Exploring the main and moderating effects of individual-level characteristics on consumer responses to sugar taxes and front-of-pack nutrition labels in an experimental marketplace

InterventionThis study examined whether the impacts of sugar taxes and front-of-pack (FOP) nutrition labels differ across socio-demographic subgroups.Research questionWhat are the main and moderating effects of individual-level characteristics on the nutrient content of participants’ purchases in response to varying taxation levels and FOP labels?MethodsData from an experimental marketplace were analyzed. A sample of 3584 Canadians aged 13 years and older received $5 to purchase an item from a selection of 20 beverages and 20 snack foods. Participants were shown products with one of five FOP labels and completed eight within-subject purchasing tasks with different tax conditions. Linear mixed models were used to estimate the main and moderating effects of 11 individual-level variables on the sugars, sodium, saturated fats, and calorie content of participants’ purchases.ResultsParticipants who were younger, male, and more frequent consumers of sugary drinks purchased products containing more sugars, sodium, saturated fats, and calories. Sex and age moderated the relationship between tax condition and sugars or calories purchased: female participants were more responsive than males to a tax that included fruit juice, and younger participants were more responsive to all sugar tax conditions than older participants. Reported thirst and education level also moderated the relationship between tax condition and calories purchased. No individual-level characteristics moderated the effects of FOP labels.ConclusionA small proportion (7 of 176) of the moderating effects tested in this study were significant. Sugar taxes and FOP labelling policies may therefore produce similar effects across key socio-demographic groups.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.17269/s41997-021-00475-x.     

Outpatient abortion in a patient with a previously undiagnosed transverse vaginal septum: A case report

A multigravida presented for a 13-week abortion. The surgeon noted a transverse vaginal septum with small central perforation at the time of bimanual exam. The surgeon performed dilation and suction curettage through the septum without resection in the outpatient setting.     

Mental health of adolescents associated with sexual and reproductive outcomes: a systematic review

ObjectiveTo systematically review the literature on the mental health of adolescents associated with sexual and reproductive outcomes, and compare the mental health outcomes with that of other age groups.MethodsWe searched seven databases for relevant peer-reviewed articles published between 1 January 2010 and 25 April 2019. Our inclusion criteria required that the study included age-disaggregated data on adolescents, and focused and assessed mental health outcomes associated with pregnancy or sexually transmitted infections. We extracted data on the specific health event, the mental health outcome and the method of measuring this, and comparisons with other age groups.FindingsAfter initially screening 10 818 articles by title and abstract, we included 96 articles in our review. We observed that a wide-ranging prevalence of mental ill-health has been reported for adolescents. However, most studies of mental health during pregnancy did not identify an increased risk of depression or other mental disorders among adolescents compared with other age groups. In contrast, the majority of studies conducted during the postpartum period identified an increased risk of depression in adolescents compared with other age groups. Three studies reported on mental health outcomes following abortion, with varying results. We found no studies of the effect of sexually transmitted infections on mental health among adolescents.ConclusionWe recommend that sexual and reproductive health services should be accessible to adolescents to address their needs and help to prevent any adverse mental health outcomes.     

A head-to-head comparison of measurement properties of the EQ-5D-3L and EQ-5D-5L in acute myeloid leukemia patients

Quality of Life Research - This study aimed to compare the measurement properties of EQ-5D-3L(3L) and EQ-5D-5L(5L) in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in China. We consecutively recruited...     

SOX5: Lamb–Shaffer syndrome—A case series further expanding the phenotypic spectrum

To delineate further the clinical phenotype of Lamb–Shaffer Syndrome (LSS) 16 unpublished patients with heterozygous variation in SOX5 were identified either through the UK Decipher database or the study team was contacted by clinicians directly. Clinical phenotyping tables were completed for each patient by their responsible clinical geneticist. Photos and clinical features were compared to assess key phenotypes and genotype–phenotype correlation. We report 16 SOX5 variants all of which meet American College of Medical Genetics/Association for Clinical Genomic Science ACMG/ACGS criteria class IV or V. 7/16 have intragenic deletions of SOX5 and 9/16 have single nucleotide variants (including both truncating and missense variants). The cohort includes two sets of monozygotic twins and parental gonadal mosaicism is noted in one family. This cohort of 16 patients is compared with the 71 previously reported cases and corroborates previous phenotypic findings. As expected, the most common findings include global developmental delay with prominent speech delay, mild to moderate intellectual disability, behavioral abnormalities and sometimes subtle characteristic facial features. We expand in more detail on the behavioral phenotype and observe that there is a greater tendency toward lower growth parameters and microcephaly in patients with single nucleotide variants. This cohort provides further evidence of gonadal mosaicism in SOX5 variants; this should be considered when providing genetic counseling for couples with one affected child and an apparently de novo variant.