Search

Over the last 20 years, internet usage has increased substantially, providing an inexpensive source of data that may be less prone to bias and could provide a greater number of meso and macro units. However, validating big data and their usefulness has been challenging. This study uses established sources to validate Google Trends' search interest in the "Bible" across US Designated Market Areas and "Ramadan" across nations, establishing a potential new source of religion data. We then use these measures to show that people from religiously conservative US areas and countries are more likely to disapprove of homosexuality, abortion and pornography. Conversely, Americans from conservative religious areas are also more likely to search for these topics; and cross-national interest in Islam is associated with increased interest in pornography. Our study offers insight into Google Trends' potential for social science research and a roadmap on how to use these data., (Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Objectives/hypothesis: Childhood obesity, defined as body mass index (BMI) ≥ 95%, is a significant health problem associated with a variety of disorders, and in adults it has been found to be a risk factor for hearing loss. We investigated the hypothesis that obese children are at increased risk of sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL)., Study Design: A complex, multistage, stratified geographic area design for collecting representative data from noninstitutionalized U.S. population., Methods: Relevant cross-sectional data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2005 to 2006, for 1,488 participants 12 to 19 years of age was examined. Subjects were classified as obese if their BMI ≥ 95 th percentile. SNHL was defined as average pure-tone level greater than 15 dB for 0.5, 1, and 2 kHz (low frequency) and 3, 4, 6, and 8 kHz (high frequency)., Results: Compared to normal weight participants (BMI 5%-85%), obesity in adolescents was associated with elevated pure tone hearing thresholds and greater prevalence of unilateral low-frequency SNHL (15.2 vs. 8.3%, P = 0.01). In multivariate analyses, obesity was associated with a 1.85 fold increase in the odds of unilateral low-frequency SNHL (95% CI: 1.10-3.13) after controlling for multiple hearing-related covariates., Conclusions: We demonstrate for the first time that obesity in childhood is associated with higher hearing thresholds across all frequencies and an almost 2-fold increase in the odds of unilateral low-frequency hearing loss. These results add to the growing literature on obesity-related health disturbances and also add to the urgency in instituting public health measures to reduce it., (Copyright © 2013 The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.)

Importance: Although smoking and secondhand smoke exposure are associated with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) in children and adults, the possible association between prenatal smoke exposure and hearing loss has not been investigated despite the fact that more than 12% of US children experience such prenatal exposure each year., Objective: To investigate whether exposure to prenatal tobacco smoke is independently associated with SNHL in adolescents., Design: Cross-sectional data were examined for 964 adolescents aged 12 to 15 years from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2005-2006., Participants: Participants underwent standardized audiometric testing, and serum cotinine levels and self-reports were used to identify adolescents exposed to secondhand smoke or active smokers., Main Outcomes and Measures: Prenatal exposure was defined as an affirmative parental response to, "Did [Sample Person's Name] biological mother smoke at any time while she was pregnant with [him/her]?" Sensorineural hearing loss was defined as an average pure-tone hearing level more than 15 dB for 0.5, 1, and 2 kHz (low frequency) and 3, 4, 6, and 8 kHz (high frequency)., Results: Parental responses affirmed prenatal smoke exposure in 16.2% of 964 adolescents. Prenatal smoke exposure was associated with elevated pure-tone hearing thresholds at 2 and 6 kHz (P < .05), a higher rate of unilateral low-frequency SNHL (17.6% vs 7.1%; P < .05) in bivariate analyses, and a 2.6-fold increased odds of having unilateral low-frequency SNHL in multivariate analyses (95% CI, 1.1-6.4) after controlling for multiple hearing-related covariates., Conclusions and Relevance: Prenatal smoke exposure is independently associated with higher pure-tone hearing thresholds and an almost 3-fold increase in the odds of unilateral low-frequency hearing loss among adolescents. These novel findings suggest that in utero exposure to tobacco smoke may be injurious to the auditory system.

Extensive research shows maternal depression to be associated with poorer child outcomes, and characteristics of these mothers have been described. Recent research describes associations of paternal depressive symptoms and child behavioral and emotional outcomes, but characteristics of these fathers have not been investigated. This study describes characteristics of fathers with depressive symptoms in the USA. Utilizing data from 7,247 fathers and mothers living in households with children aged 5-17 years who participated in the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey 2004-2006, the Patient Health Questionnaire-2 was used to assess parental depressive symptoms, the Short Form-12 was used to examine paternal and maternal physical health, the Columbia Impairment Scale was used to measure child behavioral or emotional problems, and the Children with Special Health Care Needs Screener was used to identify children with special health care needs. In multivariate analyses, poverty (AOR 1.52; 95% CI 1.05-2.22), maternal depressive symptoms (AOR 5.77; 95% CI 4.18-7.95), living with a child with special health care needs (AOR 1.42, 95% CI 1.04-1.94), poor paternal physical health (AOR 3.31; 95% CI 2.50-4.38) and paternal unemployment (AOR 6.49; 95% CI 4.12-10.22) were independently associated with increased rates of paternal depressive symptoms. These are the first data that demonstrate that poverty, paternal physical health problems, having a child with special health care needs, maternal depressive symptoms, and paternal unemployment are independently associated with paternal depressive symptoms, with paternal unemployment associated with the highest rates of such problems.

Background: The negative effects of maternal mental health problems on child health are well documented. In contrast, there is a profound paucity of information about paternal mental health's association with child health., Objective: To investigate the association of paternal mental health problems and depressive symptoms and children's emotional or behavioral problems., Methods: We analyzed Medical Expenditure Panel Survey data, which included a representative sample of US children (N = 21 993) aged 5 to 17 years and their mothers and fathers. The main outcome measure was child emotional or behavioral problems assessed by using the Columbia Impairment Scale., Results: Paternal depressive symptoms, as assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-2, and mental health problems, more generally, assessed by using the Short-Form 12 Scale, were independently associated with increased rates of child emotional or behavioral problems even after controlling for numerous potential confounders including maternal depressive symptoms and other mental health problems. The adjusted odds ratio (aOR) for emotional or behavioral problems among children of fathers with depressive symptoms was 1.72 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.33-2.23) and the aOR associated with abnormal paternal scores on the mental component scale of the Short-Form 12 was 1.33 (95% CI: 1.10-1.62) for those within 1 SD below average and 1.48 (95% CI: 1.20-1.84) for those >1 SD below average., Conclusions: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to use a representative US sample to demonstrate that living with fathers with depressive symptoms and other mental health problems is independently associated with increased rates of emotional or behavioral problems of children.

Objective: To investigate the hypothesis that second-hand smoke (SHS) exposure is associated with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) in adolescents., Design: A complex, multistage, stratified geographic area design for collecting representative data from the noninstitutionalized US population., Participants: Cross-sectional data from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2005-2006) were available for 1533 participants 12 to 19 years of age who underwent audiometric testing, had serum cotinine levels available, and were not actively smoking., Main Outcome Measures: SNHL was defined as an average pure-tone level greater than 15 dB for 0.5, 1, and 2 kHz (low frequency) and 3, 4, 6, and 8 kHz (high frequency)., Results: Secondhand smoke exposure, as assessed by serum cotinine levels, was associated with elevated pure-tone hearing thresholds at 2, 3, and 4 kHz, a higher rate of unilateral low-frequency SNHL (11.8% vs 7.5%; P < .04), and a 1.83-fold increased risk of unilateral low-frequency SNHL in multivariate analyses (95% confidence interval, 1.08-3.41). The prevalence of SNHL was directly related to level of SHS exposure as reflected by serum cotinine levels. In addition, nearly 82% of adolescents with SNHL did not recognize hearing difficulties., Conclusions: Secondhand smoke is associated with elevated pure-tone thresholds and an increased prevalence of low-frequency SNHL that is directly related to level of exposure, and most affected individuals are unaware of the hearing loss. Thus, adolescents exposed to SHS may need to be closely monitored for early hearing loss with periodic audiologic testing.

Secondhand smoke is one of the most common toxic environmental exposures to children, and maternal health problems also have substantial negative effects on children. We are unaware of any studies examining the association of living with smokers and maternal health. To investigate whether non-smoking mothers who live with smokers have worse physical and mental health than non-smoking mothers who live in homes without smokers. Nationally representative data from the 2000-2004 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey were used. The health of non-smoking mothers with children <18 years (n = 18,810) was assessed, comparing those living with one or more smokers (n = 3,344) to those living in households with no adult smokers (n = 14,836). Associations between maternal health, household smoking, and maternal age, race/ethnicity, and marital, educational, poverty and employment status were examined in bivariable and multivariable analyses using SUDAAN software to adjust for the complex sampling design. Scores on the Medical Outcomes Short Form-12 (SF-12) Physical Component Scale (PCS) and Mental Component Scale (MCS) were used to assess maternal health. About 79.2% of mothers in the USA are non-smokers and 17.4% of them live with ≥1 adult smokers: 14.2% with 1 and 3.2% with ≥2 smokers. Among non-smoking mothers, the mean MCS score is 50.5 and mean PCS is 52.9. The presence of an adult smoker and increasing number of smokers in the home are both negatively associated with MCS and PCS scores in bivariable analyses (P < 0.001 for each). Non-smoking mothers with at least one smoker in the household had an 11% (95% CI = 0.80-0.99) lower odds of scoring at or above the mean MCS score and a 19% (95% CI = 0.73-0.90) lower odds of scoring at or above the mean PCS score compared to non-smoking mothers with no smokers in the household. There is an evidence of a dose response relationship with increasing number of smokers in the household for PCS (P < 0.001). These findings demonstrate a previously unrecognized child health risk: living with smokers is independently associated with worse physical and mental health among non-smoking mothers.

Conclusions: Significant difference in the incidence of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations was found between the Chinese and USA populations. The identification of the mtDNA A1555G mutation in a large proportion of Chinese probands with nonsyndromic sensorineural hearing loss (NSHL) provides a molecular explanation for the high prevalence of aminoglycoside-induced deafness in China., Objective: The aim was to characterize the audiological and genetic features of NSHL due to mutations in mtDNA., Subjects and Methods: The mtDNA and audiogram analyses were performed in 498 NSHL patients (290 from China and 208 from the USA) with and without history of aminoglycoside exposure. A PCR and restriction enzyme digestion protocol was used for mutational screening and the European Workshop on Genetic Hearing Loss criteria were applied for audiological classification., Results: All Chinese probands (15.5%) with mtDNA mutation were found to carry the homoplasmic mtDNA A1555G mutation, whereas four probands (1.9%) from the USA were found to carry the mtDNA A1555G and two (1%) had mtDNA G7444A. Approximately 63% of the probands with mtDNA mutations had post-lingual hearing loss and 56.8% of them had a medical history of exposure to aminoglycosides. Hearing losses are bilateral, sensorineural, and symmetric. The main audiogram shapes found were sloping.

Background: Nonuniform attenuation artifacts cause suboptimal specificity of stress single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) myocardial perfusion images. In phantoms, normal subjects, and patients suspected of having coronary artery disease (CAD), we evaluated a new hybrid attenuation correction (AC) system that combines x-ray computed tomography (CT) with conventional stress SPECT imaging., Methods and Results: The effect of CT-based AC was evaluated in phantoms by assessing homogeneity of normal cardiac inserts. AC improved homogeneity of normal cardiac phantoms from 11% +/- 2% to 5% +/- 1% (P < .001). Attenuation-corrected normal patient files were created from 37 normal subjects with a low likelihood (<3%) of CAD. The diagnostic performance of AC for detection of CAD was evaluated in 118 patients who had stress technetium 99m sestamibi or tetrofosmin stress SPECT imaging and coronary angiography. SPECT images with and without AC were interpreted by 4 blinded readers with different interpretative attitudes. Overall, AC improved the diagnostic performance of all readers, particularly the normalcy rate. The degree of improvement depended on interpretative attitude. Readers prone to high sensitivity or with less experience had the greatest gain in the normalcy rate, whereas a reader prone to higher specificity had improvements in sensitivity and specificity but not the normalcy rate. Importantly, improvement of one diagnostic variable was not associated with worsening of other variables., Conclusion: CT-based AC of SPECT images consistently improved overall diagnostic performance of readers with different interpretive attitudes and experience. CT-based AC is well suited for routine use in clinical practice.