Body dysmorphia in common skin diseases: Results of an observational, cross-sectional multi-centre study among dermatological out-patients in 17 European countries

Background Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is a common psychiatric disorder associated with high costs for healthcare systems as patients may repeatedly ask for different, often not effective interventions. BDD symptoms are more prevalent in patients with dermatological conditions than the general population, but there are no large sample studies comparing the prevalence of BDD symptoms between patients with dermatological conditions and healthy skin controls. Objectives To compare the prevalence of BDD symptoms between patients with different dermatological conditions and healthy skin controls and to describe sociodemographic, physical and psychological factors associated with BDD symptoms to identify patients who may have a particularly high chance of having this condition. Methods This observational cross-sectional, comparative multi-centre study included 8295 participants: 5487 consecutive patients with different skin diseases (56% female) recruited among dermatological out-patients at 22 clinics in 17 European countries and 2808 healthy skin controls (66% female). All patients were examined by a dermatologist. BDD symptoms were assessed by the Dysmorphic Concern Questionnaire (DCQ). Sociodemographic data, information on psychological factors and physical conditions were collected. Each patient was given a dermatological diagnosis according to ICD-10 by a dermatologist. Results The participation rate of invited dermatological patients was 82.4% on average across all centres. BDD symptoms were five times more prevalent in patients with dermatological conditions than in healthy skin controls (10.5% vs. 2.1%). Patients with hyperhidrosis, alopecia and vitiligo had a more than eleven-fold increased chance (adjusted Odds Ratio (OR) > 11) of having BDD symptoms compared to healthy skin controls, and patients with atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, acne, hidradenitis suppurativa, prurigo and bullous diseases had a more than six-fold increased chance (adjusted OR > 6) of having BDD symptoms. Using a logistic regression model, BDD symptoms were significantly related to lower age, female sex, higher psychological stress and feelings of stigmatisation. Conclusions This study reveals that clinical BDD symptoms are significantly associated with common dermatological diseases. As such symptoms are associated with higher levels of psychological distress and multiple unhelpful consultations, general practitioners and dermatologists should consider BDD and refer patients when identified to an appropriate service for BDD screening and management

New tendencies in designing of training processes for the youth

As a result of modern sedentary lifestyles, which entails passive leisure activities, young people are also often not physically prepared for the rigors of youth sports activities. On the other hand, there has been a significant increase of participation in organized youth sport, which has been accompanied by dramatic increase in sport-related injuries. Inadequate physical preparation is believed to be a risk factor in most sports-related injuries in young athletes, and physical preparation that includes strength and neuro-muscular training is therefore a part of strategy for prevention of sport injuries. As the benefits of physical preparation for young athletes are known and recognised, the aim of this review article is to point out some specificities of the youth training processes, as well as the various aspects of physical preparation of young athletes for organized competitive sports activities

Product mix of recreational tourism in the Balkan scout center

The subject of research is tourist offer of a camp which would satisfy the needs of tourists who want an active recreation, with changeable and attractive facilities in the Balkan Scout Center (BSC) of Jovac. The goal is to define a model for recreational tourism product mix of the Balkan Scout Center, based on the analysis and evaluation of the elements of supply and identifying the demand for a certain program content. The research was conducted from April to August 2012, as a part of activities implemented in BSC events: Easter camp, Summer camp and Volunteer camp. The sample consisted of 100 visitors (respondents); the administered instrument was a specifically designed questionnaire and the methods on which the analysis of the modeling was based were: frequency of occurrence, comparative analysis (Benchmarking), SWOT and PEST. The research results confirm the existence of necessary resources for the implementation of the contents in the field of recreational tourism in the BSC, and the possibility of implementation of the product mix that includes day trips and a variety of outdoor recreational activities

Influence of physical activity in length of life of the human population in the context of changes

Since the middle of the last century, the human population has increased exponentially. This trend is evident today. Human population has, for more than half a century been undergoing the period of its intensive development, increasing in number and the average length of life, creating the impression of a better life standard. Looking at the man as a bio-psycho-social being and the interactions it ones through the human population growth is brought in connection with its impact on the environment. In such an environment, one does not only face infectious diseases, but also the misery and poverty in developing countries and massive noninfectious diseases, in developed countries. These facts introduce evidence about the possible effects of physical activity as to prevent the consequences of mass noninfectious diseases, as well as to strengthen the competence of people in general. Therefore, in a holistic, synergic concept of interpretation of human life, it is significant to include biological indicators that have an impact on the growth of the world population and may be associated with the kinesiology. Quantitative indicators of the trend of human development on this planet are the basic research unit observed in this paper. At the same time, the subjects of observation are also other indicators that can be causally linked to the development of the human population and are especially valuable evidence of the contribution of physical activity to the human development. The data that is associated with the theoretical considerations and the results of various statistics are presented based on the rules of ex-post-facto analysis. It is concluded that the value of physical activity has long had to have the equal status with one's chances of being better prepared for life on this planet ontogenetically and phylogenetically, and for the life conditions that will become even more extreme and that increasing older humans will face

OBESITY AND PHYSICAL WORK CAPABILITY OF STUDENTS IN NOVI SAD

The aims of the current research were to determine body mass index (BMI), percentage of body fat, maximum oxygen consumption and level of habitual physical activities, and differences in student population for both sexes regarding information about health, exercising and nutrition. The respondent sample was composed of 160 students (94 male and 66 female) age 22±1 years. The overall sample of respondants is stratified into two subsamples, 95 of them were students of physical education program that were informed through the study program about health, exercising and nutrition, and the second subsample was consisted of 65 students of other study programs that did not receive the mentioned information. Body height, body weight and percentage of body fat were established, body mas index was calculated, maximum oxygen consumption was estimated (by direct method) and the (weekly) level of habitual physical activities. The data were processed by procedures of descriptive statistics, central and dispersive parameters and distribution of frequencies and comparative statistics, t-test for independent samples, univariate analysis of variance and Chi-square test to analyze the significance of differences between subsamples of students regarding the study program and sex. Results show (complete sample), that almost 2/3 of male students are not physically active, and female students have significantly better indicators of body composition than their colleagues. Results of maximum oxygen consumption (complete sample), show that statistically highest average was obtained in the subsample of students from the physical education study program (49.54 ml/kg/min), and the lowest is identified in a group of female students of other study programs (36.92 ml/kg/min)

Postural status of preschool children in Novi Sad

A survey was conducted in Novi Sad in the preschool institutions of 'Radosno detinjstvo' on a sample of 423 preschool children of both sexes, ages 6 and 7. The subject of this paper are postural disorders on the spinal column in the sagittal and frontal planes, as well as foot deformities. The aim of the research is to determine the frequency of disorder of postural status of the spine (kyphosis, lordosis and scoliosis) and deviation from the normal status of the foot, and the analysis of the differences between boys and girls. Assessment of the postural status of the feet was performed by means of using the Pedikom computer system for digital computerised pedography. Assessment of spine postural status was done by means of SpineScan portable device. Data were analysed according to the frequency for the assessment of spinal status, the status of the foot, all according gender. Significance of the gender-conditioned differences was determined by the Chi-square test. The results indicate that in the examined population, the most common posture is lordotic bad posture, 41.31% with male examinees and 36.66% with female examinees. A statistically significant difference in relation to sexual dimorphism was found for the parameter of scoliotic bad posture (Sig. = 0.008). In terms of deviation from the normal status of the feet, in the examined population, pronating foot level I accounts for 43.23%, pronating foot level II accounts for 16.66% and high-arched foot accounts for 10.16%. Quantitative results indicate the need for corrective gymnastic to correct but also prevent postural deformities by introducing of the same as an everyday directed activity of preschool population

Physical activity and bone mineral density

The bones play an important structural role in the organism. They provide mobility, support, and protect the body, and the place where the storage essential minerals. Healthy bones have a crucial impact on the overall health of a person, and activities that promote health and preventive influence on the formation of bone disease are crucial in maintaining a strong and healthy skeletal system. Physical inactivity affects the decrease in function of bone, and the most common disease of bone osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is a systemic skeletal disorder that results in low bone density and micro-architectural deterioration of bone tissue, that results in less bone density, and may lead to fracture. Physical activity is essential for bone health and prevention of osteoporosis. Based on available information, the best effect to maintain and stimulate the formation of bone mineral density is a combination of dynamic exercises with resistance training that engage multiple joints, large muscle groups, and have influence on the spine and hips. The results suggest that exercises with axial loading, such as running, jumping, and power exercise, promote the positive gains in bone mineral density. Therefore, training should focus on the adaptation of specific parts of the body that is most susceptible to injury, and should be sufficiently intense that exceeds the normal loads

KOMPARATIVNA ANALIZA MORFOLOŠKIH KARAKTERISTIKA ODGOVORNIH ZA LONGITUDINALNOST SKELETA, VOLUMEN I MASU TELA DECE PREDŠKOLSKOG UZRASTA

The study included 50 participants of the preschool age, (Males=25; Age=6.21±0.44SD and Females=25; Age=6.49± 0.65SD) from Novi Sad with the aim of determining the existence of differences in the area of morphology. In accordance with the aim of the research, the measuring of morphological characteristics (body height, body mass, medium thorax circumference, stretched forearm circumference, stretched upper arm circumference) was conducted. By applying a multivariate analysis of variance it was determined that there were statistically significant differences (p = 0.00) in the morphological space. The individual analysis ascertained the differences for Medium thorax circumference, Medium forearm circumference and Medium upper arm circumference in favour of the boys. The differences in these variables caused by sexual dimorphism are statistically significant.Istraživanjem je obuhvaćeno 50 ispitanika predškolskog uzrasta, (dečaka=25; god=6,21±0.44SD i devojčica=25; god=6,49±0.65 SD) iz Novog Sada sa ciljem utvrđivanja postojanja razlika u morfološkom prostoru. U skladu sa ciljem istraživanja, bilo je sprovedeno merenje morfoloških karakteristika (telesna visina, telesna masa, srednji obim grudnog koša, obim opružene podlaktice i obim opružene nadlaktice). Primenom multivarijatne analize varijanse utvrđeno je da postoje statistički značajne razlike (P=0,00) u morfološkom prostoru. Pojedinačnom analizom, razlike su konstatovane u varijablama Srednji obim grudnog koša, Srednji obim podlaktice i Srednji obim nadlaktice, u korist dečaka. Uticaj razlika prouzrokovan polnim dimorfiznom u navedenim varijablama je statistički značajan

Validation of the Scale Intended for the Assessment of the Quality of Life of Persons With Lumbal Syndrome // Validacija skale namenjene proceni kvaliteta života osoba sa lumbalnim sindromom

In order to determine the metric characteristics of the scale intended for the assessment of the quality of life of persons with lumbar syndrome (PQL-LS) on a sample of 202 subjects (M = 93; F = 109), three procedures for checking its metric characteristics were applied: factor analysis (Principal Components Analysis) with the Direct Oblimin method, in order to identify the latent structure of the perception of the quality of life of the respondents; Scale Reliability Analysis based on Cronbach’s alpha coefficient; and a validation check based on the coefficient of internal correlation of the scale (Spearman’s correlation of rank - rho). The results show that the scale has good metric characteristics and that it has a multi-item character (twenty-seven indicators). The internal accordance of the scale is in the high reference range of the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient (0.947). The values of correlation coefficient of subscale scores: physical health, mental health, social relations and environment show a high degree of correlation with the overall mean value of the entire scale, which confirms the validity of the analyzed domains (subscale) and the scale as a whole (at the level of significance r <0.001). All 27 variables yielded the corresponding weight of the single extracted component (KMO = 0.901; Sig. = 0.000), which determined that the scale had adequate validity. Based on the identified good metric characteristics, this scale can be recommended for use as a unique/autonomous multi-item scale designed to assess the quality of life of adults with lumbar syndrome

Influence of familiarization on preschool children's motor tests results

Background: Various field tests can be used to evaluate children's motor skills. Because of the complexity of their motor skills, which at their age are still in a very intensive stage of development, it is inadequate to use the same test protocol as in the adult population, as children receive and process information in a different way. Some evidence showed that familiarization with test protocols is important in children's motor skills evaluation process. Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of familiarization on motor test results for the assessment of motor skills in preschool children population. A controlled research study design was conducted. Methods: The sample included 40 children, 20 boys and 20 girls (age 5.89 ± 0.42 years). Subjects underwent two testing sessions with two weeks between the trials, performed 6 motor skills: leg power, flexibility, abdominal muscles endurance, shoulder muscles endurance, agility, and running speed. Before the second testing session, subjects underwent a period of familiarization with motor tasks in 3 sessions, with 3 trials every 3 days. Results: Significantly better results in the second testing session were observed in countermovement jump (with both fixed and free arms), curl-ups, speed and agility test. The present study indicates that children significantly improved the results in the motor test of explosive strength, muscle endurance, speed and agility, being influenced by familiarization. Conclusions: The results of this study indicate that familiarization with the test procedures prior to testing affect the results of the motor test, and represent an important part of the evaluation of motor skills of preschool children