A psychiatric investigation of obese retired individuals. A case-control study

The subject group consisted of 112 individuals (81 females and 31 males) receiving a permanent disability pension primarily for obesity. The participants of this study lived in Uusimaa in southern Finland. The subjects and the controls were selected by random sampling of data from the Social Insurance Institution of Finland. We tried to have three controls for every female subject and five controls for every male subject. The control subjects were randomly selected from the same area and were receiving a disability pension for a different primary illness. The controls were matched with the subjects by place of residence, sex, age, time since the pension was granted and occupation. The psychiatric interviews showed that in the case group, more stress factors were connected to the origin of obesity. The emotional state of eating was significantly associated with quarrels (p=0.007) and feelings of loneliness (p=0.023) in the study group. The subjects reported feeling increased hunger (p=0.008) compared with that of the controls. We found no differences in the preference for sweets between the subject and control groups. The eating habits were the same between the two groups. Depression was diagnosed more often in the subject group than in the control group according to the psychiatric interviews. Based on the conditional logistic linear model, individuals with severe obesity had a higher risk of depression than those in the control group. The most common disturbance in both groups was chronic depression. In total, 31% of the subjects and 50% of the controls said they were fully satisfied with their present weight. Obesity had become a problem for some of the subjects in childhood (p=0.111) and for some in adulthood. A large part of the study group described experiencing scorn and contempt from others for being overweight. This study indicates that it is important to conduct research with individuals with severe obesity using psychiatric and psychological methods before they start receiving their pensions. The role of stress factors should be noted when obesity manifests. This study provides information on the relationship between emotions and eating habits in obesity. The occurrence of depression in individuals with obesity should be examined. All types of stigma, discrimination and scorn that are linked to obesity should be reduced. Society should pay increasing attention to the impact of the environment and external stimuli on individuals’ eating behaviour.Ylipaino on laaja kansanterveyden ongelma, tästä johtuen nyt suoritettu tutkimus on hyvin merkityksellinen. Tutkimuksen tarkoituksena on selvittää niitä tekijöitä, joiden vuoksi vaikeasti ja sairaalloisesti ylipainoset henkilöt ovat joutuneet eläkkeelle. Käyttäen hyväksi suomalaista kansaneläkeaineistoa, on saatu koottua laaja tutkittavien henkilöiden joukko. Niin ikään on voitu koota iän ja muiden tekijöiden mukaan kaltaistettu joukko vertailuhenkilöiksi, jotka ovat joutuneet muun syyn vuoksi eläkkeelle. Väittelijä on henkilökohtaisesti haastatellut tutkittavat sekä verrokkeina toimineet henkilöt. Tutkimuksessa löydettiin lukuisia eroja tutkimus- ja verrokkiryhmien välillä. Tutkimusryhmässä todettiin enemmän stressitekijöitä ennen eläkkeelle siirtymistä sekä tunteisiin liittyvää syömistä, yksinäisyyden tunnetta ja masennusta. Tutkimusryhmässä todettiin myös ylipainoon kohdistuvaa ivaa ja pilkkaa. Vaikeasti ja sairaalloisesti ylipainoiset henkilöt tulisi tutkia tarkasti, jos työkyky heikentyy. Tähän ryhmään kuuluvat erityisesti ne henkilöt, joiden painoindeksi on yli 40. On kiinnitettävä huomiota henkilöihin, joiden ylipaino on alkanut jo lapsuudessa. Ylipainoon liittyvä iva ja pilkka lisäävät painoon liittyviä ongelmia ja huonontavat itsetuntoa. Vaikka jokainen yksilö vastaa itse omasta hyvinvoinnistaan ja ruokailutottumuksistaan, tulisi yhteiskunnan silti tukea terveellisiä elintapoja

Copepods use chemical trails to find sinking marine snow aggregates

Copepods are major consumers of sinking marine particles and hence reduce the efficiency of the biological carbon pump. Their high abundance on marine snow suggests that they can detect sinking particles remotely. By means of laboratory observations, we show that the copepod Temora longicornis can detect chemical trails originating from sinking marine snow particles (appendicularian houses). The chemical cue was detected by copepods from a distance of .25 particle radii, with the probability of detection decreasing with distance. The behavior of T. longicornis following the trail resembled the behavior of males tracking pheromone trails, although with a lower tracking velocity. Upon finding a house, the copepod would attach for a short period (10–30 s) and feed intensively. Due to short residence times, daily feeding rates were moderate. Our results demonstrate that even T. longicornis, a species usually considered a microparticle feeder, is able to detect and feed on marine snow aggregates. If similar behaviors are displayed by the more dedicated aggregate-feeding copepods, a topic that remains unexplored, the effect of copepods on vertical flux attenuation may be significant

Strain-related physiological and behavioral effects of Skeletonema marinoi on three common planktonic copepods

Three strains of the chain-forming diatom Skeletonema marinoi, differing in their production of polyunsaturated aldehydes (PUA) and nutritional food components, were used in experiments on feeding, egg production, hatching success, pellet production, and behavior of three common planktonic copepods: Acartia tonsa, Pseudocalanus elongatus, and Temora longicornis. The three different diatom strains (9B, 1G, and 7J) induced widely different effects on Acartia tonsa physiology, and the 9B strain induced different effects for the three copepods. In contrast, different strains induced no or small alterations in the distribution, swimming behavior, and turning frequency of the copepods. 22:6(n-3) fatty acid (DHA) and sterol content of the diet typically showed a positive effect on either egg production (A. tonsa) or hatching success (P. elongatus), while other measured compounds (PUA, other long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids) of the algae had no obvious effects. Our results demonstrate that differences between strains of a given diatom species can generate effects on copepod physiology, which are as large as those induced by different algae species or groups. This emphasizes the need to identify the specific characteristics of local diatoms together with the interacting effects of different mineral, biochemical, and toxic compounds and their potential implications on different copepod species

The Relationship between Stress and Severe Obesity : A Case-Control Study

Background: Several etiological factors for obesity have been identified, whereas other factors related to obesity, such as stress, remain poorly understood. This study used psychiatric methods to examine the relationship between stress and obesity. Methods: Matched study and control groups were established, and the female and male control subjects were selected separately by random sampling. The control subjects were matched with the case subjects with respect to place of residence, sex, age, date that a pension was granted, and occupation. Psychiatric and psychological methods were assessed using a questionnaire and statistical analyses. Results: Psychiatric interviews indicated that stress was more prevalent in the study group than in the control group. Separation from parents was nearly significantly more frequently in the study group than in the control group. The questionnaire on coping mechanisms revealed that case subjects tended to resolve their problems in an active manner. Conclusions: The aim of this case-control study was to examine the relationship between stress and obesity in individuals receiving a disability pension. We identified stress factors that affect the development of obesity. We believe our study is both necessary and important, as these findings provide valuable insight into the relationship between severe obesity and stress.Peer reviewe

Concentration of mercury and other metals in an Arctic planktonic food web under a climate warming scenario

Arctic marine ecosystems act as a global sink of mercury (Hg) and other metals, and high concentrations of these have been measured in higher trophic-level organisms. Nevertheless, the concentrations of metals at the basis of the marine food web in the Arctic is less known despite the likelihood of biomagnification from dietary sources. We investigated the concentrations of mercury (Hg) and other metals in different size fractions of plankton in West Greenland. All size fractions contained detectable levels of Hg (ranging from 4.8 to 241.3 ng g dw− 1 ) at all stations, although with high geographic variability, likely reflecting the sources of mercury (e.g., meltwater). In many cases, the concentrations in the larger-size fractions were lower than in the smaller-size fractions, suggesting depuration through the metabolic activity of mesozooplankton. Concentrations of Cd, Pb, V, Ni, and Cr were higher than previously reported elsewhere in the Arctic