Mediterranean Diet Social Network Impact along 11 Years in the Major US Media Outlets: Thematic and Quantitative Analysis Using Twitter

Background: Media outlets influence social attitudes toward health. Thus, it is important that they share contents which promote healthy habits. The Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) is associated with lower cardiovascular disease risk. Analysis of tweets has become a tool for understanding perceptions on health issues. Methods: We investigated tweets posted between January 2009 and December 2019 by 25 major US media outlets about MedDiet and its components as well as the retweets and likes generated. In addition, we measured the sentiment analysis of these tweets and their dissemination. Results: In total, 1608 tweets, 123,363 likes and 48,946 retweets about MedDiet or its components were analyzed. Dairy (inversely weighted in MedDiet scores) accounted for 45.0% of the tweets (723/1608), followed by nuts 19.7% (317/1608). MedDiet, as an overall dietary pattern, generated only 9.8% (157/1608) of the total tweets, while olive oil generated the least number of tweets. Twitter users’ response was quantitatively related to the number of tweets posted by these US media outlets, except for tweets on olive oil and MedDiet. None of the MedDiet components analyzed was more likely to be liked or retweeted than the MedDiet itself. Conclusions: The US media outlets analyzed showed reduced interest in MedDiet as a whole, while Twitter users showed greater interest in the overall dietary pattern than in its particular components

Areas of Interest and Attitudes Toward Antiobesity Drugs: Thematic and Quantitative Analysis Using Twitter

BackgroundAntiobesity drugs are prescribed for the treatment of obesity in conjunction with healthy eating, physical activity, and behavior modification. However, poor adherence rates have been reported. Attitudes or beliefs toward medications are important to ascertain because they may be associated with patient behavior. The analysis of tweets has become a tool for health research. ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to investigate the content and key metrics of tweets referring to antiobesity drugs. MethodsIn this observational quantitative and qualitative study, we focused on tweets containing hashtags related to antiobesity drugs between September 20, 2019, and October 31, 2019. Tweets were first classified according to whether they described medical issues or not. Tweets with medical content were classified according to the topic they referred to: side effects, efficacy, or adherence. We additionally rated it as positive or negative. Furthermore, we classified any links included within a tweet as either scientific or nonscientific. Finally, the number of retweets generated as well as the dissemination and sentiment score obtained by the antiobesity drugs analyzed were also measured. ResultsWe analyzed a total of 2045 tweets, 945 of which were excluded according to the criteria of the study. Finally, 320 out of the 1,100 remaining tweets were also excluded because their content, although related to drugs for obesity treatment, did not address the efficacy, side effects, or adherence to medication. Liraglutide and semaglutide accumulated the majority of tweets (682/780, 87.4%). Notably, the content that generated the highest frequency of tweets was related to treatment efficacy, with liraglutide-, semaglutide-, and lorcaserin-related tweets accumulating the highest proportion of positive consideration. We found the highest percentages of tweets with scientific links in those posts related to liraglutide and semaglutide. Semaglutide-related tweets obtained the highest probability of likes and were the most disseminated within the Twitter community. ConclusionsThis analysis of posted tweets related to antiobesity drugs shows that the interest, beliefs, and experiences regarding these pharmacological treatments are heterogeneous. The efficacy of the treatment accounts for the majority of interest among Twitter users

Areas of Interest and Attitudes towards the Pharmacological Treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Thematic and Quantitative Analysis Using Twitter

We focused on tweets containing hashtags related to ADHD pharmacotherapy between 20 September and 31 October 2019. Tweets were classified as to whether they described medical issues or not. Tweets with medical content were classified according to the topic they referred to: side effects, efficacy, or adherence. Furthermore, we classified any links included within a tweet as either scientific or non-scientific. We created a dataset of 6568 tweets: 4949 (75.4%) related to stimulants, 605 (9.2%) to non-stimulants and 1014 (15.4%) to alpha-2 agonists. Next, we manually analyzed 1810 tweets. In the end, 481 (48%) of the tweets in the stimulant group, 218 (71.9%) in the non-stimulant group and 162 (31.9%) in the alpha agonist group were considered classifiable. Stimulants accumulated the majority of tweets. Notably, the content that generated the highest frequency of tweets was that related to treatment efficacy, with alpha-2 agonist-related tweets accumulating the highest proportion of positive consideration. We found the highest percentages of tweets with scientific links in those posts related to alpha-2 agonists. Stimulant-related tweets obtained the highest proportion of likes and were the most disseminated within the Twitter community. Understanding the public view of these medications is necessary to design promotional strategies aimed at the appropriate population

Biological Role of Nutrients, Food and Dietary Patterns in the Prevention and Clinical Management of Major Depressive Disorder

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a growing disabling condition affecting around 280 million people worldwide. This complex entity is the result of the interplay between biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors, and compelling evidence suggests that MDD can be considered a disease that occurs as a consequence of an evolutionary mismatch and unhealthy lifestyle habits. In this context, diet is one of the core pillars of health, influencing multiple biological processes in the brain and the entire body. It seems that there is a bidirectional relationship between MDD and malnutrition, and depressed individuals often lack certain critical nutrients along with an aberrant dietary pattern. Thus, dietary interventions are one of the most promising tools to explore in the field of MDD, as there are a specific group of nutrients (i.e., omega 3, vitamins, polyphenols, and caffeine), foods (fish, nuts, seeds fruits, vegetables, coffee/tea, and fermented products) or dietary supplements (such as S-adenosylmethionine, acetyl carnitine, creatine, amino acids, etc.), which are being currently studied. Likewise, the entire nutritional context and the dietary pattern seem to be another potential area of study, and some strategies such as the Mediterranean diet have demonstrated some relevant benefits in patients with MDD; although, further efforts are still needed. In the present work, we will explore the state-of-the-art diet in the prevention and clinical support of MDD, focusing on the biological properties of its main nutrients, foods, and dietary patterns and their possible implications for these patients

Venous Wall of Patients with Chronic Venous Disease Exhibits a Glycolytic Phenotype

Chronic venous disease (CVeD) is a rising medical condition characterized by a broad spectrum of disorders in the venous system. Varicose veins (VVs) represent a frequent clinical manifestation of CVeD, particularly in the lower limbs. Prior histopathological studies have defined a set of alterations observed in the venous wall of patients with VVs, affecting their structure and behavior. Metabolic changes in the veins appear to be a critical biological mechanism aiding our understanding of the pathogenesis of CVeD. In this sense, previous studies have identified a potential role of a glycolytic phenotype in the development of different vascular disorders; however, its precise role in CVeD remains to be fully explored. Thus, the aim of the present study was to analyze the gene and protein expression of glucose transporter 1 (GLUT-1) and the glycolytic enzymes PGK-1, ALD, GA3PDH and LDH in the VVs of patients with CVeD (n = 35) in comparison to those expressed in healthy subjects. Our results display enhanced gene and protein expression of GLUT-1, PGK-1, ALD, GA3PDH and LDH in patients with CVeD, suggesting a glycolytic switch of the venous tissue. Greater understanding of the impact of this glycolytic switch in patients with CVeD is required to define a possible pathophysiological role or therapeutic implications of these changes