Characteristics of Lipid Peroxidation Processes and Antioxidant Status in Teenagers-Boys of Different Ethnic Groups with Exogenous Constitutional Obesity and Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

The aim of this research was to study changes in the LPO-AOD processes in Mongoloid and Caucasian teenagers with exogenous constitutional obesity (ECO), including those complicated by non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Materials and Methods: A total of 18 Mongoloid teenage boys and 17 Caucasian teenage boys with NAFLD (Clinical group 1 and Clinical group 2, respectively) on the background of ECO of the first degree were examined. For comparison, data of 37 apparently healthy Mongoloid teenage boys (Control group 1) and 23 Caucasian teenage boys (Control group 2) was used. The plasma level of antioxidant parameters (total antioxidant activity [TTA], SOD activity, α-tocopherol and retinol) and primary/secondary products of LPO (conjugated dienes [CD], ketodienes and conjugated trienes [KD-CT], and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances [TBARS]) were determined using spectrophotometric and fluorometric methods. Results: Evaluation of the activity of LPO reactions in Clinical group 1 indicated an increase in the content of compounds with DB relative to Control group 1. A similar trend was found in the concentration of CD and KD-CT. In Clinical group 2, we found a statistically significant increase only in the values of KD-CT. In the parameters of the AOD system, multidirectional changes of patients parameters compared with the control group were observed in Clinical group 1: the increased values of TAA, SOD activity, and reduced levels of α-tocopherol, retinol, and GSSG. In Clinical group 2, lower values of α-tocopherol, GSSG, and SOD activity were observed relative to Control group 2. Differences between the two ethnic groups were present in the control groups—the reduced level of TAA, GSH and the increased level of GSSG in the group of Mongoloids; just as in clinical groups with NAFLD, a high level of SOD activity was observed in Mongoloids compared to Caucasians. Conclusion: The changes revealed in the redox state in Mongoloid and Caucasian teenagers with ECO and NAFLD indicate high activity of LPO processes and severe deficiency of antioxidant vitamins in patients of both ethnic groups. The obtained results allow us to recommend administration of antioxidant drugs in addition to courses of metabolic therapy in comprehensive treatment of patients with ECO and NAFLD

Change of Lipid Peroxidation System – Antioxidant Protection Parameters in Adolescents with Obesity and Fatty Hepatosis

Background. Spread of childhood obesity is associated with social and economic factors of modern lifestyle that alter food preferences and lead to sedentary life. Nowadays fatty hepatosis is considered a hepatic manifestation of the metabolic syndrome, which is linked to the rising prevalence of obesity among the population. There is evidence of a correlation between metabolic disorders and oxidative stress reactions.Aims. To study characteristics of lipid peroxidation system and antioxidant defense processes in adolescents with fatty hepatosis.Materials and methods. We examined 15 adolescents with obesity and fatty hepatosis, 20 adolescents with obesity and without fatty hepatosis, and 20 apparently healthy adolescents, who formed the control group. Spectrophotometric and fluorometric methods were used in the research.Results. We found that some components of antioxidant status of adolescents with obesity and fatty hepatosis were decreased, both in comparison with the group with obesity without hepatosis and control group.Conclusions. It is recommended that patients with obesity and fatty hepatosis take antioxidants in addition to metabolic therapy

Utilizing Primary Care to Engage Patients on Opioids in a Psychological Intervention for Chronic Pain.

INTRODUCTION: Given the risks of opioids for pain management, we need nonpharmacological interventions that patients will engage in and that can reduce opioid use. The purpose was to examine whether offering a psychological intervention in primary care can engage patients receiving opioids for pain management and to explore whether the intervention influences opioid use. METHODS: This was a secondary analysis of a pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) of a 5-session psychological intervention in primary care for chronic pain. Patients with chronic pain (N = 220) were approached to enroll in the RCT. Electronic health records were reviewed to determine whether patients were prescribed opioids or pain medications at the time they were approached about the RCT and the 6-months following the intervention. RESULTS: Enrollees and non-enrollees had similar rates of opioid prescriptions, morphine milligram equivalent dose of opioids, and rates of other pain medication prescriptions (p\u3e .05). However, no males with an opioid prescription enrolled. Though not significant, those in the intervention had lower odds of having an opioid prescription 6 months following the intervention (p= .09, OR= .32). Those randomized to the intervention had lower odds of having a non-opioid pain medication prescription (p= .01, OR= .17). CONCLUSIONS: Having an opioid prescription did not interfere with enrollment, suggesting that primary care may be useful for engaging patients on opioids in a psychological treatment for chronic pain. However, this may be true for women, and not men. This intervention also showed promise for decreasing opioid use and warrants further study

The Assessment of Oxidative Stress Intensity in Adolescents with Obesity by the Integral Index

The aim of this research was to assess lipid peroxidation (LPO) and antioxidative defense (AOD) changes in adolescent boys with obesity using the integral index. Materials and Methods: We examined 19 adolescent boys (mean age of 4.41±0.45 years) with obesity of the first degree (the study group). The control group included 23 healthy boys (mean age of 15.12±0.32 years). The study included the collection of anamnestic data, physical examination, and anthropometric data analysis (body weight (BW), height, waist circumference (WC), hip circumference (HC), and body mass index (BMI)). Laboratory analysis included an assessment of the levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL, LDL, and blood glucose, as well as the intensity of LPO and AOD in blood plasma and primary and secondary products of LPO. To measure the intensity of OS, the oxidative stress index (OSi) was calculated (the ratio of the LPO-AOD system indicators in the study group to average indicators in the control group). Results: We found a statistically significant increase in BW, BMI, SDS BMI, WC, and HC in the study group compared to the control group. The obese patients had higher values of blood glucose, total cholesterol, triglycerides and LDL compared to the control group. In the study group, we found a significant decrease in the concentration of diene conjugates and an increase in the level of ketodienes and conjugated trienes. The values of α-tocopherol and retinol, and SOD activity were significantly decreased in the study group compared to the control group. There were no statistically significant changes in total antioxidant activity and glutathione status components. According to the data received, the OSi level in the group of obese patients increased approximately 7 times, which confirms the results on the development of antioxidant insufficiency in this pathology

A brief psychological intervention for chronic pain in primary care: Examining long-term effects from a pilot randomized clinical trial

BACKGROUND: Despite the existence of evidence-based psychological interventions for pain management, there are barriers that interfere with treatment engagement. A brief intervention integrated into primary care reduced barriers and showed promising benefits from pre- to post-intervention. However, it is unknown whether a brief intervention can provide long-term effects. The purpose of this study was to examine whether a brief psychological intervention offered benefits in pain severity, pain interference, pain catastrophizing, and depressive symptoms at 1- and 6-month follow-ups. METHODS: The majority of participants who enrolled in a pilot randomized clinical trial of a 5-session psychological intervention for chronic pain in primary care completed the 1-month (n = 54; 90%) and 6-month follow-ups (n = 50; 83.3%). Participants completed measures of pain severity, pain interference, pain catastrophizing, and depressive symptoms. RESULTS: From baseline to the 6-month follow-up, those in the intervention group had significantly better outcomes for pain severity (p = 0.01) and pain catastrophizing (p = 0.003) compared with the control group. There were no significant differences between the intervention and control groups for pain interference and depression. The percentage of patients in the intervention experiencing clinically significant improvement across all outcomes was higher than the control group. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that a brief psychological intervention for chronic pain in primary care may offer longer-term benefits similar to that of lengthier interventions. Future studies should examine this through a randomized clinical trial with a larger sample size

COVID-19 Vaccine Education: Is It Effective?

The article presents experiment findings to verify the educational activities program in the field of COVID-19 vaccine prevention for students. The study was conducted at the Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, the analytical sample size is N = 780. Five aspects (as measuring scales) of attitudes towards vaccination against COVID-19 were identified: the benefits of vaccination against coronavirus for a person and society; denial of the coronavirus danger and hope for natural immunity; fear of the side effects of vaccination against coronavirus and distrust of vaccination safety information; confidence in the serious negative consequences of the coronavirus vaccine; disbelief in the proven effectiveness of Russian vaccines at the international level. A comparative analysis of the effectiveness of 4 strategies for influencing student's attitudes to vaccination against COVID-19 was carried out: lectures only (CG), lectures in combination with seminars / webinars in the traditional format (EG1), with discussions of real life cases related to vaccination and its effects (EG2), with holding student's debates (EG3). There are no gender differences between groups. There are differences in age, but the mean difference does not exceed 2 years. At the ascertaining stage, there are no differences on the scales; at the control stage, differences are revealed. On all 5 scales, positive and negative effects in the whole sample are almost equally likely. It was not possible to single out a fundamentally best strategy for educational influence. In general, the effectiveness of educational activities is somewhat greater when conducting lectures in combination with various kinds of seminars compared to lectures alone, but the effectiveness is low everywhere. Cohen's d standard effect sizes do not exceed 0,44. Slightly higher is efficiency when conducting lectures in combination with traditional seminars / webinars or case studies. The student's debates holding strategy did not meet expectations. A number of significant correlations were found between various aspects of attitudes towards vaccination with natural science literacy, logical thinking, verbal intelligence, the degree of fear of COVID-19, personal and situational anxiety. All correlations are weak, but their direction is as expected

Factors associated with suicide mortality among reproductive age women: a case-control study

OBJECTIVE: Examine demographic, psychosocial, pregnancy-related, and healthcare utilisation factors associated with suicide mortality among reproductive age women. METHODS: Data from nine health care systems in the Mental Health Research Network were included. A case-control study design was used in which 290 reproductive age women who died by suicide (cases) from 2000 to 2015 were matched with 2,900 reproductive age women from the same healthcare system who did not die by suicide (controls). Conditional logistic regression was used to analyse associations between patient characteristics and suicide. RESULTS: Women of reproductive age who died by suicide were more likely to have mental health (aOR = 7.08, 95% CI: 5.17, 9.71) or substance use disorders (aOR = 3.16, 95% CI: 2.19, 4.56) and to have visited the emergency department in the year prior to index date (aOR = 3.47, 95% CI: 2.50, 4.80). Non-Hispanic White women (aOR = 0.70, 95% CI: 0.51, 0.97) and perinatal (pregnant or postpartum) women were less likely to have died by suicide (aOR = 0.27, 95% CI: 0.13, 0.58). CONCLUSIONS: Reproductive age women with mental health and/or substance use disorders, prior emergency department encounters, or who are of racial or ethnic minority status were at increased risk of suicide mortality and may benefit from routine screening and monitoring. Future research should further examine the relationship between pregnancy-related factors and suicide mortality