Changes to Body Image and Self-esteem following Stroke in Young Adults

This study explored the effects of a first stroke on body image and self-esteem in a population of previously neurologically intact young adults. Forty participants with a mean age of 36.7 years, recorded retrospective and current ratings of self-concept. Body image was measured using the Body Cathexis Scale of Secord and Jourard, and self-esteem was measured using Rosenberg's Self-esteem Scale and the physical and personal self-esteem items on the Tennessee Self-concept Scale: 2. The results of the study indicate that self-reported body image was significantly negatively affected following stroke in young adults, and was associated with significant reductions in all measures of self-esteem. This effect was stronger following left hemisphere lesions. Interestingly, before the stroke, only physical self-esteem and body image were correlated, however, after the stroke, all measures of self-esteem correlated with evaluations of body image. This indicates that the effect of body image on self-esteem has become generalised following the stroke contributing to feelings of poor self-worth and possibly culminating in depressive mentation. The finding that body image is a reliable predictor of both physical and global self-esteem indicate that rehabilitative emphasis on these factors in a timely manner should be incorporated into rehabilitative intervention programmes.     

Neurocognitive Functioning in Young Adults with Subclinical Body Dysmorphic Disorder

Despite reasonable knowledge of body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), little is known of its cognitive antecedents. In this study, we evaluated executive functioning and decision-making in people at risk of developing BDD using neuropsychological tests. Participants were non-treatment seeking volunteers (18–29 years) recruited from the general community, and split into two groups: those “at risk” of developing BDD (N = 5) and controls (N = 82). Participants undertook the One-Touch Stockings of Cambridge, Cambridge Gamble and Spatial Working Memory tasks and were assessed with the Body Dysmorphic Disorder Questionnaire. Results showed that the at-risk subjects performed significantly worse on a measure of executive function, whereas measures of risk-seeking behavior, quality of decision-making, and spatial working memory were largely intact. The findings suggest that selective cognitive dysfunction may already be present in terms of executive functioning in those at risk of developing BDD, even before psychopathology arises.     

Comparison of Body Temperature Rhythms between Healthy Elderly and Healthy Young Adults

Abstract: The fact that the elderly are usually aware of early sleep onset and early morning awakening shows that the phase of sleep-wake rhythms in the elderly is more advanced than that in young adults. Since it has been suggested that human sleep onset, morning awakening, sleep period and depth of sleep are highly influenced by body temperature rhythms, rectal temperature rhythms were analyzed in 7 healthy elderly and 7 healthy young adults under the condition with time cue. Although a significant 24-hour period was found in the rhythms for all subjects, the phase of the rhythms in the elderly was more advanced than in the young adults. Moreover, a significant inverse correlation was observed between age and acrophase time in the elderly.     

Body image and self-esteem among Asian, Pacific Islander, and White college students in Hawaii and Australia

Body image and its relationship to self-esteem was examined among Asian, Pacific Islander, and White women and men from Hawaii and Australia (n?=?172). Although Pacific Islander and White participants had higher body mass indices than Asians, Pacific Islanders were more satisfied than Asians with their health and more satisfied than Asians and Whites with their appearance. Thus, higher body weight and greater body satisfaction may co-occur among Pacific Islanders, whereas lower weight and lower body satisfaction may co-occur among Asians. The findings suggest different levels of risk for body image dissatisfaction, and its associated psychological consequences, across ethnic groups.     

高同型半胱氨酸血症与青年卒中

近年来青年卒中(18～44岁)的发病率有逐年升高的趋势,其中缺血性卒中占较大比例(约占60%～80%)。引发青年卒中的原因很多,高血压病、吸烟、饮酒、高脂血症及糖尿病等这些传统的危险因素已被大家所熟知,而高同型半胱氨酸血症(hyperhomocysteinemia,HHcy)作为卒中新的独立危险因素越来越受到重视。现结合文献,对HHcy的形成、代谢、干预及其与卒中的相关性综述如下:     

Olfactory Processing in Children and Young Adults

Because central nervous processing of odorous stimuli in different stages of adolescence has rarely been studied, in this preliminary fMRI investigation, 20 subjects were grouped according to age (children 9?C12?years old and young adults 17?C20?years old) to build two equally sized samples. Patterns of cerebral activation were compared between both groups following passive nasal stimulation with three odorants. Children mainly showed activation of olfactory cortex, namely, piriform cortex and amygdala. In young adults, enhanced activation was revealed in neocortical areas, suggesting a greater involvement of areas engaged in cognitive integration of olfactory stimuli. However, it is emphasized that additional psychological and developmental confounds should be taken into account in future studies to establish more profound results.     

Perception of Dialect Variation by Young Adults with High-Functioning Autism

The linguistic profile of people with Autism spectrum disorders typically involves intact perceptual processing, accompanied by deficits in the social functions of language. In a series of three experiments, the impact of this profile on the perception of regional dialect was examined. Young adults with High-Functioning Autism exhibited similar performance to a typically developing comparison group in regional dialect classification and localness rating tasks, suggesting that they can use indexical information in speech to make judgments about the regional background of unfamiliar talkers. However, the participants with High-Functioning Autism were less able to differentiate among the dialects in a language attitudes task, suggesting that they do not share social stereotypes related to dialect variation with the typically developing comparison group.     

Perception of Talker Age by Young Adults with High-Functioning Autism

People with high-functioning Autism (HFA) can accurately identify social categories from speech, but they have more difficulty connecting linguistic variation in the speech signal to social stereotypes associated with those categories. In the current study, the perception and evaluation of talker age by young adults with HFA was examined. The participants with HFA performed similarly to a typically-developing comparison group in age classification and estimation tasks. Moreover, the participants with HFA were able to differentiate among talkers of different ages in a language attitudes task and rated older talkers as more intelligent than younger talkers. These results suggest that people with HFA are able to make reasonable social judgments about talkers based on their speech, at least for familiar social categories and personally relevant social attitudes.     

青年卒中遗传学研究进展

青年卒中的发病率呈上升趋势,发现临床前生物标志物将获益巨大。除了罕见的卒中相关单基因疾病,许多遗传易感性研究表明青年卒中是多基因遗传病。近20年来,全基因组关联分析、验证研究和meta分析研究方法被应用于青年卒中的遗传学研究。本篇综述阐述了青年卒中的遗传学证据以及相关的单基因突变和候选基因变异,为疾病诊治提供参考。     

高同型半胱氨酸血症及其相关因素与青年脑梗死的关系

目的探讨同型半胱氨酸(homocysteine,Hcy)及其相关因素与青年脑梗死的关系。方法比较40例青年脑梗死患者(初发年龄<=45岁),30例神经系统非血管性疾病(NVD)患者和30例健康人血浆Hcy水平。分析年龄、性别、体重指数、肝肾功能、吸烟、嗜酒、血清VitBl2、叶酸水平的影响。结果脑梗死组血浆Hcy水平(21.4±18.8umol/L)分别与神经系统非血管疾病组(10.2±5.0umol/L)和健康对照组(12.9±8.6umol/L)比较差异均有显著性(P<0.01)。叶酸、VitB12与Hcy呈负相关,二者的降低与青年脑梗死关系密切(P<0.01)。血肌苷增高和吸烟与Hcy增高有关(P<0.05)。男性Hcy显著高于女性(P<0.05)。结论Hcy和青年脑梗死密切相关,与叶酸、VitBl2呈负相关,与肌苷呈正相关。男性、吸烟也与Hcy增高有关。     

青年卒中的研究现状和展望

卒中是当今世界范围内严重威胁人类生命和健康的疾病,2008年全国第三次死因回顾抽样调查显示卒中已高居国内死亡原因首位。回顾传统观念,卒中一直以来被认为是中老年人群的常见病和多发病;由于时代、环境以及疾病谱等因素的变化,卒中的发病有日益年轻化的趋势。随着对青年卒中研究的深入,逐渐揭示了一些青年卒中的特殊性,本文就青年卒中的研究现状和未来发展趋势做一综合探讨。     

Social Adjustment in Young Adults with Absence Epilepsies

A long-term follow-up of 58 young adults, aged 18–27 years, with persisting absence epilepsies since childhood or early adolescence, was performed to assess psychosocial outcome and the patients' own concept of their epilepsy. They were well adjusted in the areas of family status and employment, but had more unqualified jobs as compared with a reference group. They were also inclined to lead very regular lives in a way that led to social isolation. At least one of the following factors was considered by 74% of the group to have been affected by their epilepsy, schooling, occupation, routines of daily life, relations with friends, leisure time activities, and housing, this was independent of whether or not they had achieved seizure control. In treating absence epilepsies, it is important that one considers psychosocial aspects, even if a medically satisfying result with seizure control is obtained.     

Obesity and the Risk of Cryptogenic Ischemic Stroke in Young Adults

ObjectivesWe examined the association between obesity and early-onset cryptogenic ischemic stroke (CIS) and whether fat distribution or sex altered this association.Materials and MethodsThis prospective, multi-center, case-control study included 345 patients, aged 18-49 years, with first-ever, acute CIS. The control group included 345 age- and sex-matched stroke-free individuals. We measured height, weight, waist circumference, and hip circumference. Obesity metrics analyzed included body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), waist-to-stature ratio (WSR), and a body shape index (ABSI). Models were adjusted for age, level of education, vascular risk factors, and migraine with aura.ResultsAfter adjusting for demographics, vascular risk factors, and migraine with aura, the highest tertile of WHR was associated with CIS (OR for highest versus lowest WHR tertile 2.81, 95%CI 1.43-5.51; P=0.003). In sex-specific analyses, WHR tertiles were not associated with CIS. However, using WHO WHR cutoff values (>0.85 for women, >0.90 for men), abdominally obese women were at increased risk of CIS (OR 2.09, 95%CI 1.02-4.27; P=0.045). After adjusting for confounders, WC, BMI, WSR, or ABSI were not associated with CIS.ConclusionsAbdominal obesity measured with WHR was an independent risk factor for CIS in young adults after rigorous adjustment for concomitant risk factors.