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Health-related quality of life, teachers' opinion of academic performance and self-perceived health are indicators of well-being in the adolescent stage. Some variables, such as those related to the quality of family and parental relationships, may influence these indicators and thus condition well-being during this stage of life and beyond. In this research, the aforementioned variables are analyzed jointly. It is a cross-sectional study in which 1375 adolescent schoolchildren between 11 and 18 years of age participated. Different instruments such as KIDSCREEN-10 and the questionnaire used in the international study Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children were used. The results obtained allow us to conclude that HRQoL, the teacher's opinion of performance and the perception of health status improve as adolescents perceive a more favorable family climate, also helped by good relations between parents. Finally, it is proposed to continue with the efforts made in the school, family environment and other areas because of the enormous potential for generating quality of life in the adolescent stage and the consequent positive repercussions this has on adulthood.

Determining the comorbidity patterns leading to suffering behavioural eating disorders (BED) that are identifiable in the early stages of life, can help prevent their becoming chronic, as well as preventing the consequences deriving from the cost and effectiveness of intervention programs. The paper focuses mainly on analysing the association between behavioural/emotional risk factors and body image, body satisfaction and diet in school children, as well as confirming whether there are differences based on sex. Several questionnaires (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and several items of Health Behaviour in School-age Children) including these variables were distributed and completed by the 647 adolescents (16 year olds on average) who took part in the research project. The findings confirmed a differentiated risk profile in adolescent girls in that they had greater prevalence of emotional symptoms as a general psychopathological trait, although this was offset with their prosocial behaviour. Additionally, the findings also allowed us to conclude that the factors that predict vulnerability to BEDs are sex, the presence of emotional symptoms and social and behavioural issues. At the end of this paper, we discuss some implications and consequences that should be taken into account for future work.

Dietary habits are an important factor in the protection of adolescent health. The quality and frequency of breakfast and the various food groups can affect the wellbeing of this population group in both the short and long term. Research indicates that there is a range of relevant variables in the study of diet at this stage: following a weight loss diet, body mass index and the practice of physical exercise, amongst others. In this paper, all three variables are analysed, together with others of a demographic nature (sex and age). This is a descriptive cross-sectional survey that was carried out on 1318 adolescents aged 11 to 18. The Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children (HBSC) international study questionnaire, sponsored by the World Health Organisation, was used. In general terms, the data revealed that the majority of adolescents do not have adequate eating patterns. The quality and frequency of breakfast and the consumption of food types are associated with almost all the variables under study; additionally, there are significant differences by sex and school year. Finally, proposals are made to prevent eating disorders, which are appearing at an increasingly young age.

Excess weight has been associated with numerous psychosocial problems and is considered to be one of the most important health problems of today. The aim of this study is to analyze the relationship between weight status, which is evaluated by means of the body mass index (BMI), and the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and life satisfaction (LS) variables in Spanish adolescents, as well as to examine whether gender influences this interrelationship. A total of 1197 subjects studying in their 1st and 4th years of high school (mean age: 14.4 years, SD : 1.69) participated in the study by completing the Health Behavior in School-Aged Children (HBSC) questionnaire. Then, the participants were grouped into the following categories: underweight, normal weight, overweight, and obese. The results show that boys have significantly higher HRQoL as well as higher levels of LS. On the other hand, only the obese group shows significantly lower scores in both HRQoL and LS than those in the normal-weight group. The interaction of weight category and gender does not have a significant impact on the variables that have been analyzed (HRQoL or LS).

Background: The community outbreak of legionnaires disease that occurred in Murcia, Spain, in July 2001--to our knowledge, the largest such outbreak ever reported--afforded an unusual opportunity to compare the clinical response of patients with Legionella pneumonia treated with levofloxacin with that of patients treated with macrolides and to determine the role of rifampicin combined with levofloxacin in treating severe legionellosis., Methods: An observational, prospective, nonrandomized study was conducted involving 292 patients seen at our hospital (Hospital "J. M. Morales Meseguer"; Murcia, Spain) who received a diagnosis of Legionella pneumonia during the Murcia outbreak. To compare both antibiotic regimens (macrolides vs. levofloxacin), patients were stratified by the severity of pneumonia. Duration of fever, clinical outcome, complications, side effects, and length of hospital stay were recorded. To assess the potential effects of adjuvant therapy with rifampicin, 45 case patients treated with levofloxacin plus rifampicin were evaluated and compared with 45 control pairs who were treated with levofloxacin alone., Results: With the exception of 2 patients who died, all patients were cured. There were no significant differences between treatment groups in clinical outcome for patients with mild-to-moderate pneumonia. Nevertheless, in patients with severe pneumonia, levofloxacin exerted superior activity; it was associated with fewer complications (3.4% of patients receiving levofloxacin experienced complications, compared with 27.2% of patients receiving macrolides; P=.02) and shorter mean hospital stays (5.5 vs. 11.3 days; P=.04). Addition of rifampicin to the treatment regimen for patients receiveing levofloxacin for severe pneumonia provides no additional benefit., Conclusions: Our findings strongly suggest that monotherapy with levofloxacin is a safe and effective treatment for legionnaires disease, including in patients with severe disease. In these patients, levofloxacin appears to be more effective than clarithromycin.

Sarcoidosis is a disease which presents important clinical differences according to its geographical distribution. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate the epidemiologic, clinical, radiologic, and diagnostic characteristics in a series of 30 sarcoidosis patients in the province of Salamanca (representing the Castilla-Leon region). The most relevant results are the following: a) in our region, sarcoidosis predominates in females and furthermore, the presenting age in females is greater than in males; b) there is a clear predominance of the disease in the rural area; c) the prevalence of smoking habit in these patients is low (10%); d) the clinical manifestations are similar to other Spanish series with the exception, however of a high incidence of hypercalciuria; e) there is no correlation between the increase in sedimentation rate and the degree of sarcoidosis activity; f) there is a predominance of the radiologic type 11 of the disease and there is a high number of atypic radiologic patterns. The results obtained are with regard to the pathogeny are discussed as well as the differences and similarities of this series with other preceding from other regions.