Effects of mid-altitude on mental behavior

Many of the physiologic changes that occur during acute and chronic altitude exposure may actually negate adaptations that possibly improve physiologic performance upon return to sea level. We aimed to determine the effects of hypobaric hypoxic conditions at mid-altitude on mental performance by psychometric tests. This study was performed on 34 male volunteer mountaineers coming from different regions of Turkey. Their mean ages, heights and weights were 33.5 +/- 11.8 years, 176.4 +/- 8.2 cm and 73.0 +/- 10.5 kg, respectively. These tests were carried out on volunteer climbers firstly at the residence center at altitude of 1200 in (Hacilar, n = 34), and secondly on the same day at altitude of about 2850 in after 4 h from firstly (base camp at Mount Erciyes, n = 34), and then finally psychological tests were done at altitude 3900 in after one day from secondly (n = 31). State (acute) and trait (chronic) anxieties scales, and short symptom inventory tests were applied to 34 male volunteer mountaineers at three different altitudes. Although trait and state anxiety scores decreased at two different altitudes, this difference was not statistically significant (p > 0.05). But the trait and state anxiety scores at Erciyes summit increased (p < 0.05). The findings of somatization, obsessive-compulsive disorders, interpersonal sensitivity, anxiety disorder, hostility, phobic anxiety, paranoid ideation and psychoticism, additional materials index, scores increased at summit and were found statistically significant (p < 0.05). Global indexes that is seriousness of disturbance index, total symptom index and symptom disturbance index scores in the Erciyes summit increased significantly (p < 0.05). But total symptom index scores decreased significantly at Erciyes base camp (p < 0.05). Although all psychometric test scores decreased in base camp area, all findings increased significantly at Erciyes Mountain Summit. We considered that general characteristics of hypobaric hypoxic conditions and environmental factors might cause emotional and behavioral changes on individuals depending on psychological and physiological features

Depressive symptom profile of turkish students experiencing back pain

The aim in this study was to determine the relationship between depressive symptom frequency and back pain in students. Analysis was made of 250 vocational college students. The Zung Depression Inventory (ZDI; Zung, 1965), the Visual Analog Scale (VAS; Price, McGrath, Rafii, & Buckingham, 1983) and the Aberdeen Low Back Pain Scale (Ruta, Garratt, Wardlaw, & Russell, 1994) were used to determine depressive symptoms and back pain. The probability of depression scores of 50 or more was 1.8 times greater for those who were not interested in any sports than for those interested in amateur sports. There was a positive correlation between severity of the pain, general pain, neck pain, back pain, low back or upper back pain, low back pain, and the ZDI scores of the students. Negative correlations were found between age, BMI and ZDI scores. © Society for Personality Research (Inc.)

Cross-sectional reference values for mid-upper arm circumference, triceps skinfold thickness and arm fat area of Turkish children and adolescents

The aim of the study was to establish cross-sectional reference values for the mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC), triceps skinfold thickness (TSF) and arm fat area (AFA) of Turkish children and adolescents. In total 5,553 students aged between 6 and 17 years were selected by a multistage sampling method from schools representing city centre, rural and urban areas of Kayseri, Central Anatolia. The MUAC and TSF were measured, and the arm muscle area, arm area, AFA and fat percentage (%) were calculated. The LMS method was employed to calculate the MUAC, TSF and AFA curve parameters. The MUAC, TSF, AFA and fat percentage in each age group were significantly higher in girls than in boys. In boys, the TSF 50th percentile ranged from 7.6 mm at 17 years to 9.0 mm at 11 years; whereas in girls this ranged from 9.4 mm at 6 years to 14.6 mm at 17 years. The MUAC 50th percentile ranged from 17.0 to 23.6 cm in boys, and from 15.6 cm to 20.9 cm in girls. The AFA 50th percentile measurements ranged from 4.5 cm at 6 years to 5.8 cm at 12-14 years in boys; and ranged from 7.2 cm at 6 years to 14.8 cm at 17 years in girls. The percentile distribution was more disperse towards higher TSF and AFA values in boys than in girls

The risk analysis of arm fat area in Turkish children and adolescents

Aim: The study examined the risk factors associated with arm fat area (AFA) in Turkish children and adolescents. Methods and samples: This study was conducted with 5358 (2621 boys, 2737 girls) children and adolescents aged 6-17 years. Height, weight, waist circumference, mid-upper arm circumference and triceps skinfold thickness were measured. Body mass index, fat percentage, waist-to-height ratio, and AFA were calculated. A questionnaire was used to obtain socio-demographic data. For age- and gender-specific AFA, three groups were created by percentiles (underweight <5th, healthy weight ≥5-84.99th, overweight ≥85th percentiles). Multinomial logistic regression analyses were performed to determine the risk factors. Results: For the entire group, underweight and overweight prevalences were 4.7% and 14.9%, respectively. The body-size variables increased across age in Turkish boys and girls. The most significant risk factors for AFA were shown to be appetite, sleep duration, household income, and elevator use. Conclusion: AFA can be a significant index, in combination with other well-known anthropometric indices, in determining nutritional status. © 2009 Informa UK Ltd

Decreased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and insulin resistance were the most common criteria in 12- to 19-year-old adolescents

Background Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is characterized by a group of metabolic risk factors leading to an increase in diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular diseases. It is known that the pathologic processes such as hyperinsulinemia and atherogenic risk profile associated with the development of MetS begin during childhood and adolescence. Aim of the study To determine the prevalence of MetS and assess the association between MetS and certain demographic and lifestyle factors in a representative adolescent population. Methods The study was carried out in central and ten districts located around Kayseri Province, Central Anatolia. A total of 790 adolescents aged from 12 to 19 years were selected systematically from the schools. Criteria of MetS were modified from Adult Treatment Panel III: (1) waist circumference >90th percentile (aged between 12 and 17 years) and >102 cm in male, >88 cm in female (for aged 18 and 19 years), (2) serum triglycerides [≥136 mg/dl (aged between 12 and 16 years) and ≥150 mg/dl (for 17 and 19 years)], (3) high-density lipoprotein cholesterol [≤40 mg/dl (males) and ≤50 mg/dl (females)], (4) systolic blood pressure ≥ 95th percentile for gender, age and height, (5) insulin resistance HOMA index < 3.16. Multivariate regression model was performed to search for the association between MetS and demographic and lifestyle factors including gender, age, body mass index, settlement, socioeconomic class, smoking habit, physical activity and family history for diseases (cardiovascular diseases and diabetes mellitus). Results The overall prevalence of MetS was found as 10.8%. The prevalence was significantly higher in males than in females (13.5 and 8.6%, respectively). Low highdensity lipoprotein cholesterol and insulin resistance were the most common criteria of the syndrome. According to the analysis, only gender and high socioeconomic class were weak-positive related factors with MetS. Conclusions High prevalence of MetS especially among overweight and obese adolescents is a serious health problem. Early identification of the syndrome would contribute greatly to the prevention of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases in youth. © Springer-Verlag 2009

Body fat reference curves for healthy Turkish children and adolescents

Childhood obesity is a major worldwide health problem. In addition to body mass index (BMI), body fat percentiles may be used to predict future cardiovascular and metabolic health risks. The aim of this study is to define new age- and gender-specific body fat centiles for Turkish children and adolescents. A total of 4,076 (2,276 girls, 1,800 boys) children and adolescents aged 6-18 years were recruited for this study. Total body fat was measured by a bioelectrical impedance noninvasive method. Body fat percentiles were produced by the LMS method. The body fat percentile curves of boys appear to rise from age 6 to 12 years and then slope downwards to age 15 years and then flatten off. The body fat % percentiles of girls increased until 14 years of age through 75th to 97th percentiles and then slope downwards, but through the third to 50th percentiles, they showed a downward slope after 14 years old. Conclusions: Since BMI may not always reflect body fat content, direct assessment of adiposity by a practical method would be significantly useful for clinical decisions. Therefore, this study provides normative data for body fat percentage in healthy Turkish children and adolescents. To this goal we used a practical and clinically applicable method. These references can be useful for evaluation of overweight and obesity

Oral health, obesity status and nutritional habits in Turkish children and adolescents: An epidemiological study

© Trakya University Faculty of Medicine.Background: Studies evaluating the relationship between oral health status and obesity have provided conflicting data. Therefore, there is a great need to investigate and clarify the possible connection in a comprehensive sample. Aims: To assess the relationship of obesity and oral health status among children and adolescents aged 6 to 17 years-old. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Data were obtained from 4,534 children and adolescents (2,018 boys and 2,516 girls). Questionnaires were sent home prior to examination; afterwards, anthro-pometric and dental data were collected from participants. Community Periodontal Index (CPI) and number of decayed, missing, and filled teeth in the permanent dentition (DMFT), and deciduous dentition (dmft) index were used to measure oral health status. Height, body weight, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and body fat percentage were analyzed. Results: For DMFT scores, healthy (score=0) girls and boys had significantly higher BMI and WC values than unhealthy (score>1) girls and boys (p<0.05). Healthy girls had higher fat percentage values than unhealthy girls (p<0.05). In terms of CPI scores, healthy boys had lower BMI and WC values than unhealthy boys (p<0.05). According to multiple binary logistic regression results for model 1, BMI predicted DMFT scores in both genders but CPI scores only in boys. No beverage consumption predicted DMFT scores in boys, while milk consumption predicted DMFT scores in girls. No meal skipping predicted CPI scores in boys. For model 2, WC predicted DMFT scores in both genders and CPI scores only in boys. Milk consumption predicted DMFT scores only in girls. No meal skipping predicted CPI scores for both gender (p<0.05). According to DMFT, there were significant differences between the frequencies of the BMI groups (normal weight, overweight and obese) at the age of 7 (girls only), 9, 10, and 16 (boys only) years and overall (only girls) (p<0.05). According to CPI, significant differences between the frequencies of the BMI groups at the age of 16 (boys only) and 17 (girls only) were seen (p<0.05). Conclusion: Periodontal and dental status appears to correlate with nutritional habits and obesity. Obesity and dental/periodontal diseases are multifactorial diseases that follow similar risk patterns and develop from an interaction between chronic conditions originating early in life. It is important for all health professionals to educate patients at risk about the progression of periodontal and dental diseases and the importance of proper oral hygiene

What Influences Herbal Medicine Use? - Prevalence and Related Factors

Aims: The use and cost of complementary/alternative medicine (CAM) has been gaining in importance worldwide. Herbal medicine is one of the most commonly used methods. To understand the effectiveness, reliability, and quality of CAM and provide standardization in its analysis, its prevalence and the factors influencing its use must be identified. This study was conducted to identify the prevalence of CAM use and the effective factors in our population

The prevalence of depression and behavioral problems in the high school students Lise öǧrencilerinde depresyon ve davraniş sorunlarinin yayginliǧi

The aim of this research is not only to determine the prevalence of depression symptoms among the adolescents but also to present the existence of aggression and criminal behaviors and to identify the operating variables and risk factors. This cross-sectional study was conducted at January-February 2005 in Kayseri. 2217 students selected through simple random sampling from six high schools selected by means of stratified random sampling were included in the sample group. As data-collecting devices, Zung Depression Inventory (ZDI) and a questionnaire developed by the researchers to determine the demographical, socio-cultural characteristics of the students and their behavior disorders were applied. The average of ZDI scores of the students were 49.2±8.6 and it was seen that 9.5% have medium depression, and 1.3% have severe It was seen that ZDI scores of the female students, of those with low incomes, low academic success and whose fathers have low educational levels, and of those who have a hack on, of those having disciplinal problems with their friends outside school and those having disciplinal problems inside their school and of the students who inflict damages to properties are ≥50 (p<0.05). The most important illustrative risk factors of getting ZDI scores ≥50 are gender, the education level of the father, having a hack on, carrying a gun on. As a result of the application of Pearson correlation analyses, a positive correlation between age (r=0.32, p=0.021), male sex (r=0.06, p=0.013) and the number of sisters (r=0.09, p<0.001), and ZDI scores has been found. The scores of depression of the students were found to be low. We thought that gender, educational levels of parents, income level, a case of a fight that has been informed to the police and school administration and the school mates having a hack or gun on could be important factors to decrease the scores of depression