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    Clinical diagnosis seems necessary to better understand the factors and mechanisms at play when Spanish athletes develop an eating disorder.

    Ethics Committee of the University of Granada (N°883) data 16/11/2015.

    Ethics Committee of the University of Granada (N°883) data 16/11/2015.

    Depression is a chronic non communicable disease. learn more It is a growing public health concern with established links with a number of co-morbidities, including diabetes mellitus. The study aimed to estimate the prevalence of depression at a population level, establish the depression sub-population phenotypic characteristics while exploring for links between depression and a spectrum of glycemic abnormalities.

    A nationally representative cross-sectional study was conducted in Malta between 2014 and 2016. Participants were categorized into different sub-populations according to their glycaemic status. Depression prevalence rates and phenotypic characteristics for each sub-population were established. Multiple regression analysis was performed to identify links with depression.

    Depression was prevalent in 17.15% (CI 95% 16.01-18.36) with a female predominance. Those with known (as opposed to newly diagnosed) diabetes had the highest depression prevalence when compared to other glycemic sub-groups. These also exhntal health on the population, physicians may consider implementing depression screening clinical tools as part of their routine health check-ups at primary care level, irrespective of the glycaemic status of their patients.

    Despite knowledge about eating disorder symptoms in children and adolescents in the general population, relatively little is known about self-reported and sex-specific eating-disorder-related psychopathology, as well as its specific correlates.

    880 German school-attending adolescents (15.4±2.2 years) and 30 female patients with AN (16.2±1.6 years) were studied. All participants completed the Eating Disorder Inventory-2 and a Body Image Questionnaire.

    There were more overweight males than females (15.2% vs 10.1%, p < 0.001), but more females with underweight than males (6.2% vs. 2.5%, p < .001). Negative body evaluations (p < .001) and dissatisfaction (p < .001) were significantly more frequent in females. Compared to underweight female patients with AN, underweight school-attending females had less negative body evaluations (p < .001) and lower scores on 5 of the 11 EDI-2 subscales (p < .001; p < .05).

    Males were more overweight than females, females more underweight. Body image was more important to female than to male youth, yet without reaching pathological values when compared to female patients with AN. Complex emotional and cognitive challenges seem to be a representative factor for eating pathology rather than simply being underweight. These aspects may be relevant for the shift from a thinness-related focus in girls in the general population to the development of an eating disorder.

    Males were more overweight than females, females more underweight. Body image was more important to female than to male youth, yet without reaching pathological values when compared to female patients with AN. Complex emotional and cognitive challenges seem to be a representative factor for eating pathology rather than simply being underweight. These aspects may be relevant for the shift from a thinness-related focus in girls in the general population to the development of an eating disorder.

    Esophageal cancer (ECa) is the 7th most incident cancer and the 6th leading cause of cancer-related death. Most patients are diagnosed with locally advanced or metastatic disease, enduring poor survival. Biomarkers enabling early cancer detection may improve patient management, treatment effectiveness, and survival, are urgently needed. In this context, epigenetic-based biomarkers such as DNA methylation are potential candidates.

    Herein, we sought to identify and validate DNA methylation-based biomarkers for early detection and prediction of response to therapy in ECa patients. Promoter methylation levels were assessed in a series of treatment-naïve ECa, post-neoadjuvant treatment ECa, and normal esophagus tissues, using quantitative methylation-specific PCR for COL14A1, GPX3, and ZNF569.

    ZNF569 methylation (ZNF569me) levels significantly differed between ECa and normal samples (p< 0.001). Moreover, COL14A1 methylation (COL14A1me) and GPX3 methylation (GPX3me) levels discriminated adenocarcinomas and squamous cell carcinomas, respectively, from normal samples (p= 0.002 and p= 0.009, respectively). COL14A1me & ZNF569me accurately identified adenocarcinomas (82.29%) whereas GPX3me & ZNF569me identified squamous cell carcinomas with 81.73% accuracy. Furthermore, ZNF569me and GPX3me levels significantly differed between normal and pre-treated ECa.

    The biomarker potential of a specific panel of methylated genes for ECa was confirmed. These might prove useful for early detection and might allow for the identification of minimal residual disease after adjuvant therapy.

    The biomarker potential of a specific panel of methylated genes for ECa was confirmed. These might prove useful for early detection and might allow for the identification of minimal residual disease after adjuvant therapy.

    While knowledge of onset of smoking tobacco, and associated risk factors can aid the formulation of evidence-based policy and interventions, such information is scarce in South Africa. We assessed age at onset of tobacco smoking in South Africa and identified its risk factors.

    We analysed data of 15,316 respondents aged 15-98 years from the 2012 South African National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Descriptive statistics and survival analysis techniques were used alongside weighted percentages.

    Overall lifetime prevalence of smoking was 20.5%. Among the 3360 ever-smoked respondents, the overall median age at smoking onset was 18 years (Inter-quartile range (IQR) =5) with 2% starting before age 10 while 60% had smoked before age 20. Likelihood of tobacco smoking was higher among adolescents (<=20 years) and those aged 20-29 years than those aged > = 60 years, thrice higher among males, 29% higher among urban dwellers and thrice higher in Western Cape and Free State than in North West Province.