Unhealthy Diet Pattern Mediates the Disproportionate Prevalence of Obesity among Adults with Socio-Economic Disadvantage: An Australian Representative Cross-Sectional Study

The role of unhealthy dietary pattern in the association between socio-economic factors and obesity is unclear. The aim was to examine the association between socio-economic disadvantage and obesity and to assess mediation effect of unhealthy dietary pattern defined using the Mediterranean diet criteria. The data source was the Australian National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey. The study sample included 7744 participants aged 18 years and over, 28% of whom had obesity. We used the Australian Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA) classification system for categorizing socio-economic disadvantage; calculated the Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS) using standard criteria; and used measured body mass index to define obesity. We conducted a mediation analysis using log–binomial models to generate the prevalence ratio for obesity and the proportion mediated by the MDS. The most disadvantaged group was associated with higher level of obesity after controlling for covariates (1.40, 95% CI 1.25, 1.56) compared to the least disadvantaged group, and in a dose–response way for each decreasing SEIFA quintile. The relationship between socio-economic disadvantage and obesity was mediated by the MDS (4.0%, 95% CI 1.9, 8.0). Public health interventions should promote healthy dietary patterns, such as the Mediterranean diet, to reduce obesity, especially in communities with high socio-economic disadvantage.     

Considerations in the design of clinical trials for cognitive aging

What will it take to develop interventions for the treatment of age-related cognitive decline? Session V of the Summit provided perspectives on the design of clinical trials to evaluate promising but unproven interventions, and some of the steps needed to accelerate the discovery and evaluation of promising treatments. It considered strategies to further characterize the biological and cognitive changes associated with normal aging and their translation into the development of new treatments. It provided regulatory, scientific, and clinical perspectives about neurocognitive aging treatments, their potential benefits and risks, and the strategies and endpoints needed to evaluate them in the most rapid, rigorous, and clinically meaningful way. It considered lessons learned from the study of Alzheimer's disease, the promising roles of biomarkers in neurocognitive aging research, and ways to help galvanize the scientific study and treatment of neurocognitive aging.     

Cellular,synaptic, and biochemical features of resilient cognition in Alzheimer's disease

Although neuritic plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in older adults are correlated with cognitive impairment and severity of dementia, it has long been recognized that the relationship is imperfect, as some people exhibit normal cognition despite high levels of Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology. We compared the cellular, synaptic, and biochemical composition of midfrontal cortices in female subjects from the Religious Orders Study who were stratified into three subgroups: (1) pathological AD with normal cognition (“AD-Resilient”), (2) pathological AD with AD-typical dementia (“AD-Dementia”), and (3) pathologically normal with normal cognition (“Normal Comparison”). The AD-Resilient group exhibited preserved densities of synaptophysin-labeled presynaptic terminals and synaptopodin-labeled dendritic spines compared with the AD-Dementia group, and increased densities of glial fibrillary acidic protein astrocytes compared with both the AD-Dementia and Normal Comparison groups. Further, in a discovery-type antibody microarray protein analysis, we identified a number of candidate protein abnormalities that were associated with a particular diagnostic group. These data characterize cellular and synaptic features and identify novel biochemical targets that may be associated with resilient cognitive brain aging in the setting of pathological AD.     

An adolescent with significant emotional and medically unexplained complaints: case report and proposal of an intervention

Background

Ethiopia is a country in which child and adolescent mental health needs are often not met. In order to promote capacity building, a Collaborative International Exchange Programme has been established between Jimma University at Jimma, Ethiopia, and Ludwig-Maximilian University in Munich, Germany. The programme focuses on training non-physician health professionals in mental health speciality. One of the courses in the training programme, child psychiatry, involves a child psychiatrist and a children’s nurse supporting the management of a patient described in this case report. Its conceptual framework is based on the section “significant emotional and medically unexplained complaints” of the “WHO mental health GAP intervention guide for mental, neurological and substance use disorders in non-specialized health settings”.

Objective

The purpose of this case report is to promote confidence in mental health professionals when managing patients with similar conditions, and to stimulate further evaluation of the conceptual approach in developing countries.

Patient

The subject of this case report is a 14-year-old adolescent girl admitted to the psychiatric clinic at Jimma University Teaching Hospital. She was admitted for intractable retching, inability to eat, weight loss, and inability to walk. Challenges included the combination of medical and psychiatric symptoms, and the significant impairment of functioning in this adolescent. The first aim in the management of this patient was to guarantee vital functions. In a problem-oriented approach, different domains were addressed to restore nutritional, social, emotional, and motor functions. Treatment consisted of various elements of psychosocial interventions. The patient improved in 2 weeks and the final diagnosis was conversion disorder.

Conclusion

Psychosocial interventions can be developed in cooperation, and applied in a setting where little child mental health expertise is available. Case-based learning relying on local expertise is suitable in meeting local needs and in developing mental health services for children and adolescents.

     

Clinical course and outcome of schizophrenia in a predominantly treatment-naive cohort in rural Ethiopia

The established view that schizophrenia may have a favorable outcome in developing countries has been recently challenged; however, systematic studies are scarce. In this report, we describe the clinical outcome of schizophrenia among a predominantly treatment-naive cohort in a rural community setting in Ethiopia. The cohort was identified in a 2-stage sampling design using key informants and measurement-based assessment. Follow-up assessments were conducted monthly for a mean duration of 3.4 years (range 1-6 years). After screening 68 378 adults, ages 15-49 years, 321 cases with schizophrenia (82.7% men and 89.6% treatment naive) were identified. During follow-up, about a third (30.8%) of cases were continuously ill while most of the remaining cohort experienced an episodic course. Only 5.7% of the cases enjoyed a near-continuous complete remission. In the final year of follow-up, over half of the cases (54%) were in psychotic episode, while 17.6% were in partial remission and 27.4% were in complete remission for at least the month preceding the follow-up assessment. Living in a household with 3 or more adults, later age of onset, and taking antipsychotic medication for at least 50% of the follow-up period predicted complete remission. Although outcome in this setting appears better than in developed countries, the very low proportion of participants in complete remission supports the recent observation that the outcome of schizophrenia in developing countries may be heterogeneous rather than uniformly favorable. Improving access to treatment may be the logical next step to improve outcome of schizophrenia in this setting.     

Management of traumatic arterio-venous fistulas,experience in Armed Forces General Hospital,Addis Ababa

In Armed Forces General Hospital from March to December 1999, 53 patients were operated for Arterio-venous fistula. All were males, their age ranging from 19 to 46 years, average 27 years. The diagnosis of arterio-venous fistulas was established clinically. The pathological distribution of the lesions were: 23(43.4%) Arterio-Venous aneurysm; 11(20.75%) Arterio-Venous fistula, 19(35.85%) Arterial false aneurysms. The anatomical location was: 15 femoral, 10 Tibial, 6 poplitial, 6 brachial, 4 Axilláry, 1 ulnar, 7 external carotid and 1 occipital. The types of surgical procedures performed were: 29 (54.72%) excision of the arterio-venous fistula and aneurismal sac with arterial restoration by end to end anastomosis and/or saphenous vein graft, 16(30.19%) by excision of arteriovenous fistula and quadriple ligation of small vessels, 8(15.09%) excision of the false aneurismal sac and lateral repair of the artery (lateral arterioraphy). During the post operative period the patients were followed for three months, and we had the following results based on the clinical outcome criteria; 37(69.81%) excellent, 15(28.3%) good and 1(1.89%) fair.     

Schizophrenia: illness impact on family members in a traditional society – rural Ethiopia

Background: Studies have consistently shown that both the subjective and objective dimensions of burden among family members of schizophrenia patients and other psychiatric disorders are prevalent. However, as most of these reports were from western societies, we lack information on the subject in developing countries. Method: The study was conducted within the framework of the ongoing epidemiological study of course and outcome of schizophrenia and bipolar disorders in a rural population of 15–49 years of age. Three hundred and one cases of schizophrenia and their close relatives participated in the study. Results: Family burden is a common problem of relatives of cases with schizophrenia. Financial difficulty is the most frequently endorsed problem among the family burden domains (74.4 %). Relatives of female cases suffered significantly higher social burden (Z = 2.103; p = 0.036). Work (Z = 2.180; p = 0.029) and financial (Z = 2.088; p = 0.037) burdens affected female relatives more often than males. Disorganised symptoms were the most important factors affecting the family members in all family burden domains. Prayer was found to be the most frequently used coping strategy in work burden (adj. OR = 1.99; 95 % CI = 1.08–3.67; p = 0.026). Conclusion: Negative impact of schizophrenia on family members is substantial even in traditional societies such as those in Ethiopia where family network is strong and important. The scarce existing services in the developing countries should include family interventions and support at least in the form of educating the family members about the nature of schizophrenia illness and dealing with its stigma and family burden. Received: 15 January 2002 / Accepted: 29 July 2002 Correspondence to Gunnar Kullgren, MD, PhD     

Onset and clinical course of schizophrenia in Butajira-Ethiopia

Abstract. Background: There are reports on favourable course and outcome of schizophrenia in lowincome countries. The aim of the present study was to examine onset and clinical course of the illness in a community-based sample in rural Ethiopia based on crosssectional information. Method: A two-stage survey was carried out in Butajira-Ethiopia, a predominantly rural district. Altogether 68,378 individuals aged 15–49 years were CIDI-interviewed, of whom 2,159 were identified as cases according to the CIDI interview with regard to psychotic or affective disorders. Key informants identified another group of 719 individuals as being probable cases and a total of 2,285 individuals were SCAN-interviewed. The present paper reports on cases with schizophrenia. Results: There were 321 cases of schizophrenia giving an estimated lifetime prevalence of 4.7/1,000). Of the cases,83.2% (N = 267) were males. Mean age of first onset of psychotic symptoms for males was 23.8 (sd 8.6) compared to 21.0 (sd 7.8) for females (P = 0.037; 95 %CI 0.16–5.47). Over 80% had negative symptoms and over 67% reported continuous course of the illness. Less than 10% had a history of previous treatment with neuroleptic medication. About 7% were vagrants, 9 % had a history of assaultive behaviour,and 3.8% had attempted suicide. The male to female ratio was nearly 5:1. Conclusion: This large community-based study differs from most previous studies in terms of higher male to female ratio, earlier age of onset in females and the predominance of negative symptoms.     

Comparison of computer assisted scan diagnoses and clinical diagnoses of major mental disorders in Butajira, rural Ethiopia

One of the major difficulties in mental health research is finding suitable research instruments. In the last few decades questionnaires that are supposed to work in different languages and cultures have been developed by WHO to solve this problem. One of such instruments is SCAN, an instrument which uses computer algorithm to make a diagnosis. It is meant to be used for semi-structured interview by qualified psychiatrists or clinical psychologists. This and a few other research instruments have been translated and used in clinical and community settings for psychiatric research in Ethiopia over the last few years. In this study computer assisted SCAN Diagnoses and clinical diagnoses made by trainee psychiatrists in Butajira, a rural setting in Ethiopia, were compared Seven hundred twenty nine persons were diagnosed to have schizophrenia and bipolar disorder using both methods. The agreement between the clinical and SCAN derived diagnosis was shown to be 100% for schizophrenia (Kappa = 1.0). However, the agreement between the two methods of diagnosis was shown to be lower when it comes to subtypes of schizophrenia. The agreement for the diagnoses of bipolar disorder was 95.3%, kappa = 0.9, P < 0.0001 and for depression it was 93.0%, kappa = 0.8, p < 0.0001. Taking into account the limited number of psychiatrists and clinical psychologists in the third world countries like Ethiopia we have shown that using trainees in psychiatry for SCAN interview is a feasible and reliable method to identify major categories of mental disorders in community studies.     

A cost-utility analysis of cervical cancer vaccination in preadolescent Canadian females

Background  

Despite the fact that approximately 70% of Canadian women undergo cervical cancer screening at least once every 3 years, approximately 1,300 women were diagnosed with cervical cancer and approximately 380 died from it in 2008. This study estimates the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of vaccinating 12-year old Canadian females with an AS04-adjuvanted cervical cancer vaccine. The indirect effect of vaccination, via herd immunity, is also estimated.