Plos One
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Many different countries have been under lockdown or extreme social distancing measures to control the spread of COVID-19. The potentially far-reaching side effects of these measures have not yet been fully understood. In this study we analyse the results of a multi-country survey conducted in Italy (N = 3,504), Spain (N = 3,524) and the United Kingdom (N = 3,523), with two separate analyses. ⋯ To quantify the size of this affected population, we compare its magnitude with the number of people affected by COVID-19 using measures of susceptibility, vulnerability and behavioural change collected in the same questionnaire. We find that the concern for the economy and for "the way out" of the lockdown is diffuse and there is evidence of minor underreporting. Additionally, we estimate that around 42.8% of the populations in the three countries are at high risk of stress, anxiety, and depression, based on their level of economic vulnerability and their exposure to a negative economic shock.
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Risk prediction models allow clinicians to forecast which individuals are at a higher risk for developing a particular outcome. We developed and internally validated a delirium prediction model for incident delirium parameterized to patient ICU admission acuity. ⋯ Our results support external validation of a prediction model parameterized to patient ICU admission acuity to predict a patients' risk for ICU delirium. Classification of patients' risk for ICU delirium by admission acuity may allow for efficient initiation of prevention measures based on individual risk profiles.
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Few investigations have explored the potential impact of the Affordable Care Act on health disparity outcomes in states that chose to forgo Medicaid expansion. Filling this evidence gap is pressing as Congress grapples with controversial healthcare legislation that could phase out Medicaid expansion. Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a commonly diagnosed, preventable cancer in the US that disproportionately burdens African American men and has substantial potential to be impacted by improved healthcare insurance coverage. ⋯ Health exchanges and Medicaid expansion improved simulated CRC outcomes overall, though the impact was more substantial among AAs. Relative to health exchanges alone, Medicaid expansion would prevent between 7.1 to 25.5 CRC cases and 4.1 to 16.4 per 100,000 CRC cases among AA and White males, respectively. Our findings suggest policies that expanding affordable, quality healthcare coverage could have a demonstrable, cost-saving impact while reducing cancer disparities.
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Comparative Study
Comparisons of retinal vessel density and glaucomatous parameters in optical coherence tomography angiography.
To compare the retinal vessel density and glaucomatous parameters in primary angle closure glaucoma (PACG), to evaluate the diagnostic and monitoring abilities of the peripapillary and macular vessel density in the progression of glaucoma. ⋯ The changes of PVD and MVD had strongly positive correlation with GCIPL thickness and RNFL thickness, had negative correlation with the severity of glaucoma, which meant the more severe the glaucoma was, the lower PVD and MVD were. Compared to traditional glaucoma staging system judged by VF, the changes of PVD and MVD obtained by OCTA might be a new method to grade the stage of glaucoma. These findings theorize that the changes of PVD and MVD may be better facilitated for the observation and monitoring of glaucoma progression.
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What will be the global impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19)? Answering this question requires accurate forecasting the spread of confirmed cases as well as analysis of the number of deaths and recoveries. Forecasting, however, requires ample historical data. At the same time, no prediction is certain as the future rarely repeats itself in the same way as the past. ⋯ Assuming that the data used is reliable and that the future will continue to follow the past pattern of the disease, our forecasts suggest a continuing increase in the confirmed COVID-19 cases with sizable associated uncertainty. The risks are far from symmetric as underestimating its spread like a pandemic and not doing enough to contain it is much more severe than overspending and being over careful when it will not be needed. This paper describes the timeline of a live forecasting exercise with massive potential implications for planning and decision making and provides objective forecasts for the confirmed cases of COVID-19.