Body appreciation around the world: Measurement invariance of the Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2) across 65 nations, 40 languages, gender identities, and age.

The Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2) is a widely used measure of a core facet of the positive body image construct. However, extant research concerning measurement invariance of the BAS-2 across a large number of nations remains limited. Here, we utilised the Body Image in Nature (BINS) dataset - with data collected between 2020 and 2022 - to assess measurement invariance of the BAS-2 across 65 nations, 40 languages, gender identities, and age groups. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis indicated that full scalar invariance was upheld across all nations, languages, gender identities, and age groups, suggesting that the unidimensional BAS-2 model has widespread applicability. There were large differences across nations and languages in latent body appreciation, while differences across gender identities and age groups were negligible-to-small. Additionally, greater body appreciation was significantly associated with higher life satisfaction, being single (versus being married or in a committed relationship), and greater rurality (versus urbanicity). Across a subset of nations where nation-level data were available, greater body appreciation was also significantly associated with greater cultural distance from the United States and greater relative income inequality. These findings suggest that the BAS-2 likely captures a near-universal conceptualisation of the body appreciation construct, which should facilitate further cross-cultural research. [Abstract copyright: Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Interstitial deletion 8p23.1-8p23.2 – a case report of a postnatal diagnosis

Introdução: A deleção cromossómica 8p23 apresenta um espectro clínico variável que se deve à extensão da deleção ou da região do ponto de quebra do material genético. Caso clínico: Grávida de 23 semanas de gestação referenciada ao Centro de Diagnóstico Pré Natal por bradiarritmia fetal. A ecocardiografia fetal revelou anel pulmonar estreito e foramen oval grande. Parto eutócico às 40 semanas de gestação de um feto do sexo masculino e com peso abaixo do percentil 10. A ecocardiografia pós-natal revelou: defeito perimembranoso do septo ventricular, comunicação interauricular e estenose moderada da válvula pulmonar. Durante as consultas de seguimento verificaram-se características dismórficas, atraso de desenvolvimento e alterações do comportamento. Foram realizados estudos citogenéticos e de citogenética molecular; o cariótipo de ambos os progenitores não revelou alterações. O cariótipo final da criança foi definido como : 46,XY,del(8)(p23.1p23.2)dn. Conclusão: As alterações cardíacas estão relacionadas com a haploinsuficiência do gene GATA4. A deleção desta região crítica está também associada a atraso mental ligeiro, alterações do comportamento e dismorfia facial ligeira, características presentes no espectro clínico do caso apresentado.ABSTRACT Introduction: The features of an 8p23 deletion are likely to be a result of the loss of a number of different genes found in this region. The variable clinical features could be explained by the extent of the deletion or variation in the breakpoints. Case report: A pregnant patient was referred for fetal echocardiography at 23 weeks gestation, because of fetal bradyarrhythmia, which showed a large foramen oval and mild pulmonary stenosis. A fetal male was born at 40 weeks, with a birth weight below the 10th centile. Postnatal echocardiography revealed: perimembranous ventricular septal defect, atrial septal defect and mild pulmonary valvar stenosis. During follow-up, dysmorphic features, development delay and behavioural issues were noticed. Cytogenetic and molecular cytogenetic analysis were performed. Parental chromosomes were normal, so the child’s final karyotype was defined as 46,XY,del(8)(p23.1p23.2)dn. Conclusion: Congenital heart defects are related with haploinsufficiency of gene GATA4. The deletion of this critical region is associated with mild mental retardation, behavioral problems and mild facial dysmorphy