International journal of epidemiology
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
An ecologic study of protective equipment and injury in two contact sports.
Contact sports have high rates of injury. Protective equipment regulations are widely used as an intervention to reduce injury risk. The purpose of this study was to investigate the injury prevention effect of regulations governing protective equipment in two full-body contact sports. ⋯ The observed differences are consistent with the hypothesis that regulations mandating protective equipment reduce the incidence of injury, although important potential biases in exposure assessment cannot be excluded. Further research is needed into head protection for rugby players.
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Multicenter Study
Can clinical risk factors for late stillbirth in West Africa be detected during antenatal care or only during labour?
Recent studies have shown that the most important risk factors for perinatal mortality in developing countries are not detectable during antenatal care but can be observed only shortly before or during labour. Although 60% of perinatal deaths in these countries are stillbirths, few epidemiological studies focus on them. We tested the hypothesis that the risk factors for late stillbirth in West Africa are detectable principally shortly before or during labour. ⋯ The principal risk factors for late stillbirth observed in our study could be detected only in the late antenatal and intrapartum period. These results highlight the potential benefits of partograph use. They need to be confirmed by studies incorporating continuous intrapartum fetal monitoring.