Search

Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis and has become an increasingly important public-health problem. However, the pathogenesis of OA is still unclear. In recent years, its correlation with mtDNA haplogroups attracts much attention. We aimed to perform a meta-analysis to investigate the association between mtDNA haplogroups and OA. Methods: Published English or Chinese literature from PubMed, Web of Science, SDOS, and CNKI was retrieved up until April 15, 2014. Case-control or cohort studies that detected the frequency of mtDNA haplogroups in OA patients and controls were included. The quality of the included studies was evaluated by the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) assessment. A meta-analysis was conducted to calculate pooled odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) through the random or fixed effect model, which was selected based on the between-study heterogeneity assessed by Q test and I2 test. Subgroup analysis was performed to explore the origin of heterogeneity. Results: A total of 6 case-control studies (10590 cases and 7161 controls) with an average NOS score of 6.9 were involved. For the analysis between mtDNA haplogroup J and OA, random model was selected due to high heterogeneity. No significant association was found initially (OR = 0.73, 95%CI: 0.52–1.03), however, once any study from UK population was removed the association emerged. Further subgroup analysis demonstrated that there was a significant association in Spain population (OR = 0.57, 95%CI: 0.46–0.71), but not in UK population. Also, subgroup analysis revealed that there was a significant correlation between cluster TJ and OA in Spain population (OR = 0.70, 95%CI: 0.58–0.84), although not in UK population. No significant correlation was found between haplogroup T/cluster HV/cluster KU and OA. Conclusions: Our current meta-analysis suggests that mtDNA haplogroup J and cluster TJ correlate with the risk of OA in Spanish population, but the associations in other populations require further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attitudes towards doping are considered an influence of doping intentions. The aims of the present study were 1) to discover and compare the attitudes towards doping among Spanish national team cyclists from different Olympic disciplines, as well as 2) to get some complementary information that could better explain the context. The sample was comprised of seventy-two cyclists: mean age 19.67±4.72 years; 70.8% males (n = 51); from the different Olympic disciplines of Mountain bike -MTB- (n = 18), Bicycle Moto Cross -BMX- (n = 12), Track -TRA- (n = 9) and Road -ROA- (n = 33). Descriptive design was carried out using a validated scale (PEAS). To complement this, a qualitative open-ended questionnaire was used. Overall mean score (17–102) was 36.12±9.39. For different groups, the data were: MTB: 30.28±6.92; BMX: 42.46±10.74; TRA: 43.22±12.00; ROA: 34.91±6.62, respectively. In relation to overall score, significant differences were observed between MTB and BMX (p = 0.002) and between MTB and TRA (p = 0.003). For the open-ended qualitative questionnaire, the most mentioned word associated with “doping” was “cheating” (48.83% of total sample), with “responsible agents of doping” the word “doctor” (52,77%), and with the “main reason for the initiation in doping” the words “sport achievement” (45.83%). The major proposed solution was “doing more doping controls” (43.05%). Moreover, 48.67% stated that there was “a different treatment between cycling and other sports”. This study shows that Spanish national team cyclists from Olympic cycling disciplines, in general, are not tolerant in relation to doping. BMX and Track riders are a little more permissive towards the use of banned substances than MTB and Road. Results from the qualitative open-ended questionnaire showed interesting data in specific questions. These results empower the idea that, apart from maintaining doping controls and making them more efficient, anti-doping education programs are needed from the earliest ages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]