Search Results (4)

Background: Migraine is a highly prevalent and disabling neurological disorder among university students that has significant impacts on personal and socioeconomic levels. Despite its impact, migraine remains underdiagnosed and undertreated. Objective: This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of probable migraine among university students in Greece and explore its association with sociodemographic data. Methods: A cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study was conducted between September 2023 and January 2024 among university students in Greece using a convenience sampling method. The Headache Screening Questionnaire—English Version (HSQ-EV) was used to screen for probable migraine, along with additional questions assessing demographic characteristics. Descriptive statistics and bivariate analyses were performed. Results: The prevalence of probable migraine was 20%. Female students were more likely to experience migraine compared to males. Migraine was also statistically significantly associated with marital status and employment status. In a multivariate logistic regression model including sex assigned at birth, age, educational level, marital status, and employment status, older age was independently associated with higher odds of migraine. Conclusions: Migraine is a prevalent health issue among university students in Greece, with clear gender and sociodemographic associations. Future studies with larger, more representative sample sizes and the use of validated diagnostic tools are needed to understand its determinants and inform targeted interventions. Full article

Forensic anthropologists have a responsibility to appropriately relay information about a decedent in medicolegal reports and when communicating with the public. The terms ‘sex’ and ‘sex estimation’ have been applied with numerous, inconsistent definitions under the guise that sex—a broad, complex concept—can be reduced to a female/male binary. This binary does not reflect biocultural realities and harms those whose bodies do not meet social expectations of maleness or femaleness. The University of Nevada, Las Vegas’ Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Laboratory (UNLV FAB Lab) advocates for the use of the term ‘assigned sex at birth’ (ASAB) to highlight that binary sex is not biologically inherent to the body, but rather, assigned by society. Additionally, we call for the use of disclaimers in case reports to denote the limitations of ASAB estimation methods, the differentiation between those with mixed trait expression (i.e., indeterminate) and those on whom an ASAB analysis cannot be performed (i.e., unknown), and the included consideration of gender in forensic anthropology research and case reports. Such applications challenge biological normalcy, allowing forensic anthropologists to actively advocate for those whose bodies do not meet biocultural expectations. Full article

Methods for estimating assigned, binary sex at birth from skeletonized remains have primarily been developed for specific population groups in the U.S. (e.g., African American, European American, Hispanic) and, thus, inherently rely on ancestry estimation as a foundational component for constructing the biological profile. However, ongoing discussions in forensic anthropology highlight pressing issues with ancestry estimation practices. Therefore, this research provides population-inclusive assigned-sex estimation models for cases where ancestry is not estimated or is truly unknown. The study sample (n = 431) includes 3D volume-rendered skull computed tomography scans from the novel New Mexico Decedent Image Database of African, Asian, European, Latin, and Native Americans. Five standard nonmetric traits were scored, and eighteen standard measurements were obtained. Binary logistic regressions and discriminant function analyses were employed to produce models and classification accuracies, and intraobserver reliability was assessed. The population-inclusive nonmetric and metric models produced cross-validated classification accuracies of 81.0–87.0% and 86.7–87.0%, respectively, which did not differ significantly from the accuracy of most population-specific models. Moreover, combined nonmetric and metric models increased accuracy to 88.8–91.6%. This study indicates that population-inclusive assigned-sex estimation models can be used instead of population-specific models in cases where ancestry is intentionally not estimated, given current concerns with ancestry estimation. Full article

Background: It is well established that short-term exposure to ambient air pollutants can exacerbate asthma, the role of early life or long-term exposure is less clear. We assessed the association between severe asthma exacerbations with both birth and annual exposure to outdoor air pollutants with a population-based cohort of asthmatic children in the province of Quebec (Canada). Method: Exacerbations of asthma occurring between 1 April 1996 and 31 March 2011 were defined as one hospitalization or emergency room visit with a diagnosis of asthma for children (<13 years old) already diagnosed with asthma. Annual daily average concentrations of ozone (O₃) and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) were estimated at the child’s residential postal code. Satellite based levels of fine particulate (PM_2.5) estimated for a grid of 10 km by 10 km were also assigned to postal codes of residence for the whole province. Hazard ratios (HRs) were estimated from Cox models with a gap time approach for both birth and time-dependant exposure. Results: Of the 162,752 asthmatic children followed (1,020,280 person-years), 35,229 had at least one asthma exacerbation. The HRs stratified by age groups and adjusted for the year of birth, the ordinal number of exacerbations, sex, as well as material and social deprivation, showed an interquartile range increase in the time-dependant exposure to NO₂ (4.95 ppb), O₃ (3.85 ppb), and PM_2.5 (1.82 μg/m³) of 1.095 (95% CI 1.058–1.131), 1.052 (95% CI 1.037–1.066) and 1.025 (95% CI 1.017–1.031), respectively. While a positive association was found to PM_2.5, no associations were found between exposure at birth to NO₂ or O₃. Conclusions: Our results support the conclusion, within the limitation of this study, that asthma exacerbations in asthmatic children are mainly associated with time dependent residential exposures less with exposure at birth. Full article