It was found that the Turkish version of the DLQI was an acceptable index for dermatologists and dermatology patients and, moreover, to be valid and reliable in a cross-sectional level. The responsiveness of the Turkish version of the DLQI needs to be tested further on a variety of dermatological conditions with different severities.

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Statistical analysis showed that Turkish version of the NEI-VFQ is a valid and reliable instrument to measure vision-related quality of life in patients with chronic eye diseases.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of enuresis nocturna on quality of life of the mothers. Mothers who have a child with monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis (n=28) and mothers who have a child without any health problems (n=38) were enrolled in the study. Groups were in balance for background variables (child's age, gender, and number of siblings; mother's age, marital status, highest year of education completed, and occupation; presence of health insurance; and type of residence). Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) Questionnaire, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and Spielberg's State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) were applied to all mothers. The mothers of children with enuresis had significantly lower quality-of-life scores in the SF-36 for the bodily pain (p=0.015) and role emotional (p=0.014) subscales. We observed significant difference between groups according to BDI; mean score was higher in mothers who have a child with enuresis nocturna (p=0.017). There was no significant difference between groups according to the STAI. Significant differences according to bodily pain and role emotional subscales of SF-36, and the BDI scores, show that the mothers were negatively affected by having a child with monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis.

Decreased quality of life is often an important cause or consequence of psychiatric illness, and needs to be included in a comprehensive treatment plan. The authors aimed to identify how psychiatric patients characterize the quality of their lives compared to others who are suffering from a chronic physical illness (diabetes) and healthy individuals. A total of 100 psychiatric patients were recruited from Dokuz Eylül University Psychiatry Department outpatient clinic. Of these, 34 had 4 th edition Diagnostic and Statistical Manual diagnosis of alcohol dependence, 38 had schizophrenia, and 28 had bipolar disorder. A total of 35 patients with diabetes and 49 healthy individuals were also included in the study. The World Health Organization's Quality of Life Questionnaire was used to measure the quality of life. Patients with alcohol dependence, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia scored lower than healthy subjects on the physical aspects of quality of life. Patients with schizophrenia had lower scores in the psychological domain compared to patients with bipolar disorder, patients with diabetes, and healthy subjects. In the social relationship domain, patients with schizophrenia and alcohol dependence scored lower compared to healthy subjects. Patients with schizophrenia were worse with respect to social relationships than bipolar patients and diabetics. World Health Organization's Quality of Life Questionnaire is useful for evaluating the needs and targets for interventions in psychiatric patients.

IntroductionExperimental and clinical studies demonstrated that the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) affects the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and prognosis of coronary heart disease (CHD). The aim of this study was to investigate the genotype distribution and the allele frequencies of three RAS genes polymorphisms and their effects on premature CHD in a Turkish population. Materials and methodsOne-hundred and fifteen Turkish patients with premature CHD and 128 controls were included into the study. Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), angiotensin II type 1 (AT 1 ) receptor and angiotensinogen (AGT) gene polymorphisms were analysed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). ResultsThe patients group showed an increased frequency of the ACE D allele compared with controls (65% vs. 35%, p=0.0001). There was a significant association between the DD genotype and premature CHD (ACE DD vs. ID and II; odds ratio [OR]=2.82 [CI 95% 1.33-2.91, p=0.002]). Also, we observed increased premature CHD risk associated with higher frequencies of the AGT MM genotype in patients when compared with controls (AGT MM vs. TT and MT, p=0.018]). We found a significant association between AT 1 -receptor AA genotype and decreased risk of premature CHD (AT1R AA vs. AC and CC, OR= 0.57 p=0.03]). ConclusionsWe demonstrated that increased premature CHD risk is associated with higher frequencies of the ACE DD and AGT MM genotypes. These findings indicate a synergistic contribution of ACE DD and AGT MM polymorphisms to the development of premature CHD. Also, our results suggest that family history, smoking, diabetes, hypertension, obesity and ACE DD genotype were independent risk factors for premature CHD.

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