Assessment of the validity of self-reported smoking status among schoolchildren in Sousse, Tunisia

Introduction: Tobacco use, which begins in adolescence and childhood and continues in later life, is the major avoidable risk for non-communicable diseases and death in the world. Self-reports have frequently been used to estimate smoking prevalence and health consequences. This study explores the validity of self-reports of smoking behavior among schoolchildren in Tunisia. Materials and methods: This study was conducted in March 2014 among a sample of 147 schoolchildren randomly selected. Data concerning the smoking habit were collected by a questionnaire designed for the purposes of this work. Then, exhaled CO, a biochemical marker of smoke exposure, was measured using piCO+ Smokerlyzer® breath CO monitor among participants. Sensitivity and specificity of self-reports were calculated. Results: The prevalence of reported smoking was 9.5% with 16.7% and 1.7% respectively among boys and girls. Their mean age was 14.5±1.28 years old. When considering 4 ppm as the cut-off level of breath CO, sensitivity and specificity of self-reports were 100% and 93.7%, respectively. But at a breath CO cut-off of 3 ppm, self-reporting was 62.5% sensitive and 93.5% specific. Conclusion: According to our findings, we suggest that self-reports can be considered as a good tool to be used with a reasonable confidence to assess the smoking status

Thermal Modelling for an Electrothermal Model of GaN Devices

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DC bus voltage instability detection and stabilization under constant power load variation

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Lack of association between the angiotensin-converting enzyme gene (I/D) polymorphism and diabetic nephropathy in Tunisian type 2 diabetic patients

International audienceObjective. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism is associated with diabetic nephropathy and type 2 diabetes in the Tunisian population. Design. A case-control study was conducted among 141 unrelated type 2 diabetic patients with (90 patients) or without nephropathy (51 patients) and 103 non-diabetic controls with normal fasting blood glucose. Genotyping was performed using a nested polymerase chain reaction amplification in order to identify correctly heterozygous individuals. Results. The distribution of DD, ID and II genotypes did not significantly differ between type 2 diabetic patients with or without nephropathy (DD: 44%; ID: 46%; II: 10% vs. DD: 41%; ID: 47 %; II: 12%, respectively). There was also no significant statistical difference between the genotype distribution and allele frequencies of the (I/D) polymorphism in all type 2 diabetic subjects compared to non-diabetic controls with normal fasting blood glucose (DD: 43%; ID: 46%; II: 11% vs. DD: 37%; ID: 48%; II: 15%, respectively). Conclusions. In the present preliminary study, the (I/D) polymorphism within the ACE gene is likely not associated with diabetic nephropathy nor with type 2 diabetes in the Tunisian studied population

Association of rs9939609 Polymorphism with Metabolic Parameters and FTO Risk Haplotype Among Tunisian Metabolic Syndrome

International audienceBackground: Variants in the fat mass and obesity-associated (FTO) gene are associated with obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus.Aim of the study: This study aims to assess the association of the rs9939609 variant and haplotypes in FTO gene with metabolic syndrome (MetS) components in a Tunisian population sample.Methods: A total of 685 Tunisian subjects were genotyped for the rs9939609T>A using TaqMan allelic discrimination assay. Two variants rs1421085T>C and rs8057044A>G already genotyped in a previous study were used to test haplotype association of the FTO gene.Results: Genotype distribution of the variant rs9939609 was different between MetS and controls (P = 0.017). Individuals carrying TA genotypes had a significantly increased risk independently of body mass index or age (P = 0.009). The variant rs9939609 was also associated with impaired fasting glucose (IFG) (P = 0.002). Among the eight haplotypes in the population, the haplotype GCA was significantly associated with a higher risk of developing the MetS, higher systolic blood pressure, and higher levels of fasting glucose and triglycerides (TGs) in the total sample and females, separately. Separate analysis by gender revealed a protective haplotype TGT among women (P = 0.023).Conclusions:FTO haplotypes have a strong influence on blood pressures and TG and IFG levels. These findings provide evidence that FTO gene may play a critical role in leading to MetS in Tunisian population