthy adult and patients of benign lesions of head and neck were also detected as controls. RESULTS: SA and EBV-VCA-IgA were positively related significantly in different periods of NPC patients. SA was significantly varied dynamically before and after radiation and chemical therapy in NPC patients. The positive rate of SA was 94.0% (47/50) before treatment, 2.0% (1/50) after clinical recovery, 96.2% (25/26) in recurrent patient and 4.2% (1/24) in patients without recurrence. The reaction of EBV-VCA-IgA was slow and its corresponding positive rates were 90.0%, 90.0%, 84.6%, 0% and 75.0% respectively. The sensitivity of SA in pre-treated NPC patients was 94.0%, higher than EBV-VCA-IgA (90.0%). The specificity of serum SA was 93.0% in this series, lower than that of EBV-VCA-IgA (96.0%). CONCLUSION: Dynamic detections of serum SA combined with EBV-VCA-IgA can be used as indices in dictating the changes in NPC patients and screening of high-risk population, judgment of curative effect and prediction of prognosis.