How Do Pronatalist Policies Impact Women’s Access to Safe Abortion Services in Turkey?

A pronatalist discourse and anti-abortion rhetoric used by prominent politicians in Turkey, prior to and following the proposed ban of abortion in 2012, have resulted in reports of women facing difficulty accessing safe abortion services (SAS), risking the resurgence of unsafe abortions. We conducted a qualitative study to identify the impact of the ongoing pronatalist discourse on women’s access to SAS, using semi-structured interviews with 19 experts (16 female, 3 male) in reproductive health, including academics, doctors, midwives, and health authorities. Participants from 4 cities (Ankara, Istanbul, Izmir, and Manisa) were identified through a combined snowball and purposive sampling technique. The findings show that the pronatalist discourse has directly and indirectly inhibited access to SAS. Women’s and health professionals’ perception of abortion services has been tainted by rhetoric; provision of SAS in the public sector is slowly ceasing; and health reform-related organizational changes have diminished access to family planning services and contraceptive methods. Provision of SAS in the private sector continues but is only accessible for women with sufficient financial means. Preventing women’s access to SAS risks a rise in unwanted pregnancies and—consequently—in the number of women who may seek dangerous alternatives, including unsafe, life-threatening abortions

Nutritional habits, lifestyle, and genetic predisposition in cardiovascular and metabolic traits in Turkish population

WOS: 000375371700013PubMed: 26856649Objectives: Cardiovascular and metabolic traits (CMT) are influenced by complex interactive processes including diet, lifestyle, and genetic predisposition. The present study investigated the interactions of these risk factors in relation to CMTs in the Turkish population. Methods: We applied bootstrap agglomerative hierarchical clustering and Bayesian network learning algorithms to identify the causative relationships among genes involved in different biological mechanisms (i.e., lipid metabolism, hormone metabolism, cellular detoxification, aging, and energy metabolism), lifestyle (i.e., physical activity, smoking behavior, and metropolitan residency), anthropometric traits (i.e., body mass index, body fat ratio, and waist-to-hip ratio), and dietary habits (i.e., daily intakes of macro- and micronutrients) in relation to CMTs (i.e., health conditions and blood parameters). Results: We identified significant correlations between dietary habits (soybean and vitamin B12 intakes) and different cardiometabolic diseases that were confirmed by the Bayesian network learning algorithm. Genetic factors contributed to these disease risks also through the pleiotropy of some genetic variants (i.e., F5 rs6025 and MTR rs180508). However, we also observed that certain genetic associations are indirect since they are due to the causative relationships among the CMTs (e.g., APOC3 rs5128 is associated with low-density lipoproteins cholesterol and, by extension, total cholesterol). Conclusions: Our study applied a novel approach to integrate various sources of information and dissect the complex interactive processes related to CMTs. Our data indicated that complex causative networks are present: causative relationships exist among CMTs and are affected by genetic factors (with pleiotropic and non-pleiotropic effects) and dietary habits. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.project OBESIS-Development of a Genetic and Information Technologies Assisted System on Obesity Treatment and Control - TEYDEP/TUBITAK [3060480]S.K and S.E. contributed equally to this work. This research was a part of the GENTEST model and partially funded by the project OBESIS-Development of a Genetic and Information Technologies Assisted System on Obesity Treatment and Control (Funded by The TEYDEP/TUBITAK; Project no: 3060480). We are greatly indebted to Dr. Serdar Savas for his great contribution to the development of the GENTEST Model. GENTEST was identified as a "Best Practice Model in Europe for Public Health Genomics" by the Public Health Genomics European Network (PHGEN). We would also like to thank the staff members of the GENAR Molecular Biology and Genetics Research and Application Laboratories for their assistance. The authors declare no conflict of interest

Allelic frequency of single nucleotide polymorphisms involved in cancer related bioprocesses

22nd IUBMB Congress/37th FEBS Congress -- SEP 04-09, 2012 -- Seville, SPAINWOS: 000308128602067IUBMB, FEB

Genetic diversity of disease-associated loci in Turkish population

WOS: 000353565700005PubMed: 25716910Many consortia and international projects have investigated the human genetic variation of a large number of ethno-geographic groups. However, populations with peculiar genetic features, such as the Turkish population, are still absent in publically available datasets. To explore the genetic predisposition to health-related traits of the Turkish population, we analyzed 34 genes associated with different health-related traits (for example, lipid metabolism, cardio-vascular diseases, hormone metabolism, cellular detoxification, aging and energy metabolism). We observed relevant differences between the Turkish population and populations with non-European ancestries (that is, Africa and East Asia) in some of the investigated genes (that is, AGT, APOE, CYP1B1, GNB3, IL10, IL6, LIPC and PON1). As most complex traits are highly polygenic, we developed polygenic scores associated with different health-related traits to explore the genetic diversity of the Turkish population with respect to other human groups. This approach showed significant differences between the Turkish population and populations with non-European ancestries, as well as between Turkish and Northern European individuals. This last finding is in agreement with the genetic structure of European and Middle East populations, and may also agree with epidemiological evidences about the health disparities of Turkish communities in Northern European countries.GENAR Institute for Public Health and Genomics ResearchWe are greatly indebted to Dr Serdar Savas, the founder of the GENAR Public Health and Genomics Research Institute, for his great contribution to the development of the Gentest Model and its components. We would also like to thank to Marco De Langen, as well as all the staff members of the GENAR Molecular Biology and Genetics Research and Application Laboratories for their contributions. This research was funded through a grant from the GENAR Institute for Public Health and Genomics Research

GSTM1, GSTP1, and GSTT1 genetic variability in Turkish and worldwide populations

WOS: 000353299400003PubMed: 25515186Objective: Glutathione S-transferase (GST) variants have been widely investigated to better understand their role in several pathologic conditions. To our knowledge, no data about these genetic polymorphisms within the Turkish population are currently available. The aim of this study was to analyze GSTM1 positive/null, GSTT1 positive/null, GSTP1*I105V (rs1695), and GSTP1*A114V (rs1138272) variants in the general Turkish population, to provide information about its genetic diversity, and predisposition to GST-related diseases. Methods: Genotyping was performed in 500 Turkish individuals using the Sequenom MassARRAY platform. A comparative analysis was executed using the data from the HapMap and Human Genome Diversity Projects (HGDP). Sequence variation was deeply explored using the Phase 1 data of the 1,000 Genomes Project. ResultsThe variability of GSTM1, GSTT1, and GSTP1 polymorphisms in the Turkish population was similar to that observed in Central Asian, European, and Middle Eastern populations. The high linkage disequilibrium between GSTP1*I105V and GSTP1*A114V in these populations may have a confounding effect on GSTP1 genetic association studies. In analyzing GSTM1, GSTT1, and GSTP1 sequence variation, we observed other common functional variants that may be candidates for associated studies of diseases related to GST genes (e.g., cancer, cardiovascular disease, and allergy). Conclusions: This study provides novel data about GSTM1 positive/null, GSTT1 positive/null, GSTP1*I105V, and GSTP1*A114V variants in the Turkish population, and other functional variants that may affect GSTM1, GSTT1, and GSTP1 functions among worldwide populations. This information can assist in the design of future genetic association studies investigating oxidative stress-related diseases. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 27:310-316, 2015. (c) 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.GENAR Institute for Public Health and Genomics ResearchContract grant sponsors: GENAR Institute for Public Health and Genomics Research

International warfarin genotype-guided dosing algorithms in the Turkish population and their preventive effects on major and life-threatening hemorrhagic events

WOS: 000361140600008PubMed: 26216670To determine the accuracy of international warfarin pharmacogenetic algorithms developed on large multiethnic cohorts (comprising more than 1000 subjects) to predict therapeutic warfarin doses in Turkish patients. Materials & methods: We investigated two Turkish warfarin-treated cohorts: patients with no history of hemorrhagic or thromboembolic event and patients with major and life-threatening hemorrhagic events. Results: International pharmacogenetic algorithms showed good performances in predicting the therapeutic dose of patients with no history of bleedings, but they did not significantly detect the incorrect warfarin dose of patients with major and life-threatening hemorrhagic events. Conclusion: Although genetic information can predict the therapeutic warfarin dose, the accuracy of the international pharmacogenetic algorithms is not sufficient to be used for warfarin screening in Turkish patients.Turkish Society of Internal MedicineThis research was funded by the Research Projects Fund of Turkish Society of Internal Medicine. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed