Psychological Pathway from Obesity-Related Stigma to Anxiety via Internalized Stigma and Self-Esteem among Adolescents in Taiwan

The objective of this research was to examine the pathway from public stigma, to perceived stigma, to depression in adolescents via internalized stigma. Adolescents in grade 7 through 9 from a junior high school in Changhua County in Taiwan completed self-administered surveys from March to July in 2018. Adolescents were asked questions regarding depressive symptoms, obesity-related perceived stigma, and internalized stigma. Structural equation modeling was used to fit the pathway model. The pathway was first analyzed with the full sample and then stratified by actual and perceived weight status. Our final analytic sample consisted of 464 adolescents. The pathway model suggested an acceptable model fit. Perceived weight stigma (PWS) was significantly associated with internalized stigma regardless of actual or self-perceived weight status. Internalized stigma was significantly associated with anxiety for both actual (β = 0.186) and self-perceived nonoverweight (non-OW) participants (β = 0.170) but not for overweight (OW) participants (neither actual nor self-perceived). For OW adolescents, perceived weight stigma was associated with anxiety. However, the internalization process did not exist. It may be that the influence of perceived weight stigma is larger than internalized stigma on anxiety. It may also be that the level of internalization was not yet high enough to result in anxiet

Gender-Differential Associations between Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Symptoms and Youth Health Risk Behaviors

Attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the common developmental disorders that generally receives clinical attention at learning ages, and some symptoms may persist in young adulthood.1 Past research has demonstrated a consistent association between ADHD and youth health risk behaviors (e.g., cigarette smoking), which often develop during adolescence and contribute to early morbidity and mortality among young adults.2 However, ADHD symptoms are not routinely screened in adolescents and emerging adults during their visits to healthcare providers.3 The six-item Adult Self-Report Scale (ASRS-6) for ADHD has been validated in the young population for screening purposes.4 This short form is time-saving and also provides a comparable predictivity of ADHD diagnosis as that of the original long version.5 Although accumulating evidence has demonstrated the association between ADHD symptoms and youth health risk behaviors, this issue has scarcely been explored in the Taiwanese youth population.6 Therefore, this study was conducted to validate the psychometric property of the Chinese version of ASRS-6 and examine the gender-stratified association between ADHD symptoms and youth health risk behaviors

Effects of Childhood Adversity and Resilience on Taiwanese Youth Health Behaviors

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can leave negative impacts on one\u27s health behaviors or social functioning later in life. Resilient characteristics have been shown to mitigate effects against risk behaviors in developing adolescents. However, clinical and research attention has rarely been given to jointly consider the effects of ACEs and resilient characteristics on health behaviors in Taiwanese youth. Method: A total of 200 individuals aged 15–22 years were recruited from primary care settings, communities, and schools. Participants completed questionnaires assessing their ACEs, resilient characteristics, and health behaviors. Univariate analysis was firstly used to describe the correlates of ACEs and resilient characteristics. Further multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to examine the association of both factors with health behaviors. Results: More than half (61.5%) of those surveyed had been exposed to at least one category of ACE. Verbal (37%) and physical (21%) abuses were the most common types of ACEs. The counts in the ACE categories were associated with being involved in physical fights (odds ratio 1.28 [confidence interval 1.01–1.63]), property damage (1.29 [1.03–1.61]), running away from home (1.30 [1.05–1.60]), bullying victimization (1.37 [1.16–1.61]), and sleep problems/tiredness (1.25 [1.03–1.52]). Meanwhile, resilience scores were associated with decreased odds of infrequent seatbelt use (0.47 [0.23–0.97]), low fruit and vegetable intake (0.42 [0.21–0.86]) unsatisfied body image (0.46 [0.22–0.97]), and sleep problems/tiredness (0.37 [0.18–0.79]). Conclusions: ACEs and resilience characteristics play a significant role in shaping youth health behaviors. Further research should be undertaken to identify ways to build resilience against health risks in youth with prior ACE exposure

Transcription of the rat testis-specific Rtdpoz-T1 and -T2 retrogenes during embryo development: co-transcription and frequent exonisation of transposable element sequences

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Retrotransposition is an important evolutionary force for the creation of new and potentially functional intronless genes which are collectively called retrogenes. Many retrogenes are expressed in the testis and the gene products have been shown to actively participate in spermatogenesis and other unique functions of the male germline. We have previously reported a cluster of retrogenes in the rat genome that encode putative TRAF- and POZ-domain proteins. Two of the genes, <it>Rtdpoz-T1 and -T2 </it>(abbreviated as <it>T1 </it>and <it>T2</it>), have further been shown to be expressed specifically in the rat testis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We show here that the <it>T1 </it>and <it>T2 </it>genes are also expressed in the rat embryo up to days 16–17 of development when the genes are silenced until being re-activated in the adult testis. On database interrogation, we find that some <it>T1/T2 </it>exons are chromosomally duplicated as cassettes of 2 or 3 exons consistent with retro-duplication. The embryonic <it>T1/T2 </it>transcripts, characterised by RT-PCR-cloning and rapid amplification of cDNA ends, are further found to have acquired one or more noncoding exons in the 5'-untranslated region (5'-UTR). Most importantly, the <it>T1</it>/<it>T2 </it>locus is embedded within a dense field of relics of transposable element (TE) derived mainly from LINE1 and ERV sequences, and the TE sequences are frequently exonised through alternative splicing to form the 5'-UTR sequences of the <it>T1/T2 </it>transcripts. In a case of <it>T1 </it>transcript, the 3'-end is extended into and terminated within an L1 sequence. Since the two genes share a common exon 1 and are, therefore, regulated by a single promoter, a <it>T2</it>-to-<it>T1 </it>co-transcription model is proposed. We further demonstrate that the exonised 5'-UTR TE sequences could lead to the creation of upstream open reading frames resulting in translational repression.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Exonisation of TE sequences is a frequent event in the transcription of retrogenes during embryonic development and in the testis and may contribute to post-transcriptional regulation of expression of retrogenes.</p

Early utilization of hypertonic peritoneal dialysate and subsequent risks of non-traumatic amputation among peritoneal dialysis patients: a nationwide retrospective longitudinal study

BACKGROUND: The hemodialysis (HD) population has a particularly high incidence of amputation, which is likely associated with decreased tissue oxygenation during HD. However, information about the risk factors leading to amputation in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients is limited. Here, we have investigated the association between the use of hypertonic peritoneal dialysate (HPD) and subsequent amputation in PD patients. METHODS: Based on the data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance research database, this observational cohort study enrolled 203 PD patients who had received HPD early during treatment and had not undergone amputation and 296 PD controls who had not undergone amputation. Subjects were followed through until the end of 2009 and the event rates of new non-traumatic amputation were compared between groups. RESULTS: The incidence of amputation was 3 times higher for the HPD cohort than for the comparison cohort (23.68 vs. 8.01 per 1000 person-years). The hazard ratio (HR) for this group, estimated using a multivariable Cox model, was 2.48 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.06–5.79). The HR for patients with both diabetes and early adoption of HPD increased to 44.34 (95% CI = 5.51-357.03), compared to non-HPD non-diabetic PD controls. CONCLUSION: Early utilization of HPD in PD patients is associated with increasing risk of amputation; this risk considerably increases for those with concomitant diabetes