Association of food cravings with weight gain, overweight, and obesity in patients after liver transplantation

Diabetes and Metabolic Disorders: Their Impact on Cardiovascular Events in Liver Transplant Patients

Cardiovascular diseases are currently one of the most important causes of morbidity and mortality in liver transplant patients over the long term. Therefore, evaluating prognostic factors for cardiovascular events (CVEs) in this population is essential for taking preventive measures. The aim of this study was to identify the impact of diabetes and other metabolic disorders on CVEs in liver transplant patients. Three hundred fifty-six liver transplant recipients who survived at least 6 months after surgery were enrolled. Patients were followed for a median time of 118 months (12-250 months). All cardiovascular events were carefully recorded and detailed in the patients' charts. Demographic data, diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, weight changes, and a diagnosis of metabolic syndrome both before and after transplantation were noted to assess their possible relationship with CVE. The presence of a diagnosis of metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) was also evaluated. Immunosuppressive therapy was included in the analysis. Diabetes mellitus (DM), especially when present before transplantation, was strongly associated with CVEs (hazard risk HR 3.10; 95% confidence interval CI: 1.60-6.03). Metabolic syndrome was found to be associated with CVEs in univariate analysis (HR 3.24; 95% CI: 1.36-7.8), while pretransplantation and de novo MAFLD were not. Immunosuppressive therapy had no influence on predisposing transplanted patients to CVEs during follow-up. Further prospective studies may be useful in investigating the risk factors for CVEs after liver transplantation and improving the long-term survival of transplant patients.

A Cross-Sectional Study of Gender Differences in Calorie Labeling Policy among Students: Dietary Habits, Nutritional Knowledge and Awareness

Calorie labels may be the most important predictor of dietary choices among college students. The Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) has imposed calorie labels on the menus of restaurants and cafes. The current study looked at how the calorie labeling policy affects Saudi male and female students' dietary habits, nutritional knowledge, and awareness. The study included 802 students (360 males and 442 females) from Saudi Arabia's King Saud University, ranging between 18 and 35 years. Between December 2020 and October 2021, a cross-sectional, electronic, approved and validated survey was conducted to collect data on gender socio-demographic variables, food habits, and nutritional knowledge and awareness, in accordance with the food policy stated. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistical analysis. The Likert scale was used to determine the level of awareness and the food habit scores, and the Mann-Whitney U-test was used to determine the differences between the males and females. Spearman's correlation coefficient and simple regression analysis were performed to determine the association between the demographic factors and nutritional knowledge and the awareness of males and females. The results demonstrated that, with the exception of living situations, males and females differed significantly (p ≤ 0.01) in their socio-demographic characteristics. When asked about their food habits after the implementation of calorie labeling, the majority of respondents (>50%) gave negative responses, with a significant difference observed between maintaining body weight (p ≤ 0.05) and gaining weight (p ≤ 0.01). According to the Likert scale, there was a significant difference between males and females in terms of knowledge (p ≤ 0.01) and awareness (p ≤ 0.05). An average of 80.53% of males had very high knowledge (4.07) and 65.65% had medium level (3.24) awareness of calorie labeling, while 83.73% of females had very high knowledge (4.17) and 66.50% had medium level (3.32) awareness of calorie labeling. The socio-demographic and lifestyle variables were significantly and positively or negatively associated with calorie label utilization and varied between respondents, according to the Spearman correlation coefficients (r) and simple linear regression analysis. The number of factors that negatively impacted the males' knowledge and awareness was greater than that of the females. In conclusion, among college students, there were numerous gender differences in the demographic and social characteristics. The respondents' knowledge was insufficient, with females outperforming males.

Analysis of the impact of liver transplantation as a condition of health

AIM

To analyse the impact that liver transplantation has had on the patient as a condition of their health.

METHOD

A prospective study was carried out, the sample of which was made up of liver transplant patients at the Gregorio Marañón General University Hospital from November 2019 to August 2021. The hospital anxiety and depression scale, the Model for End-stage liver disease sodium and liver fragility index and the Transplant Effects Questionnaire Spanish were used. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics. The student's t-test was used for continuous variables and the chi-square test for categorical variables. For non-parametric samples, the Wilcoxon, Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal-Wallis's sign were used.

RESULTS

The sample was made up of 60 patients with a mean age of 55.68 years, 70% being men. The mean anxiety and depression scores of the patients improved significantly after liver transplantation. The impact of physical health resulted that those patients with a higher Model for End-stage liver disease sodium were correlated with a greater feeling of guilt after transplantation. Furthermore, greater adherence to immunosuppressive treatment was directly correlated with greater disclosure and inversely with guilt, after transplantation.

CONCLUSION

Liver transplantation is a process that impacts the health of patients. Those patients who arrive at the transplant with a more deteriorated physical situation present a greater guilt after the transplant. This impact is inversely correlated with adherence to immunosuppressive treatment. Nurses should intervene in such patients to reduce the impact on adherence to treatment.