The Effect of Lifestyle Intervention on Health-Related Quality of Life in Adults with Metabolic Syndrome: A Meta-Analysis

[EN] The aim of this meta-analysis was to assess the effects of a lifestyle intervention through health education on nutrition, physical activity, and healthy habits on physical and mental health-related quality of life (HRQoL), in adults with metabolic syndrome (MetS). The databases used were PubMed, WOS, and Scopus. The inclusion criteria were: observational, longitudinal and randomized clinical trial (RCT) study designs, adults (both sexes), with at least two criteria of MetS, lifestyle intervention and comparison with a control group, and a measurement of HRQoL with a validated questionnaire. We analyzed the Hedges’ g and SF-36 score. I2 statistics were calculated and possible publication and small study biases were assessed using Egger’s test and funnel plots. Seven RCTs were selected for meta-analysis, based on 637 study participants. Significant improvements were found in the physical dimensions of the HRQoL scores for subjects in the active intervention compared to the group that received general lifestyle information (Hedges’ g 0.61, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.31–0.91). Mental health-related quality of life was also significantly improved in the intervention group compared with the control group (Hedges’ g 0.84, 95% CI = 0.64–1.03). In conclusion, our results suggest that, according to the RCTs selected for this meta-analysis, a lifestyle intervention significantly improves HRQoL in all its domains.SIThis research was funded by Fondo de Investigación para la Salud (FIS), which is co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund grant PI17/00532

Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) Instruments and Mobility: A Systematic Review

[EN] Physical function is one of the most important constructs assessed in health-related quality of life (HRQOL), and it could be very useful to assess movement ability from the perspective of the patient. The objective of this study was to compare the content of the domains related to mobility covered by the HRQOL questionnaires based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) and to evaluate their quality according to the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) guidance. For this, a systematic review was carried out in the databases Scopus, Web of Science and Science Direct. The inclusion criteria were development and/or validation studies about generic HRQOL measures, and the instruments had to include items related to mobility and studies written in English or Spanish. The comparison of content was performed using the ICF coding system. A total of 3614 articles were found, 20 generic HRQOL instruments were identified and 120 (22.4%) mobility-related items were found. Walking was the most represented category. Low-quality evidence on some measurement properties of the generic HRQOL instruments was revealed. The CAT-Health is a useful questionnaire to be used in rehabilitation due to its psychometric properties and its content.S

GASVeM: A New Machine Learning Methodology for Multi-SNP Analysis of GWAS Data Based on Genetic Algorithms and Support Vector Machines

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) are observational studies of a large set of genetic variants in an individual's sample in order to find if any of these variants are linked to a particular trait. In the last two decades, GWAS have contributed to several new discoveries in the field of genetics. This research presents a novel methodology to which GWAS can be applied to. It is mainly based on two machine learning methodologies, genetic algorithms and support vector machines. The database employed for the study consisted of information about 370,750 single-nucleotide polymorphisms belonging to 1076 cases of colorectal cancer and 973 controls. Ten pathways with different degrees of relationship with the trait under study were tested. The results obtained showed how the proposed methodology is able to detect relevant pathways for a certain trait: in this case, colorectal cancer

Analysis of Killer Immunoglobulin-Like Receptor Genes in Colorectal Cancer

Natural killer cells (NK cells) play a major role in the immune response to cancer. An important element of NK target recognition is the binding of human leucocyte antigen (HLA) class I molecules by killer immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs). Colorectal carcinoma (CRC) is one of the most common types of inflammation-based cancer. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the presence of KIR genes and HLA class I and II alleles in 1074 CRC patients and 1272 controls. We imputed data from single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) Illumina OncoArray to identify associations at HLA (HLA-A, B, C, DPB1, DQA1, DQB1, and DRB1) and KIRs (HIBAG and KIR*IMP, respectively). For association analysis, we used PLINK (v1.9), the PyHLA software, and R version 3.4.0. Only three SNP markers showed suggestive associations (p < 10(-3); rs16896742, rs28367832, and rs9277952). The frequency of KIR2DS3 was significantly increased in the CRC patients compared to healthy controls (p < 0.005). Our results suggest that the implication of NK cells in CRC may not act through allele combinations in KIR and HLA genes. Much larger studies in ethnically homogeneous populations are needed to rule out the possible role of allelic combinations in KIR and HLA genes in CRC risk

A gender perspective in the cognitive impairment of multiple sclerosis patients

[ES] El objetivo de la presente investigación es determinar el deterioro cognitivo de pacientes con Esclerosis múltiple (EM) y analizar si existen diferencias de género con EM en las variables: deterioro físico (escala de fatiga EDSS), deterioro cognitivo (STROOP) y salud general (GHQ-28). Participaron 65 personas con EM, con leve disfunción neurológica, de las cuales 17 fueron hombres y 48 mujeres con edades comprendidas entre los 24 y 62 años. Los resultados muestran como la EM afecta a todos los dominios cognitivos y emocionales, probándose un efecto de rendimiento diferencial en relación al género

A New Algorithm for Multivariate Genome Wide Association Studies Based on Differential Evolution and Extreme Learning Machines

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) are observational studies of a large set of genetic variants, whose aim is to find those that are linked to a certain trait or illness. Due to the multivariate nature of these kinds of studies, machine learning methodologies have been already applied in them, showing good performance. This work presents a new methodology for GWAS that makes use of extreme learning machines and differential evolution. The proposed methodology was tested with the help of the genetic information (370,750 single-nucleotide polymorphisms) of 2049 individuals, 1076 of whom suffer from colorectal cancer. The possible relationship of 10 different pathways with this illness was tested. The results achieved showed that the proposed methodology is suitable for detecting relevant pathways for the trait under analysis with a lower computational cost than other machine learning methodologies previously proposed

Valoración con tres métodos diferentes de la prevalencia de consumo de tabaco en estudiantes de primer curso de Ciencias de la Salud de la Universidad de León en 2006

pp. 221-229Fundamento: Intervenir en la prevención y el control del tabaquismo en estudiantes de ciencias de la salud puede mejorar las creencias y actitudes de los futuros profesionales con relación a este grave problema de salud pública. El objetivo de este trabajo es comparar la validez de tres métodos diferentes para calcular la prevalencia de fumadores. Métodos: Estudiantes de primero de una Escuela de Ciencias de la Salud. Se valoró el consumo de tabaco mediante un cuestionario auto contestado, el monóxido de carbono (CO) espirado y la cotinina en saliva. Se calculó la prevalencia observada con cada método, la concordancia con el índice Kappa y la validez interna del cuestionario y la cooximetría utilizando la prueba de la cotinina como patrón oro. Resultados: El 29,3% de los 181 alumnos estudiados fue clasificado como fumador con algún criterio; el 26,5%, 22,1% y el 9,4% respectivamente mediante la cotinina, autodeclaración y cooximetría. Dos terceras partes de los fumadores presentaban baja dependencia a la nicotina. Sólo presentó buena concordancia el cuestionario con la cotinina (Indice Kappa=73,1%). Respecto a la cotinina el cuestionario y la cooximetría obtuvieron una sensibilidad del 72,9% y 35,4% y una especificidad del 96,2% y 100% respectivamente. Los fumadores de baja dependencia, según el cuestionario, obtuvieron resultados positivos para la cotinina en un 81,5 % y la cooximetría en un 14,8%. Conclusiones: La cooximetría no parece un buen método para detectar fumadores en esta población. La cotinina y el cuestionario presentan una buena concordancia pero la validez interna del cuestionario, respecto a la prueba de la cotinina, tiene una sensibilidad menor de la esperada. Se hace necesario revisar el criterio del patrón oro utilizado en una población de baja dependencia y con posible exposición a humo ambiental.S

LOS AJUARES CERÁMICOS DE LA NECRÓPOLIS ARGÁRICA DE LA CUESTA DEL NEGRO (PURULLENA, GRANADA). AVANCE AL ESTUDIO ANALÍTICO Y ESTADÍSTICO

As a first part of the study of the Cuesta del Negro Argaric necropolis (Purullena, province of Granada, Spain), we present the analysis of the pottery items and the statistical and analytic method used for their classification. The first stage is a study of the morphometric variables of the pottery by application of multivariant analysis (Cluster Analysis and Principal Components Analysis). A study is then made of the pottery's typology by means of the analysis of technological variables. Finally, a hypothesis is suggested for the social significance of the funerary goods to which the pottery items belonged.Como avance al estudio de la necrópolis argárica de la Cuesta del Negro (Purullena, Granada) se presenta el método estadístico y analítico utilizado en la clasificación de los items cerámicos. En un primer nivel se realiza un estudio de las variables morfométricas de la cerámica mediante la aplicación de análisis multivariantes (Análisis Cluster con distancia euclídea y promedio no ponderado, y Análisis de Componentes Principales). Posteriormente se completa el estudio de la tipología cerámica con el análisis de las varíables tecnológicas. Finalmente, se plantea una hipótesis sobre la significación social de los ajuares funerarios a los que corresponden los items cerámicos estudiados