nCPAP treatment of obstructive sleep apnea increases slow wave sleep in prefrontal EEG.

According to standard sleep stage scoring, sleep EEG is studied from the central area of parietal lobes. However, slow wave sleep (SWS) has been found to be more powerful in frontal areas in healthy subjects. Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) patients often suffer from functional disturbances in prefrontal lobes. We studied the effects of nasal Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (nCPAP) treatment on sleep EEG, and especially on SWS, in left prefrontal and central locations in 12 mild to moderate OSAS patients. Sleep EEG was recorded by polysomnography before treatment and after a 3 month nCPAP treatment period. Recordings were classified into sleep stages. No difference was found in SWS by central sleep stage scoring after the nCPAP treatment period, but in the prefrontal lobe all night S3 sleep stage increased during treatment. Furthermore, prefrontal SWS increased in the second and decreased in the fourth NREM period. There was more SWS in prefrontal areas both before and after nCPAP treatment, and SWS increased significantly more in prefrontal than central areas during treatment. Regarding only central sleep stage scoring, nCPAP treatment did not increase SWS significantly. Frontopolar recording of sleep EEG is useful in addition to central recordings in order to better evaluate the results of nCPAP treatment.     

A Mobile Phone Based Method to Assess Energy and Food Intake in Young Children: A Validation Study against the Doubly Labelled Water Method and 24 h Dietary Recalls

Mobile phones are becoming important instruments for assessing diet and energy intake. We developed the Tool for Energy Balance in Children (TECH), which uses a mobile phone to assess energy and food intake in pre-school children. The aims of this study were: (a) to compare energy intake (EI) using TECH with total energy expenditure (TEE) measured via doubly labelled water (DLW); and (b) to compare intakes of fruits, vegetables, fruit juice, sweetened beverages, candy, ice cream, and bakery products using TECH with intakes acquired by 24 h dietary recalls. Participants were 39 healthy, Swedish children (5.5 ± 0.5 years) within the ongoing Mobile-based Intervention Intended to Stop Obesity in Preschoolers (MINISTOP) obesity prevention trial. Energy and food intakes were assessed during four days using TECH and 24 h telephone dietary recalls. Mean EI (TECH) was not statistically different from TEE (DLW) (5820 ± 820 kJ/24 h and 6040 ± 680kJ/24 h, respectively). No significant differences in the average food intakes using TECH and 24 h dietary recalls were found. All food intakes were correlated between TECH and the 24 h dietary recalls (ρ = 0.665–0.896, p < 0.001). In conclusion, TECH accurately estimated the average intakes of energy and selected foods and thus has the potential to be a useful tool for dietary studies in pre-school children, for example obesity prevention trials.     

Dietary Carbohydrate and Nocturnal Sleep Duration in Relation to Children’s BMI: Findings from the IDEFICS Study in Eight European Countries

Previous research has found an association between being overweight and short sleep duration. We hypothesized that this association could be modified by a high carbohydrate (HC) diet and that the timing and type (starch or sugar) of intake may be an important factor in this context. Participants in the prospective, eight-country European study IDEFICS were recruited from September 2007 to June 2008, when they were aged two to nine years. Data on lifestyle, dietary intake and anthropometry were collected on two occasions. This study included 5944 children at baseline and 4301 at two-year follow-up. For each meal occasion (morning, midday, and evening), starch in grams and sugar in grams were divided by total energy intake (EI), and quartiles calculated. HC-starch and HC-sugar intake categories were defined as the highest quartile for each meal occasion. In a mutually adjusted linear regression model, short sleep duration as well as HC-starch in the morning were positively associated with body mass index (BMI) z-scores at baseline. HC-starch at midday was positively associated with body mass index (BMI) z-scores in children with short sleep duration, and negatively associated with BMI z-scores in those with normal sleep. After adjustment for baseline BMI z-scores, associations between total HC from starch or sugar and high BMI z-scores at two-year follow-up did not persist. Our observations offer a perspective on optimal timing for macronutrient consumption, which is known to be influenced by circadian rhythms. Reduced carbohydrate intake, especially during morning and midday meals, and following nocturnal sleep duration recommendations are two modifiable factors that may protect children from being overweight in the future.     

Psychosocial factors at work and in every day life are associated with irritable bowel syndrome

The etiology of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) tends to be complex and multi-factorial and there is still a lack of understanding of how different psychosocial factors are associated with the syndrome. Our aim was to examine the occurrence of psychosocial and behavioural factors among patients diagnosed with IBS in primary care. The study had an epidemiological population-based case–control design comparing 347 IBS cases to 1041 age and sex matched controls from the general population. A survey was directed to cases and controls based on validated questions asking for mood status, job strain, family history of IBS, and sleeping habits as well as education, nutritional and exercise habits and medication. In multivariate analyses, independent associations were found between IBS and lack of influence on work planning, a family history of IBS, anxiety, and sleeping disturbances. Important factors associated with IBS diagnosis among females were anxiety as well as family history of IBS and lack of co-determination at work. For males, only lack of influence on working pace and family history of IBS remained independently associated with an IBS diagnosis. The causal associations of the complex risk factor panorama for IBS warrants further study. This study indicates that there should be a special focus on investigating the psychosocial working conditions and their associations to IBS.     

Protocol Design for Large-Scale Cross-Sectional Studies of Sexual Abuse and Associated Factors in Individual Sports: Feasibility Study in Swedish Athletics

To ensure health and well-being for their athletes, sports organizations must offer preventive measures against sexual abuse. The aim of this study was to design and evaluate feasibility of a research protocol for cross-sectional epidemiological studies of sexual abuse in athletics. Examination of the requirements on the study of sexual abuse in athletics was followed by iterated drafting of protocol specifications and formative evaluations. The feasibility of the resulting protocol was evaluated in a national-level study among elite athletics athletes (n = 507) in Sweden. The definition of sexual abuse, the ethical soundness of the protocol, reference populations and study of co-morbidity, and the means for athlete-level data collection were identified as particularly complex issues in the requirements analyses. The web-based survey defined by the protocol facilitates anonymous athlete self-reporting of data on exposure to sexual abuse. 198 athletes (39%) fully completed the feasibility survey. 89% (n = 177) reported that they agreed with that the questions in the survey were important, and 95% (n = 189) reported that they answered truthfully to all questions. Similarly, 91% (n = 180) reported that they did not agree with that the questions were unpleasant for them. However, 16% (n = 32) reported that they did not find the survey to be of personal value, and 12% (n = 23) reported that the survey had caused them to think about issues that they did not want to think about. Responding that participation was not personally gratifying was associated with training more hours (p = 0.01). There is a scarcity of research on the prevention of sexual abuse in individual sports. The present protocol should be regarded as a means to overcome this shortcoming in athletics. When implementing the protocol, it is necessary to encourage athlete compliance and to adapt the web-based survey to the particular infrastructural conditions in the sports setting at hand.

Key points

• A research protocol for cross-sectional epidemiological studies of sexual abuse in athletics was designed and its feasibility evaluated.
• The definition of sexual abuse, ethical soundness of the protocol, reference populations and study of co-morbidity, and means for athlete-level data collection were in requirements analyses identified as particularly complex design issues.
• The feasibility evaluation showed a high non-participation rate (61%), but also that the large majority of participants found the study important and that questions were answered truthfully.
• Responding that partaking in the study was not personally gratifying was associated with training more hours.
• When implementing cross-sectional epidemiological studies of sexual abuse in athletics, it is necessary to promote and facilitate athlete participation.

Key words: Sports epidemiology, sexual abuse, survey methods, gender issues, research ethics     

Association analysis of juvenile idiopathic arthritis genetic susceptibility factors in Estonian patients

Clinical Rheumatology - Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is the most common chronic rheumatic condition of childhood. Genetic association studies have revealed several JIA susceptibility loci...     

Photodynamic therapy with methyl aminolevulinate for prevention of new skin lesions in transplant recipients: a randomized study

BACKGROUND: Organ transplant recipients on long-term immunosuppressive therapy are at increased risk of non-melanoma skin lesions. Repeated field photodynamic therapy using topical methyl aminolevulinate (MAL) may have potential as a preventive treatment. METHODS: This open randomized, intrapatient, comparative, multicenter study included 81 transplant recipients with 889 lesions (90% actinic keratoses (AK)]. In each patient, the study treatment was initially administered to one 50 cm area on the face, scalp, neck, trunk, or extremities (n=476 lesions) twice (1 week apart), with additional single treatments at 3, 9, and 15 months. On each occasion, the area was debrided gently and MAL cream (160 mg/g) applied for 3 hr, before illumination with noncoherent red light (630 nm, 37 J/cm2). The control, 50 cm2 area (n=413 lesions) received lesion-specific treatment (83% cryotherapy) at baseline and 3, 9, and 15 months. Additionally, all visible lesions were given lesion-specific treatment 21 and 27 months in both treatment and control areas. RESULTS: At 3 months, MAL photodynamic therapy significantly reduced the occurrence of new lesions (65 vs. 103 lesions in the control area; P=0.01), mainly AK (46% reduction; 43 vs. 80; P=0.006). This effect was not significant at 27 months (253 vs. 312; P=0.06). Hypopigmentation, as assessed by the investigator, was less evident in the treatment than control areas (16% vs. 51% of patients; P<0.001) at 27 months. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that repeated field photodynamic therapy using topical MAL may prevent new AK in transplant recipients although further studies are needed.     

A population-based case-control study of work and psychosocial problems in patients with irritable bowel syndrome--women are more seriously affected than men

OBJECTIVE: Everyday psychosocial functioning and quality of life are known to be reduced for patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), but few previous studies have analyzed associations with functioning in working life. Accordingly, we examined perceptions of working conditions, functioning in the workplace, quality of life, and psychological complaints among IBS patients compared with age- and sex-matched controls. METHODS: A case-control study design was used based on 347 IBS patients from Swedish general practice who were compared with age- and sex-matched controls (N = 1,041) randomly selected from the general population. A survey was performed including validated questions concerning job strain, quality of life (SF-36 [Short Form 36]), absence because of illness, depression, anxiety, and sleeping habits. RESULTS: The IBS patients reported considerably more often that their daily performance in working life was affected by their gastrointestinal problems (OR [odds ratio] 7.14, 95% CI 5.45-9.36). Male IBS cases only reported less authority regarding decisions on their working pace (OR 5.44, 95% CI 1.28-23.18), while female IBS patients reported less decision authority regarding planning their work (OR 2.29, 95% CI 1.13-4.64), fewer learning opportunities at work (OR 2.12, 95% CI 1.26-3.57), and more long-term sick leave than their controls (OR 3.70, 95% CI 1.94-7.07). The female IBS cases also reported lower quality of life in all dimensions than their controls. CONCLUSION: In particular, female IBS patients reported lower authority over decisions at work and problems in their daily functioning in the workplace. These associations persisted after adjustments for possible confounders such as mood, sleeping problems, and perceived health.     

The neuropeptide calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) stimulates T cell migration into collagen matrices

CGRP significantly stimulated migration of non-activated and anti-CD3 activated T lymphocytes into a collagen matrix when present inside the collagen, whereas somatostatin-14, NPY, substance P, VIP, beta-endorphin and metenkephalin had no or little effect. The CGRP antagonist CGRP 8-37 abrogated the CGRP-induced cell infiltration. Virtually all migrating cells were CD3+ (>96%) and CGRP did not stimulate B-cell migration. The migration capacity showed no selective relationship to the expression of CD4+, CD8+, CD45RO+ (memory), or CD45RA+ (naive) T cell markers indicating that the regulation of T cell migration is distinct from that of the major T cell phenotypes.