Explorando la relación entre fortalezas de carácter y comportamiento saludable en estudiantes universitarios

Introducción: Las fortalezas son tendencias de comportamiento que contribuyen al bienestar y a una vida «buena“ (Peterson & Seligman, 2004). De acuerdo con Dahlsgaard, Peterson y Seligman (2005) existen 24 fortalezas de carácter diferentes que se pueden organizar alrededor de 6 macrocategorías. Park, Peterson & Seligman (2004) encontraron una relación significativa entre la satisfacción con la vida con 5 fortalezas de carácter. Proyer, Gander, Wellenzohn & Ruch (2013) encontraron un vínculo entre fortalezas de carácter y bienestar subjetivo y físico. La mayoría de las fortalezas tienen un efecto mediador que aumentan la probabilidad de estilos de vida activos. El objetivo de este estudio fue explorar la relación entre fortalezas de carácter y cinco comportamientos relacionados con la salud: fuma y beber, actividad física, trastornos del sueño, conductas alimentarias problemáticas y adicción a los medios y la TV con estudiantes universitarios. Material y método: Participaron 1425 universitarios de cinco instituciones Mexicanas. Los estudiantes estaban adscritos a cuatro disciplinas. Para medir las fortalezas de carácter se empleó el cuestionario VIA-IS Values in Action Inventory of Strengths con 240 reactivos (Peterson & Seligman, 2004; Peterson & Park, 2009) y el autoreporte de condiciones sociodemográficas y de comportamientos relacionados con la salud se recolectó mediante un cuestionario con 43 preguntas. Resultados: Las fortalezas de autocontrol, energía, humor, perdón, prudencia, espiritualidad y modestia estuvieron asociadas a niveles diferenciales de dos o más de los comportamientos saludables explorados. A diferencia de los resultados reportados por Proyer, Gander, Wellenzohn & Ruch, la modestia y la espiritualidad sí estuvieron asociados con resultados diferenciales en comportamiento saludable. Conclusiones: Los resultados sugieren un vínculo entre fortalezas de carácter y comportamientos asociados con la salud. Estudios futuros que valoren el efecto de intervenciones cortas sobre fortalezas de carácter podrán esclarecer la naturaleza etiológica de este vínculo

Using the FRIENDS Programs to Promote Resilience in Cross-Cultural Populations

Childhood and adolescence is a time of rapid biological, psychological, and social growth. Prevalence rates around the world currently estimate approximately one in five adolescents experience mental health difficulties. As factors are increasingly implicated in the etiology of behavioral and emotional difficulties, clinicians and researchers have identified the need for resilience-enhancing prevention programs. The current authors redefine resilience as not only being able to navigate towards and negotiate for resources in the face of adversity, but also to embrace positive life challenges. This chapter discusses protective and risk factors of emotional well-being in youths to provide a framework for the development of resilience-building programs. A brief review of resilience enhancement in youths is provided as well as introduction to the FRIENDS protocol, four socio-emotional skills programs. The FRIENDS programs are robustly supported and the only program endorsed by the World Health Organization for the prevention and treatment of anxiety and depression in children and youth (Prevention of mental disorders: Effective interventions and policy options, Geneva, Switzerland, 2004). Description of the FRIENDS programs, research evaluating intervention outcomes, and strategies to adapt techniques for use in diverse youth populations are also included. Lastly, recent innovations in conceptualization, research, assessment, and treatment of resilience as well as future directions for research are discussed

Identification of circulating lncRNAs associated with gallbladder cancer risk by tissue-based preselection, cis-eQTL validation, and analysis of association with genotype-based expression.

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play key roles in cell processes and are good candi-dates for cancer risk prediction. Few studies have investigated the association between individual genotypes and lncRNA expression. Here we integrate three separate datasets with information on lncRNA expression only, both lncRNA expression and genotype, and genotype information only to identify circulating lncRNAs associated with the risk of gallbladder cancer (GBC) using robust linear and logistic regression techniques. In the first dataset, we preselect lncRNAs based on expression changes along the sequence “gallstones → dysplasia → GBC”. In the second dataset, we validate associations between genetic variants and serum expression levels of the preselected lncR-NAs (cis-lncRNA-eQTLs) and build lncRNA expression prediction models. In the third dataset, we predict serum lncRNA expression based on individual genotypes and assess the association between genotype-based expression and GBC risk. AC084082.3 and LINC00662 showed increasing expression levels (p-value = 0.009), while C22orf34 expression decreased in the sequence from gallstones to GBC (p-value = 0.04). We identified and validated two cis-LINC00662-eQTLs (r2 = 0.26) and three cis-C22orf34-eQTLs (r2 = 0.24). Only LINC00662 showed a genotyped-based serum expression associated with GBC risk (OR = 1.25 per log2 expression unit, 95% CI 1.04–1.52, p-value = 0.02). Our results suggest that preselection of lncRNAs based on tissue samples and exploitation of cis-lncRNA-eQTLs may facilitate the identification of circulating noncoding RNAs linked to cancer risk

TB and COVID-19 co-infection: rationale and aims of a global study

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