Clinical Trial Service Unit

About: Clinical Trial Service Unit is a based out in . It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Stroke. The organization has 428 authors who have published 1387 publications receiving 181920 citations.

Protection afforded by controlled application of a barrier cream: a study in a workplace setting

Abstract: Summary Background Skin protective creams (PCs) are used widely in industrial work environments to prevent irritant contact dermatitis. However, workplace studies remain equivocal in terms of their effectiveness, which may be partly owing to whether the PC remains on the skin. Objectives To assess the practicability of using skin occlusion testing in a workplace as a method to determine whether PCs applied under controlled conditions can reduce skin damage against known irritants. This study also compares two methods of skin evaluation: clinical dermatological assessment and bioengineering techniques. Methods Daily occlusion testing for 1 h (over two consecutive weeks) was conducted in an engineering company on the volar forearm of 21 healthy volunteer engineers with sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) and a PC that was used on site. The engineers conducted their normal work activities during the occlusion testing period. The skin areas tested were assessed using transepidermal water loss (TEWL), Chroma Meter and by visual dermatological scoring. Results Testing with PC and SLS together showed that PC does not prevent irritant contact dermatitis but significantly reduced skin damage compared with SLS alone (P < 0·01). The changes in skin were evident earlier with the biophysical measurements when compared with the dermatological assessment. Conclusions Occlusion testing is a useful method for assessing the potential effectiveness of protective creams and can be used in a workplace without affecting work practices. TEWL and the Chroma Meter provide useful objective information and should be used in combination with dermatological examinations.

Physical activity and vascular disease in a prospective cohort study of older men: The Health In Men Study (HIMS)

Abstract: The dose–response relationship between volume of physical activity and incidence of major vascular events at older age is unclear. We aimed to investigate this association in a cohort of older men. For this prospective cohort study, 7564 men aged 65–83 years and without prior vascular disease were recruited in 1996–99 from the general population in Perth, Western Australia. Men were followed up using the Western Australian Data Linkage System to identify deaths and hospitalisations. During mean follow-up of 11 (SD 4) years, there were 1557 first major vascular events: 833 ischaemic heart disease events, 551 stroke events and 173 other vascular events. Cox regression was used to calculate hazard ratios (adjusted for age, education and smoking) for incidence of major vascular events by volume of baseline recreational physical activity (measured in metabolic equivalent [MET] hours per week). Hazard ratios among men who performed 0, 1–14, 15–24, 25–39, ≥40 MET-hours per week of recreational physical activity were 1.00 (95 % CI 0.91–1.10; referent), 0.88 (0.79–1.00), 0.81 (0.72–0.91), 0.81 (0.72–0.91) and 0.80 (0.71–0.89), respectively (P trend =0.006). The association was slightly attenuated with further adjustment for BMI. There was evidence of stronger associations at older ages and greater intensity of activity, but no evidence of effect modification by smoking, alcohol intake or BMI. There was also no evidence that the association varied by type of vascular event. Among men aged over 65 years, there was a curvilinear association between recreational physical activity and incidence of major vascular events, with an inverse association up to about 20 MET-hours per week (equivalent to 1 h of non-vigorous, or half an hour of vigorous, physical activity per day) and no evidence of further reductions in risk thereafter.

Independent and interactive associations of heart rate and body mass index or blood pressure with type 2 diabetes mellitus incidence: A prospective cohort study.

Abstract: AIMS/INTRODUCTION An elevated heart rate has been reported to be associated with an increased incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus. We investigated whether heart rate independently and interactively with body mass index or blood pressure was associated with the incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus in a rural Chinese population. MATERIALS AND METHODS We measured the association between heart rate and type 2 diabetes mellitus in the Tongxiang China Kadoorie Biobank prospective cohort study using Cox proportional hazard models. Analyses included 53,817 participants without any history of diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular or rheumatic heart disease at baseline. Incident type 2 diabetes mellitus cases were identified through linkage with established Disease Registries and the China National Health Insurance System. RESULTS After a mean follow-up period of 6.9 years, 1,766 people had developed type 2 diabetes mellitus with an incidence of 4.75 per 1,000 person-years. Multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios and for type 2 diabetes mellitus across increasing quintiles of heart rate were 1.00 (reference), 1.24 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.05-1.45), 1.21 (95% CI 1.03-1.41), 1.24 (95% CI 1.05-1.47) and 1.49 (95% CI 1.28-1.74), respectively, with a Ptrend <0.001. This relationship was particularly evident among non-overweight/obese participants. A significant interaction between heart rate and body mass index on incident type 2 diabetes mellitus was observed with a P for interaction = 0.005. CONCLUSIONS Elevated heart rate is independently, in interaction with a higher body mass index, associated with a higher incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Cholesterol- and blood-pressure-lowering drug use for secondary cardiovascular prevention in 2004-2013 Europe.

Abstract: Background Suboptimal use of cardiovascular prevention medications has been reported We report recent trends in secondary cardiovascular disease prevention drug use in Europe Design We used the 2004-2013 data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), a large longitudinal cohort study in middle-aged and elderly Europeans Methods Cross-sectional and panel data logistic regression models were used to study trends in cholesterol- and blood pressure-lowering drug use and effects of participant characteristics on the likelihood of drug use among participants with histoty of cardiovascular disease in SHARE Results In SHARE 21,388 participants reported history of cardiovascular disease and provided data on cholesterol- and blood pressure-lowering drug use At initial report, 40% and 60% of them used cholesterol- or blood pressure-lowering drugs, respectively Increasing cross-sectional time trends were observed for both medication classes (odds ratios of use in 2013 vs 2004, 16 (95% confidence interval 14-17) and 15 (14-16), respectively) However, among participants with multiple observations, the use of both classes declined over time (2013 vs 2004 odds ratio 063 (051-077) and 068 (055-084), respectively; both trend p < 0001), and with increasing duration since last cardiovascular event (odds ratio 074 (060-091), trend p = 001 and odds ratio 082 (066-103), trend p = 006, respectively for durations of nine years or more versus less than one year) Among people with history of cardiovascular disease, those obese, retired or with hypercholesterolaemia, hypertension, worse self-perceived health, and, in the case of lipid-lowering medication, with diabetes, were more likely to use these medications Conclusions Despite moderately increasing cross-sectional time trends, the use of secondary cardiovascular disease prevention drugs remains low in Europe with substantial discontinuation over time and with increasing duration from an acute cardiovascular event