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At least 703 records · Page 39Linked to original sources
PubMed2003

Prevalence of potential noninvasive arrhythmia risk predictors in healthy, middle-aged persons.

BACKGROUND: To date, prevalence and clinical significance of noninvasive arrhythmia risk predictors in apparently healthy, middle-aged persons are largely unknown. METHODS: A total of 110 apparently healthy persons 20-75 years old were enrolled in this prospective observational monocenter study and followed up for 32 +/- 15 months. Baseline investigations included symptom-limited bicycle ergometry, echocardiography, time-domain analysis, and spectral turbulence analysis of the signal-averaged electrocardiogram (ECG), ventricular arrhythmias, and heart rate variability on 24-hour Holter ECG, baroreflex sensitivity, and t-wave alternans in all persons. RESULTS: The prevalence of an abnormal signal-averaged ECG was 1% for spectral turbulence analysis and varied between 1% and 37% for time-domain analysis depending upon the definition used for an abnormal time-domain analysis. A reduced heart rate variability defined as a standard deviation of normal-to-normal intervals < or =105 ms, <100 ms and <70 ms was found in 12%, 9%, and 1% of persons. A baroreflex sensitivity <6 ms/mmHg and <3 ms/mmHg was present in 15% and 2% of persons. Microvolt t-wave alternans was found to be positive in 5%, negative in 88%, and indeterminate in 7% of persons, respectively. During the 32 +/- 15 months follow-up, no arrhythmic events and no cardiovascular mortality were observed in this population. CONCLUSIONS: Abnormal findings of noninvasive arrhythmia risk stratification can be found in 1-37% of healthy, middle-aged persons when previously reported cut-off values are used.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

The combination of a continuous 12-lead ECG and troponin T; a valuable tool for risk stratification during the first 6 hours in patients with chest pain and a non-diagnostic ECG.

AIMS: The aim was to examine the early prognostic value of a combination of a continuous 12-lead ECG and troponin T in patients with chest pain and an ECG non-diagnostic for acute myocardial infarction. METHODS AND RESULTS: ST monitoring was performed and samples for analysis of troponin T were collected from admission for 12 h from 598 patients. After 6 h, the peak value of troponin T in 27% was > or = 0.10 microg.l(- 1), while 15% had had ST episodes, defined as transient ST deviations of at least 0.1 mV. Both a troponin T > or = 0.10 microg. l(-1) and ST episodes predicted worsening outcome. After 30 days, there were 6.8% and 1.4% (P<0.01) cardiac deaths or myocardial infarctions in the group with and without troponin T > or = 0.10 microg.l(-1), respectively. The corresponding event rates in patients with and without ST episodes were 10% and 1.6% (P<0.001). In a multivariate analysis both troponin T and ST episodes were independent predictors of cardiac death or myocardial infarction. When ST monitoring and troponin T status were combined, patients could be divided into low-, intermediate-, and high-risk groups. CONCLUSIONS: A combination of continuous 12-lead monitoring and troponin T seems to be a valuable tool for risk stratification during the first 6 h in this population.

Aged↗
PubMed2004

Stratification of activity and bacterial community structure in biofilms grown on membranes transferring oxygen.

Previous studies have shown that membrane-aerated biofilm (MAB) reactors can simultaneously remove carbonaceous and nitrogenous pollutants from wastewater in a single reactor. Oxygen is provided to MABs through gas-permeable membranes such that the region nearest the membrane is rich in oxygen but low in organic carbon, whereas the outer region of the biofilm is void of oxygen but rich in organic carbon. In this study, MABs were grown under similar conditions but at two different fluid velocities (2 and 14 cm s(-1)) across the biofilm. MABs were analyzed for changes in biomass density, respiratory activity, and bacterial community structure as functions of biofilm depth. Biomass density was generally highest near the membrane and declined with distance from the membrane. Respiratory activity exhibited a hump-shaped profile, with the highest activity occurring in the middle of the biofilm. Community analysis by PCR cloning and PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis of 16S rRNA genes demonstrated substantial stratification of the community structure across the biofilm. Population profiles were also generated by competitive quantitative PCR of gene fragments specific for ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) (amoA) and denitrifying bacteria (nirK and nirS). At a flow velocity of 14 cm s(-1), AOB were found only near the membrane, whereas denitrifying bacteria proliferated in the anoxic outer regions of the biofilm. In contrast, at a flow velocity of 2 cm s(-1), AOB were either not detected or detected at a concentration near the detection limit. This study suggests that, under the appropriate conditions, both AOB and denitrifying bacteria can coexist within an MAB.

Bacteria↗
PubMed2006

Body mass index and adenocarcinomas of the esophagus or gastric cardia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: The incidence of esophageal adenocarcinoma has increased markedly in recent decades in many countries. Obesity is a potential risk factor, although the results of individual studies differ. We did a systematic review and statistical synthesis of studies that evaluated the association between body mass index (BMI) and the risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma or the adjacent gastric cardia adenocarcinoma. METHODS: We identified potential studies using Medline, the Web of Science database, a manual review of the literature and expert bibliographies. Studies were included if they reported (a) a measure of body mass; (b) the occurrence of esophageal or cardia adenocarcinoma diagnosis; and (c) a relative risk or odds ratio (OR) with confidence intervals (CI) or provided sufficient data to permit their calculation. RESULTS: We identified 14 studies (2 cohort, 12 case-control; 2,488 esophageal and 2,509 cardia adenocarcinomas). A high BMI (>25) was associated with an increased risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma (males, OR, 2.2; 95% CI, 1.7-2.7; females, OR, 2.0; 95% CI, 1.4-2.9). Higher levels of BMI were associated with increased risk (overweight males, OR, 1.8; 95% CI, 1.5-2.2; obese males, OR, 2.4; 95% CI, 1.9-3.2). The overall associations with cardia cancer were heterogeneous, although stratification by study location provided homogeneous results for populations from the United States or Europe. A high BMI was weakly associated with the risk of cardia adenocarcinoma (OR, 1.5; 95% CI, 1.3-1.8; P(heterogeneity) = 0.38). CONCLUSIONS: Pooled results from observational studies support a positive association between high BMI and the risk for esophageal and possibly for cardia adenocarcinoma.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1998

Rescue coronary angiography after failed thrombolysis: a real-life experience.

Failed thrombolysis in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients is associated with a high risk of morbidity and mortality. Rescue or salvage percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) in this group of patients is still controversial. We report our experience with early emergency angiography and rescue PTCA in 27 patients who were hemodynamically unstable or had a large area of myocardium at risk after failed thrombolysis. Rescue PTCA was successful in 95% of attempted PTCA. Three patients were referred to emergency CABG. Early 'rescue angiography' with or without rescue PTCA after failed thrombolysis in a selected patient population, is an important tool for early risk stratification and decision-making during the hyperacute phase of AMI, while it may also serve in restoring coronary artery patency of the infarct-related artery with a high success rate.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Dialysis patients and cardiovascular problems: Can technology help solve the complex equation?

Patients with end-stage kidney disease undergoing chronic hemodialysis (HD) present higher mortality rates compared with the general population. Once patients are on HD, the risk of cardiovascular death is approximately 30 times higher than in the general population and remains 10-20 times higher after stratification for age, gender, and the presence of diabetes. About half the deaths of patients on dialysis are attributed to cardiovascular causes including coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, peripheral vascular disease, and heart failure. The cardiovascular burden of the HD patient arises from three different sources: risks inherent to the patient and the uremic syndrome, traditional risk factors, and risk factors related to the dialysis therapy. Based on these considerations and the fact that several aspects of the dialysis procedure can either add to the cardiovascular burden or modify the existing burden, new technologies should be directed towards the approach of a potential 'cardioprotective dialysis therapy'; such an approach may be facilitated by the application of new techniques and advanced dialysis machines. Created to make dialysis easy and safe, new machines feature several options that make patient monitoring and online hemodiafiltration therapy routine procedures. These and other features will possibly make dialysis better tolerated and more efficient in protecting patients from undesirable or potentially fatal cardiovascular events.

Age Factors↗
PubMed2005

Hypoattenuation on CT angiographic source images predicts risk of intracerebral hemorrhage and outcome after intra-arterial reperfusion therapy.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Symptomatic hemorrhagic transformation (HT) is a significant complication of intravenous and catheter-based reperfusion. We hypothesized that the degree of vascular insufficiency, reflected as hypoattenuation on initial CT angiography (CTA) axial source images, is predictive of HT risk in stroke patients receiving intra-arterial reperfusion therapy. METHODS: We examined initial CTA source images and follow-up CT scans in 32 consecutive patients. Regions of interest were semiautomatically segmented and reviewed. Mean intensity was determined in the region of maximal hypoattenuation and in normal contralateral tissue, and the arithmetic difference (deltaHU) calculated. Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves and cross-validation were used to identify threshold deltaHU values. RESULTS: Thirteen patients had HT on follow-up CT (seven with parenchymal hematoma, six with hemorrhagic infarction). Patients with and those without HT did not differ in age, blood glucose level, lesion volume, or time to treatment or recanalization, though the former had a greater mean deltaHU (9.0 vs 6.3, P = .006). The ROC threshold at deltaHU > or = 8.1 was 69% sensitive and 90% specific for patients who developed HT (odds ratio = 19.1; 95% confidence interval: 2.9, 125; P = .002) and was predictive of poor clinical outcome (modified Rankin scale score > 2, P = .03). Neither HT in general nor parenchymal hematoma subtype was associated with poor outcome. CONCLUSION: The degree of hypoattenuation on initial CTA source images is a risk factor for HT and poor clinical outcome after intra-arterial reperfusion therapy. Prospective validation of this relationship in large populations may permit feasible real-time risk stratification.

Aged↗
PubMed2004

Natural progression of diabetic peripheral neuropathy in the Zenarestat study population.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to report the baseline and natural progression of diabetic peripheral neuropathy over 12 months in a large mild-to-moderate neuropathy population. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Patients from a multicentered trial of zenarestat, an aldose reductase inhibitor, had serial measures of neurologic function, including nerve conduction studies (NCSs), quantitative sensory testing (QST), and clinical neuropathy rating scores at baseline and at 12 months. Baseline population descriptors and changes in neurologic function in placebo-treated patients were analyzed. RESULTS: Sural sensory velocity (P = 0.0008 [95% CI -1.04 to -0.27]), median sensory amplitude (P = 0.0021 [-1.3 to -0.29]), median distal motor latency (P = 0.002 [0.09-0.28]), cool thermal QST (P = 0.0005 [0.27-0.94]), and Michigan Neuropathy Screening Instrument results (P = 0.0087 [0.04-0.30]) declined significantly from baseline in the placebo population. NCS changes from baseline were independent of baseline HbA1c stratification. CONCLUSIONS: The neurologic decline over 12 months is evident when measured by NCS and cool thermal QST. Other measures (vibration QST, neuropathy rating scores, monofilament examination) are insensitive to changes over 12 months in a mild-to-moderate affected population of this size.

Aldehyde Reductase↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Association between social class and food consumption in the Italian EPIC population.

AIMS AND BACKGROUND: The objectives of the present study were to validate the social stratification variables adopted by the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) by comparing them with data from another independent source and to evaluate the geographic and social distribution of eating habits in the Italian EPIC population. METHODS: The validation of the socioeconomic data collected by the EPIC study was performed with the Turin Longitudinal Study as gold standard and using Cohen's kappa statistics to evaluate the concordance between the studies. We then analyzed food groups based on the consumption of meat and fats, carbohydrates, sweets and alcohol, and on an index of the Mediterranean diet. The standardized scores for each food group were subdivided into quartiles, which were used to compare persons in the extreme quartiles. Analysis of the differences in eating habits by center and by educational level was conducted separately for men and women, calculating the prevalence rate ratios and controlling for age, area of birth and body mass index. RESULTS: Concordance between the two data sources was high for educational level and low for the social-class index based on occupation. Most of the eating habits considered to be potentially harmful (high consumption of meat or fats and alcohol and low consumption of olive oil and fish) were more frequent in Northern than in Southern Italy. These habits were inversely correlated with educational level, especially in the South. CONCLUSIONS: A significant improvement in health could be obtained in the Italian population if culturally and socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals were to abandon their diet rich in meat and fats, as done by more advantaged persons. In the absence of preventive interventions specifically addressed to disadvantaged groups, it is likely that social inequalities in mortality and morbidity will increase.

Adult↗
PubMed2026

Divergent autoimmune genetic landscapes in diabetic and non-diabetic individuals.

BACKGROUND: Type 2 diabetes (T2D) and autoimmune diseases are complex disorders shaped by genetic, immunological, and environmental factors. However, differences in genetic susceptibility to autoimmune disorders between diabetic and non-diabetic individuals remain poorly understood, particularly within the Indian population. This study aimed to compare polygenic susceptibility to multiple autoimmune diseases between individuals with and without T2D from Gujarat, India. RESULTS: Polygenic risk scores were evaluated for eleven autoimmune diseases in 474 individuals, including 99 diabetics and 375 non-diabetics. Significant differences were observed for systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis. Individuals with diabetes showed a higher genetic risk for systemic lupus erythematosus, whereas non-diabetic individuals exhibited a higher genetic risk for rheumatoid arthritis. Pathway enrichment analysis of disease-associated genetic variants revealed significant involvement of immune-related pathways, including antigen processing and presentation, T-helper cell differentiation, and immune responses to viral infections. CONCLUSIONS: The findings reveal disease-specific differences in genetic susceptibility to autoimmune disorders between diabetic and non-diabetic individuals. These results highlight the complex immunogenetic relationship between type 2 diabetes and autoimmune diseases and provide insight into shared and distinct immune pathways within an Indian population. Such information may support future efforts in risk stratification and precision medicine approaches for immune-related comorbidities in diabetes.

Humans↗
PubMed2006

Prognosis of stable angina pectoris: why we need larger population studies with higher endpoint resolution.

The prognosis of angina was described as "unhappy" by the Framingham investigators and as little different from that of 1-year survivors of acute myocardial infarction. Yet recent clinical trials now report that angina has a good prognosis with adverse outcomes reduced to "normal levels". These disparate prognostic assessments may not be incompatible, applying as they do to population cohorts (Framingham) and selected participants in clinical trials. Comparisons between studies are further complicated by the absence of agreed case definitions for stable angina (contrast this with acute coronary syndromes). Our recent data show that for patients with recent onset symptoms attending chest pain clinics, angina remains a high-risk diagnosis and although many patients receive symptomatic benefit from revascularisation, prognosis is usually unaffected. This leaves little room for complacency and, with angina the commonest initial manifestation of coronary artery disease, there is the opportunity for early detection, risk stratification and treatment to modify outcomes. Meanwhile, larger population-based studies are needed to define the patient journey from earliest presentation through the various syndrome transitions to coronary or noncardiac death in order to increase understanding of the aetiological and prognostic differences between the different coronary disease phenotypes.

Age Distribution↗
PubMed2001

Pulmonary infectious mortality among patients with end-stage renal disease.

BACKGROUND: Infection is the second-leading cause of death among patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). This is due in part to advanced age, comorbid conditions, and immune dysfunction observed in uremic states. Although one may hypothesize that pulmonary infectious mortality is higher among patients with ESRD compared with the general population (GP), no such data are currently available. METHODS: We compared annual pulmonary infectious mortality rates among patients with ESRD to those in the GP. The data were abstracted from the United States Renal Data System and the National Center for Health Statistics, respectively, and were stratified by age, gender, race, and presence or absence of diabetes mellitus (DM). In the GP, primary and multiple cause-of-death analyses were performed to account for potential limitations of the data sources. RESULTS: Overall, pulmonary infectious mortality rate was 14-fold to 16-fold higher in dialysis patients and approximately twofold higher in renal transplant recipients compared with the GP. After stratification for age, differences between groups decreased but retained their magnitude. CONCLUSION: Patients with ESRD treated with dialysis have higher pulmonary infectious mortality rates compared with the GP, even after stratification for age, race, and DM. Consequently, this patient population must be considered at high risk for the development of lethal pulmonary infections.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Calcium-regulated differentiation of normal human epidermal keratinocytes in chemically defined clonal culture and serum-free serial culture.

An improved serum-free culture system has been developed for normal human epidermal keratinocytes (HK). Short-term clonal growth and differentiation studies are routinely performed in a defined medium consisting of optimized nutrient medium MCDB 153 supplemented with epidermal growth factor, insulin, hydrocortisone, ethanolamine, and phosphoethanolamine. A small amount of whole bovine pituitary extract (wBPE) is added for initiation of primary cultures, for frozen storage, and for serial culture. The need for feeder layers, conditioned medium, serum, and specialized culture surfaces has been eliminated entirely. With an optimal level of calcium ion (0.3 mM), colony-forming efficiency is about 30 percent and cellular multiplication rate is 0.96 doublings per day in the defined medium. A high-calcium concentration (1.0 mM) induces stratification and terminal differentiation, which can be quantified by counting cornified envelopes that are resistant to boiling in sodium dodecyl sulfate plus dithiothreitol. Under optimal conditions with wBPE present, cellular senescence occurs after about 40 population doublings. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) has verified the occurrence of stratification during differentiation in the defined medium with high calcium. High-voltage electron microscopy (HVEM) after detergent extraction of human epidermal keratinocyte (HK) colonies grown in the defined medium with low and high calcium has revealed specific changes in the intermediate filament network and keratohyalin granules corresponding to changes in cellular differentiation. Indirect immunofluorescence studies have verified that the intermediate filament network observed with HVEM is composed of keratin proteins.

Blood↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Normal renal dimensions in a specific population.

INTRODUCTION: Renal dimensions (RD) are important for the diagnostic and the prognostic of nephropathies. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We selected 904 Brazilians subjects with normal excretory urographies, showing dense nephrogram at the 5th minute of the exam, serum creatinine < 1.3mg/dl, and absence of any disease that could modify RD. Length, width, and area of both kidneys were correlated with gender, age, height, and body weight. Five hundred and eighty one subjects were men (64.3%) and 323 were women (35.7%). Age ranged from 21 to 87 years old, body weight from 40 to 106kg (69.9+/-9.5 for men and 62.4+/-9.7 for women), and height from 1.37 to 1.94m (1.68+/-0.07 for men and 1.57+/-0.07 for women). RESULTS: There was an association (one-way Anova test) between length, width, and area, for each kidney and for both, with height (p<0.001), body weight (p<0.001), and gender (p<0.001). After adjustment for height (covariance analysis), both gender and body weight did not show influence on RD. Renal length and area reduced with aging (p<0.001), from the 7th decade compared to the others. Excluding these patients, height was the only variable to show association with RD, justifying data stratification by this variable. CONCLUSIONS: Renal length in this population showed that the normal patterns defined by other studies are inadequate for our population. Adjusting the data by height, gender, and body weight did not influence RD; however, the left kidney was bigger than the right kidney. Also, the influence of height was more pronounced below 1.66m.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1984

Early risk stratification using clinical findings in patients with acute myocardial infarction.

The value of non-invasive, clinical variables in predicting short-term outcome after acute myocardial infarction has been prospectively studied using multivariate analysis in a learning population of 1724 patients and a validation sample of 588 cases. Early risk stratification of CCU mortality could be made with 89.4% accuracy by using 7 simple clinical variables (Killip class, systolic blood pressure, heart rate, age, intraventricular conduction disturbance, localization of infarction and obesity index) recorded on admission. A discriminant function formula could also be constructed resulting in a maximal classification of 89.3% and predictive values of 91.8% and 77.9%, respectively, for 28-day survival and early death prediction in the learning population. Accuracy figures dropped only slightly (1 to 5%) in the independent test set. Predictions could be made with a high degree of accuracy, especially in the upper and lower ranges of the discriminant risk score. This investigation demonstrates that a fairly good estimation of prognosis can be made by means of discriminant analysis of clinical findings gathered routinely in most CCU's.

Aged↗
PubMed1997

L-glutamic acid decarboxylase- and gamma-aminobutyric acid-immunoreactive bipolar cells in tiger salamander retina are of ON- and OFF-response types as inferred from Lucifer Yellow injection.

The bipolar cells in vertebrate retinas are considered to be excitatory in nature and use L-glutamate as their neurotransmitter. Our earlier studies have provided evidence demonstrating that a small but significant population of orthotopic bipolar cells in salamander retina may be gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)ergic. In this work, the stratification levels of axon terminals in the inner plexiform layer (IPL) of single L-glutamic acid decarboxylase-immunoreactive (GAD-IR) and GABA-immunoreactive (GABA-IR) bipolar cells in the salamander retinal slices were studied. GAD-IR and GABA-IR bipolar cells marked by a fluorescent probe, Texas Red, were injected with Lucifer Yellow (LY) through a patch pipette under visual control. A total number of 42 GAD-IR bipolar cells in 24 slices and 84 GABA-IR bipolar cells in 56 slices were injected. Among these, terminals of nine GAD-IR bipolar cells and 22 GABA-IR bipolar cells were sufficiently filled with LY for determination of the stratification levels in the IPL. The stratification patterns and levels of GAD-IR and GABA-IR bipolar cells were very similar. GAD-IR and GABA-IR orthotopic type I and type II bipolar cells (soma located in the most distal or middle of the inner nuclear layer [INL], respectively), had their axon terminals stratified in sublamina a and sublamina b of the IPL with comparable frequency. Axonal processes were restricted largely to either the distal or the proximal region within sublaminae a and b. In addition, three of the bipolar cells had their terminals located in the middle region of the IPL. The similarities of stratification patterns and levels between GAD-IR and GABA-IR type I and type II bipolar cells indicate that they represent the same population of presumed GABAergic bipolar cells. Based on comparative stratifications of GABA bipolar cells reported here and those derived from electrophysiological studies (Hensley et al. [1993] J. Neurophysiol. 69:2086-2098), it is suggested that putative GABAergic bipolar cells represent cone-dominated and rod-dominated ON- and OFF-bipolar cells and that they subserve a broad role in the ON- and OFF-visual pathways in the retina.

Ambystoma↗
PubMed1983

The accuracy of radionuclide ventriculography in the analysis of left ventricular ejection fraction.

To assess the reliability of using ejection fraction values derived from gated blood pools scans as a way to classify patients, we reviewed 76 radionuclide studies. Each study was processed in 10 different ways (varying or fixed left ventricular region of interest in association with 5 different backgrounds), and compared with contrast ventriculograms performed within one week of the radionuclide study. Correlation values with contrast results varied from 0.76 to 0.94 (mean 0.84 +/- 0.06, +/- 1 SD), and linear fit slopes varied from 0.39 to 0.90 (mean 0.75 +/- 0.15). Based on contrast results, patients were divided first into four groups (severely reduced, reduced, normal, and high ejection fractions). Predictive accuracy of the radionuclide estimates for these four groups was poor, ranging from 0.39 +/- 0.08 to 0.82 +/- 0.06%. Sensitivity was somewhat better (range 0.53 +/- 0.11 to 0.78 +/- 0.08%), and specificity better yet (0.78 +/- 0.08 to 0.95 +/- 0.02%). The results were better with techniques resulting in higher correlation values, and further improved when patients were regrouped into two populations (normal or reduced), though 90% of subjects were correctly identified only when correlation values exceeded 0.90. We conclude that care must be taken in the identification of patients using radionuclide angiography who have normal and abnormal left ventricular function; it can be done with confidence only when linear fits with contrast ventriculographic results have high correlation coefficients. Stratification attempts should be reduced to a minimum, as multiple population subgroups result in substantial patient mislabeling.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Prevalence of and risk factors for self-reported sexually transmitted infections in Slovenia in 2000.

AIM: To estimate the prevalence of self-reported sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and examine the associations between self-reported STIs and sociodemographic and behavioral factors among sexually active Slovenians aged 18-49 years. METHODS: Data were collected during 1999-2001 from a probability sample of the general population at respondents' homes by a combination of face-to-face interviews and anonymous self-administered questionnaires. Statistical methods for complex survey data were used to account for stratification, clustered sampling, and weighing. RESULTS: The proportion of sexually active Slovenian population that reported ever being diagnosed with an STI, excluding pelvic inflammatory disease and vaginal discharge for women, was 5.5% for men and 5.1% for women. Gonorrhea was the most commonly self-reported STI among men (3.7%) and hepatitis B among women (1.7%). Independent risk factors associated with self-reported STIs included having concurrent heterosexual relationships during lifetime [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) for men 3.3 (CI 1.3-8.6) and for women 2.3 (CI 1.0-5.3)], ever having paid for sex for men (AOR 4.0, CI 1.5-10.7), and having at least 10 lifetime heterosexual partners for women (AOR 4.7, CI 1.7-13.0). CONCLUSION: Our estimates of lifetime prevalence of self-reported STIs in a probability sample of Slovenian men and women aged 18 to 49 indicate a substantial national burden of STIs. The results could be used in shaping national STI prevention and control policies and strategies. Identification of risk factors associated with self-reported STIs provide a basis for targeting prevention and control efforts to individuals at higher risk.

Adolescent↗