Vitamin D Deficiency and Insufficiency in Obese Children and Adolescents and Its Relationship with Insulin Resistance

Objectives. We aimed to determine the relationship between insulin resistance and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD) levels in obese children and their nonobese peers. Materials and Methods. Included in the study group were 188 obese children (aged 9–15 years), and 68 age- and gender-matched healthy children of normal weight as control group. Anthropomorphic data were collected on patients and fasting serum glucose, insulin, serum lipids, alanine aminotransaminase (ALT) and 25-OHD were measured. The homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) was calculated in both groups. Results. The levels of 25-OHD in the obese group were significantly lower than those of the nonobese (). HOMA-IR, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein, and ALT levels in the obese group were significantly higher than values of control group ( and , resp.). In the obese group, vitamin D deficiency, insufficiency, and sufficiency (25-OHD 10 ng/dl; > 20 ng/dl, resp.) were not correlated with HOMA-IR (, ). HOMA-IR was negatively correlated with BMI, BMI SDS, and BMI%, and triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein, and ALT levels (). Conclusion. The insulin resistance of the obese subjects who were vitamin D deficient and insufficient did not statistically differ from those with vitamin D sufficiency. Low 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were not related with higher insulin resistance in obese children and adolescents. In obese subjects, insulin resistance was affected more from BMI, BMI SDS, and BMI% than from 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels

Ebeveynlerin okul öncesi eğitim kurumlarını tercih nedenleri ile sosyoekonomik düzeyleri arasındaki ilişki

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between parents’ criteria when choosing a preschool and their socioeconomic levels. It was conducted as basic quantitative research and used a correlational descriptive research model. This study was conducted with the parents of 207 preschool children at different socioeconomic levels whose children were students at preschools located in different regions of Ankara in the 2015-2016 school year. A questionnaire, developed by the researchers, was used as the data collection tool in this study. In the questionnaire, there were questions and statements about defining parents’ socioeconomic levels and the level of importance for different preschool preference criteria. Data was analysed using descriptive methods. Criteria that were seen as “very important” were the security of the preschool, the teacher’s communication skills, the hygiene of the preschool, the professional competence of teachers and the support given to children in terms of different developmental areas. For parents in the sub, middle and upper socioeconomic levels, the security and hygiene of the preschool were seen as “very important” in our study. The proximity of the preschool to the parents’ work criterion was at the top of the criteria which were characterized as “slightly important”.Bu çalışmada ebeveynlerin okul öncesi eğitim kurumu tercihlerinde dikkate aldıkları ölçütler ile sosyoekonomik düzeyleri arasındaki ilişkilerin incelenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Nicel araştırma yaklaşımı doğrultusunda temel araştırma türünde ve ilişkisel tarama modelinde yürütülmüştür. Çalışma, 2015-2016 eğitim ve öğretim yılında Ankara ilinin sosyoekonomik düzey açısından farklı bölgelerinde yer alan anaokullarına devam eden 207 çocuğun ebeveynleri ile gerçekleştirilmiştir. Veri toplama aracı olarak araştırmacılar tarafından geliştirilen bir anket kullanılmıştır. Ankette, ebeveynlerin sosyoekonomik düzeylerini ve okul öncesi eğitim kurumu tercih ölçütlerini önemli görme düzeylerini belirlemeye yönelik sorulara ve ifadelere yer verilmiştir. Veriler betimsel yöntemlerle analiz edilmiştir. Okul öncesi eğitim kurumunun güvenliği, öğretmenin iletişim becerisi, okulun temizliği, öğretmenin mesleki yeterliliği ve çocukların farklı gelişim alanlarının desteklenmesi ölçütlerinin ebeveynler tarafından “çok önemli” görüldüğü saptanmıştır. Alt, orta ve üst SED olmak üzere her üç grupta da ‘okul öncesi eğitim kurumunun güvenliği ve temizliği’ “en önemli” görülen; ‘kurumun ebeveynlerin işlerine yakınlığı’ da tercihlerde “önemsiz” olarak nitelendirilen ölçütler arasında yer aldığı görülmüştür

The Relationship Between Vitamin D Gene Polymorphisms and the Diagnosis of Prostate Cancer in Patients with High Prostate-Specific Antigen Value

Objective: To investigate the effects of vitamin D levels and vitamin D receptor (VDR) BsmI, FokI, TaqI, and ApaI gene polymorphisms on prostate cancer (PCa)diagnosis in Turkish men with high prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels during screening.Materials and Methods: Patients who were admitted to the outpatient clinic with elevated PSA levels and were scheduled for transrectal prostate biopsy wereincluded. Patients diagnosed with PCa were divided into two groups of either localized disease (low/intermediate/high risk) or metastatic disease for subgroupanalysis. The control group comprised patients whose biopsies revealed benign pathologies. Blood samples were collected from each patient after 12 hours offasting before the prostate biopsy. Vitamin D levels and VDR gene polymorphisms were determined by ECLIA method and restriction fragment length polymorphismanalysis, respectively.Results: A total of 77 patients (PCa, 39; benign, 38) were included in the study. The frequencies of BsmI, FokI, TaqI, and ApaI genotypes for PCa and benigngroups were evaluated. Vitamin D deficiency was detected in 88.6% and 94.9% of the benign and PCa groups, respectively (p=0.176). The FokI Ff and BsmI bbgenotypes, and FokI FF and BsmI Bb genotypes were found to be more common in the PCa and benign groups, respectively. ApaI Aa and TaqI Tt were found tobe more frequent in both groups. In patients with metastatic PCa; Bsml Bb genotype, Apal Aa genotype, and Taql Tt genotypes were found to be more common.Conclusion: Although Bsml Bb genotype, Apal Aa genotype, and Taql Tt genotypes were more commonly found in patients with metastatic PCa, further studieswith increased sample sizes are needed to support this relationship in the Turkish PCa population

Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase Gene Polymorphisms in Turkish Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common, multifactorial genetic disorder. The aim of the present study was to evaluate a possible association between 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene polymorphisms and ADHD. There is evidence to suggest that MTHFR C677T and A1298C polymorphisms alter the function of the enzyme, causing reduced folate and increased homocysteine levels in plasma. Two polymorphisms of the MTHFR gene, C677T (rs1801133) and A1298C (rs1801131), were analyzed in a sample of 100 Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV-diagnosed ADHD and 300 healthy controls using a polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism method. We did not find any association between MTHFR 677T allele, MTHFR 1298C allele, and ADHD. In addition, there was no genotype association between the MTHFR gene and ADHD (chi(2) = 1.711; df = 2; p = 0.425; chi(2) = 2.946; df = 2; p = 0.229). Our data suggest that neither the MTHFR C677T polymorphism nor the MTHFR A1298C polymorphism was associated with ADHD in Turkish children. Thus, the MTHFR gene does not seem to play a role in the etiopathogenesis of ADHD in the cohort studied

TP53 Arg72Pro polymorphism in Turkish patients with sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Recently, Eve et al. (2007) reported that the expression of TP53 (NM_000546) was increased by 2.1-fold in whole spinal cord and 2.7-fold in the ventral horn of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients. Based on this particular observation, we decided to evaluate whether the TP53 Arg72Pro polymorphism (rs1042522) (C215G) was implicated in the etiopathology of sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (SALS). Therefore, we genotyped 394 Turkish SALS patients and 439 matched healthy controls by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). We did not find any association between overall SALS patients with the TP53 Arg72Pro polymorphism and controls (chi(2) = 2.674; p = 0.263). Consequently the TP53 Arg72Pro polymorphism was not associated with SALS. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Nicotinamide-N-Methyltransferase gene rs694539 variant and migraine risk

Background: Migraine is a common neurovascular disorder affecting 10 to 20 % of the world population usually subdivided into migraine with auro (MA) and migraine without auro (MO). Homocysteine is involved in the pathophysiology of a number of neurological disorders. Elevated levels of homocysteine in the plasma is produced by the MTHFR gene rs 1801133 and rs 1801131 variants as well as the NNMT gene rs 694539 variant