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Background: The use of foot orthoses to treat different pathologies in pronated feet in adults is widespread among podiatric professionals, although it has not been conclusively demonstrated to modify foot posture in the short or medium term. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate whether prefabricated foot supports reduce pronated foot posture in adults, as measured by the foot posture index (FPI). Methods: A randomised controlled clinical trial was conducted in 109 subjects with pronated feet. The participants were randomly placed into a control group that did not receive any intervention and an experimental group that used prefabricated orthoses for 6 months. The changes in the FPI were evaluated in both groups at 6 months. Results: Over the six-month follow-up period, the delta FPI variable was changed by −1.1 ± 2.2 points in the experimental group, whereas the same variable was reduced by 1.2 ± 2.1 points in the control group (p = 0.001). The participants in the experimental group neutralised their FPIs significantly more than those in the control group did (39.3% vs. 8.5%; p = 0.041). Moreover, individuals in the experimental group were more likely to migrate from highly pronated feet to pronated feet than those in the control group were (45.8% vs. 20%; p < 0.001). Finally, multivariate analysis indicated that prefabricated foot orthoses were associated with an improved FPI (OR: 6.23, CI%95: 2.72–17.09; p < 0.001). However, the corrective effect provided by the prefabricated foot orthoses, which neutralised the pronated posture, was nullified by the presence of index minus metatarsal formula. Conclusions: The use of prefabricated orthoses resulted in a decreased FPI in adults, especially in those with highly pronated feet. However, the index minus presence nullified the effect of prefabricated orthoses on foot posture neutralisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Chemsex has been defined as the deliberate use of drugs for prolonged sexual intercourse between gay and bisexual men and other men who have sex with men (MSM). Drugs associated with chemsex can trigger mental health problems such as anxiety, depression, risk of psychosis and suicidal ideation, social isolation, stigmatization, and even loss of impulse control and lack of coping strategies. Currently, the increase in illicit drugs in a sexual context is considered an outbreak of a public health emergency. Objective: The aim of this study is the construction and validation of the Chem-Sex Inventory (CSI), a new scale to assess the mental health risk of chemsex behaviors. Methods: A cross-sectional design was conducted to study 563 participants. Data were collected through an online questionnaire between January and April 2023, and the construct validity of the CSI was assessed through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Results: The sample was, on average, 36 years old (SD: ±9.2). The majority of gender identity was cisgender (97.7%). A factor structure was found that can be summarized in four dimensions: emotional instability, risk of psychosis, altered body perception, and risk of suicide. The confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) presents adequate reliability values, with a Cronbach's alpha above 0.87 for all dimensions and a McDonald's omega above 0.88 with a good fit of the 42 items. Conclusions: Our study has shown that the Chem-Sex Inventory (CSI) scale has factorial validity and could be used in clinical practice and research to measure the behavioral contribution of the chemsex phenomenon in MSM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]