Prevalence of overweight and obesity in Sardinian adolescents

BACKGROUND

To estimate the prevalence of overweight and obesity among adolescents in Sardinia and to examine the association with several biological and geographic factors.

METHODOLOGY

A cross-sectional study was performed in 3,946 unselected adolescents (2,011 boys, 1,935 girls; aged 11-15 years) attending the public secondary schools in 33 Sardinian municipalities: 28 semi-rural, 5 urban, sub-grouped according to their geographic location (mountain, hillside and plain). Oversized children were measured and their BMI defined as being above normal values according to parameters provided by the International Obesity Task Force (IOFT) by Cole et al. (BMI for age > or = 95th percentile). Relative risk for overweight and obesity was calculated using Poisson regression analysis: risks associated to each covariate were reciprocally adjusted. The 95% confidence interval (CI) of the estimated risk was calculated using Wald's formula (RR, RR = log(n) beta +/- 1.96 se(beta)).

MAIN FINDINGS

The overall prevalence rate found for overweight and obesity was 14.9% (95% C.I.: 13.7-16.1%) and 3.7% (95% C.I. 3.1-4.3%), respectively. Overweight rate showed no association with gender, whereas belonging to the female sex constituted a significant protection against obesity. Increasing age in the range 12-14 years was protective against both overweight and obesity in the whole sample. A similar finding however was not observed for obesity in girls or overweight in boys, when considered separately. Boys, but not girls, living in urban areas displayed a modest though significant 20% increase in overweight and a 40% decrease in obesity risk. Living in a mountainous area conveyed a 30% decrease in risk of overweight and a 50% decrease in risk of obesity, when compared to living on the plains and hillside combined. However, the small sample size of study subjects living in mountainous areas generated extremely wide 95% confidence intervals, thereby preventing the drawing of any significant conclusions.

CONCLUSION

In comparison with other surveys performed by the IOFT, Sardinian adolescents show a low prevalence rate for oversize, emphasizing a marked discrepancy with the general north-south rising trend of oversize observed throughout Europe. Geographic location, aesthetic or other age related factors seem to exert a different gender-specific influence on overweight and obesity.

SIGNIFICANCE

The present report is cross sectional and the consequences of overweight and obesity on individuals over time are not traceable. However, the outcome of the study suggests the need to implement suitable policies and public health programs leading to increased awareness.

Nailfold capillaroscopy and laser Doppler flowmetry during standardised cold challenge to evaluate capillary pattern and digital flow in idiopathic acrocyanosis

Quantitative correlation between capillary morphologic patterns and digital pulp flow in idiopathic acrocyanosis (IA) is as yet unexplained. We studied capillary pattern, scored according mainly to capillary dilatation and tortuosity. Digital flow was recorded by laser Doppler flowmetry during a standardised cooling and rewarming thermal challenge in a controlled thermostatic chamber. A negative correlation was found by linear regression analysis between increasing capillary abnormalities and decreasing flow rates both at rest and during cooling, while a positive correlation was observed among the presence and intensity of the flow stop reaction during cold challenge and the decrease of hyperaemic re-flow in the rewarming phase. Further investigations may be justified to assess the nature of these abnormalities, whether constitutional or induced by prolonged cold exposure. For this purpose, a standardised method, as the cooling-rewarming challenge, could verify the several pathophysiological hypotheses proposed for vascular acrosyndromes. We need to use a subjective method such as capillaroscopy-based scoring (as in our study endorsed by an objective technique) to acquire the necessary reliability and reproducibility in the functional diagnosis. In fact IA patients with lower morphologic scores show better flow properties.

[Association between carotid lesions evaluated by Doppler color echocardiography and cardiovascular risk factors in the elderly. Preliminary results]

BACKGROUND

The valuation of the extracranial carotid by echo color-Doppler takes on an extraordinary importance for the prevention of cerebral ictus at geriatric age. In this "naturalistic" study a population of old people (> 65 yrs) of Cagliari's province was considered in order to: 1) discriminate the lesions of the carotid that are imputed to atherosclerotic disease by anatomic changes of the arterial wall caused by aging; 2) study relations between lesions of the carotid and cardiovascular risk factors.

METHODS

The carotids of 50 old subjects were studied by echo color-Doppler and the lesion classified in different classes of severity, according to the hemodynamic standard, comparing them with the presence of the most important cardiovascular risk factors. Hypercholesterolemia was the most frequent risk factor (76%), followed by hypertension (62%), over-weight (54%) and smoking (42%). Moreover a diffused intima-media thickening (IMT) was constant in all the subjects with values > 0.75 mm; athero-sclerotic plaques were even present in 39 subjects which only in 4 cases could be considered at risk of cerebral ischemia.

RESULTS

A significant correlation between the severity of the lesions and levels of total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol for the male sex emerged, while for smoking only a trend of correlation has been obtained.

CONCLUSIONS

Considering this experience it is suggested that in old subjects the presence of a diffused IMT with values > 0.75 mm must be considered as a marker of aging of the arterial wall of the carotid and not as a cardiovascular risk factor as reported in the literature for the middleaged.

Anticipation of age at onset in panic disorder

OBJECTIVE

Anticipation (i.e., the decrease in age at onset or the increase in severity of a disorder in successive generations) has recently been reappraised as a key to understanding the genetics of some familial illnesses. The purpose of this study was to search for possible anticipation in panic disorder.

METHOD

Thirty-eight unilineal, multigenerational families with multiple directly interviewed members who had panic disorder were compared across two successive generations for 1) age at the first panic attack, 2) age at the onset of panic disorder, and 3) the highest degree of agoraphobia ever experienced, as a tentative index of severity of illness. Intergenerational pairwise comparisons were implemented according to four different sampling schemes: random pairs, random transmitting pairs, all possible pairs, and all possible transmitting pairs.

RESULTS

Life table analyses showed a significant decrease in the time before the first episode of panic and onset of panic disorder from the older to the younger generation. Evidence for anticipation was found for both indexes of onset in all four sampling schemes. No evidence of a generational effect on the index of severity of agoraphobia was found. Corrections for possible biases suggested that these results are not likely to be simple artifacts.

CONCLUSIONS

Anticipation is supported in this specific set of families and, if it is confirmed by other studies, a role for trinucleotide repeat sequences may be considered to account for the familial aggregation of panic disorder.

Prevalence of peripheral arterial occlusive disease and associated risk factors in a sample of southern Sardinian population

We studied a sample of adult population over 20 years old of Donori (totally 2049 inhabitants), a small town near Cagliari, South Sardinia, to: (1) Evaluate the prevalence of peripheral arterial occlusive disease of lower limbs (PAOD) diagnosed by standard questionnaire and US CW Doppler examination and associated risk factors in South Sardinia. (2) Compare the reliability of these two diagnostic methods. Our study included the answers to a standard anamnestic questionnaire (according to the WHO recommendations), physical examination and CW Doppler study of the lower limb arteries, the determination of the arterial systolic and diastolic pressure, ankle/arm pressure ratio, Body Mass Index, blood glucose, total and HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides and fibrinogen (the hematochemical examination only on 50% of the sample). The surveyed sample was of 577 subjects (37.96% of 1520, the eligible subjects over 20 years old), 237 males and 340 females. An arteriopathy was diagnosed by means of CW Doppler in 27 subjects, 20 M and 7 F. The overall prevalence of PAOD was 4.67% of the sample (2.06% of females, 8.43% of males). Prevalence steadily increased with age, and, surprisingly, the disease was not absent in young people (2 cases within males with age < or = 40 years). Conversely only 18.5% of PAOD patients were symptomatic. The overall prevalence of associated risk factors was: diabetes 3.6%, hypercholesterolaemia 59.1%, smoking 21.3%, arterial hypertension 21.6%, obesity 17.9%, hypertriglyceridaemia 9.3%, hyperfibrinogenaemia 4.67%. Among the males a significant correlation has been found, among the values of BMI vs age and total cholesterol, age vs total cholesterol, systolic blood pressure, diastolic pressure, fibrinogenaemia. Among the females, the systolic and diastolic pressure, BMI, total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, triglycerides and fibrinogen are significantly correlated with age; BMI correlates with systolic and diastolic blood pressure, fibrinogen; a nearly significant correlation has been found between BMI and triglycerides.

[Relation between changes in the microcirculation in the capillaries supplying the toenails and the degree of chronic venous insufficiency]

Chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) is characterised by stasis which may lead to an imbalance in the cutaneous microcirculation resulting in a wide spectrum of complications. The use of capillaroscopy on the toenail folds of patients with CVI allows the morphological and microhemorrheological aspects of microcirculatory disorders to be studied. The aim of this study was to clarify the correlation between the extent of abnormalities of the nutritional capillary and the degree of severity of CVI according to Widmer's classification. Capillaroscopy of the toenail fold was used to study 100 patients suffering from essential varicose disease (EVD) and post-thrombotic syndrome (PTS) with CVI of various degrees, giving a total of 110 limbs grouped as follows: 30 limbs at stage 0; 49 at stage 1; 20 at stage 2 and 12 at stage 3. In addition, a further 30 limbs of normal subject without a family history of varicose disease were included in the study. All patients and control subjects were examined clinically and using ultrasound c.w. Doppler and eco-color-Doppler of the lower limbs. The results highlighted a progressive deterioration of the capillaroscopic conditions in relation to the severity of CVI. In particular, during stage 1 microcirculatory alterations found in patients with primary varicose syndromes appeared to be more severe than those with PTS. This apparent contradiction may be attributed to the unique topography of this hemodynamic disorders since the subpapillary circulation in EVD is topographically in direct continuity with the site of venous hypertension.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

[The evaluation of the oximetric and Doppler sonographic parameters in patients with chronic venous insufficiency. A controlled double-blind clinical study versus placebo]

Twenty four patients suffering from chronic venous insufficiency of the lower limbs were treated with sulfo-mucopolysaccharides (SMPS) or placebo in a double-blind controlled study. At recruitment, and again at 60 and 120 days of ongoing treatment, each patient was tested for transcutaneous partial oxygen tension and for pressure in the posterior tibial vein and saphena by Doppler sonography. Findings were assessed in each case separately for the affected limb versus the unaffected, or for the more severely affected versus the contralateral limb in patients affected bilaterally. Patients treated with the test product, but not those treated with placebo, showed definite reduction of venous pressure in the posterior tibial vein and internal saphena of the affected or more severely affected limb at 60 days of treatment: namely -35% from basal for the posterior tibial vein and -28% for the internal saphena. Again on the affected or more severely affected side, patients treated with SMPS showed improved transcutaneous oxygen tension amounting to +13.8% from basal at 60 days, as opposed to worsening condition in the placebo group.

Correlations among capillaroscopic abnormalities, digital flow and immunologic findings in patients with isolated Raynaud's phenomenon. Can laser Doppler flowmetry help identify a secondary Raynaud phenomenon?

Thirty subjects with a diagnosis of isolated Raynaud's phenomenon, according to anamnestic and objective criteria, were cross-evaluated by various methods: laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF) during a standardized cold and rewarming test, nailfold capillaroscopy, immunological and other laboratory parameters, to assess the diagnostic and prognostic significance of each method. Correlations were also assessed among disease duration, capillaroscopic pattern score, quantitative digital flow values and laboratory parameters. Nearly 30% of patients showed immunologic abnormalities (ANA positivity at variable titres, ENA, hypocomplementemia, immunocomplexes); 16% of patients had a pathologic capillaroscopic pattern, not well correlated with immunologic findings; a characteristic cold stop reaction of digital flow (partial or total) was detected in 86% of the subjects; in ANA+ pts., ANA titers were positively correlated with the intensity and length of stop reaction (Trec). A significant correlation between digital flow parameters and the capillaroscopic score was also found in each considered group. Our results outline the relevance of LDF, during a standardized thermic test, to evaluate apparently primary RP, because even if a definite scleroderma-like capillaroscopic pattern is absent, this flowmetric method may detect potentially secondary RP patients.

[Effects of physical exercise and indobufen in patients with intermittent claudication. Results after a 2-year follow-up]

The study included 18 patients suffering from intermittent claudication before (stage 1) and after (stage 2) 3 months of rehabilitative training and after 2 years of follow-up (stage 3) during which patients undertook regular exercise (walking for 1 hour 3-4 days a week) and antiplatelet aggregating therapy with indobufen (200 mg x 2/day). A comparison of the data revealed that:a) there was a significant and gradual increase in the claudication pain distance (CPD) and maximal walking distance (MWD), and a reduced recovery time between stages 1 and 3 (parameters were assessed during and after walking on a treadmill (rolling mat) at a speed of 3.2 Km/h on a 12% slope); b) the resting ankle/arm pressure ratio was unchanged, but a significant increase was observed when the ratio was measured after exercise between stages 1 and 3; c) fibrinogenemia was significantly reduced between stages 1 and 2. Out of 18 subjects studied, 8 exceeded an MWD of 640 metres (maximum limit of exercise test which was suspended after 12'), 3 became asymptomatic, and 1 showed a significantly reduced capacity to walk. The paper concludes that, although it is necessary to obtain a confirmation from controlled studies, indobufen therapy and regular physical exercise represent an efficacious therapeutic approach, even over a long-term period, to stage II chronic arteriopathies of the lower limbs.

Evaluation of non-invasive haemodynamic parameters in patients with intermittent claudication subjected to physical training

In a group of 26 patients, all smokers (mean age 56.9 +/- 8 years), with intermittent claudication due to arterial obliterative disease. We investigated some of the haemodynamic, haematologic and clinical parameters before and after a 3 months physical training program. During the training period, none of the patients were given vasoactive, anticoagulant, antiaggregant or other drugs which could affect blood lipid. Patients were instructed to walk for a minimum period of 1 hour daily, in addition to normal everyday activities. Statistically significant differences of claudication pain distance were obtained: 177 +/- 88 m vs 107 +/- 40 m, +65% (p less than 0.001); maximal walking distance: 456 +/- 205 m vs 250 +/- 138 m, +82% (p less than 0.0001) determined during treadmill test at 2 mph up 12% and t/2 peak flow: 30 +/- 11.6 sec vs 46.3 +/- 32.3 sec (p less than 0.02), determinated with plethysmographic venous occlusion strain-gauges studies. An important, but not significant decrease of fibrinogen was obtained: 302 +/- 60 mg% vs 328 +/- 57 (p = 0.06), whereas no statistically significant differences were found for the more important haemodynamic parameters: (1) Widsor index determinated before (60 +/- 14% vs 58 +/- 15%) and after (26 +/- 17% vs 26 +/- 17%) treadmill-test with Doppler ultrasound; (2) peak-flow (10.5 +/- 2 ml/100/min vs 10.2 +/- 3); (3) time to peak-flow (17 +/- 10.5 sec vs 19.3 +/- 12.1). We also didn't find any significant differences in total cholesterol (227 +/- 53 mg% vs 228 +/- 48) and haematocrit (43.6 +/- 3.5% vs 43.5 +/- 3.1).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

[Laser Doppler flowmetry. Principles and clinical applications in vascular acro-syndromes]

Twenty-seven subjects with vasospastic diseases: 13 primary and 5 secondary Raynaud phenomenon (RP), 3 primary RP treated with raubasin 60 mg/day, 6 acrocyanosis and 9 normal subjects were studied in a standardized experimental set (thermostatic chamber), recording cutaneous digital micro-vascular reactions to cold and heat exposure by laser Doppler flowmetry, a relatively new method for the objective and reliable assessment of blood flow in the cutaneous microvasculature. The data suggest that patients with vasospastic disease have a defect in local microvascular flow regulation, that is revealed by low temperature exposure. The major difference between primary and secondary RF was recovery time (stop reaction) after cold test, that is easily recorded by this instrumental set. The morphology of the recording and the flow recovery time of acrocyanosis were found to be similar to those of secondary RF.

[The specificity of the CPK MB enzyme kinetic test for the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction (author's transl)]

The clinical usefullness of the CPK MB test (spectophotometric method) was evaluated on 139 patients admitted to a Cardiovascular Diseases Department with a diagnosis of suspected myocardial infarction. Serial determinations of serum MB isoenzyme creatine kinase, total creatine kinase, lacate dehydrogenase and hydrossibutirrate dehydrogenase were made at 1st, 2th, 3th, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th day. Incidence of CPK MB false positive and false negative data were also determined and correlated with the electrocardiogram pattern and serum levels of other standard enzymes. Results indicate that the CPK MB kinetic test is highly specific (94%) and promptly available in the early diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction.

Haemopexin behaviour in an acute hyperhaemolytic crisis secondary to favism (erythrocyte glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency)

The behaviour of serum haemopexin was studied in patients with hyperhaemolysis after ingestion of fava beans. The linear increase in this substance after a crisis is particularly emphasized. This finding is of special importance for G-6-PD subjects with various haematological disorders.