Zusammenhang des sozialen Umfeldes mit anthropometrischen Messgrößen bei österreichischen Seniorinnen und Senioren

Ziel dieser Diplomarbeit war es, im Rahmen des „Österreichischen Ernährungs-berichts 2008“, den Body-Mass-Index (BMI) von österreichischen SeniorInnen ab einem Alter von ≥ 55 Jahren zu erfassen und zu beurteilen, sowie den möglichen Einfluss von sozialen Lebensfaktoren und des sozialen Umfeldes auf die Ätiologie, Pathogenese und Häufigkeitsverteilung von Übergewicht und Adipositas zu untersuchen. Die Datenerhebungen dieser repräsentativen Querschnittsstudie wurden im Zeitraum April 2007 bis März 2008 durchgeführt. Folgende Erhebungsinstru-mente wurden eingesetzt: allgemeiner Fragebogen inklusive Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ), 3-Tage-Ernährungsprotokoll, Maßband, Stadiometer und Körperwaage. Für die Auswertung wurden die Daten von 816 gültigen Frage-bögen und die Ergebnisse von anthropometrischen Messungen (Körpergröße, Körpergewicht) herangezogen. Das Studienkollektiv setzt sich aus 578 Frauen und 238 Männern zusammen. Das Lebensalter des Gesamtkollektivs beträgt im Durchschnitt 74,55 (± 9,31) Jahre. 594 SeniorInnen leben in privaten Haus-halten und 222 Personen in Pensionistenwohnheimen. Der BMI innerhalb des Gesamtkollektivs liegt im Mittel bei 28,70 kg/m^2. Der niedrigste BMI beträgt 15,61 kg/m^2, der höchste Wert erreicht 73,71 kg/m^2. Die Hälfte der SeniorInnen (50,3 %) ist normalgewichtig, 10,0 % des Studienkollektivs unter-gewichtig und mehr als ein Drittel (39,8 %) können der Gewichtsklasse „Übergewicht/Adipositas“ zugeteilt werden. Es sind keine besonders auffälligen, geschlechtsspezifischen Unterschiede im Bezug auf den BMI und dessen Zuordnung in die entsprechenden Gewichtsklassifikationen zu beobachten. Der BMI innerhalb des männlichen Studienkollektivs beträgt im Durchschnitt 29,34 kg/m^2 und bei den Frauen im Mittel 28,25 kg/m^2. In der Altersgruppe der 55-74-Jährigen liegt der BMI im Mittel bei 28,90 kg/m^2, in der Generation 74 Plus im Mittel bei 28,22 kg/m^2. Die Beobachtung der Gewichtsklassen in Korrelation mit sozialen Lebensfaktoren hat gezeigt, dass innerhalb des Gesamtkollektivs ein signifikanter Zusammenhang zwischen BMI und Familien-stand, sowie zwischen BMI und Besuch- und Kontakthäufigkeit vorliegt. Weiters konnte ein hochsignifikanter Zusammenhang zwischen BMI und Zufriedenheit mit dem täglichen Leben beobachtet werden. Mögliche Zusammenhänge zwischen BMI und anderen sozialen Lebensumständen - derzeitiges Wohn-gebiet und höchste abgeschlossene Schulausbildung - konnten statistisch nicht belegt werden. Soziale Lebensfaktoren, sowie das soziale Umfeld der SeniorInnen (Familienstand, Besuch- und Kontakthäufigkeit, Zufriedenheit mit dem täglichen Leben) haben einen bestimmten, jedoch keinen überwiegend starken Einfluss auf den Body-Mass-Index. Die Ergebnisse bestätigen, dass „Übergewicht und Adipositas“ eine multifaktoriell bedingte Stoffwechsel-erkrankung ist.Aim of this diploma theses was to evaluate and to assess the body mass index (BMI) of Austrian elderly individuals aged 55 and over, as well as to research the possible influence of social life-factors and social environment on the etiology, pathogenesis and frequency distribution of overweight and obesity, in the context of the „Austrian Nutrition Report 2008“. The evaluations of this representative cross-sectional study had been carried out from April 2007 to March 2008. The materials used were a general questionnaire including a food frequency questionnaire, a 3-day-food record, a chain, a stadiometer and scales. The data material of 816 available questionnaires and the deliverables of the anthropometric measurements (body size, body weight) were consulted for the evaluation of this diploma thesis. 578 women and 238 men were evaluated. The age of the whole collective averages 74,55 (± 9,31) years. 594 seniors are living in private households and 222 seniors in residential accommodations. The BMI of the whole collective averages 28,70 kg/m^2. The nethermost BMI is 15,61 kg/m^2, the highest value 73,71 kg/m^2. Half of the seniors (50,3 %) are of a normal body weight, 10,0 % of the whole collective are underweight and more than a third (39,8 %) can be assigned to the weight category „overweight/obesity“. The observation doesn’t show special, gender-specific differences in conjunction with results of BMI and its assignment to body weight categories. The average BMI value of men is 29,34 kg/m^2. The BMI of women averages 28,25 kg/m^2. In the age group of 55-74 year olds the BMI averages 28,90 kg/m^2 and in the generation 74 plus 28,22 kg/m^2. The observance of weight classes in correlation with social life-factors has shown that a significant interrelation exists between BMI and family status, as well as between BMI and visitation- and contact-incidence. Furthermore a high significant correlation could be observed between BMI and satisfaction with daily life. Potential correlations between body mass index and other social living conditions – current residential area and highest completed school education of the collective – were not found to be statistically significant. Social life-factors, as well as the social environment of the observed collective, do have a certain (family status, visitation- and contact-incidence, satisfaction with daily life), but no predominant strong influence on the body mass index. Thus, the results confirm that “overweight and obesity” is quite a multifactorial determined metabolic disease

Die Erfindung des Tiroler Stils

Hannah Teresa SölderInnsbruck, Univ., Master-Arb., 201

Imaging of placental transport mechanisms: A review.

Functional analysis of material transfers requires precise statement of residence times in each tissue compartment. For the placenta, neither extractive biochemistry, isotope partitioning, nor mass-based quantitative assays provide adequate spatial resolution to allow the necessary precision. Dual-perfusion assays of material transfer in isolated placental cotyledons provide time-series data for two compartments, the maternal and fetal blood, but fail to distinguish the two cellular compartments (syncytiotrophoblast, fetal endothelium) which actively regulate rates of transfer in each direction for essentially every important molecule type. At present, no definitive technology exists for functional analysis of placental transfer functions. The challenge in developing such a technology lies in the exquisitely small and delicate structures involved, which are scaled at cellular and subcellular sizes (between 50 nm and 50 microm). The only available technologies attaining this high spatial resolution are imaging technologies, primarily light and electron microscopy. To achieve the high-quality images necessary, confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) is required, to provide a uniform optical sectioning plane. In turn, this requires relatively high fluorescence intensities. Design of an adequate technology therefore bases on CLSM imaging fluorochrome-tagged tracers. The temporal resolution necessary to analyse placental material transfers is expected to be of the order of a few seconds, so that conventional wet-fixation protocols are too slow. For adequately rapid fixation, snap-freezing is required. As part of this review we report results obtained from an appropriately designed experimental protocol, analysed by CLSM and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The images acquired were tested for uniformity of illumination and fluorescence emission strength. Relevant data was encoded in the green channel of the trichrome images obtained, and this was thresholded by application of strict quantitative criteria. The thresholding procedure is suitable for automation and produces reproducible, objectifiable results. Thresholded images were subjected to image calculation procedures designed to highlight image elements (pixels) containing (green) fluorescence associated with the tracer protein; all other sources of fluorescence were visualised in the final images only if no green fluorescence was detectable in that pixel. The resulting images were maps, showing the distribution of tracer molecules at a predefined time interval after perfusion of the tracer into the vital (term) cotyledon. Spatial resolution was routinely better than 1 microm and temporal resolution was approximately 5s. At timepoints up to 10 min after intravital application into the fetal vascular circulation, tracer was associated with capillaries in the villous structures, and no tracer was observed in the syncytiotrophoblast. Clear distinction was achieved between the four tissue compartments relevant to placental transfers, thus providing a novel technology capable of generating high-quality data concerning the regulation of transfers of any molecule that can bear a fluorescent tag. The potential applications of this methodology lie in analyses of factors influencing the rates of fetomaternal and maternofetal exchanges (for example, drugs), and of functional responses of the placental regulation to pathophysiological conditions such as hypoxia

Molecular mapping deep within a living human organ: Analysis of microvessel function on the timescale of seconds and with sub-micrometre spatial resolution.

Visualising vascular endothelial cell function in individual blood microvessels allows elucidation of molecular interactions at the vascular wall, the first barrier between blood-borne therapeutic agent and its target. Functional analysis in situ requires sub-micrometer spatial resolution and tagged molecules generating contrast in living blood vessels. Light microscopy fulfills these requirements, particularly if fluorescent tags deliver the contrast. However, vascular arborisations in living organs defy morpho-functional analysis, filling tissues with closely meshed three-dimensional networks which are inaccessible to optical imaging. We protocol here successful morpho-functional analysis of microvascular processing in a living organ, the human placental cotyledon. Fluorescence-tagged tracer was positionally fixed by snap-freezing, frozen sections were cut, freeze-dried and heat-fixed. A brief histochemical procedure then labelled all vascular elements in the sections, providing fluorescence contrast in two colour channels. Mosaic monochromatic images acquired in both channels delivered high-resolution maps of centimeter-wide tissue areas. Quantitative analysis of the images’ greyscale histograms defined objectifiable, reproducible thresholds, used to reduce the images to colour-coded wide-area functional maps tracking placental vascular processing of the tagged molecules. Rapid positional fixing of tracer with reduction of images to maps was combined with ultrastructural tracking to elucidate vascular processing at scales of nanometres and seconds