• Title/Summary/Keyword: GEE

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Patient and Clinical Variables Account for Changes in Health-related Quality of Life and Symptom Burden as Treatment Outcomes in Colorectal Cancer: A Longitudinal Study

  • Hung, Hsiu-Chi;Chien, Tsui-Wei;Tsay, Shiow-Luan;Hang, Hewi-Ming;Liang, Shu-Yuan
    • Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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    • v.14 no.3
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    • pp.1905-1909
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    • 2013
  • Objective: The aim of the current study was to evaluate changes in treatment outcomes in terms of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and symptom burden at zero, one, three, and six months after an initial diagnosis of colorectal cancer. The demographic and clinical characteristics that account for outcome changes in patients were investigated using a repeated measures framework. Methods and Materials: A cohort study was performed of 134 colorectal cancer patients followed from diagnosis to 6 months post-treatment in Central Taiwan. HRQoL and symptoms were assessed at diagnosis and one, three, and six months thereafter. The Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Colon (FACT-C) questionnaire, VAS pain, and the Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale (MSAS) were used for data collection. A generalized estimating equation (GEE) was applied for statistical analysis. Results: The majority of the patients were male (55%) and married (91.5%). The mean age was 60.4 years (SD = 11.71). Most were diagnosed stage III and IV colorectal cancer (54.5%). All underwent surgery; some also received chemotherapy (CT) or concurrent chemoradiation therapy (CCRT). The results of the GEE showed that overall, the HRQoL, pain, and symptoms of the patients significantly improved over the treatment period. Patients with stage IV disease who had received surgery and CCRT showed the worst HRQoL. Females, patients with comorbidity, and stage IV patients had higher pain scores over time. Female and stage IV patients had more severe physical symptoms, whereas stage II and IV patients had worse psychological symptoms over time. Conclusion: The patients' HRQoL, pain, and symptoms significantly improved over the 6-month treatment period. Certain patient and clinical variables accounted for changes in treatment outcomes regarding HRQoL and symptom burden in colorectal cancer patients.

Trends and Causes of Poverty among Urban Wage Earners' Households (도시 근로자 가구의 빈곤 추이(推移)와 원인에 관한 연구: 조세와 이전소득의 빈곤완화효과를 포함하여)

  • Kim, Kyo-Seong
    • Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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    • v.59 no.2
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    • pp.143-169
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    • 2007
  • The major purpose of this study was to offer a comprehensive analysis of the changing trends and causes of poverty among urban wage earners' households from 1995 to 2005. In order to do that, this study used the micro data of "Income and Expenditure Survey of Urban Households" by the National Statistical Office(NSO) and GEE(Generalized estimating equation) regression model which is know as an appropriate method for the longitudinal and clustering data. The results show that (1) the numbers of poverty rate and poverty gap in recent years are even getting seriously worse than those in the IMF crisis. (2) Main characteristics of poor are female headed, old aged, low educated households, and having atypical working position. (3) Major determinants of poverty are also related to the variables as mentioned the above. (4) However, poverty reduction effect of public transfer increased preferably in recent years.

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Health-Related Quality of Life of Breast Cancer Patients in iran: Pooled Analysis using Generalized Estimating Equations

  • Kiadaliri, Aliasghar Ahmad;Bastani, Peivand;ibrahimipour, Hossein
    • Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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    • v.13 no.3
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    • pp.941-944
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    • 2012
  • Objective: The aim of current study was to evaluate the changes of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and its clinical, demographic and socioeconomic determinants during chemotherapy and 4 months follow-up in women with breast cancer using a repeated measures framework. Methods and Materials: A double blind cohort study was performed in 100 breast cancer patients given fluorouracil, doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide (FAC) or docetaxel, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide (TAC) in south of Iran. HRQoL was assessed at baseline, end of chemotherapy and four months thereafter using the QLQ-C30 questionnaire from European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC). Generalized estimating equations (GEE) was applied for statistical analysis. Results: The mean of age at baseline was $48.5{\pm}10.6$. 70% and 14% of patients were married and smokers, respectively, and 20% suffered from another disease besides breast cancer. The results of GEE showed that after control for baseline scores, the HRQoL significantly improved over time. Although, the patients in FAC group had higher scores than the TAC group, the differences also diminished over time. Smoking, marital status and having child affected some scales of HRQoL. None of other variables were significantly related to HRQoL. Conclusion: Although patients in TAC groups had lower level of HRQoL over 8 months follow up, they experienced faster improvement than the FAC group. This implies that in long-term, improvements in TAC group are higher than FAC. Having children was positively correlated with HRQoL. Generally, there were no demographic and socio-economic differences in HRQoL in these patients between the chemotherapeutic regimens.

International Environmental Efficiency with CO2 Using Meta Stochastic Frontier Analysis (메타확률 프런티어를 사용한 CO2의 국제환경효율)

  • Li, Ziyao;Kang, Sangmok
    • Environmental and Resource Economics Review
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    • v.30 no.3
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    • pp.471-501
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    • 2021
  • We measure Environmental Efficiency (EE) based on CO2 in four income groups from 1998 to 2018, using the Meta Stochastic Frontier Analysis method by Input Distance Function. Our results showed that economic growth and energy consumption would increase carbon dioxide emissions, and increasing labor and capital input will reduce it. Moreover, we compared Group Environmental Efficiency (GEE), Meta Environmental Efficiency (MEE), and Environmental Gap Ratio (EGR). The results showed that GEEs were be overestimated. Furthermore, the MEE showed a downward trend during this period. The lower-middle-income group had the highest EGR performance. High-income and upper-middle-income groups showed less efficiency in MEE and EGR. To improve environmental efficiency, we must reduce fossil fuels and find more scientific and technological ways to solve existing environmental problems as soon as possible.

A Study on Critical Understanding of Family Ideologies in Geun Hyung Park's Plays (박근형 연극에 나타난 가족 이데올로기에 대한 비판적 인식)

  • Kim, Sukkyung
    • Journal of Korean Theatre Studies Association
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    • no.48
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    • pp.85-125
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    • 2012
  • Geun Hyung Park is one of the playwrights who consistently pursues his unique world of play. One of the characteristics that is constantly discovered in Park's plays is the motif of 'family.' Park chooses family as the motif in most of his work. Park particularly emphasizes 'family life' rather than 'individual life' to focus on the internal problems of families. Therefore, the motif of family in Park's plays takes a very important position in the content and theme. The Korean society imposes unique value on families and possesses a strictly obstinate family ideology. Park observes distorted family relations or individuals who cannot be happy within their families to identify the problems related to the family ideology that is deeply rooted in the Korean society. This is one of the important backgrounds for which Park is constantly dealing with 'family life.' This study selected five of Park's most famous plays to specifically examine Park's critical understanding of family ideology. First, his criticizes extreme family egoism by depicting a family that cannibalizes people to keep the family full. Park chooses 'absurd time and space' and the extreme subject of 'human flesh' to warn his audiences about the awful consequences of family egoism. His , which is the only piece that deals with family history among the five pieces selected, criticizes Korea's unique family-centered ideology by humorously depicting the history of the Cho family that is all about maintaining and worshipping the its clan. He reveals the unethical and hypocritical attitudes of the Cho family for the audiences to reconsider the family-centered ideology of the Korean society. In , he talks about the son and the father who lose his ethical authority and fail to perform his paternal responsibilities to criticize the traditional family ideology of patriarchism and suggests the pessimistic future of patriarchism. contrasts a blood-related family with an irresponsible father and a quasi-family to criticize the identity of blood-related families. In , Park depicts a 'smelly house' of a family in agonizing relations to deny the family myth and the maternal myth. He clearly shows how the ideals of family myth and maternal myth are distant from the reality. In result of this study, Park's criticism of family ideology appears in various forms. He comprehensively criticizes both the general family problems and the unique family issues of Korea. The family ideology of Korea is currently undergoing a radical change. It has been long since the traditional family ideologies have exposed problems to show the signs of crisis. Also, there have emerged various forms of families, including single-parent families, one-person families, adoption families, and multi-cultural families. In this respect, Park's critical understanding of family ideologies allows you to see the obvious family forms from a new perspective and greatly contributes to awakening the essential questions about families. Park's work is noticeable among the various artistic and literature pieces that deal with family issues because of his extraordinary skills to capture the key issues inherent in the problems of family ideologies.