GSTP1 Polymorphisms Sex-Specific Association with Cognitive Outcomes in Survivors of Pediatric Medulloblastoma Tumors

This study investigated specific single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and their association with attentional deficits and hippocampal volume in survivors of medulloblastoma brain tumors. The sample with neuropsychological assessment includes eighteen medulloblastoma survivors and eighteen age-and-sex-matched healthy controls. We hypothesized that medulloblastoma survivors with a GSTP1 polymorphism will have significantly greater deficits in attention span and smaller bilateral hippocampal volumes compared to survivors without a polymorphism and healthy controls. We did not establish the specificity of hippocampal volume loss, and our sample may have more global subcortical morphological alterations. When separating groups by sex, we found large effect sizes between males with a GSTP1 polymorphism and females with a GSTP1 polymorphism across measures of attention span, working memory span and processing speed. Females with a polymorphism performed significantly worse than females without a polymorphism on full-scale intelligence quotient (IQ) and verbal IQ. Sex-specific genetic risk may explain part of the variability in long-term cognitive outcomes for medulloblastoma survivors

Health-related quality of life in metabolically healthy obese individuals

Peer reviewe

Proinflammation and Hypertension: A Population-Based Study

There is evidence that proinflammation may be linked to the development of hypertension (HT). We examined the association of both the interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) and the interleukin 1-receptor antagonist (IL-1ra) with future blood pressure (BP) and HT occurrence (BP ≥ 140/90 mmHg, or antihypertensive drug) in a population-based prospective study. Our study consisted of 396 (147 men and 249 women) middle-aged, baseline apparently healthy, normotensive subjects participating in a 6.5-year follow-up study. Subjects with high-sensitivity CRP (hs-CRP) < 10 mg/L were excluded at the initial visit. At follow-up, the occurrence of HT was 32%. The levels of baseline IL-1β and IL-1ra were significantly higher for subjects who developed HT during the follow-up than for those who did not (IL-1β; 0.67 ± 0.62 pg/mL versus 0.56 ± 0.32 pg/mL, P = .020 and IL-1ra; 184 ± 132 pg/mL versus 154 ± 89 pg/mL, P = .007). After adjustments for age, follow-up time, sex, baseline systolic BP, and BMI, our results confirm a statistically significant (P = .036) linear association between the quartiles of IL-1β and change of systolic BP during the study. After adjustments for age, follow-up time, sex, and BMI, our results also show a linear association between incident HT and the quartiles of IL-1ra. (P = .026). These results provide evidence that proinflammation may precede BP elevation and HT

Being Moved by Unfamiliar Sad Music Is Associated with High Empathy

The paradox of enjoying listening to music that evokes sadness is yet to be fully understood. Unlike prior studies that have explored potential explanations related to lyrics, memories, and mood regulation, we investigated the types of emotions induced by unfamiliar, instrumental sad music, and whether these responses are consistently associated with certain individual difference variables. One hundred and two participants were drawn from a representative sample to minimize self-selection bias. The results suggest that the emotional responses induced by unfamiliar sad music could be characterized in terms of three underlying factors: Relaxing sadness, Moving sadness, and Nervous sadness. Relaxing sadness was characterized by felt and perceived peacefulness and positive valence. Moving sadness captured an intense experience that involved feelings of sadness and being moved. Nervous sadness was associated with felt anxiety, perceived scariness and negative valence. These interpretations were supported by indirect measures of felt emotion. Experiences of Moving sadness were strongly associated with high trait empathy and emotional contagion, but not with other previously suggested traits such as absorption or nostalgia-proneness. Relaxing sadness and Nervous sadness were not significantly predicted by any of the individual difference variables. The findings are interpreted within a theoretical framework of embodied emotions

Type D personality and metabolic syndrome among Finnish female municipal workers

BackgroundType D personality is a combination of high negative affectivity (NA) and high social inhibition (SI). This personality trait is suspected to impair cardiovascular patients' recovery. The 2016 European Guidelines on cardiovascular disease prevention in clinical practice recommend screening of psychosocial risk factors as Type D personality. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between Type D personality and Metabolic syndrome (MetS) in working-age female population.MethodsSix hundred thirty-four female employees with mean age of 4810years were evaluated. Type D personality and its components (NA) and (SI) were screened with DS14 questionnaire. The definition of MetS was based on measurements done by trained medical staff. We investigated the relationship between Mets and Type D personality, NA and SI using the logistic regression models adjusting for age, education years, leisure-time physical activity, smoking, alcohol use and depressive symptoms.ResultsThe prevalence of Type D personality was 10.6% (n=67) [95% CI: 8.3 to 13.2] and MetS 34.7% (n=220). Type D personality or its subcomponents were not associated with MetS. Women with Type D personality had significantly worse quality of sleep and lower LTPA. They were also more often unsatisfied with their economic situation, they had more often depressive symptoms and psychiatric disorders than non-D type persons. There were no differences in risk factors for cardiovascular diseases.Conclusion Screening for Type D personality among working- age, reasonably healthy female population seems not to be practical method for finding persons with risk for cardiovascular disease.Peer reviewe

Relationships of leisure-time physical activity and work ability between different occupational physical demands in adult working men

Purpose Leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) is known to be associated with positive health benefits, but the role of occupational physical demands remains inconsistent. The purpose of the current study was to assess the relationship between LTPA and work ability in different occupational physical activity (OPA) levels between young adult men. Methods We performed physical activity measurements in work and leisure time with the long version of International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) and work ability with the Work Ability Index (WAI) in 921 Finnish employed male volunteer participants. The participants were divided into LTPA tertiles I ( 28 MET-h/week) and OPA tertiles I (0 MET-h/week), II (= 64 MET-h/week). Results There was a significant relationship between LTPA and WAI in OPA tertiles (adjusted for age, alcohol consumption, working class status, BMI, and employment years). Moreover, each LTPA tertile showed significant linear associations with WAI (P <0.001). Conclusion LTPA is positively associated with work ability among young adult men. More specifically, the relationships between LTPA and WAI were significantly greater in physically demanding jobs than in more passive jobs. Our results indicate the importance of LTPA, particularly with individuals under higher work-related physical strain.Peer reviewe

"Mä koen, et tää luonnonmukaisuus on vieny mua tällaseen vapaampaan ja onnellisempaan mielentilaan" : kokemuksia luonnonmukaisuudesta

Tässä tutkimuksessa tarkastelen luonnonmukaisuutta ja luonnonmukaista elämäntapaa tarkoituksenani ymmärtää paremmin mistä viime vuosina yleistyneessä ilmiössä on kyse. Tutkin miten kaupungissa asuvat, luonnonmukaiseen elämäntapaan pyrkivät, nuoret aikuiset määrittelevät luonnonmukaisuuden, millaisissa käytännöissä luonnonmukaisuus heidän arjessaan ilmenee ja millainen merkitys sillä on heille. Teemahaastatteluin kerätty aineisto on analysoitu käyttäen aineistolähtöistä sisällönanalyysia ja osittain hyödyntäen arjen ympäristöpolitiikan ja ekopsykologian teoreettista keskustelua. Aineisto osoittaa, että luonnonmukaisuus on haastateltaville luonnon kanssa harmoniassa elämistä sekä sen kunnioittamista. Arjessa luonnonmukainen elämäntapa ilmenee muun muassa ekologisina valintoina kuten luomu- ja kemikaalittomien tuotteiden suosimisena sekä kuluttamisen vähentämisenä, mutta ennen kaikkea luonnonmukaisuus on luonnossa olemista ja koettua luontoyhteyttä. Luonnonmukainen elämäntapa on yksilöllinen yhdistelmä itselle oikeilta ja sopivilta tuntuvia perinteitä ja käytäntöjä kuten keräilyä ja luonnonlääkintää, joilla haastateltavat ottavat huomioon sekä oman että ympäristön ja luonnon hyvinvoinnin. Luonnonmukainen elämäntapa on hyvin henkilökohtainen tapa elää ja luoda kokemusta aidosta ja eettisestä elämästä sekä elää ja vahvistaa oman paikan kokemusta osana luontoa. Ero ekologiseen ja muihin ympäristöelämäntapoihin näkyy luonnonmukaisen elämäntavan määritelmän subjektiivisuudessa, sen yhteydessä omaan hyvinvointiin sekä osittain yhteiskunnallisten rakenteiden ja normien sivussa toimimisessa. Tutkimuksen tulokset antavat ymmärrystä ihmisen kokeman luontoyhteyden merkityksestä ympäristövastuullisessa toiminnassa ja osoittavat omaehtoisten ympäristöelämäntapojen mahdollisuuden ja toisaalta niihin kannustavien ja niitä tukevien yhteiskunnallisten sekä kulttuuristen rakenteiden puutteen

Associations of neck muscle strength and cervical spine mobility with future neck pain and disability : a prospective 16-year study

Publisher Copyright: © 2021, The Author(s).Background: Neck pain has been associated with weaker neck muscle strength and decreased cervical spine range of motion. However, whether neck muscle strength or cervical spine mobility predict later neck disability has not been demonstrated. In this 16-year prospective study, we investigated whether neck muscle strength and cervical spine mobility are associated with future neck pain and related disability in women pain-free at baseline. Methods: Maximal isometric neck muscle strength and passive range of motion (PROM) of the cervical spine of 220 women (mean age 40, standard deviation (SD) 12 years) were measured at baseline between 2000 and 2002. We conducted a postal survey 16 years later to determine whether any subjects had experienced neck pain and related disability. Linear regression analysis adjusted for age and body mass index was used to determine to what extent baseline neck strength and PROM values were associated with future neck pain and related disability assessed using the Neck Disability Index (NDI). Results: The regression analysis Beta coefficient remained below 0.1 for all the neck strength and PROM values, indicating no association between neck pain and related disability. Of the 149 (68%) responders, mean NDI was lowest (3.3, SD 3.8) in participants who had experienced no neck pain (n = 50), second lowest (7.7, SD 7.1) in those who had experienced occasional neck pain (n = 94), and highest (19.6, SD 22.0) in those who had experienced chronic neck pain (n = 5). Conclusions: This 16-year prospective study found no evidence for an association between either neck muscle strength or mobility and the occurrence in later life of neck pain and disability. Therefore, screening healthy subjects for weaker neck muscle strength or poorer cervical spine mobility cannot be recommended for preventive purposes.Peer reviewe