The current study highlighted small birth weight and female sex as the only perinatal factors independently associated with the occurrence of IR in late childhood, when examined at a multivariable level with a wide range of perinatal indices as well as certain family sociodemographic and parental characteristics.
Clinical manifestations of cardiometabolic risk (CMR) may be set early in childhood due to unfavorable behaviors or lifestyle patterns related to diet and physical activity. Several factors may determine the adoption of such lifestyle-related behaviors, which researchers have tried to cluster under certain frameworks or models. In this context, the framework developed and proposed by this review gathers all the present knowledge regarding these determining factors to date and groups them into three main categories related to personal characteristics and the social and physical environment. Based on the proposed framework, a large variety of personal, social and physical environmental factors can positively or negatively influence CMR-related behaviors (either directly or indirectly via their interrelations), thus leading to decreased or increased risk, respectively. This framework could be of great value to public health policy makers and legislators for designing and implementing interventional programs tailored to the needs of susceptible population groups who are most in need for such initiatives. Targeting the correlates as potential determinants of CMR-related behaviors, and not just on the behaviors themselves, has been shown previously to be the most effective approach for tackling health issues related to CMR starting from early life stages.
Background: International experience has shown that deterioration of healthcare services is a common consequence of socioeconomic crises. Exact mechanism of this deterioration varies with respect to particularities of each healthcare system, government and administrative policies and local epidemiological conditions. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of Greek economic crisis on the profile and the satisfaction rates of patients seeking surgical services in public and private hospitals. Methods: A questionnaire-based survey concerning healthcare quality and patients' satisfaction was conducted at a private and a public (university) hospital. Patient demographics alongside with patient satisfaction before and after treatment were quantified and compared. Results: Significant differences between private and public sector patients were found concerning nationality, socioeconomic status and medical conditions. Private sector patients are younger, of a higher socioeconomic status and admitted for elective rather than urgent medical conditions. Patient expectations before treatment are lower for public sector concerning a variety of markers but patient satisfaction is similar. Conclusions: Even in the years of financial crisis, Greek patients seem to be satisfied by the quality of the healthcare services in both public and private hospitals. Despite the limitations of our study regarding the selection of the population, we believe that the findings might generate more meticulous research on the field hoping that juxtaposed discussions will sensitize policy makers.
Background: Patients suffering from thalassemia have decreased levels of lean body mass and an increased nutritional risk. To assess the body composition and vitamin D levels of thalassemic patients in relation to nutritional risk.Methods: A total of 67 consecutive adult patients who were diagnosed with thalassemia major and followed a regular blood transfusion scheme were included in this study. Demographic and clinical data were collected for each participant. Blood samples were collected to assess 25-hydroxy-vitamin D (25-OH-D) levels. The assessment of patients' nutritional risk was based on the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool. Body composition assessment was based on bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA).Results: Eleven patients (16.4%) and five patients (7.5%) were at moderate and high risk for malnutrition, respectively. Moreover, 86.6% of patients had a low fat-free mass index (FFMI) and 74.6% of patients had a high-fat mass (FM) index. The prevalence of sarcopenic obesity and 25-OH-D deficiency was 64.2% and 92.2%, respectively. Medium and high-risk patients had significantly lower BMI (18.81 ± 1.29 vs 23.90 ± 2.65 kg/m 2 , p<0.001), lower FFM index (12.80 ± 1.38 vs 14.19 ± 1.89 kg/m 2 , p=0.009) and lower FM index (5.97 ± 1.86 vs 9.70 ± 2.70 kg/m 2 , p<0.001) than their low-risk counterparts.Conclusions: Adult patients with β-thalassemia major had low levels of vitamin D and altered body composition, presenting with increased adiposity, low levels of lean body mass, and high rates of sarcopenic obesity. Timely detection of patients at risk could lead to the prioritization of patients who could benefit from nutritional interventions.
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