IDENTIFYING RISK FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE RISK IN LESBIANS

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of female deaths in the United States (1). While women, in general, are at risk for CVD, current research indicates that sexual minority women (i.e. lesbians and bisexual women [SMW]) may be at greater risk for CVD than heterosexual women. This heightened risk potentially stems from an increased prevalence of traditional CVD risk factors in SMW, creating health disparities between SMW and their heterosexual counterparts (2). Further research into this high-risk population is needed, in order to minimize these disparities. The purpose of this study was to establish differences in the prevalence of modifiable CVD risk factors among lesbians and heterosexual women and compare their risks for coronary heart disease. This study also sought to identify best practices for obtaining higher rates of sexual orientation (SO) disclosure in questionnaire settings. Data collected through the Houston HeartReach Registry from 2013-2017 was used for the creation of a lesbian cohort. A cohort of heterosexual women was aggregated from the 2015-2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys. Both cohorts contained information on sociodemographic data and traditional CVD risk factors. A 10-year risk score for developing coronary heart disease was calculated for all women and compared by SO. Differences in the prevalence of traditional cardiovascular disease risk factors were also examined by SO. Lesbians were more likely to be current or ever smokers, to be depressed or have hypertension, to have an education level past high school, and to earn less income than their heterosexual counterparts. On average, lesbian participants had a 0.60% (95% confidence interval [CI] = -0.25%, 1.44%) greater chance of developing coronary heart disease over the next ten years than their heterosexual counterparts, but this difference was not significant (p = 0.167). Neither income, glucose, family history of cardiovascular disease, or depression accounted for this difference, but education and body mass index (BMI) partially intensified this difference. Lesbians have an increased prevalence of various CVD risk factors compared to their heterosexual counterparts, but future research is needed to fully understand the causes of these increased risk factors and their effect on CVD risk. With lesbians comprising a uniquely high-risk subgroup for CVD, attention must be paid to their CVD risk profile. The identification of CVD risk factors unique to and/or heightened in lesbians will allow for more targeted interventions that can lead to a reduction in disparities of CVD risk for lesbians and reduce the morbidity of CVD in women overall. A literature review of PubMed, conducted as a part of this thesis, indicates that future epidemiologic studies working with SMW should create an LGBT-welcoming environment, use accepting and inclusive language, and demonstrate a knowledge of lesbian-specific health at recruiting events and in questionnaires, in order to facilitate SO disclosure and increase the likelihood of successful recruitment

Master\u27s Recital

List of performers and performances

Measuring single constructs by single items : Constructing an even shorter version of the “Short Five” personality inventory

Peer reviewe

Clinical and Functional Outcome of Meniscal Injuries Treated with Platelet-Rich Plasma: A Single-Center Case Series

Meniscal injuries are among the most frequently encountered conditions in the knee joint. Therapeutic approaches are diverse and are largely dependent on the extent and location of the injury. The purpose of this study was to describe the clinical and functional outcomes of an intraarticular and percutaneous platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection regime in patients with stable meniscal injuries. Demographics, the type of tear, affected knee, surgical procedure, type of intervention, follow-up period, and outcomes were recorded in all cases. Patient-reported outcome measures included the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) and Tegner activity level scale. Overall patient satisfaction, quality of life, and pain intensity were also assessed. A total of 38 cases (8 females) had sustained a stable meniscal lesion (32 medial, 6 lateral) and met the inclusion criteria. All of them received three intraarticular and percutaneous PRP injections. Patients receiving the PRP injection regime reported clinically (p = 0.000) and functionally (p = 0.000 and p = 0.001) significant improvement in all outcome measures during this interval. All patients reported they were very satisfied or satisfied with the outcome. The results of this study suggest that the treatment of stable meniscal injuries with percutaneous–intraarticular PRP injections can achieve a significant clinical and functional improvement.This research received no external funding. Partial funding for open access charge: Universidad de Málag

Psychological Impact of COVID-19 Lockdown on Well-being: Comparisons between People with Obesity, with Diabetes and without Diseases

Introduction: Obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus are two chronic diseases most associated with hospitalizationsand deaths from COVID-19.Background: This study compared psychological impact of COVID-19 lockdown in people with obesity, people with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and people without diseases, and determined the factors associated with well-being.Materials and methods: An online survey on negative affect, attitudes, social support and sharing, coping,well-being, and eating behavior was conducted in 157 people with obesity, 92 with type 2 diabetes and 288without diseases.Results: People with obesity were the most worried of getting infected (70%) or dying (64%) and had the highest levels of emotional eating. People with T2D showed better coping strategies and higher well-being. Negative affect, worries about COVID-19 consequences and uncontrolled eating had negative impact, but social support, social sharing, and coping contributed positively (p < 0.001) to well-being. A 48.7% of people with obesity experienced more difficulties to adhere to treatment compared to only 11.1% of people with T2D.Conclusions: People with obesity had less well-being and more COVID-19 worries and emotional eating than people with T2D and without diseases. Well-being depends on negative affect, worries and eating behavior. Future research about the impact in long-term on weight and health status in patients with chronic diseases is needed

The preterm cervix reveals a transcriptomic signature in the presence of premature pre-labor rupture of membranes

BACKGROUND: Premature prelabor rupture of fetal membranes accounts for 30% of all premature births and is associated with detrimental long-term infant outcomes. Premature cervical remodeling, facilitated by matrix metalloproteinases, may trigger rupture at the zone of the fetal membranes overlying the cervix. The similarities and differences underlying cervical remodeling in premature prelabor rupture of fetal membranes and spontaneous preterm labor with intact membranes are unexplored. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to perform the first transcriptomic assessment of the preterm human cervix to identify differences between premature prelabor rupture of fetal membranes and preterm labor with intact membranes and to compare the enzymatic activities of matrix metalloproteinases-2 and -9 between premature prelabor rupture of fetal membranes and preterm labor with intact membranes. STUDY DESIGN: Cervical biopsies were collected following preterm labor with intact membranes (n = 6) and premature prelabor rupture of fetal membranes (n = 5). Biopsies were also collected from reference groups at term labor (n = 12) or term not labor (n = 5). The Illumina HT-12 version 4.0 BeadChips microarray was utilized, and a novel network graph approach determined the specificity of changes between premature prelabor rupture of fetal membranes and preterm labor with intact membranes. Quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting confirmed the microarray findings. Immunofluorescence was used for localization studies and gelatin zymography to assess matrix metalloproteinase activity. RESULTS: PML-RARA-regulated adapter molecule 1, FYVE-RhoGEF and PH domain-containing protein 3 and carcinoembryonic antigen-ralated cell adhesion molecule 3 were significantly higher, whereas N-myc downstream regulated gene 2 was lower in the premature prelabor rupture of fetal membranes cervix when compared with the cervix in preterm labor with intact membranes, term labor, and term not labor. PRAM1 and CEACAM3 were localized to immune cells at the cervical stroma and NDRG2 and FGD3 were localized to cervical myofibroblasts. The activity of matrix metalloproteinase-9 was higher (1.22 ± 4.403-fold, P < .05) in the cervix in premature prelabor rupture of fetal membranes compared with preterm labor with intact membranes. CONCLUSION: We identified 4 novel proteins with a potential role in the regulation of cervical remodeling leading to premature prelabor rupture of fetal membranes. Our findings contribute to the studies dissecting the mechanisms underlying premature prelabor rupture of fetal membranes and inspire further investigations toward the development of premature prelabor rupture of fetal membranes therapeutics

Combined fit to the spectrum and composition data measured by the Pierre Auger Observatory including magnetic horizon effects

The measurements by the Pierre Auger Observatory of the energy spectrum and mass composition of cosmic rays can be interpreted assuming the presence of two extragalactic source populations, one dominating the flux at energies above a few EeV and the other below. To fit the data ignoring magnetic field effects, the high-energy population needs to accelerate a mixture of nuclei with very hard spectra, at odds with the approximate E$^{-2}$ shape expected from diffusive shock acceleration. The presence of turbulent extragalactic magnetic fields in the region between the closest sources and the Earth can significantly modify the observed CR spectrum with respect to that emitted by the sources, reducing the flux of low-rigidity particles that reach the Earth. We here take into account this magnetic horizon effect in the combined fit of the spectrum and shower depth distributions, exploring the possibility that a spectrum for the high-energy population sources with a shape closer to E$^{-2}$ be able to explain the observations