Dutch–Flemish translation of nine pediatric item banks from the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS)®

Purpose: The Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS®) is a new, state-of-the-art assessment system for measuring patient-reported health and well-being of adults and children. It has the potential to be more valid, reliable, and responsive than existing PROMs. The items banks are designed to be self-reported and completed by children aged 8–18 years. The PROMIS items can be administered in short forms or through computerized adaptive testing. This paper describes the translation and cultural adaption of nine PROMIS item banks (151 items) for children in Dutch–Flemish. Methods: The translation was performed by FACITtrans using standardized PROMIS methodology and approved by the PROMIS Statistical Center. The translation included four forward translations, two back-translations, three independent reviews (at least two Dutch, one Flemish), and pretesting in 24 children from the Netherlands and Flanders. Results: For some items, it was necessary to have separate translations for Dutch and Flemish: physical function—mobility (three items), anger (one item), pain interference (two items), and asthma impact (one item). Challenges faced in the translation process included scarcity or overabundance of possible translations, unclear item descriptions, constructs broader/smaller in the target language, difficulties in rank ordering items, differences in unit of measurement, irrelevant items, or differences in performance of activities. By addressing these challenges, acceptable translations were obtained for all items. Conclusion: The Dutch–Flemish PROMIS items are linguistically equivalent to the original USA version. Short forms are now available for use, and entire item banks are ready for cross-cultural validation in the Netherlands and Flanders

Is blood donation induced low iron status associated with favourable levels of OxLDL, s-ICAM-1, sVCAM-1 and vWF-antigen in healthy men.

The potential effect of iron depletion by blood donation and its relevance to cardiovascular diseases are still under debate. Markers of vascular integrity are increasingly applied in investigations of atherothrombotic diseases. In this study, we investigated whether a lower iron status through blood donation was associated with markers of vascular integrity (circulating oxidised LDL, sICAM-1, sVCAM-1 and vWF-antigen) by comparing healthy male voluntary donors to non-donors, taking into account differences in baseline characteristics. Two fasting blood samples were collected within I week from 41 donors and 39 non-donors. The iron status was estimated by measuring the concentration of plasma iron, ferritin, haemoglobin and hematocrit. The markers of iron status were all significantly lower in donors compared to non-donors, especially for ferritin concentrations. However, the lower iron status by blood donation was not reflected in the concentrations of OxLDL, sICAM-1, sVCAM-1 and vWF-antigen in men after adjustment for BMI and ratio total/HDL cholesterol. In order to avoid possible selection-bias related to donorship, we have additionally investigated the difference in marker concentrations within the non-donors, comparing low- and high-ferritin concentrations. This analysis suggests that ferritin concentration is not associated with in vivo LDL oxidation. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved

Does vitamin C supplementation influence the levels of circulating oxidized LDL, slCAM-1, sVCAM-1 and vWF-antigen in healthy male smokers?

Objective: To examine the effects of vitamin C supplementation on the concentration of oxidation markers, in particular, circulating oxidized LDL ( OxLDL) and on endothelial activation markers. Design: Randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial. Setting: Belgian population of the city of Leuven. Subjects: A total of 34 healthy male smokers aged 26 - 73 y. Intervention: Smokers were randomly assigned to receive either vitamin C (250 mg twice daily) or placebo capsules, each to be taken for 4 weeks. After a 1-week washout period, participants then crossed over to the alternative capsules for further 4 weeks. Mean outcome measures: Markers of oxidation (bilirubin, uric acid, alpha-tocopherol, retinol, malondialdehyde, circulating Oxidized LDL ( OxLDL)) and markers of endothelial activation (sICAM-1, sVCAM-1, vWF-antigen) were analysed. Results: Plasma ascorbate concentrations significantly increased from 46.6 +/- 17.6 to 70.1 +/- 21.2 mumol/l after a 4-week treatment with 500 mg vitamin C per day. The other plasma antioxidants concentrations, including bilirubin, uric acid, alpha-tocopherol and retinol, were similar in both treatment periods. Vitamin C did not change plasma malondialdehyde and circulating OxLDL compared with placebo (vitamin C 0.73 +/- 0.25 mg/dl OxLDL; placebo 0.72 +/- 0.21 mg/dl OxLDL). After vitamin C supplementation, neither sICAM-1 and sVCAM-1 levels nor the concentration of vWF-antigen significantly differed from placebo condition. Conclusions: Oral supplementation of vitamin C is not associated with changes in markers of oxidation or endothelial activation in healthy male smokers. Sponsorship: The Unilever Chair in Nutritional Epidemiology, University of Leuven, Belgium