The Swiss Kidney Stone Cohort (SKSC), a longitudinal, multi-centric, observational cohort to study course and causes of kidney stone disease in Switzerland

Kidney stone disease has a high prevalence worldwide of approximately 10 % of the population and is characterized by a high recurrence rate Kidney stone disease results from a combination of genetic, environmental, and life-style risk factors, and the dissection of these factors is complex. The Swiss Kidney Stone Cohort (SKSC) is an investigator-initiated prospective, multi-centric longitudinal, observational study in patients with kidney stones followed with regular visits over a period of 3 years after inclusion. Ongoing follow-ups by biannual telephone interviews will provide long-term outcome data up to 10 years. SKSC comprises 782 adult patients (age > 18 yrs) with either recurrent stones or a single stone event with at least one risk factor for recurrence. In addition, a control cohort of 207 individuals without kidney stone history and absence of kidney stones on a low-dose CT-scan at enrolment has also been recruited. SKSC includes extensive collections of clinical data, biochemical data in blood and 24 hr urine samples, and genetic data. Biosamples are stored at a dedicated biobank. Information on diet and dietary habits were collected through food frequency questionnaires and standardized recall interviews by trained dieticians with the Globodiet software. SKSC provides an unique opportunity and resource to further study cause and course of kidney disease in a large population with data and samples collected of a homogenous collective of patients throughout the whole Swiss population

Differences in the food consumption between kidney stone formers and non-formers in the Swiss Kidney Stone Cohort.

OBJECTIVE Diet has a major influence on the formation and management of kidney stones. However, kidney stone formers' diet is difficult to capture in a large population. Our objective was to describe the dietary intake of kidney stone formers in Switzerland and to compare it to non-stone formers. METHODS We used data from the Swiss Kidney Stone Cohort (n=261), a multicentric cohort of recurrent or incident kidney stone formers with additional risk factors, and a control group of CT-scan proven non-stone formers (n=197). Dieticians conducted two consecutive 24-h dietary recalls, using structured interviews and validated software (GloboDiet). We took the mean consumption per participant of the two 24-h dietary recalls to describe the dietary intake and used two-part models to compare the two groups. RESULTS The dietary intake was overall similar between stone and non-stone formers. However, we identified that kidney stone formers had a higher probability of consuming cakes and biscuits (odds ratio, OR[95% CI] =1.56[1.03; 2.37]) and soft drinks (OR=1.66[1.08; 2.55]). Kidney stone formers had a lower probability of consuming nuts and seeds (OR =0.53[0.35; 0.82]), fresh cheese (OR=0.54[0.30; 0.96]), teas (OR=0.50[0.3; 0.84]), and alcoholic beverages (OR=0.35[0.23; 0.54]), especially wine (OR=0.42[0.27; 0.65]). Furthermore, among consumers, stone formers reported smaller quantities of vegetables (β coeff[95% CI]= - 0.23[- 0.41; - 0.06]), coffee (β coeff= - 0.21[- 0.37; - 0.05]), teas (β coeff= - 0.52[- 0.92; - 0.11]) and alcoholic beverages (β coeff= - 0.34[- 0.63; - 0.06]). CONCLUSION Stone formers reported lower intakes of vegetables, tea, coffee, and alcoholic beverages, more specifically wine, but reported drinking more frequently soft drinks than non-stone formers. For the other food groups, stone formers and non-formers reported similar dietary intakes. Further research is needed to better understand the links between diet and kidney stone formation and develop dietary recommendations adapted to the local settings and cultural habits

Dissecting the Shared Genetic Architecture of Suicide Attempt, Psychiatric Disorders, and Known Risk Factors

Background Suicide is a leading cause of death worldwide, and nonfatal suicide attempts, which occur far more frequently, are a major source of disability and social and economic burden. Both have substantial genetic etiology, which is partially shared and partially distinct from that of related psychiatric disorders. Methods We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of 29,782 suicide attempt (SA) cases and 519,961 controls in the International Suicide Genetics Consortium (ISGC). The GWAS of SA was conditioned on psychiatric disorders using GWAS summary statistics via multitrait-based conditional and joint analysis, to remove genetic effects on SA mediated by psychiatric disorders. We investigated the shared and divergent genetic architectures of SA, psychiatric disorders, and other known risk factors. Results Two loci reached genome-wide significance for SA: the major histocompatibility complex and an intergenic locus on chromosome 7, the latter of which remained associated with SA after conditioning on psychiatric disorders and replicated in an independent cohort from the Million Veteran Program. This locus has been implicated in risk-taking behavior, smoking, and insomnia. SA showed strong genetic correlation with psychiatric disorders, particularly major depression, and also with smoking, pain, risk-taking behavior, sleep disturbances, lower educational attainment, reproductive traits, lower socioeconomic status, and poorer general health. After conditioning on psychiatric disorders, the genetic correlations between SA and psychiatric disorders decreased, whereas those with nonpsychiatric traits remained largely unchanged. Conclusions Our results identify a risk locus that contributes more strongly to SA than other phenotypes and suggest a shared underlying biology between SA and known risk factors that is not mediated by psychiatric disorders.Peer reviewe

Vers un référentiel pour l’évaluation : choix politiques et enjeux didactiques

Le nouveau Plan d’études introduit dès 2011 dans les cantons francophones de la Suisse présente les contenus d’apprentissage en termes de « visées prioritaires », d’« objectifs d’apprentissage », de « progression des apprentissages » ainsi que d’« attentes fondamentales » définissant ce que les élèves doivent savoir au cours mais au plus tard à la fin du cycle concerné. Dans une perspective d’évaluation, il importe donc de pouvoir mesurer si les attentes relatives à ce nouveau plan d’études s..

Comment évaluer la lecture en référence au Plan d'études romand ?

L'entré en vigueur d'un nouveau plan d'études (PER) dans l'Espace romand de la formation (ERF) soulève nécessairement de nombreuses questions, notamment en ce qui concerne l'évaluation. Le PER est un réfé- rentiel pour l'enseignement-apprentissage qui décrit les contenus et les visées de la formation pour tous les élèves de l'école obligatoire mais il reste plutôt évasif à propos de l'évaluation: que faut-il précisément évaluer ? Quel est le statut des objets mentionnés (connaissances, savoir-faire, compétences, etc.) ? Quel type (connaissance conceptuelle, capacité d'usage en situation…) et quel degré de maitrise en est-il attendu ? Etc. A l'exemple de la compréhension écrite, cette contribution vise ainsi à définir, en lien au PER, un cadre pour l'évaluation prenant en compte la nature des objets évalués et les types d'activités dans lesquelles les diffé- rents objets peuvent être activés (tâches communicatives, exercices, situations-problèmes…). A partir d'une analyse de documents officiels, de moyens d'enseignement et de tests existants, les auteurs se sont d'abord intéressés à la nature des objets qui relèvent de la « compréhension écrite », afin de cerner ce que signifie « comprendre un texte ». Dans un deuxième temps, ils se sont interrogés sur les conséquences de cette réflexion pour l'évaluation. Leurs analyses aboutissent à mettre en évidence comment les modalités de l'évaluation devraient différer en fonction notamment du type d'objet évalué. En guise d'invitation à poursuivre la réflexion, les auteurs proposent finalement quelques principes en vue d'une évaluation de la lecture en lien avec le PER

Association of Patient Sex With Chemotherapy-Related Toxic Effects: A Retrospective Analysis of the PETACC-3 Trial Conducted by the EORTC Gastrointestinal Group

status: publishe

The Swiss Kidney Stone Cohort: A Longitudinal, Multicentric, Observational Cohort to Study Course and Causes of Kidney Stone Disease in Switzerland

Background: Kidney stone disease has a high prevalence worldwide of approximately 10% of the population and is characterized by a high recurrence rate. Kidney stone disease results from a combination of genetic, environmental, and lifestyle risk factors, and the dissection of these factors is complex. Methods: The Swiss Kidney Stone Cohort (SKSC) is an investigator-initiated prospective, multicentric longitudinal, observational study in patients with kidney stones followed with regular visits over a period of 3 years after inclusion. Ongoing follow-ups by biannual telephone interviews will provide long-term outcome data. SKSC comprises 782 adult patients (age >18 years) with either recurrent stones or a single stone event with at least one risk factor for recurrence. In addition, a control cohort of 207 individuals without kidney stone history and absence of kidney stones on a low-dose CT scan at enrolment has also been recruited. SKSC includes extensive collections of clinical data, biochemical data in blood and 24-h urine samples, and genetic data. Biosamples are stored at a dedicated biobank. Information on diet and dietary habits was collected through food frequency questionnaires and standardized recall interviews by trained dieticians with the Globodiet software. Conclusion: SKSC provides a unique opportunity and resource to further study cause and course of kidney disease in a large population with data and samples collected of a homogeneous collective of patients throughout the whole Swiss population