Five-Factor Model personality profiles of drug users

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Personality traits are considered risk factors for drug use, and, in turn, the psychoactive substances impact individuals' traits. Furthermore, there is increasing interest in developing treatment approaches that match an individual's personality profile. To advance our knowledge of the role of individual differences in drug use, the present study compares the personality profile of tobacco, marijuana, cocaine, and heroin users and non-users using the wide spectrum Five-Factor Model (FFM) of personality in a diverse community sample.</p> <p>Method</p> <p>Participants (<it>N </it>= 1,102; mean age = 57) were part of the Epidemiologic Catchment Area (ECA) program in Baltimore, MD, USA. The sample was drawn from a community with a wide range of socio-economic conditions. Personality traits were assessed with the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R), and psychoactive substance use was assessed with systematic interview.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Compared to never smokers, current cigarette smokers score lower on Conscientiousness and higher on Neuroticism. Similar, but more extreme, is the profile of cocaine/heroin users, which score very high on Neuroticism, especially Vulnerability, and very low on Conscientiousness, particularly Competence, Achievement-Striving, and Deliberation. By contrast, marijuana users score high on Openness to Experience, average on Neuroticism, but low on Agreeableness and Conscientiousness.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In addition to confirming high levels of negative affect and impulsive traits, this study highlights the links between drug use and low Conscientiousness. These links provide insight into the etiology of drug use and have implications for public health interventions.</p

Exercise therapy in Type 2 diabetes

Structured exercise is considered an important cornerstone to achieve good glycemic control and improve cardiovascular risk profile in Type 2 diabetes. Current clinical guidelines acknowledge the therapeutic strength of exercise intervention. This paper reviews the wide pathophysiological problems associated with Type 2 diabetes and discusses the benefits of exercise therapy on phenotype characteristics, glycemic control and cardiovascular risk profile in Type 2 diabetes patients. Based on the currently available literature, it is concluded that Type 2 diabetes patients should be stimulated to participate in specifically designed exercise intervention programs. More attention should be paid to cardiovascular and musculoskeletal deconditioning as well as motivational factors to improve long-term treatment adherence and clinical efficacy. More clinical research is warranted to establish the efficacy of exercise intervention in a more differentiated approach for Type 2 diabetes subpopulations within different stages of the disease and various levels of co-morbidity

Renal effects in children living in the vicinity of a lead smelter.

A cross-sectional study was carried out to determine whether environmental exposure of children to lead may cause renal effects. The study involved a total of 195 children aged 12 to 15 years. One hundred forty-four children (63 boys and 81 girls) were recruited from two schools in the vicinity of a lead smelter and 51 (25 boys and 26 girls) from a school in a rural area. Compared to their referents, boys and girls from the two schools in the polluted area had significantly higher levels of lead in blood (PbB) but similar levels of cadmium (CdB) and zinc protoporphyrins (ZPP). The functional integrity of the kidney was assessed by measuring the urinary excretion of beta 2-microglobulin, Clara cell protein, retinol-binding protein (RBP), albumin and beta-N-acetyl-D-glucosaminidase. The most significant and consistent finding of the study was that children from the two schools in the polluted area showed a significant elevation of the urinary excretion of RBP that paralleled the level of lead in blood or in the dust collected on the school playgrounds. A similar pattern was observed for the prevalence of elevated values of urinary RBP which increased from 3.9% in the control area up to 17% in the most polluted school. Urinary RBP was found to be associated with PbB (partial r2 = 0.046, P = 0.005) in a stepwise regression analysis testing also the influence of age, sex, CdB, and ZPP. In conclusion, the present study suggests that lead contaminating the environment may cause slight effects on the proximal tubule function in children at exposure levels close to those associated with CNS deficit