Search

Background: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is an enormous health problem in the world. Dermatoglyphs are cutaneous ridges on the fingers, palms, and soles, formed by genetic regulation and control during early intrauterine life. The Dermatoglyphic traits do not change significantly as the growth of the age. They may be the phenotypic characters of individual genes and represent the predisposition to certain diseases., Aims and Objectives: The study was carried out to document characteristic dermatoglyphic patterns in coronary artery disease which could be useful in early diagnosis of the disease., Materials and Methods: Dermatoglyphic study of 258 male (129 coronary artery disease cases and 129 normal subjects) of Ningxia China were studied in the present cross-sectional study. It involved the digital patterns, ATD angles, A-B ridge counts on the hands. Chi-square test, t-test were used for the statistical analysis in this study., Results: The overall frequency of whorls was higher followed by loop and arch in both two groups. It was observed that there was significant difference of digital frequency of whorls and ulnar loops in patients in both hands as compared to controls (p≤0.01). The mean value of finger ridge counts, total ridge counts were similar between two groups. The A-B ridge counts were significantly higher in coronary artery disease compared with controls on the right palm (p≤0.01). However, the mean ATD angle values were significantly higher in cases than those of in normal on both hands (p<0.05)., Conclusion: Abnormally high A-B ridge count, ATD angles and the frequency of whorls are characteristic dermatoglyphic patterns of coronary artery disease. Dermatoglyphics may have an important role in early diagnosis of coronary artery disease in future.

Summary: Background and purpose: Vitamin D (VitD) is involved in homeostasis of calcium and interacts with parathyroid hormone (PTH). Low levels of VitD in chronic liver diseases, in particular in chronic hepatitis C (CHC) was reported. We aimed to determine the levels of VitD and PTH in patients with CHC without cirrhosis to evaluate the disturbance of VitD-PTH axis. Methods: We conduced a case–control study enrolling 59 patients with CHC and 59 controls. We determined serum concentration of VitD, PTH, calcium and phosphate. VitD was quantified by chemiluminescence immunoassay. PTH was measured by 2-site chemiluminescent enzyme-labeled immunoassay. Results: The mean value of VitD was 26.28 and 28.43 ng/ml in HCV patients and controls respectively (p < 0.31). The distribution of the severity of VitD deficit in HCV population was the following: 5% had a deficiency, 64% had an insufficiency and 31% had normal levels. No difference was observed in the control group (p < 0.9). The mean value of PTH was 17.04 and 26.7 pg/ml in HCV patients and controls respectively (p < 0.0004). Calcium and phosphate were in the range of normality in both. Conclusions: The VitD deficit is similar in HCV-patients and general population of the same geographic area. Therefore we can state that this is a public health problem. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: The study was designed to assess the changes in working conditions through a comparative analysis of the characteristics of working conditions in 2006 and 2010., Methods: We performed a comparative analysis of the data related to the first Korean Working Conditions Survey (KWCS) and the second KWCS in the categories of demographic characteristics, quality of labor, exposure to hazards, and health problems., Results: From our analysis of the demographic characteristics, we saw an increase in labor force participation rate of women and elderly people. As a result of the investigation with regards to working hours, the ratio of employees who worked for ≥ 49 hours per week was decreased and the ratio of employees who worked for ≥ 40 h/wk increased. As for exposure to hazards, exposure to tobacco smoke notably decreased in 2010 compared with 2006. With regards to health problems, there was a sharp increase in the number of people who complained of muscle pain in their arms and legs., Conclusion: KWCS data included many aspects of working conditions as a nationwide sample. In addition, because this is a periodic nationwide survey, the labor force, working hours, harmful factor exposure, and the change in health problems characteristics according to the flow of time could be investigated. The information comparing the main results of the first survey conducted in 2006 and the second survey conducted in 2010 obtained through this study can be used as an important base material for the establishment of the national policy.

Abstract: Purpose: The purpose of this study was to design and validate a self-reported assessment tool for the identification of frailty. Materials and methods: A thousand community-dwelling older adults (≥60 years), users of the medical insurance of the French national education system, received (Year 1) a postal questionnaire requesting information about health and socio-demographic characteristics. Among those who responded to the questionnaire (n =535), 398 individuals were classified as frail, pre-frail, or robust. One year later (Year 2), the same questionnaire was sent to this group and n =309 were returned. Frailty was operationalized using four criteria: low body mass index (BMI), low level of physical activity, and dissatisfaction with both muscle strength and endurance. Results: Frailty constituted a single entity, different from physical limitation and co-morbidity. Compared with robust individuals, frail persons were older, had more chronic diseases, higher levels of disability and physical function decline. Pre-frail individuals had an intermediate distribution. Those people classified as either frail or pre-frail had higher frequency of hospitalization, and a higher probability of co-morbidity than robust. Frailty was also associated with higher mortality. Conclusions: Our screening tool for frailty was able to evidence important characteristics of this syndrome, i.e., it is a single entity with grades of severity which are associated with health problems. Detecting and categorizing frailty may lead to early therapeutic interventions to combat this condition. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to test a model linking infant health problem, mother's depression and marital relationship to infant abuse., Methods: This study employed a cross-sectional survey design. Data were collected from 2009 Data of Index Studies for Korean Children and Adolescents Development. Survey data from 1,060 infants and their mothers (including infant health status and infant physical illness scale, depression scale, marital relationship scale, and child abuse scale) were used to test the model. The model was tested using path analysis techniques within structural equation modeling., Results: The model fit indices suggested that the original hypothesized model adequately fit the data (χ(2) = .33, df = 5, p = .84, Tucker-Lewis Index = 1.04, Comparative Fit Index = 1.00, Root Mean Square Error of Approximation = .00). Infant health problem and mother's depression had a negative direct effect on marital relationship, which in turn had a direct negative effect on infant abuse. Infant health problems directly affected infant abuse and also influenced infant abuse indirectly through the marital relationship. Mother's depression had significant direct effects on infant abuse and also influenced infant abuse indirectly through the marital relationship., Conclusion: The findings from this study demonstrate the fundamental importance of infant health as linked to the mother's mental health, and marital relationship and increasing the quality of marital relationship may be the key to infant abuse prevention., (Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

No abstract. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Despite many activities to prevent risky alcohol consumption among adolescents and young adults there is an increase of alcohol intoxications in the group of ten to twenty year old juveniles., Objectives: This report gives an overview about the recent literature as well as the German federal prevention system regarding activities concerning behavioral and policy prevention of risky alcohol consumption among children, adolescents and young adults. Furthermore, effective components of prevention activities are identified and the efficiency and efficacy of ongoing prevention programs is evaluated., Methods: A systematic literature review is done in 34 databases using Bool'sche combinations of the key words alcohol, prevention, treatment, children, adolescents and young adults., Results: 401 studies were found and 59 studies were selected for the health technology assessment (HTA). Most of the studies are done in USA, nine in Germany. A family strengthening program, personalized computer based intervention at schools, colleges and universities, brief motivational interventions and policy elements like increase of prices and taxes proved effective., Discussion: Among the 59 studies there are three meta-analyses, 15 reviews, 17 randomized controlled trials (RCT) and 18 cohort studies. Despite the overall high quality of the study design, many of them have methodological weaknesses (missing randomization, missing or too short follow-ups, not clearly defined measurement parameters). The transferability of US-results to the German context is problematic. Only a few prevention activities reach a sustainable reduction of frequency and/or amount of alcohol consumption., Conclusion: The HTA-report shows the need to develop specific and target group focused prevention activities for the German situation. Essential for that is the definition of target goals (reduction of consumption, change of behaviour) as well as the definition and empirical validation of risky alcohol consumption. The efficacy of prevention activities should be proven before they are launched. At present activities for the reduction or prevention of risky alcohol consumption are not sufficiently evaluated in Germany concerning their sustainable efficacy.