Physiological and Psychological Effects of Being Weighed in Female Participants

Stressful experiences such as constantly thinking about one\u27s weight lead to harmful long-term physiological and psychological effects on the body. Many studies have examined the presence of weight stigma in society at large, but fewer studies have sought to determine the physical and psychological outcomes of that stigma. In the short-term, even momentary stressors could have an impact on factors such as blood pressure, for example when patients are stressed due to weighing before blood pressure is measured. This study tested whether female participants’ (N = 55) attitudes about their bodies, anxiety levels, and blood pressures were affected by being weighed. The participants were 55 female undergraduate students from the University of Dayton who were enrolled in introductory psychology courses, or some other course that required research participation. It was hypothesized that being weighed would produce negative outcomes on measures of blood pressure, body satisfaction, self-esteem, and anxiety. Results of a one-way ANOVA indicated that these factors did not differ for participants who were weighed just prior to measurement compared to those who were weighed after. Thus there may be some limits to white coat syndrome, which is the phenomenon of a patient having higher blood pressure readings when in the presence of a physician or other medical staff. Factors such as the setting and demographic of the person obtaining the measures could be relevant. Pearson two-tailed correlations revealed several significant predictors of high body mass index

An Exploratory Study of High School and College Students Attitudes Toward Suicide

The present study examined whether demographics such as education level, age, gender, religious background, and experience with suicide affected individuals attitudes toward suicide with 93 college students. The Suicide Opinion Questionnaire (SOQ) was used to assess attitudes including: acceptability-normality; mental & moral illness; suicide as semi-serious; religion; risk; and normality. The Suicide Attitude Vignette Experience (SAVE) was used to measure attitudes toward a number of different problem areas. Church attendance was the best predictor of an individual\u27s attitude toward suicide. Females scored higher, but not significantly so, on the sympathy, empathy, and agree scales of the SAVE. College students viewed suicide negatively but did not see it as immoral. No gender differences were evident concerning knowing someone who had completed suicide. Individuals who have considered or attempted suicide see it as more rational and appropriate. Clinical implications and limitations of the study are discussed

Monitoraggio e autosintonia con tecnica rele'

Monitoraggio e autosintonia con tecnica rel

Nonceliac wheat sensitivity in the context of multiple food hypersensitivity: new data from confocal endomicroscopy.

Dear Editor, We enjoyed reading the article by Fritscher-Ravens et al who showed, by confocal endomicroscopy, that candidate food antigens caused immediate duodenal mucosa damage in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) patients with a prolonged clinical history of symptoms after meals. Their in vivo data add evidence to the relationship between IBS and food allergy and seem to reinforce our hypothesis that a percentage of “nonceliac wheat sensitive” (NCWS) -patients with an IBS-like clinical presentation could suffer from non-immunoglobulin E-mediated wheat allergy. However, we would suggest that the very high percentage of positive confocal laser endomicroscopy patients (CLE) -22 out of 36- found in the study of Fritscher-Ravens et al could depend on their inclusion criteria (refractory daily symptoms >1 year, daily shortly after meal symptoms); in our experience, the frequency of food hypersensitivity diagnosed by double-blind, placebo-controlled (DBPC) food challenges in IBS is slightly <30% (276 patients out of 920). Apart from the epidemiologic data, which were not the objectives of this pilot study, we would like to underline some aspects of the study and make some suggestions for future research. It is interesting that a total of 32 reactions were analyzed, with different food antigens, in 22 CLE-positive patients and that the second most frequently offending food, after wheat, was cow’s milk. This is in keeping with our data about the high frequency of multiple food hypersensitivities in patients with NCWS. We showed that 206 of 276 NCWS subjects also became symptomatic after DBPC cow’s milk proteins challenge. These observations should induce the physicians who suspect a relationship between NCWS or food hypersensitivity and IBS to suggest an elimination diet with the exclusion of more food rather than just wheat, and that the reintroduction should be performed singly and with great caution, as described. In fact, a lack of response to a wheat-free diet could depend on hypersensitivity to other food antigens which are still included in the patients’ diet. We found also of great interest that CLE showed significantly higher intraepithelial lymphocyte (IEL) count in CLE positive than CLE-negative patients and in controls. Furthermore, histology showed that the mean values of IEL in CLE-positive patients were 26.4 ± 2.7 per 100 cells. Overall, this could indicate a state of mucosal inflammation owing to food hypersensitivity. A previous NCWS study which excluded patients with >25 IEL per 100 EC in the duodenal mucosa, very probably missed the group of NCWS patients who had an immunologic pathogenesis at the basis of their troubles. However, in our opinion, NCWS is a heterogeneous condition, which includes different subgroups of patients and the “allergic hypothesis” does not exclude that, in other NCWS patients, wheat amylase trypsin inhibitors or fermentable sugars4 could be the main pathogenetic triggers. Finally, we think that the authors showed that CLE is an excellent instrument to demonstrate food-related reactions in IBS and to separate a subgroup of the NCWS -those with non-immunoglobulin E-mediated wheat hypersensitivity- from the confuse melting pot that NCWS still is. However, awaiting a wider diffusion of this endoscopic means, and taking into account that the economic resources are decreasing in developed countries, it would be very important to correlate the CLE finding with simpler, noninvasive biomarkers. In this respect, it would be interesting to know whether CLE findings correlate with the eosinophil cationic protein concentrations in the stools or with the flow cytometric allergen stimulation assay results, biomarkers that showed a good concordance with the DBPC challenge results in IBS patients

Reply

We thank Volta et al for their interest in our work1 and for their comments and data on the frequency of autoimmune diseases and serum autoantibodies in patients suffering from nonceliac wheat sensitivity (NCWS). These authoritative colleagues have emphasized that celiac disease is a well-established autoimmune condition, and we agree that NCWS is still an undefined syndrome with uncertain pathogenesis

Hidden coeliac disease in patients suffering from oral lichen planus.

Letter to Edito

Non-celiac wheat sensitivity: rationality and irrationality of a gluten-free diet in individuals affected with non-celiac disease: a review

Non-celiac gluten or wheat sensitivity (NCWS) is a “clinical entity induced by the ingestion of wheat leading to intestinal and/or extraintestinal symptoms that improve once the wheat-containing foodstuff is removed from the diet, and celiac disease and wheat allergy have been excluded”. This mostly accepted definition raises several points that remain controversial on this condition. In the present review, the authors summarize the most recent advances in the clinic and research on NCWS through an accurate analysis of different studies. We screened PubMed, Medline, Embase, and Scopus using the keywords “non-celiac gluten sensitivity”, “non-celiac wheat sensitivity”, and “diagnosis”. We would like to emphasize two main points, including (A) the controversial clinical and etiological aspects in different trials and experiences with particular attention to the Salerno criteria for the diagnosis of NCWS and (B) the histological aspects. The etiology of NCWS remains controversial, and the relationship with irritable bowel syndrome is obscure. Histologically, the duodenal mucosa may show a variable pattern from unremarkable to a slight increase in the number of T lymphocytes in the superficial epithelium of villi. The endorsement of this disease is based on a positive response to a gluten-free diet for a limited period, followed by the reappearance of symptoms after gluten challenge. The Salerno expert criteria may help to diagnose NCWS accurately. Social media and inaccurate interpretation of websites may jeopardize the diagnostic process if individuals self-label as gluten intolerant