Category Archives: PLoS One

The establishment of hybrids of the Daphnia longispina complex explained by a mathematical model incorporating different overwintering life history strategies.
PLoS One. 2018;13(7):e0200802
Authors: Griebel J, Utz M,… Continue reading →

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Impact of clinical severity of stroke on the severity and recovery of visuospatial neglect.
PLoS One. 2018;13(7):e0198755
Authors: Nijboer TCW, Winters C, Kollen BJ, Kwakkel G
Abstract
… Continue reading →

Internists’ dilemmas in their interactions with chronically ill patients; A comparison of their interaction strategies and dilemmas in two different medical contexts.
PLoS One. 2018;13(5):e0194133
Authors: Kromme NMH… Continue reading →

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Mindset switching increases the use of ‘want-based’ over ‘should-based’ behaviors.
PLoS One. 2018;13(4):e0196269
Authors: Yan J, Zhang NN, Xu DX
Abstract
This study examines the conseq… Continue reading →

Thiopurine methyltransferase genotype and activity cannot predict outcomes of azathioprine maintenance therapy for antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody associated vasculitis: A retrospective cohort study.
PLoS One. 2018;13(4):… Continue reading →

Do single people want to date a cancer survivor? A vignette study.

PLoS One. 2018;13(3):e0194277

Authors: Tuinman MA, Lehmann V, Hagedoorn M

Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Qualitative studies indicated that cancer survivors may be worried about finding a partner in the future, but whether this concern is warranted is unknown. We examined single people´s interest in dating a cancer survivor, how they perceive survivors’ traits, and their preferences about the timing of disclosing a cancer history.
METHODS: In three experimental vignette studies, dating website members (n = 324) and college students (n = 138 and n = 131) were randomly assigned to a vignette of a person with or without a history of cancer (experiment 1 & 2), or a cancer survivor beyond or during active follow-up (experiment 3). Respondents rated their interest in dating this fictive person, this person’s traits, and indicated their preferences about the timing of disclosure. ANOVAs with main and interaction effects of condition, gender, and relationship history were conducted, partial eta squared and Cohen’s d were used to estimate the magnitude of effects. Correlations were used to investigate relationships between interest in a date and assessment of traits.
RESULTS: Cancer survivors’ traits were assessed more positively, but interest to date them did not differ from healthy vignettes for both men and women. However, widowed respondents were much less interested in a date with a cancer survivor, and women showed less interest in a cancer survivor during active follow-up relative to survivors beyond follow-up. Most respondents wanted to hear about the cancer diagnosis after a few dates, hardly anyone wanted to hear about this before the first date (2% – 5%).
CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS FOR CANCER SURVIVORS: Cancer survivors do not have to expect any more problems in finding a date than people without a cancer history, and can wait a few dates before disclosing. Survivors dating widowed people and survivors in active follow-up could expect more hesitant reactions and should disclose earlier.

PMID: 29566002 [PubMed – in process]

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Comparison of different approaches for estimating age-specific alcohol-attributable mortality: The cases of France and Finland.

PLoS One. 2018;13(3):e0194478

Authors: Trias-Llimós S, Martikainen P, Mäkelä P, Janssen F

Abstract
BACKGROUND: Accurate estimates of the impact of alcohol on overall and age-specific mortality are crucial for formulating health policies. However, different approaches to estimating alcohol-attributable mortality provide different results, and a detailed comparison of age-specific estimates is missing.
METHODS: Using data on cause of death, alcohol consumption, and relative risks of mortality at different consumption levels, we compare eight estimates of sex- and age-specific alcohol-attributable mortality in France (2010) and Finland (2013): five estimates using cause-of-death approaches (with one accounting for contributory causes), and three estimates using attributable fraction (AF) approaches.
RESULTS: AF-related approaches and the approach based on alcohol-related underlying and contributory causes of death provided estimates of alcohol-attributable mortality that were twice as high as the estimates found using underlying cause-of-death approaches in both countries and sexes. The differences across the methods were greatest among older age groups An inverse U-shape in age-specific alcohol-attributable mortality (peaking at around age 65) was observed for cause-of-death approaches, with this shape being more pronounced in Finland. AF-related approaches resulted in different estimates at older ages: i.e., mortality was found to increase with age in France; whereas in Finland mortality estimates depended on the underlying assumptions regarding the effects of alcohol consumption on cardiovascular mortality.
CONCLUSIONS: While the most detailed approaches (i.e., the AF-related approach and the approach that includes underlying and contributory causes) are theoretically able to provide more accurate estimates of alcohol-attributable mortality, they-especially the AF approaches- depend heavily on data availability and quality. To enhance the reliability of alcohol-attributable mortality estimates, data quality for older age groups needs to be improved.

PMID: 29566081 [PubMed – in process]

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