Differential Bioaccumulation Patterns of α, β-Hexachlorobenzene and Dicofol in Adipose Tissue from the GraMo Cohort (Southern Spain)

Acknowledgments: These results would not have been achieved without the selfless collaboration of the staff from Santa Ana and San Cecilio Hospitals and the participants who took part in the study. Juan Pedro Arrebola is under contract within the Ramón y Cajal Program (RYC-2016-20155, Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad, Spain).To identify bioaccumulation patterns of α-, β- hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) and dicofol in relation to sociodemographic, dietary, and lifestyle factors, adipose tissue samples of 387 subjects from GraMo cohort in Southern Spain were analyzed. Potential predictors of these organochlorine pesticides (OCP) levels were collected by face-to-face interviews and assessed by multivariable linear and logistic regression. OCPs were detected in 84.2% (β-HCH), 21.7% (α-HCH), and 19.6% (dicofol) of the population. β-HCH levels were positively related to age, body mass index (BMI), mother’s occupation in agriculture during pregnancy, living in Poniente and Alpujarras, white fish, milk and water consumption, and negatively related to being male, living near to an agricultural area, working ≥10 years in agriculture, and beer consumption. Detectable α-HCH levels were positively related to age, BMI, milk consumption, mother’s occupation in agriculture during pregnancy, and negatively with residence in Poniente and Alpujarras, Granada city, and Granada Metropolitan Area. Residence near to an agricultural area, smoking habit, white fish and water consumption, and living in Poniente and Alpujarras, Granada city and Granada Metropolitan Area were negatively associated with detectable dicofol levels. Our study revealed different bioaccumulation patterns of α, β-HCH and dicofol, probably due to their dissimilar period of use, and emphasize the need for assessing the exposure to frequently overlooked pollutants.CIBER de Epidemiología y Salud PúblicaInstituto de Salud Carlos III PI16/01858, PI18/01573, PI20/01568Ministerio de Asuntos Económicos y Transformación Digital, Gobierno de Españ

Toenail zinc as a biomarker: Relationship with sources of environmental exposure and with genetic variability in MCC-Spain study

Background: Toenails are commonly used as biomarkers of exposure to zinc (Zn), but there is scarce information about their relationship with sources of exposure to Zn. Objectives: To investigate the main determinants of toenail Zn, including selected sources of environmental exposure to Zn and individual genetic variability in Zn metabolism. Methods: We determined toenail Zn by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry in 3,448 general population controls from the MultiCase-Control study MCC-Spain. We assessed dietary and supplement Zn intake using food frequency questionnaires, residential proximity to Zn-emitting industries and residential topsoil Zn levels through interpolation methods. We constructed a polygenic score of genetic variability based on 81 single nucleotide polymorphisms in genes involved in Zn metabolism. Geometric mean ratios of toenail Zn across categories of each determinant were estimated from multivariate linear regression models on log-transformed toenail Zn. Results: Geometric mean toenail Zn was 104.1 μg/g in men and 100.3 μg/g in women. Geometric mean toenail Zn levels were 7 % lower (95 % confidence interval 1–13 %) in men older than 69 years and those in the upper tertile of fibre intake, and 9 % higher (3–16 %) in smoking men. Women residing within 3 km from Zn-emitting industries had 4 % higher geometric mean toenail Zn levels (0–9 %). Dietary Zn intake and polygenic score were unrelated to toenail Zn. Overall, the available determinants only explained 9.3 % of toenail Zn variability in men and 4.8 % in women. Discussion: Sociodemographic factors, lifestyle, diet, and environmental exposure explained little of the individual variability of toenail Zn in the study population. The available genetic variants related to Zn metabolism were not associated with toenail Zn.Instituto de Salud Carlos IIIConsortium for Biomedical Research in Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP)FEDER funds-a way to build Europe PI08/1770 PI09/0773 PI12/00715 PI09/1903 PI09/2078 PI09/1662 PI11/01403 PI12/00150 PI12/00488 PI15/00914 PI17CIII_00034Fundacion Marques de Valdecilla grant API 10/09Junta de Andalucia 2009-S0143Conselleria de Sanitat of the Generalitat Valenciana AP061/10Regional Government of the Basque CountryPrincipality of AsturiasUniversity of OviedoSpanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness Juan de la Cierva de Incorporacion IJCI-2014-20900 Instituto de Salud Carlos II

Dietary intake of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and furans, adiposity and obesity status

dibenzop- furans (PCDD/Fs) in humans comes from food intake. PCDD/Fs, are a family of potential endocrine disruptors and have been associated with different chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension. However, studies assessing the relationship between dietary exposure to PCDD/Fs and adiposity or obesity status in a middle-aged population are limited. Objective: To assess cross-sectionally and longitudinally the associations between estimated dietary intake (DI) of PCDD/Fs and body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, and the prevalence/incidence of obesity and abdominal obesity in a middle-aged population. Methods: In 5899 participants aged 55–75 years (48% women) living with overweight/obesity from the PREDIMED-plus cohort, PCDD/Fs DI was estimated using a 143-item validated food-frequency questionnaire, and the levels of food PCDD/F expressed as Toxic Equivalents (TEQ). Consequently, cross-sectional and prospective associations between baseline PCDD/Fs DI (in pgTEQ/week) and adiposity or obesity status were assessed at baseline and after 1-year follow-up using multivariable cox, logistic or linear regression models. Results: Compared to participants in the first PCDD/F DI tertile, those in the highest tertile presented a higher BMI (β-coefficient [confidence interval]) (0.43kg/m2 [0.22; 0.64]; P-trend <0.001), a higher waist circumference (1.11 cm [0.55; 1.66]; P-trend <0.001), and a higher prevalence of obesity and abdominal obesity (1.05 [1.01; 1.09] and 1.02 [1.00; 1.03]; P-trend = 0.09 and 0.027, respectively). In the prospective analysis, participants in the top PCDD/F DI baseline tertile showed an increase in waist circumference compared with those in the first tertile after 1-year of follow-up (β-coefficient 0.37 cm [0.06; 0.70]; P-trend = 0.015). Conclusion: Higher DI of PCDD/Fs was positively associated with adiposity parameters and obesity status at baseline and with changes in waist circumference after 1-year of follow-up in subjects living with overweight/ obesity. Further large prospective studies using a different population with longer follow-up periods are warranted in the future to strengthen our results.nstituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), through the Fondo de Investigacion para la Salud (FIS) - European Regional Development Fund PI16/01120 PI17/00764 PI17/01183 PI17/00855 PI17/01347 PI17/00525 PI17/01827 PI17/00532 PI17/00215 PI17/01441 PI17/00508 PI17/01732 PI17/00926 PI19/00957 PI19/00386 PI19/00309 PI19/01032 PI19/00576 PI19/00017 PI19/01226 PI19/00781 PI19/01560 PI19/01332 PI20/01802 PI20/00138 PI20/01532 PI20/00456 PI20/00339 PI20/00557 PI20/00886 PI20/01158CIBER Fisiopatologia de la Obesidad y Nutricion (CIBEROBN)Especial Action Project entitled: Implementacion y evaluacion de una intervencion intensiva sobre la actividad fisica Cohorte PREDIMED-Plus grantEuropean Research Council (ERC) European Commission 340918La Caixa Foundation 2013ACUP00194Junta de Andalucia PI0458/2013 PS0358/2016 PI0137/2018Center for Forestry Research & Experimentation (CIEF) PROMETEO/21/2021MICIN/AEI/FEDER, UE CEX2021-001234-MSEMERGEN grantICREA under the ICREA Academia programAgencia de Gestio d'Ajuts Universitaris de Recerca (AGAUR FI) 2021FI_B 0014

Comparación de dos modalidades de exámenes virtuales universitarios en Didáctica de Ciencias

Salvador Aljazairi - Universidad de Granada - 0000-0002-1564-9860Inmaculada Salcedo-Bellido - Universidad de Granada - 0000-0003-4601-198XRocío Barrios-Rodríguez - Universidad de Granada - 0000-0002-8772-636XPilar Requena - Universidad de Granada - 0000-0002-2298-4085Recepción: 20.04.2022 | Aceptado: 03.05.2022Correspondencia a través de ORCID: Rocío Barrios Rodríguez - 0000-0002-8772-636XÁrea o categoría del conocimiento: Didácticas de Ciencias ExperimentalesAbstract: Studies about online assessment paying attention to student experiences are scarce. However, the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has forced universities to adapt very fast to online teaching, which allowed us to analyze the virtual exam modality. We aimed to compare the mark obtained by students in oral and multiple-choice question (MCQ) exams performed online, and to evaluate the students’ satisfaction about them through an anonymous questionnaire. Students enrolled in two subjects of Didactics Sciences area were invited to participate. The exam mark could range from 0 (the worst possible outcome) to 10 (the best one). Results: The participation was high because 90.0% of students took both exams and 87.0% of them filled out the satisfaction questionnaire. Oral exam marks (median=7.0) were significantly higher than the MCQ ones (median=6.3). However, students felt more comfortable and expressed they were more able to show their knowledge with the MCQ than with the oral exam. The main reason why oral exam did not satisfy the students was that “it made them nervous” and “Not doing it” was the most common student answer to improve the oral exam. Conclusion: Although the oral exam benefited students’ mark, it did not satisfy most students.Resumen: La pandemia por Coronavirus (COVID-19) obligó a las universidades a adaptarse rápidamente a la enseñanza virtual pero los estudios sobre la evaluación no presencial son escasos. Objetivo: comparar la calificación de exámenes orales y de preguntas de opción múltiple (tipo test) virtuales, y evaluar la satisfacción con un cuestionario anónimo, en alumnado del área de Didáctica de las Ciencias Experimentales durante el confinamiento. La calificación de los exámenes oscilaba entre 0 (peor resultado) y 10 (mejor). Resultados: 90% de los alumnos realizaron ambos exámenes y 87% respondieron el cuestionario de satisfacción. La calificación media del examen oral (mediana=7.0) fue mayor que las del tipo test (mediana=6.3). Sin embargo, todos los indicadores de satisfacción del examen tipo test obtuvieron mejores puntuaciones que el oral, excepto en la adecuación de la duración del examen. Los estudiantes se sintieron más cómodos y expresaron que eran más capaces de mostrar sus conocimientos con el tipo test. La principal razón por la que los estudiantes no estuvieron satisfechos con el examen oral fue “nerviosismo”. La respuesta más común sobre cómo mejorar el examen oral fue “no hacerlo”. Conclusión: Aunque el examen oral benefició la calificación de los estudiantes, no satisfizo a la mayoría de los ellos

Preventing Gestational Diabetes Mellitus by Improving Healthy Diet and/or Physical Activity during Pregnancy: An Umbrella Review

Supplementary Materials: The following are available online at https://www.mdpi.com/article/ 10.3390/nu14102066/s1, Tables S1–S3: Search strategy, Table S4: Excluded studies and justification, Figure S1: Quality of included reviews assessed by Amstar 2, Tables S5–S9: Overlapping assessment, Table S10: Description of physical activity intervention in included systematic reviews, Table S11: Description of diet intervention in included systematic reviews, Table S12: Description of mixed intervention in included systematic review.Acknowledgments: The authors thank Ingrid de Ruiter, MBChB, for English language and editing support. The results of this study are part of the doctoral thesis of Malak Kouiti.Several epidemiological studies have analyzed the effects of lifestyle modification on reducing the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM); however, their results remain inconsistent. This umbrella review aims to evaluate the effects of diet and/or physical activity interventions during pregnancy on preventing GDM. Systematic reviews and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials reporting preventive effects of diet and/or physical activity in reducing the incidence of GDM were included from PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus and Cochrane library. Two authors independently assessed the overlapping and quality of the 35 selected reviews using AMSTAR 2. The results, although variable, tend to defend the protective role of diet and physical activity interventions separately and independently of each other in the prevention of GDM. However, the results for the combined interventions show a possible protective effect; however, it is not entirely clear because most of the analyzed meta-analyses tend to approach 1, and heterogeneity cannot be ruled out. Establishing conclusions about the most efficient type of intervention and a dose–effect relationship was not feasible given the low quality of systematic reviews (83% low to critically low) and the variability in reporting interventions. Therefore, more studies with better quality and definition of the interventions are required. The protocol was previously registered in PROSPERO as CRD42021237895

Dietary Diversity and Prostate Cancer in a Spanish Adult Population: CAPLIFE Study

The authors wish to thank all subjects who participated in the study as well as all CAPLIFE collaborators. The authors also thank Ingrid de Ruiter for English editing support.Dietary diversity (DD) is a key component of a high-quality diet, providing the adequate nutrient requirements. However, the role of DD on prostate cancer (PCa) is still uncertain. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between DD, adequate nutrient intake and PCa, according to the aggressiveness of the tumor. The CAPLIFE (CAP: prostate cancer; LIFE: lifestyles) study is a population-based case-control study including a total of 402 incident PCa cases and 302 controls. The DD score (DDS), adjusted by total energy intake, was collected through a validated food frequency questionnaire. Nutrient adequacy was defined according to European Dietary Recommendation Intake for men. The aggressiveness of PCa was determined according to the International Society of Urology Pathology classification. The association between DDS, nutrient intake and PCa was assessed by logistic regression models with adjustment for potential confounding factors. DDS was similar for PCa cases and controls, independent of PCa aggressiveness. According to each food group DDS, the protein group showed the highest mean score in all the subgroups analyzed. However, no differences were observed for each of the DDS components. The DDS, the variety of the group’s food intake, and the adequate nutrient intake, were not associated with PCa.Regional Ministry of Health of Andalusia (Consejeria de Salud de la Junta de Andalucia) PI-0514-201

Associations of serum phthalate metabolites with thyroid hormones in GraMo cohort, Southern Spain

These results would not have been achieved without the selfless collaboration of the staff from Santa Ana and San Cecilio Hospitals and the participants who took part in the study. Dr. JP Arrebola is under contract within the Ramon y Cajal Program (RYC-2016-20155, Ministerio de Economia, Industria y Competitividad, Spain) and Dr. C Donat-Vargas is under contract within the Atraccion de Talento (from the community of Madrid, Spain) . This study was supported by research grants from Instituto de Salud Carlos III (PI20/01568, PI16/01858) .The general population is continuously exposed to phthalates via various consumer products. Epidemiological research relating phthalate exposure to thyroid function during non-developmental periods is limited. This study aimed to investigate the associations between specific serum phthalate metabolites and indicators of thyroid function in adults. We measured 10 serum phthalate metabolites and thyroid hormones - total triiodothymnine (TT3), free thyroxine (FT4) and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) - in a subsample of 207 adults from the GraMo cohort. This subsample was made up of men and women (in equal proportions) of middle age (49 +/- 17 years) and from Southern Spain (province of Granada). Data on age, sex, body mass index, residence area, tobacco use, alcohol consumption and attained education were obtained from a questionnaire. Phthalate metabolites were log-transformed and categorized into tertiles. Cross-sectional associations of each metabolite with thyroid hormones were analyzed using multivariable-adjusted linear regression models. The mixture effect of metabolite phthalates was assessed using weighted quantile sum regression. After multivariable-adjustment, the following phthalate metabolites were significantly associated with TT3 in a dose-response manner: MMP (beta = 0.90: 95% confidence interval 0.68,1.12), MEP (beta = 0.67: 0.44, 0.90), MiBP (beta = 0.49: 0.21, 0.77), MiDP (beta = 0.27: 0.03, 0.52), MBzP (beta = 0.51: 0.28, 0.73), MEHP (beta = -0.59: -0.82, -0.35) and MiNP (beta = -0.43: -0.71, -0.14), when comparing highest vs. lowest exposed. The sum of all metabolites was also linked to FT4 levels. No significant associations were observed for TSH except for MiNP. Although phthalate metabolites with different molecular weight showed opposite associations, overall metabolite concentrations seem to associate with increased TT3 and FT4 serum levels. The cross-sectional nature of this analysis limits causal inference.Ramon y Cajal Program (Ministerio de Economia, Industria y Competitividad, Spain) RYC-2016-20155Instituto de Salud Carlos III European Commission PI20/01568 PI16/0185

Psychological Impact of COVID-19 in the Setting of Dentistry: A Review Article

The worldwide pandemic has exposed healthcare professionals to a high risk of infection, exacerbating the situation of uncertainty caused by COVID-19. The objective of this review was to evaluate the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on dental professionals and their patients. A literature review was conducted using Medline-Pubmed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases, excluding systematic reviews, narratives, meta-analyses, case reports, book chapters, short communications, and congress papers. A modified version of the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) was used to evaluate the quality of the selected studies. The search retrieved 3879 articles, and 123 of these were selected for the review (7 longitudinal and 116 cross-sectional studies). Elevated anxiety levels were observed in dental professionals, especially in younger and female professionals. Except for orthodontic treatments, patients reported a high level of fear that reduced their demand for dentist treatment to emergency cases alone. The results suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic has had psychological and emotional consequences for dental professionals and their patients. Further research is necessary to evaluate the persistence of this problem over time.Universidad de Granada, Plan Propio de Investigacion PPJIA2021-3

Maternal seafood intake and the risk of small for gestational age newborns: a case–control study in Spanish women

Objective To investigate the relationship between seafood consumption during pregnancy and the risk of delivering a small for gestational age (SGA) newborn. Design This case–control study included women with SGA newborns and controls matched 1:1 for maternal age (±2 years) and hospital. Setting Five hospitals in Eastern Andalusia, Spain. Participants 518 pairs of pregnant Spanish women. The SGA group included women who delivered SGA newborns: SGA was defined as a birth weight below the 10th percentile of infants at a given gestational age. Controls were women who delivered newborns with adequate birth weights. Interventions We collected data on demographic characteristics, socioeconomic status, toxic habits and diet. Midwives administered a 137-item Food Frequency Questionnaire. Outcome measures We calculated quintiles of seafood intake and applied conditional logistic regression to estimate ORs and 95% CIs. Results Shellfish intake more than once/week yielded a significant protective effect against an SGA newborn (OR 0.25, 95% CI 0.08 to 0.76, after adjusting for energy, educational level, smoking, prepregnancy body mass index, weight and a history of preterm or low birthweight newborn). The risk of an SGA newborn was lower among women who consumed >29 g/day fish compared with women who consumed ≤8 g (adjusted OR 0.63, 95% CI 0.41 to 0.98; p=0.025 for a trend). Similarly, the risk of an SGA newborn was lower among women who consumed >1 g/day of marine n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids compared with those who consumed ≤0.4 g/day (adjusted OR 0.58, 95% CI 0.38 to 0.90; p=0.025 for a trend). Conclusion An average seafood intake of at least 29 g/ day during pregnancy, equivalent to 2–3 servings/week, reduced the risk of an SGA newborn, compared with an average seafood intake of less than 8 g/day.The National Institute of Health Carlos III (PI11/02199) supported this work

Associations of accumulated persistent organic pollutants in breast adipose tissue with the evolution of breast cancer after surgery

Dr. JP Arrebola is under contract within the Ramón y Cajal Program (RYC-2016-20155, Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad, Spain). This study was supported by research grants from Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Junta de Andalucía and European Regional Development Fund – FEDER (PI-0513/2012, PI16/01858, PI18/01573, PI20/01568).Chronic exposure to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) is suspected to contribute to the onset of breast cancer, but the impact on the evolution of patients after diagnosis is unclear. We aimed to analyze the contribution of long-term exposure to five POPs to overall mortality, cancer recurrence, metastasis, and development of second primary tumors over a global follow-up of 10 years after surgery in breast cancer patients in a cohort study. Between 2012 and 2014, a total of 112 newly diagnosed breast cancer patients were recruited from a public hospital in Granada, Southern Spain. Historical exposure to POPs was estimated by analyzing their concentrations in breast adipose tissue samples. Sociodemographic data were collected through face-to-face interviews, while data on evolution tumor were retrieved from clinical records. Statistical analyses were performed using Cox regression (overall survival, breast cancer recurrence or metastasis) and binary logistic regression models (joint outcome variable). We also tested for statistical interactions of POPs with age, residence, and prognostic markers. The third vs first tertile of hexachlorobenzene concentrations was associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality (Hazard Ratio, HR = 0.26; 95 % Confidence Interval, CI = 0.07-0.92) and of the appearance of any of the four events (Odds Ratio = 0.37; 95 % CI = 0.14-1.03). Polychlorinated biphenyl 138 concentrations were significantly and inversely associated with risk of metastasis (HR = 0.65; 95 % CI = 0.44-0.97) and tumor recurrence (HR = 0.69; 95 % CI = 0.49-0.98). Additionally, p,p & PRIME;dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene showed inverse associations with risk of metastasis in women with ER-positive tumors (HR = 0.49; 95 % CI = 0.25-0.93) and in those with a tumor size <2.0 cm (HR = 0.39; 95 % CI = 0.18-0.87).Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad, Spain RYC-2016-20155Instituto de Salud Carlos IIIJunta de AndalucíaEuropean Regional Development Fund – FEDER (PI-0513/2012, PI16/01858, PI18/01573, PI20/01568)University of Granada / CBU