User:Simshrm/sandbox

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This is place to practice clicking the "edit" button and practice adding references (via the citation button). Please see Help:My_sandbox or contact User_talk:JenOttawa with any questions.

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 * Note: Please use your sandbox to submit assignment # 3 by pasting it below. When uploading your improvements to the article talk page please share your exact proposed edit (not the full assignment 3).


 * Talk Page Template: CARL Medical Editing Initiative/Fall 2019/Talk Page Template

Assignment #2:
In 2012, there were an estimated 65,950 cases and 25,469 deaths from Hodgkin lymphoma worldwide, with 28,852 and 37,098 cases occurring in developed and developing regions, respectively. However, the age-standardized rates were higher in developed regions, with the greatest rates in the Americas (1.5 per 100,000), East Mediterranean Region (1.5 per 100,000), and Europe (2.0 per 100,000). The East Mediterranean Region also has the highest age-standardized mortality rate of 1.0 per 100,000, which is mainly attributed to lifestyle and environmental risk factors associated with economic transition such as smoking, obesity, physical inactivity, and reproductive behaviors, as well as availability of diagnostic practices and awareness of the disease.

Salati M, Cesarett M, Macchia M, Mistiri ME, Federico M. (2014). Epidemiological Overview of Hodgkin Lymphoma across the Mediterranean Basin. Mediterr J Hematol Infect Dis. 2014, 6(1): e2014048.


 * 1) The current information on the Wikipedia page is based on WHO Disease and injury country estimates from 2004, so I searched the WHO database for more recent statistics on Hodgkin lymphoma. This brought me to a summary article on “Hodgkin’s Lymphoma” by the Union for International Cancer Control for the 2014 Review of Cancer Medicines on the WHO List of Essential Medicines. This article provided more recent findings on public health findings, and I took a closer look at the sources they used and one of them was the review article I selected.
 * 2) What potential sources were identified and considered (give examples of 1-2). I considered using the main WHO article on “Hodgkin’s Lymphoma” as well as other sources they used, such as data from the GLOBOCAN 2012: Estimated Cancer Incidence, Mortality and Prevalence Worldwide in 2012.
 * 3) Unlike the other sources, Salati et al. support the numerical data with significance or reasons for those findings, such as risk factors and population characteristics. Moreover, the article consolidates findings from a number of credible sources including the WHO, GLOBOCAN and European health authorities and national registries.
 * 4) The review article is current and within the recommended 5-year window for recency. Likewise, the article is published in a peer-reviewed journal with scientific consensus, and it is used as a source by health authorities such as the WHO. The article also does not have any controversial statements or findings that introduce overt bias from conflict of interest.
 * 5) I plan to use this source to inform the section on “Epidemiology” and update the statistics on public health prevalence. There is a map outlining the age-standardized deaths from lymphomas and multiple myeloma per 100,000 inhabitants in 2004; however, the article does not clearly explain the map and its relevance to Hodgkin lymphoma. Thus, I plan on also describing the recent statistics and their significance.

Assignment #3
Proposed Changes:

In 2012, there were an estimated 65,950 cases and 25,469 deaths from Hodgkin lymphoma worldwide, with 28,852 and 37,098 cases occurring in developed and developing countries, respectively. However, the age-standardized rates were higher in developed regions, with the greatest rates in the Americas (1.5 per 100,000), East Mediterranean Region (1.5 per 100,000), and Europe (2.0 per 100,000). The East Mediterranean Region also has the highest age-standardized mortality rate of 1.0 per 100,000, which is mainly attributed to lifestyle and environmental risk factors associated with transitional economies such as smoking, obesity, physical inactivity, and reproductive behaviors, as well as availability of diagnostic practices and awareness of the disease.

Rationale for Proposed Change

I am proposing an addition to the Epidemiology section to clarify and update the existing information. The information on the current wikipedia page is inadequate since it is outdated (from 1990 and 2004). The information would help to explain the results on the map while providing more details on the epidemiological distribution of the disease and explain the reasons or factors for the distribution. Also, there is a world map with the distribution of age-standardized death from lymphomas and multiple myeloma per 100,000 inhabitants in 2004. I believe this study provides greater insight on the distribution of the disease in the world, specifically in the Mediterranean region where it is most prevalent.

A possible area of controversy could be in how the number of cases and deaths as well as the age-standardized and mortality rates where calculated; however, the data is from credible sources and published in a peer-reviewed journal with a high impact factor.

Critique of Source

Secondary Source:

Salati M, Cesarett M, Macchia M, Mistiri ME, Federico M. (2014). Epidemiological Overview of Hodgkin Lymphoma across the Mediterranean Basin. Mediterr J Hematol Infect Dis. 2014, 6(1): e2014048.

A potential source of bias in the identified source is the sample population in the study. The study looked at cases in different countries in Europe and the Mediterranean area, however the number of cases varied vastly between the countries. Also, the data is from different national and international institutions that are credible; however, they use different methods for calculating age-standardized mortality rates, which may lead to biases and differences in the results. (*******Good critique. This study looked at many different countries with vastly different socioeconomic status which may have contributed to the difference in disease prevalence and mortality. Also, cancer registries in certain countries may not have been well maintained due to economic reasons and war, which may potentially affect the reliability of the data.*********)