Gençlik cinsel sağlığı: Türkiye'deki bir üniversitede öğrenciler arasında cinsel bilgi, tutumlar ve davranışlar]

Introduction: To determine sexual attitudes, behavior, and knowledge of Namik Kemal University (NKU) students about sexual health and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Method: A sample representing 10% of the undergraduate population of NKU in 2009-2010, was studied. Of 1,500 questionnaires distributed, 1,314 (87.6%) were filled out. Results: The mean age of the respondents (52.9% male) was 20.07 +/- 1.75 years. The rate of students who had received sexual health education was 32.0%, and 15.3% had previously used a sexual health service. Eleven percent of the female students and 50.3% of the male students had had sexual intercourse. The average age of initial sexual intercourse was 16.83 +/- 2.07 years. Of the students who had had sexual intercourse, 46.6% reported that they did not use any contraception method. The most preferred method was condoms (37.6%). The rate of contraceptive use was 58.7% in sexually educated students and 43.9% in those not educated (p=0.004). The most well-known STI was AIDS (96.5%), with sexually educated students giving higher rates of correct answers about STIs (p<0.05) Conclusion: The students who had received sexual health education were more knowledgeable about vital consequences of STI's, even though it is not sufficient, than sexually active students. Awareness of safe sexual practices and changes in behavior, in particular, promoting condom use should be established in higher risk youths. Deficiencies in knowledge could be addressed by adding a sexual healthtraining component to the university curriculum, and unmet requirements could be met by reorganizing medico-social centers in universities

The frequency of Duchenne muscular dystrophy/Becker muscular dystrophy and Pompe disease in children with isolated transaminase elevation: results from the observational VICTORIA study

IntroductionElevated transaminases and/or creatine phosphokinase can indicate underlying muscle disease. Therefore, this study aims to determine the frequency of Duchenne muscular dystrophy/Becker muscular dystrophy (DMD/BMD) in male children and Pompe disease (PD) in male and female children with isolated hypertransaminasemia.MethodsThis multi-center, prospective study enrolled patients aged 3–216 months with serum alanine transaminase (ALT) and/or aspartate transaminase (AST) levels &gt;2× the upper limit of normal (ULN) for ≥3 months. Patients with a known history of liver or muscle disease or physical examination findings suggestive of liver disease were excluded. Patients were screened for creatinine phosphokinase (CPK) levels, and molecular genetic tests for DMD/BMD in male patients and enzyme analysis for PD in male and female patients with elevated CPK levels were performed. Genetic analyses confirmed PD. Demographic, clinical, and laboratory characteristics of the patients were analyzed.ResultsOverall, 589 patients [66.8% male, mean age of 63.4 months (standard deviation: 60.5)] were included. In total, 251 patients (188 male and 63 female) had CPK levels above the ULN. Of the patients assessed, 47% (85/182) of male patients were diagnosed with DMD/BMD and 1% (3/228) of male and female patients were diagnosed with PD. The median ALT, AST, and CPK levels were statistically significantly higher, and the questioned neurological symptoms and previously unnoticed examination findings were more common in DMD/BMD patients than those without DMD/BMD or PD (p &lt; 0.001).DiscussionQuestioning neurological symptoms, conducting a complete physical examination, and testing for CPK levels in patients with isolated hypertransaminasemia will prevent costly and time-consuming investigations for liver diseases and will lead to the diagnosis of occult neuromuscular diseases. Trial RegistrationClinicaltrials.gov NCT04120168

Does Increased Body Mass Index Effect the Gains of Pulmonary Rehabilitation in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Patients?

Objective: We aimed to compare the gain of pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) in obese, pre-obese, and normal-weight patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who underwent a PR program. Methods: COPD patients (n=137) underwent pulmonary and cardiac system examination and pulmonary function tests (PFTs) before PR. Chest X-rays, arterial blood gases, body mass index, quality of life (QOL) questionnaires, anxiety and depression scores, and Modified Medical Research Council dyspnea scale (MMRC) scores were evaluated in all patients. A 6-min walk test was performed to determine the exercise capacity of the patients. All patients underwent an 8-week outpatient PR program. The patients were reevaluated at the end of 8th week in terms of all parameters. Results: The study group consisted of 44 normal-weight, 52 pre-obese, and 41 obese COPD patients. Before PR, there was no significant difference in terms of 6-min walk distance (6MWD), PFT, MMRC, or QOL scores between the groups (p>0.05 for all). After PR, partial arterial oxygen pressure and arterial saturation, MMRC, and QOL scores improved significantly in all three groups (p<0.05 for all). 6MWD and walkwork significantly increased after PR in all three groups (p<0.001 for all), but the gain in 6MWD was significantly lower in obese patients compared to pre-obese and normal-weight patients (p=0.049). Conclusion: Pre-obese and obese patients benefit from PR similarly to the normal-weight patients in terms of gas exchange, dyspnea perception, and QOL. But it seems to be that exercise capacity improves less in obese COPD patients compared to pre-obese and normal- weight patients

Gençlik Cinsel Sağlığı: Türkiye’deki Bir Üniversitede Öğrenciler Arasında Cinsel Bilgi, Tutumlar ve Davranışlar

INTRODUCTION: To determine sexual attitudes, behavior, and knowledge of Namik Kemal University (NKU) students about sexual health and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). METHOD: A sample representing 10% of the undergraduate population of NKU in 2009–2010, was studied. Of 1,500 questionnaires distributed, 1,314 (87.6%) were filled out. RESULTS: The mean age of the respondents (52.9% male) was 20.07±1.75 years. The rate of students who had received sexual health education was 32.0%, and 15.3% had previously used a sexual health service. Eleven percent of the female students and 50.3% of the male students had had sexual intercourse. The average age of initial sexual intercourse was 16.83±2.07 years. Of the students who had had sexual intercourse, 46.6% reported that they did not use any contraception method. The most preferred method was condoms (37.6%). The rate of contraceptive use was 58.7% in sexually educated students and 43.9% in those not educated (p=.004). The most well-known STI was AIDS (96.5%), with sexually educated students giving higher rates of correct answers about STIs (p<.05) CONCLUSION: The students who had received sexual health education were more knowledgeable about vital consequences of STI’s, even though it is not sufficient, than sexually active students. Awareness of safe sexual practices and changes in behavior, in particular, promoting condom use should be established in higher risk youths. Deficiencies in knowledge could be addressed by adding a sexual healthtraining component to the university curriculum, and unmet requirements could be met by reorganizing medico-social centers in universities